Chapter 33
In the meantime, Verita had climbed the stairs and clung to Devon’s arm.
“Devon, I heard you were back, but why didn’t you send me any word? Do you know how upset I was?”
She whispered in a low voice, glancing at the half-open doors along the hallway.
Devon raised an eyebrow and briefly glanced at the ample chest pressing against his arm. Verita was a woman with sorrowful eyes full of hidden stories and a teasingly sweet voice. Yet, she was also quick to succumb to desire and self-destructive. Hadn’t she betrayed Etricia, the only person in the world who was truly on her side, just to have him?
A relationship built on layers of small and big lies could never last.
The sinful thrill of being the sworn sister of his wife had once been tempting, but now that Etricia had abandoned him, that excitement had lost its value. Instead, he found Etricia more attractive than ever.
Etricia, who had once seemed so obedient that she would bore him for a lifetime, was now deeply alluring in her transformation driven by hatred.
When he thought about how she had outwitted him, his anger flared to the top of his head, yet the thought of her eventually returning to him sent a shiver down his spine.
The way she held her head high with a bold gaze—he found it rather charming. His previous mocking remarks, calling her desirable now that she belonged to another man, had been at least partly sincere.
Recalling the bewitching Etricia at the bar, Devon looked down at Verita with a now-cold gaze.
Smack! He violently shook off her arm. The force sent Verita stumbling back against the wall, where she let out a pained gasp and clutched her shoulder.
“D-Devon, what’s wrong?”
“Stop doing foolish things and go back. Don’t play shallow tricks.”
“Devon…?”
Devon shook off Verita’s grasping hand again as if in a trance and quickly descended the stairs. Verita stood frozen, watching his retreating back with her mouth slightly open.
It felt like she had been struck in the back of the head. The affectionate man who had whispered his love to her while accompanying her on his business trip had vanished without a trace.
Verita’s face darkened as she tried to make sense of the situation.
‘Y-Yes, right now, my sister is demanding a divorce and making things hard for him. It must be psychological instability…’
But then, Etricia’s voice echoed in her ears—the chilling promise that she would take everything away. The fear that no one would remain by her side and the regret of making the wrong choice gripped her heart, making it pound anxiously.
The only person who could ease her worries now was Antra, who had always been favorable to her. Antra was her last link to Devon and her lifeline to redemption.
“Viscountess Dien! Viscountess Dien…!”
Rushing up the stairs, Verita found Antra pacing back and forth, anxiously biting her nails. She looked nervous and unstable, muttering something under her breath that Verita couldn’t quite make out. Approaching hesitantly, Verita finally spoke, unable to suppress her own anxiety.
“U-Um, Viscountess Dien, what about my banquet? There was no letter from Marchioness Wickley—”
“Shut up! How should I know about such nonsense?!”
Antra snapped, her bloodshot eyes glaring fiercely at Verita. Her gray eyebrows twitched violently as she scanned her up and down, making Verita shrink back in fear and shut her mouth.
Watching Antra seething with rage, Verita eventually wiped away her tears and left the Dien estate. Judging by the tense and hostile atmosphere, she realized her banquet invitation was as good as gone.
Left alone, Antra continued pacing for a while before suddenly collapsing into a chair as a thought struck her.
‘I’ll crush you so thoroughly at the banquet that you won’t dare utter a word, Etricia.’
No matter how much Etricia had changed, she was still the same woman who had spent four years crawling under Antra’s feet.
What could a woman with no social standing possibly achieve?
She may have let her guard down for a moment and lost a small battle of wits, but breaking a naive girl who had lived her whole life under protection was nothing to someone who had survived the high society’s psychological warfare.
Antra’s lips curled into a smirk as her eyes glowed with malice.
“Did I tie my hair too tightly?”
My head ached, though I couldn’t tell whether it was from the maid’s mistake or what had happened at breakfast.
This morning, Lilien had been chirping like a little bird, as if determined to make her outrageous claims from the previous night come true.
When Edmund and I lifted our water glasses at the same time, she clapped, declaring us soulmates. When we reached for bread at the same time, she called us kindred spirits. And when we finally couldn’t take it anymore and stood up in frustration, she exclaimed in awe about our “twin souls.”
As I glanced around at the maids struggling to hold back their laughter, Edmund gritted his teeth, storming out of the dining room—only to stop abruptly when Lilien called after him.
‘Edmund, don’t just focus on paperwork! Make sure to train, especially where it matters most…!’
‘Sister…!’
For the first time, Edmund spun around and shouted in frustration, his ears burning red with embarrassment.
