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Chapter 04
At Verti’s brazen attitude as she presented the options, Berti let out a scoffing laugh, as if utterly dumbfounded.
“How on earth have you been hiding such a black heart all this time? This is unbelievable…”
“I think we can only have a proper conversation once you see this first.”
Still looking suspicious, Berti accepted the letter handed to her. The moment she recognized the emblem stamped on the vivid blue envelope and seal, her expression stiffened rapidly.
“You don’t mean to say…?”
“You should check what’s inside as well.”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than Berti tore open the envelope and skimmed the letter. No matter how many times she reread it, it was unmistakably an acceptance letter from the Rosimona Academy. And not just any acceptance—an admission as the top-ranked student, a position awarded to only one freshman. Berti’s face twisted in an instant as she demanded sharply,
“You took the academy entrance exam without telling us? How dare you be so brazen!”
“And on top of that, I ranked first. I suppose I was lucky. Some people couldn’t even pass and had to hide the fact that they took the exam at all from Father.”
LeBlanc let out a small giggle. In her previous life, she had suddenly taken the academy entrance exam after accidentally witnessing Regasian being scolded by Berti for failing it. So there was no need to explain just how entertaining it was to savor the sight of Berti’s distorted expression at this very moment.
“Why would you even bring that up?!”
LeBlanc calmly rested her chin in one hand as she looked at Berti, whose face had flushed red and purple. A relaxed smile played on her lips, as though no explanation were necessary. There was only one reason Berti had tormented LeBlanc relentlessly all this time: to anyone’s eyes, LeBlanc was far more capable than Regasian in every respect.
If the children grew up as they were, it was obvious who Gate Arnetio—the head of the family who valued practicality and ability above all else—would choose as his successor. From the moment Berti realized that Regasian was inferior to LeBlanc, she had devoted herself tirelessly to making her own son the heir.
In front of her husband, she wielded her silver tongue; behind his back, she used people to make her son appear competent and talented. Thanks to that, Regasian barely managed to gain recognition for his abilities and earn Gate’s favor—something that would have been impossible without Berti’s help.
But her most frightening trait was how she constantly hurled verbal abuse and criticism at LeBlanc, making the girl doubt her own abilities. In fact, until she met Erkis, LeBlanc truly believed she was a useless, foolish child with no worth in the world.
Meanwhile, Berti was beside herself with anxiety. A top-ranked acceptance from the Rosimona Academy! It was undeniable proof of LeBlanc’s abilities.
Gate was already dissatisfied with the aging Regasian’s lack of tangible achievements. If he were to learn that LeBlanc had been admitted to the academy as the top student in such circumstances, it was obvious what his reaction would be.
“What’s your intention in showing me this?”
“If you hear me out until the end, you’ll get the idea. I said earlier that there were two choices, didn’t I?”
Still glaring at LeBlanc with a flushed face, clearly displeased by the situation, Berti listened as LeBlanc continued calmly.
“I’m thinking of getting married.”
“What? Married?”
The completely unexpected statement made Berti’s brow crease deeply. Yet the moment she heard the word “marriage,” the situation suddenly made sense to her. She assumed LeBlanc’s abrupt change in attitude was because of some man.
“It hasn’t even been that long since your engagement was broken off, and you’re already talking about marriage again? Have you no sense of shame?”
“Broken engagement?”
LeBlanc frowned slightly. After rifling through her memories, she recalled her brief engagement around that time. Since it had ended so badly, it seemed to have been completely erased from her mind.
“Ah, he was some marquis’s son, but I can’t even remember his name.”
A vague face flickered past her thoughts, but LeBlanc merely shrugged nonchalantly.
“It wasn’t a divorce, just a broken engagement. That hardly counts as a flaw in high society.”
“Do you have any idea how much your father lost face because of that broken engagement? Anyway, the fact that you’re bringing this up now means you already have someone in mind. Who is it? Which family’s son?”
“Baron Trisban.”
“What?”
Berti asked again, as if doubting her own ears, but LeBlanc met her gaze with unwavering resolve. Erkis would not be granted land and a marquisate until about five years later, after the war ended. At present, he was merely the nominal head of a family without any significant territory to his name.
