Chapter 9
Helene collapsed onto the sofa as soon as she got home, completely drained from her melodramatic performance.
In her blurred vision, Lilliana appeared in front of her. She looked hesitant, like she had something to say.
After a long pause, Lilliana finally opened her mouth.
“A stepmother who sincerely confesses her sins and seeks forgiveness is truly courageous!”
Her face flushed bright red as she shouted with all her might.
Apparently, she’d agonized so much just to say that.
It seemed Lilliana truly believed that Helene had repented.
As expected of a devout follower of the Solar Church who had fully inherited its spirit of “love and forgiveness.”
Helene had kept the truth—that this was all part of a scheme—hidden from Lilliana. Since Lilliana was a devoted believer, she would have refused to cooperate, saying it was wrong to deceive the Sun God.
‘Still, I feel a little bad for letting her misunderstand like this…’
Helene didn’t know what to say.
“I didn’t understand before… I’m really sorry.”
Tears welled up in Lilliana’s green eyes as she spoke with a trembling voice.
She had doubted Helene many times when her stepmother told her to return to the temple.
She hadn’t realized Helene had truly repented.
Now, the roles were reversed, and Lilliana was the one asking Helene for forgiveness.
“You donated one hundred thousand gold to seek forgiveness from the Sun God…”
‘No, actually, I almost died inside over that money…’
At first, Helene had cried because of the onions, and later, she cried even harder thinking about how much she hated parting with that massive sum of money.
Still, the donation of one hundred thousand gold had garnered much attention from the nobles.
Those who had spoken ill of the Emeldia family daily would now spread word that the evil stepmother had been saved thanks to her adopted daughter.
They would call it a miracle of the Sun God and praise Lilliana as the pious young noblewoman who saved her stepmother.
If Helene could be rebranded as a true saint, that would be ideal—but that was unlikely. The saint was “Perfect Princess Angelina.”
Still, until the real saint was revealed, Lilliana was sure to become the most admired noble lady within the Solar Church.
For Lilliana’s sake, Helene resolved to keep the truth a secret.
“L-Lilliana, it’s all thanks to your earnest prayers to the Sun God.”
Helene forced a gentle smile.
“Jaina and April will also come to understand your sincerity soon, Stepmother!”
Lilliana clasped Helene’s hand tightly. The warmth of her hand made Helene’s conscience sting again.
“I-I hope so…”
Lilliana believed all people were inherently good. That’s why she had opened her heart and given Helene a chance.
But would Jaina and April ever truly open their hearts to her?
Their reaction was only natural.
Just like Han Yena could never forgive her adoptive parents.
Once she had helped the three sisters find happiness again and repaid the debt, Helene planned to leave the count’s mansion.
She didn’t want her presence to trigger any more painful memories for them.
That would be her final gift to the three sisters.
“Jaina and April opening their hearts… huh.”
That was never going to happen.
Helene’s forced smile quickly turned bitter.
***
“What? Helene went to the temple and begged for forgiveness?!”
On a peaceful late evening, accompanied by the chirping of insects, Jaina instinctively covered her mouth after shouting too loudly.
As Helene had said, venting their anger about their stepmother outside wouldn’t help anything, so the three sisters would meet every night in Lilliana’s room to hold small meetings about Helene.
Since Helene and Lilliana had left so early that morning, Jaina and April had been curious all day.
When they finally heard the story from Lilliana, Jaina shouted without thinking.
Helene donating a hundred thousand gold and begging for forgiveness from the Sun God—neither Jaina nor April could believe it.
“Stepmother reflected on everything she did in the past and made a promise to the Sun God to become a new person.”
Despite their reactions, Lilliana spoke calmly.
Jaina stared at her.
The burning anger that had always been visible in Lilliana’s green eyes when Helene was mentioned was now completely gone.
“Helene’s a changed person now? Oh no, we’ll have to rebuild the temple that faces east.”
“What do you mean…?”
“Because the sun’s going to start rising in the west from now on!”
April burst into laughter, but Lilliana, the subject of the joke, remained stubbornly expressionless, unaffected.
Jaina had thought maybe Helene was just going to introduce her to some rich, old, pot-bellied noble.
But this—donating a massive amount of gold and restoring the image of the fallen Emeldia family—this, she had to admit, was impressive.
To deny Helene’s repentance would be to deny the Sun God himself, so the nobles, even if they didn’t believe her, wouldn’t be able to say anything.
Now that the Emeldia family had been forgiven by the Sun God, no one could openly criticize them.
Jaina could see it clearly.
