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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Garden Party (3)
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Rachel's face paled, and Victoria held her breath.
Arianna repeated the same action once more, as if oblivious to what she had done wrong.
Helena frowned and said,
"Why are you drinking tea like that?"
Victoria wanted to cover Helena's mouth.
*Is that idiotic sister completely clueless?*
Victoria desperately wished Arianna would blush and falter as usual. Everything Arianna had done so far was just a fluke, and she prayed that from now on, she would act normally.
However, Arianna's eyes widened, and she spoke in a clear, refreshing voice.
"Miss Victoria taught me to drink it this way."
"When did I ever!"
In the end, Victoria couldn't maintain her composure and sharply retorted.
Arianna flinched, shrinking her shoulders as if frightened, but she didn't close her mouth.
"You called me to your room yesterday and taught me yourself. You said I'd be embarrassed if I didn't drink it this way... Did I make another mistake? Please forgive me, Miss."
"Sister, what's wrong with you? Why are you suddenly calling me 'Miss'? Are you doing this on purpose?"
"I'm sorry, Miss. I'm sorry."
Arianna offered no excuses.
At the pitiful sight of the Second Duchess, shrinking herself and only begging for forgiveness, everyone struggled to hide their pity and anger.
If Arianna hadn't had bruises on her body, people might have been divided into two groups: those who believed her and those who didn't.
But the old and new bruises etched on her emaciated body, as if she hadn't eaten for days, clearly identified the perpetrator of this situation.
The tender-hearted noblewomen even had tears in their eyes.
Duchess Juliana Robenta, who had been frowning, spoke.
"I heard that Duchess Bronte cherishes the Second Duchess so much that she doesn't show her to anyone. Now I see that she truly values her."
Rachel's face flushed at the biting remark.
"It's a misunderstanding, Duchess Robenta. That child is naturally playful..."
"She bruises herself playfully? There are bruises in places she couldn't possibly reach herself. I wonder if His Imperial Highness, the Eastern Duke, is aware that the Second Duchess lives in such a famished state."
At the mention of the Eastern Duke's name, Rachel's face went pale.
Rachel clutched her skirt tightly and said,
"A child's manners are my concern to educate, Duchess Robenta. It seems you're crossing a line. Do the nobles of the capital usually show such interest in other people's family affairs?"
Rachel gave up trying to win over Juliana.
The capital's social circles didn't revolve solely around Juliana, so even if it was a loss, she had no intention of acting subservient.
Juliana smiled sweetly and replied,
"The nobles of the capital do not publicly expose their family affairs like this."
Rachel was speechless.
She didn't want to be servile in front of Juliana, but she couldn't lose her temper and pick a fight either.
Helena, seeing her mother flustered for the first time, fidgeted before speaking.
"Duchess Robenta, please put aside your anger. It's my fault for not teaching Arianna well as her older sister. Mother is blameless."
"Is that so? Then are the bruises on the Second Duchess's body the work of Miss Helena, not the Duchess?"
"Pardon? Oh, no. I don't hit Arianna."
"Then who did hit the Second Duchess like that?"
"Well..."
Helena blinked and looked back at Victoria.
In Helena's mind, it was a plea for help, but to others, it looked as if Victoria was the one who had done it.
Victoria suppressed the urge to slap Helena and spoke.
"As Mother said earlier, Sister Arianna is clumsy and fell down the stairs."
"That's right. Arianna does have a tendency to be like that."
Helena quickly backed up Victoria's words, but the noblewomen's cold expressions did not soften.
Rachel and Victoria realized that no matter what excuses they made in this situation, the atmosphere wouldn't change.
Even if Arianna were to say, "No one is tormenting me," the noblewomen would only see it as poor Arianna trying to protect her family.
Juliana, who had been staring coldly at the three women, spoke.
"When we leave, the Second Duchess will likely have even more bruises on her body."
Rachel said coldly,
"That's a harsh thing to say, Duchess Robenta. I don't know what misunderstanding you have, but no one is hitting Arianna."
"Well, we'll see about that. Ah, come to think of it, the Second Duchess is also of age to have her debutante ball."
Rachel frowned, realizing what Juliana was about to say. Juliana ignored Rachel's gaze and stared intently at Arianna, saying,
"I'll be waiting for you in the capital during this year's social season, Miss Arianna. Be sure to stop by the Robenta mansion as soon as you arrive in the capital."
+++
The party ended in a disastrous atmosphere.
As soon as the nobles left with grim expressions, Rachel unleashed her fury on Arianna. After hitting, kicking, pinching, and cursing her, she locked her in the basement of the East Tower, telling her not to even dream of coming out alive.
Arianna knew she wouldn't die in the dungeon.
Duchess Juliana Robenta was far more favorable than expected.
Since she had personally invited her to visit during this social season, Rachel would have no choice but to take Arianna to the imperial capital, no matter how much she disliked it.
