🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 18
It was bewildering.
How could Stella possibly smile in this situation?
There was no reason for her to be happy about being alone in an isolated space with Evgenia Martur—the very woman who constantly tormented and humiliated her.
‘Don’t tell me Raymond is outside right now? That Stella somehow knows that? Impossible—but let’s say, by some “power of love,” she did figure it out…’
No, that made no sense either.
It had all happened in a split second—maybe I’d just imagined her smile.
That seemed the more realistic answer.
And yet… the moment I saw Stella smile, I couldn’t shake the feeling that everything suddenly made sense.
If my instincts were right—
“Lady Aer.”
“Y-yes, Lady Martur…”
“Lift your head and look at me.”
Stella’s trembling eyelashes fluttered slightly.
Beneath her slow, almost tortoise-like movement, her pale-pink lashes lifted to reveal those clear, blue eyes.
Her whole body trembled pitifully, but those eyes—
those glassy, jewel-like eyes—didn’t waver at all.
As if she weren’t the least bit afraid of Evgenia.
To confirm my suspicion, I needed to gamble—just a little.
I raised my right hand swiftly and high—
as if I were about to slap her across the face.
Then—
‘Ha. She’s actually smiling?’
Though Stella squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the blow, the corners of her lips twitched upward again—something she couldn’t hide.
I dropped my hand abruptly, stopping it in midair.
And I waited.
Silent and still, until she dared to open her eyes again.
When she finally did, Stella blinked, confused.
“L-Lady Martur, why did you…”
“Why what?”
“I mean… that is…”
I cut her off before she could stammer further.
“Oh, but did you change the nickname you used to use?”
“…Pardon?”
“If I recall, you used to call Raymond—no, Young Lord Larson—‘my Ray.’ Wouldn’t it be better to use your original nickname instead of the one I used? I’m sure Young Lord Larson would prefer that, too.”
“T-that’s…”
“Go and spend some happy time with my Ray. Don’t waste any more precious minutes here. Understand?”
I lightly patted the stunned Stella on the shoulder and walked out of the lounge.
Before she smiled—she’d been muttering “Ray-Ray” several times.
That was the nickname Evgenia herself had once given Raymond.
And Stella knew better than anyone that Evgenia would explode if anyone else dared to utter that name.
So why had she deliberately repeated it, as if begging me to hear it?
It couldn’t have been just to get under my skin.
There had to be something more.
And unless I figured out what that something was, I’d never escape this cursed love triangle.
My head throbbed painfully.
‘…I need to go home. Maybe some sleep will help.’
The situation was complicated enough, but the stress from two weeks of traveling with Raymond had also left me sleep-deprived.
A nap would fix that.
Once I woke up, I’d think more clearly—and maybe this incomprehensible reality would start to make sense again.
I turned away from the ballroom and headed for the mansion gates.
Raymond wasn’t a child, and Stella—his true destined partner—was with him.
He didn’t need me to say goodbye.
When I finally returned to the Martur estate—after scolding the dozing coachman—I felt my strength drain away.
Like a soaked piece of seaweed, I let Anna undress, wash, and redress me, and then I fell asleep before I could even blink.
My consciousness faded.
The world went dark.
I didn’t know how much time had passed.
Suddenly, my vision flared with white light—and a black text-filled screen appeared before my eyes.
At that instant, a choking sound burst from my throat.
The pain was so excruciating that I couldn’t even scream.
The light had vanished from the engraved Name on my collarbone—
the mark that had once been my treasure.
Now only an ugly scar remained, as grotesque as my situation itself.
Evgenia Martur, daughter of a duke, had vanished from history—
leaving behind only the disgraceful title of “The Greatest Villainess of Her Time.”
– The Baron’s Daughter Who Defied Fate, Part 1: End.
The moment I saw those words, my eyes flew open.
Shock? Confusion? What word could even describe this feeling?
“Part 1? Part 1?! You’re telling me what I remembered wasn’t the whole story?!”
