TVIOWHFW 5

I saw my reflection in the bathroom mirror. Pale white skin, platinum hair with a pinkish hue, navy blue eyes. A slender, beautiful body like a doll. And all the scars engraved on it. Without a single wound on my face and arms, the beauty makes the scars look even more alien and grotesque. I was awkward because I had never shown anyone my scars before.

“Does it look too ugly?”

“Oh, no. My Lady. How did…?”

Betty’s horrified gaze drifted past my waist and looked down to my thigh, where the scars were. The more Betty looked at the scars, the stiffer her face became.

“I’m sorry. If I had told you earlier, you wouldn’t have been so surprised.”

Honestly, I didn’t look good either.

‘How did these scars even happen?’

I touched the scars near my waist, lost in thought. All of these scars appeared suddenly after I woke up. I didn’t know why either. At first, there were only a few scars, but as I kept waking up, the number of scars suddenly increased without any pattern.

‘At least I’m glad they don’t hurt.’

They looked as if I’d been hit or stabbed somewhere, and just looking at them seemed painful, but since they appeared while I was sleeping, there was no pain. So, no treatment was necessary.

‘Of course, Libertan wouldn’t be the place to get treatment if I was in pain.’

I was often sick. Just under a lot of stress, I’d develop a fever and feel miserable. Because of that, the Duke of Libertan was often reluctant to send a doctor to see me.

‘Maybe he just didn’t want to bother.’

Strangely, scars only appeared on parts of my body that I couldn’t see when I dressed, so there was no unnecessary misunderstanding.

“I can bathe alone, so if you find it too gross, you can just leave. Just prepare some clothes for me to change into.”

Betty carefully took my hands and looked like she was fighting back tears. It seemed she was trying not to cry.

“N-No, not at all. They’re not ugly at all.”

That couldn’t be true.

“No need to lie. I have eyes too.”

“Scars are just scars. Lady, you are so beautiful.”

Betty openly mourned my wounds. I was starting to feel confused whether this was the appearance I was asked to make on John’s orders.

‘But John wouldn’t have known about my scars beforehand.’

Betty paused for a moment, then slowly opened her mouth with a distorted face, making eye contact with me.

“And my brother also has a big scar, so it’s not strange for me.”

“Your brother has scars?”

“Yes. He was badly burned because he answered a rebellious reply to a high noble. Though that wasn’t the only reason.”

There was a character in the original story with such a past. But I couldn’t remember who it was now. The original story mainly revolves around me, so other characters’ circumstances weren’t described in detail.

“…He must have been in a lot of pain.”

“Yes. But Lady, you must have been sick too.”

I paused for a moment, then answered casually. Somehow, it felt guilty to lie when talking about such a tragic family history. Especially since he supposedly suffered burns for some absurd reason.

“No, I wasn’t sick at all. I think I’m different from Betty’s brother.”

“I see.”

“And these scars are something that happened because of my own mistake.”

I mumbled, worried that John might hear something strange.

‘Since such scars probably wouldn’t exist for a beloved adopted child.’

Maybe if I insisted they were scars caused by a foolish mistake of an adopted girl, it wouldn’t seem so strange. I gently wiped Betty’s tear-filled eyes and smiled softly.

“So, you don’t have to look so serious. Contrary to appearances, I wasn’t hurt at all.”

Betty, tearful, finally burst into tears. Transparent tears streamed down her freckled face.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, my Lady. I’m so sorry.”

It seemed the misunderstanding had only deepened.

“I told you not to cry.”

“I… I was wrong.”

“What are you talking about being wrong about?”

Honestly, I didn’t understand why Betty was crying and apologizing so much. She wiped her tears with difficulty, then took a deep breath and spoke.

“Um, from now on, can I take care of your baths? I’ll make sure no one finds out.”

“If you want to, then do that.”

For some reason, my words didn’t seem to get through at all. Ah, I don’t know. I told the truth. I entered the bathhouse. It was warm, so just soaking in it made me feel good. Especially the sweet scent of the perfume oil I applied made it even better.

‘A luxury I couldn’t enjoy at the Duke of Libertan’s.’

