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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Cyrus Karha, the Northern Duke (3)
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It was only after Ariana returned to her room that she realized she hadn't managed to bring any food back with her. The dishes she had intended to take were probably still lying on the floor beneath the display counter.
The thought that she hadn't even gotten to properly eat, all because of Cyrus's sudden appearance, filled her with a stifling frustration.
'I never expected to meet the Northern Duke this soon...'
She had anticipated that living differently from her past life would, at some point, lead to an encounter with either the Northern or Southern Duke. But she never in her wildest dreams imagined meeting the Northern Duke, who had secretly infiltrated the Bronte Ducal Estate.
'What reason could the Northern Duke have for entering this estate?'
There was absolutely no prior acquaintance between the Northern Duke and Duke Bronte.
Recalling the past, she couldn't remember either Duke Bronte or Rachel ever speaking about the Northern Duke.
'Ah, Helena...'
She recalled that around this time, Helena had been incessantly chattering about wanting to marry the Northern Duke.
Helena had fallen in love at first sight after seeing a portrait of the Northern Duke, which a certain merchant guild had been selling while staying in Seoryeong.
Because of this, she constantly spoke of wanting to marry him, despite never having seen his face, and pestered them to send a marriage proposal to the Northern Duke, often embarrassing Rachel and Duke Bronte.
"The Northern Duke is a man of suitable status, lacking nothing. Why are you saying no?"
She remembered hearing Helena whine around this time while cleaning the hallway.
It was almost unheard of for a lady from a family of count rank or higher to propose marriage first, and such an act would only invite ridicule if known, yet Helena had acted so childishly.
'Could it be that Helena pestered them into sending a marriage proposal to the Northern Duke? And so, the Northern Duke, while investigating Helena, discovered the truth of her birth and infiltrated the estate to learn more details?'
While it was a possibility, recalling the look in Cyrus's eyes from their earlier encounter, she didn't believe that was his reason.
Though he tried to conceal it, Ariana had clearly felt the hatred in his eyes. Even when their bodies were pressed close between the display counters, his gaze held nothing but cold revulsion towards her.
Such a man would never sneak into the Bronte Ducal Estate merely to investigate someone proposed for marriage.
There had to be another reason, one that Ariana couldn't grasp.
'This is troublesome.'
The Northern Duke was a difficult opponent.
If she were to become an enemy of the Northern Duke in her current unprepared state, it would significantly hinder her future plans.
It was crucial to avoid entanglement with him as much as possible, especially without knowing his intentions.
+++
True to her Seoryeong origins, Helena had slightly darker skin, deep double eyelids, black hair, and brown eyes.
While not unattractive, compared to Ariana, who resembled the Eastern Duke, or Victoria, who resembled Rachel, Helena heavily favored her father, Jacob, making her quite ordinary.
She stood in the hallway, wearing a refreshing lime-green dress, glaring at the door to Ariana's room.
Servants who saw Helena bowed deeply in greeting as they passed. Their attitude was entirely different from how they treated Ariana.
'Ariana.'
Yesterday, for the first time ever, she had been scolded by her mother, Rachel, because of Ariana.
It was the first time Rachel had ever shown such a stern expression in front of Helena.
'Ariana, Ariana.'
Helena's feelings toward Ariana were subtle.
Before Helena learned the secret of her birth, she felt more inferior to Victoria than to Ariana.
Helena, whose mother was a baroness.
Ariana, who was the Eastern Duke's daughter but had a different father because she came with her mother.
And Victoria, born to both her mother and father, enjoying a normal family. What's more, Victoria was beautiful, greatly resembling Rachel.
Even as a child, she sensed her parents discriminated against Ariana, but the one she disliked more was Victoria.
In fact, she even felt a sense of camaraderie with Ariana, believing they were in similar situations.
So she would take what Victoria had and torment her out of their parents' sight, but when Rachel noticed, instead of scolding Helena, she embraced her and said:
"Victoria is your only sister, Helena. You should help and cherish each other. If you're upset about something, vent your frustration on Ariana instead. Ariana will tolerate whatever you do, even if you're angry."
At the time, Helena didn't understand why Rachel treated her better than her own biological daughters. She merely noticed that Rachel didn't particularly like Ariana.
Even for the same mistake, Ariana was scolded several times more severely, and sometimes she was confined to her room, receiving meals only once every two days while constantly writing reflection essays.
At first, she felt sorry for Ariana, but her parents' cold attitude seemed to infect their children as well.
Thus, Ariana became someone Helena could vent her anger on whenever she felt bad.
Yet, at the same time, she also felt pity for Ariana, so when the mood struck, she would secretly look out for her.
That was how it was, until Rachel revealed the secret of her birth.
Her mother, who had been forced to leave Seoryeong and marry the Eastern Duke immediately after giving birth to her daughter. Helena, who had to be raised as if she were born to an unnamed baroness.
"Poor thing."
As she recounted the secret, Rachel repeated those words several times.
Thus, Helena truly felt incredibly sorry for herself, and all her resentment turned towards Ariana.
