Chapter 18
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 18
What did he just say? House Hosaquin? I couldn't believe it. I never expected to hear about Evangeline’s maternal family here. Her diary was short on specifics, and since neither Canna nor Hena knew anything, I had no one to ask.
And listen to this jerk. I thought he was just trying to flirt with them, but he was actually trying to build rapport by trash-talking someone else.
He was insulting me while putting down Canna and Hena at the same time. Talk about killing two birds with one stone. The rhetoric of the nobility was truly terrifying.
By the way, where is Gabriel?
Just as I was wondering if I had to keep listening to this guy bad-mouth me, I spotted Gabriel in the distance. Gabriel, get in there! Save Canna! I rooted for him internally, but he didn’t budge. Instead, he just seemed to be observing Canna from afar. What—what was he doing? Why wasn’t he stopping this?
Don’t tell me he was acting this way because he fell for me instead of Canna. Even if he was the type to only be kind to “his woman,” he was still a knight. He should have some basic decency.
Gabriel showed no sign of intervening. Canna hung her head, looking hurt, while Hena fidgeted anxiously beside her.
I couldn’t stand it anymore. I stood up. I may have possessed this body and turned this into a story about a villainess, but wasn’t this treatment of the original female lead a bit much?
“We’re leaving.”
Perhaps because I was so annoyed, my voice came out low and heavy. Sensing my foul mood, Jelly instantly opened the carriage door.
The door swung open so suddenly that the coachman, who had been tending to the horses, stumbled back in surprise.
“…Wh-why is the Young Lady…?”
Right. It would be shocking for Evangeline to suddenly pop out of a carriage that was supposed to be empty. I took a werewolf for a taxi, okay? I’m in a hurry, so I’ll explain later.
Jelly stepped down first and offered me his hand. Mindful of the many nobles nearby, he was clearly trying to help me maintain appearances. The more I saw of him, the more he seemed like a multi-talented, all-purpose butler than a member of a reverse harem.
I took Jelly’s hand, stepped down from the carriage, and opened my parasol. Jelly had good taste; it was quite beautiful.
On top of that, Jelly was apparently handsome enough to draw people’s gazes on his own. And Evangeline herself possessed the kind of stunning beauty that lived up to her reputation as a villainess.
As the surroundings fell quiet, Canna and Hena turned to look.
“…Young Lady.”
“Miss!”
Hena looked relieved, as if she’d seen a savior. The moment she saw me, the gloomy Canna brightened like a flower in full bloom. I strode forward and stood protectively in front of the two of them.
“…L-Lady Rohanson?”
That’s right. I’m that very same Lady Rohanson you were just busy slandering. He stammered, clearly never dreaming that the person in question would actually appear.
“Y-you came together? But why did you wait so long to get out…?”
Translated into RoFan-speak, he was saying: If you had gotten out of the carriage and shown your face earlier, I would have known you were here and wouldn’t have talked behind your back.
“I was feeling unwell, so I was resting in the carriage. And you are…?”
“Ah. My apologies. I am Anulen Benzen of the Marquisate of Benzen.”
Damn it. I thought he was just some random extra, but he was a Marquis’s son. What was I supposed to do? Evangeline was a Count’s daughter, which meant she was outranked. Why was she a villainess but not a Duke’s daughter? Ah, I suppose that’s why her maternal family was a ducal house.
“And what, Young Master, were you discussing with my girls?”
Whatever. I didn’t care anymore. I had thought it was too late to play the part of the granddaughter who gets close to her maternal grandfather, but maybe I was wrong. They seemed estranged, but perhaps I should try reaching out from now on.
* * *
“I saw that the two of them were here for the first time, so I was offering to guide them,” Anulen said smoothly.
“Aha…”
Look at him playing dumb. I heard everything, yet he had the nerve to lie to my face.
“I could have sworn I heard you lumping House Rohanson and House Hosaquin together to make some kind of joke.”
Since my status as a Count’s daughter was lacking, I brought up the Duke’s house. Anulen’s face turned pale as he realized I had overheard the entire conversation. Anyone can talk behind someone's back, but he was just unlucky enough to get caught by the person herself.
“Tell me, is my attire also too shabby for the Grand Temple?”
I hadn’t bought new clothes either. I had come wearing a simple, unadorned dress that had been tucked away in a corner of my dressing room. Looking at the flamboyant outfits in the garden, it was true that my girls and I stood out.
I had worn this on purpose to shed my villainess image, but hearing Anulen imply it made the Count’s house look poor made me fume. I have money too!
“Your answer?”
Anulen Benzen trembled, apparently not expecting me to be so direct. Did he think I’d let him off the hook if he acted scared? I might have decided to stop being a villainess, but I never said I’d become a pushover. I wasn’t backing down until I got an answer.