Good desserts, and now I was experiencing many pleasant things I hadn’t enjoyed before.

‘Even the fake wife might find this worth it.’

Betty hesitated for a moment, then opened her trembling lips.

“…And.”

But even as tears streamed down her face, her gaze was resolute, as if she had made a firm decision.

“I will keep this scar a secret, I promise.”

It was strange. In the original story, Betty wasn’t very kind to the false wife of the Blanchet family.

‘She wasn’t even a significant supporting character.’

I looked at Betty’s face, clutching my hands tightly, lost in thought. It’s easy to see through people who hate me because they often reveal their true feelings unconsciously. But Betty’s reaction was hard to tell whether it was genuine or not.

‘Why does it seem like Betty isn’t lying?’

Probably because I want her to be.

‘…It’s sad if I have no allies.’

But the more I thought about it, I had to be more cold-blooded. I’d been hurt too many times to rely on random luck. Betty would tell John about my scars. She was assigned as a spy for that purpose. I responded vaguely, with my eyes closed in the warm water.

“Thank you.”

~·~·* . *^.^* . *·~·~

Betty was part of the retinue of the Duke of Libertan. Specifically, until the Duke of Libertan used her family as tools and discarded them, that was her situation. Without John’s grace, she probably wouldn’t even be alive. ‘Estelle Libertan.’ That hateful Libertan adopted daughter. A girl who lived comfortably while her own family suffered. Even if Estelle did nothing wrong, Betty hated her as much as Libertan did. Even if Estelle wasn’t the perpetrator, she would at least be a bystander. She turned a blind eye to the terrible things happening in the Libertan household. So, when she was assigned as Estelle’s dedicated maid, Betty obeyed without hesitation.

“Stay close to her and try to become friendly.”

“Yes. Understood.”

“Report everything you hear from that girl without missing a thing.”

Betty’s task was to stay close to Estelle and spy on her. Betty had no sympathy for the daughter of Libertan, at least until she actually met Estelle.

“Nice to meet you.”

When she first saw Estelle up close, Betty’s image of her was completely different from what she had imagined.

‘Is this woman Estelle Libertan?’

Betty had heard many rumors about Estelle from her fellow spies. Especially among the staff, Estelle was notorious. She was a woman who, despite being fortunate enough to become a Libertan, treated her subordinates recklessly. Her cruelty was so extreme that the maids and servants working for her were replaced frequently, and her whereabouts became a mystery.

‘She doesn’t look like that at all.’

She looked like a personified word for adorable—beautiful. Her long, white eyelashes made her look like a white bird woven from snow, innocent and dreamy.

‘Her personality must be different from her appearance.’

There were many nobles like that. Especially among those who had risen from commoners—like Estelle—such traits were common. But Estelle wasn’t that cruel. In fact, she even genuinely worried about Betty’s wounds.

‘She must have been hurt, too.’

‘She’ll definitely go for treatment after work.’

Looking at her face, as sweet as a sugar doll, Betty’s guard unconsciously lowered. She told herself that this pure innocence was something she had kept alive by enduring Libertan’s evil deeds. But her resolve kept wavering.

‘Is it okay to use her for revenge like this?’

She was merely adopted by Libertan. Her wavering heart broke completely the moment she entered Estelle’s bath to serve her.

“Can I wash alone?”

Despite her hesitant expression, Betty forcibly entered. It was to find out even a little secret she was hiding. And what Estelle was hiding turned out to be very different from what Betty had imagined.

“Does it look too ugly?”

Perhaps no one in the world knew this secret.

‘Why…?’

The scars subtly carved only where clothes covered. Clearly the signs of severe beatings and abuse. There were even burn marks.

~·~·* . *^.^* . *·~·~

The cruel secret revealed the harsh truth. Those so-called ruthless people wouldn’t have cared for an adopted child who hadn’t spilled a single drop of blood. But they chose to believe it because they wanted to.

At that moment, Estelle apologized to Betty.

“Sorry. If I had told you earlier, you wouldn’t have been so surprised.”

She blamed everything on herself as if making excuses. But these scars weren’t something that could happen by mistake.

