Chapter 13
“No, Lady Maribel, they’re saying you’re not beautiful.”
I had been tense, bracing for something worse, and felt relieved.
So that’s all? Hah.
“Well, looks are subjective, aren’t they? Not many people have even seen my face properly anyway.”
“What nonsense is that? Even under a lace veil your beauty shines through.”
“Isn’t Gabriella the truly beautiful one?”
Gabriella, with her snow-white hair and sea-blue eyes, had such a pure and noble beauty that no one could dare argue otherwise.
Well, of course the main character couldn’t be made unattractive. And the original author, Yoon Gabi, was a similar kind of delicate beauty herself.
“She is beautiful, yes—but she can’t compare to you, Lady Maribel!”
“You’re too much… I’m the only one here with black hair, remember?”
“Well… that’s true, but…”
Aside from the faint blue glint in my eyes, I had all the features of the Moro tribe—a people who lived in a desert where no rain ever fell, marked as ominous.
The veil, which had always been a shackle for Maribel, now served as a shield that at least covered those features.
No wonder Luisa seemed nervous when I said I would take it off.
“If people could just see you properly once, those ridiculous rumors would vanish instantly. All over a hair color, honestly.”
“I’m not so sure.”
Compared to Gabriella, Maribel’s appearance suited that of a stereotypical villainess.
Though, of course, she was still far prettier than me, her model. That much was obvious.
Back in my own world too, I was often told I looked sharp or cold.
While humming a tune and carefully choosing a lip color, Luisa asked slyly,
“Aren’t you curious about your future husband, Lady Maribel?”
“Well, I guess…”
Truthfully, I wasn’t curious at all.
If anything, I just wondered what on earth the Duke of Sephardi had been thinking when he chose such a wretch for his eldest daughter.
“I’m sure he’s a good man.”
“Hmm…”
“Would Duke Sephardi really give his eldest daughter to just anyone?”
Worse than “just anyone,” more like.
“He’ll be perfect, you’ll see. Please trust me.”
Perfect? Closer to a perfectly useless fool.
But I didn’t need to let on that I already knew.
“Well, I’ll find out when I meet him.”
I brushed the question aside and focused on the information I needed.
Since Maribel had calmed down after I came here, maybe I could even reform that man somehow.
In other words—was Pedro salvageable trash, or not?
That’s what I had to find out at the dinner banquet.
“Do you like it so far?”
Luisa, still fussing over my appearance, asked earnestly.
I nodded. It had been so long since I’d worn makeup and finery like this.
In my old world, I was far too busy trying to get a fledgling jewelry brand off the ground.
Then Yoon Gabi had been hospitalized, and not long after, came the funeral.
I hadn’t had the energy to dress up or wear makeup.
“This time, let’s leave your face uncovered. Show yourself proudly.”
Luisa styled my hair loosely so that my pale neck and collarbone were revealed.
“Isn’t this showing too much?”
“What do you mean? In this heat, this is modest for Sephardi. But… if only we had a necklace to go with it. We have so many beautiful ones.”
“That’s enough. I already have earrings on.”
“On such an important day, just tiny ruby earrings?”
Well…
They were actually elaborate earrings, gold with dangling rubies—too extravagant for anything but stage or photo shoots back in Korea.
I shook my head and looked in the mirror.
A woman with black hair, white skin, and vivid crimson lips stared back.
“All done! And the dress suits you perfectly!”
Luisa exclaimed with excitement.
The deep green organza gown she had chosen shimmered with violet hues under the light, mysterious and cool.
More than being overly ornate, it emphasized a graceful silhouette.
Altogether, the Maribel in the mirror was beautiful.
Somehow, she looked dangerous and elegant all at once.
“Thank you, Luisa. I really like it. I must’ve been difficult, sighing the whole time.”
“You were just tired. It took long because I’m slow with my hands, that’s all.”
Of course, Maribel had never needed much more than her black veil.
I asked the beaming Luisa,
“How long have you been working here?”
“About six months, I think. Why—are you dissatisfied with me?”
“No. You picked everything to match my taste so well.”
“Oh, come on. After three days with Lady Maribel, anyone could tell your favorite colors and fabrics. Even if Manua had chosen, you’d still like it.”
Really?
Her words reminded me again—this character, Maribel, really was modeled after me.
Except for the “unhinged villainess” part.
If she was almost me, maybe it wasn’t so bad being here… with Gabriella still alive in this world.
Not that it was something I could choose.
I shook off the thought. The banquet would begin soon. I couldn’t afford useless sentimentality.
I took a deep breath.
Leaving my palace, I headed toward Esmeralda Hall where Luisa had directed me, when I saw Gabriella walking with Jose in the distance.
She was the person I was happiest to see in this world.
I quickened my steps.
“Gabriella!”
But before Gabriella, it was my annoying younger brother Jose who reacted first.
“Ma…ribel?”
His eyes narrowed, his face flushed, and the way he looked me over was far from pleasant.
Ignoring him, I smiled brightly at Gabriella.
“You’re wearing the rosary I gave you.”
“Of course. I always keep it with me—and I want to show it off too.”
Her cream-colored dress, hair flowing like clouds, and the black pearl rosary wrapped around her wrist like a bracelet—
She looked like a mermaid fresh from the sea, smiling sweetly at me.
“Sister. I heard you’ll finally take off your veil. And that you’ll be celebrating your coming-of-age too. I suppose I should congratulate you?”
“Yes, you should.”
Gabriella smiled like a white flower blooming.
It was the same smile Yoon Gabi sometimes gave me during her illness. My chest ached.
“How vulgar you look.”
…Did I hear that right?
“Vul—what?”
Jose, of course.
I looked down at my dress. It did show my collarbone, but it was hardly vulgar.
Luisa had assured me, and even the maids here in Sephardi wore lighter clothes in the heat.
“What nonsense, Jose. Apologize to Sister Maribel at once.”
Gabriella spoke up before I could.
“But I wasn’t wrong. That dress is…”
“You know very well it’s perfectly acceptable attire here.”
“Still, Gabriella. Other dukes will be present—and even the Crown Prince himself.”
Jose refused to back down.
My temper flared, and I laughed bitterly.
Of course. Everything I did, this brat found fault with.
I cut him off sharply.
“Are you saying Sephardi should cower over what the other dukes think?”
I didn’t care about Sephardi. But in reality too, Yoon Seho—my youngest brother—always shut up when I invoked family pride.
A family you’re just born into—yet still, I was part of it.
“My foolish brother, if you truly think that way, at least have some pride as a Sephardi. Before you rage over my clothes.”
I curved my lips into a smile.
I had held back for Gabriella’s sake, but sniping at family was never hard for me.
“And for someone who’s stained our bloodline, you do like to talk about family pride…”
That little brat had it all wrong.
It wasn’t me who ruined this family with affairs—it was Father.
I was about to retort, but Gabriella beat me to it.