As I stared silently at him, Gabriel, who had been standing off in the distance, finally made his appearance.
“That couldn’t be. The Grand Temple will always welcome the Young Lady.”
“Sir Gabriel!” Anulen Benzen cried out in relief.
“Young Master Benzen, I presume.”
So, you just stood by and watched while Canna was being humiliated, only showing yourself after I appeared? And this was after I sent you a letter asking you to look after them.
“I didn’t realize you would be coming together,” Gabriel said.
I wasn’t planning to, but now I’m glad I did. Gabriel was completely disqualified as a male lead. Of course, he’d been disqualified the moment he fell for me instead of the female lead.
“Ah… are the two of you acquainted?” Anulen asked.
“Yes. I invited Lady Rohanson, promising to guide her myself,” Gabriel explained. “It seems Young Master Benzen was attending to her because I was late. My thanks.”
“No, not at all! It was an honor to have been of help to you, Sir.”
Anulen Benzen bowed and scraped, then took the first opportunity to flee. I’ll remember this, I vowed, watching his retreating back. Just then, Gabriel addressed me.
“Did you come to see the painting, My Lady?”
His manner was as polite as ever. If I hadn’t seen him standing idly by while the female lead was being humiliated just moments ago, I would have thought he was a truly serious and upright man.
“No. I was worried about sending these two alone, and I was also curious about the Grand Temple. As you know, my health hasn’t been good, so I’ve received quite a bit of help from this place.”
Thinking about it, it wasn’t really Gabriel’s fault. It wasn’t like he chose his own character traits. He was written as the stoic knight who is only warm to “his woman.” What agency did he have in the matter?
I was getting too immersed. Thinking of it that way helped me calm down.
Besides, if I had to blame someone, it should be me for hijacking his route in the first place. It wasn’t Gabriel’s fault he was a sucker for a pretty face and started ignoring the original female lead because he’d fallen for the villainess.
“While they look at the painting, may I offer a prayer?”
So, I decided to take it up with the one above. Since I was at the temple, I might as well try praying. If I was lucky, I might even get to have a chat with God as a transmigrator perk.
* * *
The door of the House Rohanson carriage opened. Hena was struck dumb by the sight of Lady Evangeline emerging from a vehicle that should have been empty. Escorted by the monster she called ‘Jelly,’ Evangeline Rohanson set foot on the ground.
With her white parasol, snow-white hair, and pure white chemise dress, she was a vision in white.
The sunlight scattered around her head. Even with the sun blazing in the sky, it felt as if night had suddenly fallen. All other senses vanished, and only Evangeline Rohanson remained, vivid and overwhelming.
“Miss!” Canna called out to her with pure joy.
Appearing under the full gaze of the crowd, Lady Evangeline strode forward to stand before Hena and Canna. As she approached, the mocking glances directed at them vanished instantly. Instead, people held their breath, trying to avoid her gaze.
Hena didn’t know why the Lady, who had said she wouldn’t come, had changed her mind, but she bowed her head in gratitude for her timely arrival.
If the Lady had been just a little later, Anulen would have… Hena shook her head, dismissing the thought. There was no way her younger sister would have done anything. Canna had grown up sheltered and didn’t know the ways of the world; she was just ignorant of how to treat nobles and had been a bit rude. What power did Canna have to harm a man? That was impossible.
* * *
“My name is Uriel, My Lady.”
“Uriel will guide you to the prayer room,” Gabriel said, introducing the other knight.
The Lady had said she would pray instead of touring the temple. The image of her praying felt somewhat blasphemous, yet at the same time, it seemed like a scene from a masterpiece painting.
She departed under the guidance of the knight named Uriel.
“I shall guide the two of you,” Gabriel offered, turning to Hena and Canna.
The Grand Temple was incredibly ornate. Set against such a magnificent backdrop, Gabriel, dressed in his white uniform, looked exceptionally striking and brilliant. Or perhaps his presence, which had been overshadowed by the Lady, was only now fully revealing itself after she had left.
Hena clenched and unclenched her fists in nervousness as she followed him.
Earlier in the garden, while everyone else was laughing, Gabriel had been watching Canna. It seemed he had also noticed that something was wrong with her. That must have been why he stepped forward to guide them personally instead of the Lady.
The Lady had mentioned her past illness and was going to pray; at the very least, she wouldn't cause a scene while playing the part of a pious devotee.
“How is the progress?” Hena heard Canna ask.
“I have done my best, but I am sorry to say there has been none. In fact, because of the rumors…”
“Then are those people also here to see the painting?”
“Yes. Most of them.”
Following Gabriel’s lead, they stepped inside the Grand Temple.