Strictly speaking, Ariana had done nothing wrong.
However, Helena had grown up hearing phrases like 'You can do whatever you want to Ariana' and 'Victoria is your only sister,' almost as if she were being brainwashed since childhood.
Without Helena even realizing it, the wall built between her and Ariana had turned Ariana into a complete stranger, and Helena couldn't help but believe that the root of all her problems lay with Ariana, not her family.
Victoria, who knew nothing and believed she was the only one with normal parents, was equally irritating, but Ariana was even more detestable.
"I never wanted to give birth to that child. I truly didn't want to."
Rachel hugged Helena tightly, repeating the same words several times, tears streaming down her face.
Thinking of her mother, who had been forced to marry a man she didn't love and bear a child for the sake of Seoryeong, Helena's heart ached.
And so, Ariana, who had been born under such circumstances yet lived as the second ducal daughter in the Bronte household, became increasingly hateful.
Yesterday, because Ariana had spilled every last detail in front of the Dowager Duchess, Luigi had been whipped and confined to a small room, and Helena had been reprimanded by her mother.
Furthermore, Ariana had escaped her bare, cramped room and was now using a good room, complete with a bed.
'Do you think you're worthy of that room?'
Helena didn't want to see Ariana enjoy even a single thing belonging to the Bronte family.
If she had her way, she would storm into that room right now, grab Ariana by the hair, and make her pay for yesterday's incident. But Rachel had told her to endure until the Dowager Duchess left.
As Helena clenched her fists tightly, Victoria approached and gently linked arms with her.
"Sister, why do you look so upset?"
Helena glared at Victoria, who was unusually precocious for her age.
Victoria, who resembled her mother more than her father, had slightly dark blonde hair and green eyes, making her appear lovely and innocent.
"I got scolded by Mother because of you."
Victoria quietly gazed at Helena, who spoke like a child.
Helena, despite being three years older than Victoria, often acted childishly. This was due to Rachel having raised Helena to be self-indulgent.
Victoria, unaware of Helena's secret, simply couldn't understand Rachel's attitude.
'Why does she cherish Helena, the former Duchess's daughter, more than her own biological daughters, me and Ariana?'
Such questions filled the young Victoria with fear.
The anxiety that she, too, might fall out of her parents' favor and be treated like Ariana. The nervousness that she had to somehow earn more approval from her parents than Helena.
These feelings made Victoria more precocious than her peers.
Always attuned to her parents' moods, Victoria was quick-witted and exceptionally sharp.
"Huh? Because of me? Oh, are you talking about Luigi yesterday?"
"Yes."
"Sister, why is that because of me?"
"It is because of you. You said it would be good to feed that child spoiled food. She ate it and collapsed, and I got a terrible scolding from Mother."
Victoria was dumbfounded by the phrase 'terribly scolded,' but she didn't show it, instead putting on a worried expression.
"You got scolded a lot by Mother? You must have been upset, Sister. What should I do? But Sister, I only said that Ariana deserved to live eating spoiled food, and that she was living in comfort and luxury thanks to Mother bringing her here. Still, if you got scolded by Mother because of my words, I'm truly sorry."
When Victoria readily apologized, Helena pouted, seemingly a little appeased.
Victoria inwardly chuckled, watching her sister, who was as easy to manipulate as a child.
Victoria, still linked arm-in-arm with Helena, walked slowly and said,
"Sister, you must truly be upset. This is all because of Ariana, isn't it? Ariana told Grandmother everything... Even though you're so good to her, Ariana doesn't know gratitude and tattled everything to Grandmother, didn't she?"
"Exactly!"
"Because of Ariana, Luigi is confined to a cramped room, and you're inconvenienced because a maid is gone, while she's probably lying comfortably in a nice room, right?"
"Ugh, I really hate it! Why doesn't she just go to the Eastern Territory instead of staying here and causing trouble?"
Victoria knew why Rachel insisted on keeping Ariana.
Daughters born into noble families were expected to serve as a foundation, forming connections with good families to strengthen their own.
However, there were families in the world who possessed the necessary power but had poor reputations, making them reluctant to marry off their precious daughters to them.
Ariana would eventually be married into such a family.
As soon as they entered Helena's room, a portrait hanging on the drawing-room wall caught their eye.
A beautiful man with silver hair, fair skin, sharp eyes, and crimson pupils. It was a portrait of Cyrus Karha, the Northern Duke.
Even though it was a matter deserving of shame for a noble lady to openly display a portrait of a man unrelated to her, Helena showed no sign of embarrassment whatsoever.
With Victoria beside her, Helena gazed up at the portrait, her hands clasped in front of her chest as if enraptured, and said,
"Isn't he truly beautiful?"
"Yes, he is. He's really splendid. But does he really look like that in real life? They say nobles these days ask artists to paint them more handsomely than they actually are."
"The Northern Duke is different. They say he's much more magnificent than his portrait."
"We'll be able to confirm that when the Northern Duke arrives in Seoryeong, won't we?"
At Victoria's subtly dropped hint, Helena's eyes sparkled as she turned to her.
