Chapter 4 – Part 1

“Oh my, who do we have here?”

“I never expected to see Lady Kristin here. Isn’t it the great Lady Kristin Edith?”

“After making such a scene at the wedding yesterday, you have the nerve to come to Begonia Café and gracefully sip tea. Truly impressive.”

As Kristin hastily exited Begonia Cafe, she encountered some young ladies she had seen before, or rather, young ladies who thoroughly disliked her.

They were Isabella, Venice, and Ellen, all born into count families.

Being fellow countesses, they had always thought little of Kristin and disapproved of her debut.

There was only one reason for this.

She was the playmate of Marquis Winston and had his favor.

There was an unspoken rule among them that no ordinary noble lady should easily take a place next to the marquis, a position not easily challenged.

However, Kristin, thanks to her mother, had easily entered the position of his playmate during childhood, and rumors had it that this relationship led to the Marquis’s favor.

Moreover, she rarely attended social parties and mostly stayed at home.

Kristin, who didn’t even hold tea parties, a type of social gathering among noble ladies, was not seen favorably by them.

It seemed as if she was flaunting her privileged status.

After ignoring the Marquis’s affections and accepting Raphael’s proposal, only to ruin the wedding, Kristin had become the target of their envy and scorn.

“I was just wondering where and what you might be doing now.”

“Lady Kristin, who are you here to meet this early in the morning? Could it be a new gentleman, setting aside Marquis Winston and Duke Raphael?”

“If so, we’d like to learn from you, Lady Kristin. Should we join you for tea and find out how you are so popular with the gentlemen?”

Each of them spoke with a kind smile towards Kristin, but in reality, they were mocking her, burning with jealousy.

In her past life, Kristin had never been able to respond to these ladies.

It was the same back then. Even before marrying Raphael, when she had come to buy handkerchief embroidery thread for him, they had similarly approached her.

Asking how she could seduce men.

Questioning if her low-born stepmother was truly her stepmother.

“How childish.”

Kristin replied in a lowered voice, refusing to retreat in front of them as she once had.

“Ch-childish?”

“What did you just say?”

“Surely you didn’t mean that about us? We are far purer than you, Kristin!”

However, Kristin did not back down and continued speaking.

“I said childish. Are you three planning to gang up on me? It seems like you’re trying to harass me in the street.”

Kristin did not want to back down in this situation.

Meeting Raphael in the morning wasn’t enough, now she faced the ladies who had tormented her.

She couldn’t help but sigh.

It was an unbearable environment to live the same way as before.

But why had she been unable to speak up all this time? What had she been living for?

“Do not harm others, Kristin.”

“I hope you will be able to hold your own in the future, even if I am no longer with the Viscount, but if you marry and leave for a better place, I will always be by your side.”

“Don’t speak ill of others, and grow up to be kind and gentle.”

For a moment, her mother’s words flashed through her mind.

Because of those words, Kristin had always felt that she should be a good and kind young girl, and she had worked tirelessly to make sure she was.

‘I’ll never live like I did before.’

“Were you leisurely having tea here after making such a mess of the wedding?”

At that moment, the voice of Raphael was heard from behind.

“What’s going on here?”

“Oh my, you were with Duke Raphael? Lady Kristin, you should have mentioned it earlier.”

“It’s an honor to see you, Your Grace. We are acquaintances of Lady Kristin. We were curious about the wedding and were thinking of visiting the mansion, but we didn’t want to be impolite.”

The ladies, who knew nothing about propriety, were now talking about it.

Seeing them like this, a smirk naturally appeared on Kristin’s lips.

“So, the wedding was called off, or rather… your relationship is still strong. We were all concerned about Lady Kristin and Duke Raphael.”

The ladies were struggling to make a good impression on Raphael, but his gaze was solely on Kristin.

After a moment of silence, Raphael spoke.

“Kristin? You left the café first, I’ve been looking for you. If you need a ride, my carriage is here.”

Raphael placed his hand on Kristin’s shoulder in a show of solidarity, clearly indicating to everyone that their relationship was intact.
There was a reason he went to such lengths.

Despite the chaos at the wedding, the presence of the two together proved their relationship was still ongoing. If their relationship were to fall apart, rumors about Kristin and Raphael would spread endlessly throughout the empire.

Raphael knew better than anyone who would be most pleased with this situation and who would be relieved to approach Kristin again.

While Kristin’s feelings for him had changed, he still had his own goals.

He wanted to inflict pain on Marquis Winston by taking away Kristin, whom the marquis loved, and to find out who was trying to kill him by using Kristin.

Therefore, Raphael needed Kristin.

Seeing her surrounded by these ladies, it seemed Kristin needed him too.

Raphael inwardly mocked,

‘See, Kristin. You need me. So let me help you.’

But Kristin shrugged off Raphael’s hand and slowly spoke to the surprised ladies.

“How about I invite you ladies to Edith’s estate?”

“What?”

“What?”

The ladies, taken aback by Kristin’s sudden invitation, exchanged confused glances, avoiding direct responses.

Kristin continued, noting their hesitation.

“Since I haven’t known how to socialize properly, I haven’t had any gatherings with ladies of my age. Perhaps because of this, you’ve been concerned about my situation. I wanted to assure you there’s no need to worry anymore.”

“At the Viscount’s estate?”

“Yes, that’s right. If you don’t wish to, then…”

Isabella, one of the ladies exchanging glances and reading the room, nodded to the other ladies before responding to Kristin.

“Alright, we’ll go! But, what about the wedding?”

At the mention of the wedding, Kristin looked at Raphael and then addressed the ladies.

“There won’t be a wedding. Right, Your Grace?”

This was Kristin’s final act of consideration. She wanted to say that there would be no wedding at all and that she was sick of even standing next to Raphael, but she couldn’t put it that way.

“Of course. If there’s a party at Kristin’s estate, I’ll send some desserts that the ladies will enjoy as a gift.”

Raphael’s expression soured due to Kristin’s words, but he forced a smile.

Kristin, seeing this, turned her gaze back to the ladies.

“Instead, I have a favor to ask.”

“W-what is it?”

“I need you to keep your visit to Edith’s estate a secret. I’m uncomfortable with rumors spreading throughout the empire. The wedding turned out the way it did, and if word gets out that I’m hosting a tea party, what will everyone think of me?”

“Well, that does make sense.”

“It’s not a problem for us to come, but I wonder if it will be alright.”

As the two ladies responded hesitantly, Kristin smiled brightly and grasped their hands firmly.

“I hope you come, Lady Isabella, Lady Venice, and Lady Ellen.”

“You remembered our names.”

Of course, she did. They were the three who led the group that bullied Kristin.

Their words were always the source of the unpleasant rumors about her.

Their names were unforgettable.

There was also a reason why she couldn’t rule them out in her carriage accident.
They had always been jealous of her, so they were certainly capable of causing the carriage accident.

Kristin was determined to uncover the truth – the cause of the accident and the reason behind it.

She decided to hold the gathering to probe into their true intentions. She was simply curious about their true feelings.

In front of the ladies who were now looking at her with serious expressions, Kristin bid farewell to Raphael.

“I enjoyed today, Your Grace. I’ll see you again.”

At her words, Raphael’s pupils trembled.

Ignoring Raphael, who was right in front of her, Kristin addressed the ladies one last time.

“The gathering will be the day after tomorrow at one o’clock at Edith’s estate. I’ll prepare some refreshments, so please come safely.”

“Yes, we’ll be there, Lady Kristin.”

Leaving the reluctantly agreeing ladies behind, Kristin hailed a different public carriage instead of Raphael’s.