Chapter 53
Britney couldn’t get anywhere near Iris.
Because a husky man had stood in front of her and blocked her path.
It wasn’t until she raised her head after a while that she saw the man’s face.
It was Edward Green, Keivrand’s brother.
Edward, dressed in a knight’s uniform, looked down at Britney coldly.
The people at the party looked at the two wondering what was going on.
“What are you trying to do to my sister-in-law, Lady Whittle?”
Britney came to her senses as if a bucket of cold water was poured on her. Everyone was looking her way.
“What…what do you mean…? What did I…”
“Brazen, Lady Whittle. You were glaring at my sister-in-law with eyes that weren’t ladylike.”
“I-I…”
Britney wanted to find someone to help her. But she couldn’t move her eyes. The moment she looked away, she felt like she was going to meet contemptuous eyes.
Neither her father nor mother attended the party today. They had locked themselves in their room saying they wouldn’t go to the party because they were embarrassed. There was no one on her side here.
“Sir Green. You seemed to have misunderstood something, I was just trying to tell my sister that she was pretty.”
Britney’s head cooled down. There was no evidence anyway, so there was no need to get anxious. Rather, she was grateful that Edward had stopped her before she could tear Iris’ head off.
“Really? I don’t think you intended to say that. You don’t think my sister-in-law was the cause of yesterday’s humiliation, do you?”
Edward’s question was sharp.
Although Britney felt as if she had been stabbed, she smiled nonchalantly.
“Yesterday, did something happen that would make me feel humiliated? I just asked His Highness for a dance, who I have always admired, and was rejected because he was busy.”
“Yes, but the look on your face right after you were rejected was a sight to behold. If you were going to leave it at that, you should have kept a straight face from the moment you were rejected.”
Britney resisted the urge to slap Edward.
She already knew that Edward was called the bane of the Green family.
A rude man to everyone, but a man of great ability and family that no one can say anything about.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sir Green. Will you step aside? I have something to tell my sister.”
“I can’t do that, Lady Whittle. One time yesterday was enough for my sister-in-law to be embarrassed by you.”
“I have never embarrassed my sister, Sir Green, but I think your actions embarrass Count Green.”
“Oh, it doesn’t matter. I’m the bane of the family. Look, my parents are pretending they don’t even see me.”
Edward pointed to Venerable Count Green and his wife.
As if nothing was heard or seen, the couple were chatting with the other Dukes next to them.
“Come on, Lady Whittle. The longer you talk, the more embarrassing your position becomes. So why don’t you have some self-respect and go back today?”
Britney knew it was better to go back.
But if she goes back now, she’ll be treated like a dog running away with its tail between its legs.
She thought hard to find a way to escape the situation. She couldn’t think of a good idea. She was angry, furious and sad. It was already hard enough to hold back the tears.
‘Why is everyone doing this to me? What did I do? Iris is the bad one! She’s controlling everything from behind, why doesn’t anyone know?”
Britney wanted to scream. She wanted to tell them every detail of Iris’ atrocities.
However, with the little reason she had left, she knew that it wouldn’t be good for her family.
Staring at Edward and biting her lower lip, she spoke.
“I never thought the Green family would overlook such rude acts. I don’t know what you heard from my sister, but…”
She was about to say that Iris’ has a habit of lying. However she couldn’t finish her sentence because Edward interrupted her.
“I didn’t hear anything from my sister-in-law. I’m not that close to my sister-in-law. I told you, I’m the bane of the family.”
That was the normal impression people had of Edward.
Everyone knew that Edward, known as the bane of the family, would be rude at the party and do things he shouldn’t do.
In any case, that was his nature. On the contrary, he was more mannered than usual. It seems to be because it was the eve of his brother’s wedding.
Unlike Edward, Britney has been building an image of a good sister who cares and loves her sister.
So even Britney’s little mistake was greatly exaggerated, causing people to talk behind her backs.
There is a saying that if you fight a crazy dog, you’ll be criticized even if you win or lose. It meant not to lower yourself to the level of a madman in the first place.
Britney realized she was dealing with a man she could never win. It was better to be a dog running away than to drag it out here and create a rumor for everyone.
She turned around.
But she didn’t lower her head. She held up her chin.
She walked gracefully and slowly out of the party so as not to appear like she was running away but as if she was offended by a rude man.
As soon as she went out into the hallway, Britney ran. Tears flowed, but she didn’t even realize it.
She was angry.
She thought it was unforgivable that Iris just sat there with an elegant smile while her sister was beaten.
‘Wait and see. Once I become the Crown Princess, including you, Edward Green, I’m going to get rid of everyone!’
* * *
After Britney left, Edward approached Iris and whispered.
“This is the debt for Windy. Don’t expect me to help you in the future.”
“I didn’t need any help, and I don’t even think I helped with the Windy thing.”
“At that time, you, sister-in-law, looked like you had done me a favor. Do you know how proud you looked?”
