USML 13

Chapter 13

“W-well, I’m not really sure…”

When I trailed off and gave an awkward smile, Juliana puffed out her cheeks and made a sulky face. She must have been disappointed—it wasn’t the answer she’d been expecting.

“Oh, honestly. Vanessa unnie isn’t interested in this, isn’t interested in that. I was happy because I finally got to see the face you always hide and never show—”

“Juliana.”

Yuria’s voice lost all inflection. When she cut her off sternly, Juliana’s face stiffened with tension.

Before the gathering, Yuria—who was strict about etiquette—had warned her to be careful with her words and actions.

“I’m sorry, Lady Vanessa.”

Juliana apologized to me, and right after that, Yuria also apologized, asking me to be understanding since she was still young and inexperienced.

“Mistakes happen.”

I accepted it with a smile, but the stiff expressions on Yuria’s and Juliana’s faces didn’t relax. Most likely, once the gathering was over, Juliana would receive a scolding from Yuria. Seeing this side of her, she really was a perfect match for Dave.

Perhaps the other young ladies thought the same, because they all looked at Juliana with sympathy. Among them, the young lady seated to Juliana’s right clapped her hands, drawing everyone’s attention. She glanced around, then whispered cautiously.

“By the way, Lady Vanessa, what happened with him?”

“With him?”

Relieved that the awkward topic had passed, I asked back brightly. Her face, cupped in both hands, flushed like a peach.

“The knight who expressed his interest in you at the riding gathering earlier. I heard everything!”

“H-ha…”

I gave an awkward laugh. What happened? They grabbed each other by the hair and started fighting, so I just abandoned them and ran away.

“Oh my…”

The young lady who had asked covered her mouth with her hand. Somehow, she interpreted my smile her own way, and soon pitying sighs spread among the ladies.

“Oh dear, I guess this one wasn’t Lady Vanessa’s match either.”

“She really is a free spirit. How many is this now?”

“What if he causes a scene, saying he’ll die if she won’t see him, like last time?”

“That’s not Lady Vanessa’s fault. Threatening someone with his life—she did well to break it off with that man.”

One of the young ladies patted the back of my hand playfully in consolation.

So their dramatic weeping had been conveniently packaged as a breakup. What’s more, they didn’t even bother to clarify, acting as if I’d truly been in a relationship with him.

He behaved as though he were a man who’d loved with the passion of a lifetime, wounded by a woman’s change of heart. That version would earn him far more sympathy and kindness from other women, after all.

Well, fine. It worked out better this way. Talk all you want. Judging by the fact that Evan had proposed to me, he clearly hadn’t heard any of these rumors yet—so if they spread them loudly enough to reach his ears, it would only make things easier for me.

“Thank you for your concern. I hope I have a real connection with the next person.”

Spread it far enough for Evan to hear. Spread it as if you were shouting into a megaphone. With that wish in mind, I smiled at them.

The moment I reached my room, I collapsed like a piece of soaked cotton. I waved off Donna when she offered to help me change and lay down on the bed.

“It’s what I wanted, but it still feels a bit unfair.”

Just as in the original story, I had become “Vanessa the flirt”—an object of admiration to some, an object of contempt to others, dismissed as frivolous.

Some wrapped me up as a progressive woman resisting aristocratic society, while others, trapped in outdated thinking, cast doubt on my character.

“I brought this on myself.”

I covered my eyes with my arm and sighed. Suddenly, yesterday’s events surfaced in my mind.

Yesterday afternoon, the Feard household had been thrown into chaos.

Without a shred of fear, Sherry snatched the proposal letter from the count’s hand, stuffed it into her mouth, and started chewing. Waving a hand at me, she spoke with garbled pronunciation.

“Don’ worr’ ’bout it, Vanessa. It’sh jus’ wrung. Wrung addresh. (Don’t worry, Vanessa. It came to the wrong place.)”

Thanks to that proposal letter, I was treated to the rare sight of a person eating paper.

But contrary to Sherry’s hopes, there was no way I could ignore it. The very air around us had frozen solid. The servants, Donna, even the butler—everyone in the hall stood stiff with shock. Donna clapped a hand over her mouth and collapsed sideways like a tragic heroine from a drama.

“Miss…”

And that wasn’t all. The count groaned and rubbed his face with both hands, while Dave froze in shock.

Honestly, I was stunned too—but how much more shocking must it have been for them? After all, I was the one who’d received the proposal of Duke Dustin, a man who had set the entire empire buzzing and become the talk of high society.

Dave might even have thought this was the perfect chance to get rid of the family’s biggest headache—one that was grinding down the family’s image.

As I watched their reactions with a sigh, Dave staggered and collapsed against the mahogany table.

