Chapter 2
“You mean you gave those arrogant ladies a blow like that? Incredible. That’s really incredible.”
Haley muttered with cookie crumbs all over her mouth. Unlike her voracious mouth, her eyes were filled with awe.
“If I were you, I’d be scared and run away. I would beg for forgiveness. I know it’s really embarrassing, but what about it? Better than being whipped by the noblewomen.”
“What? Whip?”
Watching Emilia open her eyes wide, Haley calmly picked up another cookie.
“Listen up, Haley. It was forbidden 100 years ago for the nobles to carelessly punish commoners. That day, if she had swung her whip, I wouldn’t have let it go. I would have gone to the magistrate right then and put her on trial!”
“Whoa, calm down. Emilia. Even though I am illiterate, I know what the law of equality is. But it’s just something written on paper. It is not written in reality. And as you say, it’s more than 100 years old, so where on earth is someone who obeys the law?”
Emilia’s mouth opened in protest, then slowly closed.
“No one would have stopped that lady even if she said she was going to fix your habits with a whip. It would have been of no use even if you went to a judge. He would have been too busy to settle it and asked you to come back after a year. If you went after a year, it would have been 2 years; if you went after 2 years, it would have been 3 years; just like that. Don’t you think?”
Haley brushed the crumbs off her hands while chewing on cookies. Emilia sighed in dissatisfaction, but couldn’t refute anything.
“The reason why you were able to talk back to the nobility and stay safe and sound is none other than that. That’s it.”
“… That?”
“You are that person’s fiancée.”
At the mention of ‘that person’, Emilia’s lips, eyes, and body began to stiffen.
“I know how smart you are, but please be careful. There is also a saying like this. God didn’t plan to create poor but smart people, especially women.”
Haley chuckled at her fancy words as if they satisfied her.
“To me, Emilia Bern is an amazing friend, but in the eyes of those people, she is just a greedy, petty little girl. It’s unfortunate, but that’s how it is.”
Emilia nodded with a bitter look on her face.
“Is it only ‘those people’? Even the villagers think like that. My late father, blinded by greed, sold off his daughter, and I am a foolish child who dares to covet the Duchess’ position.”
In the end, Emilia and her family had to leave the house they lived in, unable to bear the stinging glare of the villagers. They lived in hiding in a small cabin in the zelkova groves, south of the village, having almost stopped interacting with people.
“Cheer up, Emilia. At any rate, everyone is forgetting the ‘Meyer family’s fiancée’. Even the pastor said so a while ago. It would be great if your family could come to church again.”
“… Thanks for letting me know. My stepmother would love to know that the pastor said that.”
Emilia eagerly lifted the drooping corners of her mouth. The two girls were facing each other with sad eyes, and, from far away, a bell rang announcing 3 p.m.
“Huh? Is it this late already?”
Emilia stood up from her seat.
“You’re leaving already?”
“Yes, Charlotte is alone.”
Emilia busily packed her hat and coat.
“Emilia, can you come to the town hall next week? We all decided to prepare together for the fair there. I’m thinking of making a cookie the size of your height with my mom’s special recipe.”
“Really? That big?”
Emilia’s deep blue eyes, sparkling with anticipation, quickly faded.
“But I don’t think I can. That day.”
“Why?”
“… It’s the day I go there.”
“There?”
“The dinner party. To meet my fiancé.”
“Ha!”
Haley’s eyes once again filled with awe, whether she knew Emilia became gloomy quickly. Perhaps Haley Waldorf’s head is filled with dreamlike scenes.
A dizzying scent of flowers, a fancy chandelier, making an appearance holding the prince’s hand while receiving the admiration of the people…
“How lucky! Wouldn’t it be nice if I could be small like a thumb princess? I want to hide inside your vest pocket and go take a look!”
There was a smile on her white and beautiful face. It was a bitter smile.
***
A few days passed since then. The toughest day of the year for Emilia has come. ‘That day’, that she spoke of to Haley a few days ago, has returned.
It starts with a large four-wheeled carriage arriving in front of the house.
She just needs to get on. The fancy carriage will take her to a mansion in Nowak, wait there, and return home when the time comes.
Why does something so easy feel so difficult and terrible every time?
“Hello, Miss Bern.”
“Hello, Mr. Hewitt.”
After greeting the coachman, the girl walked into the carriage with heavy steps.
“Giddy-up!”
The carriage started to move. Outside of the forest, the carriage crossed the vast plains.
Dozens of birds were flying in flocks in the clear sky above the long stretch of mountains. The magnificent scenery cast a strange comfort.
[No one can bring you down unless your heart allows it.]
Emilia made up her mind, as she recalled the passage she read in a book.
The carriage ran for a long time after that.
