Chapter 24 – A Deep Veil of Malice
Lavinia pressed down the rising desire within her and painted an alluring smile across her lips. Then, she let a fan slip from her hand onto the floor.
“…Oh my.”
As she bent down to pick it up, the front of her dress revealed her ample chest. Most men would lose all composure at the sight. This tactic of hers had never failed before.
‘You, too, will inevitably fall for my temptation.’
Lavinia picked up the fan very slowly, wearing a victorious smile.
‘Here you go… Lavinia…’
One could see Geoffrey’s vacant gaze, unable to look away from her. Lavinia resolved that she would never give him her heart so easily.
‘Men always take what comes too easily for granted…’
She wanted to torment Geoffrey Caspian. The thought of him kneeling at her feet, clinging desperately, made her current suffering feel almost pleasurable.
‘Shall I finally raise my head and look at the pitiful man?’
But when she straightened her waist fully, there was no one there.
“…?”
At first, she blinked repeatedly, unable to believe it.
Only when she saw the duke riding away on horseback could she accept that she had been left alone.
“Lavinia! You’ve been waiting long, haven’t you? But… where did the duke go?”
Samuel, who had brought lemonade and snacks in both hands, looked around anxiously. Seeing Lavinia looking exhausted, he spoke gently.
“It’s pretty hot, isn’t it? Drink this first. I squeezed plenty of fresh lemons—it’ll be delicious.”
To Lavinia, Samuel’s voice sounded like the buzzing of bees. Her plans to confront the duke about the morning’s rumors, to seduce him, had all failed. Her shining blonde hair trembled. After preparing herself since dawn, all her effort had gone to waste.
‘And I dressed up all this way for whom…?’
Wanting to appear more delicate, she had opened her eyes but hadn’t even taken a sip of water. Yet the duke hadn’t so much as glanced at her graceful appearance. Her pride hurt deeply, and she clenched her fists.
‘He fusses over some other woman, yet he won’t even look at me?’
Lavinia was meant to be the one suited to Geoffrey Caspian. Trembling with anger, she was further annoyed by Samuel’s persistent attentions.
“Lavinia. Your cheeks are red. Just drink it.”
“Do I look like I’m in the mood for this?”
Lavinia found Samuel’s kindness irritating. She grabbed the lemonade cup he thrust forward and threw it straight to the floor.
Clang!
The glass shattered instantly. The sharp scent of lemon spread through the air. Samuel froze, unsure what to do amidst the scattered glass and lemon pieces.
“I only offered it because you looked like you wanted it—”
“Stop babbling nonsense. Go find out immediately where the duke went.”
“What kind of tone is that, Lavinia?”
The Lavinia before him seemed like a person he didn’t know.
“…Idiot.”
She shoved Samuel’s shoulders forcefully, her short taunt leaving him dumbfounded.
“Lavinia. Let’s go together.”
Even after such treatment, Samuel couldn’t bring himself to hate her. He had known her since childhood and harbored secret feelings for her.
‘No one must ever find out.’
Marriages between cousins in the empire were common, but this was a forbidden sentiment.
‘She is Lavinia Veil, and I am nothing…’
Samuel’s father had spent his life bowing to his elder brother, Count Veil. With that background, he could not dare to hold feelings for Lavinia.
‘I must take even better care of her, just like now.’
This was the only way he could show his affection for Lavinia.
As lunchtime approached, Mio became inexplicably anxious. Her body reacted automatically at this hour.
‘We’ve only eaten together a few times… why am I so conscious of it?’
She worried she might throw up what she had eaten.
‘Maybe I should pretend I have a headache.’
As she felt the bandage wrapped around her forehead, Geoffrey came to mind involuntarily.
His sharp profile glimmering under the moonlight was still vivid in her eyes. The places his hands had touched still felt hot. Even meaningless touches or glances made her helplessly fall under his influence.
‘It’s because of the brand.’
Her body was reacting on its own.