Thud.

His glasses slipped off his face and slid soundlessly to the edge of the table. They seemed to be a pair he valued quite a bit, but unlike what I expected, Dave didn’t even spare them a glance.

“This can’t be happening. This can’t be real.”

Dave muttered darkly.

“Yes… that’s it.”

After standing completely still, Dave suddenly sprang upright like a roly-poly doll. For once, his gaze turned toward me.

It wasn’t the usual awkward expression he wore. After what felt like an eternity, he forced out a crushed voice through clenched teeth.

“I have to see him.”

“Pardon? See… what?”

“I need to see the bastard who says he’s going to take you.”

What he did next was shocking. Before I could even grasp the situation, I had to stop Dave, who was about to head off to the Dustin estate without so much as a word.

“Stop!”

I spread my arms and blocked Dave, then shot Sherry a pleading look.

“Unnie, please help me.”

At my desperate gaze, Sherry opened her mouth. The soggy proposal letter popped out and rolled across the table.

Bang!

Sherry slammed the table and stood up, her face resolute.

“Alright, Vanessa. Your sister’s got your back.”

She even looked like a hero about to save the world.

“Dave.”

Calling his name, Sherry charged forward boldly. Thank goodness. Even if he didn’t listen to me, surely he’d listen to Sherry. Contrary to my hopes, Sherry shoved Dave aside and started charging ahead herself.

“Move. I’m going first.”

First, my foot! Sherry had completely lost her reason to rage.

At this rate, the whole family would be ruined! I grabbed at their clothes as they tried to bolt, planting my feet firmly.

“Both of you, calm down!”

I clung to their sleeves while they lunged forward, insisting they were going to see Evan—an utterly ridiculous tableau.

From afar, I shot a look at the butler, who stood there pale and dazed.

“What are you doing? Lock the doors from outside, now!”

“M-Miss?”

The butler hesitated in panic, then quickly left the hall, heading for the front door.

I hurriedly searched for the count. When our eyes met, he flinched and moved to stop them.

“Dave, Sherry. That’s enough. You’re putting Vanessa in a difficult position.”

Fortunately, they seemed to hear him. Their movements stopped, and only then could I let go of their clothes. The count rose from his seat and led Dave and Sherry into the corridor.

Until the very last moment, Sherry stared back at me with anxious eyes, even trying to run back halfway.

“Vanessa, you’re not going to accept the proposal, right? You’ll reject it, right?”

She clasped both my hands and trapped them against her chest, her gaze blazing as she demanded an answer. When I forced myself to nod, she finally looked relieved and was dragged away by Dave, who had her by the back of the neck.

“Don’t worry, Vanessa! Your sister will protect you!”

Honestly, you’re the one I’m worried about.

I waved at Sherry with a dubious expression. As the count left, he gave Donna grave instructions: all correspondence addressed to me was to go through him first, and I was to refrain from going out for the time being.

“You heard him, Miss.”

Once they were gone, Donna approached me and whispered. For some reason, she looked a little pleased.

“Whew…”

I let out a long sigh, pulling myself out of the memory. The people who had left the mansion the day before still hadn’t returned, as if they’d vanished into thin air.

“What could be going on?”

I rolled onto my side, shifting my position.

Even lying alone on a bed large enough for three or four people, my body and mind felt unsettled.

All because of Evan Dustin—the man who had proposed to me.

“What should I do…”

News of victory spread through the empire, and Evan stood above the triumphal march of the army heading for the imperial palace. Banners bearing his crest fluttered, and trumpets blared.

Everyone welcomed them, and I was one of them. Yes, I’d thought that place was where I belonged.

If only Evan had treated it as a light fling and forgotten about me, everything would have been easier.

It was obvious that Evan didn’t know about my reputation as a flirt. That must be why he’d proposed. Thinking of how hurt he would be made my chest feel oddly heavy.

Hurting someone I once liked…

“No. Don’t get weak.”

Evan belongs with Sherry. Even if he gets hurt, it can’t be helped. It’s for his own good, too. They’re destined for each other. I nodded, rationalizing my actions.

“Still, I do have to turn down the proposal.”

My gaze drifted to the table occupying the center of the room, and a hollow laugh escaped me.

Wow, I’ve really adapted to the human world.

“Hm hm~”

The fairy was humming as he enjoyed a half-bath in the teapot. The sight of his carefree posture made me snort in disbelief.

“Your complexion looks great.”

Ever since a month ago, the fairy had pestered and begged me until I bought him a pair of specially made overalls from a famous imperial tailor. I’d already bought the overalls—should I ask him for a favor in return?

I shifted on the bed and called out to him.