TFLMLD 49

Chapter 49

Birthday Party and the Visit of the Half-Sister

2021.02.20

Eve gave a long speech about the ring for several minutes. After listening to her explanation, I realized just how incredible it was, and my hands trembled.

“This is… that kind of ring?”

“It suits you so well, Madam. His Highness really is such a romantic.”

And yet Macaron had handed me this extraordinary ring as though it were something he had picked up on the street, then vanished as if fleeing. The more I learned about it, the more frightening it became, but still—it was too beautiful to give up. Just like Macaron.

At last, I went downstairs with Fiesta shining on my finger. Cheerful music filled the hall. The food set out for the party gave off a tantalizing aroma, and the Empire’s finest orchestra played a soft melody that matched the flow of the evening.

I already knew how many nobles had been invited, but seeing the hall packed full made it all feel real. Exchanging polite greetings here and there, I was on my way to the chair set in the center when I heard a familiar name.

“Isn’t that Miss Rael over there?”

Rael? Could it be…?

When I turned toward the familiar name, I really did see Rael standing there.

‘Macaron couldn’t possibly have sent an invitation to the Baron Patuang family. Then how did she get here?’

But the real problem wasn’t how Rael had come.

“I heard Miss Rael’s older sister is the Crown Princess. It must be true then.”

“You mean the sister with the reputation of being a villainess…?”

The ladies surrounding Rael were mostly the daughters of powerful ducal and comital houses, women who held weight in society.

“My sister has always been a little reckless. I suppose they had to find someone who could handle her… and so, it ended up this way.”

Amazingly, Rael even dabbed at her eyes as if wiping away tears. The ladies around her seemed completely taken in by the act.

“Oh my, you must have suffered a lot, Miss Rael.”

“I worry more about my sister. After all, she married someone with such a reputation, at least according to the rumors.”

On the day I returned from that run-in with Rael at the arena, the Sword family had actually sent someone to our residence to apologize in person. Rael had even said she would be disowned, and I thought that was the end of it. And yet—after everything that happened, she still hadn’t come to her senses.

Perhaps she was acting out of spite, but it was far too reckless for that to be the only explanation. From what I had learned, after her husband’s death, Rael had been cast out of her family with no inheritance at all. The Sword family, too, had expelled her without even a letter of recommendation.

There was no benefit for her in coming here to slander her half-sister. So why would she go so far, even putting on this act?

Whatever Rael’s true intentions, they didn’t matter. Gossip like this would spread like wildfire, feeding on people’s love of the scandalous. People believe whatever they want to believe, so long as it doesn’t concern them personally.

If it were only my reputation at stake, I might have left it alone. But now, my reputation was tied to Macaron’s as well.

“Rael, what are you doing here?”

At the sound of my voice, Rael and the ladies all turned toward me. Since I hadn’t yet greeted them, the ladies looked curious about who I was.

Rael, seeing me appear at this timing, looked surprised for just a moment. But then her lips twisted into a smirk.

“I came as Duke Evelyn’s representative. The House of Reflere is currently in mourning.”

The ladies, apparently already aware of Reflere’s situation, didn’t react much to that. But they were visibly surprised at the fact that Rael was working for House Evelyn.

‘She’s with House Evelyn now?’

Normally, no household would take in a servant expelled under such disgrace—not even a poor baronial house, let alone a viscount’s. And yet, Rael had somehow been accepted into the Reflere family, one of the Empire’s most prominent duchies.

I had all but forgotten about her after our brief encounter at the restaurant, but the sudden mention of Evelyn’s name stirred a storm inside me.

Rael met my eyes, smiling with a warped expression, and stepped closer.

“Next week, Lady Evelyn—no, the head of House Evelyn herself—will be paying you a visit.”

“……”

“Lady Evelyn is on a different level than the likes of you. I don’t know what spell you cast on His Highness to make him take you in, but when Lady Evelyn arrives, you’re finished. You know how close she and His Highness were at the Academy, don’t you?”

“……”

“If you don’t want to be utterly humiliated, you’d better leave while you can.”

“……”

Rael stepped back, winked, and even patted my back as if consoling me.

“I’m only saying this because I worry for you, Sister.”

The pause was filled by chatter and music, so no one thought it strange. In a few moments, I regained my composure. The ladies, caught between Rael and me, looked uncomfortable.

After steadying myself, I painted a smile across my face.

“Thank you for coming to my birthday party. I am Calypse Crade.”

