Chapter 2
At my words, the room fell silent in an instant. To explain myself a little—it was a mistake. To be a bit more selfish—it was all Douglas’s fault for being such a jerk.
“What did you just say?”
Douglas, now composed, asked coldly. Honestly, I was scared. Unlike that guy, I’m fragile.
But he was the one who started it, and besides, we have the numbers on our side. What’s done is done—I replied right away.
“Do I have to repeat myself? If you’re going to hear that kind of talk from someone, it should be from your mother—not from you.”
Douglas’s face twisted even more. I glared back at him with all the strength I had. Honestly, I hadn’t intended to act like this at first. But hearing the way he talked, it was obvious Evelyn had been treated this way more than just once or twice.
‘Yeah, I know this family’s full of overachievers.’
The Duke was perfect in everything but personality—there was no need to say it out loud. The Duke Consort, Henry, was a major figure in high society and owned the most prestigious boutique street in the Sandrium Empire.
Douglas was a swordmaster so skilled that even the imperial family had their eyes on him. Asil was a business genius who ran the largest merchant group on the continent.
And Evelyn? As Douglas said, she was a jobless freeloader. On top of that, she’d been publicly dumped by the Crown Prince, bringing shame to her family name.
‘Sure, I can see why Evelyn might seem pathetic. But still—does he have to talk like that?’
I know people like Douglas very well. Even if Evelyn were amazing, he would still treat her like this.
Because Evelyn’s his younger sister. Because he thinks being her older brother somehow puts him above her.
“Shamelessness has its limits. Hey, Kim Geum-soo. Am I your wallet?”
“What? You bastard, what did you just say? Are you crazy!?”
“Geum-hee! How can you talk like that to your brother? Apologize right now!”
Why did this suddenly remind me of my messed-up family back in Korea? I quickly shook off the bad memories. They left a sour taste in my mouth, and I wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.
I tried to walk past Douglas and leave the room—
Thud—
“……”
“……Did you just bump into me?”
I accidentally shoulder-checked him.
To explain again—it was a mistake. But come on, isn’t it his fault for not stepping aside so I could pass?
Instead of answering, I flipped him off and yanked open the door before storming out.
After my run-in with Douglas, I was in a foul mood until morning. The smallest reason? Remembering my old family made me feel like I was going to die of stress.
‘Ha. At least I donated everything before I died.’
I tried to comfort myself by recalling the satisfying moment I gave away my entire fortune. That helped a bit—until—
“Young Lady, the master is asking for you.”
I shut my eyes tightly. The one thing I was trying to avoid had come.
‘Was it the shoulder check? Or because I cursed him out? No, maybe it was the middle finger?’
Well, aside from the finger, I didn’t really do anything on purpose. Dammit. Looks like Evelyn used to get chewed out too for talking back to her “loving” family.
I slowly crawled out of bed.
“I’ll help you get ready, Young Lady.”
“……Go ahead.”
I nodded. The crystal bathtub already had warm water ready. I tried to stall as much as possible, hoping to catch the maid making a mistake so I could complain.
“Is the water temperature to your liking?”
“……It’s fine.”
“Then I’ll help you with the soap.”
Of course she’s a Frabiche maid. She was so efficient and perfect I almost fell asleep. Evelyn’s notoriously sensitive body had not a single complaint.
“We’re done, miss. Is there anything else you’d like touched up?”
No. Honestly, it was perfect. So perfect it brought tears to my eyes.
Evelyn’s looks, the dress, even the accessories—everything was just my style. Especially the dress with all the butterfly decorations. I loved it.
Why did Evelyn and I have to have similar taste?
I waved off the maid and trudged to the Duke’s office like a cow being led to the slaughter. The butler was already waiting and opened the door right away.
“Please go in, Young Lady.”
Ugh. I really don’t want to go in.
Unlike the gentle Duke Consort, the Duke just looked strict. Yesterday, she told me to spend money—and now she was going to take it back, wasn’t she?
Unlike Kim Geum-hee in Korea, Evelyn had no personal assets. She lived entirely off the family’s money. If they cut me off, I’d be in real trouble.
I put on Evelyn’s signature shameless face and entered the study.
