Chapter 34
~Chapter 34~
“But Uncle, you knew, didn’t you? That I trusted you. That you were the only one I could rely on!”
He knew. And yet, he had betrayed that desperate trust in the cruelest, most mocking way possible.
“And now you speak as if you’re someone who truly values trust? It’s truly ridiculous. If you hurt others so easily, you should be prepared to get hurt yourself.”
“So you’re saying you’ll ruin Bella’s engagement now?”
“I never said that. But Uncle, from now on, you won’t be able to predict a single thing about me. I won’t move the way you expect anymore.”
Harriet hoped he would grow endlessly anxious, suspecting her every move, until he finally crumbled completely.
But she would bid him farewell with grace. She would never let a man like that see her break.
“Take care on your way back. May the Lord’s blessings be with the Listerwell family.”
With a light nod, Harriet stomped hard on the carriage floor. The coachman caught the signal and urged the horses forward, pulling away and leaving John’s Listerwell carriage behind.
“Damn it!”
John glared at the receding back of the carriage, grinding his teeth.
He had thought he could intimidate her a little and lure her back to Perillas easily with sweet words like before. He hadn’t anticipated that Harriet would strike back so sharply.
It had been a flawed plan from the start, but rather than admit it, John seethed that Harriet had changed too much and returned home in a foul mood.
“I’m back.”
The moment she arrived at the mansion, Harriet went to find Trisha.
Normally, Trisha would have simply said, “Alright, go and rest,” but this time, she beckoned Harriet closer.
“John was just here a little while ago.”
“Ah… I must have run into him on the way back.”
“What? You met him?”
“Yes. He said that if I spread rumors about Bella, he’d somehow drive me out of Genoa.”
It had been over an hour since John left, and Harriet had only just returned, so he must have lain in wait for her along the road. He must have been truly desperate.
Trisha shook her head with a scornful snort.
“He spewed all sorts of badmouthing about you to me. Said you’re a pathological liar who needs to be kicked out immediately.”
“Did he say I’d lost my mind out of jealousy over Bella too?”
“Oh, yes. I think he did say something like that.”
Harriet nodded calmly, as if she’d heard the most obvious thing in the world.
Liar. Pathetic girl jealous of her cousin.
For a while, she had thought that reputation stemmed from her taking the blame for Bella’s mistakes. But given the current situation, it wouldn’t surprise her if her uncle had deliberately spread those rumors.
He would have had to. That way, even if she exposed Bella’s true nature someday, no one would believe her.
And of course, it would make Bella look all the more like an angel by contrast.
“You speak as if you’ve known the truth for a very long time,” Trisha said.
“Well, it’s not all that surprising anymore. So, after hearing what Uncle had to say… did you feel like canceling my guardianship?”
“That’s a rather presumptuous question.”
“I’m sorry. Seeing Uncle again just reminded me how harsh the world can be.”
Harriet let out a hollow laugh, and Trisha clicked her tongue with pity.
Just last night at the party, Harriet’s eyes had sparkled brightly. But now, they looked empty, as if old wounds had burst open again.
“I should thank John. After hearing what he had to say, you seem all the more trustworthy.”
“What about me… do you believe?”
“That those scandals weren’t actually your fault. Tsk, tsk.”
In his panic, John had made a grave mistake. If he had stayed silent, Trisha might have remained neutral. But he had rushed in, insisting Harriet was a liar, which only proved that she had been telling the truth all along.
“I’m already dreading the horrific story I’ll hear when you finally tell me everything.”
The realization that Trisha had chosen to believe her over John made Harriet feel a fresh breeze blowing across her back.
Now she had one more person on her side.
Not someone far off in the capital, but someone right at the heart of Genoa.
But it wasn’t time to let her guard down yet. That trust was still fragile, and she had no room to relax her vigilance.
