Chapter 85

Was it because of that?  

Suddenly, Diane found herself envying Kate for having such a family.  

Until now, she had never envied someone for having a particular family.  

Kate Jude…?  

As Diane thought of Kate, she suddenly felt strange, and turned to look at Kate Jude and the other man who had stayed behind.  

The man had blonde hair and blue eyes, but Kate Jude had red hair and deep brown eyes.  

Whether it was because of the color of her hair and eyes, or something else entirely, Diane didn’t know, but Kate Jude stood out not just in appearance but also in atmosphere from the rest of her family.  

While the others had a neat and elegant image, Kate Jude was dazzling and lively.  

“The ship is really beautiful, isn’t it?”  

“Oh! Yes.”  

Diane answered, looking at the Marchioness who spoke to her again.  

“They say the ship’s name is Diana.”  

“Oh, yes. Is that so?”  

Diana?  

That name…  

Diane was slightly startled inside, but quickly composed herself and nodded as if nothing was wrong.  

“Marquis Edward Wale named it himself, apparently.”  

“Oh…”  

Julian Wale added, joining the conversation again.  

Just as she hadn’t known the ship’s name, Diane hadn’t known this either.  

“So we thought the engagement would be officially announced soon.”  

The Marquis, who hadn’t spoken until now, finally said something.  

Since the entire Marquisate family had gathered, only Lord Jude remained silent, while the other three took turns making remarks that felt almost like pressure on Diane.  

She had no idea what the ship’s name and an engagement had to do with each other.  

She couldn’t even tell whose engagement they were talking about, though she had a vague sense.  

“Our child’s name was Diana.”  

As if knowing Diane didn’t understand, the Marchioness explained.  

“Excuse me?”  

Diane frowned without meaning to.  

Lord Jude, Julian, Kate, and the other young brother whose name she didn’t know yet.  

None of their names was Diana.  

It couldn’t be Lord Jude or the young man’s name.  

Kate Jude was their only daughter, so whose name was Diana?  

Kate Jude’s nickname couldn’t be Diana—the initial sounds didn’t match at all.  

Or did they have another young daughter? But the Marchioness had used the past tense.  

“You don’t know much about our family, do you? It doesn’t matter, but my daughter Kate’s childhood name was Diana. From the moment Diana was born, we had a marriage arrangement with the Wale Dukedom. So what do you think it means that Marquis Wale named the ship Diana?”  

“…!”  

She remembered Kate Jude’s words about being practically engaged to Edward since childhood.  

Did Edward really name the ship after Kate Jude’s childhood name, Diana?  

Diane’s spirits sank to the bottom of the sea.  

“Whatever your relationship with Marquis Wale may be—or rather, it’s better to say I don’t want to know about such a relationship.”  

The Marquis spoke again, and Diane felt a sense of foreboding in his words.  

A relationship with Marquis Wale, such a relationship…  

“The fact that he named the ship after my daughter should give you a sense of his intentions, so I hope you’ll act appropriately. If you have any sense, you’ll know how shameless it is to intrude in a relationship formed since childhood in such an improper way.”  

Improper way.  

Diane clenched her fist.  

So they’d come here just to tell her to stay away from Edward.  

But they weren’t just asking her to step back for their daughter—they were insulting her.  

With vague terms like ‘such a relationship’ and ‘improper way,’ but it was clear what they meant.  

Edward Wale was to marry their daughter Kate Jude, so a ‘professional beauty’ like her should step aside.  

Now, the hat clutched in her fist was being crushed.  

She shouldn’t have come on the cruise after all.  

To be treated like this.  

She knew better than anyone that she wasn’t suited for Edward Wale.  

Her heart had fluttered, but she was afraid of wanting more, so she never tried to be greedy. Just feeling that flutter was enough for the whole family to come and pressure her like this—it was unfair and painful.  

It felt like a repeat of the humiliation she’d suffered from the Lautrec Earldom.  

Why did she have to be trampled by the men of the Wale family every time?  

“Mother, Father, let’s get up now. I’ve already spoken with Miss Diane Lina.”  

Lord Jude finally spoke.  

Diane had to grit her teeth not to glare at him.  

She now disliked not only Lord Jude, but all the Jude Marquisate.  

Maybe she was even angrier because she’d felt warmth toward them before.  

A group that gathered together to insult and pressure someone powerless like her.  

Yes, these people really were a perfect match for the ruthless Edward Wale!  

“Miss Lina, I’m sorry to say this, but I just want my daughter not to be hurt. She’s so precious to me. You may not understand, but your parents would. You seem about the same age as my daughter, so you must be precious to your family too. As a parent, I worry. People who are similar have happier marriages.”  

Despite Lord Jude’s attempt to stop her, the Marchioness added this, and Diane bit her lower lip.  

If she didn’t, she felt she would burst into tears.  

The Marchioness’s words, following the Marquis’s insult, struck Diane like a double blow. They sounded warm, but to Diane, an orphan, they felt colder than ice.  

The Marchioness surely didn’t know Diane had no parents, or that she wasn’t a precious daughter to anyone.  

It hurt so much.  

Anger and frustration welled up inside her.  

If you’re sorry, don’t say it!  

If you’re worried, is it right to hurt me like this?  

When did I ever say I’d marry Edward Wale?  

Did I ever even get to like Edward Wale freely?  

It was strange.  

Maybe it was because she could feel the sincerity in every word, not knowing she was an orphan?  

The Marchioness’s words hurt more than anything else she’d ever heard as an orphan.  

Marchioness, who do you think you are!  

Strangely, the Marchioness’s words hurt more than the Marquis’s blunt remarks.  

Something was rising up from deep inside her.  

“If you’d all come together to say this, you needn’t have worried at all. Unlike you, I like people who have basic manners and consideration for others, so I have no interest in Marquis Wale.”  

Diane said, looking from the Marchioness to the Marquis, Lord Jude, and Julian.  

Their faces twisted, and the Marchioness turned pale.  

“Hey, what do you mean by that!”  

Julian demanded, his voice rising.  

Even people at nearby tables turned to stare at Diane’s table.  

And their faces were filled not with hostility toward the Marquisate, but toward Diane—ridicule and scorn.  

Diane was swept up in even deeper shame and anger.  

“Seeing the Marquisate family, I think your daughter would suit President Edward Wale very well.”  

Just as ruthless, lacking in consideration, and thoroughly unkind.  

She kept the last part to herself.  

She wanted to say it all, but if she did, she’d be just as heartless as they were.  

In fact, even saying what she had taken all the courage she’d ever had. She didn’t have the strength to add the last part.  

But she didn’t want to show weakness to people who bullied the powerless.  

Even if her response looked like a feeble protest to them.  

“Miss Diane Lina!”  

Even Lord Jude raised his voice.  

Gritting her teeth, she felt her courage surge again.  

She felt a sense of betrayal that even Lord Jude was yelling at her.  

Looking back, Lord Jude had always been cold and hostile to her.  

“If you’re done, please leave. Or should I go? I’m clearly the weaker one here, in both numbers and status.”  

For the first time in her life, Diane spoke without considering the other party’s feelings, saying everything she wanted to say.  

The group attack from Lord Jude, whom she’d felt warmth toward, and the family she’d felt a strange sense of longing for, brought up a rage she couldn’t suppress.