Chapter 040
Iswen had mocked and ignored me at will, regardless of whether anyone was watching.
‘It means don’t believe that outsiders will be any different, since even your family can’t fulfill your desires.’
Even when he said that, we were alone in the room.
Even then, no one forced Iswen to crush my spirit.
Yet because what he showed me was so base and cruel, I had no doubt that all of it was Iswen’s true intention.
But if he suddenly changed his attitude, wouldn’t anyone be suspicious?
I confessed my reasonable suspicion to Apple.
“It might be a ploy to call me back to the South.”
Apple stared at me intently. It was her way of showing that she was listening carefully.
I explained to Apple why I thought this.
“This marriage was decided by our father, so Iswen might want to sell me to a different marriage.”
Aiden, the marriage partner Father had considered before Raslet, was dead. I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, but I believed Sioden.
If Princess Beatrice had ascended the throne, Aiden wouldn’t have survived.
An ambitious princess who even staged a rebellion wouldn’t have left a spark for the future.
…even if that spark were a blood relative.
In aristocratic society, those who cling to familial affection don’t survive long.
While there’s no rope as sturdy as blood ties and family names on the path to success, it’s common for people to cut the ropes they’ve been clinging to overnight if necessary.
But besides the Imperial Family, would there be another marriage Iswen would try to force me into?
My family had always wanted to extract maximum efficiency from me.
The Rowens considered their bloodline a valuable asset, demanding significant gain when exchanging me for something. They didn’t consider my shortcomings: my inability to handle internal affairs, my confinement to the house, and my lack of worldly experience.
In their eyes, I was a flawless commodity, at least when it came time to sell me.
Reaching that conclusion, I realized that Iswen would profit more than he currently does, regardless of where he passed me on.
My position in Raslet was less than that of a visitor who briefly stayed at the castle. This was due to my declining status over the past three years, repeatedly acquiring charges.
From Iswen’s perspective, he might have wanted a family where, even if not as powerful as Raslet or the Imperial Family, he could use me as a puppet and manipulate things to his heart’s content.
Apple looked serious, but she couldn’t deny my words. It was natural, as Apple didn’t trust Iswen either.
After closing the jewelry box, Apple comforted me.
“Don’t worry too much. You don’t have to answer immediately.”
Apple was right. I don’t have to worry about this right now.
[-I won’t rush you; think about it and reply.]
This was because Iswen had added this to the end of the letter.
However, seeing that I still couldn’t relax, she added reluctantly,
“…If all else fails, you can ask Lord Raslet to stop it.”
Apple said this for one reason: I was still part of a northern family. Thus, unless Sioden annulled the marriage, Iswen couldn’t take me to the South.
Sioden’s words came to mind.
“But if you don’t want to, you don’t have to go.”
He had spoken as if I had a choice.
“……I didn’t expect Sioden to say that.”
That I could stay in the North.
Strangely, though, I wasn’t that happy.
Before, I had truly hoped he would show some enthusiasm for this marriage.
Perhaps I’m still not used to his sudden change in attitude.
As I was thinking that, a knight’s voice came from outside the door.
“A visitor has arrived.”
It was an odd statement.
Even though it was still early evening, there was no one in Raslet Castle who would be considered a ‘visitor’ to me. That’s what happens when you live for years without a single proper relative.
If it were Sioden, he would have used a title like ‘Lord’ or ‘Your Grace’ instead of such a roundabout expression.
Apple rose from her seat, saying,
“I’ll go check.”
Soon, Apple returned. Her expression was grim, revealing who was waiting outside.
“Who is it?”
“Lady Rodalton.”
With just those words, I completely understood why Apple looked like that.
Rodalton is the name of the Sezna’s family.
Sezna had come to see me.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Sezna had disliked me from the start.
There was a reason for her hostility.
Sezna was a lady-in-waiting brought from the South by the former Duchess of Raslet when she married.
The former duchess passed away before Sioden came of age. Afterward, the internal affairs of Raslet Castle were handed over to Merwen under the former Lord Raslet’s direction.
By now, perceptive people would understand what the former Lord Raslet wanted. Handing over internal affairs was typically the role of the mistress of the house.
The former Lord Raslet likely intended to place Merwen in the position of his wife.
