Lady Coleman turned around and spoke.
“Three people can share a boat. Would you like to join Lady Bullin?”
“With Lady Bullin?”
Pairing me with the Second Prince’s lover, when I was the one who had openly pursued him?
‘Does she not know that Lady Bullin is Andreas’s lover?’
In any case, she was the only one who had made an offer. If I were left alone, the princess might have invited me to sit with her instead, but I decided not to resist.
“Sure.”
There was no reason to turn away someone who had reached out to me.
‘Maybe I’m not that disliked after all.’
I was genuinely relieved that someone had approached me.
‘She seems friendly—maybe we could become friends.’
Just as I started to feel a little excited, I locked eyes with Rose again. She must’ve been watching me. The moment our eyes met, Rose turned her head away once more.
‘What’s with her?’
Perplexed, I approached her while everyone else headed toward the boats and asked her quietly.
“Is there something you wanted to say?”
“Pardon?”
“You’ve been staring.”
I made sure to smile as naturally as I could so I wouldn’t come off as confrontational. Rose’s expression, however, remained uneasy.
She glanced toward Lady Coleman, who was chatting with Lady Bullin, and replied in a low voice.
“You seem more comfortable talking to Lady Coleman than I expected.”
Was that the problem? I didn’t understand what she meant.
I tried to ask more, but she had already boarded her boat, leaving me no chance to continue the conversation.
I got on the rowboat with the others. The boatman took the front seat, and I sat across from the two young ladies.
“Boating on a lake is quite pleasant.”
We were seated at a comfortable conversational distance, as if with a small table between us. Lady Coleman was the first to speak, and she turned to me.
“I saw you talking to Lady Farrell earlier. What was that about?”
“Oh, it wasn’t anything important.”
I couldn’t exactly say we’d been talking about her.
Why had Rose looked at me so strangely when she saw me talking with Lady Coleman? While I puzzled over it, Lady Bullin spoke to me.
“Um… Lady Burkell.”
“Yes?”
She hesitated, as if she had something she’d been meaning to say.
“Come to think of it, I didn’t get a chance to thank you properly last time.”
“For what?”
“I was able to stay safe thanks to you, and I never got the chance to say thank you.”
“Oh, no need.”
I waved my hand and smiled.
“It was a coincidence anyway. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
It wasn’t something that warranted thanks.
“You two seem to get along so well. It’s lovely to see.”
Lady Coleman said, watching us.
“I bet Lady Burkell’s family is pleased, too. Don’t you think?”
“A little.”
I gave a small, sheepish nod. Lady Coleman nodded back knowingly.
“They must be happy that the troublesome daughter of the family is finally getting some good gossip. I can understand that.”
“Excuse me?”
I froze for a moment. Did she just call me a family disgrace to my face?
Noticing my stiffened expression, Lady Coleman smiled even more sweetly.
“It’s a compliment. Don’t misunderstand me, Lady Burkell.”
With that tone, I couldn’t even argue.
‘So this wasn’t goodwill after all…?’
Before we boarded the boat, when we were with others, she hadn’t said anything offensive. But now her attitude had clearly changed.
Maybe it was because of what Rose had said earlier, but I was starting to feel unsettled.
‘Am I being oversensitive?’
I was still unsure when she laughed again and said,
“Isn’t coincidence wonderful? Don’t you think so, Lady Burkell?”
‘Ah…’
Now I was certain. She was mocking me while pretending otherwise.
‘So that’s why she approached me.’
It stung a little to realize I’d gotten excited over the thought of making a friend.
Still, instead of showing my feelings, I mirrored her smile.
“Yes. Life is full of surprises. Maybe I’ll even gain some popularity from all this.”
Lady Coleman went silent. I could see Lady Bullin blinking in surprise, glancing between the two of us.
‘At least Lady Bullin doesn’t seem to be in on it.’
If she turned against me too, I really would’ve started developing trust issues.
“The lake is deeper than I thought.”
Lady Coleman looked away, clearly trying to change the subject. Honestly, I preferred that. We still had a long way to go around the lake.
‘I’ve never had a more uncomfortable boat ride.’
If she hated me, why invite me onto the boat at all?
While I stayed quiet, Lady Coleman turned to Lady Bullin.
“Have you ever gone swimming?”
“No, never.”
“I heard a rumor you’re dating the Second Prince. Is it true?”
So she’d known all along and had intentionally put us together.
‘How childish.’
I smiled wryly at Lady Bullin, who looked to me in embarrassment.
Lady Coleman continued, speaking only to Lady Bullin.
“There are some strange-looking fish in the water.”
“Fish?”
“Yes. Would you like to see them?”
