Chapter 23: CH 23

“That was delicious. Thank you, Reverend.”

Amidst the silence, only Raymond spoke up.

For the next lord of the territory to have been involved with the cooking, it was nothing to be proud of.

All he needed to do was to assist the current fief lord in the administrative duties, or other than that, he was to be in charge of greeting or sending condolences to the territories residences as a priest. To compliment him in this was also a delicate matter.

“Oh my, you should have let us know earlier,” Isella quipped.

“I’ve wanted to hear about various perspectives. I don’t have the same opinion, but Miss Isella thinks that fasting would be enough to provide sustenance for those below her station.”

“That’s right.”

“You don’t seem to agree, Mister Verdic.”

Isella’s face turned bright red. She had criticized the Hare family so enthusiastically, but with Verdic’s avariciousness side-by-side, her stance didn’t make sense.

“I enjoyed it a lot as well, Reverend. If I’m not wrong, I believe these are medicinal herbs atop the dish. Is that right?”

“…You’re right. I d-don’t always interfere with the cooking, but… I sometimes do when it’s necessary.”

“Because of this, I was able to taste something not only delicious, but also healthy. Thank you.”

Indeed, it was a shame to be the fief lord’s puppet. Verdic looked at Dullan differently—he was merely an obstacle. If Dullan and Carynne were to get married, no matter how much Verdic would get to monopolize the real power in this territory, the Hare family would persist to have the final say in anything.

Fortunately, he didn’t need to care about the priest that much. On top of being incompetent, he was a stutterer. However, seeing the skills he displayed here, with his involvement with cooking and health, Verdic licked the oil on his lips with his tongue.

“……”

Carynne hadn’t even taken a bite of the wild fowl yet. Verdic looked at her plate furtively, wondering if she would refrain from eating and yield the serving to him.

Their eyes met.

Carynne smiled slightly.

In his embarrassment, he tried to avert his eyes, but Carynne continued to look at him as she took a slice of the fowl and brought it to her lips. As she chewed, she dropped her gaze.

Unpleasant.

And it became even more unpleasant when Carynne saw that Raymond was staring at her. This damn knight. Just how much do you think I let it slide until now!

Noticing the direction of Raymond’s gaze, Isella immediately became prickly.

“Hmm, but is anyone here sick? It tastes good, but it’s not something that a priest should—”

Verdic gently stepped on his daughter’s foot. Stop it.

“I’m the one who’s not feeling well.”

The fief lord replied with a forced smile.

“So if you can stop tormenting Dullan, that would be great, Miss Evans.”

In that desolate atmosphere, the chef quietly stepped out, saying that he would prepare some refreshments. Then, as the fief lord cleared his throat while he mentioned that they all must need to go about their own businesses now. And so it was the declaration to the end of their gathering.

Since the formal dinner lasted more than three hours, the fief lord went to the smoking lounge. Verdic hurriedly trailed after him.

* * *

Isella wiped her tears and fixed her makeup.

The woman in the mirror was a mess.

Her words, her makeup, everything.

“You’re just a cheap villain at this rate…”

That girl, why did she have to be so pretty?

What Isella saw in front of her was a lifeless blond color. Her hair was not gold. Though the texture was soft, her roots were brown. Her hair looked like a broom compared to Carynne’s hair. Isella cursed her mother for not giving her more beautiful qualities when she gave birth to her, but she soon shook her head.

She was confident enough when it came to money or business, seeing as she had nurtured a business acumen through the practice of distinguishing between documents and crunch numbers, thereby becoming adept at finding legal loopholes for success.

But when she was faced with all the innate qualities that Carynne Hare’s family had bestowed upon her, Isella felt that all of her own strengths just faded away.

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‘How many people do you think actually marry for love?’

But Father. You have a mistress. When I was five years old, I saw you kissing my tutor. You always make a point to respect Mother, but you never treat her as the only woman for you. Of course, Mother also found out and changed the tutor. But the saddest thing for me was when I saw Mother being so affectionate with the butler. What’s wrong with dreaming of love? What’s wrong with that?

Thunk.

She hit the mirror. However, the mirror stayed intact. Only her hand was hurt.

The cloudy reflection in the mirror got smudged by the handprint, becoming even more blurred.

“Ha…”

While analyzing business documents to no end, she always still admired the fairytales she had read which often featured princes and princesses who had the perfect love stories. Their love for each other never changed. The prince would always love the princess, would always protect her, and they lived happily ever after.

Isella couldn’t forget the day she first met Raymond. He was like a prince in a fairytale. He was every girl’s dream. He didn’t fall in love with her at first sight, but that’s alright. Even if their first meeting went over like that, there were also many other stories that had happy endings. Over time, he would come to see her strengths, and…

“That’s not… going to happen…”

She laughed in vain.

Her demeanor changed, so now she’s pretending to be pitiful? Ha, Isella laughed at her own weakness. Carynne must be feeling relaxed. How comfortable it was to look both pretty and pathetic as she didn’t have money. Would Isella try to imitate that aspect of her? For someone as rich as her, it would be repugnant to even make an attempt at mimicry.

Rather than a woman’s appearance, it was her speech and ability that was the most important. A talented woman like her could make a lot of money through her capabilities, and this trait was priceless compared to a beautiful woman’s smile.

For merchants or for those who wanted a talented woman to be their daughter-in-law, there was the detestably low preference for a lover. Isella had seen too many of such cases. She was so sick and tired of it already.

But… She thought that Raymond would be different… Her father said so. At one point, Isella noticed that her father’s mistresses were always younger and more beautiful than her mother.

She came to know the truth, yet it was already too late. No—even if she knew, it was something that she wouldn’t be able to prevent. That’s just an excuse.

Rather, she would have been more miserable now if she hadn’t studied so hard like that in the past. And not only did Isella pour a lot of money for her studies, but it was the same for her outward appearance. She applied various cosmetic products on her face and hair and, at the same time, draped stylish clothes over her body to make her look better.

However, was there a way to change her proportions? Was there a way to change the natural shape of her face and body? Was there a way to change her complexion and the color of her hair?

A human being’s worth did not lie in their appearance, and so they cultivate their inner beauty in order for God to extend his grace… yadda, yadda, yadda. Bullshit.

If she happened to be like Carynne—just sitting there and looking around, not being able to say anything beyond a word or two—Isella could see how miserable she’d be. It was obvious that she would just wither and become like weeds, and no one would care about her any longer.

Isella fixed her makeup. She gritted her teeth. Lord Raymond, you’ll still have to marry me. You were sold to my family. An Evans would never let go of any debt.

“…Haha.”

Beyond the terrace, she could clearly hear Raymond’s laughter. She saw his shiny blonde hair at first glance. So he could laugh like that, too, as though it was coming from the bottom of his heart.

Little by little, Isella could also hear Carynne’s voice. She looked cheerful.

Isella suppressed the urge to rush in and grab that girl’s hair.

She listened intently. The faint volume of their voices formed a conversation.

“Am I not right?”

“Wow… Sir Knight, how awfully confident of you.”

As he smiled at Carynne, Raymond found Isella. Isella knew that he definitely saw her there. But he continued to talk to Carynne without even caring about her presence.

“I’m a very popular groom candidate.”

Cruel, as though his engagement with Isella had nothing to do with him.

“…I can’t believe you’re saying that about yourself, goodness… You’re incredible.”

“Am I not?”

“How would I know? I met you for the first time that night.”

Raymond leaned in slightly and looked into Carynne’s eyes.

“You’re lying, aren’t you?”

“Pardon?”

“You know me.”

Isella held her breath.

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