The ladies looked startled for a moment, but one of them quickly redirected the topic, lightening the mood.

“His Highness must be a very romantic man, hoho. It can’t have been easy to host such a banquet personally for his wife…”

But then, their gazes fell upon my hand.

“Oh my, isn’t that the Fiesta?”

None of them could take their eyes off the ring.

At some point, Rael had stepped up beside me and grabbed my hand.

“How do you…?”

At her words—“How do you”—everyone’s attention fixed on us. Rael stumbled over her words and quickly corrected herself.

“No, I mean, how could my sister have something like this…?”

She trembled as if I had stolen her ring away.

Ignoring her, I smiled serenely.

“Contrary to Rael’s worries, I am very much loved. So in the future, if you want to know about my affairs, please ask me directly. Even family doesn’t know everything.”

The implication that I had overheard Rael was not lost on the ladies. Their cheeks flushed slightly.

“That wasn’t what we meant…”

“Of course, I understand. You only wanted to prevent any ‘misunderstanding,’ isn’t that right?”

Though skeptical, the ladies outwardly nodded.

Rael’s attempts to undermine me in society had surely been accumulating for a long time, and it would not be easy to undo all that in one stroke. This was all I could manage for now.

Just then, a familiar presence drew near. A hand settled firmly on my shoulder.

Judging from the stiffened expressions of the ladies—and of Rael—I didn’t need to guess who it was.

I turned, and as expected, Macaron stood there. His jet-black hair gleamed like silk, and his ruby-red eyes pierced through me. His pristine white suit, clearly tailored with extra care for today, accentuated both his beauty and his regal aura.

“Your Highness?”

It seemed he had come straight here after exchanging a few greetings with the nobles.

At the mention of “Your Highness,” the ladies froze in shock. After a few awkward greetings, Macaron brushed them off and focused entirely on me, his smile dazzling as Fiesta itself.

“Forgive me for being late, my wife.”

With a charming grin, his eyes shone as he added:

“I dressed up to impress you today. Do you approve?”

Though I was used to such words from him, with an audience it made me blush. But his face was so captivating that there was no room for embarrassment.

As this was an official event, he carried himself with more gravity than usual, making him even more striking.

The ladies, who had believed him to be a “monster,” were stunned twice over—once by his sheer handsomeness, and again by the honeyed gaze he turned upon me.

And beside him, Rael looked as though she were about to burst into flames. Her expression screamed as if I had stolen her man.

Rael felt like she would go mad from the injustice of it all.

That day at the arena, she had only been flustered into defeat. The more she thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.

‘Did living under the same roof with a monster drive her insane enough to gain such courage?’

The memory of being thrown out for causing a disturbance before the Crown Princess still made her blood boil.

Life as a servant expelled without even a letter of recommendation was harsh. No household would take her, and she nearly ended up on the streets.

But then, a name had flashed in her mind.

‘Evelyn…!’

Evelyn, the treasured daughter of House Reflere, had once attended the Academy alongside her.

Known for her haughty pride, Evelyn had been completely infatuated with Macaron. On the Academy’s official “Coshative Day,” she had even presented him with flowers. After that, no other young lady dared show interest in Macaron.

“Macaron is mine.”

With that single statement, Evelyn had swept the Academy clean of rivals.

Rael, too, had once been enamored of Macaron, but she had buried those feelings. Whether or not Macaron ever returned Evelyn’s affection was unclear, but no one ever questioned the bond between them.

Then one day, Macaron had gone off to war, vanishing with the reputation of a “monster.”

Later, House Reflere had attempted to pair Evelyn with Shupen of House Knight, who was then a rising star. They seemed a perfect match—save for the fact that neither harbored any affection for the other.

Soon after, for reasons unknown, Shupen too disappeared. Evelyn immediately broke off the engagement, and despite countless proposals, she remained single.

Having watched Evelyn closely during their Academy years, Rael had a guess.

‘She still hasn’t let go of Macaron.’

Evelyn was the type who never relinquished something she had once desired. If she could not have it, she would rather destroy it. Rael could still hear her chilling words.

‘If Macaron has married another woman, it will ignite Evelyn’s fury. I once thought she was insane, but who knew it would turn out to be so useful…!’

‘If Evelyn takes an interest in this matter, I can secure a position in House Reflere… and at the same time, teach that insufferable Calypse a lesson.’

It was the perfect two birds with one stone. The thought alone made Rael grin uncontrollably as she set out to seek Evelyn.