The Villainess Lives Twice: Butterfly's Dream (IF Story) - Chapter 95
Miel looked at her cousin with a worried expression.
“Don’t say things you can’t take back. There must be a reason. If needed, Lady Artizea will explain it herself.”
“To be honest, there’s only one reason. They’ve been too close, like siblings.”
Hazel stated firmly. Miel cautioned her not to say such things lightly, but Hazel wasn’t one to keep quiet easily.
“I think the Grand Duke is right. If suddenly the little sister you’ve been caring for comes on strong and you just accept it, then you’re not much of a man.”
“Hng, so you think it’s only natural that my daughter will be abandoned by her fiance?”
A sharp voice came from behind. Only then did Hazel realize why Miel had been desperately trying to hold her back with a pale face.
Creak, creak. Like a broken gear, Hazel slowly turned her head. Standing before her was the most beautiful woman in the Empire, holding a splendid peacock-feather fan to cover her mouth as she shot Hazel a fierce glare.
“Mar, Marchioness Rosan, that’s not what I meant…”
“Gre, greetings, Marchioness Rosan.”
Miel forced a smile and greeted politely. Although they weren’t completely unacquainted with Milaira, no one considered their friend’s mother someone to be treated casually.
Milaira was alone today, unlike usual. Among those who entered the party with invitations, there were likely some followers of hers. Even if not followers, groups of reckless young men usually lingered around her, but since it was her daughter’s birthday party, she had driven them all away with a glare.
Everything about this was unpleasant. The grand birthday party seemingly flaunted the fact that her daughter had turned eighteen, and the opportunists who had flocked for it.
Normally, this would have been a formal engagement party, so nothing strange, but the situation had suddenly changed within the last three days.
[Do you think this makes any sense? Keeping you at home all this time, supposedly engaged, then suddenly breaking it off when you’re of marriageable age and throwing you into the marriage market? How’s this any different from an auction?!]
[I said it’s not like that! We agreed to just date without an engagement contract!]
[Dating? Just dating? Ha! That’s what men say when they don’t want to take any responsibility! Do you think only one or two women have ruined their lives after falling for such sweet talk?!]
[Lord Ced is not like that!]
[Everyone says that when it suits them! You foolish, crazy girl! If a man truly loves a woman, he treats her right! A formal engagement and marriage is exactly that!]
She hated it all.
From the moment Milaira lost custody, talking about engagement, she had never trusted Cedric. Although he was young then and perhaps not responsible for it, Milaira was certain that someone among the retainers had ulterior motives.
So this broken engagement was no different. Whether it was that he no longer needed to care for the child and wanted to abandon her, or that he intended to push Artizea into the marriage market to profit as a guardian.
Judging from her daughter’s attitude, either was possible, the man was only interested in benefit, refusing to bear any loss.
[Mother, you would have opposed it even if Lord Ced said he’d marry me right away! This is my life! I’ll do as I please, so don’t interfere!]
The daughter, who had been broken off from engagement without even a proper settlement, boldly raised her voice. Milaira could do nothing. Though she reached out impulsively, she was stopped from slapping her daughter by the guard’s presence.
She felt furious. No matter how she thought about it, Cedric was just spouting nonsense to avoid giving up his legal spouse position. Better if it had been a real broken engagement. Why break it off just to date?
Milaira saw that the girl had grown quite attractive, making it a shame to throw her away, yet she seemed too immature for marriage, like someone who would be played with and discarded.
She clutched her head, wondering who she had inherited such poor traits from. Despite all the praise about being the top disciple of the temple’s greatest scholar or an early college graduate, Artizea seemed unaware even of the basic workings of the world.
Her head ached fiercely and she was feverish with rage, but Milaira forced herself to get up and come to the party. She intended to slap Cedric with a fan after seeing what he had done.
When she glared at Hazel with her brewing displeasure, Hazel awkwardly smiled and tried to explain.
“That’s…not to say Tia was abandoned, but maybe it’s because siblings suddenly becoming spouses is difficult…”
That wasn’t the right choice of words either. Milaira’s eyes narrowed slowly. Hazel quickly linked arms with Miel and said,
“We, well, then we’ll go greet others.”
“Ah, Hazel.”
The two girls hurried away. Milaira snorted.
“Hmph.”
She turned her gaze around the party hall.
The guests roughly fell into three groups.
The most noticeable were the girls around Artizea’s age, like Hazel and Miel. Artizea wasn’t especially sociable but had lived as a noble girl for ten years, attending social functions. Whether close or not, most familiar girls had accepted the invitation.
The second group was adults, sometimes accompanying the younger girls as guardians or out of respect for Grand Duke Evron’s reputation. Grand Duke and Duchess Roygar and Grand Duke Graham of Altin were central figures, along with ladies-in-waiting sent by the Empress and Crown Princess and Artizea’s tutors. This group rivaled the grandeur of a palace gathering.
The last group was unmarried young men dressed flamboyantly like peacocks.
Milaira frowned at them. If the party had been held as planned before the broken engagement, would they have come dressed like that?
Of course, many noble girls aged sixteen to twenty attended, but the reason for the young men’s elaborate dress was likely more than that.
At the point of broken engagement, Artizea became a highly valuable yet vulnerable prize in the marriage market. Apart from herself, there were no family members in Marquisate Rosan to exert pressure.
Once they ensnared Artizea, taking over the entire family would be as easy as flipping a hand.
Milaira knew very well how she was being treated. She easily guessed how those pretending to be noble heirs would manipulate public opinion in high society.
Moreover, the broken engagement stripped Artizea of the prestige conferred by the Crown Princess and the two princes she had relied on. The Empress’s three children were only Cedric’s cousins, not Artizea’s relatives.
She thought that she should bring Artizea home immediately and make her understand her place properly…
As Milaira pondered these thoughts, the party hall doors opened. There was no herald, but all eyes turned.
Cedric, dressed sharply in a deep blue formal coat, strode inside.