TFLMLD 51

Chapter 51

Splitting Rumors and That Woman Who Gets in the Way

What parent could remain calm when it came to their child?
If it had been me, I would have already slapped the offender—twice, back and forth. Family, friends, lovers… family, above all, was something you must never touch.

She probably knew that better than anyone, but even so, I couldn’t just sit by.
Even if a matter is resolved, the wound doesn’t simply vanish.

Click, clack. The sound of my heels echoed as I stepped between them, drawing every gaze at once.

“Ah, Lady Mitchell has joined us as well. I thought you were too busy to attend.”

The noble ladies looked between us, curious about the relationship between me and Lady Mitchell.

Lady Mitchell turned her head with an incredulous expression, as if to say, When did I ever say I was busy?
Ignoring her, I looked at the ladies with a serene smile.

“I heard Lady Lapizelle was far too busy trying to find a new cavalier. But I suppose that wasn’t true?”

Lady Lapizelle was Lady Mitchell’s eldest daughter.

If you know how precious your own child is, you should know how precious someone else’s is too. Where had she learned such rotten behavior? No wonder her son and daughter behaved exactly the same way.

Do you know what? If you make someone else cry, you’ll shed tears of blood yourself. That’s the way of the world.

“What? What do you mean by that…?”

From Lady Mitchell’s perspective, it must have sounded absurd. Of course it did—she had never said such words to me.

But so what?
Hadn’t she just done the exact same thing?

I covered my mouth in mock dismay, glancing at the ladies as if I’d said something inappropriate.

“Oh dear, did I happen to say something I shouldn’t have?”

With the most clueless smile in the world, I batted my eyes. Her face flushed red with fury, and she clenched her teeth so hard it was audible. She even tried speaking through clenched jaws, like a ventriloquist.

“That’s not what I meant—”

I cut her off and turned to the ladies, their eyes glittering with curiosity.

“Oh, then I’m relieved. I only thought she might not come because I heard Lady Lapizelle had asked Lord Rainey to be her cavalier, only to be turned down, and was busy trying to find another gentleman.”

Coral often shared gossip from the academy with me, and lately the debutante season was the hottest topic.

Lord Rainey was a highly sought-after bachelor, the kind of promising young man seen as an F1 contender. Lady Lapizelle had been bragging that he was her cavalier—until she was publicly humiliated not long ago.

But gossip from the academy didn’t always reach the noblewomen’s circles. So the ladies began whispering, clearly hearing this for the first time.

“My, is that true?”

Scandal was always best smothered with more scandal. That was the golden rule of society.

As whispers spread, Lady Mitchell glared daggers at me, her face blazing red. All eyes were suddenly fixed on her. Her fist trembled, as though she was restraining herself from striking me.

Meanwhile, Lady Marie quietly flashed me a discreet thumbs-up.

“I suppose none of you knew. From now on, do help Lady Lapizelle find a suitable cavalier.”

Lady Mitchell’s body shook with rage, and at last she snapped at me.

“I don’t know where you heard such ridiculous nonsense, but Lapizelle already has a cavalier. You needn’t worry.”

“Is that so? That’s odd—I heard differently… But then again, there are plenty of other young men besides Lord Rainey.”

The ladies’ expressions already showed disbelief toward Lady Mitchell’s words. Among nobles, reputation and honor were as vital as life itself.

No matter how much she tried to cover the sky with her palm, a lie would be exposed soon enough.

Lady Mitchell trembled, unable to contain her fury.

“How rude, for someone to spread such things. Whoever it is, they’re utterly shameless.”

Classic. The type who called it an affair when others did it, but romance when she did.

Against such people, there was no need for hesitation.

I widened my eyes like a startled rabbit and blinked innocently.

“Oh my, perhaps there’s some misunderstanding. You’re not just sensitive because it’s about Lady Lapizelle, are you? I only said something because I thought it might help.”

I echoed her own words back at her.

“I only said it out of concern. Truly, only concern.”

Take your own medicine, dear.

Covering my face with both hands, I let my shoulders tremble as if holding back tears. At once, the ladies patted me consolingly.

And in their midst, I smiled.

Goodbye, Lady Mitchell. Nice knowing you—let’s never meet again.

Thanks to my performance, Lady Mitchell stormed out immediately. The remaining ladies soon filled the air with gossip about Lady Lapizelle.

I slipped away quietly as they chattered, only to have Lady Marie catch up and stop me.

“Happy birthday. And…”

When our eyes met, hers shone with unshed tears.

“Thank you.”

I led Lady Marie down the corridor to a quieter place. All the way there, she kept showering me with gratitude and calling me teacher, a title I hadn’t heard in so long.

But her face still seemed somehow weary, unlike before.

Could it really be true that Lady Julia has a reason she can’t attend the debutante ball?

