SWMD 91

~Chapter 91~

“What…? Catherine said that…?”

Calypso’s shoulders trembled slightly.
More shocking than his affair being discovered—was the fact that Catherine herself had said those words to Diana.

It meant Catherine had abandoned her own blood mother.
And that also meant one day, she might abandon him too.

The violet eyes Catherine had inherited from him were now filled with shock.

The table blocked it, but Diana could clearly see Calypso’s hands shaking.

“She said you rejected her.”

At Diana’s next words, his trembling slowly stopped. Thankfully, it seemed Catherine hadn’t told her about him.

His expression looked like he was saying, I’m safe. Diana almost laughed.

It was killing two birds with one stone.
If Catherine tried to choke her own mother, even Calypso would grow cold toward her.

It was the perfect way to break Catherine and Calypso’s bond, and also make him cast aside Alicia.

“Why didn’t you tell me? If you had, I wouldn’t have protected Alicia all this time in the name of friendship.”

“…I didn’t want you to worry.”

Calypso quickly spat out a lie. It was pathetic.
Diana forced back her laugh and continued.

“I’ll decide what to do with Alicia after thinking it over carefully. You stay out of it. Understood?”

She stared directly into his eyes.

Calypso blinked rapidly, flustered, then shifted his gaze between her eyes and the check on the table.

Alicia didn’t matter to him.
The only thing he cared about was business success.

“…Very well.”

In the end, Calypso abandoned Alicia.
Everything was going perfectly.

Diana smiled sweetly and handed him the check.

His eyes shone at the sight of money, as if Alicia had never existed.
Not knowing this was the very thing that would ruin him completely.

Diana could already see his miserable downfall before her eyes.

To carry out Diana’s orders, Catherine went straight into the kitchen after leaving her.

The maids preparing dinner looked shocked to see her.
Catherine had never even glanced at a place like the kitchen before.

“What are you looking at? I came to get food.”

Seeing their puzzled looks, she answered bluntly and looked around for food.

The maids all stopped what they were doing and watched her nervously.
Finally, one maid gathered courage.

“My Lady, I can bring something to your room. What would you like to eat?”

“…Hmm.”

Inside Catherine, two thoughts clashed:
She’s still my mother.
But she almost ruined me.

Well, she had already been cast out to a hut. This much was enough. At least she could be given proper food.

Catherine reached for the dishes the maids had prepared: buttery roasted chicken legs and a fresh salad. She piled them on a tray and glanced around for something to drink.

At that moment, Eclipt appeared behind her. He had been watching everything in secret with interest.

Catherine.
Hm?
What are you doing?

“Why?”

Her hand, holding the tray, froze in the air.

Eclipt clicked his tongue.

Forget human feelings. Your mother almost destroyed you.

Catherine’s eyes wavered. No matter how much she hated Alicia, she was still her blood mother. She made mistakes endlessly, but Catherine couldn’t bring herself to starve her to death.

Seeing her hesitation, Eclipt whispered sweetly.

I’m not saying kill her.
…Then?
Just give her the punishment she deserves.

He stroked Catherine’s silver hair softly.

At first, he had approached just to make this “play” more amusing.
But the girl intrigued him more and more.

He intended to turn Catherine into a complete demon.

…Yes. You’re right.

Darkness sank into Catherine’s eyes.

Just then, she spotted a piece of stale bread.

It reminded her of Aisel from before. Catherine smirked.

She took away all the delicious food from the tray, leaving only the hard bread.

“My Lady, that bread is too old and dry. It’s not fit for you to eat…”

The maid tried to stop her, but Catherine just smiled and left with the bread.

Good. That’s it, Catherine.
Yes. You’re right. Mother must suffer.

The heaviness in her chest felt light as air.

Catherine tucked the bread under her arm and headed for the hut.

A big lock hung on the door, but luckily the key lay on the ground nearby.
She unlocked it with a clatter.

The noise made Alicia, who was lying like a corpse, lift her head.

“Ah… ahh…!”

She thought someone had come to kill her, and she shrank into the corner, trembling.

Catherine looked down at her.
So it was true—Alicia couldn’t speak anymore.

It was Catherine’s own words that had left her this way.

As a daughter, such a sight might have looked pitiful.

But not to Catherine.

Her eyes held not a drop of pity.
Only hatred.

“What a sight you are.”

“Ah… ahh!”

At the sound of her voice, Alicia groped her way toward her.
She stumbled over a chair, crashing noisily to the floor.

“Ugh…”

She scraped her knee on a nail, blood seeping out, and groaned in pain.

But Catherine didn’t think of helping.
Her face twisted with disgust.

So stupid, so pitiful.
To think the same blood flowed in her veins made her sick.

“Good thing I abandoned you.”

Her words pierced Alicia’s heart like a knife—more painful than her bleeding knee.

Alicia wept as she clutched her knee, then staggered toward Catherine.

Even in this state, she wanted to tell her daughter the truth—that Diana already knew everything.

“Ugh…”

She reached her hand out toward Catherine, desperate.

If only Catherine had brought her pen and paper, she could have written a warning.

But Catherine misunderstood her gesture.

“Even now… are you still hungry?”

Alicia shook her head fiercely.

No, Catherine! Please! Give me pen and paper… please!

But her silent screams vanished uselessly.

The bread slipped from her hand onto the floor.

“Eat well.”

That was all Catherine said as she left.
Alicia collapsed to the ground.

The stale bread, lying there, looked as miserable as Alicia herself.

From morning, the maids rushed about—decorating the terrace, arranging flowers from the garden into vases.

From the kitchen drifted the sweet smell of desserts.

Catherine, out for a casual walk, sniffed the air.

It wasn’t even snack time yet.
Puzzled, she grabbed a maid carrying roses.

“What are you doing?”
“You didn’t know, my Lady?”
“Know what?”
“A guest is coming today…”

A guest? Catherine’s brow twitched. She had never heard of this.

“What kind of guest?”

The maid glanced nervously and whispered:

“The young lord of House Iberk.”

“What?”

Catherine’s face crumpled instantly. She looked ready to explode.
The maid fled in fear.

Her face burned red. All the maids knew—but she didn’t?

Storming, Catherine barged into Diana’s room without knocking.

Diana, reading a book, frowned.

“What is this rudeness?”

Her icy voice filled the room.

But Catherine didn’t care. She marched right up to her.

“Is it true Lord Sawyer is coming today?”

Though she already knew, Diana feigned ignorance.

“Lord Sawyer?”
“The maids are all in a fuss! Don’t tell me you didn’t know?”
“I had no idea.”

Catherine’s face filled with despair.

So—they had exchanged letters and grown close enough to invite him here already?

If she had known, she would have prepared from dawn.

She was confident she wouldn’t lose to Aisel in beauty.

But it was already too late.

She looked down at her dress—last season’s, worn out.

Calypso had refused to buy her new clothes, saying business funds were tight.

The sight of her outdated dress only fueled her rage.

Without another word, she stormed out.

She went straight to Aisel’s room and burst the door open, ready to slap her.

But the moment she saw her—Catherine froze.

“What…”

Even more dazzling than the jewels on her chest or the diamonds swinging from her ears—was Aisel’s face, shining with Diana’s beauty.

Standing like the true noble daughter she was, Aisel looked untouchable.

Catherine could say nothing.