Chapter 56 - 19. The Duke’s Successor (3)

“…”

“I’m just someone who regards him as my friend. I treat him without any self-interest, so don’t try to suppress the behavior of an innocent person for nothing.”

It didn’t change even if Fanora said it to Naverius a hundred times. Because Naverius already fell into a vain delusion and tormented her. She couldn’t change him on her own, so she asked for help.

Fanora felt frustrated and wanted to shout aloud, but her voice couldn’t come out well because she was choked with sadness.

“Is it that hard? For you to stop dancing with my fiancé? Lady Vasago, everything will be solved if you keep a little distance. I have no other place to ask now. Please…”

Vasago’s expression changed as Fanora squeezed her words, holding back the anger that welled up in her chest. What appeared on her beautiful face was a frown as if she had heard an unpleasant sound.

“How many times have you been jealous of your man flirting in this way? How long are you going to blame others for not being loved?”

“…!”

“In the first, if you were the woman he loved, there would be no talk about breaking up.”

“I-I was loved at first. It’s an engagement that started with his confession…!”

Vasago, who no longer used polite words, looked down at Fanora with her arms crossed and uttered hurt words.

“Now I understand why Naverius hates you. Who wants to love you when you’re gloomy and like to blame others?”

“…!”

“He must have lost his affection because you were so obsessive and jealous.”

Slip.

By the time Fanora’s legs were loosened by her remarks, Vasago proudly expressed her thoughts.

“You brought this on yourself anyway, Fanora! Do you understand now? Just because you seize someone by engagement doesn’t mean you can have their heart.”

As soon as she heard those words, Fanora’s face turned pale. She believes the false rumors spread by Naverius too. Her throat was burning, and she bit her lips. Fanora tried hard to explain her circumstances, but tears filled her eyes as Vasago’s behavior of believing in rumors circulating in society, distorted her words.

“…”

And, as the voices of the two became quite high, the eyes of the people at the party turned to the corner one by one.

Fanora was angry and frustrated at Vasago, who said she was the one who was guilty and insisted on keeping her friendship with her fiancé.

“!”

Splash. Unable to resist the anger that reached her head, she lifted a glass of wine nearby and poured it on Vasago. Drip. Drip. The red liquid began to flower from Vasago’s dress and the empty glass.

“Why, why are you doing this? Why! I mean, why do you hold him tightly in your hand when you don’t even want him!”

“…”

“He…Heuk, please. You are already loved by many people…! You only need to give back Naverius! I-I have to protect this engagement…!”

“Vasago, what’s going on here?!”

“Originally, when someone’s fiancé is at a party, you can’t dance with him! Why does a perfect person like you break these rules? Heuk, why do you always—”

Fanora began to sob sadly as her emotions burst like spilled wine. At that time, for her, a woman who had never said anything harsh to others in her life, this was her greatest expression of anger.

“Oh my god, Princess! That expensive dress spilled on wine!”

However, Fanora had to pay a heavy price for her momentary act of being swept away by her emotions.

“Ugh!”

“Oh, my gosh.”

Splash.  Once again, the red wine prepared in the banquet was poured onto the woman. But this time, it was Vasago who poured the wine into Fanora’s face. Her revenge didn’t end there.

“Gasp!”

Slap. Vasago slapped Fanora on the cheek as Fanora was surprised by the wine. As if how dare she to touch her. Fanora’s body was shaken by the force of the slap.

“…”

“I believe an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”

Fanora placed her hand on her cheek reflexively at the tingling sensation. Then red blood seeped through her fingers. It was because the ring Vasago wore made a scar on her cheek.

“Pouring wine to our Vasago? Guards! Get that b*tch out of here!”

And shortly thereafter, the host of the banquet was in an uproar. Soon after, knights who had finished grasping the situation came running and arrested the immature woman who dared to harm the princess of Guelder. As ordered by Vasago’s cousin, who was the host, Fanora was completely kicked out of the banquet.  

After that, many people stuck up to Vasago, who remained in the venue, and talked a lot.

“Are you all right, Vasago?”

“Princess, you were cool earlier! If it were me, I would be terrified because I don’t know what’s going to happen—”

“What should we do with your dress? Even the fabric—”

However, in Fanora’s memory, what kind of comfort Vasago received didn’t remain. Only the noisy scenery of that time will not be forgotten in her heart.

* * *

“…”

And a little later. Fanora stopped reminiscing about the banquet a few years ago and pondered what happened next.

“According to the novel, I will see the contents of the autumn hunting festival next week.”

It would be nice if Vasago’s influence on her would end with that. However, the problem didn’t end even after the banquet.

First of all, the Guelder family has been making a formal complaint against Celsius’ family over the matter of pouring wine over her. There was no one else but the princess, who was the only one in the kingdom, who became involved, so the problem grew bigger and bigger. In the end, Bael Celsius, the head of the family, came forward and apologized to the duke. Fanora didn’t know what kind of apology he made back then, but it was the first time she saw his furious face. 

“What the hell are you doing out there?”

After talking with the vassal from the duke’s family, Bael entered her room with a red face and suddenly slapped her cheek.

