Translator: Nox

Chapter 25

‘You need to protect the little secret in your belly. It’s your only asset, you know.’

Alicia was gnawing at her fingernails, recalling Rebecca’s words.

‘What does she know? Could it be…?’

A sense of unease crept up, but Alicia tried to shake it off.

‘No way. There’s no way she could know.’

Alicia took a deep breath.

Then, she sat in front of the vanity, examining her face from different angles.

‘My skin looks so rough.’

It was because she had been having nightmares every night since visiting the Hall of Light. Alicia never wanted to go there again.

She had thought that once she had the child, everything would be fine.

That Rebecca’s position and Zeppelin’s affection would all be hers.

But nothing was going as planned.

Rebecca still held her place, and it seemed that Zeppelin was becoming more and more obsessed with her.

Alicia grew anxious. She feared that after giving birth, she would only have the child taken away and be kicked out.

Then she would have to return to that muddy life.

She would rather die than do that.

She bit her lip.

“We will help you with your preparations.”

The maids rushed in and began to adorn Alicia.

“Wait.”

As one of the maids held up a lotion with a rose design, Alicia stopped her. She pointed to a lotion with a swan engraved on it.

“Use that one. Isn’t that what Rebecca uses?”

The maid paused for a moment at Alicia’s words.

A complex expression flickered across the maid’s face, but it was only for a fleeting moment.

The maid returned to her original expressionless face and began to apply the lotion Alicia had indicated to her face.

Alicia stared intently at her reflection in the mirror, watching herself become more and more glamorous.

Never before had she felt so unfamiliar to herself.

But she didn’t dislike it.

Alicia was tormented by the desire to abandon her original self even more.

She coldly gazed at her upswept lavender hair.

‘I wonder if blonde hair would suit me…’

* * *

Canna pushed Rebecca’s wheelchair toward the lavender garden.

Alicia and Fabiola had already arrived at the garden.

“The tea isn’t warm enough. Would you pour me another cup?”

Fabiola dumped the tea from the cup she had just been served onto the ground and held it out to Alicia.

Alicia glared sharply and refilled Fabiola’s cup.

“Ah! This time it’s too hot!”

“Is that so?”

Smack-

Alicia scoffed and slapped the maid who had brought the tea. The maid’s cheek flushed red.

Fabiola was startled and shouted at Alicia.

“You! What do you think you’re doing!”

“You kept saying the water was too hot, then too cold, and that you didn’t like the tea’s fragrance. Isn’t it the fault of the one who brought the tea and water? She deserves to be punished for serving the wrong mistress.”

“How can you do such a wicked thing with a precious seed in your belly! As expected, a commoner’s actions are as base as their origins.”

Fabiola jumped up from her seat.

Alicia, not to be outdone, raised her chin.

“Yes. Then how noble is your lineage that you can’t even receive a proper greeting from your precious son? You haven’t changed at all, have you?”

From the time she was Rebecca’s maid, Alicia had watched Fabiola’s misdeeds.

So she knew that no matter what she did to Fabiola, Zeppelin would not take Fabiola’s side.

Rebecca watched the situation with amusement for a moment. It was the first time she had seen Fabiola being taken advantage of by someone other than Zeppelin.

But as the argument seemed to be dragging on, she decided to intervene.

“Mother, how have you been?”

At the elegant voice, Fabiola and Alicia turned their heads.

Fabiola scrutinized every single one of Rebecca’s eyelashes.

Her eyes searched for any wrinkles that might have appeared on Rebecca’s fair face.

And Alicia silently glared at the luxurious wheelchair Rebecca was sitting in.

Having finished her examination, Fabiola spread her arms wide with a radiant smile.

“Oh, Rebecca, so it’s true that you were injured.”

“Yes. But it’s alright. It’s not a serious injury. By the way, what’s going on? You were raising your voices earlier.”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I’m just teaching some manners.”

“Is that so? Alicia, you shouldn’t treat Mother carelessly. After all, she is our husband’s mother.”

Rebecca pretended to take Fabiola’s side.

Alicia glared at Rebecca for a moment before plopping back down into her seat.

Fabiola glanced at Rebecca’s wheelchair with curious eyes.

“That’s a type of wheelchair I’ve never seen before. It’s quite beautiful. Where did you get it?”

“He gave it to me. Zeppelin is the type of person who can’t stand anything that isn’t beautiful.”

Fabiola flinched slightly at those words.

Her deceased husband suddenly flashed through her mind. The corners of her lips stiffened.

Zeppelin hated his father intensely, but he also resembled him in many ways.

Fabiola recomposed herself and smiled. Then she asked Alicia,

“Yes. By the way, Alicia, are you studying etiquette? There’s quite a lot to learn if you want to go out into society. You can’t go around tarnishing our son’s name.”

