It seemed her inner thoughts were reflected on her face, as her stepmother sharply interjected again.

“So you want to keep working among those men, is that it? How noble and glorious.”

“At least earning my own money through work is better than being married off like cattle because of debt.”

“Are you mocking me now? Look here, dear. Even if I was your real mother, would this child have the audacity to disrespect me like this? After all I’ve done to raise you, how can you treat me this way, Giselle?”

Her stepmother trembled with fury, quickly turning to the Baron and complaining. Enraged, he raised his hand again, unable to control his anger.

“Are you going to hit me again?”

Giselle avoided his hand, but instead raised her head to look at him directly. Even in the darkness, her vivid green eyes clearly reflected his image. The father’s image seen through the daughter’s eyes was an unsightly one.

Sensing this, the Baron tightened his fist and lowered his hand, though he couldn’t fully calm his anger. He simply gestured towards the house.

“Go to your room right now.”

“…”

“You don’t need to go to work tomorrow either. Go to your room and reflect on your wrongdoings! Nanny, what are you doing! Hurry and take her inside!”

“I… My Lord.”

The nanny, who had witnessed the entire situation, turned deathly pale and trembled. At that moment, William, who had been silent until then, approached with an irritated expression and roughly grabbed his sister’s arm.

“Let go of me!”

Giselle frowned at her brother’s violent action and tried to pull her thin arm away. But he, not caring whether his sister was in pain or not, tightly gripped her arm and shouted.

“It’s you who should stop, sister! Why are you being so selfish?”

“I’m… selfish?”

“Of course. What’s wrong with marrying that old man? You’ll become the Countess, for heaven’s sake. And all you have to do is close your eyes and warm the old man’s bed, and all that debt will be gone. Why can’t you do that?”

Giselle firmly shut her mouth at her brother’s words.

It seemed her father and stepmother also nodded in agreement with his words. They were all condemning her with the same mindset.

“You can’t even do that much for the family…”

“For the family. Yes, that’s a nice phrase.”

Giselle interrupted William’s words, then looked at her parents and sibling before speaking again.

“Then, William, what have you done for the family so far? Have you tried to pay off the debt at all? Have you ever earned money with your own hands?”

“That’s too harsh, Giselle! William is the heir! He’s the future successor of the Anticia barony!”

Her stepmother sharply shouted at Giselle. William, whose face had reddened at his sister’s words, quickly nodded and looked at her with a mocking gaze.

“You’re saying all sorts of things just because you brought in a few pennies. Who told you to earn money? You just wanted to roam around outside shamelessly, and made up excuses about paying off the debt!”

“…”

“You should have corrected your habit of acting wilfully when you applied to the academy against Father’s wishes. Even after spending years among those men, you still don’t feel ashamed.”

Her stepmother clicked her tongue, looking at Giselle with contempt. The Baron also clicked his tongue, casting a similar gaze at her, then turned and left.

“Anyway, go to your room and don’t come out! Ireina, you go inside as well. It’s cold, we don’t want you getting sick.”

The Baron wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulder and went back into the manor. William also cast a sneer at Giselle before following them.

“…Young lady.”

The only one left by her side was the nanny, her eyes brimming with tears of sorrow. Not her parents, not her siblings.

“Please go inside first. You’re cold from the rain…”

The nanny approached Giselle with a pained expression. But Giselle took a step back, raising her hand to the nanny.

“I’m sorry, nanny. I can’t go back in.”

“Huh? Oh, young lady!”

“I can’t go back in with this mindset. No, if I go back like this, I might end up having to get married. You know how Father will react.”

Giselle shook her head, taking another step back.

The nanny hesitated, her lips quivering, then tightly closed her eyes and turned away.

It meant she would pretend not to have seen. Instead of taking Giselle back to the house.

Watching the old nanny’s back, Giselle’s eyes welled up.

“Thank you.”

“Just for tonight, young lady. If anyone finds out an unmarried young lady like you spent the night out, what would we do?”

