Chapter 7

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"What is this tea! It's cold!!"

The teacup shattered with a loud clatter.

The maid who had been thrown the cup trembled and rubbed her head against the floor, repeatedly apologizing to the young lady seated in the chair, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

The young lady, with honey-blonde hair and emerald green eyes, snorted and instructed another maid to bring new tea. In her frustration, she also threw the remaining saucer at the maid who was prostrating on the floor.

The saucer hit the maid's forehead, causing a slight trickle of blood to seep from the wound.

The maid, who had been hit by the saucer, lowered her head in fear again.

"You can go now. You're annoying."

With those words, the maid left the room quickly, careful not to provoke the irritated young lady.

While the other maid was brewing new tea, the young lady, still agitated, bit her neatly manicured nails and frowned.

Phyllis Aringham hated her half-sister, Edith Aringham.

Being born to a beautiful mother and a noble father was one of Phyllis's proudest achievements as a child. She believed that, even though she was half, she was special because she was beautiful and had noble blood. People around her were also kind to the beautiful and lovely Phyllis.

Being the child of a mistress, she still had a more comfortable life than other commoners.

When she turned seven, her father came to welcome her and her mother. He said with a smile that his wife had died of illness and he could finally bring them home. Phyllis remembered her mother's joy at this news.

From that day on, Phyllis became part of the nobility.

The life she had dreamed of was even better than she had imagined. The mansion was larger than the house she had lived in before, and there were servants. She wore cute dresses every day, was well-groomed, and lived like a princess, which made her heart leap with joy.

But there was one thing she disliked: the existence of her half-sister.

The moment Phyllis first saw her half-sister Edith, she felt a sense of defeat.

Until then, Phyllis had been praised by everyone for her beauty and loveliness, but Edith, who was a year older, was even more beautiful and lovely. Her manners were elegant, her voice cool and composed, and she was a tall, graceful girl.

More beautiful than herself, more refined, and a pure noble lady, unlike herself.

The mere existence of such a half-sister was shocking, but worse, her half-sister rejected her.

Phyllis couldn't accept it.

Her half-sister, who had something Phyllis didn't, should have been kind to her.

When she realized that her father didn't love her half-sister and that the servants treated her coldly, she laughed with delight. She had something her half-sister didn't.

Father's love, mother's love, and the love of everyone should be mine.

Her mother, who also disliked the children of her predecessor, treated her half-sister harshly.

Her father said nothing.

So Phyllis thought she could do anything to her half-sister.

Indeed, when she took away her half-sister's late mother's mementos, she wasn't scolded. When she hit her beautiful face out of jealousy, nothing was said. Even when she tore her dress, her father pretended not to see. Her mother praised her for being mean to her half-sister.

"She looks down on us commoners, so I, as a stepmother, must discipline her."

With that, her mother whipped her half-sister.

Her half-sister, who usually had a composed face, winced in pain, and Phyllis and her mother laughed together.

When her half-sister's fiancé, Richard, visited the house for the first time, Phyllis approached him with the intention of taking him away.

Richard, with his slightly drooping eyes and gentle face, was more beautiful than any commoner's child, and Phyllis fell in love with him at first sight.

By then, her half-sister's radiance had already begun to fade, and Richard wasn't particularly fond of her. He seemed to care more about Phyllis than her half-sister.

Phyllis joined their tea parties, pretending to be an innocent younger sister.

Before long, Richard began to talk only to Phyllis, and although he said he came to see her half-sister, in reality, he came to see Phyllis. Sometimes they even went out together with a servant.

In this way, she finally created a fait accompli and took Richard away from her half-sister.

When she told both families, there was some resistance, but in the end, both families recognized the child in Phyllis's womb and broke off her half-sister's engagement, reuniting Phyllis and Richard.

It took five years, but it was the best feeling.

Announcing the engagement break at a ball, where everyone could see, was the most enjoyable part.

When she was told about the pregnancy, she thought it was a bit of a problem, but she had heard that it was sometimes common for nobles to marry after becoming pregnant, so it would eventually be forgotten by people.

Her half-sister would cry and cling to Richard or faint.

Either way, it would be entertaining.

But contrary to her expectations, her half-sister remained calm.

Despite having her fiancé taken away, she didn't shed a single tear and calmly accepted the situation.

... What, that's not fun.

But seeing her half-sister dancing with a monstrous-looking creature made her feel better.

Poor sister, choosing such a monster after being abandoned by her fiancé.

She wanted to tease her half-sister after the ball, so she called her when she returned home.

However, the maid said that her half-sister was already resting and had locked the door to the annex, which made her angry. She wanted to play with her miserable half-sister, who had been dumped and danced with a monster.

So, she decided to call her the next day, but her father had already called her half-sister, and she had returned to the annex and locked the door again, ignoring the maid. In the afternoon, she went out with her father, and even when she was back, she ignored the summons.

She ignored me twice. I'll whip that face that has lost its beauty.

When she went to the annex, it was empty.

Confused, she went to her father, who said her half-sister had left the house.

She had fled with the monster she had danced with at the ball last night and had even severed ties with the Aringham family, her father said.

Her father was happy, saying, "Now I can give you the viscountcy," but Phyllis thought it was boring without her half-sister. It felt good to be mean to her, and at tea parties, protecting the plain half-sister made her look good, which was the best.