“I have been so gracious to you. That’s why you have never been hit by me.”

Then, Fanora was wrongly hit, and her right ear couldn’t hear well from then on. 

“…”

After regressing to her young body, she fiddled with her right ear, which could hear well. 

“Vasago Guelder…”

It was just a glass of wine. A glass of wine.

If Vasago had stopped only at slapping her cheek, Fanora might have felt sorry for her by now. Anyway, it was true that Fanora couldn’t hold back her anger and poured the wine. Her original character would have accepted that she deserved to be beaten. However, considering the punishment that Vasago demanded in exchange for the glass of wine, it was no longer the time to blame herself.

“Why was she doing that to me?”

Because the Guelder family didn’t do anything wrong in this case, they eventually brought this case as a crime of assault. Itt was funny. Although Fanora was the one who suffered the violence, when the family’s influence was involved, Vasago became the one-sided victim.

“…”

If Bael hadn’t paid for the glass of wine, she would have been a criminal at a younger age. In the end, Fanora’s  life went downhill once again with that glass of wine.

Should I drown her in wine? Or drown her in champagne?

Squeak. Fanora leaned her back against the old chair in her room and tilted her head. Several thoughts came to her mind as sheI saw the dark ceiling in front of her.

Certainly, it was Naverius who was most at fault. Not Vasago, who was loved by him. Then, as Vasago said, should only Naverius, the subject of sin, be punished? But Vasago got too much revenge on her for a glass of wine, didn’t she?

It couldn’t be like that. Fanora straightened her posture again and smiled faintly as she reviewed the first page of the diary she had transcribed so far.

So I should pay her back more this time… Revenge breeds vengeance. There was nothing wrong with what adults said.

* * *

It was four days later.

“Greetings everyone. I’m happy to be part of the club today.”

“Oh my gosh, come here, Lady Fanora!”

It was a sunny morning. Fanora  arrived at a meeting after finishing dressing up early in the morning.

“Then, shall we express our views as much as we want today?”

“I have been waiting for this meeting. How pleasant it is to hear what other people say!”

“This time, I also brought my pet, Ruje.”

This was the capital mansion of a noble lady. To be exact, this place was a club of animal lovers that mimicked the form of a salon. In the Kingdom of Kasius, the small group of people who were interested in the same thing was recently called as a ‘club.’ The main topics were sports and other topics that were not mainly talked about in salons.

“Is it a cat?”

“Yes, it turned two years old this year.”

“What fine fur.”

Then why was Fanora suddenly coming to an animal lover club?

The answer could be answered by the red-haired man sitting across from her.

“!”

The red hair was the same color as blood. A good-looking figure with the same color eyes greeted me with a slight nod. She took a look at him and turned to the clock. When will it end…? This meeting was an excuse to make external contact with Carl. Frankly, it was boring. She only wanted time to pass quickly.

“It was fun today. I will visit whenever I have time in the future.”

“It’s an honor! Many nobles want to see Lady Celsius these days. The number of people who apply for the club has increased significantly.”

“Ah, I wonder if I made you busy.”

“It’s okay. It’s hard to run a big meeting, so I didn’t want to increase the number of people, so I declined most of them.”

And a little later. People end up dying, and time will eventually pass. The conversation about animals was over before she knew it. That was the time when the members of the clubs were scattered.

“Follow me, Carl. I have something to tell you.”

“Yes!”

Fanora called her subordinate, who was in the meeting. After that, they got on a carriage that had been waiting in advance and moved somewhere together. The carriage stopped at no other than a small upper store.

“Huh? It’s a store with a name I’ve probably heard of somewhere…”

“Really?”

“Haha. I don’t know, actually. I don’t have a good memory.”

Rattle. When the carriage’s door opened, she froze consciously. From now on, even if it was annoying, Fanora had to follow the manners of the nobles. She reached out her hand to Carl, who got off first, as if asking for an escort. However, when Carl didn’t understand the meaning and just stood still below, she put on her words with an expressionless face.

“Have you never ridden a carriage with another woman in your life?”

“Pardon? Yes.”

No matter how well-known he was in society, she didn’t expect him to have enough friends. Fanora sighed a little as she remembered Carl, who was awkwardly attending the club earlier. It was because he looked the same as himself in the past.

“Well, you don’t have to memorize these things because you’re good at something else.” She spoke in a half-giving up tone, and Carl stood close to me when I got out of the carriage. For some reason, I felt strange because he reminded me of a dog that listens well.

“Lady Fanora, why did you come to this place all of a sudden?”

“…”

“Ah! I’m not trying to get away with something. I’m just curious.”

Creek. Fanora then entered the building with the sound of an old hinge, glanced at Carl’s face, and said he would find out soon.

“Oh, you’re here! Dear customer.”

“I will take all of my share I told you last time, so put it in the carriage.”

“Yeah! Sure.”

But Carl only witnessed a strange sight next to her. As soon as they entered the store, the people who appeared to be merchants bent their waists 90 degrees and loaded the suspicious sacks into the carriage.