To You Who Despise Me - ✿ dusk blossoms ✿

Ah, these people were treating her like a stranger, not family.

Janet’s uncle and current president of Wilton Company, Tailey Wilton, had made quite a lot of money from the success of passenger cars.

But initially, he didn’t agree with the opinion that carrying people would be profitable. This was understandable, as these massive trains were developed for transportation purposes, to carry goods and cargo.

The idea to make trains primarily passenger cars was Janet’s.

Amid doubts about its feasibility, one car was operated as a test, and the result was a definite success that dispelled all doubts.

This transportation method, several times faster than existing ones, instantly captivated people. The opening ceremony was crowded with people not only from the capital but also from other regions.

To convert this interest into ridership, Janet made all the plans for the commercialization of passenger cars.

However, she couldn’t implement them directly.

Because her father, who was then the president of Wilton Company, had deteriorating health.

Janet’s father was a man who loved his daughter. But he was also someone who strictly followed the rules of society.

And one of the most important rules in this country, the Bendar Empire, was that the right of inheritance belongs to men.

It was possible to bequeath to a woman if specifically stated in a will or testament, but this was considered very eccentric and shameful, so it rarely happened.

He pondered for a long time whether to pass the business to his daughter, Janet.

The decision was made just before he closed his eyes.

⟨If you had been a son, I would have entrusted it to you earlier.⟩

Listening to her father’s last words, Janet bit the inside of her lip. The fact that even in the face of her father’s death, it wasn’t just sadness she felt, stabbed her heart repeatedly.

But even amid such sentiments, the clear fact was that Janet Wilton had been designated as the sole heir of Wilton Company.

This unusual outcome was a reward given to Janet, who had strived all her life to be a perfect daughter ‘like a son’.

Janet spent several nights drafting plans for commercialization.

However, just as they were being completed, the suddenly passed Noble Special Law caught her by the ankle.

‘Nobles have priority in all industries.’

It was a clever solution devised by nobles who had become financially strapped due to years of poor harvests. This received overwhelming support from the senators and was passed without proper time to examine the bill.

The business contracted to Wilton Company also needed to be reconsidered. Nobles who had no foundation but were qualified flocked in, stepping forward to take over the work.

⟨I’ll take charge of the business for a while.⟩

Should it be considered fortunate? Her uncle had purchased a baron’s title before the special law was enacted.

They agreed that he would hold all business rights of Wilton Company until Janet acquired noble status, and would transfer them when she became qualified.

Although five years had passed due to her life in prison, fortunately, it seemed her uncle had implemented her business plans well during Janet’s absence.

But then.

“Janet, I’m not dismissing you, but…”

Her uncle’s eyes scanned Janet up and down.

Janet tensed her body to straighten her shoulders, which had involuntarily hunched.

Would it be noticeable that the Janet Wilton of five years ago and the current one were not the same?

Even though she had confirmed in the mirror before leaving that her current appearance fell within the range of normalcy, thousands of thoughts raced through her mind.

“Even if your face is passable, the duke isn’t interested in women anyway. Don’t you know your situation?”

“……I will get married.”

Tailey sighed at Janet’s answer.

“The law says so. Strategic marriages aren’t allowed. How about grasping reality, Janet.”

It was Tailey who had informed her that she could become a noble by marrying one. Even then, he knew that romantic marriages between nobles and commoners rarely occurred.

It seemed that the five years had changed not only Janet.

“Thanks for your concern. I’ll let you know when a date is set.”

“Yes, do that. We want your happiness.”

Janet kept all the stories she had prepared to herself and fled the house.

“Why did she color her cheeks so red? Like a pr*stitute.”

Through the closing door, she faintly heard her aunt clicking her tongue. There was no need to think about who she was referring to.

Had the pink powder she used to appear more vibrant been too much? Janet’s face flushed red.

In the end, Janet decided to send the coachman back first and walk for a while.

She couldn’t return to the Reynes residence in her current state. That place was not her comfortable home. For organizing her thoughts, this street was better than that house.

‘I need to get married quickly.’

Taking slow, large steps, Janet recalled the tasks she needed to do.

There was less time than she thought. Rather than preparing everything for marriage, she needed to do it as soon as possible. She needed to acquire noble status as quickly as possible.