“And these scars are something that happened because of my own mistake.”

Betty saw the faint smile Estelle was wearing, and her eyes flickered.

“Then you don’t have to look so serious. Contrary to appearances, I wasn’t hurt at all.”

That smile was filled with a fleeting, almost fragile light—like it could shatter at any moment. Everyone hated and despised her, calling her lucky. That innocent smile, which seemed so harmless and lovely, felt unbearably lonely. She was neither lucky nor the cursed princess of Libertan after all. In the end, Betty completely broke down.

“I will keep this scar a secret, I promise.”

And she decided to stand by her. Though powerless, she wanted to be on the side of this pitiful woman whom everyone hated and despised.

~·~·* . *^.^* . *·~·~

The Duke of Libertan regained his lost vitality. Sending a single adopted girl to marry was enough to settle all his debts at once. The Duchess of Libertan raised her wine glass and sought out the Duke.

“It’s truly a relief. I never thought that girl would be of any use.”

“Yes. It’s a relief that we could repay him at the end. Still…”

The Duke’s eyes fell on a certain spot in his office.

“She was a good girl.”

That was the very spot where Estelle had stood when she was scolded.

‘She always tried so hard to be loved, standing there.’

Now that she was gone, he strangely started to worry about her. She was just a girl used for usefulness, after all.

‘She wouldn’t be able to live properly at the Blanchet household.’

He purposely avoided talking about Libertan with Estelle, knowing the truth. The Blanchet family had been betrayed and ruined by Libertan’s treason, and Estelle hated him and would surely seek revenge.

‘Is this really the end?’

At first, he thought they had just sold a useless adopted girl as a sacrificial pawn for revenge. But the more he thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.

‘Estelle alone couldn’t be the only reason for his revenge.’

It was revenge that had destroyed an entire family. It wouldn’t be resolved so easily.

‘And it’s true I didn’t take the opportunity to topple Libertan either.’

He was convinced that the peculiar aspect of Libertan was a trap.

“Madam. We had a connection to the Blanchet household, didn’t we?”

“Are you talking about those incompetent fools who didn’t even warn us about the trap at Blanchet?”

Roselia, the Duchess of Libertan, nodded with a frown.

“They were too busy to warn us in advance. Do they even have any work to do?”

“I suppose I should check the situation inside Blanchet—”

Suddenly, commotion erupted beyond the office. The noble Duchess’s forehead furrowed.

“What’s all this fuss on such a good day?”

Even the loud footsteps and screams grew louder. The butler, pale as a ghost, hurriedly burst open the door. Blood was on his body.

“Duke, it’s an emergency. You need to come out immediately.”

“What happened?”

“Guards from the palace stormed the estate…!”

At that moment, the palace guards arrived behind the butler, pushed him aside, and strode into the office with confident steps.

“What’s going on here with the palace guards?”

But they didn’t answer. Only after the situation was settled did a very alien man walk slowly among the guards. Unlike the palace guards, he wore a tailored black suit instead of armor. The man, walking at a measured pace, scrutinized the Duke and Duchess of Libertan with perfectly restrained movements.

“Your faces have improved.”

“Duke of Blanchet?”

The Duke of Libertan glared sharply at the man, who was John.

“All our debts should be settled now. What is this about mobilizing palace guards and causing such trouble? Are you trying to interfere in our dealings—”

“All debts are settled.”

John sneered with a blank face, only lifting the corners of his mouth. His arrogant gaze bore down on the Duke of Libertan.

“This is a different matter.”

Standing before John, the Duke involuntarily shrank at the overwhelming aura. He hesitantly spoke in a trembling voice.

“Is there another problem?”

“Rebellion.”

John took a step forward and gracefully tapped the Duke’s shoulder.

“The Duke of Libertan’s crime of rebellion has been exposed.”

“That—That can’t be true…”

“How could you commit such a terrible crime?”

John lowered his voice, cold as ice, whispering into the pale Duke’s ear.

“This is only the beginning. Look forward to it.”

~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~

Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉

Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

~~~Next Chapter~~~

Next chapter will be released on September, 15.

See you then!!