(9) Northern Duke Cyrus Carha (4)
“When will the Northern Duke arrive? It would be nice if he arrived in time for the garden party.”
“Of course. The nobles of the capital are also coming that day, so shouldn’t he arrive around then?”
“Did Mom send an invitation to the Northern Duke?”
“I think she did. My sister kept nagging her. Anyway, Ariana is a bit pitiful.”
Helena frowned at Victoria’s words.
“What’s so pitiful about her?”
“Of course. She doesn’t know any party etiquette... She would want to come to the party, His Excellency the Northern Duke, but there’s no one to bring her. Well, even if she does come, it’ll just be embarrassing.”
Helena, who had been frowning since Ariana’s name was mentioned, smiled after a moment as if something had occurred to her.
“Should I make Ariana attend the party too? She’ll just embarrass herself in front of His Excellency the Northern Duke.”
“Sister, Mother hates seeing Ariana in front of other nobles.”
“But mother probably likes it if she were to act like an idiot and be embarrassed. I heard Mother talking to Aunt the other day, and she said that whenever Ariana was foolish and made fun of, it felt like the Eastern Duke was being made fun of, so she felt good.”
“Even so...”
“Fine, you get out of here. I’ll take care of it.”
Victoria laughed to herself as she watched Helena speak so smugly.
Even if Rachel liked Ariana being made fun of, that was only in front of the family.
She wouldn’t want the other nobles to see Ariana’s foolish side. After all, Ariana was Rachel’s biological daughter and a Princess of the Bronte family.
But she had no intention of telling Helena that.
The more foolish Helena was, the more Rachel’s interest and affection for her would turn away.
For a few days after her encounter with the Northern Duke, Ariana had been quiet. The heavy heart that had been weighed down by the appearance of the Northern Duke had now calmed.
Judging by the fact that he hadn't appeared in the past few days, he might have finished his work and gone home.
Ariana woke up refreshed for the first time in a while and opened the window. A clear, clear sky spread out beyond the large window.
During the stomachache incident, the old lady had ordered Rachel to change Ariana's clothes, but Rachel hadn't. The old lady had forgotten that order.
'She probably forgot it even happened.'
The old lady had only paid attention because Ariana was right in front of her, and the moment she turned away, she'd likely forgotten about the family's burden. Ariana hadn't expected or needed continued attention anyway.
A cold wind blew through her thin, worn clothes, but Ariana didn't close the window.
'Is it finally tomorrow?'
Tomorrow is a garden party at the Duke of Bronte.
It's called a garden party, but the cold weather means they'll just eat and drink tea in the large greenhouse, enjoying exotic flowers and trees.
The reason for throwing a garden party in this kind of weather was that Helena was going to have her debutante party a few months later, during the social season. Rachel wanted to connect Helena with the capital's prestigious families before the debutante party.
If she had connections with the capital's nobles, they would support Helena at the debutante party.
Rachel believed that if many people would protect Helena when she made a foolish mistake at the party, Helena's reputation would actually improve.
Indeed, this was the case.
At the debutante party, Helena looked around for the Northern Duke, bumped into another man, and spilled her drink.
A noblewoman from the capital smiled and said, "Oh my, how cute. The Princess must have been very nervous." Thanks to this, everyone found Helena's mistake amusing.
"Do you know how many times I was told I was cute?"
After returning from the party, Helena came to Ariana and bragged about the incident several times.
"I was so envious back then. You didn't even realize they were mocking you by calling you cute."
A bitter smile played on Ariana's lips, then vanished.
Today, in her past life, Ariana had been released from her cell.
Excited by her long-awaited freedom, she went out into the garden, where she encountered Rachel and was slapped for wandering around.
Ariana planned to hit Rachel again this time. Even more brutally. She planned to leave clear evidence of the abuse on her body.
After some time had passed, Ariana quietly slipped out of the room.
The employees wandering the hallways didn't acknowledge her. But if they saw Rachel later, they'd tell her that Ariana had sneaked out.
Ariana held her head high as if to show off, and slowly walked toward the back room.
The garden behind the mansion was still cold and desolate, but come spring, beautiful flowers and trees would bloom in full bloom.
Ariana, walking along the gravel path, stopped before a small pond. Beneath the large tree, the pond was frozen solid.
"It's like my heart."
Ariana's heart, too, was frozen.
When she slept, she had nightmares.
No, not dreams. The reality of Ariana's past life replayed in her sleep. The life of a poor, dull woman who had to laugh despite not wanting to, and do things despite not wanting to, simply because she wanted to be loved and accepted by her family.
