Chapter 31
The ambitious shopping trip came to an early end after just over an hour, when Lisa started fussing about her ankle hurting.
It felt a bit over the top, but when Lisa muttered without even pausing for breath, “I told you so many times I was worried about you climbing the mountain, but you didn’t listen, did you? You even left me behind on purpose,” Elinor decided to quietly obey.
Elinor halted the shopping and settled on the second-floor terrace of a small coffeehouse. Lisa went alone to buy the remaining items.
‘I’ll hurry and get the rest, so stay right here. Got it? You absolutely must stay put.’
Anyone watching might have thought she was leaving a child alone near the water.
Since they had come out without a guard knight, Lisa was beside herself with worry and anxiety. Still, she couldn’t push the young lady too hard, especially when her ankle had only just recovered.
Even suggesting they come back later was futile, because the lady was too stubborn to back down.
Swallowing back tears of frustration, Lisa left Elinor at the small coffeehouse. She even brought her a glass of orange juice and sat her on the terrace.
Elinor waved at her worried maid who kept looking back, and began the most boring part of shopping—waiting.
Luckily, the terrace gave her a full view of the plaza outside, which made it bearable.
Elinor sipped her drink through a straw, blowing bubbles. Lisa would have panicked and scolded her for being so unladylike.
But Lisa’s not here right now, is she? So it’s fine.
Elinor leaned her chin on her hand, blinking slowly as she stared down with nothing to do.
She felt the urge to go outside but held it back. After the recent incident, she didn’t want to give Lisa another heart attack.
She was holding back—for her sweet maid.
At the edge of her vision, she noticed a small crowd forming. People were gathering around a few individuals.
‘What’s that?’
Elinor narrowed her eyes. As her vision focused, she recognized a familiar head.
That reddish hair—
‘Vanessa? What’s she doing there?’
Vanessa was arguing with an unfamiliar man. Even from a distance, the atmosphere looked hostile.
One of the man’s companions seemed to try to intervene, then suddenly shoved Vanessa’s shoulder.
Seeing Vanessa stumble, Elinor jumped to her feet.
Wasn’t that the shoulder she injured?
Three or four dark-looking men were threatening Vanessa, who had a small frame. The argument seemed to have escalated to the whole group.
‘They’re ganging up on her? Unfair.’
Elinor frowned as she saw Vanessa falter against the men.
Ignoring Lisa’s tearful plea for her to stay put, Elinor quickly descended the coffeehouse stairs.
Sorry, Lisa.
I can’t just sit still.
Meanwhile…
“You little brat, you’re seriously pissing me off.”
Hearing the rough insult, Vanessa bit her lip. Determined not to back down, she glared at them fiercely.
The man spat on the ground and nudged her shoulder with his hand.
“Don’t touch me,” she snapped.
“Who do you think you are? A noble? Acting like you’re someone important when you’re just living off the lord’s estate.”
It wasn’t the first time she’d heard such words, but for some reason, it hit a nerve today.
“Noble or not, who cares? Don’t you even know basic manners, like not laying hands on others?”
“Oh, I don’t. Are you mocking me now? Saying I wasn’t raised properly?”
“Wow, so scary. Talking about manners when you’re just an orphan.”
“I never—!”
Vanessa clenched her teeth at the sight of the laughing men.
They were the same ones who had always looked down on her for acting as the baron’s proxy.
They had tried to interfere with her duties before.
Ever since Elinor came to Oklama, they’d laughed at her, saying she got kicked to the curb for overstepping.
Before, they at least kept some distance, fearing she might become the next baron.
But after that possibility vanished, they began to blatantly harass her.
“Honestly, I never liked you from the start. Strutting around just because some noble took pity on you. It was disgusting.”
One man stepped forward aggressively, glaring at her.
Vanessa instinctively shrank back, and the group erupted in mocking laughter again.
“Scared now? What happened to that noble-lady attitude?”
“Oh, poor you, with your dead parents. Maybe I should’ve played the orphan card too and gotten some sponsorship.”
“Stop it. She was born sneaky. We soft-hearted guys could never live like her.”
Vanessa clenched her fists. She wanted to punch every one of them, but they had the size advantage.
She glared at them, refusing to lower her eyes.
