2
Episode 2
* * *
Belinda is the kingdom's greatest troublemaker and a celebrity who leads trends in society.
Such a famous person is always good fodder for the press.
Thanks to that, even if you only skim through third-rate gossip magazines, you could find out in detail what she did on what day of what month.
Her hobby is spending lavishly, and her specialty is attending all sorts of parties, drinking heavily, and causing a ruckus.
A born aristocrat, she doesn't even treat commoners as people, and her personality is wonderfully ruined.
The reason she can confidently strut around like this is all thanks to the Marquess's favor, who spoils her rotten.
His affection is so great that the Marquess cherishes his niece, Belinda, more than his own son.
That's right, niece.
It turns out that the Marquess is Belinda's Uncle, who adopted Belinda, who lost her parents in a carriage accident when she was young, and raised her like his own precious daughter.
'Belinda also lost her family at a young age like me.'
It was the only commonality between Belinda and me, who seemed to have nothing in common, like two sides of the same coin.
Unlike her, I didn't get along very well with my aunt's family, who took me in.
I was imagining how Belinda should treat her Uncle and what kind of person he would be.
"It's all done."
The three maids who had been clinging to me stepped back politely and bowed.
My gaze went straight to the mirror opposite me.
'Wow, I'm going to live with this face from today.'
The mirror reflected a beauty so great that it would make even a blind person's eyes pop.
When I first saw it, I thought it was a dazzling appearance like a diamond in itself, but when I dressed up properly, it shone dazzlingly, as if sprinkling a handful of sunlight on a jewel and causing a dazzling light reflection.
I was so impressed with my appearance, which elegantly pulled off even a simple and gloomy all-black dress, that I briefly forgot the seriousness of the situation.
Her impression is fierce, so she really feels like a villain, but if I'm going to possess someone, it's better to be a beauty, right?
'But still, this isn't it.'
She already looks fierce and is likely to intimidate others, but wearing a black dress made her exude the aura of a panther about to hunt.
I was about to have dinner with Belinda's family.
I wanted to leave them with the best possible impression.
"Bring me another dress. In the brightest color possible."
But the young maids, who usually moved quickly at my words, hesitated and looked at each other.
Why are they doing that?
'Could it be that Belinda's taste is for these gloomy dresses?'
As I stared anxiously, the maids, startled by my gaze, hurriedly moved.
"Y-yes, we'll prepare it right away."
Despite their uneasy reaction, the newly changed red velvet dress suited me very well.
Uncle cherishes Belinda, but I don't know what Belinda's position is in this house yet.
So this dinner was important.
I should also check the atmosphere of the house and find out about Belinda's family relationships.
"Family."
I rolled the word, which felt awkward, in my mouth and got up from my seat.
Even though only curses forged in hell come out of my mouth, how many years have I been working in society?
There are plenty of ways to gain the favor of others without saying a word.
I left the room armed with a bright smile that actively utilized Belinda's beauty.
* * *
As I walked down the quiet hallway, I felt a very familiar sense of déjà vu.
'The atmosphere is exactly the same as when I was at my aunt's house.'
The employees in the hallway shut their mouths and bowed as soon as they found me.
At first, I thought it was because they were afraid of me, but soon I realized that this was very blatant disregard.
Soon, I entered the dining hall following the servant's guidance.
There was a huge chandelier and a long banquet table that I had only seen in medieval movies, and a man with a gentle impression.
A man with dark red hair compared to Belinda, who looked very kind.
I intuitively realized that he was Schwebel Blanche, Uncle's legitimate son and Belinda's brother.
Hiding my trembling heart, I sat down on the chair that the servant pulled out for me.
A younger sister who tarnishes the family's name. Uncle openly favors me and doesn't even sanction me.
'He probably doesn't have good feelings towards me.'
I swallowed hard due to the tension.
Finally, Schwebel's black eyes turned to me.
"The dress..."
Dress? Is he going to criticize the dress?
Because the color doesn't suit me? Or is it too extravagant?
"It suits you very well, Bel."
My eyes widened at the unexpected nickname.
'Did he just call me Bel?'
Calling me by a nickname and complimenting my outfit.
Are we not as bad as I thought?
Even though Belinda's personality is terrible, she wouldn't be hostile to her brother, who seems so close.
I smiled with relief and opened my mouth.
"You little bug. When did I ever give you permission to call my name so carelessly?"
'......?'
What, what is this? Is this Belinda's way of saying thank you?
