Chapter 11 – Part 4

Kristin stood up and addressed Elena, “What brings you here, Elena?”

Handing the bouquet to the butler, Elena replied,

“I brought these flowers for the Duke. I couldn’t just stay at the estate after hearing that you collapsed at the debutante ball last night. I was so worried.”

Elena spoke tearfully, looking only at Raphael. However, the Duke paid her no attention.

“Yes, I collapsed and ended up here at the Duke’s mansion. But it’s still an embarrassment to the Duke for you to come here.”

Kristin said. However, Elena, fixated on Raphael, didn’t hear her sister.

Elena had fallen for Raphael’s handsome appearance. Dressed in a black uniform with his hair neatly styled, he was attractive enough to make any woman swoon.

Initially, Elena had planned to simply deliver the flowers and show herself as a caring sister before returning home. But seeing Raphael up close had turned her mind into a blank slate.

“Elena?”

Kristin called, but Elena, her cheeks flushed, couldn’t respond properly. Witnessing this, Raphael finally addressed Elena.

“What brings you to the Ducal residence? If you were worried about your sister, you could have sent a letter. Was your relationship so close that you had to visit early in the morning, before nine o’clock?” Raphael’s tone was cold and sharp.

Elena’s pupils began to tremble. Her shy smile disappeared as she realized she had been exposed. Turning to Kristin with a worried expression, she spoke innocently,

“A letter would have been enough, but I still wanted to personally check on my sister after she collapsed. She’s always been frail.”

Kristin couldn’t help but smirk at Elena’s words.

While Elena spoke of Kristin’s frailty, it was evident that her previous actions had been aimed at cornering Kristin. Alongside her mother, she had treated Kristin harshly and envied anything the count gave Kristin, demanding the same for herself.

On days when Kristin was ill, Elena had even thrown the porridge prepared for her onto the floor out of jealousy. She had shown no concern for Kristin’s well-being.

Now, seeing Elena pretend to care was almost laughable to Kristin, who barely managed to suppress her derision as she slowly replied,

“I wouldn’t have come to the Duke’s mansion if I didn’t have to. If I hadn’t collapsed.”

Elena’s face showed shock as she seemed to recall the events of the previous night’s ball. She wore a worried expression but hesitated, seemingly unsure of what to say next.

Kristin knew that Elena’s current demeanor was a facade, concealing her true intent to hurt her further with cruel words. Seeing through this, Kristin asked,

“How was the atmosphere at the ball? Did you meet many distinguished nobles?”Elena likely wanted to bask in the attention of young nobles and might have spread malicious rumors about Kristin among those curious about her. It was entirely plausible, considering Elena’s nature.

“I met many distinguished nobles. Originally, I would have returned to the estate with you. But upon hearing you collapse, I couldn’t just stay still. I heard you left the palace in the Duke’s carriage and wanted to come to see you immediately but couldn’t,” Elena said.

Raphael listened to Elena’s words, seemingly savoring them as he cut his steak, showing no sign of concern. Elena kept glancing at the Duke as if she had more to say to him.

“Elena, let’s go back. Staying too long in the Duke’s mansion might…”

Kristin began, but at that moment, Raphael slammed his glass onto the floor, shattering it.

Startled servants rushed to clean up the broken glass, but Raphael picked up a shard and spoke,

“On the outside, it may look brilliant and beautiful, but inside, it’s so fragile. Just a little shock and it shatters into pieces.”

“What?”

Elena looked at Raphael, puzzled. Handing the shard to a servant, Raphael continued,

“They say you don’t realize how sharp something is until it breaks like this. But this glass, foolish as it is, doesn’t realize it’s such a sharp edge that could potentially harm someone.”

Kristin understood the Duke’s implication—he was referring to Elena. Yet, Elena remained oblivious, not realizing Raphael’s words were aimed at her.

“Blood, there’s blood, Your Grace,” a servant said.

“We’ll summon a physician,” another added.

As Raphael clenched his fist, blood dripped from his hand, yet he remained indifferent, addressing them,

“An uninvited guest has ruined my appetite. I’ll take my leave now. Kristin, finish your meal at your leisure. We have somewhere to go afterward, so please wait for me. I’ll take you back to the estate then.”

With that, Raphael wiped his injured hand with a cloth handed to him by a servant and handed it back, continuing, “Lady Elena, you must have a carriage. Please return safely. You were so worried about your sister, yet you came dressed so beautifully. It seems you wanted to impress someone, perhaps you had a date. Anyway, I’ll see you next time.”

Raphael’s indifferent expression and final glance at Elena before turning away left Kristin stunned, unsure how to react. Meanwhile, Elena’s hand trembled violently, a familiar sight from the past—her reaction when she was infuriated or humiliated but couldn’t confront her opponent.

Kristin, observing Elena’s trembling, spoke softly,

“So, why did you come to the ducal residence? Did you think you’d get some kind of good treatment?”

But Elena couldn’t immediately retort, aware that this wasn’t the Edith estate and that they weren’t alone. Above all, she felt humiliated. The surrounding servants, drawn by the sound of breaking glass, were all watching.

Elena, unable to bear the public humiliation, muttered,

“I won’t forgive this.”

“What?”

“I will never forgive the Duke. And do you think you’re better than me? ”

“Elena, why are you acting like this? ”

Elena slowly walked over to Kristin, shoving aside the servant who was cleaning up the broken glass, and continued.

“I won’t forget this. But that doesn’t mean I’m giving up. I kind of expected it. I knew it wouldn’t be easy. Still.”

“Elena.”

“I will have Duke Raphael. No one in the Empire can have him except me.”

The servants were shocked by Elena’s words. Though they knew the stepsisters were different, they had not realized how stark the contrast was. Unlike the calm and courteous Kristin, Elena glared at all the gathered servants and addressed them sharply.

“What are you all staring at? Do you find my situation amusing? Well, mark my words. The moment I become the Duchess of this estate, I’ll kick out every one of you.”

“Elena, what nonsense are you spouting?”

Kristin tried to stop her, but Elena had already lost her composure. Instead of causing more trouble, Elena decided to leave. She didn’t want to stay in the same space as Kristin any longer.

“Fine, see you back at the estate. And do you know what everyone was saying at the ball? ”

Elena turned towards Kristin as she spoke.

“I don’t need to hear it from you. I can already guess what kind of reactions there were.”

“Ha, then it’s perfect. Everyone was saying you finally seemed normal, but then was all your previous behavior just an act? You hoped your reputation would change after what happened in mine, but it seems it didn’t have the impact you wanted. Why did you act so foolishly? If you’re a noble, you should act like one.”

Kristin managed to suppress her laughter and reply to Elena.

“Are you a noble? ”

“What?”

The surrounding servants could barely stifle their laughter, causing Elena to look around with a furious expression.

Kristin felt a mixture of anger and pity towards Elena, who was unaware of the true nature of Raphael.

“If you were truly a noble, you wouldn’t show up unannounced in the morning. Why don’t you start by fixing such uncouth behavior, Elena? ”

As Kristin spoke, Elena raised her hand to strike her, but Lenci stepped forward cautiously.

“My Lady, you should leave before the Duke sees you behaving like this. I’m worried about what he might do.”

“Disgusting.”

Elena glared at Lenci before turning and walking towards the entrance. When the butler opened the door, she shoved it forcefully and stormed out.