SWGMBWD CH 11

“Bella!”

With a tremendous shout, the door to the room flew open.

Bella was just about to tell whoever it was that they should knock before entering someone else’s room when—

“You! Just what the hell… What did you do?!”

The little fox stormed inside, shouting furiously. Bella could do nothing but stare at her in surprise.

What’s wrong with her? Why is she acting like that?

The little fox was the type to raise her hand first whenever she was in a bad mood. And most of the reasons she got angry were utterly ridiculous.

Which, in other words, meant that Bella had never actually seen the little fox truly furious before.

But now, that sight was unfolding right before her eyes.

The little fox was trembling with rage.

Somehow, this is rather satisfying.

Bella let a faint smile creep onto her lips.

Roxy, who was standing beside her, seemed equally shocked by the scene unfolding before them. Her mouth hung open in astonishment.

The other servants who had gathered because of the sudden commotion were no different.

“You’re smiling? You’re actually smiling right now?!”

“Calm down first. Calm down, and explain what happened properly. Why are you acting like this?”

“Shut up! Do you think I’m ridiculous? Do you?!”

The little fox screamed again, shouting at the top of her lungs and making an enormous fuss.

Bella swallowed a sigh.

There was clearly no reasoning with her, but Bella couldn’t simply stand there and take it either. She had no idea what had happened, so she was about to suggest that they calmly explain the situation when—

Smack!

A sudden, burning sensation spread across one of Bella’s cheeks.

“What are you—”

She stared blankly at the little fox and touched her cheek.

It was hot.

And just as she was about to turn her head, another blow struck her opposite cheek.

A sharper, hotter pain rushed through her than before.

The second slap had come from the big fox, who had arrived behind her.

“M-Madam!”

Roxy stepped in front of Bella to stop them, but it was useless.

The fox mother and daughter, apparently furious about something, grabbed Roxy by the hair and shoved her aside.

Only then did Bella come to her senses.

“Why on earth are you doing this to me?”

She was so stunned by the sudden attack that her mind had gone blank. But the moment she saw Roxy sprawled on the floor, the blood that had been boiling through her body seemed to turn ice-cold.

“Have you two gone completely mad?!”

Unable to endure it any longer, Bella shouted.

The foxes, who had been about to kick Roxy as she lay on the floor, stopped momentarily.

Then they glared at Bella viciously.

“What? Why are we doing this? You’re asking because you really don’t know?!”

“You attacked me without even saying a word! Of course I don’t know! At least explain what’s going on!”

Bella finally raised her voice.

She sprang to her feet and glared at them. Perhaps they had not expected her to openly defy them, because the big fox’s momentum faltered slightly.

But the vicious gaze she directed at Bella still burned with anger.

Ah, speaking of eyes…

Bella glanced away from the big fox.

The little fox was clinging tightly to her mother’s side, sniffling.

What on earth is going on?

Perhaps she had cried her eyes out before coming here, because the little fox’s eyes were swollen.

And for some reason, she was dressed from head to toe in expensive ornaments and accessories. There were so many of them that, instead of looking impressive, her appearance was almost laughable.

Oh, right.

“I heard you went to meet His Grace the Duke today. Did you really go dressed like that?”

Now that things had already come this far, Bella decided to stop holding back. She asked with an openly mocking smile.

The little fox had never had much of a sense of fashion, but today was especially bad.

I suppose she’s always thought that wearing more pretty things would automatically make her prettier.

Bella clicked her tongue inwardly.

Those foxes really had no idea what it meant to have some restraint.

I wonder if she clung to the Duke and whined at him in that ridiculous outfit.

If it was Cecil, she was more than capable of doing exactly that.

Pfft.

Bella quickly covered her mouth, barely managing to suppress the laugh that almost escaped.

That ice-cold Duke must have been quite flustered.

Just imagining that icy man’s expression gradually twisting in discomfort was enough to bring Bella’s gloomy mood back to life.

“So? What did His Grace say? Did he promise to make you the Duchess?”

“I didn’t even get to meet him!”

“Huh?”

Bella’s smile abruptly disappeared at the little fox’s cry.

She stared at her with an expression that clearly asked what she meant.

Then the big fox shouted sharply from beside her.

“His Grace announced that he would no longer accept marriage proposals, so she came back empty-handed!”

“…What?”

“We stood in line since dawn! And this is what we get?!”

The Duke had said he would no longer accept marriage proposals.

As a result, the young noble ladies who had lined up since dawn had no choice but to leave while cursing furiously.

No way…

A flicker of hope rose in Bella’s heart once again, but she quickly forced herself to suppress it.

She had already been given false hope countless times.

She couldn’t let herself fall for it again.

But…

Still, she couldn’t stop the thought from resurfacing.

In that sense, whoever governed fate was truly cruel.

Bella gave a bitter smile.

But that wasn’t the problem right now.

“So, because His Grace said he wouldn’t accept any more marriage proposals, you came here to take your anger out on me?”

Bella understood why they were upset now, but she still couldn’t understand what that had to do with slapping her.

At her question, Cecil’s lips twisted.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. The rumor has already spread throughout high society!”

“Rumor? What rumor?”

“I knew this would happen! I told you, Mom! I said we should get rid of that woman quickly. I knew this would happen!”