She murmured that she was not conscious of Geoffrey at all. Yet, she unconsciously checked the time again.
Knock knock.
A maid occasionally came to attend her. She was entirely different from Loren.
‘That’s why she’s easier to deal with.’
Mio was grateful for someone who treated her like air. Too much attention often tired her in this place.
Today, too, the indifferent maid opened the window without greeting her and began dusting immediately.
‘Yes. The air was a bit stuffy.’
Loren had forbidden the patient from getting fresh air. Suddenly, Mio felt relief. The scent of flowers from the garden outside tickled her nose. Watching the maid focus on cleaning without looking back, Mio smiled faintly.
‘She’s like I used to be.’
Mio had spent her school days in the corner of the classroom, unable to approach anyone. It wasn’t that she disliked making friends.
‘I simply didn’t have the emotional bandwidth at the time…’
She had always worked part-time after school, leaving no time for socializing. Though she had had one friend.
‘She was my first and last real friend.’
But that friendship ended badly. The queen bee group always enjoyed ostracizing someone each term.
‘I became their target.’
Being poor and orphaned, she was an easy victim. The only reason she survived was that she had a single friend by her side. At that age, she didn’t know how to endure such hardships alone.
‘Why?’
Not long after being attacked by the group, her only friend began avoiding her. Confused, Mio clung desperately to her friend.
‘Did I do something wrong? If I did, tell me. I’ll fix it, okay?’
Yet, her friend didn’t even glance at her. Mio cried countless tears, feeling like she had lost everything, even though she had never had much to begin with.
‘She said if she hung out with you, she’d get bullied too. So she weighed friendship against exclusion.’
By the time Mio’s sadness had formed scars and hardened into indifference, someone had explained it casually. Though it seemed like just a piece of gossip, Mio couldn’t laugh.
‘I see…’
Mio felt relieved in a way—her friend didn’t have to suffer because of her.
‘I’ve gotten pretty good at enduring things alone.’
But that didn’t mean she wasn’t hurt.
Being alone wasn’t exactly pleasant either.
Noticing the maid’s lonely figure, Mio did something unusual.
“What’s your name?”
“That, um… me?”
The maid, vigorously dusting with an ostrich-feather duster, froze. Mio looked at her back and awkwardly expressed her gratitude.
“Yes. Thank you for always helping me.”
“I’m just doing my job… I’m Beth.”
Mio couldn’t bring herself to say there was no need for thanks.
‘Why am I doing something unnecessary?’
Beth’s hand holding the duster trembled slightly.
No one ever asked the maid’s name. Even the young lady she served didn’t know Beth’s name. It had always seemed natural; a maid only needed to follow instructions.
‘There’s no reason to be touched.’
Her counterpart might be a sly girl sneaking into the duke’s bed or feigning injury for attention. Beth reminded herself how much she despised such people. Yet, Mio spoke to her again.
“But I really wanted to say thank you.”
Mio’s words were sincere.
Having experienced countless deaths after being possessed into a book, she had actually died multiple times. But this time, she had a lot of good experiences. Among them, living in a nice room like a noble lady was largely thanks to Beth’s help. Cold as she seemed, Beth did her work diligently.
The maid let the duster droop and hurriedly finished her task.
“I’ll excuse myself for a moment.”
Beth’s cheeks flushed upon hearing the thanks. It felt like all the mischief she had done had finally been acknowledged.
‘I knew the cold air wasn’t good for the patient.’
Yet, she deliberately opened the window.
And with the dust shaken out, the room’s air became unbearable. She had also been the one to insist the sick girl bathe in cold water.
‘Why am I being made into the bad one?’
Beth, unable to even gather her cleaning tools, dashed away.
Left alone, Mio made a helpless expression.
“Perhaps it really was pointless.”
Trying to imitate Loren had clearly failed. A gentle, spring-like person like Loren and a moss-like girl who grew in the shadows could never be the same.
“I don’t need friends.”
Looking at the duster Beth had left behind, Mio smiled faintly.
