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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Rachel's Scheme (6)
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Before the invited ladies arrived for the tea party, Rachel instructed a maid to summon Ariadna.

What was about to unfold today was not suitable for young ladies like Helena and Victoria, so only the noblewomen had been invited. Rachel had made sure to invite several talkative and well-connected ladies, ensuring the rumors would spread very quickly.
‘While this might cause some damage to the Bronte family, it’s better than being branded with the infamy of abusing Ariadna. And there’s no telling what Ariadna might do once she goes to the capital.’
Rachel could no longer think of Ariadna as naive and foolish.

What happened at the garden party was no accident. Ariadna had carefully planned and orchestrated everything, manipulating the atmosphere exactly as she wished.

A shiver ran down Rachel’s arm whenever she recalled Ariadna staring intently at her with eyes identical to the Eastern Duke’s.

Rachel had intended to keep Ariadna until she reached a marriageable age, but that was no longer possible.

If Ariadna truly harbored ill intentions, her wings needed to be clipped and she had to be removed from this mansion before she could harm Helena and Victoria.

Just as there were women who entertained men for money, there were also men who did the same for women. The man who would be in the pergola by the pond this afternoon was precisely one such individual.

From what Rachel had gathered, he was quite popular among the noblewomen due to his outstanding looks.

When Rachel, enjoying tea with the ladies, decided to take a short stroll towards the pergola, the man and Ariadna would be inside, indulging in their pleasure.

The noblewomen would witness Ariadna, still unmarried, frolicking with a man, and some might even be horrified to see Ariadna with their own lovers.
‘I should probably faint.’
To avoid the pretense of trying to silence the noblewomen, it was best to feign a faint first.

Then, as soon as the noblewomen left the Bronte mansion, they would begin gossiping about the incident everywhere.

Even if the Duchess of Bronte, belatedly regaining her senses, went around begging everyone to pretend they hadn't seen Ariadna's actions, it would be too late once the rumors had already spread.

The dissolute second daughter of the duke, inviting a man into the mansion for pleasure. And the pitiful duchess, personally going around begging to cover up her daughter’s disgrace.
‘Ariadna, no matter how much venom you harbor, you’re still young.’
Today’s events would overshadow the garden party incident, and Ariadna’s reputation would plummet. While the Bronte family’s name might be slightly tarnished, Ariadna was, after all, also the daughter of Russell White, the Eastern Duke.

In this world, a woman’s conduct was considered a greater issue than parental abuse.

If Rachel shed a few tears, claiming that unlike Helena and Victoria, who had grown up without issues, Ariadna refused to learn and acted wildly, even embarrassing the family with such lies at the garden party…
‘The arrows of blame would then be directed at the White lineage.’
+++
Rachel’s maid came to summon Ariadna.
“I’ll get ready and come out, so please wait in the hallway.”

Ariadna sent the maid away, then pulled out the dagger she had hidden under her bed. As she slid it from its ornate sheath, the sharp blade gleamed with a chilling light.

As soon as her index finger lightly grazed the blade, a shallow cut appeared, and blood welled up.

She quietly gazed at the drop of blood forming on her fingertip.
‘I hope I won’t have to use this.’
Ariadna carefully concealed the dagger inside her dress and left the room.

As Ariadna entered, Rachel personally rose and approached her. She gently tucked Ariadna’s smooth hair behind her ear and spoke.
“You look beautiful dressed like that.”

“It’s all thanks to Mother’s care.”

“I went to town yesterday and bought some lovely makeup. Would you like to try some?”

“I don’t know how to apply makeup.”

“I’ll do it for you. Come, sit here.”
Rachel seated Ariadna in front of the dressing table, then personally fetched the cosmetics and began applying makeup for her.

Rachel’s warm fingers brushed across Ariadna’s cheeks and eyes as she kept them closed.

It was something the Ariadna of her previous life, that pitiful Ariadna, had desperately wished for. Now, in this life, it was coming true, but knowing there was no sincerity in Rachel’s touch, her heart ached.

A mother applying her grown daughter’s first makeup was a natural ritual, even for women of common birth. Yet, for Ariadna, this moment felt anything but natural.

Every touch on her cheek felt as though it concealed a cold, sharp blade. It was almost as if the Northern Duke’s cold body temperature felt warmer by comparison.

Ariadna slowly opened her eyes and examined her reflection in the mirror.

She calmly gazed at her face, which had been transformed into something vulgar, like a woman bought and sold for money.
“You look pretty, don’t you?”

“Yes, Mother. Truly beautiful.”

“I knew it would suit you well. I’ll have a maid send these cosmetics to your room later.”

“Thank you, Mother. To give me something so precious.”
Speaking words she didn’t mean, Ariadna waited for Rachel to get to the point. But this time, too, Rachel hesitated.
“Yesterday, I went out and bought a necklace and bracelet that I thought would suit you. See if you like them.”
Rachel took out a silk-covered box from the drawer.

Inside the purple box lay a dazzlingly ornate set of necklace, bracelet, and earrings.
“They’re made with sapphires, the same color as your eyes. Do you like them?”
To an outsider, it would sound like the voice of a mother who deeply cherished her daughter.

How wonderful would it be if this were sincere?

