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Chapter 32
“See? I’ve done a lot of things up until now.”
I adjusted my elbow with my arms crossed.
Rubbing my skin, smooth enough to make one sigh, seemed to somehow smooth out the sentences in my head as well.
I slightly averted my gaze downward; since I couldn’t see Raymond’s reaction, it was even easier to continue speaking.
“Not just stories that only the two of us… no, that only the Martur and Larson families know, there are really a lot more.”
“…….”
“No need to start with the Academy. Just look at the beginning of this year. By now, my image in society has completely solidified. Unless you’re a countryside noble who just moved to the capital or a minor noble who has little interest in high society, there’s no way you wouldn’t know.”
But the Duchess of Larson was in neither category.
At a gathering filled with arrogant nobles, would anyone really think that the bold ‘Evgenia,’ tossing wine, grabbing hair, and tearing dresses, would fear tarnishing the Martur name?
While I pondered, a sudden realization struck me.
“Hah, it’s absurd……”
The air in the carriage seemed a little colder.
No, it was just that my temper had flared up that much.
I unclasped my arms, swept my slightly disheveled hair back, and spat out:
“For now, I’m a young lady who just came of age, so it passes lightly, but after marriage, the other wives won’t stay silent.”
“……!”
“To think the Duchess of Larson even said that. She really must have been worried about you.”
The “other wives” she mentioned would include not only herself but also the wives in her faction.
So far, no matter how much Evgenia overturned the ballrooms, they had only given her subtle glares, and it was difficult to even mention her name openly.
Everything she had done so far could be excused as “blindness due to youthful infatuation.”
But after marriage, even the same actions could yield completely different consequences.
“It wouldn’t just be jealousy—it would be a mark of failure as a wife, unable to manage her husband properly.”
A childish young lady and an incompetent mistress were treated very differently.
What if such an incompetent mistress even reported her husband for adultery?
“That’s the fastest way to be ousted from noble society.”
This was exactly what the Duchess of Larson believed.
A huge misconception—that Evgenia Martur, raised to be revered her whole life, could never dare to do such a thing.
To me, who was already looking for a villa to spend the rest of my life after canceling the engagement, noble society was none of my concern.
I clicked my tongue loudly so Raymond could hear and continued:
“If you trust the Duchess of Larson that much, fine, let’s see what happens.”
“What? What do you mean, ‘see what happens’?”
“Watch how far I can go, and how much I can throw away.”
At that moment, the familiar scenery of the Martur estate came into view outside the carriage.
As the carriage gradually slowed and came to a full stop, I stood first, looking down at Raymond, and said:
“You still don’t get me at all, Raymond Larson.”
Raymond’s eyes widened slightly at my rough tone.
The door opened, and I grabbed the hand of the waiting coachman, stepping down one foot at a time.
Only after my feet touched the ground did Raymond, having regained his senses, hurriedly try to follow.
I blocked him and muttered a warning softly:
“I’ll make sure our engagement is null and void, and you won’t even set a foot in my funeral.”
“……Funeral?”
“The ‘Evgenia Martur’ you’ll know your whole life ends right here.”
I flicked the protruding part of his shoulder with my index finger.
Even that small action made Raymond stumble backward helplessly.
“Don’t cross that line. For your sake, and for your love.”
The slightly misaligned carriage door looked like a drawn line between Raymond and me.
I liked that so much that a small smile appeared.
Without hesitation, I turned away, waving my hand carelessly.
I didn’t know how many gatherings I would have to attend with him in the future, but I intended to resist in my own way.
How Raymond’s expression changed behind me—well, that was something I’d never know in my life.
Through Raymond, I had come to understand the Duchess of Larson’s blatant intentions, which only made me more urgent.
After letting Raymond enter the Martur estate, her plan as my in-laws was sinister: she would discipline me, and using her faction, suppress any rebellious action I took.
My father would also find it difficult to intervene in the affairs between women, so this would be something I would have to endure entirely on my own.
“I was too careless, letting my guard down every time I visited Larson’s estate to see Raymond.”
She even openly reprimanded Raymond when he tried to avoid me and forcibly tied the two of us together.
So Evgenia fully believed that the Duchess of Larson was on her side.
In the original story, too, the Duchess of Larson defended Evgenia to the very end.
But even that was all to claim the Martur estate…
“I was too naive. If she truly cared for me or Evgenia, she would have at least petitioned for mercy when I was dragged to the underground prison.”
It all made sense intellectually, but the lingering pain in my chest didn’t heal easily.
Yet I couldn’t just drown in suffering.
If the engagement dragged on any longer, I might be dragged into the wedding without a word.
“Erase the name further? No, no. I’ve already erased two letters. One more won’t change anything. Then what should I do……?”
I bit the tips of my well-kept nails.
It didn’t help at all, but I couldn’t keep my hands still out of anxiety.
What should I do, what should I do?
My engagement with Raymond was made under my own strong will, fueled by love, and the understanding of both families.
So even if I fussed about doing it for Raymond, unless both families’ opinions changed, it wouldn’t be easily undone.
Of course, the most important voice among both families was my father’s.
If he pushed strongly, the reclusive Duke Larson would have no choice but to comply.
“If that happens, the Duchess of Larson has no say anymore.”
The problem was that my father was busy suspecting the palace over the erasure of my name…
Then, a fairly good idea flashed through my wildly spinning mind.
I released the half-bitten nail and stretched out my hand to pull the cord.
When Anna arrived just in time, I smiled warmly and said:
“Anna, what about the dress I gave you the other day? Do you like it?”
“Yes, Miss! The alterations were so neat, it looks like it was custom-made from the start! And the fabric is so sturdy—I could wear it for years!”
Excited Anna eagerly listed her impressions as if she had been waiting for me to ask.
Judging by her enchanted expression, she must have been very impressed with the dress.
“Even just by looking at the design, I knew it wasn’t ordinary. Truly, the Madam’s skill is amazing.”
If I could create the perfect person, in the perfect position, with perfect coincidence, I could also find someone perfect for the plan I had in mind.
“No wonder in the original story, she was used like a master key.”
But unlike the original, in this world, I was the one using that master key.
