Chapter 16: 15

He was a middle-aged man with a well-groomed beard. Liv recalled his name in her memory.

“Ah, Lord Bencarter.”

Nardelli Bencarter.

He had a long relationship with Anton, and she had occasionally encountered him at the mansion.

Liv greeted him very warmly in order to escape the awkward situation.

“Congratulations. Lady Ragnell. In fact, I can understand why there was so much buzz with the news of your marriage. Even from a distance, the two of you together look like a painting and I can’t take my eyes off it.”

“Thank you.”

“By the way, isn’t Baron Ragnell coming?”

“My father said he was coming a little late. Do you have anything to say?”

“Nothing. It’s really hard to see the Baron these days.”

Bencarter glanced at Dane. Dane held out his hand.

“You can call me Dane.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Nardelli Bencarter.”

The two shook hands briefly.

“I had heard rumors about the Lord.”

“I’m worried about what kind of rumors it might be, not just one or two.”

“Haha. Aren’t the most popular people the most talked about?”

The two exuded a cordial atmosphere and talked naturally.

Liv, who had been moderately engaged in the conversation, was suddenly intoxicated by the heat of the sweltering hall and could not concentrate on the conversation.

“Are you okay, Lady Ragnell?”

“Ah, yes, I’m fine.”

As Dane approached to support Liv, Liv stopped him.

“I’m a little hot inside, so I guess I’m getting drunk. I’m fine.”

“Where would you like to sit for a moment?”

“No, I’ll go outside for a moment and cool off. Please continue your conversation.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“Dane, there’s still daylight. I’m fine, so you can continue your conversation.”

With Dane showing signs of concern, Liv said goodbye to Nardelli Bencarter and left.

There is a small terrace where one can smell the fresh air when opening the large window. As Liv turned back, her eyes met Dane, who was looking at her.

When Liv beckoned at the window saying she would be there, he reluctantly moved along with Nardelli.

 

 

When she opened the window and stepped outside, she could see a well-kept garden. The cold breeze made her feel the heat and the drunkenness go away.

Liv rested her chin on the railing and stared blankly at the dimly lit garden.

Click―

Then someone opened the door and walked in. Liv looked back in surprise, wondering if he had already finished talking.

“…….”

It was not Dane who faced her. Carl Rayleigh was standing in front of the door with a thinner face than before.

Staggering with a glass of wine in one hand, Rayleigh approached. Liv nervously looked at his seemingly cold appearance. Contrary to her fears, however, he passed Liv and headed for the railing.

The relationship with him had already been severed. There was nothing more to say, nothing more to hear. Liv moved her feet to get out of the terrace.

“Congratulations.”

“…….”

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw the article, but it was true.”

Rayleigh, who was looking out at the garden with a glass of wine on the railing, grabbed Liv at those words.

“When I saw an article that described you as a temptress, I laughed. I know you’re not that kind of person at all, but you put out such a false article…… And then all of a sudden, my mind got complicated. Am I wrong? Is that really who you really are? I was tormented by all kinds of fantasies about you.”

Rayleigh frowned.

“I couldn’t even come to see you because I was afraid you would look at me coldly. The only place I would hang onto was your article on a piece of paper. Struggling with longing day by day, I read that Dane is forced to marry you because of his weakness found by Ragnell. A weakness. That’s ridiculous. He has by no means no weakness at all.”

Rayleigh took a sip of his drink and turned around.

“I was convinced there. Ah, Anton Ragnell and the bastard joined hands to publish a fake article! Poor you, you can’t do anything and are stuck in the middle!”

His lips twitched sneeringly.

“But today I saw that it wasn’t like that either.”

“…….”

“You like him very much.”

“…….”

“Am I right?”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. You’re very drunk.”

“That you’re so infatuated with that bastard, Dane.”

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Liv’s body stiffened at his mocking voice.

“You don’t want to marry anyone? I was a fool to be relieved by such a lie.”

“Don’t say anything you don’t know. I have no choice but to marry him.”

“Stop lying, Liv. Then why are your eyes like that?”

She doesn’t know what this man is talking about.

“I’ve been looking at you ever since you came in here with that bastard. I knew as soon as I saw that your eyes were different from before!”

“Don’t lie! I, I haven’t changed!”

It was nonsense.