When her body was starting to get stiff, they finally arrived in Nowak, the largest and most impressive city on the continent.
As if to announce the opening scene, a large plaza and a clock tower came into her eyes. Just looking at the crowd of dozens, or hundreds of people filling the streets, Emilia seemed to get dizzy.
Unlike rural roads, city streets were crowded with carriages and wagons loaded with luggage.
As the speed gradually slowed down, the beautiful Rivier River appeared. Whether it was someone walking there, a carriage, or a pet, everybody looked like they were beings from a completely different world.
It was Nowak, the place where the richest and most powerful people on the continent gathered.
Rattle. The carriage, which was slowing down, came to a halt. They had arrived at their destination. Emilia took a deep breath in front of the large townhouse with a garden.
Don’t just harden your heart. From now on, you have to endure the rest of the day, blocking your eyes, ears, and all your senses.
Emilia got off the carriage and walked under the guidance of a servant. Her heart throbbed. Her shoulders kept stiffening and her steps became heavier.
Finally, the door opened.
The interior was as big and impressive as a palace. Seeing the huge chandeliers and the magnificent staircases that lined both sides, Emilia felt the power and wealth of the Meyer family.
“Miss Emilia Bern has arrived.”
The eyes of the people gathered in the living room turned to Emilia all at once. Then, in an instant, returned to their original positions.
As if looking for a fly that was flying annoyingly.
It was also different from the Cavendish mansion.
No one laughed at her or mocked her. They just ignored her completely.
“You’re here.”
The only woman who approached her with a smile is Caitlyn Meyer, her fiancé’s mother.
She was completely different from the ladies of the Cavendish mansion.
She dressed splendidly but wasn’t shallow, and her upright body overflowed with elegance and dignity.
“Hello, Madam. How have you been?”
Emilia greeted politely with an adequate smile.
“Well, as you can see, I’m healthy. What about you?”
“Thanks to you, I am doing well.”
“What about your mother and siblings? Are they well and without any problems?”
“Yes, thank you for worrying about my family as well. I wonder how Sir Meyer is doing. Is there any improvement?”
“Thanks to your concern, he recovered a lot of his energy.”
She had mastered the etiquette perfectly, so the conversation was not interrupted. Like an affectionate mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, they mixed in with the crowd.
“By the way, Emilia. I think I have to make a difficult request.”
Caitlyn looked extremely sorry.
“Today, of all days, my grand-aunt came to visit without notice. She lives far away so she does not know anyone… I think we have no choice but to escort her.”
Emilia smiled gently.
“It’s alright. Madam.”
“Thank you, Emilia.”
It was the same every year.
An old lady from the imperial family came alone, we must help a lady with a leg problem, and now the grand-aunt came to visit without notice…
Caitlyn Meyer put her son next to someone else using a ridiculous excuse.
“In a little while, someone will come to replace your partner. He is a young man who will become the second son of Viscount Wischer. I hope you have a good time with him.”
That was it. Caitlyn Meyer left Emilia’s side without looking back.
Emilia was left in the middle of the hall.
No one talked to her or made eye contact. In the midst of exchanging friendly greetings and conversations, Emilia was struck back and forth like a piece of luggage.
Perhaps the people in the Cavendish mansion are more humane. Since at least they treated her like a ‘person’.
Right now, in this place, Emilia didn’t exist at all.
She should’ve brought a fan.
There was no way to control her empty hands.
Emilia fixed her gaze on a large tapestry that was hung on the wall, holding her hands together. There was a scene from a famous myth. When Emilia looked up, as if she were bewitched by the drawing,
“The oldest son of Sir Meyer, Prince Hadius Meyer, has arrived.”
People’s gaze turned to him all at once. Emilia also followed.
Hadius Meyer.
As the name implies, a beautiful person who received God’s blessing. My fiancé, who people all over the world envy.
Although it was only a year ago, the face that I was so familiar with became closer and closer in my mind.
Did he come straight from Elfort’s academy? He was dressed as a navy officer. A cold dignity came from the pure white uniform.
He took off his hat and greeted the people. A circle formed around him.
It looked ridiculous, but it is a matter of course. Because the purpose of the dinner party was Hadius Meyer, the heir to the Meyer family.
Hadius exchanged conversations with people with his characteristic cool and elegant smile.
In no way did he brag or act arrogantly about being the center of the world.
He approached the farthest guest first. He didn’t make distinctions based on title or rank and treated everyone fairly.
Except for one person.
His fiancée, Emilia Bern.
At some point, their eyes met. Silver eyes underneath a fine black hair pierced through Emilia’s chest and made her head dizzy.
Those eyes are the problem. That intense gaze that stares at you breathtakingly, as if nothing else in the world matters.
Emilia concealed her trembling body and pulsating pulse in her cold, indifferent look.
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