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Chapter 04
The Fall of an Innocent Young Lady
There was no way she had actually expected to escape death.
In a single lapse of attention, a massive shadow had violently lunged at her.
A jet-black beast with a glossy sheen.
Yes—it had definitely been a black wolf with glowing red eyes, not a naked man.
I was almost eaten…
The cold gaze of the beast, its huge mouth and tongue brushing her skin, the low growl right beside her—everything still felt vividly real, as if it were happening again.
What on earth is going on?
Now that her senses had returned, the savage beast was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, there was a statue-like man in her arms.
A sharply defined face, thick brows, a straight nose. His translucent skin looked almost glass-like, and he lay there with his eyes closed, lips pressed together.
Come to think of it…
Which part of that had been a dream?
A smooth-furred creature had clearly attacked her—so why did a pale, moonlike face appear at the end?
Her thoughts tangled as she tried to make sense of it all.
The huge tongue and mouth that had brushed her face… and as they faded in her memory, the human outline became clearer…
“Isn’t that naked gentleman… Grand Duke Hyperion?”
“Please! Don’t say his name so casually!”
The whispering of the crowd tickled her ears.
Ah!
Like a flash of lightning, the image of the man overlapped with the beast in her memory.
She quickly pulled her left hand free from the heavy body on top of her. Then she pushed her hair back and checked the man’s black hair more closely.
Just as she tried to focus—
“Daphne! What are you doing here right now!”
A familiar voice.
Her stepmother Matilda rushed over in shock.
What should I do? I didn’t intend for things to get this big.
She shut her eyes tightly, overwhelmed.
The murmuring around her grew louder, and her ears burned red.
On the way home in the carriage, Daphne endured what felt like hundreds of scoldings from her father, Count Bont.
“How dare you sneak out and cause such disgrace!”
The enraged count shouted so loudly that the carriage rattling could barely be heard.
Matilda tried to calm him, but it was useless.
“Your father is just very shocked. Daphne, why don’t you stay in your room for a while? If you need anything, just tell me.”
Matilda’s voice was sweet and gentle.
But she had also been the one who shouted Daphne’s name the loudest in the palace garden.
I can’t think straight.
She dragged herself to her room and collapsed onto the bed. Outside the window, the moon sank deep into darkness.
As clouds slowly swallowed the light, she felt nauseated.
Was going to the banquet really the right choice…?
The next morning.
Frost had bloomed across the window.
Daphne, dragged to Bont’s office as soon as she woke, was thrown onto a sofa like a crumpled paper.
“We brought the eldest daughter of the Hanover Count.”
Two knights saluted and left.
The count, who had been looking out the window, turned and threw a newspaper onto the desk.
“Use your eyes and read this.”
Thud.
The newspaper hit her silver hair and fell to the floor.
She was used to this kind of humiliation, but it never stopped hurting.
She picked it up and slowly stood.
“Sit down.”
His harsh voice echoed through the room. Bont clicked his tongue irritably and sat on the opposite sofa.
“I said sit!”
At his shout, she flinched and sat.
“Read it immediately.”
She unfolded the newspaper.
“The North’s ruler has a new woman!? What about the woman introduced by the imperial family!?”
“Secret passionate affair in the open air?!”
The text was filthy, full of gossip.
She frowned slightly, raising the paper higher so her father wouldn’t see.
Bang!
A loud strike slammed the desk, followed by rage.
“Do you understand the disgrace you’ve brought upon this family?!”
Bont glared at her as if he wanted to burn holes through her.
“You are a disgrace! I can’t even lift my head because of you!”
It had only been one day.
But gossip traveled faster than wind—yesterday’s scandal in the imperial garden had already spread across the empire like wildfire.
“You have nothing to say after humiliating us like this.”
His clenched fists trembled.
At that moment, the door opened and a woman walked in.
“Darling, are you talking with Daphne?”
It was Matilda, wearing a luxurious blue dress and a sapphire necklace.
She kissed Bont’s neck softly.
“I hate it when you get angry.”
Her voice was like spring breeze.
Bont relaxed and pulled her into his arms.
“If only she were even half like our Tiana…”
“Oh, don’t say that. Daphne is such a kind child.”
Matilda sat beside him and looked at Daphne with gray eyes.
Her silver hair was messy, partially hidden by the newspaper.
A faint smile played on her lips.
“Daphne.”
“….”
No response.
“Are you ignoring your mother again?”
Still silence.
“Father.”
After a pause, Daphne lowered the newspaper and looked directly at Bont.
Her green eyes shimmered.
“For now, I’ll go do temple service like you. That should improve things…”
Crash!
“Darling!”
Before she could finish, an ashtray flew through the air.
She managed to dodge slightly, but it crashed to the floor, leaving a red stain.
“Daphne, are you okay?”
Matilda rushed over, pretending to care.
“You almost injured her beautiful face!”
“Beautiful? If she were truly beautiful, she’d have married well!”
Bont scoffed.
Matilda gently wiped Daphne’s forehead.
“Don’t say that. Daphne is my child too.”
Daphne swallowed her anger.
She had endured this before.
Just like she had endured Robert’s humiliation.
Now was not the time to explode.
After leaving the office, she wandered aimlessly.
When she felt lonely or exhausted, she always went to the abandoned glass greenhouse in the corner of the garden.
Today was no different.
The greenhouse was cold and bleak.
When her mother Liliana was alive, it had been a paradise.
“Mom…”
The word slipped out without thinking.
The white table was old and worn from years of neglect.
She buried her head in her arms and clenched her fists.
If she was going to come back at all, she should have returned to when her mother was still alive.
Tears welled in her green eyes.
“Hey.”
A sharp voice cut through her thoughts.
She quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve and turned.
“A miserable little girl is here again.”