Even now, resurrected, Ariana was still living that terribly lonely and painful life.
Every time she woke from a dream, her heart froze.
Whenever she saw her past life in her dreams, the thing she resented most was not Rachel, nor Helena, but herself.
She felt the most resentful and pathetic of all, having been swayed like a fallen leaf, hoping for something that would never be given, only to be abandoned and die.
“Ariana!”
Ariana turned at the sharp voice and saw Rachel striding towards her.
Rachel’s green eyes, staring at Ariana, were filled with nothing but irritation and anger.
“Even animals love their own children...”
There was a time when she even suspected Rachel wasn’t her biological mother. She once had a dream where her real mother came to her and hugged her, saying, “I lost you, and every night I prayed for you to be found.”
But there was no such thing as a hidden biological mother, and Rachel Bronte was indeed Ariana’s biological mother.
Ariana still can’t comprehend how someone could hate the child they carried in their womb just because he resembled a man they disliked.
But now she's given up.
You hate me? Then I’ll hate you with all my might.
“Didn’t I tell you to stay home?”
Rachel, who had stopped in front of Ariana, spoke with a huff.
Ariana stared intently at Rachel.
Her pale blue hair, cerulean eyes, pearly white skin, and tiny face caught Rachel's eye, and her expression twisted.
For the Western, she had to leave the man she loved behind and marry a man she didn't love.
She left her beloved daughter in the hands of another woman, unable to nurse her, and had a child with a man she didn't love.
She hated Ariana even while she was in her womb. When she held that tiny body in her arms after birth, she remembered Helena, whom she had left behind, and her heart ached. She couldn't vent her anger at being used for Western's sake on her father, the Western Duke, or Eastern Duke, but Ariana could. Her resentment toward the Western Duke and her hatred toward the Eastern Duke were all directed at Ariana.
If the Western Duke hadn't simply ordered, "Bring Ariana with you, she'll be useful later," she wouldn't have kept Ariana by her side.
Crack-!
Only after a sharp sound rang out did Rachel realize she had unknowingly slapped Ariana.
But she felt no remorse.
Ariana deserved this. She carried her in her womb for ten months and then gave birth to her, so this level of anger was acceptable.
“How dare you look at me straight in the eye?”
Rachel waited for Ariana to cringe as usual and beg for forgiveness. Watching Ariana beg for forgiveness made her feel like an arrogant sister-in-law had knelt before her.
But Ariana didn’t act as Rachel expected.
Ariana’s face, which had turned red when she was slapped, straightened, and she looked up at Rachel calmly.
“Do I have to ask permission to see my mother’s face?”
“What...?”
Rachel was dumbfounded by her unexpected behavior.
“So Helena, Victoria, and Joyson also ask permission every time they see their mother?”
Just as a lion is momentarily stunned and unable to do anything when attacked by a rabbit, Rachel stared blankly down at her daughter.
Finally realizing what had happened, Rachel kicked Ariana without a second thought.
Thud! Thud!
Ariana didn't even groan as the kick hurt her shin. She just watched Rachel quietly.
Displeased that she didn't show any sign of pain, Rachel's kicks intensified.
"You, really, don't have a single, single thing I like about you!"
With each word, Rachel pinched and hit, but Ariana didn't ask for forgiveness or cry out in pain.
Only after she had beaten Ariana so hard that she was out of breath did Rachel realize Ariana was different than usual.
"You, today..."
Just then, something small and hard rained down from the clear sky. It was hail.
“Whoa!”
Rachel, struck by the hail, let out a small scream and covered her head with both hands. A small cut opened where the sharp ice shards had grazed her.
Even as the hail continued, Rachel glared at Ariana.
“You stay there! You stay there and reflect until I tell you to come in!”
Even as the hail continued to fall, Rachel left her daughter behind and returned to the main building alone.
Rachel was too busy to see clearly. Strangely, none of the countless hailstones hit Ariana.
Ariana reached out to avoid the falling ice. The angular ice was hard and secretly heavy, as if it would hurt if it hit her.
“What’s going on?”
As she clutched the two shards that had fallen into her palm, a black figure silently jumped down from the tree.
Ariana blinked, still clutching the ice shards, staring at the figure.
A tall, slender man with silver hair, crimson eyes, and broad shoulders, he seemed like he could be found anywhere. The Northern Prince Cyrus, whom she had thought she would never see again, stood before Ariana.
Like last time, he wore a black suit and a thigh-length black coat.
He fixed his gaze on Ariana and gently raised his hand, and the hail falling from the sky ceased.
