🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 22
A gift from a cheating husband.
That was precisely why I insisted on selling it through a boutique.
If they found out I’d sold the necklace, Duffel and Sophia would never let that money be used quietly.
Besides, boutiques like this are also gathering places for ladies’ gossip.
Which, in other words, meant that the employees who worked here were extremely tight-lipped.
“Gasp.”
At my words, Savanna sharply inhaled.
Keeping a calm expression, I added one more sentence.
“And it was bought at the same jeweler where he bought gifts for his mistress.”
“That trashy—! Ah!”
Savanna hurriedly covered her mouth.
No matter what, the other party was a noble.
If she spoke carelessly, she could be arrested for insulting nobility.
But I smiled faintly, as if I understood.
“That’s why I want to get rid of it. If I sell it outright, my husband and mother-in-law will only turn around and scold me instead.”
That final remark was the decisive blow.
Savanna’s calm, polite expression changed completely.
With a resolute look, she solemnly pulled the jewelry box into her arms.
“…This. I’ll make sure you get its proper value.”
Just as I thought.
When it comes to a cheating husband, women always unite.
That made one more ally on my side.
“And, if possible…”
Watching Savanna nod vigorously while gripping my hands, I added one more request.
“…Could you do it today?”
“Aileen!”
I had just returned to the mansion and was resting when someone burst open the door to my attic and shouted.
As expected, it was Sophia.
Her face was flushed red, seething with rage.
“You damn bitch! How dare you humiliate me in front of the other ladies?!”
“……”
“Do you have any idea how much I spent today trying to recover my reputation?!”
No one had told her to do that, yet she was beside herself with anger.
“You’re grounded! For a month—no, for the rest of your life, you won’t step outside without my permission!”
As if that wasn’t already how things were, and now she was calling it a punishment…
When I reacted with indifference to her threats, she grabbed the back of her neck, her blood pressure clearly rising.
“You—you! What’s with that insolent look?!”
She was furious because, unlike before, I wasn’t trembling in fear or rushing to apologize.
Whoosh!
Unable to contain her anger, Sophia raised her hand high.
After causing an incident where my head bled once, I thought she might have restrained herself a little.
But of course—old habits die hard.
Yet the place her forcefully swung hand passed through was nothing but empty air.
I had casually stepped back and avoided it.
‘Of course, among the 101 ways to deal with troublemakers, there’s one about dodging slaps.’
She’d put so much force into it that Sophia staggered in place from the recoil.
It was a ridiculous sight.
“Y-you…! How dare you dodge?!”
Sophia’s face went pale with fury.
As she staggered briefly and then approached again, I thought to myself,
‘It should be about time now…’
Just then—
“M-my lady!”
As expected.
A maid rushed in through the open attic door and urgently called out to Sophia.
“I think you should come see this! A messenger has arrived with a letter!”
“What? At this hour of the evening?”
“They say it’s a messenger sent by Countess Vanetta!”
Sophia froze.
“…Countess Vanetta?”
Vanetta Airington.
The former emperor’s younger sister, and the countess of the venerable House of Airington.
Though she had stepped back somewhat in recent years, she still wielded the greatest influence in high society.
She had even overseen the imperial education of the current crown prince and his relative, the grand duke Taeyon.
And—the woman who would become my fairy godmother.
Unaware of my thoughts, Sophia exclaimed joyfully,
“Her ladyship finally noticed! All the effort I put into sending her gifts regularly has paid off!”
Being called an uncultured nouveau riche was the greatest complex shared by Sophia and Hobsin.
That was why Sophia had long struggled to form a connection with Countess Vanetta.
Of course, every one of those efforts had failed.
“Well, um…”
At Sophia’s shout, the maid glanced at me with an awkward expression.
“Actually, the letter is addressed to the young madam…”
“What?!”
Sophia’s mouth fell open.
Forgetting all about hitting me, she stammered as she stared at me.
“Why—why would her ladyship send a letter to someone like you, and not me…?!”
Because Savanna had asked the countess to handle the disposal of the diamond necklace, that’s why!
I chuckled softly.
So that was how things turned out.
Three years later, Savanna would open a high-end boutique.
How could a penniless commoner open a boutique on the most expensive street?
The truth was, Savanna had a special connection with Countess Vanetta.
Recognizing Savanna’s exceptional design talent, the countess had supported her in opening the boutique.
“And, if possible…”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry, but could you contact my estate within the day?”
That was what I’d said to Savanna at the boutique—asking her to get in touch that same day.
I knew Sophia would raise a huge fuss once I got home.
“You… you…!”
Sophia trembled, her face a mixture of resentment, jealousy, and rage.
Facing her, I quickly added,
“Father, who should be home from work by now, will have heard about the letter as well.”
Sophia wasn’t the only one with a nouveau riche complex.
Naturally, Hobsin would welcome any connection to such a distinguished noblewoman.
“He won’t be pleased about your hair being cut. If you end up with a mark on your face here, he might flip the dinner table again.”
At my words, Sophia shook with fury, but she couldn’t bring herself to raise her hand again.
Because it was obvious that Hobsin would truly explode this time.
‘Ah, I don’t even need dinner tonight.’
I was already full like this.
Looking at Sophia’s reddened face, I smiled in quiet satisfaction.
Countess Vanetta’s letter contained a brief greeting and an invitation.
It said she hoped I would come visit her garden this weekend, if I had the time.
Thankfully, there was no mention anywhere of the diamond necklace.
‘As expected. Such tact and refinement.’
Unlike the other countess standing right in front of me.
“Hmph. Even so, the days when that woman ruled high society are long past.”
Standing in front of the carriage, holding Vanetta’s invitation, I let out a long sigh.
Before I knew it, five days had passed, and the weekend had arrived.
During that time, Sophia had tried every possible way to go with me to Countess Vanetta’s estate.
She had even gone so far as to rudely write directly to the countess, asking if she could accompany me.
Naturally, there was no reply.
Most likely, only after today would a polite response arrive—something like, ‘I discovered your letter rather late.’
A common indirect refusal among nobles.
Still, she couldn’t afford to miss the opportunity to connect with Countess Vanetta.
In the end, Sophia had no choice but to send only me.
“That insignificant Airington estate—I didn’t even want to go in the first place!”
It was nothing more than wounded pride speaking.
I barely listened, gazing instead at the cloud-covered sky.
‘Looks like we’re in for a downpour.’
“I heard that after her granddaughter died, she went senile. They say she buys extravagant dresses every year that she can’t even wear.”
“I’ll handle it properly, Mother.”
“What?! Y-you—!”
“Oh. It’s starting to rain.”
Leaving the flustered Sophia behind, I quickly climbed into the carriage.
Perfectly timed, a few raindrops began to fall.
“Welcome.”
When I stepped down from the carriage, a butler holding an umbrella greeted me.
“The garden is this way.”
“Ah, just as the letter said, we’re going to the garden? I wondered if the location might have changed because of the rain…”
“It’s no problem. There is a glass greenhouse.”
The butler replied politely to my concern.
‘Glass? Truly, the rich are rich.’
In this world, reinforced glass was an extremely expensive material.
Guided by the butler, I entered the glass greenhouse.
Beyond a neatly arranged afternoon tea set, I saw Countess Vanetta, dressed in a deep navy gown.
“Viscountess Morgans.”
Her elegant voice resonated through the gentle air of the greenhouse.
Following the etiquette preserved in Aileen’s memories, I bent my knees and offered my greeting.
