Chapter 14

“Well, that doesn’t matter anymore. There was only one reason I placed you in the Count Olden family. It was to use you as a pawn to secure Isaac’s position by marrying you into a powerful family.”  

Devonie’s confession, brimming with deliberate malice, was spoken in a tone only Euphrasia could hear.  

Euphrasia, having ears to hear and eyes to see, was well aware of the rumors about her before she gave birth to Louis.  

Even so, hearing Devonie’s true intentions directly for the first time was undeniably painful.  

“I know.”  

She tried to respond calmly.  

Despite the pressure weighing down on her, she didn’t want to show any more vulnerability in front of her stepmother.  

“The Duke doesn’t recognize your son as his heir, does he? Then there’s no place for you in the Count Olden family anymore, Euphrasia.”  

“I have no intention of returning to the family either, so rest assured.”  

“You should listen to the end. I’m not here to discuss something so trivial.”  

Devonie silenced Euphrasia with a hand gesture, taking a deep breath. This was the moment she had been building up to.  

“I’ve spread a new rumor. The truth I’ve hidden all this time—there’s no longer any reason to keep it a secret.”  

Devonie’s voice, which had been calm, now carried a strange heat.  

“My late husband, blinded by a wicked woman, brought a child with no blood relation to the Olden family.”  

“…What?”  

“Your birth mother seems to have taken her secret about your true father’s identity to her grave. Do you understand now?”  

This statement was different from the verbal abuse Euphrasia had endured since childhood.  

Instead of her usual insults, Devonie delivered a truth far more shocking and destructive.  

As Euphrasia stood stunned, Devonie continued her unbelievable story.  

“You were never related to the Olden family in any way. You’re just a lowborn girl of unknown origin. And I’ve made sure everyone knows this truth.”  

At the moment Devonie revealed her main point, Euphrasia could no longer maintain her composed demeanor.  

“Didn’t you hear what I just said? A lowborn like you still dares to hold her head high.”  

“This is absurd… I cannot accept such an insult. It’s a lie… isn’t it? It’s a lie, right?”  

Euphrasia began mumbling in disbelief, her gaze unfocused. Watching her, Devonie raised the corners of her lips in a clear expression of triumph.  

“Didn’t I tell you to show proper respect? Kneel and bow your head to the ground!”  

“Shut up! I will not accept such absurd insults!”  

Devonie’s voice rose sharply, and Euphrasia instinctively lashed out in defense.  

Smack!  

A sharp sound echoed through the air.  

Devonie froze, her hand covering her reddened cheek, her mouth hanging open.  

Euphrasia, equally shocked, stood trembling, her raised hand quivering in disbelief.  

“L-lies. No, no, I… I didn’t mean to…”  

For a moment, everything around Devonie seemed to freeze. Even the sting on her cheek felt unreal.  

Thud, thud!  

The brief hesitation gave Euphrasia an opening.  

Glancing between her hand and Devonie’s face as if in disbelief, Euphrasia suddenly turned and fled the ballroom.  

“Euphrasia! How dare you! Aghhh!”  

Devonie, regaining her senses a moment too late, screamed in rage, her face twisted in fury.  

Her outburst was so intense that even the noblewomen, who had been silently observing, felt their hearts tremble.  

Unable to bear the Countess’s disgraceful behavior, the surrounding nobles turned their gazes away, distancing themselves from her.  

However, among the crowd, two pairs of eyes followed Euphrasia as she fled.  

***

What state of mind had led her to leave the banquet hall?  

As the fresh outdoor air brushed against her, Euphrasia felt as though she was regaining some semblance of clarity.  

Her feet carried her to the garden located behind the banquet hall. The frantic beating of her heart gradually began to slow.  

‘Should I have held back?’  

Her palm still stung from the slap she had delivered to Devonie’s cheek. It was an impulsive act born from a desire to silence her by any means necessary.  

She had wanted to refute Devonie’s words with composure until the very end, but things hadn’t gone as planned.  

Even though she called it a lie, Euphrasia couldn’t deny the unease she had occasionally felt during Count Olden’s lifetime. It was only now that she began to understand the source of that discomfort.  

The fragmented memories of Count Olden that had always seemed slightly off were now aligning like the teeth of a gear in her mind.  

Despite his constant kindness, there were moments when he would awkwardly push her away whenever she tried to seek comfort or affection.  

On nights when the moon shone brightly, he would secretly visit her room, his face filled with sorrow, stroking her hair before abruptly stepping back as though startled awake.  

Even while professing his love for her, he would avert his gaze, his expression tinged with guilt and unease.  