I recalled something about her face being injured.

Once we reached a secluded spot, I hesitated, knowing it was impolite, but asked anyway—hoping perhaps I could help.

“Will Lady Julia not be attending the debutante this year?”

As I thought, the matter weighed heavily on her. Slowly, she explained.

Years ago, during a chemistry experiment at the academy, chemicals splashed onto a student’s face. The incident was severe enough to make the imperial papers. And that student was none other than Lady Julia.

Lady Marie had scoured the world for the best healers, but no treatment had worked. The scars resisted makeup, and as long as the toxins didn’t spread further, it was considered fortunate. Hiding it with cosmetics was impossible.

Since then, Lady Julia had not only dropped out of the academy but withdrawn from society altogether.

When I’d first met Lady Marie at Moon Knight, I hadn’t known about this. Even when she helped me so much, I’d been too overwhelmed to notice. I’d simply thought of her as bright and cheerful.

I felt ashamed of myself, and sorry toward Lady Marie.

The thought that Lady Julia wouldn’t be able to attend the debutante without a cavalier left an ache in my heart.

A debutante was more than just a ball—it was the most important milestone for a young noblewoman. I knew that all too well. Calypse, too, still bore the scar of a debutante she had never been able to attend.

Lady Marie tried to laugh it off, telling me not to worry. But when she turned away, her back slumped, weighed down.

Perhaps I wouldn’t have cared if it were someone else. But because it was her—Lady Marie—I couldn’t help but care. Especially since it was my own field.

I returned alone, unsettled by thoughts of Lady Julia. After exchanging greetings here and there, I began to notice the occasional sidelong glances.

Apparently, there was no shortage of talk about me and Macaron.

From the snippets I caught, the gist was this:

That Macaron, thought to be a monster, was still so handsome he could uphold the legend of F1.
That perhaps the curse wasn’t real after all.
That his years in hiding had all been part of his plan.
That behind his stiff exterior, he was actually a romantic.

And then came this:

“Why on earth did His Highness Macaron marry that woman instead of Lady Evelyn?”

“Indeed. Everyone assumed he would marry Evelyn.”

Only then did I fully realize how close Macaron and Evelyn had been at the academy. Knowing in theory was one thing; being confronted with it was another.

Naturally, the conversation shifted to comparisons between Evelyn and me—like gossipers comparing an ex-girlfriend to the current one.

“If the Rippler family weren’t in mourning, would Evelyn have come today?”

“Would she even bother, given the tension?”

“Would Evelyn ever care about propriety like that?”

“Well, true. Remember her temper back then…”

They laughed, but their expressions showed clear distaste.

From what I gathered, opinions on Evelyn were split. Noblewomen of higher rank spoke well of her, while those of lower standing clearly despised her. It wasn’t hard to guess what Evelyn had been like at the academy.

Then, one lady—slower to catch up with gossip—perked up.

“Wait, wasn’t Evelyn once engaged to Schupen?”

I knew this well—it was a recurring point even in the original story.

“That was broken off quickly, wasn’t it?”

That, too, was true. But the reason had never been clear. Their engagement simply hadn’t mattered much to the plot.

Now, though, the ladies seemed to think the breakup had to do with Macaron.

“Could it have been because of His Highness Macaron?”

“There were plenty of rumors—that Evelyn couldn’t forget him, so she broke it off with Schupen.”

I had never thought Evelyn’s love for Macaron had run so deep. But looking back, the idea wasn’t so far-fetched.

For an engagement between noble houses to fall apart, it usually required strong opposition from one side.

“Then Schupen’s disappearance… was that related too? Was he abandoned by Evelyn?”

“Could be. The timing fits. Not long after Evelyn dumped him, he vanished.”

“If he’s still missing, his wound must’ve been pretty deep.”

If Evelyn really had cast aside Schupen because she couldn’t let go of Macaron… If even now, she still hadn’t forgotten him…

I remembered the day Evelyn clung to me at the restaurant. She hadn’t seemed to know he was Macaron back then, but surely she did now.

Perhaps it was only rumor, but these were people who had lived through those times with them. Not baseless.

Maybe I really am the impurity by his side, just as they say.

The more I heard, the more the past—before I existed—seemed glorified, and my thoughts turned bleak.

I shook my head fiercely, forcing the thoughts away, and rearranged my expression into calm composure.

One misstep from me could tarnish Macaron as well.

On such a day, under so many eyes, I couldn’t afford a single lapse.

Dealing with people was tiring, yes. But for this happiness, I could bear the weight.

Turning my head, I saw Coral glowing with excitement, surrounded by countless young men, while Kai struggled to keep them at bay.

The nobles who came to greet Macaron couldn’t hide their shock and excitement at finding him so different from the rumors.