TMDL 48

Chapter : 48

‘I had a bad feeling about her, but I thought maybe that was just her personality…’

No matter how positive a person was, it wasn’t easy for someone who had once been a commoner to immediately adapt after entering noble society.

The social world was still quite conservative, and forcing one’s way into it was no easy task.

Yet Astella strode through high society without the slightest hesitation. Because she was the daughter of Duke Binoke, people couldn’t treat her lightly and busied themselves flattering her, though there were also those who picked fights with her.

In a completely new environment, with people who could easily be intimidating, one might shrink back or feel nervous—but Astella seemed to enjoy it instead.

As if the attention and envy she received were only natural.

At the same time, her subtle behavior that suggested she wanted to monopolize everyone’s attention made her uncomfortable, so she had kept a certain distance.

‘Trusting my instincts was the right choice after all.’

She had always been good at judging people since she was young. To her, Astella was the type one shouldn’t get too deeply involved with—no, now she had been promoted to a dangerous individual.

“Duke, you must have suffered a lot all this time. I never imagined you had gone through something like that.”

“It took great effort to reveal this. Partly because of the environment surrounding Lady Astella of the Binoke family, but more than anything, she was a younger sister whom Freya cherished dearly, so I had no choice but to be cautious.”

At Helena’s words of comfort, Raiden gently wrapped an arm around Freya’s shoulders and continued.

“But when I saw Lady Astella pressuring Freya while even bringing Duke Binoke and his sons into it, I could no longer endure it.”

“What? Duke Binoke and his sons pressured Lady Freya of House Valche?”

“Yes. Believing Lady Astella’s lies, they came to her office and caused a scene. They hurled abuse, saying she had stolen me even though I was never her lover. Young Master Karin even inflicted injuries.”

“My goodness….”

“Hmph. No matter that they’re the Binoke ducal family, isn’t that going too far? How could they injure a delicate young lady?”

At the mention that Freya had been hurt, Jeros spoke in a low, angry voice. Helena also looked at her with concern.

“Are you all right, my lady? How badly were you hurt?”

“It wasn’t too serious. I’m still recovering, but I’m fine. Ra—… the Duke has been taking good care of me.”

“Is that so? That’s a relief. But to think the Duke personally treated you—how devoted of you.”

“When I was hurt, he happened to stop by for work and found me. I think he was quite shocked.”

“Of course he would be. If the Duke hadn’t come then, something far worse might have happened. You must have had a hard time too, my lady.”

Helena couldn’t suppress the anger boiling inside her. Instead of confronting the matter herself, Astella had used her family. And Duke Binoke and his sons, who rushed off believing only her words, were just as outrageous.

Of course, it was only natural to trust one’s precious daughter and sister more than outsiders—but to barge in without even checking the circumstances, spew abuse, and even cause injury?

And Karin was a knight of the Imperial Palace’s Knight Order, wasn’t he? He’d always been rather hot-tempered, but she never thought he would go that far.

This had clearly crossed the line.

“I knew Duke Binoke and his sons doted on her, but I never imagined it was to this extent….”

“It really is shocking, Sister.”

As Helena’s expression hardened, Jeros echoed her sentiment. But they weren’t the only ones stunned by this unexpected truth.

The young ladies and young lords who had been listening to the conversation among the four of them had been holding their breath under the heavy atmosphere, but they could no longer stay silent.

“D-Do you think everything Duke Bethelheim said is true?”

“With that level of detail, how could it not be? And the Duke has no reason to lie!”

“Exactly. But I’m really shocked. Isn’t what Lady Astella did just chilling? She deliberately created ‘coincidental’ situations and repeated them dozens of times.”

“And then she wrapped it all up as ‘fate.’ How shameless. Maybe she wanted to be the heroine of a fairy tale.”

Young ladies who dreamed of beautiful love could believe in fate. If you found someone you loved, it was only natural to want to share your destiny with them.

