chapter 13
Right. Since I refused to meet him, Polius must have gone looking for another woman. I could already picture him—pretending to be all pitiful.
No wonder Lady Ingda is baring her teeth at me now.
If I were to fight with Lady Ingda here, it wouldn’t look good for either of us. It would be a fight with more to lose than to gain.
But what if it wasn’t me she faced?
“Milady, Lady Martis requests an audience… What should I tell her?”
Lady Ingda needed to learn something—that she wasn’t the only fish swimming in Polius’s pond.
“Lady Martis, you wished to see me?”
“I came to apologize for what’s happened.”
Surprisingly, Lady Martis—the very one who had sided with Polius and glared daggers at me—had come to apologize. She even bowed her head properly.
Then, she told me everything Polius had said and done during that time.
“Polius made it sound like Lady Clotilde was clinging to him with her family’s power—like he’d soon come to me.”
“I see…”
“But that wasn’t true. During the Founding Festival, he ignored me and went straight to you, didn’t he? So I thought, despite what he said, that you were someone truly precious to him.”
Listening to her, I realized Polius really had been stringing along women left and right, just like in the novel.
“But now I see the truth—he was just leading people on! He was managing us all like fish in a tank!”
Lady Martis slammed her hand against the table. Tea splashed, but no one in the room cared.
“He says he likes this girl, and that one, and me too—so what am I? Not a lover, just one of the fish in his stupid pond?”
Exactly. Lady Martis had been living in her own melodrama—believing she was the tragic heroine who would quietly fade away, blessing the man she loved.
“Oh, the more I think about it, the angrier I get! That illegitimate brat—strutting around just because he’s a count’s son! Acting like I wouldn’t understand because I’m only a baron’s daughter. I put up with that, all of it! That bastard—!”
Yes, that’s when she unleashed a torrent of curses that didn’t suit her dainty, doll-like face at all.
Wasn’t she all quiet and graceful when she was with Polius? I thought. If she’s realized he was just toying with her, it’s no wonder she’s burning with revenge now.
Watching her, I reached out my hand. It was, if I say so myself, quite a clever plan.
“Not long ago, I had a little chat with Lady Clara Martis.”
“W–what? Don’t joke around like that. Lady Clara Martis isn’t even here!”
For a moment, Lady Ingda’s fierce expression went blank.
Of course—it wasn’t as if she didn’t know that Lady Martis had attended the Founding Festival as Polius’s partner.
I don’t get why she acts like she’s his only woman. Even if she brags about being engaged, it’ll all come out eventually.
Clapping my hands, I smiled brightly.
“I actually invited her to today’s birthday party. She said she’d be a little late… Oh! There she is now.”
What perfect timing.
Wearing a light, fluttering dress and a deadly smile, Lady Martis approached us. I beamed at her.
“Lady Martis, Lady Ingda here says she’s engaged to Polius. What do you think about that?”
And, as I expected… Lady Martis didn’t hold back.
“Engaged? That’s strange. Just last night, Polius was with me.”
Lady Martis’s smile was sharp—amused, even. Only I, sitting next to her, could see it clearly.
“Lady Ingda, aren’t you mistaken about something?”
“What would you know! We talked about our future together—”
“Oh, I’ve heard about that. You sure you’re not mistaking his casual talk about marriage for a proposal?”
Trying hard to keep her composure, Lady Ingda’s voice began to rise. The elegant noble lady from moments ago was gone.
“That’s enough! You’re being rude, Lady Martis!”
Oh, how scandalous—she’d probably never met a noblewoman who went off-script like this before.
I couldn’t help but think Lady Martis reminded me of a Maltese—small but fierce, quick to bite back.
I knew it the moment she lunged at me before. If she’s this bold with a duke’s daughter, Lady Ingda doesn’t stand a chance.
“How dare a lowborn baron’s daughter—”
“Oh, you mean the ‘lowborn’ baron’s daughter you borrowed money from?”
“Wh–what?!”
“Keep running your mouth, and I’ll raise your interest rate. Got it?”
Polius, the supposed “hero,” would never seriously waste time on an insignificant woman.
Even if he was touchy about social class because he was a bastard, Lady Clara Martis was the daughter of the Empire’s greatest trading house.
In a conservative empire, buying a title as a commoner meant one thing—money. Mountains of it.
Look—Lady Ingda was already trembling, not knowing what to say.
“Lady Martis is small and sweet-looking, but really…”
“And yet the ‘Rose of High Society,’ Lady Ingda, can’t even form a single proper sentence.”
Hmm. She’s even stronger now than when I met her before.
So Lady Martis has finally sorted out her feelings.
There was a glint of madness in her eyes.
Polius had made an enemy not only of me but also of Lady Martis. His life was about to get much harder.
“L–Lady Martis, you should at least maintain some decorum—”
“Why don’t you mind your own manners, you idiot!”
