Ellos, having learned everything from Edith’s words, wore a cold expression.
The noblewomen, faced directly with Ellos’s furious face, fled in panic.
“You…”
He slowly opened his mouth, his voice trembling. He had been worried she might have been hurt, but Edith acted as if nothing had happened.
“My revenge ends here.”
“What?”
“I was not even that angry. It is true that I still cannot walk properly.”
“Edith.”
“Of course, the part where they spoke as if I were a disgrace to the Ducal House was a bit much.”
Unlike Edith, who remained calm, Ellos and Theo’s faces turned bright red as they inhaled sharply in anger.
“What do you mean?!”
How dare they make Edith say something like that herself?
It was one thing to disrespect House Capanteni, but to say such lowly things about Edith?
And in the Capanteni estate’s garden, no less, after being invited by Edith herself?
They had gone beyond anger into pure rage, but Edith spoke with a composed face.
“I do not think that way. Do you think I am a disgrace, Brother?”
“Of course not!”
“Exactly. Since that is not the case, there is nothing for me to be hurt by.”
At that moment, Ellos thought that Edith was stronger than he had expected, but he still didn’t believe her when she said she wasn’t hurt.
The fact that she spoke so casually only made his heart ache more.
“Are you really fine with that?”
“I am fine. And do not worry too much about what I said to the noblewomen earlier. I only said it to scare them.”
“You mean it was a threat?”
“Yes, well. They will watch themselves.”
Edith shrugged indifferently, and Ellos smiled faintly.
Just moments ago, he had thought Edith was stronger than he expected, yet now she was saying to let those people off.
She really was a fragile younger sister.
A concept that didn’t exist in the Capanteni dictionary.
“Yes. Don’t worry too much.”
In front of Edith, Ellos answered with a harmless smile.
But inwardly, he felt very differently. To let it go after those lowly things had wounded Edith’s heart?
Those people would soon learn why Capanteni was Capanteni.
***
While Edith slept, the Capanteni family members secretly gathered.
The Duchess, who had already heard the news, clicked her tongue in clear displeasure.
“Edith? Is she really alright?”
“She seems to be, but…”
The Duke, who had learned of the situation late due to work, hadn’t yet been able to personally check on Edith.
“What do you mean ‘seems to be’?”
“She did not appear shaken even in that situation. But she must have been hurt.”
At the words that his daughter might have been hurt, the Duke ground his teeth.
To dare look down on his daughter, whom he cherished dearly, just because she couldn’t walk, and to call her a disgrace to the family?
“Hah. I didn’t think they were that kind of people.”
“What are you going to do?”
With Theo’s vivid testimony, having witnessed everything firsthand, House Capanteni was thoroughly enraged.
“What kind of question is that? Of course…”
“We will destroy them.”
Though her eyes were smiling, the Duchess murmured coldly, her lips twisted sharply.
***
Edith truly had no thoughts about it.
Rather than those noblewomen, what occupied her mind was Valencia, who was said to be in the Capital.
‘I want to walk quickly. I want to walk and go see Luzbel and Jeron.’
But to leave and go to the residence where House Valencia was staying, she first needed to evade the watchful eyes of House Capanteni.
“I have to walk!”
Edith burned with determination and threw herself into rehabilitation with fierce intensity.
However, her family, unaware of Edith’s true thoughts, was filled only with worry.
“Edith.”
“Hm?”
“You pushed yourself too hard today. You should stop and rest now.”
“No. I can do more.”
Edith had no room to worry about them.
More than anything, since she heard that Luzbel would attend the 500th Founding Day event, she wanted to stand properly on her own two legs by then, no matter what.
And although she didn’t truly believe she was the shame of House Capanteni, she needed to stand even more so if she wanted to avoid becoming the subject of people’s gossip.
So she pushed herself even harder.
“…Edith.”
Because of that, her family came by one after another to try to stop her rehabilitation like this.
They told her to take it easy, but she couldn’t do that.
“If you are just going to tell me to rest, then go away.”
“…”
In the end, after being told that, the Duke stepped back with a dejected expression.
Edith didn’t know it, but they believed she was risking everything in rehabilitation because she had truly been hurt by those noblewomen’s words. That made their anger burn even hotter.
