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The Marchioness Pelsis trembled as she held her fan, as if insulted. I diligently threw in more firewood, aiming to make her feel even worse.

“Thinking about it, Lady Pelsis, since you are a noble lady, it might upset you if I mock the Marchioness,” I said, pretending to have just realized.

I looked up as if I had just come to a sudden realization.

“So, to avoid upsetting you, I’ll mock not you, but your son. Will that satisfy you now?”

“Duchess Blanchet! Are you trying to have a witty exchange with me right now?”

“Hmm? Witty? That’s quite disappointing.”

Honestly, apart from anything else, I can pride myself on this one thing: I’ve always earned people’s dislike without even lifting a finger.

‘The times I earned greater hatred were when I tried to be loved.’

Now that I’ve been trying to be loved, I use that effort instead as a skill to be hated.

“I was sincere with you. Was all the friendship we shared just a lie?”

People tend to lose their temper more easily when they are dealing with someone they hate.

“Duchess Blanchet. If you continue to mock me, I will interpret it as an insult to the Pelsis family,” she said, her voice rising.

The surrounding nobles gasped as they saw the increasingly enraged Marchioness. However, she seemed to have no energy left to care about their reactions.

“Oh, what exactly was insulting? Please tell me, and I will apologize,” I said, tilting my head while looking into the furious Marchioness’s eyes.

“Your son being a flirt… or you raising such a son? Tell me what made you so sad…”

“Shut your mouth!”

Flames shot from the blue eyes of the Marchioness Pelsis. She couldn’t contain her fury and grasped her fan as if she were about to swing it.

“You filthy commoners, lucky enough to be among nobles—!”

“…Mother,”

At that moment, a deep voice cut through the air, dividing us.

“What are you doing right now?”

The Marchioness Pelsis’s face stiffened without even turning to look toward the voice.

“…Liandro. This is…,”

Liandro was holding a bouquet of roses in his black suit. Anyone could tell he was well-prepared.

‘Ah, she’s already called her son?’

I crossed my arms, watching the two with a subdued expression.

I had a rough idea of what the Marchioness was aiming for.

~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~

Liandro kept distancing himself from his father. He even refused to attend the noble gatherings she had carefully selected.

‘It’s all that woman’s fault.’

But the Marchioness Pelsis did not despair easily.

Liandro was an excellent son who had never once gone astray. And like any noble, he had experienced romantic troubles at least once.

‘I just need to guide him well as a mother.’

Fortunately, she knew Liandro better than anyone. From a young age, he hated vulgarity.

‘Although Duchess Blanchet’s behavior seems to have changed recently…’

Still, it was just a foolish change of heart by a commoner. There was probably nothing more insubstantial.

‘If needed, I can step in myself.’

The Marchioness Pelsis had long been a prominent figure in high society, reigning regal and commanding. Helping an inexperienced, foolish commoner was no trouble at all.

‘Just shake him a little, and he’ll reveal his vulgar nature.’

He had been indulging recklessly since his Libertan days. This was a good chance not only to get her son to straighten out but also to firmly instill social order into that foolish Duchess Blanchet.

So, the Marchioness had already arranged to attend a charity event where Duchess Blanchet was also scheduled to be present.

The host was a close associate of hers, and most of the noblewomen attending were the same.

[Liandro, your mother is very sad that our relationship has suddenly become strained.

If you want to return to the way we used to be, like your mother, please attend the charity event I’ll be at today and make me happy.]

Even if their relationship had become tense, the good-hearted Liandro would move to please his mother.

‘Perfect.’

Everything was unfolding exactly as the Marchioness had planned.

However, the only unexpected thing was that Estelle, whom she had been slandering all along, was not the target she had anticipated. Liandro looked at her with cold eyes he had never shown before.

‘Why, of all times, does Liandro have to come now…!’

He grabbed the arm of the Marchioness, which was about to swing.

“Mother, I am truly disappointed,” he said.

“No, Liandro. Listen to me,” she pleaded, her face turning pale from the shock of her son’s words. She clung to him, begging.

“You’ve only misunderstood. Would I really do something like that?”

Honestly, the Marchioness had no intention of physically assaulting Duchess Blanchet in front of everyone. She simply lost her composure and reflexively raised her arm out of habit, distracted by her son’s words.

Liandro clenched his lips and asked her.

“Then what did I just see?”

“You saw Duchess Blanchet mocking you and the Pelsis family in front of me. Even if I wanted to ignore it, it was beyond tolerable,” she said, trying to reassure herself.

Inside, she felt relieved.

‘Liandro will believe me.’

Despite recent disagreements, her son had always listened well to her words. And this was the truth.

“She was just giving light advice as a social senior, and she couldn’t endure it and tried to tarnish your reputation. Do you know how painful that was for me? I know better than anyone what kind of person you are,” she said sharply.

“…”

“That’s why I couldn’t just stand by and watch. Nothing like what you misunderstood actually happened,” she continued, glancing briefly at Estelle.

Liandro looked away from his mother as if he couldn’t believe her words. He approached Estelle without her.

“I am asking Duchess Blanchet. Are the words she and the noblewomen said really true?”

“Is that so?” Estelle replied with a calm tone, her platinum hair slightly disheveled by the breeze. Her pinkish cheeks and the blue roses decorated in her hair fluttered gracefully.

She answered with a composed tone.

“Do you need a different answer here?”

“Yes. It’s very important to me,” Liandro said, his voice growing heavier with resolve.

“Please tell me, what is the truth?”

His low voice brimmed with emotion, not just about this incident but seemingly everything else. Estelle tilted her head slightly and asked.

“Well, I’m not sure what exactly you’re trying to ask.”

“You know very well what I want to ask. I just… want to know the truth,” he said desperately, gazing at her beautiful face. Only then did he begin to understand his past confusion.

‘Because I can’t give up my feelings for her.’

He didn’t want to admit that he loved the wicked Estelle, who seemed like a disguised version of his first love, Yes Ella.

Because that was wrong.

‘But Estelle was not a villainess.’

He had seen only a part of her, but he was convinced of it. Surely, there were more truths he had missed.

‘Now I truly understand her.’

Liandro confessed with deep regret.

“I’ve only just realized I was wrong. I found out why I kept regretting not being able to hold your hand.”

“Now it’s too late?”

“Yes, I know it’s a little late. I know it’s my fault, but our beginning was inevitably flawed. I regret it, but I can’t change the past. Still, I want to hold on to you.”

Her beauty, which once seemed shameless, now appeared pitiful and sorrowful. Her long, white eyelashes fluttered, piercing Liandro’s heart.

He clutched his chest, where his heart was pounding painfully beyond his control.

“So, if you tell me the real you, we will be more than anyone…”

“The real me? You mean, the person I am?”

Suddenly, Liandro felt that the Estelle he was so close to was strangely distant. Like a trace of spring that had already passed—out of reach.

Estelle picked up the scattered roses from the floor. She looked at them as if contemplating and then let out a soft, amused laugh.

“I am exactly the woman you imagine me to be.”

“So, then, you are…”

Hope and anticipation shone in Liandro’s blue eyes.

At that moment, Estelle dropped the rose as if discarding it. Her shoes stepped gracefully on the red roses.

~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~

“I am a villainess.”

Liandro’s eyes, gazing at the dirtied rose petals, grew vacant. He murmured in a hopeless voice.

“Why…?”

~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~

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!!