Chapter 3
She was Belia Winchester, the one who would later be killed by her own fiancé after committing evil deeds because she believed the Crown Prince Daimon loved me.
So the person who had been bullied by that group earlier was her.
“Are you surprised……?”
“Ah…… It’s okay, Lady Belia.”
“You know me?”
“Of course. How could I not know the person who will become the Crown Princess?”
“Ah……”
The time when I had met her in the game was always one year after the game started.
Because I was so shocked by this sudden meeting with Belia, I unknowingly stared at her blankly.
“Lady, are you okay? Because of me……”
“I’m fine, Lady.”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Perhaps she was very shocked because even after I told her I was fine, Belia’s big eyes became filled with tears as she apologized to me repeatedly.
To calm her down, I gently patted her back.
“I’m really fine.”
Perhaps surprised by my actions, Belia glanced at me and blushed shyly.
“Lady…… Earlier…… thank you so much.”
“I only helped you choose a dress.”
At my answer, Belia nodded toward me.
Looking at Belia like this reminded me of my past self, who had always been kind to the point of being frustrating.
“Lady, if that lady bothers you again, do the same thing…… No, show her something even stronger.”
“How?”
“First…… tear the dress into pieces. Then say to those ladies, ‘Something as ragged as this suits your appearance perfectly.’”
“Pardon?”
“Lastly, throw the torn dress at her face.”
Belia looked at me with wide eyes, completely shocked.
“Isn’t that too much……?”
“Yes.”
“Yes…… I understand!”
At my firm tone, Belia seemed to make up her mind about something. Then she answered with a determined voice.
Seeing Belia like that made me think about many things.
The method I had just told Belia was something she had done to me before.
The Belia I knew was an evil person.
But the current Belia was so pure and even a little timid.
Could it be that she became like that because the Crown Prince loved me one year later?
“Lady?”
Belia, whom I had forgotten while lost in thought, called my name and looked at me.
As I watched her tilt her head and look at me curiously, one thought suddenly crossed my mind.
What if Belia and Daimon fell in love with each other……?
With that thought, I smiled warmly at the girl calling me.
“Lady, I brought the dresses.”
While I was drinking tea with Belia and thinking, Madam returned with many dresses.
“Madam’s eye for fashion is truly excellent. Send all of them to the ducal residence.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
After looking through them, I picked out a dress that suited Belia.
Then I handed it to her, and she looked at me with a surprised expression.
“Lady, this is a gift.”
“Pardon?”
“Let’s become close friends from now on.”
“Yes! Lady!”
Belia looked at the dress and then at me repeatedly before hugging the dress tightly with a bright smile.
“Lady, I had so much fun today.”
“I also enjoyed today because of you.”
Just as I was about to finish and return to the ducal residence, Belia, who had been hesitating, carefully approached me and spoke while fidgeting.
“I want to repay you for the dress…… Do you have time tomorrow?”
“Of course.”
She looked at me with a nervous expression as if she was afraid I would refuse.
When I said yes, she became so happy that she looked just like a small puppy waiting for its owner’s approval.
“There is a restaurant I often go to. It’s really, really delicious!”
“Really? Then let’s go there.”
“Yes! I’d love that.”
“Then see you tomorrow, Lady.”
“Yes!”
Belia kept smiling happily until she left Le Bellang.
“Isn’t that Lady Diana Pomerne?”
“I think it is.”
“She feels…… different somehow.”
“Oh my! That dress is Le Bellang’s newest design!”
“She always wore dresses that looked like rags before……”
“Whether she wears rags or a new dress, the Duchess’s daughter is still beautiful.”
“She really looks like Duke Pomerne’s daughter.”
“How could she look so much like the Duke?”
“How wonderful would it be to wake up every morning and see a husband like the Duke and a daughter like the Lady?”
After meeting Belia at the café, I was waiting for her before moving to the restaurant.
I only wanted to drink a cup of coffee while waiting……
But I could feel the uncomfortable gazes and voices of the noble ladies who came to drink tea.
‘Well…… I am pretty.’
Diana Pomerne was a great beauty, just like the protagonist.
Clear and flawless skin.
Soft silver-white hair that shined gently.
Purple eyes that sparkled like amethyst and gave off a mysterious feeling.
Except for her small body, she looked exactly like Cairo Pomerne.
While admiring my reflection in the café window, I saw Belia walking toward me with a bright expression.
Because of her fluffy golden hair, she reminded me of a golden retriever.
Then, a group of young ladies suddenly appeared and blocked Belia’s path.
Judging from Belia’s confused and frightened expression, they were not close.
When Belia tried to leave the group, they grabbed both of her arms from the sides and prevented her from escaping.
