Chapter 22
“A noble should set an example first. Living thoughtlessly like this is disgraceful to your family’s name.”
“Lady Bernadette, how dare you insult our family…”
I cut off Pailey mid-sentence.
Honestly, nothing is more infuriating than when someone interrupts you and only says what they want to say, right?
“I’m saying this because I’m genuinely concerned about the Isley family.”
Pailey’s face turned red and blue as she opened and closed her lips, but I quickly continued.
“Just keep in mind that His Grace the Archduke is always keeping an eye on this matter.”
Ah, maybe that went a little too far.
“W-what did you say?”
Her face turned pale, and it was so entertaining that I couldn’t stop myself.
Ahh, I wish I could take a picture of this moment and keep it forever!
“I’m telling you this out of old friendship. Got it?”
At that moment, I realized all the mocking smiles and pitiful glances directed at me had vanished.
Everyone in the shop looked stunned.
No—more accurately, they were looking down at the dresses they were wearing with awkward expressions.
“Now that you know, go home and think about how a noble lady should behave. Stop wasting time picking fights all over the place. I’m busy, so I’ll be going now.”
Bang.
Phew…
I had only taken a few steps after slamming the door when—
“Aaaargh!”
Pailey screamed through the closed door, but I continued walking briskly.
“Ahh, that felt so good!”
Saying whatever I wanted did feel refreshing.
Still, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t worried about what might happen next.
Ekla’s face had turned even paler than Pailey’s as she scolded me.
“My lady, what were you thinking!”
“What did I do?”
I answered gruffly, but honestly, my heart was pounding.
“You expect me to just sit there quietly while they call me pathetic or a coward?”
That was something I was saying to myself, too.
They were the ones who crossed the line first!
“You’ve been spending time with Lady Isley recently. Not that it was particularly enjoyable…”
“Not anymore.”
“Well, I feel better too, but Lady Isley definitely won’t let this slide.”
As Ekla finished her sentence, I closed my eyes tightly, then opened them again.
Right. Since I, the original villainess of the story, have changed for the better, the title of “top villainess of the world” now belongs to Pailey.
“Ekla, don’t worry. I won’t sit back and take it, either.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“I won’t strike first. But I won’t take it lying down, so don’t worry too much.”
I pounded my chest with my fist and raised my chin confidently.
But inside…
Yeah, Ekla’s probably right. Pailey won’t just stay quiet. What am I going to do…
I was so anxious my teeth were practically chattering.
No, still. Better me than Leoni becoming the target.
Either way, I’m doomed—maybe in this life I’ll end up dying at Pailey’s hands.
I rubbed my cold arms.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
“Then please wait a moment.”
When I arrived at Leoni’s mansion, I waited for her in the drawing room as guided by the butler.
Someone came to see her?
I was glad to hear someone had visited.
Since her father was involved in a scandal, Leoni had been subtly excluded from social gatherings.
But who could it be?
No one came to mind.
Moments like this made me regret not reading “The Tumultuous Life of Leoni” more carefully.
Even if I had, I probably wouldn’t remember these little details anyway.
As I passed the time nibbling on some hazelnuts the butler had brought—
“Oh, Rieve.”
Leoni walked in with a gentle smile.
Despite having told me she wasn’t feeling well, her complexion looked good.
Still, I was relieved to see she seemed okay.
Grinning inwardly, I handed her the desserts and medicine.
“Leoni, I was going to just leave these with your butler.”
“No, thank you.”
Leoni smiled brightly as she accepted the box.
“Let’s eat together. I can’t just let you leave after coming all this way.”
“Ah, no, really—I just meant to drop it off, but your butler insisted I say hello in person…”
As I waved my hands dismissively, Leoni called a maid.
“Louisa, please take care of this.”
Louisa accepted the dessert box, wearing a puzzled expression.
“Bice really is popular. Every guest brings desserts from Bice, don’t they?”
I couldn’t ignore what she just said.
Every guest brings desserts from Bice?
“Leoni, you said someone else visited earlier…”
Leoni gave me a somewhat awkward smile.
“Yeah, it wasn’t a planned visit, though. Just…”
She looked hesitant, wearing the same uncomfortable expression she had when she fled the ballroom that night.
Maybe that awkward look sparked my curiosity.
I couldn’t help myself—I blurted out the question.
“Was it Sir Adrian Watford, by any chance?”
Leoni’s expression froze.
“How did you know?”
My mind began to race.
At the ball not long ago, I had definitely seen Leoni and Adrian strolling together in the garden.
Her shy shoulders, the way she moved, the breeze in her hair—she had looked happy, even from a distance.
But Leoni’s fate is with Jerlach.
All the misfortunes happening to her now are because things aren’t going according to fate.
But Adrian… I really can’t remember when he even appeared in the original story.
Maybe I just skimmed past his scenes while speed-reading the dialogue?
Which probably means Adrian wasn’t that significant in the original.
What now? Did everything get messed up because I got tangled up with Jerlach?
In any case, I had to find out what kind of relationship Leoni and Adrian had.
I decided to be honest about what I had seen and what I knew.
“Um, actually… the thing is—”
“Rieve, there’s something I want to tell you.”
“Huh?”
Wait, can I go first?
“Something to tell me?”
Leoni hesitated for a moment after boldly saying that, then finally seemed to make up her mind.
“We’ve been friends for a long time, right?”
“Mm-hm, that’s right.”
Even if I don’t remember it myself, Leoni and I had known each other since we were very young.
Of course, I had always been jealous of her, believed she stood in the way of my fortune, and ultimately thought she stole the one I loved.
Ah—not me now, I mean the villainess Rieverata in the novel.
“Rieve, back then I used to love visiting your house.”
“Y-yeah, you did.”
“I think I loved sneaking into your brother’s study and room the most.”
Even though I had no memory of it, it sounded like a fun situation.
“Do you remember messing up Oliver’s assignments or tearing up the garden?”
“Y-yeah! Hahaha!”
I laughed as naturally as I could, even tilting my head back so it wouldn’t seem fake.
“We laugh about it now, but back then, your brother was really scary.”
“True.”
“So we’d hide in the closet, under the bed…”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“And when Oliver scolded us…”
Leoni lowered her head slightly, then smiled softly.
“Adrian would always take our side.”
“Ahh, that’s right!”
Was that ever a scene in the book? I wondered while laughing awkwardly.
“You don’t remember, do you?”
Her words made the smile I’d forced start to twitch.
I scratched the bridge of my nose awkwardly.
“It’s been so long, it’s hard to remember clearly…”
“Really? It’s still so vivid to me, like it was yesterday.”
“Well, you’ve always been smart, Leoni.”
Why was she bringing up stories from more than ten years ago?
Was she just trying to say we’ve known each other that long?
I sipped the tea in front of me, ignoring the cake that still sat perfectly untouched.
Then—
“He was my first love.”
Cough! Cough!
“Rieve, are you okay?”
Leoni’s sudden declaration got stuck in my throat.
I pounded my chest, trying to swallow it down.
“Oh no, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Totally fine…”
Wait, hold on a second.
Sir Adrian Watford is Leoni’s first love?!