“Mother. You called for me?”
“You’re here.”
The Duke’s office was pitch black, befitting a villain boss, with golden accents exuding dangerous luxury.
But there was one odd thing.
The Duke was holding a document—upside down. I debated whether to mention it or not, then chose to speak up.
“Mother, that paper is upside down.”
“……I know.”
She awkwardly put it away. Yeah right. She totally didn’t know. But before I could shoot her a suspicious look, she got right to the point.
“I heard about yesterday.”
“……Are you going to scold me?”
“Of course.”
Damn. I knew it.
I closed my eyes, bracing for a lecture. Just please don’t take the money away. But what the Duke said next was completely unexpected.
“I gave Douglas a proper talking-to. He won’t say anything stupid to you again.”
“……What?”
You weren’t going to scold me?
I blinked, dumbfounded, and she looked at me like I was the weird one.
“You’ve been out of it ever since that disgrace. Was the Crown Prince really that good?”
“Uh, that’s—”
“What did you even see in that greasy punk…? I don’t care about anything else—just get better taste in men.”
“……”
So she hated the Crown Prince too, huh. Now that I think about it, she was pissed when Evelyn started chasing after him.
Just like yesterday, she pulled something from her pocket and tossed it to me.
“What’s this?”
“Money.”
Yeah, I can see that.
She said it like she picked it up off the street.
“Douglas said to give it to you. Go buy some jewelry with your father or something.”
“I don’t want to spend his money.”
“It’s not the money’s fault, it’s Douglas’s. Now get out of your room and get some fresh air. Go shopping or whatever.”
I was speechless.
‘Why does this family keep telling me to spend money?’
Then the answer came to me.
Because Evelyn used to throw money around like crazy.
They just want to see me doing the same again, to be reassured that I’m “back to normal.”
But I just spent the equivalent of two mansions yesterday.
Even I’m not shameless enough to go shopping again today.
“No thanks. You must’ve heard from Dad that I already bought a ton of dresses yesterday.”
But the Duke’s expression shifted strangely. Her pupils seemed to shrink—almost like she was in shock.
“So you’re refusing?”
“……”
Okay, that’s scary.
I can’t mess with her the way I do with others. The Duke is on a whole different level of terrifying compared to that punk Douglas.
Everyone in this house loves Evelyn—except Douglas.
But I’m not Evelyn. If they ever find out the real Evelyn is gone…
‘……I won’t die peacefully.’
And I want to die peacefully. Actually, I want to live a long, comfortable life. If I want to play the role of Evelyn properly, I need to do what they expect—like spending money. And I can use that to show I’ve moved on from the Crown Prince.
Reluctantly, I swept back my hair and nodded.
“I’ll take it.”
“Daughter!”
The moment I stepped out of the office, Henry was waiting for me.
“Your mother told me everything! Come on, let’s get dressed up and go shopping!”
“……”
“……You don’t want to?”
Henry offered his arm and pouted with his sky-blue eyes. I couldn’t help but chuckle. They’d obviously planned this ahead of time. No way he’d just happen to be here otherwise.
He was already fully dressed to go out.
‘Well, I already told the Duke I’d go, so I can’t back out now.’
I linked arms with him and mimicked Evelyn’s tone.
“Let’s go.”
For a moment—maybe it was just my imagination—Henry looked deeply moved.
‘He’s that happy I’m spending money again?’
My confusion didn’t last long. Soon, Douglas appeared in front of us. Naturally, my face twisted with displeasure.
Douglas looked like he wanted to say something, but I walked right past him, knowing full well that both the Duke and Henry were on my side.
“Don’t waste your money on someone pathetic.”
I even threw in one last jab for Evelyn.
Douglas’s face twisted slightly.
‘God, that was so satisfying.’
I stuck my tongue out at him behind his back.
Now then… how should I go about spending Douglas’s money?
That night, Evelyn’s reddened nose tip didn’t escape Henry’s notice. He immediately went and tattled to his wife.
“Dear, actually earlier…”
He told the Duchess every detail—how Douglas had picked a fight with Evelyn and made her cry.
“There’s a limit to how far someone can cross the line.”
Tara Frabiche, furious, summoned Douglas at once.
