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Chapter 4…………………………….
“Huh? W-What are you talking about?”
Elliot had tried to speak quietly enough that the count wouldn’t hear him, but Radian pretended to be startled and replied loudly, drawing Count Kaiyan’s attention. Elliot had stayed silent when Shan was mistreating Radian, yet only after his own mother and younger sister had trapped themselves and fled did he finally scold her.
The sight of him eating kebab with his hands like everyone else while acting as though he were criticizing her was pathetic. When Radian innocently asked again in a loud voice, pretending not to understand anything, Elliot glanced awkwardly at Count Kaiyan and stumbled over his words.
“I mean, you…”
“That’s enough. I do not wish to have this pleasant mealtime disturbed.”
The “pleasant mealtime” had probably ended the moment his wife and daughter stormed off, but the duke said it anyway to preserve appearances. Pretending to be frightened, Radian lowered her head toward Elliot.
“If I made some sort of mistake… I’m sorry. I think I ruined the atmosphere since I came down after so long. I’ll excuse myself now.”
“You…!”
With trembling eyes like a herbivore standing before a predator, Radian spoke tearfully. She quietly rose from her seat and hurried out of the dining hall before anyone could stop her.
Left at the table were only Ait, Elliot, and the thoroughly displeased Count Kaiyan.
No matter how much lower a count’s rank was compared to a duke’s, he was still a guest invited to lunch. For the hostess and the entire family to leave one after another like this was an incredible display of rudeness. As she walked away, Radian curled her lips into a smile while listening to the duke reprimanding Elliot.
Moments ago, Radian had been hunching over as if she might collapse at any second, but by the time she headed toward her room, her back had straightened. She maintained a blank expression all the way up the stairs and into her room.
Wendy was cleaning with the windows wide open. In her rush to tidy up while her mistress was at lunch, her clothes had become disheveled. Embarrassed before her neat and elegant mistress, Wendy dusted herself off and bowed her head.
“L-Lady Radian, you came back early.”
“You should’ve rested a little.”
Wendy was always hardworking. She had once defended a maid whom Shan disliked, earned Shan’s hatred for it, and was eventually demoted to become Radian’s maid. Becoming the servant of the weakest person in the household was essentially the end of one’s future prospects, yet Wendy had never complained once.
The other maid who had fallen out of favor had long since quit, but Wendy surprisingly stayed by Radian’s side. Although gentle by nature, she occasionally showed a vicious side whenever the other servants treated Radian badly. Even until the moment Radian was swallowed by flames… why had she gone that far? Radian quietly stared into Wendy’s kind brown eyes.
“Wendy. I have a favor to ask.”
“Yes, Lady Radian. Please tell me.”
“Could you buy me some mont blanc pastries from the shop called Monben in town? You can keep the rest.”
Clink.
Wendy’s eyes widened at the gold coin dropped into her hand. A mont blanc only cost around three silver coins. Even after buying ten of them, seventy silver would remain. Considering Wendy earned far less than one gold coin a month, it was an astonishing amount.
“Lady Radian, I can buy them for you, but I can’t accept this much money.”
“It’s fine. The shop is pretty far away. If you rent a carriage, there won’t be much left anyway.”
“But even so…”
“That’s enough. I’m giving it because I’m grateful. And I’ll give you a special holiday today. Just bring the mont blanc by lunchtime tomorrow, and you don’t need to attend to me anymore today.”
Was this really a holiday, or was she being dismissed? The young lady’s intentions were impossible to read today. After hesitating briefly, Wendy quickly gathered her cleaning supplies and left the room.
Once Wendy disappeared and Radian confirmed no one was nearby, she sat at the table.
Seated at the large walnut desk, Radian’s small frame looked even tinier. Since she had always loved books, she had at least bought herself a good desk and chair. Pulling out paper, she dipped her fountain pen into ink.
Outside, after Wendy’s departure, everything was silent. The best thing about having the room tucked away in a corner was…
“No one comes near it.”
Radian muttered while lightly biting the end of her pen. She began writing in Korean. She could have written in the imperial language, but there was too much risk of being discovered. If she really had to spend two years here again, she couldn’t afford to waste even a single moment.
At the top of the page she wrote:
Bucket List
Then without hesitation, she wrote the first item.
- Revenge on Elliot Scanan and Jinadion Seth.
An obvious first choice.
The two who had pushed her into a hellish marriage and laughed together behind her back. The two who had knocked her unconscious and set her on fire the moment she learned their secret.
She could never forgive those who had deceived her from the very beginning. She would give them deaths far more painful than what Radian had suffered back then.
Her green eyes blazed like wildfire spreading across a field.
Scratch, scratch.
Radian crossed out both names with her pen. After staring at them for a long while, she calmed herself and wrote the next line.
- Divorce.
The world’s attitude toward women here hadn’t progressed beyond Korea’s Joseon era.
There was even a “seven grounds for expelling a wife.” A divorced noblewoman would either be confined for life at her family home like a dead person, sent to a convent to become a nun, or abandoned entirely and die miserably in the streets.
Less than three months after marrying, Radian had lost her entire family in a carriage accident.
With no relatives left, she had unusually inherited the title of baroness. Though rare for a baron, she even possessed her own territory. Yet the former Radian had abandoned all of it to devote herself to becoming a proper marchioness wife.
Without realizing it was all pointless.
