Betty was very surprised to see Estelle return.
This was because her lady’s dress, which had gone to apologize to the Royem Kingdom, was in a mess. Her beautiful face was even swollen around the eyes as if she had been crying.
“Lady, did you do something strange again there?”
“Oh, really.”
Estelle blinked as if she had just realized it.
“This was caused by me swelling.”
“…What?”
“On purpose, Miryu got excited and swelled me, and I tried to pin it on her.”
For a moment, Betty couldn’t understand what Estelle was saying and blinked slowly. Then she asked cautiously.
“Did people believe what Lady said?”
That place was a gathering of many of the people close to the Royem Kingdom.
Most of them knew Miryu and thought well of her, so it was likely they didn’t believe Estelle’s slander.
“Well, I don’t know. I just told them to do as they please.”
“Really?! Then, that woman can say it was a staged act and justify herself!”
Betty, who was helping her change her dress, stopped and looked at her in shock.
“If they misunderstand that it wasn’t Lady who did it, like last time…”
“There’s no need to feel unfair about it. At least this time, it’s definitely a staged act, so it’s the truth.”
Estelle said dryly, as if talking about someone else.
“Even if the people there believe Miryu’s words and hate me more, it doesn’t matter. They already hated me, and adding this incident won’t change my reputation anyway.”
“But still…”
“But Miryu is different. She was a victim who suffered from me, wasn’t she?”
Although losing a duel greatly damaged her reputation, Miryu’s long time in high society was significant.
‘If I try to erase all of that at once, there will be backlash.’
So, other measures were needed.
“However, the scene I saw that day was very different from what people thought.”
People are visual creatures. And everyone witnessed Estelle, who was called a wicked woman, soaking her wine and crying.
And that story would spread from mouth to mouth, becoming even more intense.
“Still, most of the people at that party were close to Miryu. Do you think they took a liking to her?”
“At least, they probably found it strange.”
Betty nodded as if she had just realized something.
Estelle immediately accepted the apology from the Royem Kingdom and acted as if she was close friends with Miryu. If she suddenly claimed she had staged the incident, it wouldn’t be believed right away.
“That suspicion alone is enough.”
A small suspicion accumulating would make Miryu’s life even harder.
“Still, Lady’s method takes too long.”
Betty shook her head, clearly annoyed.
‘Lady must have her reasons, but still, I’m not over it.’
When Betty first heard about Miryu, she was so furious that she couldn’t even speak.
‘How can such a woman exist?’
Betty was very familiar with human malice. So she was not shocked by that kind of evil anymore.
But what Estelle had gone through far exceeded Betty’s imagination.
Of course, perhaps because she had suffered greatly in the past due to Miryu, Estelle tended to speak vaguely about those events.
‘Miryu asked me in detail about what I experienced in Libertan, and said it was all my fault. That I was suffering because I was full.’
‘…Is that woman crazy?’
‘It might not be entirely false. At least, in terms of environment, she was well-off, wasn’t she?’
Just as she hadn’t been able to say how her scars had formed.
‘I’ve just now realized. The person who was the most prominent in talking about me was her.’
‘Even when you met Lady?’
‘Probably, yes. Looking at the timing, it was when we were acting like friends.’
Miryu, acting as a victim who was being harassed, even though she was outside and couldn’t hear Estelle, was more malicious because of that.
‘That woman also saw Lady’s scars?’
‘Yes. I thought about her as a friend back then. Actually, I wasn’t planning to tell her on purpose, but she saw it forcibly. Back then—she said it was disgusting. But it’s strange that she was boasting about her own scars to others.’
Betty, aware of the rumors circulating in high society, was half convinced.
‘She followed Lady’s scars because she saw them and wanted to gain sympathy.’
Furthermore, judging by her history of gaining sympathy by showing that scar, her suspicion hardened into certainty.
‘She thought it would be good for faking sympathy, so she followed suit, probably?’
