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Chapter 36
“You’re on guard, and you said you’d watch me till the end!”
But what kind of lady is she!!
I shouted inside my head and forced an awkward smile.
There was still the Grand Duke left.
“What did you say?”
Please, sensible Grand Duke Leandro, please believe me…!
“She said you smiled.”
Damn.
I bit my lip hard.
“Did you stop her?”
“No. It’s practically permission. His Grace the Grand Duke smiled.”
Lady Salisbury’s eyes glistened with tears.
“Not just anyone, but His Grace smiled. This is love. This is truly love.”
That’s not it. Please don’t go too far, Lady.
“I u-understand…”
There was nothing more I could do now.
I just had to accept it.
“Cluck!”
Suddenly, the sound of beans hitting the floor caught the attention of the three of us.
The culprit was Beloa.
“Woo! Awoo!”
She probably didn’t like that all attention had been on me.
“Heehee~!”
As soon as the three of us looked at her, Beloa started dancing again.
Her expression was proud and confident.
“How adorable. Miss, you dance so well!”
“Hee!”
“Well done, well done!”
“Ha!”
Lady Salisbury’s clapping grew louder and Beloa’s passionate dancing became even fiercer.
Is it really okay to just let her be like that?
“Ah.”
The maid and I exchanged a glance, thinking the same thing.
I smiled awkwardly, and the maid immediately bowed her head. Her body trembled slightly.
‘The effect of the spoils is still strong.’
What was past me thinking?
Why did I say that?
“Rose.”
Lady Salisbury called the maid while holding Beloa, who had danced passionately and was finally a bit tired.
“Take care of the lady, please. I’ll bring some milk for the young lady.”
“Milk!”
Beloa’s eyes sparkled as she tightly grabbed the lady’s clothes.
She meant to say, take me with you too.
Reading Beloa’s gaze, Lady Salisbury and I both chuckled quietly.
“Please go ahead, Lady.”
“Yes, I’ll be back soon.”
“Um, um…”
The maid grabbed Lady Salisbury’s arm urgently but spoke in such a small, faint voice it was barely audible.
The door closed.
“Ah, ah…”
The maid, flustered like a lost mermaid who’d lost her voice, quietly spoke to me.
“I’ll help you put on your dress and fix your hair, my lady.”
“Thank you.”
I smiled warmly.
Outside, I was called a villain and nuclear waste, but inside, there was no need for that, right?
‘It’s reassuring to have even one ally.’
“Ah… yes…”
But it backfired. The maid’s hands started trembling.
‘Am I really that scary?’
I swallowed my tears inside. No matter where I went, I was treated like a pushover.
And here, this kind of treatment…
It was so strange I just couldn’t get used to it.
“Um, um, um…”
Swallowing tears, the trembling maid spoke again.
“Uh…”
When I looked at her through the mirror, she bowed her head deeply but her voice kept coming.
“Could I possibly ask where you are going…? It’s not that I’m asking for no reason, but I need to know where you’re headed so I can dress you appropriately…!”
“I know.”
Her desperate efforts made me laugh. Seeing me laugh, the maid blinked slowly.
“I’m going to the temple.”
Because Beloa’s teacher is there!
“This is the place.”
I got off the carriage and took in the temple.
From children to elderly people.
Far more people were coming and going than I expected.
‘Let’s see.’
I took out a pouch and hung it visibly at my waist. Then, I got off the carriage and slowly walked through the shopping street.
Hmm.
Good thing I didn’t bring Beloa.
Honestly, until just before getting on the carriage, I was debating whether to bring her or not.
Not bringing her was a wise decision.
“Look over there.”
“Why? Who is that?”
If I had brought her, I would have had to endure all these gazes together.
‘Aren’t they being way too obvious in whispering?’
Exaggerating a bit, it felt like about a dozen new people stared at me with every step I took.
‘Ignore it, ignore.’
Pretending not to hear, I climbed the stairs to get to a certain shop.
“Is that the woman who’s said to have two-timed between Grand Duke Leandro and Lord Basel?”
“…!”
‘Safe, safe.’
I barely held onto the railing and avoided a disaster of falling down the stairs.
But what is this gossip?
“No way.”
I kept my head straight and tried to listen as carefully as possible.
“I heard yesterday in Eddy that Lord Basel and His Grace Grand Duke Leandro fought over that woman.”
“Oh my, how did they fight? With swords?”
“Of course not! They fought with wealth!”
Right, it was a wealth battle.
When I asked for gifts, Basel brought me a simple, plain hair tie, but Grand Duke Leandro handed over an entire store.
Whether by wealth, looks, or body, Leandro had an overwhelming victory.
“By the way, wasn’t Lord Basel engaged to Miss Rachel?”
A hushed voice followed.
“Oh my, so she stole her sister’s fiancé? And for fun?”
“This isn’t some animal kingdom. No shame at all.”
Idiots.
Basel was originally engaged to Ermia.
‘But even if I told them, they’d ignore it.’
What matters to them isn’t the truth but simple entertainment.
As I was about to climb the stairs, a voice stopped me.
“Now that I think about it, I heard that woman also tried to steal Miss Carrie’s fiancé.”
Me?
“I heard too. She clung to Lord Wilson so much it was painful to watch.”
Really me?
No way.
Though it was the first time I heard this, I didn’t need to recall memories.
After Basel unilaterally broke off the engagement with Ermia, she had even trouble talking to others.
“Hey.”
I called out to the man and woman chattering noisily at the bottom of the stairs.
“What were you talking about?”
“…!”
They must not have expected me to talk to them, their eyes widened.
“What were you saying… exactly?”
“Do you have a very bad memory? You can’t even remember what you just said.”
I brushed my hair back and looked down at the three of them.
“Or did you think I’d just pretend not to hear and walk away?”
Correct.
It was the latter.
As soon as I finished speaking, the people I hit with my words avoided my gaze.
“Well, what you said wasn’t exactly untrue, was it?”
One woman, who had mainly been listening, spoke quietly.
“It’s true that Miss Tekins took her sister’s fiancé, and it’s also true she approached Miss Carrie, right?”
“Miss Meria.”
A woman who looked like her companion tried to stop her, but it only seemed to fuel her fire.
“Even now, you should apologize to your sister and to Miss Carrie—”
“First.”
I didn’t want to hear any more. I cut her off immediately.
“Basel was originally my fiancé. If you want to talk about an affair, it’s between Basel and Rachel.”
Basically, you all got it wrong, kids.
“Second. I don’t know who Carrie or Wilson are. So how about you tell me?”
Leaning against the railing, I smiled.
“Or better yet, let me invite you all to the Leandro Grand Duke’s mansion. Let’s have a face-to-face meeting of the six of us.”
You, the real parties involved, and all of you gossips.
Let’s have a fun talk and spill everything.
