Paley’s face turned red and blue as her lips quivered, but I quickly continued speaking.
“Be aware that His Highness the Grand Duke is always keeping an eye on this matter.”
Ah, I thought I might have gone too far with that one.
“W-what did you say?”
Paley’s face turned pale, and it was so amusing that I simply couldn’t stop myself.
Ah, I wish I could take a picture and keep it forever!
“I’m telling you this out of old affection. Do you understand?”
By the time I said that, I realized that all the mocking laughter and pitying gazes directed at me had completely disappeared.
Everyone in the shop now wore expressions of discomfort.
No, to be precise, they were looking at their own dresses with troubled faces.
“Now that you know, go home and think about how a noble lady should behave. Stop wasting your time wandering around picking fights everywhere. Well then, I’m busy, so I’ll take my leave.”
Bang.
Phew…
It was after I had walked a few steps away from the door.
“Aaah!”
I heard Paley screaming through the closed door, but I kept walking briskly.
“Ah, that felt so satisfying!”
I felt relieved after saying whatever came to mind, but.
I couldn’t help but worry about what might happen next.
Ecla, looking even paler than Paley, scolded me.
“My Lady, what were you thinking?!”
“What did I do?”
I answered gruffly, but in truth, my heart was pounding furiously.
“So, you’re saying I should just stand there and take it when someone calls me servile and spineless?”
That was a question I was asking myself as well.
They were the ones who crossed the line first!
“You’ve been spending time with Lady Isley for a while now. Not that it was a good thing, of course.”
“Not anymore.”
“Well, I admit it was satisfying, but Lady Isley won’t just let this go.”
When Ecla said that, I closed my eyes tightly and then opened them again.
Right, since the villainess from the original story—me—has turned over a new leaf, doesn’t that make Paley the strongest villainess in this world now?
“Ecla, don’t worry. I won’t just sit back and take it either.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“I won’t make the first move. But I won’t just stand by and take it, so don’t worry too much.”
I patted my chest with my clenched fist and lifted my chin confidently.
But deep down.
‘Yeah, Ecla’s right. Paley won’t just let this go. What do I do?’
I was so anxious that my teeth were chattering.
‘No, but still, it’s better for me to be the target than for Leonie to be.’
Either way, I’m doomed, but I wonder if I’ll end up dying at Paley’s hands in this life.
I rubbed my now-cold arms up and down.
*** *** *** *** ***
“Please wait a moment.”
Having arrived at Leonie’s house, I waited in the reception room as directed by the butler.
‘A visitor?’
It was somewhat relieving to hear that someone had come to see her.
Since Leonie’s father had become involved in an unfortunate incident, she had been subtly ostracized from social circles.
‘I wonder who came?’
No one particular came to mind.
At times like these, I wished I had read The Tumultuous Life of Leonie more carefully.
‘Even if I had read it, I probably wouldn’t have remembered such minor details.’
While I was passing time munching on hazelnuts brought by the butler.
“Oh my, Libe.”
Leonie walked into the reception room with a gentle smile.
For someone who had said she wasn’t feeling well, her face looked quite good.
Still, I was glad to see her in good condition.
Inwardly grinning, I held out the desserts and medicine.
“Leonie, I was going to leave these with the butler.”
“No, thank you.”
Leonie accepted the box with a bright smile.
“Let’s eat together. I can’t just let you leave after coming all this way.”
“Ah, no. I really was just going to drop these off, but the butler insisted I see you before leaving.”
While I was waving my hands in protest, Leonie called for her maid.
“Louisa, please take care of this.”
Louisa took the dessert box with a puzzled expression.
“Vice is certainly popular. How strange that all of today’s visitors brought desserts from Vice?”
I couldn’t let that comment slip by.
All the visitors brought desserts from Vice?
“Leonie, I heard you had a visitor earlier.”
At my words, Leonie showed a somewhat awkward smile.
“Yes, it wasn’t planned or anything…”
That reluctant face, similar to the expression she had when she fled from the ballroom.
Perhaps it was curiosity about her uncomfortable gaze.
I couldn’t help but blurt out.
“Was it Lord Adrian Watford?”
My question made Leonie look startled.
“How did you know?”
My mind began racing very quickly.
At the recent ball, Leonie and Adrian were definitely enjoying a walk in the garden.
Her shoulders that seemed somehow shy, her fluttering movements—though I was quite far away, she had clearly looked happy.
But Leonie’s fate is with Gerlach.
All the misfortunes happening to her now are because things aren’t following their destined path.
‘But no matter how much I think about it, I can’t remember when Adrian appeared in the story.’