Having often heard stories of his past from Erkis himself, LeBlanc could vaguely imagine just how difficult a time he was going through now.
“Erkis Trisban. That’s the man.”
“My goodness, what in the world is this… No matter what, you’re an Arnetio! How can a daughter of the great House of Arnetio marry a baron from such an insignificant family?”
“I never dreamed you actually thought of me as an Arnetio. But from your perspective, Mother, wouldn’t it be better for me to marry into some worthless family rather than become a marquis’s daughter-in-law? You tried so desperately to sabotage my previous engagement, after all.”
At her sarcastic tone, Berti’s face reddened. Not a single word she said was wrong. Gate Arnetio was the kind of man who wouldn’t hesitate to name a capable son-in-law as his successor over a disappointing biological son. Knowing that better than anyone, Berti had struggled desperately to break off LeBlanc’s engagement.
“Either way, absolutely not. Do you have any idea how your father would react if he found out? It’s horrifying, truly.”
“That’s why I told you first, Mother. Convincing Father is your role.”
Only then did Berti grasp LeBlanc’s true intention. Calling it a “choice” was generous—this was outright blackmail. LeBlanc was boldly declaring that if Berti didn’t persuade Gate to support her marriage to Baron Trisban, she would aim for the ducal succession herself. At that realization, Berti fell into deep thought.
Until now, Gate had never paid much attention to his daughter LeBlanc, but a top-ranked acceptance from the Rosimona Academy was enough to overturn everything. Moreover, the LeBlanc standing before her now felt utterly different from before. Even knowing it was pointless, Berti tried to manipulate her as she always had.
“For someone who claims it was just luck, aren’t you awfully full of yourself? One stroke of luck doesn’t prove your ability. What can you even do? All your tutors gave up on teaching you—what do you think will happen if someone like you enters the academy? You’ll only embarrass yourself!”
“Hah.”
LeBlanc let out a hollow laugh, incredulous. How could this ugly old woman be so consistent? In the past, she would have fallen for those words, doubted her own abilities, and given up everything she had struggled to obtain. But she was different now.
“Well, I wonder if others will think the same. Whether this is luck or skill, Father will find out soon enough. There’s no better place than the academy to prove one’s abilities with numbers.”
Berti bit down hard on her lip, organizing her thoughts. Realistically speaking, there was only one choice she could make.
Rather than watching LeBlanc run rampant at the academy, it was far better to marry her off to a man from an insignificant family and remove her from sight. Persuading Gate would be difficult, but it wasn’t entirely impossible.
As Berti hesitated, unable to answer right away, LeBlanc added,
“If this marriage goes through smoothly with your active support, Mother, I’ll make sure to repay you properly.”
“Repay me?”
“I’ll clearly tell Father to name Regasian as the heir. He already seems inclined that way, but who knows? If I make my position unmistakably clear, the day Regasian is appointed as the young duke might come even sooner.”
At those words, Berti’s body twitched slightly. Indeed, Gate had been lukewarm about formally acknowledging Regasian as the heir. Even after seeing LeBlanc’s passive and incompetent image, Regasian still hadn’t fully satisfied him.
Gate had delayed appointing a successor, making excuse after excuse. But as LeBlanc said, if she firmly backed Regasian as heir along with her marriage, Gate would have no excuse left and would be forced to take action.
“…I’ll think about it.”
“Take all the time you need. Father won’t be back for a few days, so just decide before then.”
Berti left without giving a clear answer, but LeBlanc’s expression remained relaxed. The answer was already as good as decided. Left alone, LeBlanc lifted her brows elegantly.
“It should be quite a sight if Regasian becomes the head of the family.”
As if delighted by the mere thought, the corners of her lips curled high. Unable to contain her emotions, she burst into laughter.
“Hahaha! Yes, with him, the House of Arnetio will surely be ruined!”
Regasian was absolutely not someone fit to become the family head. LeBlanc was certain he would destroy the Arnetio ducal house—and that was what she desired more fervently than anything else.
