Chapter: 04
Seraphina, who had been wearing a pitiful expression the entire time, suddenly twisted her face in anger.
I paid no attention and continued speaking.
“I was only trying to check whether my shoelace had really come undone, so I gave it a little tug… I guess Seraphina is just so delicate that she ended up falling backward.”
I deliberately spoke loudly enough for Gregory to hear before glancing sideways at Seraphina.
“Of course, Seraphina, I’m sure you’ll understand that this was just a small mistake between friends…”
After all, we’re friends. Right?
Repeating the words Seraphina always said like a habit, I lowered my head slightly.
It was to hide the smile creeping onto my lips.
“But I still thought I should apologize. I’m truly sorry.”
“…”
Seraphina glared at me with murderous eyes.
Even now, the only thing betraying her emotions was her sharp gaze. Her expression itself remained flawlessly composed.
Is this what it takes to become the heroine loved by everyone?
Whether she liked it or not, I turned back to Countess Johansson.
“Countess Johansson, I’ll be taking my leave now.”
“But Lady Ansi…”
“I caused such a disturbance. I don’t have the shamelessness to stay and continue enjoying the picnic.”
At the same moment, Gregory and Seraphina’s faces twisted.
With just one sentence, the two of them had become the people who were “shamelessly staying at the picnic even after causing a scene.”
Serves you right.
Smirking to myself, I quietly slipped away from the picnic.
After that day…
I cut off every letter and every request to visit, shutting myself inside the townhouse.
“Miss, letters keep arriving from Lady Lopes and Young Master Gusto…”
“Oh, those? Throw them into the fireplace.”
Sitting at my desk, I answered without even raising an eyebrow.
They were probably just demanding that I apologize anyway.
The document in front of me was much more important.
That’s right.
I had decided to break off my engagement with Gregory Gusto.
Honestly, there wasn’t much for me to lose.
Gregory belonged to a count’s family, but he was the second son and had no chance of inheriting the title.
Meanwhile, I was the heir to a viscount’s family with its own territory.
To be honest, Gregory hadn’t become engaged to me because he liked me.
It was more that…
If he married me, he calculated that he could become Viscount Ansi.
His intentions had been so obvious that…
“Lari, are you really planning to marry Young Master Gusto?”
“It seems Young Master Gusto has feelings for Lady Lopes.”
…even my parents noticed and subtly tried to discourage me.
Thankfully, the engagement had only been a verbal agreement between our families, so sending a letter of annulment would settle everything neatly.
If it had been a marriage officially certified by the Imperial Family…
I’d have been stuck as Gregory’s wife with no way out.
I recalled the plot of the original novel.
The original story ignored all logic in order to shower every benefit and favor upon the heroine.
Which meant it showed absolutely no mercy to anyone who wasn’t Seraphina.
And I wasn’t the only one harmed by the heroine’s plot armor.
For example…
Lady Claudia.
One of the male leads of this world was Duke Claudius.
He had one younger sister.
That younger sister was none other than Lady Claudius—the villainess of this world and the woman who tormented Seraphina throughout the story.
The young duchess regarded Seraphina as a thorn in her side and constantly harassed her.
Meanwhile, Duke Claudius, being a reasonable man, tried to stop his sister’s bad behavior, and that was how he became involved with Seraphina.
But the story was still in its early stages.
Seraphina hadn’t even crossed paths with the Duke and his sister yet.
At this point… Lady Claudius must be in quite a difficult position.
Recently, rumors had spread throughout high society that the young duchess was unbearably arrogant.
In the original novel, Duke Claudius finally lost patience after hearing those rumors and sternly warned his sister to restore her reputation.
He even threatened to cut off her allowance if she failed.
For a woman who lived for elegance and set the trends of high society…
It had been an incredibly difficult situation.
Come to think of it… Seraphina was involved in those rumors, wasn’t she?
Of course, she hadn’t spread them openly.
She had simply used her innocent, fragile image to subtly encourage people to keep their distance from the young duchess.
She skillfully took advantage of everyone’s fear of the duchess’s cold, aloof demeanor.
In the novel, it was portrayed as a satisfying moment where the villainess got what she deserved.
But watching it unfold in reality…
It didn’t feel that way at all.
Isn’t she just… kind of awful?
After all, up to this point, the young duchess hadn’t actually done anything to Seraphina.
For some reason, she simply didn’t like her.
In fact, the one who first became hostile was Seraphina, who held a grudge because the young duchess refused to get close to her.
Which meant…
If we’re being fair, Lady Claudius is also a victim of Seraphina.
And yet, simply because Seraphina was the heroine of this world, she would continue receiving everyone’s love and admiration as she rose higher and higher.
Ugh… I hate it.
Honestly…
I wanted to see Seraphina’s perfect face crumble at least once.
I’d spent years acting like her obedient lapdog.
Surely I was allowed to wish for that much.
…In that case.
My eyes suddenly lit up.
What if I became friends with Lady Claudius?
She needed to restore her reputation.
I wanted to make Seraphina and Gregory pay.
Couldn’t we help each other out?
To the Esteemed Lady Claudius,
At the time, I had no idea…
I know a way to restore Your Ladyship’s reputation.
…what consequences that hastily scribbled letter—written in a fit of anger—would eventually bring back to me.
The next morning.
“Aah… Aaah…”
Unable to overcome the crushing regret, I buried my face in my pillow.
What on earth have I done?!
The House of Claudius.
The greatest noble family in the Empire, rivaled only by the Imperial Family itself.
The Empire’s one and only ducal house.
In truth, most nobles couldn’t even speak casually to members of the Claudius family.
That was how vast the difference in status was.
The only reason Seraphina—a baron’s daughter—had been able to maintain a rivalry with Lady Claudius…
…was because Seraphina occupied the special role of the heroine.
A low-ranking noble without even a territory normally wouldn’t dare meet Lady Claudius’s eyes.
And yet…
I, a mere daughter of a provincial viscount’s family who had spent years acting as Seraphina’s lackey…
Had actually sent Lady Claudius a letter proposing a deal!
How ridiculous my actions had been was proven well enough by the reaction of my loyal maid Amy yesterday.
“Miss… are you really planning to send this letter?”
“The recipient really is Lady Claudius… isn’t it?”
Amy had asked me several times with an anxious expression.
But blinded by my rising anger and desire for revenge, I had simply snapped,
“Of course! Make absolutely sure Lady Claudius receives that letter, understand?!”
…while practically shoving Amy out the door.
Now that I’d calmed down, the regret was overwhelming.
“Ah… This has to be a dream. It has to be.”
In romance fantasy novels, heroines traveled back in time all the time.
Couldn’t someone let me rewind just one single day?
I mean…
It was already miserable enough being reincarnated as a minor extra whose only role was to devote herself to the heroine before being discarded.
Now I had to create embarrassing black history for myself in real time too…!
“Should I just go back to my hometown? I’m my parents’ only daughter. Surely they won’t throw me out.”
Just as I was clutching my head in despair—
Knock. Knock.
A brief knock sounded at the door.
“Miss, you have a visitor.”
The maid’s voice sounded unusually troubled.