“I know it’s hard for you to believe in her, but I hope you won’t think people are incapable of change.”
“People do change. I just don’t know if Helene counts as one.”
Jaina shrugged.
Tired of their usual back-and-forth, April let out a sigh.
“Well, at least now people won’t talk badly about us as much…”
At April’s comment, Lilliana and Jaina froze.
They had thought it only applied to themselves.
They needed it to apply only to them.
Neither Lilliana nor Jaina had considered that the finger-pointing and cold stares they’d endured would be aimed at their ten-year-old little sister too.
April realized she had slipped.
She’d never once told her sisters what she had gone through.
Unlike her older sisters, who had once enjoyed a wealthy and happy childhood, April had not.
Now, at the age where she should’ve been playing with kids her age, there was nowhere that welcomed her.
A fallen noble’s daughter couldn’t be friends with nobles or commoners.
Trapped in her room with nothing to do, April spent her days reading the family’s old, unsold books—ones that Helene hadn’t realized were valuable.
“Don’t worry, April. This big sister will marry a wealthy noble and restore the Emeldia family.”
Lilliana gently tucked a stray hair behind April’s ear.
Helene had repented. The Emeldia family was no longer scorned by the nobles.
As long as she married a wealthy noble, Jaina and April wouldn’t have to suffer anymore.
Seeing that faint hopeful smile on Lilliana’s face, Jaina felt like her insides were burning.
Lilliana looked just like their beautiful late mother, but her personality was a perfect copy of their father.
Even when she told their father about Helene’s cruelty, he would just laugh and say Helene must have had her reasons—and always fell for her sweet words.
He had believed she would change, someday.
Jaina couldn’t stand the thought of her sister getting hurt again by falling for Helene’s lies.
When he used to teach her swordsmanship, their father would always say:
“Jaina, even though you’re younger than your sister, you’re the strongest of the three. So protect your sisters.”
Jaina didn’t know it, but Raul had also told April:
“Even though you’re the youngest, you’re the smartest and most practical. So don’t be afraid to speak up when your sisters are wrong.”
As the middle child of the Emeldia family, Jaina couldn’t just sit back and watch.
***
“Countess Helene, you’ve arrived.”
“Marchioness of Rausen, hello! Today is yet another blessed day under the Sun God’s grace!”
As the Marchioness of Rausen reached the temple steps, she linked her arm naturally with Helene’s.
Right now, the Emeldia family was the talk of the social world.
The story of the stepmother who was forgiven and reformed through the faith of a devout young noble lady had spread far beyond high society to the entire empire.
Nobles thought that just being close to Emeldia was enough to be seen as devout themselves.
Because of the noblewomen crowding the temple stairs every morning to flaunt their connection, Helene and Lilliana were exhausted.
But Helene’s performance had to continue. The more reformed she appeared, the better Lilliana’s reputation would be.
“By the way, the Marchioness and your daughters are particularly stunning today.”
Helene worried that her words might be interpreted as a jab at their inappropriate attire for a temple visit.
But the naive Marchioness, known in society for her silliness, only covered her mouth with her peacock feather fan and giggled.
Now that she thought about it, it really was strange.
These noblewomen had always been flashy at temple, but today they were especially excessive.
It felt like a full-blown ball season.
Helene sensed something was up.
And her instincts were right.
After today, attention would move away from the reformed stepmother story.
Before the service began, nobles gathered in front of the temple suddenly parted into two lines.
Walking down the center were the most powerful woman in the empire, Grand Duchess Lebladian, and her son, Grand Duke Zieghart.
He had returned to the capital, Rephia, after finishing his studies in Herbient.
In all the conversations Helene had had with noblewomen over the past week, no one had mentioned this.
They had babbled on about trivial things, conveniently leaving out this crucial piece of news.
As Zieghart Lebladian entered, many noble ladies’ faces turned red like autumn leaves.
Zieghart was considered the most eligible bachelor in the empire alongside the crown prince, and was a major love interest in Perfect Princess Angelina.
With his jet-black hair and the red eyes passed down through the royal line, his handsome and refined features caught attention instantly.
And his broad shoulders and strong build, befitting a sword master, caught attention a second time.
Today, he was escorting his mother to the temple as an act of filial piety he hadn’t been able to perform while studying abroad.
Though he was a devout follower of the Sun God, he didn’t enjoy attending public morning services.
But he couldn’t refuse his mother’s rare request.
Zieghart tried his best to ignore the many stares focused on him.
Ooohhhh …. I am guessing he is Jaina’s ML unless he becomes a sub lead for Lily