To the Noble and the Vile You [Novel] Chapter 63

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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: 0009_63
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Duchess Loventa’s prison was quite good, with a private room and a separate restroom, but Rachel was experiencing deep humiliation and fear.
From the day she was born a princess of the Obelier Family in the Western Territory, to becoming the Eastern Duke's Consort and then Duchess Bronte, Rachel had never once experienced such harsh treatment.
The fact that she had locked Ariana in a dark dungeon dozens of times had long vanished from Rachel's mind. Even though she was receiving incomparably better treatment than Ariana, Rachel could not rein in her fury.
‘Ariana! How dare she...’
She couldn't believe Ariana had managed to do this.
Rachel had deliberately taught Ariana nothing. For if one had wisdom, they would desire freedom, and if they desired freedom, they would draw a sword.
Her plan was to raise Ariana to be foolish, marry her into a suitable family, and then have her pave the way for Victoria, Helena, and Joyson.
But at some point, Ariana changed.
‘Since that party, back then.’
The garden party held at Bronte Manor in February, to build connections for Helena's debutante ball. That was when it all began.
Ariana, who appeared at the party that day, acted foolishly, yet her actions swayed the nobles present.
‘Why did she suddenly change like that? How long had she been hiding a knife within her?’
She couldn't understand it at all.
She had forbidden Ariana from even stepping foot in the study, and when tutors were called for her two daughters, Ariana was not allowed near. It was natural for Ariana to know neither knowledge nor etiquette, yet from that day on, Ariana acted more cleverly than anyone, employing manners akin to those of the Imperial Family.
‘After all that suffering, I gave birth to her.’
She had carried her in her womb for ten months. Though the child of a man she didn't even like felt like a parasite, she had carried it for ten months.
After being born that way, she should have repaid the favor, but instead, she had plunged a hidden knife into her. Rachel could not forgive this.
‘The ungrateful wretch!’
During her week of confinement, her hatred swelled to the point of bursting. She wanted to rush out immediately, grab Ariana by her hair, and throw her down. No, she wanted to plunge a knife directly into Ariana's heart with her own hands.
Ariana shouldn't have done that. She shouldn't have inflicted such cruelty upon her own mother.
As she gnashed her teeth, burning with rage, she heard the prison door open. Footsteps approached with a steady thud. The one who stopped before the bars was the Western Duke.
“Father!”
“You will be released today.”
“Has the verdict been overturned?”
The Western Duke's expression twisted at Rachel's foolish words.
The verdict overturned?
An Imperial Decree had been issued. Even if it was a mistaken Imperial Decree, it would not change.
“Bail has been paid.”
“Oh, how much...?”
“Ten million gold.”
Ten million gold was the ducal family's annual living expense. Adding Rachel's fine of thirty million gold and the Western Duke's fine of ten million gold, a massive sum of fifty million gold was spent on this matter.
It was an amount that would make the Western Territory's finances falter.
However, as Rachel was a princess of the Western Territory, allowing her to serve six months in prison was out of the question. The Western Duke needed to get Rachel out of prison, even if it meant spending a fortune.
It was a bitter defeat. His stomach churned, but there was nothing he could do.
The Western Duke knew how to weigh gains and losses.
The custody issue of a sixteen-year-old girl, not even the Eastern Duke, was not worth expending any more effort on. In any case, with Ariana's abuse already public knowledge, there was no need to try harder to silence it.
There had been several plans to use the pretty Ariana, but those could be carried out with other granddaughters as well.
The Western Duke knew well that clinging to a definitive defeat would yield nothing.
“Ariana... Ariana, what is that girl doing now? Has she left for the Eastern Territory?”
The Western Duke silently gazed at Rachel, who was asking with wide, bulging eyes, then spoke.
“Now, stop worrying about her. She has no relation to us.”
“It can’t end like this!”
“An Imperial Decree has been issued.”
“There must be a way!”
“There is no such thing!”
As the Western Duke roared, Rachel flinched. The Western Duke spoke, his face twisted like a demon.
“It’s an Imperial Decree! His Imperial Majesty’s view of us must have already changed because of this matter. If you foolishly try something again and fall out of His Majesty’s favor, recovery will be impossible. Do you understand, Rachel? Don’t touch that child again. Don’t even think you gave birth to her in the first place. Live as if such a person doesn’t exist in this world!”
“But...”
Tears streamed from Rachel’s eyes, but the Western Duke gazed coldly at his daughter.
“Once you return to the Western Territory, educate the children well. You must get one of them into the Imperial Palace somehow.”
“How can that happen in this situation? My children and I have become the notorious villains who abused Ariana!”
“You can cover that up with more sensational incidents. Soon, rumors of a romance between the daughter of an Imperial Count and a theater actor will break out. And whispers will spread about a certain Countess who fell in love with a Knight and prepared to elope. There are plenty of more provocative stories out there than child abuse, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
+++
It took over ten days for Ariana to fully recover.
While she lay ill, the Eastern Duke and the former Eastern Duke and his wife visited her side several times a day before leaving.