However, I seemed to be the only one embarrassed by this contextless outburst.
Schwebel, who was suddenly cursed at, and the employees lined up on one wall, all had very calm expressions.
Similar situations continued to occur after that.
Schwebel didn't give up and kept talking to me, and I had a glimmer of hope that the Belinda Translator had just gone a little crazy, so I racked my brains as much as possible to consider my answer.
But no matter what I said, my words, after going through the Belinda Translator, were too simple and clear.
"Shut up, Schwebel."
Later, I just sighed and 'shut up' came out, so I just stuffed food into my mouth without saying a word.
Belinda seemed to hate this gentle but somewhat clueless man quite a bit.
'Ah, Marquess. Please come quickly and do something about this atmosphere.'
I looked longingly at the empty seat at the head of the table and diligently blocked my mouth with steak.
Just then, an undeniable topic came up in Schwebel's mouth.
"Come to think of it, I heard you made your personal maid bloody this morning."
"Cough."
I barely swallowed the piece of meat that was about to get stuck in my throat with water.
Made the maid bloody, a scary thing for anyone to hear.
Schwebel continued in a stern tone, as if admonishing me.
"I know you have bad habits, but grabbing a maid's hair and slamming her on the floor. That's too much."
......Excuse me? Who did what to whom?
There was a very big difference between the maid misunderstanding my words and voluntarily hitting her forehead and me slamming the maid and breaking her head.
I quickly opened my mouth.
"It's not that the maid heard my words..."
Squeak.
My excuse was drowned out by the sound of Schwebel pushing his chair back.
"Bel, my sister. What are you so upset about again?"
Step by step, he walked towards me in a black suit, and strangely, the hairs on my body stood on end and I got goosebumps.
'What is it?'
It felt more like Belinda's emotions than my own.
I was about to unconsciously tighten my grip on the knife when I felt a strange sense of discomfort.
"I even laughed off your attitude of not even wearing mourning clothes today."
Schwebel, who had come closer, leaned on the table and tightly grabbed my wrist holding the knife on the table.
"Bel, it's only been a day since Father's funeral. What more do you want me to do?"
Just now... whose funeral did you say?
Schwebel leaned his upper body towards me, who was stiff with shock.
I was the only one who could see his face because he had his back to the employees.
Schwebel, with a sly smile, whispered kindly. In a very small voice that only I could hear.
"It's too boring to give up like this because Father died, Belinda. You have to struggle more."
Creepy.
In an instant, I felt disgust and fear, as if bugs were crawling on my skin.
I roughly shook off Schwebel's hand and got up from my seat.
Thump. Clang!
The wine glass was overturned by my anger as I stood up, causing the chair to fall backwards, and the knife I was holding in my hand rolled to the floor.
"Kyaa!"
"Young, Young Master!"
"Quickly, quickly stop the bleeding!"
The employees who were watching the situation from behind screamed.
It seemed that they thought I had attacked Schwebel by wielding a knife.
I was about to explain that it was a misunderstanding, but suddenly Schwebel groaned, holding his left wrist. As if he had been cut by the knife I had wielded.
His acting was so good that even I was momentarily confused as to whether what was soaking his shirt sleeve was wine or blood.
"Young Master, show me your wound. Stop the bleeding..."
"It's okay. The wound isn't deep, and it was just an accident. Rather, Bel hasn't finished her meal yet, so everyone stay in your seats. And... I want to be alone for a while, so don't let anyone into my office for the time being."
"Young Master..."
Schwebel, who pretended to be worried about me until the end and soothed the employees, smiled bitterly and left the dining hall.
"She's completely crazy. Wielding a knife at the Young Master."
"The Marquess cherished the young lady so much, but look at that bright dress, let alone mourning clothes."
"I wondered why the new maid who became the young lady's personal maid wasn't around, so that's what happened... How pitiful."
I looked at the maids who were buzzing on one side.
They were startled and shut their mouths like clams and left the dining hall.
A belated excuse came out in vain in the hall where I was left alone.
"No... I didn't know the Marquess had passed away."
The back of my head, which I was suddenly hit with, was numb.
The reason why the maids put me in a black dress was because it was a mourning period.
And it's the funeral of the Marquess, my only backer.
Moreover, my roommate, who I thought I was on good terms with, is a psychopath who likes to screw me over?
To make matters worse, there is a curse of hell on my mouth.
To sum up this situation in one word...
"I thought it was a gold spoon, but it was a gold-plated spoon."