Working toward that wasn’t a bad thing. But no one did it the way Astella had.

“Didn’t the Duke say he never even received a confession? Maybe while talking about fate, what she really wanted was to be the one who got chosen?”

“And when that didn’t work, she lied and said they were lovers? My goodness….”

“Just because the Duke wouldn’t respond to her, to commit something like that. There are limits to being a nuisance.”

Everyone thought her actions had clearly gone too far. At gatherings, Astella would casually talk about her supposed relationship with Raiden, looking shy yet happy every time.

To think it had all been an act—it sent chills down their spines and made them feel betrayed.

“Duke Binoke and his sons were awful too. Especially Young Master Karin. No matter what, how could he injure her?”

“Exactly. That’s not something a knight should ever do to a lady.”

“Lady Valche must have been terrified. If it hadn’t been for Duke Bethelheim, something truly terrible might have happened.”

The criticism wasn’t aimed only at Astella. Verde, Karin, and even Duke Binoke, who had gone to confront Freya, couldn’t be overlooked.

In particular, Karin, who had actually injured her, became the main target of blame.

“So all those ‘dates’ Lady Astella claimed to have had with Duke Bethelheim were lies too, right?”

“Of course. He said they’d never even met privately.”

“Then the story about Lady Valche seducing the Duke must have been a lie as well.”

“No, isn’t it the other way around? In truth, it’s Lady Astella who was practically seducing the Duke.”

“Exactly. How absurd! She doesn’t reflect on her own actions and instead pins it all on the innocent Lady Valche.”

“She’s quite something. To think she’d been hiding such a two-faced nature.”

Just as the focus turned once more to Astella, a commotion arose near the entrance of the ballroom.

“What’s going on?”

“Someone seems to have arrived, Sister.”

“……”

Seeing the shocked reactions of the people, Freya realized the reason. Turning her gaze, she fixed her eyes on someone walking in with an indifferent expression.

Soon, Astella arrived before Freya and greeted her with a bright smile.

“I missed you, Sister Freya!”

So the person herself had appeared. The timing was almost too perfect.

Astella, who had just arrived at the banquet hall, made one wonder what kind of scene she would create.

“You must have been busy. I was worried because you didn’t reply to my letter.”

“……”

“I wanted us to come to today’s banquet together, too. What a shame.”

Seeing Astella approach and speak so casually, as if nothing had happened—after firing people in anger just a week ago—Freya couldn’t even bring herself to let out a hollow laugh.

What was this girl thinking, coming here like this? And bringing her brothers along as escort knights.

Even if the Crown Princess had sent an invitation, considering the current opinion in high society, it wouldn’t be easy to show up. The sheer brazenness of it was impressive.

‘Their glares are burning holes in me. I can practically see how she twisted them around her finger.’

Ignoring Verde and Karin, who were glaring ominously from behind Astella, Freya spoke.

“You sent me a letter? I didn’t receive anything.”

“What? That can’t be. I definitely sent one… Are you sure you didn’t forget or miss it, Sister?”

“If it truly didn’t arrive, why would I deny it?”

“No, please think carefully, Sister. You might’ve mixed it up with something else and accidentally thrown it away.”

At her tone, as if she were certain that must have happened, Freya frowned.

“My throwing away your letter? That’s impossible, Astella. I always keep your letters separately, and even if they did get mixed in, the envelopes and seals you use are distinctive, so they stand out. There’s no way I’d throw them away by mistake.”

Astella always used pink envelopes with green seals. Other young ladies didn’t normally use colored envelopes, and unless it was for something special, they usually used plain white ones, so there was no room for confusion.

Moreover, Astella was the only one who used pink envelopes with green seals.

“I-I see. I guess I was just assuming. I kept worrying because there was no reply from you, Sister.”

With nothing left to argue, Astella’s chin trembled. It was obvious she was trying, somehow, to make Freya look bad.

So she was carefully saying things she didn’t even mean.