chapter 19
‘I have to do something about my parents and sisters…’
It was her wretched family. The source of all her misfortunes was none other than her own relatives.
‘I can’t just leave them all behind.’
She was now entangled with Ashbel and held a title and property.
Even if she ran away secretly, it was obvious they would pursue her relentlessly.
She couldn’t even abandon the property—otherwise, escape would be impossible. Until she found another way, she had no choice but to live with her family.
But Serena’s family was so hopelessly despicable that no matter how carefully she behaved, she could never predict when or how they might harm her.
‘Maybe the fire at home…’
Even thinking back, it hadn’t been a normal fire.
There weren’t enough flammable items in the house to spread the flames so quickly.
Unless someone intentionally started it, there was no way the fire could have spread that fast.
‘Someone must have held a grudge against my family.’
It was a perfectly reasonable conclusion.
Even now, they tormented Serena like demons, and over time, their cruelty only worsened.
‘If only they weren’t nobles, they wouldn’t have acted so recklessly.’
A poor, uneducated noble was nothing but a bundle of inferiority complexes.
All they knew was that “nobles are greater than commoners,” but objectively, they had nothing remarkable. So they spent their days sharpening their claws and attacking everyone.
‘I can excuse my sisters for being uneducated, but my father and mother… they were the worst.’
Her father, who sank into alcohol and gambling, had died ridiculously. Her mother, blinded by vanity and luxury, had destroyed countless households in search of someone to fill her emptiness.
Just recalling them briefly revealed that there wasn’t a single decent person in the family.
It was clear that someone with a grudge had deliberately set the house on fire.
‘I have to do something. No, I will do something.’
If she couldn’t distance herself immediately, she would have to reform them.
She had to make them realize how foolish and disgraceful they were.
‘I’ll need a lot of money for that…’
Her family, who hadn’t even understood their own mistakes until the day they died, would never listen to someone like her if she had nothing.
‘I wonder how much my great-grandmother’s inheritance is…’
As she ventured into that vague, unknown territory, sleepiness suddenly overtook her.
Finally alone, she wanted to imagine various things and look around the dazzling room, but after experiencing so much in one day, she no longer had the energy to continue.
So, without realizing it, she briefly closed her eyes.
Knock, knock, knock!
Startled by the knocking, she opened her eyes to see the room bathed in morning sunlight.
“Already morning…?”
She hadn’t done anything yet.
She could barely tell she had slept at all; it felt like she had just closed her eyes for a moment, and it was morning.
As if to give her no time to regret last night, the knocking continued.
Knock, knock, knock!
It sounded urgent.
Deciding to answer first, she rose to her feet, and her joints crackled painfully.
“Ugh…”
Serena groaned in pain, and the person knocking outside spoke.
“Miss Serena, a visitor has come.”
“A visitor…? They came for me?”
“Yes. Should I bring some wash water?”
“…Ah. Yes.”
No sooner had she answered than a servant entered with the wash water, clearly having waited for her to wake.
Serena, admiring the still-warm water, splashed it on her face and asked,
“Who came to see me?”
“They came from the boutique. They’re waiting in the parlor.”
“The boutique…? You mean the clothing boutique?”
“Yes. They said they brought the clothes you ordered.”
Serena, wiping her face with a soft towel, widened her eyes in surprise.
From start to finish, she couldn’t understand what was going on.
“Did they really come for me? I never ordered anything…”
She had no idea how to place an order, let alone visit a regular clothing store.
Seeing her confused expression, the servant blinked and asked,
“Yes, they said they came to see you. Should I send them back if you didn’t call for them?”
“Oh? …No! It’s fine. Since they’ve come, I’ll meet them.”
Serena waved her hand hastily.
She couldn’t just send them back when they came calling her by name.
She decided to meet them first and, if possible, see the “clothes they said were ordered.”
‘Whatever it is, it’ll be better than this.’
Serena glanced down at her wrinkled clothes.
Having slept in them with her mouth still covered, they looked far worse than yesterday.
She had planned to buy new clothes and burn the old ones immediately, and now the opportunity had arrived.
‘But… can I really buy something…?’
She recalled the day her family had tried to sell her, how they had fussed over the boutique.
Later, she realized that even if they tried to sell her, they wouldn’t be able to buy even a single pair of gloves at the boutique.
‘It’s fine. I didn’t call them, and surely they won’t make me pay just to look.’
Since it was their mistake in coming, if she didn’t have enough money, she could simply not buy anything.
Clarifying the situation objectively made her heart feel lighter. No, she was so excited that her heart was pounding to see the clothes.
“They said they’re in the parlor, right? Let’s go.”
Tossing her wrinkled clothes aside, she spoke, and the servant, bowing, led the way.
Arriving at the parlor with a racing heart, Serena saw several elegantly dressed women bowing politely.
“We are here to see Miss Serena Roselantis. I am Isabella, the madam of Isabella Boutique.”
The woman dressed most splendidly introduced herself courteously. Adorned in red, she looked like a single blooming flower.
Although born a noble, Serena had never received such courteous treatment from so many well-dressed people.
Feeling slightly overwhelmed, she instinctively folded her hands politely.
“Ah, yes…! Hello.”
Blinking briefly, Isabella lowered herself and bowed.
“I apologize for coming so early. Someone asked me to deliver a gift to you, so I dared to intrude.”
It seemed to tell her there was no need for formality and that she could be at ease.
Serena relaxed her shoulders slightly and asked,
“A gift? For me? Who sent it?”
Could it be that this was part of her great-grandmother’s inheritance? That would be nice.
“Lord Carlos sent it. He said he wanted to keep his promise to give you clothes as a gift.”
Carlos… that must be him.
‘Could it be the boy I met at the library yesterday?’
Serena recalled their brief conversation.
She had explained how poor she was, the mood had grown gloomy, and she had jokingly asked Carlos to buy her clothes.
‘It was just a joke…’
She hadn’t expected him to take it seriously enough to send the madam of a boutique.
Surprised by the unexpected gift, Serena blinked rapidly.
Isabella, blinking in turn, gave a subtle smile, as if understanding the situation.
She gestured to a clothing rack behind her and said,
“If you don’t mind, may I show you the dresses? We picked these beautiful items overnight, hoping they would suit you perfectly.”
No matter the circumstances, it would be rude not to look at something chosen overnight.
Especially for someone like Serena, who needed clothes immediately. Accepting the gift gratefully was the first priority.
“Yes! I’ll look. Please show me.”
