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The cool drinks poured down, leaving Stein a complete mess.
“L-Lady Erensia?”
“How rude.”
Erensia sneered at him.
She tried her best to make a mocking expression, but since she wasn’t yet used to sneering, it looked awkward.
However, her actions themselves were smooth and natural.
Then, Erensia picked up the cake plate. With an elegant motion, she flipped it over Stein’s head.
“Lady Erensia! What do you think you’re doing?!”
Stein shouted angrily. As he sprang to his feet, the cake on his head plopped down in chunks.
He looked like a stained duck.
‘That outfit looked expensive.’
She felt just a tiny bit guilty.
Well, she could send laundry money to his house later. Maybe include some emotional compensation too.
That would probably hurt his pride even more.
That’s how grudges accumulate, one by one.
One more added today.
If she kept stacking resentment like this, it would grow like a rolling snowball and eventually crush the Novelita family!
And that would be the end of it, for both her and the Novelitas!
As Erensia indulged in her imagination, Stein suddenly raised his hand high.
Judging by the thickness of his hand, the angle, and the fury in his eyes… he was about to hit her.
Oh dear. Getting hit wasn’t part of the plan.
Well, maybe she could just take one hit and then send a knight to his house.
Erensia glanced at Stein’s arm, which was thinner than his hand, and decided to take the blow.
Instead of sending a knight, she could report it as assault and demand compensation.
His household would be thrown into chaos.
To make sure she didn’t dodge, Erensia tightly shut her eyes.
Smack—
The sharp sound of palm meeting cheek rang out.
Huh? Why doesn’t it hurt?
Erensia slowly opened her eyes.
Between Stein and herself stood a woman, her shoulders trembling.
Stein had been slapped!
Erensia tried hard to recall who the woman was, but—
“Who… are you?”
No matter how she looked, she didn’t recognize her.
It was only natural. Erensia had never been involved in high society in any of her three lives.
In her first life, she fell in love at first sight with a man she met at her debutante and married him without participating in society. After that, she was too busy destroying everything around him, and once she finally had time to breathe, she was killed.
In her second and third lives, she lived austerely, avoiding luxury and indulgence.
“You jerk! Wasn’t one woman enough? You’re seeing someone else too?!”
Snapped out of her brief reminiscence by a sharp voice, Erensia turned her attention back.
“V-Victorina… W-what are you talking about? It’s a misunderstanding!”
Stein’s flustered voice echoed loudly through the café.
“A misunderstanding? What misunderstanding? You just confessed to Lady Erensia! Everyone here heard it! Do you even remember that we’re getting married in a month? Are engagements between families just a joke to you?!”
“Th-that’s… it’s a misunderstanding!”
All she had intended to do was reject his confession, yet she’d gotten tangled up in someone else’s messy romance.
Erensia felt troubled.
The café, which had fallen into stunned silence, erupted into murmurs condemning Stein.
His anxious eyes darted around, and under the barrage of accusatory gazes, his face turned red.
“I-I’ll explain later!”
Covering his face with both hands, Stein hurriedly fled the café. The sight of him running away in disgrace was quite unsightly.
Erensia pondered how to deal with this awkward situation. With Stein’s fiancée intervening, things had taken an unexpected turn.
‘It didn’t go as planned, but it’s not bad. If their marriage falls apart because of me, he’ll hate me completely, right? I’ll be cursed by both his family and hers.’
It was unfair and frustrating that she might be seen as part of an affair, but the result wasn’t bad.
She had gained twice the enemies.
The corners of Erensia’s lips twitched.
Go ahead and curse me, my lady.
Her heart felt as vast as the sea.
“Thank you, Lady Erensia.”
Hm?
“I’m Victorina Dathiriye. When I first found out he was cheating, I was going to forgive him. I tried to understand that men can waver before marriage. But thanks to you, I realized Stein is beyond saving—a complete piece of trash.”
What is going on?
Erensia blinked in shock. Why was she suddenly confessing this?
“And seeing you pour drinks over him gave me courage. If I hadn’t seen that, I would’ve just gone home and cried.”
Victorina’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Erensia.
“What do you mean…?”
“Splashing the drinks like that! It was amazing. It made me realize that women can do that too.”
Victorina repeatedly thanked her, saying she had found the courage to properly take revenge on Stein.
Erensia stood there, stunned.
The atmosphere around them shifted in an instant.
From criticizing Stein, to sympathizing with Victorina, and now to praising Erensia—calling her perceptive, saying she had saved Victorina. Embarrassingly flattering remarks filled the air.
“S-Stop it.”
Things were going in a completely different direction than she wanted.
The title of “ill-mannered lady who humiliated a sincere confession” fluttered away.
Instead, it looked like she would be known as a cool lady who punished a worthless man.
I need to get out of here quickly!
“Please, at least let me treat you to tea—”
“No, thank you.”
Erensia brushed off Victorina, who tried to stop her, and headed toward the café entrance.