As soon as Ariana rose from her sickbed, she first sought out the former Eastern Duke and his wife to express her gratitude for their efforts during the trial.
“There’s nothing to be grateful for.”
Caradine held Ariana's hands tightly in both of hers and said.
“Ariana, this is naturally something we should do. Do you understand? It’s not something for you to be grateful for. Rather, we should be sorry for not being able to look after you all this time.”
Ariana couldn't understand the White Family’s culture at all.
Rachel had always told Ariana that she had to repay the cost of raising her. It was natural to express gratitude promptly whenever something was done for her.
But both the Eastern Duke and the former Eastern Duke and his wife told her not to say such things every time she expressed gratitude, leaving her unsure of what she was supposed to say to these people instead.
Tiador spoke.
“Will you be able to travel? You could rest more, you know.”
“I’m truly fine now. The medicine Isaac made for me was really effective.”
“Yes. The Peren Family has always had talent in that field, generation after generation. We, too, received help from his father many times in the past.”
All preparations for their departure to the Eastern Territory were complete. They decided to leave the next morning.
Next, Ariana went to see the Eastern Duke. Russell, who had been reading in the study, hastily closed his book and approached Ariana as she entered.
His blue eyes, filled with concern, scanned Ariana up and down. Seeing Russell’s slightly furrowed brow, Ariana recalled the first time she met him at the Imperial Palace party.
She had thought his gaze was mixed with contempt, but the reason she began to think it might not be was due to a strange dream she had after fainting.
‘What really was that?’
In that dream, she had become Russell. Every time she recalled the emotions she felt as Russell, her heart grew duller. She kept interpreting Russell’s gaze, his furrowed expression, his firm mouth, in a way that pleased herself.
“Ariana, are you well enough to walk around now?”
Even his gruff voice began to feel gentle to her.
Ariana firmly reined in her softening heart and spoke.
“Yes, I’m all better now. Thank you for looking after me all this time.”
“Grateful? This is something I should naturally do. There’s nothing to be grateful for, don’t say such things, Ariana.”
There he goes again.
She was grateful because it was something to be grateful for, so why did he keep telling her not to say thank you?
“I’ve sent word to the Eastern Territory. By now, the people of the Eastern Territory will be eagerly awaiting the Princess’s return.”
Will they truly be happy to wait?
Would anyone be happy for a child who left the Eastern Territory right after birth and grew up in the Western Territory, only now returning?
Having lived a life that brought joy to no one, she couldn't help but receive the Eastern Duke’s words with skepticism.
“The Western Duke left the Empire the day before yesterday, so there’ll be no one here targeting you. If you wish, you may walk around the city before you leave. Just be sure to bring a guard knight with you.”
“Yes, Your Highness. I will.”
Ariana curtsied slightly and left the study. Lanster, her guard knight, was waiting outside the study.
As Ariana headed towards the central gate, Lanster asked.
“Are you going out?”
“No, I’m just going to get some fresh air in the garden.”
Ariana had no intention of wandering around the city.
She had attracted enough attention during the custody trial, so she didn’t want to show herself again until she returned here.
Following Ariana into the garden, Lanster spoke.
“Everyone will be delighted when Her Highness returns.”
“Well. I wonder if that’s truly the case. I lived in the Western Territory and now I’ve become the Princess of the Eastern Territory. Won't there be strong opposition?”
“My lord often spoke of Her Highness.”
Ariana stopped walking and turned to Lanster.
“Your Highness spoke of me?”
“Yes. When you were first born, you were this small.”
Lanster formed a fist-sized shape with his two hands.
“He would speak longingly, saying he was so careful even when holding you, fearing you might break. We Knights felt a pang of sadness every time we heard him say that.”
“...”
“Because his only memories with Her Highness were of me, we thought he was only speaking of me each time.”
Ariana pressed her lips tightly together.
-‘I will always wait for you here.’
She recalled the thoughts he had when she became Russell.
Suddenly, her chest ached, but she couldn't understand why.
“We eagerly awaited Her Highness to visit the Eastern Territory just once and create another memory for our lord. But now that you have become the Princess of the Eastern Territory, of course, we are delighted.”
Ariana swallowed, gulping back the tears welling in her throat.
-“I never wanted to give birth to someone like you.”
-‘I will always wait.’
-“I wish you had died in my womb.”
-“I just wanted to hold my baby’s hand.”
-“Shouldn’t you earn your keep?”
-“It’s all right; let’s just rest for now, okay?”
-“Why are you such a mess, child? You should at least do what you’re told properly!”
-“Why are you sitting here doing something you don’t want to do, even here?”
-“Don’t even say you’re that sick. Don’t bother me, just leave.”
-“Just think of me as your only uncle and be at ease. Understood?”
Other voices mingled with Rachel’s voice, which she had always heard. The warmth spreading from the rough but kind voices pushed away the cold tones.
Cracks appeared in the many layers of chains that Rachel had continuously cursed and placed upon her.
Just a little, she could breathe.