From her seat, Lady Bullin wouldn’t have been able to see, so she moved closer.
The moment she shifted, Lady Coleman took the vacant seat right next to me.
‘Why sit next to me if you dislike me?’
I gave her a wary glance. Lady Coleman turned to look at me, too.
She was grinning—almost like she was thrilled about something.
‘What’s she smiling for?’
There was nothing amusing about this situation. Her expression was unnerving.
Unless she was scheming something, there was no reason she’d be smiling like that while looking at me.
Something was up.
Then, Lady Coleman rose from her seat.
“…!”
I had a bad feeling. She leaned over and pushed Lady Bullin, who had been looking over the edge of the boat.
“Ah!”
Lady Bullin’s body tilted dangerously over the side.
‘What the hell is she doing?!’
I quickly stood up and grabbed her arm. Lady Coleman, off balance from pushing, had also risen awkwardly. I glared at her as I pulled Lady Bullin back into the boat.
With Lady Bullin’s upper body back inside, the boat now tilted in the opposite direction.
“Kyaa!”
We nearly capsized. I quickly sat down to regain balance.
‘She’s insane!’
Rocking the boat like that—who could stay safe?
“Grab the boat!”
I shouted to Lady Bullin.
“Kyaaah!”
A scream followed by a splash.
“Lady Burkell!”
Lady Bullin turned to me in shock. The boat had steadied enough for me to finally see what had happened.
‘What…?’
I was speechless.
Lady Coleman was the one who had fallen into the water and was now flailing around.
____________.𖥔 ݁ ˖𓆰♕𓆪 ֶָ֢._________
Lady Coleman was rescued quickly.
One of the other young ladies had screamed that someone had fallen in, but only after our oarsman had already jumped in to save her.
He must’ve been startled. The boat had rocked so violently out of nowhere.
All the ladies gathered as the boat ride was abruptly called off.
“Are you out of your mind? We nearly capsized!”
I scolded Lady Coleman. She was shivering under a blanket, but I felt no pity.
Now someone even worse had appeared.
Why did the Second Prince have to show up?
He must’ve heard from either Lady Bullin or the princess that his lover would be at the lake today. Probably came just to catch a glimpse—and rushed over upon hearing the commotion.
“You were supposed to be boating with the ladies. What happened?”
He asked the princess, looking unusually anxious.
“Their boat nearly capsized. Lady Coleman fell in—it could’ve been very serious.”
“Why was their boat the only one rocking like that?”
Hearing that, the prince turned to Lady Bullin. But I spoke up first.
“Lady Bullin probably didn’t see it. She was looking out over the edge.”
“Then?”
All eyes turned to me.
“Lady Coleman pushed her. I pulled Lady Bullin back before she could fall, but…”
“She pushed her?”
The prince’s face twisted in a frown. That’s when Lady Coleman suddenly cried out,
“Lady Burkell pushed Lady Bullin!”
“What!?”
“I just reached to help her because the boat rocked so dangerously.”
What kind of nonsense is this?
I frowned. Lady Coleman addressed everyone around us.
“When I mentioned that I knew Lady Bullin was the Second Prince’s lover, Lady Burkell’s face fell.”
So that’s what this was about?
I let out a dry laugh. She had intended this from the beginning—push Bulin in, then pin it on me.
“You were dating my brother?”
The princess looked horrified.
“No, that’s not what’s important right now. Whose story is true?”
“There’s no need to ask,” the Second Prince said to the princess. His expression as he looked at me left no doubt.
I knew exactly whose words he was choosing to believe.
He glared at me with contempt.
“I should’ve known. Lady Burkell never struck me as the type to gain a good reputation for her good deeds. In the end, your true nature had to come out.”
“Your Highness… surely you don’t believe Lady Coleman, do you?”
“Then who should I believe? A lady who’s never once caused trouble in society, or the one constantly in the center of scandal?”
Several young ladies nodded in agreement.
So this is the reaction she wanted when she did it.
I stared silently at Lady Coleman. In my past life, she’d always been the quiet, invisible type.
“Your Highness, Lady Burkell caught me when I fell. She saved me.”
Lady Bullin tried cautiously to speak up, but the prince ignored her.
“You said you didn’t see who pushed you, didn’t you? You don’t need to protect her out of fear.”
He moved protectively in front of Lady Bullin, shielding her.
I laughed hollowly. He was treating me like I was going to hurt someone.
And he looked exactly like my old lover. That resemblance made it even more irritating.
So damn annoying.
“If you don’t want to believe me, then don’t.”
“What did you just say, Lady Burkell?”
“It seems Your Highness has already decided whom to believe. I said—if you don’t want to believe me, then don’t.”