Who did they think they were?
Contrary to his dejected face, the sound of teeth grinding could be heard from his mouth.
They had never intended to let it go in the first place, but because of Edith, those noblewomen were about to suffer far worse hardship than expected.
In truth, the Duchess had already said that she would personally step in and deal with everything, but now the Duke couldn’t hold himself back either.
She was his daughter, who had awakened after more than a decade, a daughter so precious it wouldn’t hurt even if she were placed in his eye.
He would make them feel to their bones who they had dared to touch.
***
Edith, having devoted herself to rehabilitation with everything she had, was steadily improving.
“Verina.”
“Congratulations, my Lady!”
She had walked a full circle around the room.
Verina was the only one who witnessed this scene.
Edith’s eyes sharpened.
“…Why are you looking at me like that, my Lady?”
‘I want to see them. I want to see Luzbel and Jeron.’
She could no longer endure the burning longing.
It felt like only yesterday that she had resolved to live like a stranger, but honestly, that was no longer possible.
Still, wouldn’t it be fine as long as she didn’t get involved?
“I want to go out.”
“What?! No! Absolutely not!”
Verina protested in horror, but this time Edith didn’t back down.
“…If you don’t let me go out, I will sneak out.”
“Whaaat?!”
Edith, who had been nothing but gentle even after waking up, showed firmness for the first time, leaving Verina at a loss.
Verina was merely a maid.
If the master she served wanted something, in the end she had no choice but to comply.
“Th-then at least I should report it to His Grace first…”
“If you do that, he might not let me go. No.”
Because the place she wanted to go was the Valencia mansion in the Capital.
She absolutely couldn’t get caught.
“…N-no. Still, I should report it…”
“I said I don’t want that.”
“Ugh.”
If she wanted to go out this badly, wouldn’t it be fine just this once?
With a conflicted expression, Verina finally cried out.
“…Alright. But you are not allowed to do anything reckless outside. Just not reporting this alone could get my head cut off…”
“I will protect you.”
“My Lady…”
“Then let’s go!”
If her family had known about this, they would have shed tears of blood.
That their precious daughter had secretly gone out immediately after finally succeeding in the rehabilitation she had longed for, and that the real reason she had thrown herself into rehabilitation so intensely was to see a man.
***
‘Just to check.’
To see if he had been doing well.
She had thought she opened her eyes immediately after entering this body, but two years had passed, so it was only natural she was curious.
Since House Valencia was such a famous figure, she had already heard from the noblewomen where his mansion was in the Capital.
They had talked about House Valencia with such excitement.
‘I will not see him again anyway, but it was useful in its own way.’
Verina guided her to a dog hole that the servants occasionally used, and Edith was able to slip out through it without difficulty.
As soon as she got out, she walked a little and hired a carriage.
Her legs weren’t fully healed yet, so she couldn’t walk for long. In any case, the dog hole was quite useful.
‘I should come out through here sometimes without Verina knowing.’
Thinking something that would make Verina faint if she heard it, Edith stopped the carriage.
“Stop here.”
“Excuse me? Here? Were you not going to go to the market?”
Verina asked in surprise when she was told to stop in such an unexpected area.
‘Yeah, no.’
“There are only mansions here.”
Exactly. She had come to see that mansion.
That deep blue gate was where Luzbel was currently staying.
It was so vast that she couldn’t see the inside, but she couldn’t take her eyes off it.
“My Lady?”
“…That mansion seems pretty.”
“Excuse me?”
“Could you check who owns it? Ask if it’s for sale?”
“Whaaaat?!”
Of course, it was nonsense.
It wasn’t because the mansion was pretty, but because she wanted to see Luzbel’s face at least once, even if by using such an excuse.
“I said no reckless actions, did I not?”
“…Is this a reckless action?”
“Then what is it?”
‘Ugh.’
“You do not even know who owns that mansion.”
“Who is it? Do you know?”
“…A-anyway, no!”
It seemed Verina also knew who was staying there.
It might even be a Capital mansion passed down through generations.
“Let us go back!”
‘Yeah, well.’
She did want to see him, but now that she was actually about to, she didn’t have the courage.
The 500th Founding Day event was soon anyway…