“When will the Northern Duke arrive? It would be nice if he arrived in time for the garden party.”
“Of course. The nobles of the capital are also coming that day, so shouldn’t he arrive around then?”
“Did Mom send an invitation to the Northern Duke?”
“I think she did. My sister kept nagging her. Anyway, Ariana is a bit pitiful.”
Helena frowned at Victoria’s words.
“What’s so pitiful about her?”
“Of course. She doesn’t know any party etiquette... She would want to come to the party, His Excellency the Northern Duke, but there’s no one to bring her. Well, even if she does come, it’ll just be embarrassing.”
Helena, who had been frowning since Ariana’s name was mentioned, smiled after a moment as if something had occurred to her.
“Should I make Ariana attend the party too? She’ll just embarrass herself in front of His Excellency the Northern Duke.”
“Sister, Mother hates seeing Ariana in front of other nobles.”
“But mother probably likes it if she were to act like an idiot and be embarrassed. I heard Mother talking to Aunt the other day, and she said that whenever Ariana was foolish and made fun of, it felt like the Eastern Duke was being made fun of, so she felt good.”
“Even so...”
“Fine, you get out of here. I’ll take care of it.”
Victoria laughed to herself as she watched Helena speak so smugly.
Even if Rachel liked Ariana being made fun of, that was only in front of the family.
She wouldn’t want the other nobles to see Ariana’s foolish side. After all, Ariana was Rachel’s biological daughter and a Princess of the Bronte family.
But she had no intention of telling Helena that.
The more foolish Helena was, the more Rachel’s interest and affection for her would turn away.
***
For a few days after her encounter with the Northern Duke, Ariana had been quiet. The heavy heart that had been weighed down by the appearance of the Northern Duke had now calmed.
Judging by the fact that he hadn't appeared in the past few days, he might have finished his work and gone home.
Ariana woke up refreshed for the first time in a while and opened the window. A clear, clear sky spread out beyond the large window.
During the stomachache incident, the old lady had ordered Rachel to change Ariana's clothes, but Rachel hadn't. The old lady had forgotten that order.
'She probably forgot it even happened.'
The old lady had only paid attention because Ariana was right in front of her, and the moment she turned away, she'd likely forgotten about the family's burden. Ariana hadn't expected or needed continued attention anyway.
A cold wind blew through her thin, worn clothes, but Ariana didn't close the window.
'Is it finally tomorrow?'
Tomorrow is a garden party at the Duke of Bronte.
It's called a garden party, but the cold weather means they'll just eat and drink tea in the large greenhouse, enjoying exotic flowers and trees.
The reason for throwing a garden party in this kind of weather was that Helena was going to have her debutante party a few months later, during the social season. Rachel wanted to connect Helena with the capital's prestigious families before the debutante party.
If she had connections with the capital's nobles, they would support Helena at the debutante party.
Rachel believed that if many people would protect Helena when she made a foolish mistake at the party, Helena's reputation would actually improve.
Indeed, this was the case.
At the debutante party, Helena looked around for the Northern Duke, bumped into another man, and spilled her drink.
A noblewoman from the capital smiled and said, "Oh my, how cute. The Princess must have been very nervous." Thanks to this, everyone found Helena's mistake amusing.
"Do you know how many times I was told I was cute?"
After returning from the party, Helena came to Ariana and bragged about the incident several times.
"I was so envious back then. You didn't even realize they were mocking you by calling you cute."
A bitter smile played on Ariana's lips, then vanished.
Today, in her past life, Ariana had been released from her cell.
Excited by her long-awaited freedom, she went out into the garden, where she encountered Rachel and was slapped for wandering around.
Ariana planned to hit Rachel again this time. Even more brutally. She planned to leave clear evidence of the abuse on her body.
After some time had passed, Ariana quietly slipped out of the room.
The employees wandering the hallways didn't acknowledge her. But if they saw Rachel later, they'd tell her that Ariana had sneaked out.
Ariana held her head high as if to show off, and slowly walked toward the back room.
The garden behind the mansion was still cold and desolate, but come spring, beautiful flowers and trees would bloom in full bloom.
Ariana, walking along the gravel path, stopped before a small pond. Beneath the large tree, the pond was frozen solid.
"It's like my heart."
Ariana's heart, too, was frozen.
When she slept, she had nightmares.
No, not dreams. The reality of Ariana's past life replayed in her sleep. The life of a poor, dull woman who had to laugh despite not wanting to, and do things despite not wanting to, simply because she wanted to be loved and accepted by her family.