Never lowering her gaze, no matter what happened—that was her last shred of pride.
The man who had started the argument frowned at her defiance.
“Hey, hey. Look at this one glaring at us.”
“Oh wow, trying to kill us with those eyes?”
“Who taught you to stare at people like that, huh?”
He swaggered forward and grabbed Vanessa’s shoulder.
Even though he was the smallest of the group, he was still too big for Vanessa to push away.
“Let go,” she said through gritted teeth.
She tried to shake off his hand, but it wasn’t easy.
“I asked who taught you that.”
His grip tightened. The rough face looming over hers triggered a deep, instinctive fear.
Vanessa quickly looked around.
There were people surrounding them, but no one stepped in to help.
There were plenty who resented her—an orphan favored by a baron, acting above her station.
Even surrounded by people, just like always, Vanessa had to face this alone.
No one would help her.
No one.
“I said, who taught you that? Come on, let’s hear you talk back like you always do.”
“……”
The man shook her shoulder. Vanessa clenched her eyes shut.
She was about to scream, summoning every ounce of strength she had left—
When suddenly a familiar voice rang out.
“I taught her.”
Startled, Vanessa turned her head.
Through the parting crowd…
Eleanor Stikoff walked over lightly.
‘So her ankle’s healed.’
Watching Eleanor approach without hesitation, Vanessa stared blankly and thought.
Eleanor soon reached them and smiled brightly. The man stared at her, completely entranced.
It was the first time he had seen such a beautiful woman in his life…
Thud.
“Argh!”
While he was absentmindedly staring at Eleanor, the man was suddenly kicked in the shin and knocked away from Vanessa.
The sharp pain flared up — she had kicked him squarely with the pointed tip of her shoe.
“So, do you have a problem with that?”
Eleanor naturally stepped between Vanessa and the man, shielding Vanessa behind her.
Vanessa blinked in surprise as she looked up at Eleanor’s back.
“Hey, what the hell?!”
The man, hopping on one leg and clutching his shin, burst out angrily.
“What the hell? Are you asking me that right now?”
But when he saw Eleanor folding her arms and glaring coldly at him, he flinched and backed off.
Even someone with no sense at all could tell that Eleanor was a noble lady.
Especially in a rural estate like Oklama, it was rare to see someone like her.
Moreover, since Eleanor had been stirring things up in Oklama for a while, everyone had already heard that the count’s eldest daughter had come down from the capital.
Word had spread that she was the daughter of a count, two ranks above their own lord.
“Uh, wh-what should we do?”
“She’s a noble, right? Why’s a noble suddenly…?”
The men murmured among themselves. If a commoner acted like a thug toward a noble lady, it could end very badly.
‘Damn it, today was finally the day I was going to teach her a lesson.’
The man who led the group clicked his tongue as he looked at Vanessa, now hidden behind Eleanor.
Now that a noble lady had stepped in, there was no pushing this further. And if Vanessa was the lord’s niece, this was definitely the time to back off.
He forced a smile and stepped forward toward Eleanor.
“I think there’s been some misunderstanding. We were just—”
“Just bullying a girl, were you?”
“No, no! It wasn’t like that, we just…!”
“So just four guys bullying one girl?”
As Eleanor cut off his words one by one, the man’s face soured with frustration. But he couldn’t look directly at her because her cold gaze scared him.
“There’s been a misunderstanding. Suddenly, she just—”
“What misunderstanding are you talking about? What exactly did I misunderstand?”
“Well, we weren’t exactly fighting with Vanessa…”
“I know. You were bullying her one-sidedly.”
Eleanor took a step toward him. Their eye level wasn’t that different, so their gazes locked. Why is she so tall? Her chilling stare was even more intense at such close distance.
Even though he was technically taller, he still felt like she was looking down on him.
“Didn’t your family teach you not to let a leaky bucket spill outside the house?”
“What…?”
“You’re old enough to have graduated school, but still show signs of poor upbringing. So I’m asking — did your family not teach you anything at all?”
The man’s face turned red in an instant. He looked as if he’d just been slapped.
“Are you insulting my parents?!”
“Yes. If they raised a son like you, they deserve it. Letting something less than an animal roam around like a person? That’s the real problem.”
