Translator: Nox

Chapter 60

~Chapter 60~

Harriet’s tea table, prepared by the sunlit window, was beautifully arranged. A vase filled with red berries and green pine branches, pretty teacups, delicious desserts covered with glass domes, and cozy little trinkets filled the space.

The large tea party she had hosted before had felt like an event in the making, focused on formality, but today’s gathering was smaller in scale yet brimming with Harriet’s personal tastes.

She couldn’t even remember the last time she had felt this relaxed and joyful.

‘I thought this kind of happiness would never be allowed to me again…….’

Memories of her life with her parents flickered faintly through her mind. Pretty dresses and shoes, parties suited to her tastes, kind friends, and the freedom she had once taken for granted.

Bella had taken it all away from her.

‘Fine. I’ll take it all back, one by one. Just like Bella stole it from me.’

At that moment, a maid entered to announce Viviana’s arrival.

Now it was time to reclaim one of Bella’s friends.

“Come in, Lady Viviana. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Harriet greeted her with the warmest smile she could muster.

“Thank you for inviting me, Lady Harriet.”

Viviana entered with a much more relaxed demeanor than the day she had come to ask for the soap. After a brief hesitation, she even gave Harriet a light hug. It was certainly a promising start.

“I hope the things I’ve prepared suit your taste.” Harriet said shyly as she led her to the tea table.

Eleanor Suite’s strawberry black tea had recently become tremendously popular among the young ladies. This tea, blended with dried raspberries and bergamot, was tangy and fragrant, but at the same time notoriously expensive.

‘If I had more guests, I wouldn’t have been able to serve this tea.’ Harriet thought with a slight inner smile, savoring the luxury of treating just one guest.

As someone who had been close to Bella and sensitive to trends, Viviana was very pleased with the tea.

“How did you get this? I heard there’s even a waiting list!”

“I got lucky. I bought it the day before it sold out.”

The two enjoyed the tea and the fresh cake Harriet had made herself that morning, chatting about the latest trends and the soap from ‘St. Clarissa Soap & Herb.’

Once she felt Viviana’s tension had fully eased, Harriet cautiously brought up the true purpose of the invitation.

“But…… what exactly happened with Bella? I heard you two aren’t close anymore.”

“Before I answer, I’d like to ask what people are saying first.” Instead of taking a defensive stance, Viviana lifted her chin and asked.

Harriet feigned a slightly embarrassed expression and relayed the rumors she had heard exactly as they were.

That Viviana had insulted Bella’s gift in front of everyone at the party and refused to apologize, angering the other attendees. She added that Bella had been put in a difficult position in the middle of it all.

Harriet considered mentioning Adam Hoffner but decided against it. It felt too cruel, and she didn’t want to hurt Viviana’s pride unnecessarily.

As expected, Viviana reacted with indignation.

“Ha! I insulted the gift? Not at all. I’m neither wealthy enough nor reckless enough to mock an expensive item in front of people.”

“Wasn’t it La Bonnez cream that Bella was handing out at the party?”

“Yes! The timing might have been unfortunate. Everyone was talking about the young ladies’ soap at the time.”

Viviana went on to explain what had actually happened.

She had simply intended to give the gift to a friend since she had no intention of using it herself. Caroline had scolded her for being rude, and Bella’s face had turned icy cold.

Harriet could easily imagine how the situation had unfolded.

‘Bella must have been really angry because of the shop opening. She probably handed out the gifts mid-party to quell the rumors. Normally, she would have known how awkward and inappropriate that would look, but she was that sensitive.’

In that state of mind, seeing Viviana give the gift to someone else must have felt like a public insult.

But Viviana was tougher than she appeared.

“I got a bit heated that day too,” Viviana admitted.

“I said it, didn’t I? ‘Are we Bella’s maids or something?’ What I meant was, why should I have to watch my step at a party I was invited to?”

Harriet was startled. She felt a pleasant shock at Viviana’s boldness.

Worried that Harriet might judge her, Viviana hurriedly added an explanation.

“In that group, Bella was practically untouchable. No matter what, I always took Bella’s side, but looking back now…… it was strange, wasn’t it?”

“It was. But why did everyone like Bella so much?” Harriet asked.

“Well, Bella was always kind and sweet. If someone had a problem, she’d jump in to help. And more importantly than anything…….”

Viviana paused, lowering her voice as she cautiously eyed Harriet.

“……she introduced us to eligible bachelors.”

As expected.

It was the moment the question Harriet had harbored for so long was answered. But there was still one part she couldn’t understand.

“But…… didn’t all those men love Bella?”

A long sigh escaped Viviana’s lips.

“You’re right. I was foolish. No matter how good my skin looked, to that man, I was just the ‘mean girl harassing Bella.’”

The culprit, Adam Hoffner, had taken Bella’s side at the party and painted Viviana as the villain. Even though Viviana had gone so far as to swallow her pride and ask Harriet for the soap solely for him.

“You must have been really hurt.”

“I was. But strangely…… I also felt a sense of liberation.”

“Liberation?”

“Yes. It turns out I wanted to break free from Bella more than I thought. And once I did, Bella started to look less like the perfect woman I had idolized and more like a schemer with two faces.”

Harriet was genuinely shocked.

Viviana had already begun to see through Bella’s true nature. The words Harriet had prepared to persuade her now felt unnecessary.

She took a deep breath. Her heart was pounding fiercely.

“Lady Harriet? Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine. It’s just…… you said exactly what I’d been dying to hear from someone. My emotions must have welled up a bit.”

Struggling to steady her voice, Harriet closed her eyes for a moment before carefully asking,

“Would you like to hear the truth about Bella Listerwell?”

It was a question foreign to Viviana. No one had ever asked her if she wanted to hear gossip about Bella. But upon reflection, Harriet was actually asking something deeper.

Was her friendship with Bella truly over?

Was she ready to see a Harriet different from the lying Harriet that Bella had created?

“Yes. I want to hear it.”

“Whether you believe me or not is entirely up to you, my lady. I won’t force you. But I ask that you hear me out to the end.”

Just as she had with Katrin, Harriet asked Viviana to listen to the end. Too many people had jumped to conclusions and cut her off before knowing the full truth.

As Viviana nodded, Harriet began to reveal everything. Bella’s manipulation from childhood, how Bella had wormed her way between Harriet and her friends, how Bella had changed after her parents’ death, and what she had stolen.

Then she explained the source of her infamous reputation—the origin of the nickname ‘Scandal Maker.’

“That’s all true?!”

Viviana’s eyes widened as if they might pop out, and she nearly shouted.

“I swear to God, every single word is true. People think I’m promiscuous and immoral, but in fact, I’ve never even kissed anyone. I’ve never so much as held a man’s hand.”

“My God……! If that’s true, then Bella has completely ruined your life!”

“I’ve waited so long for someone to say that to me,” Harriet said quietly.

She had imagined this moment countless times. She thought she would run out into the street and scream for joy. But when it actually arrived, it was strangely…… calm.

Viviana, with her world-turned-upside-down expression of shock, might go out tomorrow and spread another rumor.

She might even try to crawl back to Bella by sacrificing Harriet again.

Perhaps that’s why Harriet wasn’t truly happy.

Still, she had said everything she needed to. That alone brought her peace.

Viviana sat frozen, hand over her mouth, visibly dazed.

At the very least, her perception of Bella had been shaken.

‘Even if we become strangers again tomorrow…… if I’ve planted the seed of doubt, that’s victory enough.’

Harriet quietly turned her head to the window, gazing at the outside world while waiting for Viviana to recover from the shock.