Even now, resurrected, Ariana was still living that terribly lonely and painful life.
Every time she woke from a dream, her heart froze.
Whenever she saw her past life in her dreams, the thing she resented most was not Rachel, nor Helena, but herself.
She felt the most resentful and pathetic of all, having been swayed like a fallen leaf, hoping for something that would never be given, only to be abandoned and die.
“Ariana!”
Ariana turned at the sharp voice and saw Rachel striding towards her.
Rachel’s green eyes, staring at Ariana, were filled with nothing but irritation and anger.
“Even animals love their own children...”
There was a time when she even suspected Rachel wasn’t her biological mother. She once had a dream where her real mother came to her and hugged her, saying, “I lost you, and every night I prayed for you to be found.”
But there was no such thing as a hidden biological mother, and Rachel Bronte was indeed Ariana’s biological mother.
Ariana still can’t comprehend how someone could hate the child they carried in their womb just because he resembled a man they disliked.
But now she's given up.
You hate me? Then I’ll hate you with all my might.
“Didn’t I tell you to stay home?”
Rachel, who had stopped in front of Ariana, spoke with a huff.
Ariana stared intently at Rachel.
Her pale blue hair, cerulean eyes, pearly white skin, and tiny face caught Rachel's eye, and her expression twisted.
For the Western, she had to leave the man she loved behind and marry a man she didn't love.
She left her beloved daughter in the hands of another woman, unable to nurse her, and had a child with a man she didn't love.
She hated Ariana even while she was in her womb. When she held that tiny body in her arms after birth, she remembered Helena, whom she had left behind, and her heart ached. She couldn't vent her anger at being used for Western's sake on her father, the Western Duke, or Eastern Duke, but Ariana could. Her resentment toward the Western Duke and her hatred toward the Eastern Duke were all directed at Ariana.
If the Western Duke hadn't simply ordered, "Bring Ariana with you, she'll be useful later," she wouldn't have kept Ariana by her side.
Crack-!
Only after a sharp sound rang out did Rachel realize she had unknowingly slapped Ariana.
But she felt no remorse.
Ariana deserved this. She carried her in her womb for ten months and then gave birth to her, so this level of anger was acceptable.
“How dare you look at me straight in the eye?”
Rachel waited for Ariana to cringe as usual and beg for forgiveness. Watching Ariana beg for forgiveness made her feel like an arrogant sister-in-law had knelt before her.
But Ariana didn’t act as Rachel expected.
Ariana’s face, which had turned red when she was slapped, straightened, and she looked up at Rachel calmly.
“Do I have to ask permission to see my mother’s face?”
“What...?”
Rachel was dumbfounded by her unexpected behavior.
“So Helena, Victoria, and Joyson also ask permission every time they see their mother?”
Just as a lion is momentarily stunned and unable to do anything when attacked by a rabbit, Rachel stared blankly down at her daughter.
Finally realizing what had happened, Rachel kicked Ariana without a second thought.
Thud! Thud!
Ariana didn't even groan as the kick hurt her shin. She just watched Rachel quietly.
Displeased that she didn't show any sign of pain, Rachel's kicks intensified.
"You, really, don't have a single, single thing I like about you!"
With each word, Rachel pinched and hit, but Ariana didn't ask for forgiveness or cry out in pain.
Only after she had beaten Ariana so hard that she was out of breath did Rachel realize Ariana was different than usual.
"You, today..."
Just then, something small and hard rained down from the clear sky. It was hail.
“Whoa!”
Rachel, struck by the hail, let out a small scream and covered her head with both hands. A small cut opened where the sharp ice shards had grazed her.
Even as the hail continued, Rachel glared at Ariana.
“You stay there! You stay there and reflect until I tell you to come in!”
Even as the hail continued to fall, Rachel left her daughter behind and returned to the main building alone.
Rachel was too busy to see clearly. Strangely, none of the countless hailstones hit Ariana.
Ariana reached out to avoid the falling ice. The angular ice was hard and secretly heavy, as if it would hurt if it hit her.
“What’s going on?”
As she clutched the two shards that had fallen into her palm, a black figure silently jumped down from the tree.
Ariana blinked, still clutching the ice shards, staring at the figure.
A tall, slender man with silver hair, crimson eyes, and broad shoulders, he seemed like he could be found anywhere. The Northern Prince Cyrus, whom she had thought she would never see again, stood before Ariana.
Like last time, he wore a black suit and a thigh-length black coat.
He fixed his gaze on Ariana and gently raised his hand, and the hail falling from the sky ceased.
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