Despite his outraged shouting, Eleanor didn’t even blink. The one bringing the most shame to his parents right now was him, and yet he had the nerve to open his mouth.
When she raised her chin and curled her lips slightly, the man clenched his fists and trembled.
“You shouldn’t talk like that just because you’re a noble.”
“Why? Does it hurt your pride? You had no problem weaponizing someone’s lack of family upbringing when you were mocking Vanessa. But when I point it out, suddenly you’re offended?”
Eleanor had clearly heard everything — how they mocked and belittled Vanessa for being an orphan.
It was laughable how they used something so hurtful as a means of insult, then couldn’t take it themselves.
The man opened his mouth to protest but ultimately said nothing.
His face looked so pitifully indignant that even a scoff wouldn’t come out.
“If you don’t even have the guts to admit you ganged up on a girl, then stay quiet. Or at least be proud in your ignorance and act confidently. You, more than anyone, must know just how pathetic and laughable you look right now.”
“……”
“Apologize to Vanessa. All of you.”
Eleanor’s gaze swept over the rest of the men. They all flinched and looked at each other uncertainly.
They didn’t want to apologize, but they were scared of the noblewoman.
“It’s better than being tried for assault and getting a sentence from the lord. If you have a brain, make the smart choice. And for the record, I won’t accept a half-hearted apology. You’d better understand what you did wrong and apologize properly.”
Eleanor’s eyes were icy, though her lips smiled faintly. It was practically a threat: if they didn’t want to go to court, they’d better apologize now.
The men, after nudging and exchanging glances, began to apologize one by one, albeit reluctantly.
Eleanor stood motionless, showing no sign of leniency.
Being dragged into court would only hurt them, so they chose to swallow their pride and apologize.
“S-sorry, Vanessa. Sorry for the insults.”
“Yeah, sorry I bumped your shoulder. It was my fault.”
“Sorry for yelling and threatening you.”
As the man’s friends began apologizing one by one, he still kept his mouth shut.
They had all dropped their pride, but he alone held onto his. The mention of trials and punishment didn’t even register.
‘Why the hell should I apologize? What’s so wrong about picking a fight with her?!’
His mind was full of nothing but resentment. He didn’t think he’d done anything wrong and refused to say sorry.
The man clenched his fists and glared at Eleanor. This woman had ruined everything by stepping in. Her arrogant gaze made his blood boil.
So what if she’s a noble?
Even if she was a noble, apologizing like the others because of one girl felt humiliating.
‘I don’t have to listen to everything a noble says. Besides, I didn’t even do anything wrong!’
His twisted pride and anger clouded his judgment. He even began to justify himself — claiming he had done nothing wrong.
These days, even nobles can’t punish commoners recklessly. And she’s just a noblewoman.
With his typical bully mindset, the man judged Eleanor as a lesser noble — weaker and alone.
She didn’t even have a maid or knight with her.
Honestly, if she weren’t a noble, she’d be nothing to worry about.
The crucial point — that she was a noble — was conveniently left out of his thinking, which gave him a false sense of confidence.
“If you weren’t a noble… I swear, I would’ve—”
“What? What are you mumbling? Speak up, I can’t hear you.”
Eleanor frowned at the man who had been muttering with his head lowered for some time.
What the hell was he mumbling about?
She found his stubborn pride the most annoying thing of all.
‘Fine. I’ll just send him to court.’
Just as Eleanor came to that decision, the man made a foolish one of his own.
‘I’ll just act like I’m threatening her. That should be enough.’
As long as he didn’t actually hit her, just pretending to be threatening wouldn’t be a serious crime, he thought.
If Eleanor had a guard with her, even pretending might’ve cost him an arm. But right now, only Vanessa was with her — a physical weakness.
“Why should I apologize? Mind your own business and get lost!”
The man raised his arm as if to scare her off. Of course, he didn’t plan to actually hit her. He wasn’t that stupid.
But to everyone watching, he looked plenty stupid.
Eleanor stopped Vanessa from stepping out and stared directly at the man.
Even if he did hit her, it would just add charges and more punishment, so she wasn’t scared.
When the man saw the calm glint in Eleanor’s eyes, he hesitated—and raised his arm higher.
“You—!”
And then, someone suddenly grabbed his arm — firmly.
So stupid