After divorcing, Radian intended to return to her territory. Living in the middle of a desert would still be far better than remaining in the Scanan duchy. Thinking briefly of her homeland, she continued writing.
- The downfall of House Scanan.
For three years, Radian had suffered relentless abuse from her in-laws. Most of it came from Sylvia and Shan, while Elliot—the worst of them all—hardly needed mentioning. The duke had ignored all of it. No, he had practically treated Radian as invisible. To Radian, the duke was the worst of them.
He stood at the top of the patriarchal system yet did nothing to change or mediate it, simply letting things continue as they were. He was like the enabler of bullies. Someone who didn’t strike or torment others directly, but who made those who did believe it was acceptable.
There was no way Radian could forgive such a man.
However, House Scanan was an ancient family whose origins traced back to the founding of the empire itself. For someone like her—a mere woman and a baroness—to uproot such a house completely was unimaginable.
Radian agonized over how she might destroy them, but unable to find an answer, she collapsed onto the bed.
The soft mattress caused her handwriting to wobble, but she continued anyway.
- Become happy.
- If possible, terminate the contract with that quack demon.
“Belzebuth…”
A grinding sound escaped her teeth as her expression twisted darkly. Even though she had called his name, Belzebuth did not appear. He would probably continue ignoring her unless her life was truly in danger—and only show up two years later.
To collect her soul.
For a contract sealed with one’s soul, his attitude was unbelievably disappointing.
Radian sighed.
She wanted to demand a divorce immediately and escape this house, but Duke Ait, who valued honor above all else, would never allow it. If she asked for a divorce now, the result would either be dismissal—or assassination. After all, he was a man who had even killed his first wife for the sake of honor.
Besides, if she wanted to bring this family down, it would be easier from the inside than from outside. The duke trusted no one and was extremely cautious, but if she dug deeply enough, surely she would uncover something.
She would start tonight.
Radian neatly folded the paper and tucked it into her diary.
By now, the sun was slowly setting. Gazing at the burning sunset, Radian found herself unconsciously drawn to the window. Wendy had cleaned it thoroughly; not a speck of dust remained. Leaning comfortably against the windowsill, she looked up at the sky.
The crimson sun was already sinking beneath the mountains, surrendering its place to the moon. Against the deep indigo sky, the lingering twilight burned red.
Resting her chin on her hand, Radian murmured softly.
“At least the air here is nice.”
The air she breathed was unbelievably fresh. So this was what truly pure air tasted like—without even a trace of fine dust.
Radian inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with the scent of the forest carried by the evening breeze.
Maybe they should bottle this air and sell it in Korea.
Lost in such pointless thoughts, she stared out the window for a long time.
“You insolent thing!”
Crash!
The maids’ faces turned pale at the mistress’s terrifying rage. Shan was furious enough to hurl one of her favorite porcelain teacups.
Not just the teacup—books, tablecloths, tea canisters—she smashed and threw everything within sight, yet still couldn’t calm her anger.
If they got caught in her line of fire, they were finished.
The maids kept their heads lowered, barely daring to breathe. If Shan noticed them, half their hair would likely be ripped out before they were thrown out in disgrace.
Sylvia sat nearby watching quietly, but she too was furious.
That insignificant woman had suddenly appeared and embarrassed them before an important guest.
That defective thing who couldn’t even bear children!
Wasn’t this the same Radian who used to turn pale and flee in terror at the mere sight of Sylvia, tripping over her dress in the process?
At that moment, a maid entered the room. Appearing accustomed to Shan’s outbursts, the woman in her mid-thirties calmly reported without blinking at the ruined floor.
“My lady, Lady Radian left the dining hall immediately afterward. The remaining three continued the meal together.”
“What? Why?”
“Well… after you two left, the master apparently said something to Lady Radian, and she tearfully left right after.”
“What did he say that made her kick us out and then leave herself?”
“He spoke so quietly that we couldn’t hear clearly… but I believe he may have been scolding her about the two of you.”
The duchess’s hand froze.
Shan trembled with delight and smiled ecstatically.
“My son… defended me?”
That wasn’t exactly what had been said.
It was merely her own imagination, but the maid swallowed those words and nodded.
“Yes. I believe so as well.”
“As expected of my son! Ahh… though to behave so rudely before the count—Radian truly is hopeless. How did such an inadequate thing ever enter our family?”
The one who had actually taken Shan’s side was Sylvia more than Elliot, but Shan accepted it as naturally as breathing. Sylvia, clearly used to this behavior, merely sat quietly watching the tea ripple every time Shan moved.
The tyrant of the greenhouse suddenly transformed into a worried matron concerned for the family’s reputation, pressing her fingers against her brow.
Then, while staring at the broken glass on the floor, Shan seemed to think deeply before clapping her hands as though struck by inspiration.
“Sylvia, come here. I’ve thought of a wonderful idea.”
Leaning closer, Sylvia’s murky red eyes widened at Shan’s whispered words. The corners of her lips curved upward into a grin.
“My goodness, Mother. How did you come up with something like that? Let’s do it immediately!”
“Elliot takes after me—he’s clever. We can’t simply leave alone someone who tarnished our family’s honor.”
“This is going to be fun.”
The mother and daughter, pleased to finally be in agreement for once, burst into laughter and ordered the maids to clean the floor and bring fresh tea and cookies.
The maids silently obeyed, carefully hiding their disgust as they began cleaning up the mess.
