♥ Chapter 4 ♥
When I glanced to the side, I saw Bellietta raising the exact same wine as mine to her lips.
She couldn’t even handle alcohol, yet she was forcing herself to drink such strong wine.
She looked foolish.
I had chosen wine because I knew Bellietta would cling to me throughout the party.
If I pretended to drink strong wine, Bellietta would definitely copy me.
She had almost no experience with alcohol.
After just a few sips, she would become dizzy and fall asleep.
Then I could have someone take her to a room.
Only then would I finally have time to organize my thoughts and understand my current situation by myself.
Just as I expected, the moment I picked up my glass, Bellietta picked up the same one.
When I tilted my glass, she tilted hers as well.
I pretended to drink, secretly holding the wine in my mouth before spitting it out several times.
As Bellietta’s wine slowly disappeared, her face gradually turned red.
Not long after…
She closed her eyes and slumped over as if she had collapsed.
Everything had gone according to plan.
I quietly looked down at the top of Bellietta’s head while she slept before lifting my chin.
I stopped a passing maid and asked her to prepare a room where Bellietta could rest.
Then I called over one of the maids from the House of Vozbon.
The moment the maid saw Bellietta, her eyes widened in shock.
She hurriedly supported Bellietta and quickly carried her away to the room that had been prepared.
I thought this would be troublesome.
But it ended much more easily than I expected.
I silently watched Bellietta being carried away while leaning weakly against the maid.
Then I turned my eyes elsewhere.
No matter what…
The important thing right now wasn’t dealing with Bellietta.
What mattered…
…was understanding the situation I was in.
First, I needed to find a proper way to keep Bellietta from constantly approaching me…
“Lady Sierra. It’s been a long time.”
A voice came from behind me.
I turned my head slightly.
A man stood there with a gentle smile.
The moment I saw him…
My perfectly healed shoulder suddenly felt as if it were aching again.
I pressed my hand against it and frowned.
“Has it been two months?”
Everything about this man filled me with disgust.
And betrayal.
Layton Vladia.
The instant I saw him, the sounds of that day echoed inside my ears like a hallucination.
His voice…
Bellietta’s laughter…
The shoulder he stabbed throbbed with phantom pain.
Even now, I could still remember the feeling of the hand that pushed me.
He was the man who had comforted me after Bellietta took my parents away from me.
The man who had held me after I was left alone.
The man who looked only at me…
Not at Bellietta, who was always beside me.
Back then…
I truly believed Layton loved me.
And I loved him just as sincerely.
But those feelings lasted only for a moment.
Everything he had shown me…
His kindness.
His consideration.
His warmth.
All of it had been nothing more than lies leading to betrayal.
“You were nothing more than a tool to win Bellietta.”
“You’ve become even more beautiful.”
Empty words.
Back then, I had fallen for compliments like that.
Now…
They sounded painfully fake.
Did I really fall for eyes as lifeless as those?
I swallowed a bitter laugh before speaking.
“It’s been a long time, Marquis Vladia.”
“Would you call me Layton, like before?”
He had always wanted me to call him by his first name.
He had slipped between Bellietta and me…
Hiding his desire behind a smile.
A filthy desire.
From the very beginning…
Layton had wanted Bellietta.
Or more accurately…
He wanted the power of the House of Vozbon.
He was an ambitious man.
Even while he was still a marquis, he often spoke about wanting the Vladia family to be elevated to the rank of duke.
That was why he paid so much attention to Bellietta.
Meeting me hadn’t changed that.
Still…
I had thought Bellietta wasn’t interested in him.
The reason was simple.
She never cared about things I didn’t have.
And she had no interest in men who weren’t whispering words of love to me.
Layton was a quick-witted man.
He must have realized almost immediately how he could win Bellietta.
If he wanted Bellietta…
He first had to go through me.
And in the end…
He got exactly what he wanted.
The precious daughter of the House of Vozbon.
Disgust rose inside me.
I tilted my glass and forced myself to swallow some wine.
Otherwise…
I felt like I was going to throw up.
After I took a sip, his eyes curved into a gentle smile.
“I didn’t know you liked wine.”
“I don’t.”
“I just happened to be holding a glass.”
“Is that so? That’s unfortunate. I was thinking about inviting you to drink some wine from my own collection.”
I looked quietly into his eyes.
Then my expression became cold.
“Together with Bellietta?”
At my direct question, surprise flashed across his face for just a moment.
His lips tightened into a straight line.
But he quickly recovered.
Putting his gentle mask back on, he smiled again.
“The one I invited was you, Lady Sierra.”
“But if you wish, I don’t mind if Lady Bellietta joins us.”
“You two are always together, aren’t you?”
How thoughtful.
To think he was even considering my friend.