Iris giggled.
“You’ve had that on your mind since then, Edward. That’s kind of you.”
“Don’t treat me like a child. You’re such an unpleasant woman.”
Edward grumbled and left.
The nobles who watched the scene from afar had the same thought.
‘He said they weren’t that close, but they look very close. Countess Green seems to be loved by the people of the Green family. Unless I want to make that bane of the Green Family into an enemy, it’s best not to treat her lightly from now on.”
* * *
Reuben was fuming to his core at the sight of Britney who had returned in tears.
Although he felt sorry for Britney, he was furious with her for not listening to him to stay put.
‘If it was Iris, she would have listened to me obediently.’
It was inevitable he would compare Britney to the obedient Iris.
‘However, the Iris now…’
Reuben wasn’t a fool.
Iris has changed after joining the Green family. She led the Green family to despise and push the Whittle family away.
Originally, he wanted to use Iris to seize and shake the Green family, but the plan couldn’t even begin.
Now Iris isn’t the flower of Duke Whittle but the mistress of the Green family. The Iris who would lower her head and admit her wrongs when Reuben yelled at her was gone.
‘Where did it go wrong? Why did Iris change so much?’
They had raised her as an obedient dog, but she became a completely different person after she got married.
‘What did Count Green do?’
No, come to think of it, it was like that even before the marriage. From the day Keivrand came to ask for Iris’ hand in marriage.
On that day, he was blinded by the gold mine and didn’t look at her properly, but now that he thinks about it, she came into the drawing room a little different than usual.
There were no frightened eyes, no melancholy lips, and no drooping shoulders. Iris shrugged her shoulders, straightened her back, and accepted Keivrand’s proposal with an elegant smile and a confident look in her eyes.
‘The tiger cub was hiding its claws.”
The actions when she was at Duke Whittle mansion must have all been made up, he thought.
‘Is she going to get revenge for her mother? So what if she gave birth to her? We raised her, fed her, and cared for her!’
Reuben was disgusted by Iris.
Although she was born from a maid and was treated like one, he had raised her well as the youngest daughter of a Duke, and she was able to marry Count Green. Yet, she bared her teeth, rather than repay them.
‘Iris, and Count Green too…I guess they don’t intend to keep a good relationship with us. If so…’
There’s only the Crown Prince.
He tried to pretend to be relaxed without showing his nervousness, but he couldn’t.
He went straight to the room of the Crown Prince’s aides in the West building. Sydney, the Crown Prince’s chief aide, occupied the room adjacent to the Crown Prince, while the other aides were in the West building and didn’t even attend the party.
There was no need to go in front of the aides’ room because the one Reuben was looking to meet, junior aide Curian, was seen walking down the hall.
It would have been better to join hands with Sydney, the chief aide, but Sydney was a man of integrity and loyalty who remained unshakable even in front of money.
Curian, a junior aide, was famous for being smart but greedy for money. Curian, who received a large sum of money from Reuben, strongly pushed for Britney, and in turn the Whittle family would be secured. Perhaps the Crown Prince was in favor of Curion’s opinion.
Reuben had heard that the Crown Prince doesn’t object much to the words of the chief and junior aides.
“What the hell is going on, Curian!”
At Reuben’s shout, the employees in the hallway looked back in surprise.
Frowning, Curian walked quickly and put his hand on Reuben’s arm.
“Oh, my. Why are you yelling as soon as you see my face, Duke?”
“I heard His Highness didn’t dance with Britney!”
“This…Duke, are you going to tell every detail about Miss Britney in a place full of eyes and ears? Why don’t we find somewhere quiet.”
Curian said appeasingly. Only then did Reuben cough loudly and went out to the terrace with Curian.
“I’ve already heard of what happened to Miss Britney.”
Curian, who had confirmed that there was no one around, lowered his voice and continued.
“But Duke. There is no law that says the Crown Prince has to ask the Crown Princess candidate for a dance. I’m sure you know.”
“There’s no law, but there’s etiquette. Usually, when a party is held, the Crown Prince asks the Crown Princess candidate for a dance. Why wouldn’t he ask the first choice candidate for a dance? It was the same when the Emperor was the Crown Prince.”
“Of course it was.”
“But what’s this? His Highness asked Iris for a dance out of the blue, and since then, he hasn’t danced with anyone else. He didn’t even attend the party today, did he?”
“Sigh.”
Curian sighed deeply and hardened his face.
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“Duke. That’s strange. Isn’t Countess Green also your daughter? His Highness has given your family the royal family’s protection, so why are you so angry that His Highness had asked the bride for a dance before the wedding?”
Reuben’s face turned red. On the contrary, Curian’s hardened expression gradually disappeared.
“And Duke. Talking about etiquette, shouldn’t you start with Miss Britney’s etiquette?”
== Translator’s Note ==
1. Please report any typos, grammatical/spelling errors, sentences you find weird, and other etc…in the comment section .