“Okay. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry about the money, just stay somewhere safe. Don’t go to some cheap place, alright?”

The nanny, with her voice choked by sobs, kept giving one instruction after another as she walked away.

Giselle’s eyes grew hot at her concern.

Even knowing that refusing to take her inside would invite a storm, the nanny considered Giselle’s wounded heart first. To allow her to soothe her pain, even if just for one night.

“…I’ll see you after work, nanny.”

“Make sure you eat properly too. Don’t be stingy with the food. No one… no one appreciates.”

The nanny added with a tone of resentment, unintentionally. It wasn’t just Giselle’s heart that was hurt by those few coins.

“Okay.”

Giselle gave a wry smile and nodded, then turned and left. The nanny was surely watching her with a worried gaze from behind.

That’s why she walked away resolutely, unfazed, despite her pale face streaked with tears.

* * *

“Come on, miss, let’s go together…”

The man who had been pestering Giselle tripped over his own feet and fell. She barely managed to step back to avoid falling with him.

People peeking out from the inn watched the scuffle between Giselle and the man.

But not a single one of them tried to help Giselle. They simply giggled among themselves, enjoying the entertainment.

In the midst of that, the man who had been pestering her got back up, groping the area around his crotch.

“Hey there, pink-haired miss…”

“Kyaah!”

Horrified by the lewd sight, Giselle instinctively took off her shoe and threw it at the man, then turned and ran.

She was so shaken that she couldn’t even cry. She ran aimlessly, not knowing where she was going.

She ran and ran and ran.

She stumbled to a stop. It seemed the soles of her bare feet had been injured from running on the streets.

“Ow…”

Giselle bit her lip, crouching down at the spot, overcome by the pain that had finally caught up to her. Both her feet were completely bare, as she had unknowingly lost the other shoe as well while running.

“…Hic.”

She covered her mouth with her hands, trying to hold back the sobs that threatened to burst out. But despite her pitiful efforts, the tears seeped through her fingers.

It was a belated cry that should have come out sooner.

“No. I won’t cry. I won’t cry.”

Giselle bit the tender flesh inside her cheek and took a deep breath again. Her breath came out in shaky gasps as she swallowed the tears. But she was able to calm her wavering heart.

“Phew…”

She wiped the tears that had streaked her damp cheeks, then pushed herself up, putting strength into her legs.

“Ah… I’ve come this far.”

Giselle’s eyes finally took in the surroundings. It was the scenery of the park near her office.

The one she would often visit during her breaks.

“…This isn’t some homing instinct or anything.”

Giselle let out a wry laugh, surprised that she had unconsciously made her way to the office area.

Did she feel more at home here than at her own house?

She chuckled and slowly walked into the park.

“Maybe I should just stay here until dawn.”

Giselle murmured to herself as she looked around. She didn’t feel like going to an inn. Without any guarantee that she wouldn’t encounter more drunken men pawing at her like earlier, the empty park seemed like the better option.

Furthermore, since her feet hurt and it would be difficult to walk any further, she thought it might not be a bad idea to spend the night here.

“Cough!”

Of course, the downside was that the open park offered no shelter from the cold wind.

“But at least the rain has stopped. Cough!”

Giselle muttered quietly, then coughed again before buttoning up her collar. She then limped deeper into the park.

The idea of a spot sheltered by the dense foliage had suddenly occurred to her. That place would be suitable to spend the night, as it would block the wind and possibly hide her from any prying eyes.

“…!”

But she soon had to reconsider her plan. The spot Giselle had intended to stay in was already occupied by what appeared to be vagrants or homeless people.

It was not right to have prejudices against people. But for Giselle, who had just been accosted by a drunken person, it was a frightening prospect.

No, even without that, it was natural for a woman to be afraid.

Giselle covered her mouth and nose tightly with both hands, fearing her breathing might be heard, then hastily turned and ran away. Her limp was barely noticeable in her hurried movements.