A sneer formed inside my mouth.
Not that he didn’t mind.
He would probably be delighted.
He knew Bellietta would follow if he invited me.
That had been his plan from the beginning.
It was obvious.
“Thank you for your consideration, Marquis Vladia.”
“But unfortunately, Bellietta has already left the banquet hall.”
“She fell asleep after drinking wine.”
“Is that so?”
He answered calmly.
But I clearly saw his eyebrows rise for just an instant.
“Yes.”
“So I suppose drinking together with Bellietta will have to wait until another time.”
If Layton had truly been interested in me…
He would have said it didn’t matter.
That the two of us could drink together instead.
But I already knew what his answer would be.
“Is that so? That’s unfortunate.”
“Then let’s leave it for another day.”
“After all, Lady Sierra might feel uncomfortable drinking alone with me.”
Exactly.
That was the answer.
If he had really liked me…
He would have imagined drinking alone with me from the very beginning.
Yet now he was pretending to worry about my comfort.
What nonsense.
“Then please arrange another occasion, Marquis Vladia.”
“Please call me Layton, Lady Sierra.”
“You don’t have to be so formal.”
Get lost.
“I’ll call you that another time, Marquis Vladia.”
“…”
He looked slightly disappointed.
In the end, without saying anything else, he turned around and walked away.
I quietly watched his back disappear into the crowd.
I really must have terrible luck.
It hadn’t even been a full day since I returned to the past…
And I had already seen both of those disgusting people.
To think I once believed the acting of a man like him.
Just looking at the face of the man who had deceived and used someone broken by the loss of her family made me feel sick.
“Ha…”
I brushed my loose hair back and stood up.
I had only attended this banquet because it was expected of me.
There was no reason to stay any longer.
It would be better to return to my room…
Rest…
Clear my mind…
And think about what I should do next.
As I looked around with tired eyes and took a step…
A strange conversation reached my ears.
“…It’s true. They’re exactly the same, aren’t they?”
“I know… Honestly… how could they be the same again…”
“I told you the last banquet wasn’t a coincidence.”
“She definitely does it on purpose.”
“How can someone copy her own friend like that?”
“It gives me chills.”
The voices drifted into my ears.
They weren’t particularly loud.
Yet…
For some reason…
I felt they were talking about me.
I stopped walking and turned my head.
Three young noble ladies were openly whispering while looking straight at me.
The moment our eyes met…
They jumped in surprise and hurriedly looked away.
I watched them quietly.
Then I turned and walked directly toward them.
As I approached…
Their eyes widened.
They exchanged a few hurried words before shamelessly lifting their heads again.
Their confidence made me laugh.
Just moments ago…
They had been calling me nothing more than someone who copied Bellietta.
And now…
They were pretending nothing had happened.
I stopped in front of the three young ladies.
My gaze slowly moved from one face to another.
Then I calmly spoke.
“What were you saying just now?”
“Go on.”
“Say it again in front of me.”
Their eyes darted around in panic.
For a while, the three of them looked at each other, searching for an excuse.
Finally…
The green-haired young lady standing in the middle spoke first.
“We weren’t saying anything, Lady Brilloksen.”
“It was only an ordinary conversation…”
“A lie.”
I cut her off before she could finish.
The young lady’s eyes grew wide.
A faint smile appeared on my lips.
“…People who lie always look pathetic, Lady Richel.”
“When did I ever lie…?!”
“Of course…”
“I’m sure it wasn’t you.”
I smiled softly and looked at each of them in turn.
As our eyes met…
Their shoulders flinched one after another.
It was almost amusing.
They had neither confidence…
Nor courage.
Yet behind my back, they happily spread rumors.
Turning me into nothing more than Bellietta’s shadow.
Even though none of them knew the truth.
“Then whose mouth did those words come from?”
“W-Well…”
They were daughters of insignificant noble families.
If you stripped away their noble titles…
They were nothing.
Even the woman named Richel standing before me…
If she hadn’t later married a count more than fifty years old…
I probably wouldn’t even remember her name.
Besides…
It was obvious that the fabric of their dresses…
And the quality of the jewels they wore…
Were both cheap.
Of course…
For them, that was probably the best they could afford.
I slowly looked them up and down before blinking once.
A faint smile curved my lips.
“Haven’t you ever heard the saying…”
“Even in a noisy banquet hall, someone is always listening.”
“That’s why you should always be careful with your words.”
“I-It really is a misunderstanding, Lady Brilloksen!”
“I’m curious.”
“What exactly is this misunderstanding you’re talking about?”
They tightly shut their mouths.
My expression slowly turned cold.
“I’d like to know…”
“The difference between what I clearly heard…”
“And the misunderstanding you’re claiming now.”