Did I miss it because I skimmed through the narrative and only read the dialogue thoroughly?
That meant Adrian didn’t have much significance in the original story.
‘What do I do? It seems everything has gotten tangled because I got involved with Gerlach.’
Either way, I needed to figure out what kind of relationship Leonie and Adrian had.
I decided to be honest about what I had seen and what I knew.
“Ah, well, the thing is… actually…”
“Libe, I have something to tell you.”
“Huh?”
Wait, can’t I speak first?
“Something to say?”
Leonie, with a determined expression, hesitated after throwing out her words.
Then, as if she had made up her mind, she began to speak.
“We’ve been friends for a very long time, haven’t we?”
“Uh, yeah, that’s right.”
Though I had no memories of it, Leonie and I had been close since we were very young.
Of course, I endlessly envied Leonie, thinking she blocked my fortune and even monopolized the person I loved in the end.
Ah, not me now, but the villainess Liberata in the novel thought that way.
“Libe, for some reason, I used to love visiting your house when we were kids.”
“Y-yeah, that’s right.”
“Maybe it was because sneaking into your brother’s study and room was so much fun.”
Though I didn’t remember it, just imagining it seemed amusing.
“Do you remember messing up Oliver’s assignments or tearing up the garden?”
“Y-yeah, I do! Hahaha!”
I tilted my head back and put in all my effort to make it seem like a genuine laugh.
“Now I can laugh about it, but back then, as a child, I was so scared of your brother.”
“Right.”
“We used to hide in the wardrobe or crawl under the bed, didn’t we?”
“Yeah, yeah, we did.”
“And whenever Oliver scolded us…”
Leonie slightly lowered her head, then smiled softly as she continued.
“Adrian always took our side.”
“Ah, yeah, he did, he did!”
As I laughed awkwardly, I couldn’t help but think, Did such a scene really exist?
“You don’t remember.”
At Leonie’s words, my forced smile trembled.
I awkwardly scratched the bridge of my nose a few times.
“It was so long ago. I feel like I remember, but also don’t.”
“Really? For me, it’s as vivid as yesterday.”
“Well, you’ve always been the smart one, Leonie.”
I wondered why she was bringing up stories from over a decade ago.
Was she trying to emphasize that we’ve known each other for a long time?
Just as I took a sip of tea, leaving untouched the cake that still maintained its pretty shape since Leonie hadn’t touched it yet.
“He was my first love.”
“cough, cough!“
“Libe, are you okay?”
Leonie’s sudden declaration got stuck in my throat.
I pounded my chest, trying to swallow both her words and the tea.
“Oh dear, what should we do? Are you alright?”
“Y-yeah, I’m fine, I’m fine…”
Wait a minute, Lord Adrian Watford was Leonie’s first love?
Your fate is changing, young lady. Oh my, but it’s not good. Someone has stolen your fate. You won’t be able to find peace until it returns.
Was it natural that the fortune teller’s words came to mind right then?
‘Leonie’s fate is changing. What should I do?’
But regardless of my internal turmoil, Leonie’s face was flushed pink.
“Libe, your surprise is making me so embarrassed.”
She covered her fair, translucent cheeks with both hands.
No, Leonie. This isn’t the time for that!
First, I needed to hear more details.
First love is just first love, it might not be ongoing, right?
Plus, let’s not get too scared about childhood crushes!
“Ah, well… Leonie, I had lots of first loves too. You know how kids fall for anyone who’s nice to them, right?”
“I wasn’t like that.”
She’s being so firm about this.
“Actually, I missed him for years even after he moved away.”
“……”
“Even as a child, I thought he was so wonderful. Kind-hearted, caring, gentle. Come to think of it, Libe, you were the same.”
“Huh? Me?”
“I heard you threw tantrums to your father saying you’d marry Lord Watford.”
At that moment, I remembered what Adrian had said when he barged into our house.
Everyone around the table had been busy teasing me.
“Well, maybe I did…”
“See? He was our idol.”
Just as Leonie made an enchanted expression and smiled lovingly, a good idea suddenly occurred to me.
See, Leonie, it’s not a special memory.
I did the same thing, after all.
Adrian was kind to everyone, he didn’t think of you specially.
Let’s make good use of this atmosphere!
“Right, everyone has memories of their first love like that. And you know how memories are most beautiful when they stay as memories? They say the past shines brightest when it’s left in the past.”
“What? Is there such a saying?”
“Yeah, I heard that when you meet your first love again, it usually doesn’t end well. How should I put it… even the good memories from the past get tarnished?”
Leave a Reply