I had considered the possibility that I didn’t know everything about the original novel.
But I’d only suspected I’d forgotten some minor details—
not that everything I remembered had just been Part One!
“No wonder Raymond seemed so awful. Someone like that couldn’t possibly be the male lead…”
Up to now, Raymond and Stella had acted like a couple deeply in love—no matter how many times I replayed it, it looked genuine.
But Raymond didn’t fit the mold of a typical romance protagonist at all.
Declaring he’d never touch his wife and that her family line would end with her? That was lunacy—
something no male lead should ever say.
Even being cruel to the villainess was one thing, but this?
This was just…
‘He’s garbage. Not charming—just disgusting.’
What if Raymond wasn’t the male lead after all?
What if everything I’d done so far was completely meaningless?
The more I thought about it, the more my head pounded.
And the most confusing question of all was—
“…Why did this memory suddenly come back now?”
It had been over two months since I first regained memories of the original story.
Back then, I’d at least had the excuse of shock—from the Name’s awakening.
But yesterday? All that happened was the party with Raymond and the talk with Stella.
If that was the trigger, I should’ve recalled Part 1 immediately after the Name first appeared.
Which meant something else had caused it—
something as shocking as the Name’s awakening.
‘…Could it be because the Name was erased? But still…’
If it was shock-related, the memory should’ve returned right after it was erased—right after what happened with Yulan.
That had been two weeks ago.
It wasn’t the timing, it wasn’t the stimulus—so what was it?
“…I need to see Yulan again.”
Fortunately, I had the perfect excuse to meet him.
Someone like him—who had ears everywhere—must already know my situation.
My Name was gone, and yet instead of breaking off the engagement, I’d been flaunting our relationship at every party?
He must’ve realized by now that my plans had completely gone off track.
As I lifted my head, bright morning sunlight stabbed at my eyes.
I didn’t have time to wait for nightfall.
If I moved early, Father would have no reason to suspect anything.
History could be rewritten in the morning just as well as at night.
“Anna, get ready. I need a new dress tailored.”
I couldn’t quite remember the name of Yulan’s boutique,
but I had a way to recognize it when I saw it.
As Anna came in to help me prepare, I asked casually,
“What was the name of the boutique with a white magnolia tangled in thorns on its emblem? I think there was a nice dress in their catalog.”
“A magnolia with thorns? Hmm… that would be Magnolia Atelier, I think. The emblem was elegant, but I don’t remember hearing much gossip about it. I believe it opened recently—just a couple of months ago?”
“Really? Then check for me. If that’s the one, we’ll visit around noon. Lucky for me it’s not well-known yet—I’ll get first pick.”
“Oh my, our lady’s fashion sense has grown so refined! That must mean the madame is quite talented.”
“Mhm. I’ll have to discuss her bold designs in depth when I meet her.”
Truthfully, I remembered nothing about it.
But a calculating man like Yulan wouldn’t back a talentless designer.
And with Raymond’s chances of being the real male lead plummeting,
Yulan’s odds were soaring sky-high.
‘No way the temporary male lead’s business would flop. Absolutely not.’
Feeling oddly upbeat, I climbed into the carriage.
After a long ride, we finally arrived.
“…Anna, are you sure this is the Magnolia Atelier? You didn’t get the address wrong?”
“Yes, my lady. It’s the only one in the capital. Though you do receive catalogs from every boutique here, I can’t believe you took one from a place like this! Next time, I’ll make sure to check their locations first—how dare they send such a thing to you!“
“This can’t be right…”
A shabby building.
A faint stench in the air.
Dark alleys that reeked of crime.
This was the kind of street even ordinary citizens avoided.
Could this really be Yulan’s business venture?
My confidence wavered.
Maybe it wasn’t a white magnolia at all—maybe black, or not a magnolia to begin with.
I must have been mistaken.
Just as I was about to quietly turn back—
“Um, excuse me… are you a customer?”