Then, he shot me a sharp glare before storming out. I had no idea why he was taking it out on me, but I sighed and followed him out to clear up any misunderstandings.
At the doorway, I found Edmund standing there, his back slightly trembling as he tried to calm himself. It was clear that Cupid Lilien’s antics had been getting on his nerves.
‘Please just take it as a joke. Lady Lilien is simply fond of me, and that’s why she’s acting this way. I’ll calm her down.’
He glanced at me and roughly loosened his cravat.
‘Forget it. She was like this when we were younger too. She must have picked up something strange again, but she’ll stop after a while.’
‘Well… I suppose that’s a relief.’
I was tempted to ask why, if that were true, he had reacted so strongly, but I held back to avoid making him blush again.
As Edmund quickly ascended the stairs, he suddenly paused as if remembering something. Then, he turned to look at me with an unreadable expression.
‘I have a question.’
‘You can ask me anything, Count.’
‘Since you say so, I’ll ask without hesitation.’
Though he seemed ready to ask boldly, he hesitated before finally speaking.
‘Why, of all people…’
‘Hmm? Why what?’
He gazed at me for a moment, then, as if frustrated, ran a hand through his hair.
‘…Never mind.’
Then, without another word, he vanished, leaving me wondering. Even when I asked Lilien, she simply said she wanted the two of us to be together, which was no help at all.
Well, whatever it was, I would find out in due time.
‘Edmund must’ve had a hard time growing up with such a stubborn sister.’
He probably got dragged around by her, pretending to give in to his younger, more innocent sister, sighing deeply with that handsome face of his.
“Pfft.”
I burst into laughter as I imagined a mature young boy being pulled along by an energetic little girl.
“Ahem.”
Worried the coachman beyond the wall might hear me, I quickly straightened my face and turned toward the window.
Through the sunlit window, the noise of the plaza drifted in under the warm May sunshine. Before I knew it, the eerie image of Edmund, who had killed me in the original story, had faded away. After
spending time with the Mipedian siblings, I had come to see that he was cold-blooded to strangers but endlessly gentle to his own people.
His innocent reactions that made me want to tease him only added to that change.
‘Come to think of it, I wonder what he was trying to ask me this morning. He seems to have cooled down now.’
Tilting my head in thought, I brushed a few strands of hair off my neck and stepped down from the carriage when it stopped.
After a long walk, I arrived at the still shabby and old office of Rainbutton, the lawyer. I had come to check in on the progress of the property division case I had entrusted to her.
Climbing the stairs inside the building, I let out a deep sigh.
‘I should tell her to use the attorney fee to move offices.’
When I finally arrived at the office, I knocked politely out of courtesy and opened the door—then paused. Had I come to the wrong place? I quietly checked the worn-out sign and looked back into the
room.
Scattered documents, a woman sprawled on the sofa with both arms stretched out, glasses fallen off under her face.
It looked like a crime scene.
“Ms. Rainbutton?”
“Yikes!”
Startled by my voice, Rainbutton jumped up like she’d been struck by lightning, causing the files resting on her stomach to fall. She wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and blinked slowly. She
must’ve been really out of work lately.
“Oh, Countess, you’re here.”
“Should I come back later?”
“No, no! Right this way!”
Rainbutton hurriedly brushed the papers off the sofa and motioned for me to sit. I sat carefully on the edge of the seat and asked,
“Is the case going well? I came to hear the progress directly.”
Rainbutton picked up a file lying on the console and glanced through it as she sat down across from me, cleaning her glasses with the hem of her shirt.
“It’s progressing smoothly. There’s no major issue. Your husband had so many corrupt dealings that it’s been quite easy. Even a slight push makes everything come crumbling down. His property will be
seized soon, and an inspector will search his private office. He won’t escape the penalties, but will that be all right?”
“I can handle that much.”
Rainbutton gave a dry chuckle.
“Then I’ll proceed without hesitation.”
As I gave her a small smile to show my agreement, she rubbed her forehead and suddenly looked at me with surprise.
“Oh, right. Has the certificate confirming the will’s authenticity come out?”
“Not yet, but I got word it’ll be ready soon. It’s just a matter of time.”
“Well then, let me offer my early congratulations.”
I shrugged playfully.
“It’s not over yet.”
“Oh? Even after witnessing public opinion shift in your favor?”
Rainbutton tilted her head, then jerked her chin toward the window.
“You saw all the parked carriages on the way here, didn’t you? Some are banquet guests from different regions, but I heard they’re all busy gossiping about your husband’s family.”
I smiled faintly and lowered my gaze.
It wasn’t that big of a deal.