Ariadna was dismayed that a futile hope still lingered within her.

How wonderful would it be if all this tenderness, all this thoughtfulness from her mother, were genuine?

How wonderful would it be if she could converse without suspecting the hidden blade in every word?

How happy would she be if she could simply say thank you for good things and express joy for pleasant ones, just like an ordinary mother and daughter?

Shaking off the desires that scattered like sand, Ariadna smiled faintly. An emotionless smile was etched like a painting on her small, lovely face.
“They’re truly beautiful, Mother. May I really have something so precious?”

“Of course. I bought them because I thought they’d suit my Ariadna perfectly. Come here, I’ll put them on for you.”
As Rachel personally took out the accessories and fastened them on Ariadna, the fleeting, sorrowful hopes that had scattered moments before completely vanished.

Rachel stood Ariadna in front of the mirror.

In the mirror stood a woman who looked like a nouveau riche daughter, wearing excessively ornate accessories unsuited for her age.

Her makeup was too heavy, and her dress, in comparison, looked outdated and provincial.

Overall, she looked like a vulgar woman luring men on the streets.

But Ariadna smiled brightly.
“It doesn’t feel like me. It’s so pretty, Mother.”

“Yes, I knew it would suit you. I’m happy that you like it.”

“If I go to the party like this, Her Majesty the Empress will surely find me charming, won’t she?”

“Of course. If you’re dressed in a gown as well, every man will be unable to take his eyes off you.”

“I can’t wait to go to the capital. I’m really looking forward to the imperial party.”

“Yes, I’m truly looking forward to it as well.”
A chill passed through the eyes of the two mother and daughter, who were conversing with affectionate smiles.

Rachel stroked Ariadna’s hair and said,
“Oh, speaking of which… I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“You know there’s a pergola by the pond in the middle of the forest, don’t you?”

“Yes, I know.”

“Well, yesterday I stopped by there and left my necklace behind. I thought about having the maids fetch it, but some of them have sticky fingers these days… Would you mind retrieving it for me?”

“Yes, Mother. I will.”

“It’s a valuable item, so you must be the one to bring it back. Understand?”

“Yes.”
As Ariadna exited the room, having received Rachel’s instructions, all expression vanished from her face.

Ariadna walked forward, her eyes cold. She strode without hesitation towards the hell Rachel had prepared for her.
+++
Rachel stopped in the hallway and looked out the window.

Watching Ariadna walk towards the forest without suspicion, Rachel felt a flicker of guilt, however brief.

That child was merely born; she was innocent.

But as she recalled Ariadna’s eyes, so much like the Eastern Duke’s, even that fleeting fragment of guilt completely vanished.

Her days in the Eastern Province, marked by loneliness and sorrow, were still vividly clear.

The Eastern Province, a beautiful and peaceful place that Rachel had gone to at her father, the Western Duke’s, command, leaving behind the man she loved and her newborn daughter, felt chillingly cold to her, enough to freeze her blood.

The suspicious glances from the Eastern Duke and his family because she was the Western Duke’s daughter, and the atmosphere of the Eastern Province she could never grow accustomed to.

Even when Rachel was pregnant, the Eastern Duke never offered a single kind word.

When she informed him of her pregnancy, the Eastern Duke’s only reaction was a cold exclamation.
–“Oh.”
His blue eyes, like the sky, gleamed sharply, as if suspecting even her pregnancy was a lie.

At that time, Rachel was in a very vulnerable state. If the Eastern Duke or his family had treated her warmly, things might have turned out differently.
‘It’s all in the past now.’
After she became convinced that she was carrying a child no one welcomed, Rachel felt as though the child inside her was a parasite.

Not once had she thought of Ariadna as her own daughter. It became even more so after she realized the newborn child resembled the Eastern Duke, not her.

Not her daughter, but the Eastern Duke’s daughter. The daughter of that ruthless, indifferent man.

Rachel turned her eyes away from Ariadna, who was entering the forest.

If that child had any sin, it was being born as the Eastern Duke’s daughter. And despite Rachel’s desperate attempts to kill her while she was in the womb, she had ultimately survived and seen the light of day.
‘No one welcomed you, Ariadna. So you shouldn’t have harbored other thoughts. If you had remained obedient as before, I would have ensured you married into a good family when the time came.’
+++
Ariadna walked along the forest path.

Ariadna used to love this forest.

The smell of earth, the scent of trees, the tree shadows cast upon the ground. The crunching sound of her footsteps. The occasional chirping of birds and the rustling of small wild animals. The whisper of grass.

She loved those things that made her feel free.

But now, nothing about the Bronte family, no, nothing in this Western Province, felt good.

Ariadna walked, looking straight ahead. Her small fists were clenched tight, her face expressionless as she simply walked.

The large pergola, big enough to accommodate five or six people, was draped with white fabric.

Ariadna pulled back the white fabric.

On the table inside the pergola sat a teapot and two teacups.

Steam still rose from the teacups, as if two people had just shared tea inside.

And the faint, intoxicating scent that filled the pergola. The sound of soft footsteps approaching from behind. The rustle of the pergola’s fabric being pulled back.

Ariadna gripped the dagger she had hidden in her dress and turned around.