*'Of course, she might feign illness to skip this social season, but if she did, more people would gossip about today's events, so she wouldn't be able to absent herself.'*
Judging by Juliana's mention of the Eastern Duke earlier, it was highly likely that today's events would reach his ears.
*'How will the Eastern Duke react? Does he even know I'm still alive?'*
After divorcing Rachel, the Eastern Duke had not remarried, but he also hadn't sought out his only daughter, Arianna.
-"Your father is a man of ice. He only cares about the well-being of the Eastern Territory; a wife or daughter means nothing to him."
Rachel had spoken endlessly about the Eastern Duke's coldness, until it was ingrained in Arianna's mind.
In reality, the Eastern Duke had never shown Arianna any paternal affection.
*'No, I didn't even expect affection. He had no interest at all.'*
She had seen the Eastern Duke for the first time at the imperial party after marrying Viscount Ingou Albrecht. She clearly remembered the expression on his face then.
Cold eyes, a displeased frown.
Just as Rachel hated Arianna because she resembled the Eastern Duke, the Eastern Duke must have also hated Arianna because she was born of Rachel.
*'But if the fact that I'm being abused reaches the Eastern Duke's ears, and if I bring him what the Eastern Territory needs, he won't be able to cast me aside. If I release what I have little by little instead of all at once, he'll at least treat me better than he does now.'*
Arianna stared into the darkness, where not a single ray of light entered.
In the past, this darkness had sometimes frightened her. She would hug her knees and sob whenever she was trapped like this, feeling as though something terrible lurked in the shadows, ready to pounce.
The chill from the cold walls felt like the breath of an invisible monster, and she was scared, anxious, and sad, as if she would be trapped forever and die.
But now, the darkness no longer frightened her. Rather, being in the dark brought her a sense of calm. Compared to a family that gave her not a shred of affection, the darkness was a comfort.
Arianna recalled Rachel and Victoria's pale faces at the party and smiled faintly.
*'It was a reputation that could crumble with just a few words...'*
What had she been so afraid of back then, that she couldn't say anything and just hesitated?
*'Yes, I was scared. Scared that Mother would hate me, scared that my sister and younger sibling would dislike me.'*
If she had just accepted their hatred as entirely her own, there would have been nothing to fear, nothing to regret, but she had realized it too late.
There was nothing as futile as fretting to gain the affection of someone who disliked her.
After all, the affection of others was as fleeting as dust.
It was enough to have only herself to love her.
"The Second Duchess doesn't cry even in the dark, yet the First Duchess fainted from crying just because her mother said a few words."
The low, languid voice emerging from the darkness no longer surprised her.
"It seems His Imperial Highness, the Northern Duke, can go anywhere."
"Who would dare block my path?"
*Click*, and a lantern lit up.
Cyrus hung the lantern he held on the iron bars. The orange light flickered, casting deep shadows on his face.
He looked down at Arianna from outside the bars.
"Duke and Duchess Bronte's wrath is reaching the sky, yet you're not afraid?"
"What more can happen than death?"
"You're not afraid of death?"
"Because death doesn't retreat just because one fears it. Besides, I heard His Imperial Highness, the Northern Duke, is a very busy man."
"Are you asking why a busy man would follow you around like someone with nothing to do?"
"Your Highness seems to have a habit of asking again even after understanding perfectly."
Cyrus stared silently at Arianna.
The chill emanating from his blood-red eyes seemed to grip Arianna's throat, but she did not avert her gaze.
Staring intently at each other as if to gauge one another, Cyrus spoke.
"I understand you are Rachel Bronte's biological daughter. Am I mistaken?"
"You know the secret of Helena's birth, yet you are overly modest."
"But why is Rachel so desperate to devour you?"
"There are many kinds of families in the world. My mother and I are merely one of countless mother-daughter relationships."
"Are you not saddened that your mother's affection is directed only towards your other sisters?"
"Why would I be sad now, when it was never mine from birth?"
Cyrus bent down and quietly examined Arianna's face.
Even with the iron bars between them, his face drawing closer made her gasp for breath. He was excessively beautiful, as if not of this world.
"You speak truly."
"How could I lie to Your Highness?"
A faint smile spread across Cyrus's lips.
It was such a brief moment that neither Arianna nor Cyrus himself realized it.
"Are you aware that you are a very interesting woman?"
"If I could stir even a slight interest in Your Highness, who cares for nothing, then that is enough."
"So, you're telling me to mind my own business now?"
"You're asking again."
When they first met, Arianna had been afraid of Cyrus.
She felt as though his hand would mercilessly snap her neck if she misspoke even slightly, and the cruel chill emanating from his red eyes would pierce her heart.
While she couldn't claim to fully understand him after only their third brief encounter, she could tell that he wasn't a man who killed people indiscriminately, as rumors suggested.
The red eyes gleaming beneath his dark gray eyebrows didn't appear as cruel as she had heard.
But her desire not to be entangled with him remained.
Arianna had her own plans, and she didn't want the immense power of the Northern Duke interfering.