It was chaos.
Between Lady Martis and Lady Ingda’s shouting match, any talk between me and Damian the Tower Lord was completely forgotten.
“Ladies, do you know? This dessert was made from an idea Melanie gave me…”
“Oh my!”
I brought out another dessert—one based on my memories from Korea.
“It’s called popcorn.”
Because, really, what’s better to watch a fight with than popcorn?
It was a bit different from modern popcorn, since the corn variety here wasn’t quite the same—but still delicious.
If it ever sold well, I’d manage the trade route myself, though the corn was grown in Scarlett’s territory. That way, we’d both profit.
And judging by how happily these ladies are eating, the promotion’s working perfectly.
That birthday party ended up being known as the best party of the year, and the noblewomen who couldn’t attend were left kicking themselves.
After the lively party ended, everyone began to head home.
In the midst of the bustle, Lady Martis and I briefly met eyes—but we exchanged no words.
Still, when I saw her suppressing a grin and turning away, I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself.
Good. Everything’s going according to plan.
Of course, she hadn’t agreed to cooperate with me right away.
“What? That bastard Polius borrowed money from other women too?”
When I’d first told Lady Martis that Polius wasn’t just stringing her along but also taking money from others, she’d been furious—ready to storm over and strangle him.
“He looked down on me for being a baron’s daughter, but the only reason he dated me was because I’m the merchant lord’s daughter! He used me for free labor over and over again!”
It wasn’t an amount that would ruin her family, but she said she’d endured her father’s harsh scolding just to hand that money over to Polius.
“I’m glad things fell apart before I got in any deeper, but still—it gives me chills!”
And when money came up, I saw my chance.
I, too, was still angry about the loan Polius had taken out in my name.
We had something in common—and if I played it right, I could bring her to my side.
“It’s too unfair to just let him go like this! I should grab him by the collar—or maybe throw wine in his face!”
“If you do that, people might actually start pitying Polius instead.”
“Then what should I do? That bastard played with me and stole my money!”
She was fuming, veins popping on her neck. I, on the other hand, stayed calm.
“There’s something only you can do right now, Lady Martis. Stay close to Polius—pretend you still love him.”
“What?”
“And if you do that… you might be able to get your money back.”
“What do you mean, get it back?”
“Just hear me out.”
And so, in a quiet voice, I laid out my plan.
“You’re right,” she said after a while. “That’s a far more constructive and clever kind of revenge than just throwing wine.”
Her breath, once ragged with rage, began to steady as she listened. By the end, she nodded firmly.
“If this works, I’ll be able to recover every coin Polius took from me!”
The fury on her face had turned into a confident smile.
“It won’t be easy, but… it’s thrilling! My heart’s racing just thinking about it.”
Just as Polius had deceived women with false affection, she’d now turn those same tactics on him.
At today’s party, she performed even better than I’d hoped.
The first step went perfectly.
Now Lady Martis understood not only my relationship with Polius but also his with Lady Ingda.
I remembered that night—seeing Josephine in Polius’s bed, smirking at me.
Lady Ingda, let’s see how you like it.
She must have been shocked earlier. But this birthday party was only the beginning.
I had just sent Lady Martis to follow her.
“Clara Martis—why did that woman have to get involved? Has she lost her mind?!”
Josephine fumed as she climbed into her carriage. Clara slipped out of the party soon after.
I can’t let her notice me. I have to follow Lady Ingda quietly.
She already knew where Lady Ingda would go.
Clara ordered the coachman to head for the Count of Veldert’s mansion.
“Keep your distance—but not too far. Got it?”
A short while later, she spotted Lady Ingda’s carriage parked outside the Veldert estate.
Everything was unfolding exactly as Melanie had predicted.
Good heavens. How far ahead does Lady Clotilde see?
Clara whispered in awe.
“Welcome, my lady.”
It was, of course, rude to visit at such a late hour.
But since women constantly came to see Polius, the servants of the Veldert household had grown lax about enforcing propriety.
And so Clara reached Polius’s room without anyone stopping her.
“Honestly, Polius, do you have any idea what I went through today? That Melanie Clotilde woman—she dared to—!”
Josephine’s shrill voice rang out as she vented her fury at Polius.
Exactly as planned.
Now it was Clara’s turn to act.
“Polius!”
Suppressing her laughter, Clara ran toward him with the face of an innocent, loving puppy.
“Clara? Wait—why are you here?”
“Why shouldn’t I be?”
She ran straight into his arms and smiled sweetly.
“Am I not welcome here?”
“N–No, of course not.”
But Josephine’s expression—watching Clara wrapped in Polius’s arms—was ice-cold.
Clara ignored her and draped her arms around Polius’s neck.
Then—
Grin.
She smiled. Not at Polius, but at Josephine—angled so that only Josephine could see it.
“…What the—!”