“Isn’t that the daughter of Marquis Daker?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Sigh…… When will those ladies grow up?”
“Exactly.”
“I wonder how long Lady Winchester will keep being treated like that.”
Although I watched them from inside the café, no one stepped forward to stop the ladies or help Belia.
Everyone was afraid that helping her would cause their financial connections with the Marquis family to disappear.
“Ha…… Is there a dog barking somewhere? I hear such annoying noises.”
Unable to listen any longer, I stood up and looked down at the people whispering as if they were insignificant.
As if they had promised beforehand, everyone avoided making eye contact with me and turned their heads away nervously.
This was reality.
A reality where people naturally ignored and insulted the person being bullied.
This was the life I had experienced while living as Diana Pomerne.
“Disgusting.”
Ding.
I quietly left the café and approached the group bullying Belia.
The backs of the girls looked familiar.
They were the same young ladies I had met at Le Bellang.
“Lady, what is that in your hand?”
“No…… Please give it back.”
“Oh my, it’s a pretty hairpin with an amethyst on it. How do I look?”
The daughter of Marquis Daker placed the hairpin in her own hair and laughed proudly while pretending to look pretty.
“It looks like it suits me better than you.”
“Kyaaa!”
I quietly whispered into the ear of the Marquis’s daughter who was acting all pretty.
“Lady……?”
Belia looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“Belia. Is this my gift?”
“Yes…… yes.”
When Belia nodded, I looked silently at Lady Daker.
“I didn’t know. I’m sor…… sorry…… Kyaa!”
“It’s mine, so I’ll take it.”
I grabbed the hairpin stuck in the lady’s hair and pulled it out together with some of her hair.
“Ah…… Ahhhh! My hair……!”
Looking down at the Marquis’s daughter sitting on the ground while crying and holding her torn hair, I gave her advice.
“Lady. Now you understand, right?”
“Sniff…… Understand…… what?”
“You should not touch other people’s belongings.”
Belia was a very precious child who had to be connected with the Crown Prince instead of me.
“……”
“All of you other ladies, listen carefully.”
“Y-yes!”
“If I hear that you bully Belia again.”
“……”
“Those beautiful hairs of yours will all be pulled out, and you will have to walk around with your head covered by a cloth.”
“I…… I understand.”
The ladies turned pale.
They quickly helped the fallen Marquis’s daughter and disappeared from my sight.
“Belia, are you okay?”
“Lady……”
I looked over her carefully to see if she was injured anywhere.
Then I noticed Belia looking at me with sparkling eyes.
“Lady…… You’re amazing…… You’re like a prince!”
“Lady, I……”
“Belia! No, please call me Bel!”
“Pardon?”
“You called me Belia in a friendly way earlier……”
She looked at me with those big eyes shining brightly.
At home, people told me to call them father.
Outside, they asked me to use nicknames.
Why was everyone so obsessed with how they were addressed?
“Alright…… Bel.”
“Great! Lady, let’s go quickly!”
Belia seemed to have completely forgotten that she had just been bullied.
With her fluffy golden hair swaying, she walked ahead toward the restaurant.
“This place has delicious veal steak. This one is good too, and this one as well!”
“I’m visiting for the first time, so Bel, order whatever you think is delicious.”
As soon as we sat down, Belia excitedly recommended various dishes.
“Hmm…… Then I’ll order everything you just mentioned.”
“Yes, I’ll prepare it right away.”
After ordering, she continued telling me how delicious the food here was.
However, I couldn’t properly hear her words because something had been bothering me since earlier.
Because ever since we headed to the restaurant together, someone wearing a robe had been following behind us.
“Bel, did you bring a guard when you came outside?”
“No! Guards are uncomfortable.”
Well, if she had a guard, she probably wouldn’t have just endured being bullied earlier.
Then who were those people following behind us?
“Lady, I’ll go to the restroom for a moment.”
Using the restroom as an excuse, I stood up and walked toward where they were.
As I passed by their table, I planned to pretend to trip over the table.
The closer I got, the more I noticed them covering their faces with their robes and turning away.
“Oh, I’m sorry……”
Yes.
Everything was perfect until I bumped into the table and fell.
Until the glass sitting on top of it fell.
Crash.
The glass fell to the ground, and pieces scattered everywhere.
It was obvious that those pieces would fly toward me as well.
‘No. Not my face.’
How did I think of something like that in a dangerous situation……?
Trying to protect my face, I raised my thin arms and covered it as much as possible.
At the same time, someone suddenly pulled me into their arms and blocked the glass pieces.
Because everything happened so quickly, it felt as if time had stopped.
Only silence remained.
“Are you alright?”
At that moment, the voice of an unfamiliar man sounded beside my ear.