“Stop changing the subject and tell me. What rumor?”

The little fox was once again worked into a frenzy, muttering almost incoherently.

Whatever had happened, it seemed quite serious.

Then Cecil’s reddened eyes pierced Bella with a sharp, murderous glare.

“You shameless little bitch. Everyone is whispering that the Etten Count’s daughter has caught the Duke’s attention!”

“What? What does that—”

Bella’s mind went blank for a moment.

But the big fox, who had been patting her crying daughter’s back, began snapping angrily.

“After a certain young lady visited the Duke’s residence yesterday, His Grace sent everyone else away!”

“And that’s not all! This morning, all the nobles who had sent marriage proposals to His Grace reportedly received replies rejecting them!”

“…”

“And today, he even turned away every single suitor, saying that he would no longer meet anyone!”

The foxes took turns shrieking at the top of their lungs.

But none of their words were reaching Bella anymore.

She was simply too shocked.

According to what they were saying, the Duke’s sudden actions had caused a huge commotion throughout high society.

Naturally, everyone’s greatest concern was the young lady who had apparently won the Duke’s favor.

Who on earth was the woman His Grace met last?

People were desperate to discover her identity.

On the very day the incident happened, the young noble ladies who had been present began spreading every piece of information they had.

And some of them recognized Bella’s face.

The information that the mysterious woman belonged to the “Etten Count family” quickly spread throughout society, eventually becoming a massive rumor.

“The young lady of the Etten Count family has won the battle for the Duke of Avalan’s hand in marriage!”

“What are you going to do?! Look what you’ve done to me!”

At Cecil’s furious cry, Bella could only stare at her in disbelief.

No, she felt as though she could burst out laughing at any moment.

Ironically, whenever people heard the phrase “the young lady of the Etten Count family,” they thought of Cecil first—not Bella.

Without meaning to, Cecil had become the target of suspicion and resentment among the other young noble ladies.

She had become their common enemy.

Serves her right.

Bella smiled faintly.

After all, Cecil was nothing more than one of the many young ladies who had gone there hoping to become the Duchess, only to be turned away.

“You could just tell them that the woman is me.”

“What? Are you out of your mind? If you do that…”

The big fox was about to snap back immediately, but she suddenly pressed her lips shut.

Of course.

If she tells everyone that the young lady was me instead of Cecil, all the efforts they’ve made over the past thirteen years to erase my existence will be ruined.

The title of the Etten Count’s daughter who captured the Duke’s heart carried enormous influence.

People will become curious about who she is. And once they start digging into the identity of this young lady they’ve never heard of, they might even discover what the foxes have done.

If that happened, everyone would learn that the Etten Count’s daughter who had captured the Duke’s heart was Bella, not Cecil.

And that was exactly what the big fox feared most.

This is getting quite interesting.

Bella smiled faintly.

She had never intended for things to turn out this way, but somehow, the situation had become incredibly entertaining.

Unlike the big fox, who clearly understood how serious their situation was, the little fox seemed completely unaware of the position they had been put in.

“It was you, wasn’t it? It was you who met His Grace, right?”

“Yes. I met him. Just yesterday.”

Bella admitted it without hesitation.

Cecil’s face twisted viciously.

Then she suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Bella by the neck.

“How dare you… How dare you! How dare someone like you—!”

“L-Let go of me…!”

Caught completely off guard by the sudden attack, Bella struggled desperately to free herself from Cecil’s grip.

Fortunately, Roxy intervened and managed to pull Bella away from the little fox.

“Miss Bella!”

“Ugh…”

Bella’s neck burned.

When she felt something warm trickling down, she instinctively wiped the area with the back of her hand.

There was a smear of blood.

It was obvious that the scratches from Cecil’s nails would be clearly visible on her neck.

Of course. What else would you expect from a fox…

The burning sensation was unpleasant, but even so, Bella felt more satisfaction than pain when she saw how furious the little fox had become.

“You bragged that you would bring home a husband, and yet you dared to overstep your place…”

“My place? I don’t think you’re in any position to say that to me.”

The little fox looked almost beside herself.

And Bella herself probably wasn’t thinking straight either.

After all, despite being scratched up like this, she was still in an unusually good mood.

“Who was the one who stole something that belonged to someone else in the first place?”

Bella refused to back down.

They were the ones who had taken the Etten name away from her in the first place.

Which meant she had no reason to stand there and listen to them lecture her like this.

“Shut up! Do you really think you can escape from us just because you’re acting like this? Wake up from your dream!”

The little fox snarled and once again raised her sharp nails threateningly.

At that, the servants who had been standing around helplessly finally stepped forward.

Apparently, they had decided they could no longer simply stand by and watch.

The little fox lunged at Bella while the servants rushed in to pull them apart, and before long, the entire room descended into complete chaos.

How long had it been?

“Everyone, stop!”

Amid the commotion, the big fox, who had been quietly suppressing her anger, suddenly shouted.

Bella, who had been glaring at Cecil, turned her head.

The big fox stood there with a cold expression, as though she had never been agitated at all.

She looked almost like a ghost, completely drained of color.

Bella frowned as she looked at her.

She had a very bad feeling about this.