"Poor thing, to be engaged to a monster."

Now that her half-sister had been disowned, she was a commoner.

A disowned commoner half-sister and a monster are a perfect match.

"Bring me a blanket. It's not good to have a cold stomach."

She had a maid bring a blanket and placed it on her stomach.

Her child with Richard was there.

Richard was the second son of an earl's family, good-looking, and the child to be born would likely inherit the Aringham viscountcy. Even if it was a girl, it would be a beautiful child, resembling either her or Richard. With its beauty, it could attract a higher-ranking noble, making the viscountcy even better.

It's a pity that her half-sister is gone, but the obstacle is out of the way.

It's enough to be loved by her parents and fiancé.

Thinking of her half-sister lamenting under the monster makes her feel good.

"Poor sister..."

Not loved by her parents, unable to maintain her position as a noble lady, and taken in by a monster...

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I saw Sir Riley off to work and spent the morning being shown around the mansion by Orwell.

The third floor was for the masters, now only Sir Riley, but I would eventually live there too. I was curious but decided to hold off for now. I wanted to save it for a future treat and was hesitant to enter Sir Riley's living area without permission.

The second floor was mostly guest rooms, and the first floor had the reception room, game room, dining room, and more.

There was actually a garden behind the building, where a gardener was growing vegetables. I learned that the vegetables grown there were served at the table. Sir Riley thought it was more efficient to have a vegetable garden than to plant flowers, as he wasn't particularly interested in flowers. I had a feeling about this, so it didn't surprise me.

The servants were surprisingly friendly, and when I greeted them, they responded brightly.

Most of them came from Sir Riley's birth family and understood his curse, so they weren't afraid of their master.

However, when I said, "Sir Riley is so cute," they made a slightly awkward face.

I had lunch alone in the dining room.

I had eaten with Sir Riley last night and this morning, but eating alone in the large dining room was a bit lonely.

I had been eating alone for ten years, so I should have been used to it.

In the afternoon, a tailor came.

When I entered the room, a somewhat nervous-looking woman and several other women were there. They immediately bowed and introduced themselves, but when they looked up and saw me, they gasped.

"Oh, what a surprise!"

The nervous-looking woman was named Aida, a designer at the Erland Clothing Store, which, according to Yuna, had recently become famous among the nobility.

She looked at me sharply and said that every woman has the right to be beautiful, and dresses are meant to enhance a woman's beauty. She was shocked that I was wearing a dowdy dress.

"This is a second-hand dress, isn't it? And it's at least three years old. It's not suitable for a young lady like you. Why are you wearing such a dress? And you don't seem to have any accessories..."

I felt a bit sorry for Aida's confused expression.

"Embarrassingly, I was treated as a nuisance in my birth family and couldn't get proper clothes or accessories. When Sir Riley found out, he said, 'You should dress appropriately.'"

Ah, just thinking about it makes my heart race, even though it happened yesterday.

Only Sir Riley said such things to me.

Even my ex-fiancé ignored the fact that I was being treated poorly.

"I apologize. You have a wonderful fiancé."

"Yes, he's the best, and I'm very happy."

A smile appeared on Aida's nervous face.

Then she measured me, chose dresses that would suit me, and created many design sketches reflecting my preferences. More than half were for everyday wear, but there were also a fair number of dresses for balls, dinners, and tea parties.

There were quite a few in total.

She also brought ready-made nightgowns, undergarments, and corsets, and I ended up buying most of them.

The amount would be astronomical.

I was worried if it was okay, but Rita said, "Sir has instructed us to buy everything that is suitable and necessary for the young lady," and kept ordering, "This is necessary for the young lady," so I couldn't hold back.

"But isn't it too much? It's Sir Riley's money..."

The salary of a royal guard and the reward for slaying a monster.

Is it right to spend his hard-earned money so freely...

But Rita didn't think so.

"The young lady didn't even have the bare essentials. We must buy them. Moreover, the appearance of the fiancée reflects on the master's reputation. If the young lady doesn't dress appropriately, people might think Sir Riley is mistreating her or is a negligent fiancé."

Imagine going to a ball with a dowdy dress next to Sir Riley, who is dressed properly. People might think he doesn't care about his fiancée or is a negligent fiancé.

While it might seem like a personal issue, in this noble society, it is the duty of a fiancé to provide a ball gown and accessories if the male side is wealthy.

... Richard never gave me anything except a letter of introduction.

I remember being asked at a tea party, "Does your fiancé give you dresses and accessories?" I can't remember what I answered.

"Yes, in society, such rumors are easily spread."

I didn't mind when it was Richard, but I don't want Sir Riley to be criticized.

"Yes, yes, and if a beautiful young lady greets him every day in beautiful attire, it will surely lift his spirits after a hard day's work."

"Hehe, that's an exaggeration, but it would make me happy if he thought so."

If he falls in love with me, it would make me even happier.

The everyday dresses will be ready in a few days, as they only need minor adjustments, and the ball gowns will take a bit longer, but I told them not to rush since I don't have any immediate events.

I returned to my room and had a late afternoon tea.

Yuna prepared a cup of tea with plenty of jam for me,