Sezna had assisted Merwen since she first held the ledger. Naturally, she believed Sioden and Merwen would marry.
‘Not only did she steal the young lady’s position, but she also revealed an illicit relationship at the wedding ceremony…’
That was the meaning behind Sezna’s words on the day of the wedding.
I only learned all this a few months after the wedding. Because the people of Raslet were reluctant to tell me much, it took time to piece together the scattered information.
The facts were obvious.
A couple who grew up like childhood friends, betrothed to each other. The entire castle adored the woman, but the man married another woman due to external pressure.
It was something that occasionally happened in aristocratic society.
I never thought it would happen to me.
Neither Sioden nor Merwen mentioned this to me. It seemed they wanted to bury the past since the marriage had already taken place.
So I couldn’t ask them about the past.
I questioned whether I had the right to bring up something the parties involved themselves avoided, and I was also at a loss as to how to act if I confirmed the truth from either of them.
It was even more difficult to bring it up when I learned about Merwen and Sioden’s past because we were getting along relatively well at the time.
Looking back, it’s funny, but in the early days of my marriage, I thought I might be able to be friends with Merwen.
We were around the same age, and most importantly, there were no Iswens or Demians in Raslet to interfere with my relationships.
The kindness Merwen showed me was her nature, but after learning that my very existence was a disaster for her, that hope was neatly folded away.
After several incidents, I ended up not being able to get along with either Merwen or Sioden.
As I distanced myself from Merwen, I naturally stopped seeing Sezna as well.
Although it had been quite a while since we last saw each other, Sezna seemed to dislike me as much as before.
I realized this as soon as I entered the small drawing room attached to the bedroom.
The hostility in Sezna’s gaze was no less intense than the day we first met, perhaps even more so.
As soon as I entered the room, she said bluntly,
“Lady Merwen has been imprisoned.”
“What?”
When I asked in confusion, not understanding her sudden statement, Sezna glared at me.
“Lady Merwen has been imprisoned for embezzling the family’s warehouse.”
I was surprised to hear this for the first time but soon became puzzled.
I didn’t understand why Sezna had come to me to say this.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know. Wasn’t it all done by the Madam?”
“Me?”
Sezna seemed surprised that I would ask back, pausing for a moment before her face crumpled. Before she could shout at me, I asked,
“How could I possibly do that?”
I know Sezna dislikes me.
People who dislike someone find even their breathing unpleasant.
But accusing me of embezzling Raslet’s assets was a completely different matter.
I couldn’t even freely leave the annex. How could I possibly be involved in the money coming in and out of the main house?
“Merwen managed the castle’s internal affairs, didn’t she?”
“It’s been a while since she stopped staying at the castle. Why are you still saying that…!”
Come to think of it, it has been quite a while since Merwen went to Ethel.
It was precisely because of this that Acel was able to capture her as a prisoner. According to what I heard, while Sioden was away, Acel invaded the border, and Ethel territory, which belonged to the border region, fell, leading to Merwen’s capture as a prisoner.
Nevertheless, I unconsciously assumed that Merwen was responsible for internal affairs because that was the last information I’d heard about it.
This is another reason why Sezna’s claim that I embezzled money is false.
How could I embezzle money when I didn’t even know whose hands the internal affairs were in?
Sezna trembled, her face contorted with anger.
“It’s not a recent incident, but embezzlement from two years ago. Isn’t it reasonable to believe that the Lady did it?”
Although I was still staying in the main house two years ago, there was a major flaw in Sezna’s statement.
If it was something ‘believable’ that I did, it means there’s no evidence that I actually did it.
It was the first time someone accused me based solely on suspicion.
In the past, the reason I was accused of things I didn’t do was because they were actually committed by someone in Rowen, and the evidence fell on me.
Until the evidence surfaced, people might have whispered behind my back, but no one had ever come to me and insisted like this.
Seeing that I couldn’t stand it anymore, I stopped Apple from trying to stop Sezna. Sezna was also close to Sioden, so it was better for Apple to stay out of it.
To send her away before Sezna said anything more rude, I spoke.
It was then that Sezna lashed out at me first.
“Didn’t you do something similar two years ago?”
sistar125
Can i buy the raws?