Chapter 7 - Insecurity

I hid my mind that was in turmoil and wore a fake smiling mask over my face and looked at her. “You had nothing to do with what happened with Kyles. As you said, you are a friend.”

“So, you understand then?”

She seemed to be trying to find what my intention was. I smiled as I nodded. “Our relationship was that shallow and was meant to end that way. Our trust was only that much. That’s all.”

“But…”

She sure was a remarkable actress. Although she was faking a voice that sounded hurt, her jewel-like eyes were questioning my intentions. They were asking me, ‘Now, tell me what you truly want for coming up to me like this.’ In return, I did my best to act as innocently as possible to cover them.

“I truly wish for you to be loved and that you live happily with your fiancé, Lady Schuteiner. I truly, truly mean that.”

It might sound like I wished for her happiness, but she bit on her pink lips in frustration. Yeah, sure. You and the Crown Prince’s engagement was known to be a soulless one. A fiancé who you never even got to dance with. How wonderful was that?

Then she replied, “Thank you, Lady Harrant. Are we on good terms, then?”

How amusing. Her eyes glared at me as if she wanted to kill me, but she couldn’t curse me like she wanted to. I looked around. There were a lot of eyes upon us. They were nobles who couldn’t go near the capital, but she had to care about those people.

This is too small of a stage to bring down your mask. You just watch. I’m the type to return in multiples. Of course, I’m not wasting my time to get revenge like you. You are just an appetizer to an entrée. So, Elise von Schuteiner, you should enjoy it while you still can. Enjoy your friendship with all those men you seduced and enjoy your pitiful state when your fiancé doesn’t even lay an eye on you.

‘Until I pay you back for what you had given me.’

“Of course, Lady Schuteiner. I hope we see each other again at the next party with smiles on our faces.” I smiled brightly, walked up to her, and lightly hugged her. Then I whispered, “Until then, enjoy your time with the trash that I dumped and the other trash.”

As I pulled myself- My! How amazing. I was truly astonished by the face that didn’t even budge at my curse. I shouldn’t fall behind then! I pretended nothing happened, smiled, and pulled myself from her.

“If you will excuse me.” A gorgeous smile appeared on my face as I stood proudly. Then I left the party without a mishap.

Unlike in the party room, I felt the cold air. I also realized that my legs were shaking. ‘I probably didn’t realize then, but I wasn’t myself until now.’  I bit my mouth, trying to fight myself from faltering from the dizziness. But my frail body betrayed my will so easily, and my shaking leg failed me.

‘I feel so miserable. I was dumped at the party, and now I’m falling onto the ground like this.’ I closed my eyes, expecting the pain. But it was strange. It had been some time, but I felt no pain. I opened my eyes to see what was going on and found a man holding me from falling down.

“Are you alright, lady? That would’ve been a disaster on that pretty face,” said the man.

He was quite handsome. Tall, well-dressed, and had a good voice. But the way he talked was too flirtatious and didn’t match the voice. It was as if he was trying to joke with me. I would have thought it was terrible even if I was in a good mood.

“Thank you,” I replied coldly.

“That’s all?”

I was already in a miserable mood, so the way he replied made it even more annoying. I didn’t hold back from frowning, and a sly voice came from him, “What’s with that face? You look like you’re going to cry at any moment.”

He was the worst. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to see how I was feeling, but it sure made me hurt. I got so annoyed that I didn’t respond and turned my back on him.

“Oh, wait-”

I heard footsteps following me, but I saw my knight Reyan nearby. His nickname is Rey, and we often used to get into fights when we were young, making us not-so-close cousins. But I called him out to push off this clingy pr*ck.

“Rey, an escort please,” I said.

Rey sighed at my request and glanced over my back. It seems the man was still following me. But the sound of footsteps faltered, as the man seemed to have given up when he found me with Rey. Rey then turned back to me when the man became far and began escorting me.

We got to the carriage, and my servant Daisy tried to hop into the carriage with me. Rey, however, silently shook his head, and she sighed as she hopped on next to the driver. Then, the carriage door closed, and the wheels began to roll. The sights outside the window started to change quickly, and the carriage began to move further away from the mansion. Soon, all I could hear was the sound of the wheels rolling and the wind gushing through the carriage. I finally came to realize that I had escaped that nightmare.

‘And like that, I am finally alone.’ Only after I was truly alone was I able to shed the tears that I held back. Since a long time ago, I have tried not to cry in front of people other than Rey or my father. I deemed it shameful to show my weakness to strangers. People would figure out I had been crying when I got out of this carriage, but for now, I just wanted to comfort myself from the damage.

Marina, you did great. There’s no regret. You told Elise, who bullied you, looked down on you, and took your man everything you wanted to say to her. You also bid farewell to that b*stard Kyles. He shouldn’t think of paying back if he knows any shame. It was a great ending to it. You also gave a good blow to Elise von Schuteiner there. Hahaha! That face of hers… I would pay to see it again.