Rebecca paused and looked at Fabiola.

Normally, it would be her turn to nitpick and argue over even Rebecca’s smallest words.

But today, Fabiola was acting as if she didn’t particularly care about her.

‘Ah, her target has changed.’

Rebecca stared silently at Fabiola’s gaze, which was fixed on Alicia’s belly.

She had come today to confirm.

Whether Zeppelin’s love was leaning more towards Rebecca or Alicia.

If Zeppelin was paying more attention to Alicia, she intended to crush her spirit.

So that she wouldn’t dare advise her son to abandon her, she would grind her down.

‘No matter how much my son loves you, would he abandon his own parents? Rebecca, I have many friends. If I just leak a bad reputation to them, you’ll be ostracized from society in an instant. Would my son, who values appearances, leave you alone? So don’t try any funny business. Don’t underestimate me.’

Rebecca recalled the words she had said to her in the past and glared at Fabiola’s sharp tongue, which she was relentlessly wielding at Alicia.

‘Oh my, the cake fell on the floor. I baked it myself, how could you drop it like that. Treating your elders like this, Rebecca, you really have no manners. What are you doing? Lick it up.’

And she looked at her elegant blonde hair, which she had passed on to Zeppelin.

Her watery blue eyes were constantly darting around, scheming about how to torment Alicia even more.

But Alicia was not an easy opponent.

“I’ll take care of my own etiquette, so don’t interfere. Shouldn’t you be taking care of your own etiquette, Mother? I heard that the parties you throw every night are quite scandalous. Even a commoner like me has heard about it.”

“Sca, scandalous?”

“Yes. I heard that only young men are invited? And only poor and beautiful noble youths. I wonder what you do behind those elegant doors? I can imagine what you do while waving around bundles of money. Please invite me sometime. I think it would be a perfect party for a commoner like me.”

“You, you!”

Fabiola’s hands trembled.

Rebecca took a sip of her tea, trying to suppress her laughter.

‘This taste is…’

There was a slightly unusual scent at the end of the tea. It was a bitter and exotic scent.

Rebecca stiffened her face when she noticed Fabiola subtly glancing at her as she drank her tea.

Fabiola calmed her anger and put a smile back on her face.

“I’ll let it go just this once. There’s no point in making each other’s faces red on such a nice day. Alicia, you should have a sip too.”

At Fabiola’s words, the maid poured tea into Alicia’s cup.

It seemed that she hadn’t even wet her lips yet because of all the torment Fabiola had put her through.

Seeing Alicia reach for the teacup, Rebecca urgently pulled on the tablecloth.

“Eek!”

The hot tea spilled directly onto Alicia’s dress. Alicia clutched her reddened hand, as if she had burned herself.

“Oh my! Alicia, I’m so sorry!”

“Rebecca! Did you do that on purpose?!”

“Why would I do such a thing? By the way, burns can leave scars for a long time. You should go quickly.”

Alicia turned pale at the word ‘scar.’ Then, she quickly left the scene with her maid.

After Alicia disappeared into the mansion, Fabiola looked at Rebecca suspiciously.

Then Rebecca smiled awkwardly and said,

“It’s just as you expected.”

“What did you expect?”

“I spilled the tea because Alicia was annoying.”

Fabiola’s eyes widened.

“Are, are you saying you were jealous just now?”

Rebecca sighed deeply and fluttered her eyes pitifully.

“Haa. That’s right. Alicia is prettier than me, and she even has a child. What am I going to do if Zeppelin loves Alicia more?”

Fabiola was dumbfounded.

Even when she used all sorts of tricks to torment her, Rebecca was a child who only suffered without ever revealing her emotions.

She always nodded her head like a fragile rose. That made Fabiola even more angry.

She found Rebecca’s actions, which made her look like a wicked mother-in-law, disgusting.

Fabiola thought that Zeppelin had been deceived by Rebecca’s pretentious eyes and had kicked her out.

Otherwise, there was no reason for her beloved son to treat her like this.

Unlike her violent husband, she prided herself on raising Zeppelin with love.

But Rebecca was now throwing away that pretentious mask and spewing out jealousy.

Pouring hot tea on her rival, Fabiola couldn’t believe it even when she saw it with her own eyes.

‘Could she be plotting something?’

Fabiola briefly suspected Rebecca’s intentions.

But she soon dismissed even the slightest suspicion when she saw Rebecca’s eyes filling with tears.

‘Well, she’s a woman after all, so she can’t help but be angry that her husband brought in another woman.’

For the first time, Fabiola felt sorry for Rebecca.

Jakim had also had many mistresses, but he had never officially taken a second wife.

‘When I think about it, she has a more miserable life than me.’

And compassion welled up in Fabiola.

Fabiola liked that feeling and affectionately took Rebecca’s hand.