“I don’t think I’ll be able to stay long today since I have errands this afternoon.”
As if he had been waiting for those words, the marquis nodded and replied,
“Yes, of course. There will be other opportunities for us to sit together.”
The marchioness and Yelena also visibly relaxed, the tension leaving their shoulders.
Honestly, I was so uncomfortable the entire time that I didn’t even know whether the food was going into my mouth or up my nose.
Regardless of their role in the original story, this family had become people I never wanted to dine with again.
“Next time, we’ll invite you both to our mansion,” said the marquis as we walked toward where the carriages were prepared.
“Thank you. We’ll look forward to it,” I replied with a smile, pretending to be pleased by his invitation.
The marchioness and Yelena turned to bid us farewell, and then—
CRACK, BAM!
A massive sound exploded nearby. One of the waiting carriages suddenly tilted to one side and collapsed, sending up a huge cloud of dust.
A horse that had been harnessed to the carriage broke free and started running toward us wildly.
“Ahhh!”
“Eek!”
“Catch it!”
The servants nearby rushed to stop the horse but were thrown aside like dolls. The rest of the staff backed away in fear, afraid of getting trampled.
The horse was too close. Everyone instinctively ducked or covered their heads to avoid it.
“Eeeeek!”
“Mom!”
Startled, I backed away quickly but ended up falling hard on my butt. It was chaos, like an earthquake had struck.
The runaway horse charged through the crowd and disappeared toward the forest.
Once the danger passed, dust hung in the air like a fog.
Whew. That was a close one.
My head still rang from the shock of the fall, and my hips were so sore it felt like my tailbone might be broken.
The nearby servants rushed to help us up.
“Are you all right?”
With their help, I finally stood up and began to take in my surroundings.
But the atmosphere felt… off. The servants’ expressions were uneasy, and I soon saw why.
Ricardo, my husband, was helping Yelena—not me.
I, the duchess, had fallen to the ground in a mess, while she looked safe and untouched in his arms.
Yelena clung to him, trembling like a leaf, clearly frightened by the incident. Even the old marquis was cradling his wife protectively.
But me? I was the only one left sprawled in the dirt.
Even as the servants helped me up and I brushed off the dust, not a single word of concern came from Ricardo.
I had known he disliked me, but experiencing it so blatantly in such a disgusting and humiliating way made my mouth feel bitter.
Meanwhile, Yelena blushed and looked like she was barely able to hide her happiness.
“Are you all right, my lady?”
“Yes… I’m fine now, Duke. Thank you,” she replied, quickly stepping away from him with an apologetic expression.
“I think the Duke mistook me for his wife. I’m so sorry.”
She even apologized to me, as if I had said anything.
Even in this moment, she acted considerate, like an angel, while I looked like a petty villainess.
“It’s okay. As long as no one was hurt.”
I forced a bitter smile as I dusted off my hands. They were scraped and stung from hitting the stone, and my wrists throbbed.
“Oh my! Your hand is injured!”
Yelena gasped and pulled a handkerchief from her bosom.
She gently cleaned my wound with her white handkerchief and tied it neatly.
Her caring actions made her look like the perfect lady of the house.
Meanwhile, I must’ve looked pathetic and laughable—a duchess abandoned by her husband in a moment of danger.
Everyone present had seen it all.
“I’m really okay, Lady Guineiro.”
When I pulled my hand away, she looked at me worriedly and said,
“Please make sure to have that treated properly.”
“I will. Thank you.”
Ricardo ordered a new carriage to be prepared to replace the damaged one, and the servants moved quickly.
Only then did Yelena walk toward the newly prepared carriage. The marquis couple and Yelena’s carriage began to move slowly.
Just then, someone walked briskly toward us.
I hadn’t spoken with him before, but strangely, he didn’t feel unfamiliar.
Garry…
The name slipped from my lips unconsciously.
Soft, wavy brown hair, a gentle face like a priest, and serious eyes filled with trust.
He could only be Garry—Ricardo’s closest aide and strategist.
“What is it, Garry?” Ricardo asked, confirming my suspicion.
“Your Grace, I have urgent news.”
Garry looked quite anxious.
He whispered something into Ricardo’s ear, and Ricardo turned his gaze to me.
He looked like he wanted to say something but then left with Garry.
What’s going on?
I watched the two of them leave, puzzled, then turned to see the marquis family’s carriage departing with guards following behind.
But as I watched them disappear, someone caught my eye.
“Wait… that man!”
He was a bit far, but I recognized the face.
A man riding a black horse behind the carriage.
Who is that? Where have I seen him?
My mind struggled to recall him.
Then—boom!—like lightning struck the back of my head, the memory came.
That’s him! That bastard!
He was the one who appeared in my dream when I transmigrated—
The man who ambushed Kayla and Stella on the road to the convent and stabbed them in the heart.
I remembered his smirking face clearly.
But something was wrong.
Why did a character from the original novel match the man from my dream exactly?
Now that I think about it…
I found myself biting my nails in anxiety.
The characters from the original story looked almost exactly as I remembered from my dream, as if I had seen them before in real life.
Kayla and Stella were the protagonists, so I assumed the descriptions just stuck in my mind.
But that man? He wasn’t even named in the original.
Yet he matched perfectly.
Could it be that I didn’t just inherit Stella’s body, but her memories too?
Wait. That’s not the issue right now. Why is he guarding the marquis’ carriage?
I had thought he was working for Ricardo and was the one who killed us.
But if he was part of the Guineiro family, that changes everything.
Then… does that mean Ricardo wasn’t the one who had Kayla and Stella killed?
My mind spiraled into confusion.
If it had been the Empress, I could understand—Kayla may have outlived her usefulness.
But the marquis family?
Why? Why them?
If Ricardo wasn’t the culprit, then even if I managed to divorce him and leave the duchy, I’d never be safe.
Whoever tried to kill me clearly meant it. That meant they could come after me anytime, anywhere.
In that case, staying in the duchy might actually be safer.
Could it have been the marquis or marchioness?
No way… could it have been Yelena?
A chill ran down my spine.
This isn’t my first time reading a romance-fantasy novel.
There were plenty of cases where the innocent, angelic heroine turned out to be hiding a much darker side.
That strange feeling I had earlier… it might not have been my imagination.
Even as she smiled, I had felt something cold behind it.
Yelena was portrayed as a saint in the original.
But now, that image shattered like cracked glass.
Maybe the story that Kayla bullied Yelena out of jealousy was false too.
Now that I think about it, Kayla didn’t seem like the type to scheme or manipulate anyone.
Why didn’t I realize this earlier?
If I had thought just a little deeper, I could’ve considered these possibilities sooner.
I felt betrayed by the original story.
If the Guineiro
family really was the culprit, then the author had just sucker-punched the readers.