As someone who witnessed the scar, Betty found Miryu even more terrible.
‘Does she have no humanity at all?’
Her heart ached even more knowing that she had been misled by such a rumor about Lady, which lacked even the minimum human decency.
‘If I think about how painful this is, is Lady really okay?’
“Lady, you won’t let her get away with this, right? Or should I go and find out what that scar is and tell you?”
“Oh, by the way.”
Estelle, having changed into her dress, asked Betty.
“Did you find out about the information guild I asked about last time?”
Betty nodded firmly.
“Of course. Erich has already prepared everything, so we can go to the information guild right now. Should I get ready?”
“Can I go without John knowing?”
“Of course. Lord will be coming in the evening, so he won’t be able to track your outing.”
Estelle’s indigo eyes turned toward the ring John gave her.
‘I’m a bit worried about moving secretly.’
Still, Estelle was too afraid to tell John everything and act freely. After all, John also wouldn’t tell her everything from the start, would he?
‘Let’s focus on Miryu for now.’
To complete the perfect stage, she needed to gather some pieces.
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
The Marchioness of Pelsis finally managed to meet her son after several days.
She wanted to persuade the Marquis to bring him out many times, but she couldn’t break the stubbornness of the two men.
“Liandro, you’ve worked hard. Your father doesn’t hate you. You know that, right?”
“Isn’t it just that he wanted to guide me on the right path?”
“I’m glad you understand. You really are a good son.”
The Marquis’s grey eyes carefully examined Liandro’s face.
‘His answers are the same as always.’
The Marquis’s wife felt that Liandro seemed to have changed from the son she used to know. It was a maternal instinct.
“Your father seems to think that it’s a big flaw that you were driven out of the Palace Knights. But I think differently. Sometimes, you have to go through things in life.”
“No, it’s my fault that I tarnished the honor of the family, isn’t it?”
“Don’t be so sad. When your heart is complicated, you might make mistakes. No one at your age causes no problems.”
The Marchioness gently patted Liandro’s hand.
“Anyway, I see you’re having a hard time. Your mother has seen a few good girls. Let’s start fresh this time, okay?”
At that moment, a strange thirst flickered in Liandro’s blue eyes. He asked in a trembling voice.
“Are you telling me to get engaged again now?”
“Yes, you’re of age now, so you need to find a partner. Honestly, it’s gotten to the point where it’s not even an engagement anymore but straight to marriage. Because of that vulgar family…”
The first engagement Liandro had, with the only daughter of the Libertan ducal family, made the Marchioness shudder.
Although she had accepted it out of necessity due to the alliance of bloodlines, she couldn’t believe she was proposing her precious son to a common-born adopted daughter.
His innocent attitude toward women was probably why he was so easily hurt and couldn’t meet any woman at all.
“Now, forget about that fallen family, and find a new good match.”
“But Mother, about the stories you’ve heard in high society all this time—”
Liandro held her hand and asked.
“Are those stories all true?”
The Marchioness flinched at the tone that sounded oddly reproachful. Then she asked sharply out of anxiety.
“You’re not planning to talk about that woman now, are you?”
“…”
“I knew it. You’re still thinking about that woman.”
Estelle Libertan.
The woman who became the Duchess of Blanchet and was again brought up as a topic.
“That’s why I wanted to find you a new match! Because you keep obsessing over that woman like this!”
“Mother.”
“All because of that forced duel, which tricked you and made you stay locked in the basement. How could you not see through her?”
“I asked if there was any lie in that story.”
The Marquis’s wife, unable to contain her anger, glared at Liandro.
“I don’t know! Whether there are lies or not. How would I know? It’s not even about my child.”
“Mother. You shouldn’t say that.”
“Shouldn’t I? And you, is it okay for you to believe such rotten rumors about that woman, which are all heresy?”
The Marquis’s wife, filled with malice, finally shouted at her son.