I need to leave a bad impression somehow! I have to!
“Um… M-Miss.”
Just as she bit her lip in frustration, the waiter called out to her.
When she turned back, the waiter pointed awkwardly at her seat.
The pink sofa was a mess from the drinks she had spilled.
In that moment, a spark flashed through Erensia’s mind.
Oh!
An opportunity!
A chance to be labeled a villainess!
Lifting her chin arrogantly, Erensia spoke.
“How much?”
“The cost of cleaning the sofa—”
“Cleaning? Don’t bother. Using something that’s been dirtied is quite low-class.”
She rummaged through her pocket and pulled out five gold coins, handing them to the waiter.
“This is too much—”
Ignoring his reaction, Erensia turned away coldly.
The daughter of Novelita, who thinks money can solve everything and throws it around!
This level of rumor should be enough.
After all, today is the first day of her “ruin properly” project.
“Beck, what do you think you’re doing? You can’t just cut the trees like that! You have to consider harmony with the surroundings. Do you understand, Beck?”
From early morning, Erensia was hard at work. It was her attempt to make up for not handling the Stein incident properly yesterday.
Later, Agnes told her that even giving money to the waiter had spread as a positive rumor.
—She’s so generous. They say she gave money to replace the sofa entirely! They were already planning to change it anyway, so it worked out perfectly.
After hearing that, Erensia fell into despair.
She was acting even more viciously than in her past lives, so why didn’t people see it that way?
Well, no choice.
Yesterday failed, so she’d try harder today.
Erensia woke up at dawn and roamed the garden, picking fights with the servants.
If someone starts doing things they never used to, they’ll look crazy, right?
In the past, Erensia had lived like a proper noble lady. She would wake late and begin her day with elegant tea.
She never interfered in the servants’ work.
It was bothersome, and she had no interest.
But now she knew. If you do nothing, you won’t gain enemies.
Since it was difficult to make enemies outside, she would start from within.
That was her plan.
Hoping the servants would spread rumors that she had gone mad, Erensia busied herself from early morning.
“Beck! That’s not how you do it!”
She shouted mercilessly.
Thinking of Beck’s future made her chest feel tight.
The gardener Beck would, in five years, become skilled enough to oversee the entire garden, but right now his skills were terrible.
He hacked at trees without considering balance.
Up close, it looked neat, but from afar, it resembled a patchy haircut on a child’s head.
Yet no one scolded or corrected him.
Because it was bothersome.
Besides, no one in the Novelita household cared about the garden. Fine clothes or rare liquor, perhaps—but not the garden.
People say nobles enjoy elegant hobbies and admire gardens while drinking tea, but that wasn’t reality.
To them, the garden was just something that existed.
‘Even tormenting others takes effort.’
Erensia let out a faint sigh and steeled herself again.
Beck clung to a tree, blinking in confusion.
“Beck, didn’t you hear me tell you to come down? This is terrible. Look at it from a distance! Look at the shape of what you’ve cut!”
Beck’s eyes wavered nervously.
His panic was obvious.
This operation is a success!
Leaving behind the stunned Beck, Erensia turned sharply, her dress swishing.
“Miss, where have you been?”
Agnes asked as Erensia entered, bringing in a chill.
“I went to check whether they’re doing their work properly.”
“You went to watch the servants working since dawn?”
Her voice sounded oddly moved.
Erensia removed the shawl from her shoulders and tossed it to Agnes, who quickly caught it.
“They were doing such a poor job, I had to scold them.”
“Miss…”
Agnes’s voice grew moist.
Erensia frowned.
“If you have something to say, say it.”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Agnes carried the shawl into the dressing room.
Erensia moved to her desk, spread out a sheet of paper, and began writing down her tasks for the day.
“Miss, what are you doing?”
Agnes’s eyes widened as she saw her sitting at the desk.
“I’m writing today’s schedule.”
Agnes was so shocked she covered her mouth.
‘Miss is making a daily plan? As expected, she’s the only one fit to inherit the Novelita family.’
The Duke of Novelita had three children, but aside from Erensia, they were all a mess. The eldest, Elvers, had wandering hands that harassed maids, and the second son, Evan, beat the servants.
In contrast, Erensia was cold and indifferent, but she never raised a hand or voice even when servants made mistakes.
‘She just dismisses them… but at least she gives severance pay.’
Even that made for a decent working environment. And perhaps because they had grown up together, Erensia occasionally showed her true feelings to Agnes.
‘Miss likes me.’
Erensia overlooked Agnes’s impertinent advice and even accepted it several times.
‘I’m the only one who has reached her heart.’
Agnes was happy just seeing Erensia indulge in luxury.
But now that she was showing responsibility for family matters, Agnes felt proud, almost like a parent.
Erensia’s growth was her pride.
Even though they were only five years apart.
“You’re doing very well, Miss.”
“…What?”
Startled by the praise, Erensia asked back.