‘No, I have no choice but to marry him according to my father’s wishes. If this marriage won’t happen, Ragnell would be really ruined. So, as a Ragnell…… For Ragnell……’

Liv was horrified by her unwitting repetition.

For Ragnell.

It was always a word that made her suffocate. But now, she spits out those words constantly, as if she were reciting a spell.

‘Why would I……’

Liv’s eyes shook.

Rayleigh gulped down all the remaining alcohol, feeling thirsty.

“Are you pretending to be naïve, or are you really naïve…… If it’s the former, you’re a really great woman. You’re really great.”

Rayleigh staggered over to Liv, blocking her way.

“Do you want me to tell you why he wants to marry you?”

Liv’s head warned her not to listen anymore and to get out of here at once.

“You’re just right. A noble is a noble…… There’s nothing special about it, so it’s suitable for touching.”

Rayleigh laughed nastily.

“Even if he was Vergo’s adopted son and was favored by the emperor, wouldn’t it be a pain in the ass if he accidentally touched a noble woman? Think about it, Liv. Which would be easier: the noble woman smiling over there, or you?”

Liv looked at the woman she saw through the door. When Dane first appeared at the ball, she was one of the ladies who had been keeping an eye on him.

“You know what? That woman came before you. She approached Dane first. And yet he chose you. Why did he do that? You’re a noblewoman, too. Love or what, you won’t say such unrealistic words, will you?”

 

‘And you? What’s left of you after you give me everything?’

‘I have you, don’t I?’

 

It was like a spring breeze. Those words entered Liv’s heart and melted her frozen heart in an instant.

‘But what if…… What if I misunderstood what he said? In fact, if the meaning behind it is not the warmth I understood, but the reason Carl Rayleigh said…… What happens to me then?’

“I told you so. You’d be unhappy if you married him. You’ll end up playing in the palm of his hand. What man in the world would truly love a woman with unsightly scars like you.”

The scars around her eye suddenly began to throb and hurt.

“But I am different from him.”

Rayleigh grabbed Liv’s hand.

“After tonight, I’m really going to erase you from my memory forever. This will be the last time. Come to me. I really love you with all my heart.”

In the midst of her confusion, Liv’s hand refused to touch anyone else. The hand held by Rayleigh was uncomfortable, as if she was wearing clothes that didn’t fit. She had already been tamed by someone else.

There was a suffocating silence. Liv responded by slowly pulling his hand out of her grasp. Rayleigh looked at Liv with her eyes wide open and said, “I see.”

“I didn’t expect you to be so stupid.”

Rayleigh made a filthy smile and struggled to speak, and couldn’t contain his anger and threw the glass to the floor.

With a clanging sound, shattered glasses were scattered on the floor. But because of the sound of the music, no one inside was aware of the situation on the terrace.

She was afraid. If she stayed here any longer, she felt like she was going to be crushed by his hands this time.

Liv grabbed the door, avoiding Rayleigh, who was glaring at her as if he was about to kill her.

“I wish you a happy marriage with the vulgar back alley bastard. I’ll keep my eyes open and watch.”

His words were like a curse. A curse that she would never have a happy marriage.

When Liv opened the door and stepped inside, a whole different world unfolded. Unlike the terrace, which is full of tension to the point of breaking a cold sweat, everyone here is dancing with joyful faces.

Leaving the soft melody behind, Liv walked forward, as if fleeing. Her slow-moving feet gradually became faster and eventually became running.

As she left the terrace, the fear went away, and embarrassment filled the place.

‘My eyes on him have changed? No, I’m just being forced to do it! I hate him! Whenever I stood in front of him, I felt so shabby that I always wanted to hide. Carl Rayleigh was mistaken. I am…… I……’

Her feet stopped. A cool breeze swept through Liv. Coming out of the building, Liv stood in a daze, leaning against the wall.

‘Then why didn’t I think of breaking up with him even after hearing that?’

Her thoughts drifted away.

There was a click and the sound of the door opening, and a pair of men and women who appeared to be lovers came out. Because she was hidden behind the wall, they couldn’t see Liv.

“I think I’ll live better if I get some fresh air. It’s too hot in there.”

The man said to the woman cooling off with a fan.

“By the way, isn’t it surprising? I didn’t know that Lady Ragnell, who was so quiet, would do something like this.”

Author's Thoughts

Hello, everyone~! Eica, here. As usual, this is an edited machine translation. So, if you find any mistakes, please do not hesitate to inform me.

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