“Thank you, Great-Aunt. I hope the day comes soon when I can tell you everything. When that time comes…”
Harriet drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. Memories surfaced of her parents holding her small hand and taking her to meet Trisha and the Count and Countess Felon.
“When that time comes, I want to be comforted by you, Grandmother. So I promise I won’t disappoint you until then.”
Trisha clenched her dry fist tight. Beyond Harriet’s resolute expression, so much sorrow was pouring forth.
But she wouldn’t comfort her yet. To forge the strongest steel, it still needed more tempering.
“Understood. I’ll hold you to it. You must be feeling down right now, so head upstairs, get some rest, and make sure to eat something delicious.”
Thanking Trisha for her consideration, Harriet returned to her room.
Yet waiting in front of her room was Roxana, who was far less indulgent than Trisha.
“I heard you met Viscount Listerwell today. Both of you.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
She undoubtedly knew more than just the fact that they had met. When it came to matters involving Trisha, there was almost nothing Roxana didn’t know.
“If it weren’t for you, Madam never would have allowed that man to set foot in this mansion.”
Having studied abroad on the support of the Pellon family and served as Trisha’s secretary for the past ten years, Roxana was now instructing Harriet at Trisha’s command. That didn’t mean she held any warm feelings toward her.
To Roxana, Harriet was nothing but a headache—a source of stress for her benefactor Trisha and a potential threat who might betray her at any moment.
That was why she was deeply displeased that Trisha had to endure yet another unpleasant ordeal because of Harriet.
“Viscount John Listerwell has made highly inappropriate requests of Madam in the past as well.”
“Inappropriate… requests?”
“He’s asked her to recommend the Listerwell family for business projects reserved only for those of royal blood, to lend him money, or to introduce acquaintances he wanted her to patronize. Of course, not a single one succeeded.”
Harriet could picture the scene all too clearly. He must have tried to manipulate her subtly while pretending to be polite.
But Trisha was not one to be so easily fooled.
“Be fully aware of how much Madam is sacrificing for your sake. If you forget that grace and act with ingratitude, I will persuade her to cast you out, no matter what it takes.”
Roxana didn’t raise her voice or show anger, but her calm warning was chillingly threatening.
Harriet didn’t feel she needed to bow her head, but she knew Roxana wasn’t speaking out of malice. She simply cherished Trisha that much.
Harriet herself still didn’t fully understand why Trisha had become her guardian, so it must have been all the more bewildering from Roxana’s perspective.
“If I ever do something like that, please give me a stern scolding, Miss Roxana. If it’s a misunderstanding, I’ll clear it up, and if I’m in the wrong, I’ll correct it.”
“I hope you mean that sincerely.”
Even in the face of Harriet’s humble attitude, Roxana replied in her usual cold tone.
The day after the Vanderbilt family’s party, John wasn’t the only one who had a busy day. Friends who came to visit Bella for afternoon tea brought all sorts of gossip about Harriet.
“You should have seen it—I might have fainted from the shock. She came back completely like a different person!”
“Exactly. Before, she’d always try to deny it somehow and act innocent, only apologizing reluctantly when her lies got exposed. But this time, she just admitted it all outright. Said she did it, and that’s why she went to the convent to reflect.”
“The problem is, it made her seem even more brazen. She didn’t look sincerely sorry then, and she doesn’t now either.”
Nodding along and chiming in with one another as they badmouthed her, Bella barely suppressed a scornful smile.
‘This morning, even Father caused a scene over Harriet… Everyone’s talking about nothing but Harriet. But so what? It’s just Harriet. What’s the big deal?’
Bella let her friends trash-talk Harriet a bit more. Once their words started repeating, she finally lowered her gaze and nodded with a sad expression.
“Thanks for warning me ahead of time, everyone. Harriet must hold a grudge against my father and me because her guardianship was revoked. But I only wanted her to reflect for her own good and become a better person. That’s why we went to the trouble and expense of sending her to the convent.”
With a face full of worry, Bella let out a deep sigh and bowed her head.