Her uncle had probably started laying the groundwork to completely take the business away from her since he learned of her release. No, he might have been doing so throughout the past five years.

Whatever method, she needed to act before it was established.

‘But Rihanel……’

Janet recalled Rihanel’s expression as he looked at her at the breakfast table.

He looked as if he was seeing a disgusting insect. She felt she knew well, really well, how he thought of her.

The emotion in his eyes resembled the gazes of people when they learned she had set fire to the cathedral.

Perhaps similar to the gaze of the prison guard staring at her behind bars…… Janet felt a pain like knives repeatedly stabbing her heart.

That’s why she couldn’t avoid his eyes. Even though her entire body was stiff with tension, she tried not to show it until the moment Rihanel turned away. She hated the thought of him discovering these thoughts, these feelings.

‘But why did Rihanel have that face?’

Recalling his face that had suddenly turned pale, Janet touched the ring finger of her right hand.

Inside her glove, she felt a thin, hard ring. Rubbing it was an old habit. It was one of the few remaining precious things that used to fill the old Janet.

“Witch!”

It was when Janet was lost in thought, unconsciously walking with small steps.

From somewhere, the clear voices of children were heard. Janet turned around. Boys and girls about ten years old were running toward her.

“A witch who seduced the noble duke!”

“Witch? Die!”

“I’ll kill you!”

The children threw harsh words competitively, without understanding what they meant. They didn’t recognize how the target felt, or even the fact that the target could have feelings.

And before Janet could take a step, one child grabbed her clothes.

With a burst of laughter, another child firmly grabbed Janet’s glove.

“You’ll die if you see sunlight, right?”

Her bonnet and gloves were removed simultaneously. Soon, the bandage wrapped around her right palm and the ring on her ring finger were revealed. It was a thin thread ring without a single jewel.

The child’s eyes lit up as if they had found an interesting plaything.

Janet felt an unfamiliar fear. Being called a witch, being pointed at, she was already accustomed to these. But at this moment, her heart sank at what was about to happen.

Janet tried to pull her hand away from the child, but several of them rushed in and unwrapped the bandage. A brown-haired boy removed the thin ring from her ring finger.

“No!”

“The witch is talking!”

When Janet tried to grab the boy, the children burst into laughter and ran away.

That can’t happen. Not that.

Janet chased after the boy who had taken the ring with clumsy strides. Her legs felt weak and she might fall, but she couldn’t stop.

For Janet Wilton, who had lost so much, it was unacceptable to voluntarily give up something she could still hold onto.

“D-Don’t follow me!”

And from the boy’s perspective, as the witch chased him from behind, fun turned to fear. The other children scattered in their own directions, and it seemed the witch’s target was only him.

Knowing the reason was this small ring in his hand, the boy soon shouted and threw the ring somewhere. It was while crossing a bridge over the river.

“……!”

The ring was sucked into the river. Janet leaned against the railing of the bridge and looked down, but she could only see blue water.

Meanwhile, the child had escaped, and Janet went down to the riverbank through a side path.

The water isn’t deep. I might be able to find it if I try.

She immediately took off her shoes, left them on the riverbank, and dipped her feet in the water. She plunged her hands into the water and sifted through the sand. But it wasn’t as easy as she thought. When she discovered something shiny and picked it up, it was just a well-polished stone.

Over there, and over there too.

Janet looked around. Something seemed to be shining deeper inside. If she took just three more steps, she could reach it…. She didn’t hesitate and took another step.

But she couldn’t move forward.

Because someone from behind suddenly pulled Janet’s hand.

“What are you doing!”

A man with a distorted expression was in front of her. The man seemed angry, and also seemed to fear something. Janet blankly murmured the man’s name.

“Nel…?”

Rihanel’s eyes wavered at the name Janet called him.

Rihanel’s gaze turned to Janet’s hand he was holding.

The wound on her right hand, not yet healed, was bleeding again after being scraped by sand.

Yes, it’s a wound from just this morning. Far too recent to have healed.

Before she could resist, Janet’s memories unfolded before Rihanel’s eyes.

When she was about ten years old, the person with Janet was Rihanel himself.

From the time when he was not Rihanel Reynes, but Nel Siphren.