Chapter 13

Countess Bedwig’s eyebrow crooked upwards.

“Please go in first, Mother.”

Catherine spoke in a voice as cold as ice, pushing away Countess Bedwig’s hand.

“Catherine, come in with me. I have something important to tell you. About someone I want to introduce you to.”

So, she had already decided where to sell me off. Who could it be?

‘The old Viscount Williams who recently lost his wife? Or the notorious ruffian, Baron Kier? Surely not Tigris.’

Catherine wondered just how low Countess Bedwig thought of her.

So she asked.

“Someone you want to introduce me to? Who is it?”

“It’s Rael from the Tigris family.”

My goodness.

Catherine felt dizzy.

She had no expectations, but this was beyond her imagination.

Rael Tigris, to put it mildly, was like a five-year-old child.

To be kind, he had a childlike innocence, but to be blunt, he had no sense of shame.

Rael was a good person. Catherine acknowledged that. They were even childhood friends.

But she couldn’t imagine being married to Rael.

With Rael, it would be nothing more than playing house.

After silently apologizing to Rael, Catherine looked straight at Countess Bedwig.

“Mother, shall we go somewhere quiet to talk?”

“That’s what I wanted.”

Suppressing the urge to grab Countess Bedwig by the hair, Catherine forced a pretty smile.

***

“You look well. You must have been living comfortably.”

As soon as they reached a secluded part of the garden, Countess Bedwig revealed her true feelings.

“You must have had a hard time, Mother. You’ve got more wrinkles.”

Countess Bedwig’s brow furrowed.

“Don’t call me mother with that filthy mouth of yours.”

“If you hate me so much, you shouldn’t have shown up, Mo.ther.”

Catherine didn’t want to call her mother either.

But since it annoyed her, she forced herself to say it, even though she hated it more than death.

‘If you hate it, I can call you that a thousand times more.’

“Since your divorce, you’ve become full of spite. Even your once tolerable face has grown hideous.”

“They say you see what you are. Your self-assessment is quite poor.”

Catherine returned Countess Bedwig’s insult in kind.

Countess Bedwig’s mouth twitched with a spasm.

She thought that if she left Catherine alone for a few years, she would be hurt, exhausted, and come crawling back with her head bowed.

The social world was not easy, especially for a divorced woman.

But Catherine had become more confident and defiant.

Her changed attitude made Countess Bedwig regret leaving her alone for four years, unable to find an appropriate match.

She should have dragged her by the hair back to the Earl’s estate.

“Ha! Ungrateful wretch!”

“You need to have received grace to be ungrateful. What have you ever done for me to say such a thing?”

Catherine let out a hollow laugh.

If Earl Bedwig had said that, she could understand.

Thanks to Earl Bedwig, Catherine never went hungry, received a good education, and was treated as a noble.

But Countess Bedwig, who had tormented her and only thought of marrying her off to a wealthy family to exploit them, had no right to say such things.

“Do you know whose favor you live here by? If I hadn’t accepted you as a child, you would have lived as a mere maid. Or perhaps used your pretty face to survive.”

“Are you upset that I didn’t live that way? Why? Because you couldn’t exploit me?”

“What?”

“You seem agitated because it hits close to home.”

Catherine took a step closer to Countess Bedwig.

Catherine was no longer a mere child. She had grown up. She was even living her second life.

She knew there were greater pains than being ignored by one’s parents.

And she had something to protect.

So, the Countess no longer scared her.

The Countess took a step back.

No matter how fierce Countess Bedwig appeared, she was just a noblewoman who had grown up pampered.

She had never experienced the rage that could tear someone apart, and Catherine’s sudden change in demeanor scared her.

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

“How much were you planning to exploit from the Tigris family?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You weren’t planning to marry me off to Rael out of charity or a sense of service, were you?”

Charity and service, such words were utterly unfitting for Countess Bedwig.

“You’re a divorced woman, Catherine! Even Rael is too good for you. So don’t act up and do as you’re told.”

Countess Bedwig did not back down.

She feared Catherine’s fierce gaze, but that was all.

To Countess Bedwig, Catherine was like a dog she had raised with beatings.

A dog trained with violence from a young age wouldn’t dare to attack its master, even if it grew strong enough to win.

All it could do was growl.

If pushed, Catherine would obediently marry as told.

Catherine could see what Countess Bedwig was thinking.

Her mind was boiling with anger.

So she made up her mind.

I will never live the way you want.

And I will make sure you can’t even dream of using me.

“I have someone to marry.”

“What?”

“I said I have someone to marry. People who know me already know. That person comes to my house constantly.”

Countess Bedwig’s eyes and mouth widened simultaneously.

It was possible for her to have someone she was seeing.

Moreover, since Catherine was divorced, some degree of dating was allowed.

But having someone who constantly visited her house was another matter.

If the Tigris family found out, and if they discovered that Rael was being pushed into a marriage knowing this, they might demand a hefty compensation instead of paying.

‘But they won’t find out, right?’

She could dismiss it as just rumors.

Countess Bedwig couldn’t give up on Rael.

The amount the Tigris family offered was enormous.

It was a hundred times better than marrying off Catherine to an old noble as a second wife.

“Forget it.”

Countess Bedwig finally spoke after a long silence.

“Break up with that man immediately. Forget about the marriage. The man you’re seeing must be a loser anyway. For your future, break up with him.”

“He’ll never agree to that.”

Catherine blurted out.

“He loves me so much that if I leave him, he might kill Rael Tigris.”

The words coming from Catherine’s mouth were absurd.

If he was such a dangerous man, it would be wise to get rid of him immediately for the sake of the Bedwig family.

Not for Catherine’s sake. She didn’t care if Catherine was beaten or had her hair pulled.

But if the man harmed the Bedwig family heir or tarnished the family’s honor, that would be unacceptable.

“Who is he?”

If the Countess knew who he was, she could get rid of him before he caused trouble.

Eliminating a person was not difficult. She had done it before.

Catherine hesitated, unable to answer.

Countess Bedwig’s eyes sparkled.

“You… you’re lying, aren’t you?”

“No!”

Catherine answered boldly. Instinctively, she knew.

She couldn’t back down now, but no suitable person came to mind.

She had already said he constantly visited her house, so it could only be Paul or Hugo.

She couldn’t involve Paul in this, so it had to be Hugo.

But the idea of dating her ex-husband was laughable.

‘Not only would it be laughable, but others would mock us too.’

“If it’s not a lie, tell me. Who is this man you’re so deeply involved with?”

Thinking she had the upper hand, Countess Bedwig spoke arrogantly.

Catherine gritted her teeth.

Should I make up something about introducing him at the ball?

As she was pondering this.

“Speak up! Tell me!”

As Catherine hesitated, Countess Bedwig raised her voice.

“He’s inside the ballroom….”

As the words slipped out, there was a rustling sound behind Catherine. Soon, a man appeared from the darkness.

“It’s me, that man.”

A familiar voice.

‘No, it can’t be.’

She hoped it wasn’t him, but the unmistakable scent of the large man standing next to her confirmed it.

‘Hugo.’

Catherine bit her lower lip, unable to turn around.

“Catherine, here you are. I’ve been looking for you.”

Hugo took Catherine’s hand.

He looked Countess Bedwig straight in the eye and spoke firmly.

“I should have informed you earlier, but it’s late. I’m seeing Catherine again.”

“Viscount Edward?”

“Please call me Hugo, as before, Mother.”

Hugo greeted her nonchalantly. But unlike his soft smile, his eyes were hard.

Countess Bedwig’s eyes narrowed.

She turned to Catherine and asked.

“Is this true?”