Although clumsy in his expression, Euphrasia had believed all of this to be a father’s love for his daughter.  

And that love from Count Olden had been everything Euphrasia had in her childhood.  

‘But if that wasn’t the case…’  

Had my father seen me as a shadow of my mother?  

The thought made her feel as though her very existence was being denied.  

“Haa…”  

A deep sigh escaped her lips.  

Euphrasia crouched down, burying her face between her knees. A few strands of her luxuriously styled emerald-green hair tickled her cheek.  

‘A breeze?’  

A sudden chill swept over her body.  

Though the breeze was faint and fleeting, it was piercingly cold.  

As she rubbed her arms against the unexpected cold, a shadow fell over her.  

Just moments ago, there had been no one around her. She hadn’t sensed anyone approaching either.  

Like the wind itself, a man had appeared, smiling warmly as he looked at her.  

“The nights in the Empire are rather chilly, aren’t they?”  

The man was dressed in the distinct attire of the Kingdom of Kettlin’s delegation.  

Euphrasia, confronted with the silhouette of his body visible through his thin clothing, quickly averted her eyes and shut them tight.  

‘Of course, it’s cold! What else would you expect in this weather!’  

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, and she fanned herself with her hands.  

In front of her flustered state, the man spoke in a rather brazen tone.  

“If you keep staring at me like that, I’ll get shy.”  

“I wasn’t looking! I had my eyes closed!”  

The man’s confident demeanor, as though he had nothing to be embarrassed about, oddly suited him.  

Euphrasia, finally managing to recover from her flushed state, opened her eyes slightly and hesitantly spoke.  

Even though she had disrupted the atmosphere earlier, she doubted the banquet had been halted solely because of her.  

Besides, the delegation from the Kingdom of Kettlin was one of the main participants in the victory banquet.  

Though it was unclear why someone from the delegation was outside instead of attending the ongoing banquet, he was, after all, a distinguished guest of the Empire.  

She needed to maintain at least the minimum level of courtesy.  

Standing up hesitantly, Euphrasia addressed him.  

“Are you part of the delegation? The Empire is entering early winter now. You should consider getting a thick coat. Perhaps even adopting Empire-style attire would be a good idea.”  

“Oh! I’m moved. To think that a beautiful lady I’ve just met would so graciously offer me such kind advice! Could it be that you’ve taken an interest in me?”  

The man’s exaggerated tone was filled with mischief.  

Unsure of how to respond, Euphrasia remained silent, prompting the man to speak again.  

“Ah, you see, I was feeling a bit down because the people of the Empire don’t seem all that interested in us.”  

“That can’t be true. Your delegation must be the highlight of today’s banquet. And in any case…”  

Your attire alone ensures you’ll attract attention.  

She stopped herself from saying the last sentence, fearing it might come off as rude.  

The man shrugged lightly.  

“Well, it seems that the noble lords and ladies of the Empire are more focused on practical gains than on curiosity about a small island nation like ours.”  

“Ah…”  

Euphrasia recalled the scene inside the hall.  

The large circle formed by the nobles. Surely, someone within that circle had drawn the attention of all the attendees.  

As Euphrasia’s amethyst eyes reflected her thoughts, the man’s gaze lingered on her.  

For a brief moment, his facial muscles stiffened, but soon, his lips drooped into a sad expression.  

It was a forlorn look.  

“Won’t you spare a little of your attention for this poor, attention-starved man?”  

Pretending to sigh in despair, the man quickly brightened his tone, his voice cheerful as he made a suggestion.  

For a moment, Euphrasia imagined a wagging tail behind him.  

It was as if he were mimicking a large dog rolling over and begging for affection.  

‘More like a fox than a dog?’  

No, perhaps a fox that had grown too large for its own good.  

Though his appearance was undeniably charming and adorable, there seemed to be something hidden beneath the surface…  

“How about joining me for a pleasant time in the tea room? It seems you’d rather not return to the banquet hall just yet.”  

The man likely had witnessed her earlier exchange with Devonie.  

“No.”  

Euphrasia firmly shook her head.  

“I just needed some fresh air. I hope you enjoy your time in the Empire.”  

She had entertained him with courtesy long enough.  

Perhaps not expecting such a direct rejection, the man’s pupils wavered slightly.  

For the first time, an expression of surprise crossed the face of the man who had been confidently steering the conversation.  

Euphrasia naturally bid him farewell and turned away.  

But instead of stepping aside, the man craned his neck, scrutinizing her closely.  

Euphrasia’s expression began to harden.  

This was… a bit uncomfortable.