“Liandro, wake up! That woman wasn’t even part of your life to begin with!”
Liandro stood up politely.
“I will take your answer as final. And please reject your proposal.”
The Marquis’s wife, who had finally regained her senses, called Liandro, but he left without even looking back.
‘That woman wasn’t even a part of my life, you say?’
If that was true, it wouldn’t be so hard.
‘Why are you making me see that woman?’
Liandro explored the basement of the Pelsis estate. There, he found a forbidden room he, as the heir, was not allowed to enter.
A room that wouldn’t open without the family crest.
‘Is Lady Pelsis really the family I thought she was?’
Liandro clenched his chest and fell into thought.
‘Was my attitude towards her all wrong?’
Estelle was committing evil acts in Libertan, pretending to be her biological daughter and trying to take Yestella’s place.
But now, Liandro couldn’t know what was true anymore.
‘I have to see Estelle.’
Looking back, he realized he hadn’t listened to her at all. All the tangled threads seemed to revolve around Estelle.
‘I need to hear what she has to say.’
Perhaps, Estelle wasn’t the wicked woman he had imagined.
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
I arrived at the information guild with Betty.
[Lisa’s Flower Shop.]
“It really looks like a flower shop.”
“It actually does good business, too. That’s how they don’t raise suspicion.”
Both Erich and Betty agreed that it was the best information guild, so they would get everything done efficiently.
Betty, who came along for confidentiality, stayed outside, guided by a staff member, while I went inside.
“Welcome, Lady Blanchet.”
Inside, a man with a blond head wrapped in a cloth sat. His large scar across his face was very striking.
“I am Casan from the information guild. What can I do for you?”
“I need to request two things.”
“Two things?”
“First, a new identity that’s foolproof.”
Casan’s eyes widened.
“Are you planning for yourself, Lady?”
“Not necessary to know that. Just prepare a new identity suitable for a young woman.”
“Because it could be problematic…”
I silently placed a pouch filled with money on the table. The clinking sound made Casan immediately change his attitude.
“And the second?”
“Find out about Miryu Jutti.”
Honestly, this second request was my real goal.
‘Getting a new identity is just a side job I can handle at the same time.’
I didn’t know how great this guild was, but it was better to have plenty of contingency plans just in case.
“Specifically—”
Casan nodded cautiously.
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
After finishing the meeting at the guild, Betty greeted me with a friendly smile.
“Lady, did you get everything done?”
“Yeah. It’s all settled.”
“Then I’ll bring the carriage. Please wait here a moment.”
Betty had parked the carriage far away to disguise herself, so she went to fetch it.
I fiddled with the sunflower I bought as a memento from Lisa’s Flower Shop.
‘So, is my curse finally lifted?’
Lately, I’d been so overwhelmed by Miryu that I had completely forgotten about it. I could plant a Windine Tier and wait, but honestly, I was a bit frustrated that I didn’t hear any news that the curse had been lifted yet.
‘Damn this curse!’
I vented my frustration in the solitude, complaining to the tree.
-When will that Eden Rose fully bloom?
-Oh, come on. Do flowers really bloom that easily?
-Still, I didn’t expect it to take this long. When exactly will it bloom?
-All we can do is wait…
At that moment, a brightly feathered bird flew in front of me and plucked a petal from the flower.
‘What is this bird?’
Its feathers were neatly arranged, indicating it was unusual. At that moment, the owner of the bird hurriedly called out to me.
“Sorry, my bird—”
The owner, who was apologizing, paused.
“…Princess Royem?”
“Duchess Blanchet?”
Diana, with a tense face, awkwardly greeted me.
“Hello. Duchess Blanchet. Sorry for the trouble.”
She then reached out to take away the blue bird that was sitting on my shoulder, tilting its head.
“Blue, let’s go.”
At that moment, the blue bird spat sunflower seed at Diana’s face.
Ptoo!
~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.
See you then!!
