The Villainess Hides Her Wealth

Chapter 5

‘It is a fixed fact that my engagement is going to be broken off anyway, so wouldn’t it be better for the truth to be revealed that my sister has tempted my fiancé?’

I couldn’t believe that the man in question, not someone else, was saying it like that. It was something I was very grateful for.

“S-Sir Vieira. You have my sister, what are you…”

Although Lilika tried to make it as if Sir Vieira had unilaterally confessed, regardless of her will.

“Lilika, there’s no need to deny it like that. You even gave me a handkerchief with the crest of your family.”

I have barely touched embroidery since the misunderstanding when I was fixing her handkerchief, but it seemed she had been practicing really hard.
It’s great that the result of that was going to my fiancé.

“I was afraid it would be difficult for my sister, so I did it instead…”

At any other time, such an excuse could have worked.

“No, I refused the handkerchief that Lady Yuria said she would give me and accepted Lady Lilika’s handkerchief!”

But this time I had a stupid ally who was blinded by love.

Realizing she couldn’t deal with the situation, Lilika’s complexion turned pale.

I gave a gentle smile, as if I knew everything.

“Actually, the relationship between you and Sir Vieira… It was too obvious to pretend not to know. Don’t deceive your heart just because of me, when you like him so much. Lilika, since it’s you, I can give him up…”

It was awkward because I didn’t usually do it, but it was rewarding in its own way to practice making such a sorrowful face.
I’ve heard people say surprising things so far.
Furthermore, I dared to mention my past misdeeds.

“The truth is, I was jealous of you because of that. I’m sorry. But I realize now that you two can be happy as long as I get out of your way. Will you forgive me?”

Lilika had such a good image that saying that there was that kind of reason behind that was comprehensible.
However, in situations like today, her usual good-natured image was rather counterproductive.

‘Whatever the case, she seduced her sister’s fiancé, so people will naturally question if she has only been pretending to be nice.’

I even considered my father’s usual extreme consideration of Lilika, whereas he despised me.
Before he could say that it was my fault, that I was so clingy that he didn’t know the dignity of the duchy, I laid the groundwork.

Even my usual image that I hated Lilika and did evil deeds would be diluted if I honestly admitted that I was jealous of her because of Sir Vieira. It would be even funnier if she complained that it wasn’t like that.

“She didn’t torment her younger sister for no reason.”

It would be a great success if something like that came out.

‘I did everything I could.’

In my previous life, Lilika did not become engaged to Sir Vieira after our engagement was broken off. He was just one of her courts.
There were a lot of fish in Lilika’s fishery. Sir Vieira was actually a bit of a loser in the current situation compared to the other male characters.

‘And yet, the reason why she had to seduce him with all her efforts was because he was my fiancé. Because he was someone I liked so much…’

Thanks to Sir Vieira’s excellent public confession, the Primrose duchy was completely turned upside down. Birthday banquet or not, it wasn’t an atmosphere where one could say congratulations.

My father, who was always calm, was the angriest.

“How could you look down on Primrose when you are the son of a mere count!”

This was separate from my father’s fondness for Lilika over me.
A man engaged to Lady Primrose making an open confession to another woman in front of her?
It was a disgrace to the face of the Primrose duchy.

He was a father who normally didn’t care about what happened to me, but today was different.

After Lilika’s birthday banquet, my angered father ordered the entire family to gather in the study.
Lilika was so surprised that she didn’t come right away when he called, and my brother had to go get her. My father couldn’t hold back his anger while waiting for them.

“How arrogant must he be to want to change his engagement partner in front of her? An emerging aristocrat like Vieira isn’t supposed to talk about marriage. And so impolitely like this!”

Although if he had just quietly said he wanted to change his engagement partner, my father, who cared about Lilika very much and despised me, despite also being his daughter, would have tried to let it go while blaming me, the victim…
It was important that he said that he wanted to change his engagement partner while I was watching, in front of a lot of other people too.

It was rare for the family members to gather in the study, but it was worth trying to see the look on Sir Vieira’s face.

‘It was a godsend that I prompted Sir Vieira to confess in public.’

In this situation, my father has no choice but to take my side against Lilika.

“Father… I am fine. Lilika’s love is important. I just need to get out of their way.”
“How can you stand by your sister’s side in this situation?!”

Of course, my father was angry not because he loved me, but because it was a situation that hurt the image of the family.
The eyes of my mother, who always told me that Lilika and I were sisters, trembled.

“Above all, how could he confess in front of you, in your own house? I never thought you would be so humiliated…”
“This is something we cannot turn a blind eye to.”

It was a pretty rare scene for my father and mother to be angry at the same subject.

“I’m really fine. You don’t need to worry too much. It’s just that I’m lacking a lot, so I think I disgraced the family’s name… I’m sor…”

Having said that, I deliberately blurred my words. The time had come for me to look sad.
My mother, who was looking at me, looking sad, called my name in surprise.

“Yuria!”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I just want Lilika and Sir Vieira to be happy. But why am I in tears…? I’m really fine.”

I wasn’t sad at all. Sir Vieira cheered me up so much that I wanted to dance.

I wiped my face, bewildered as if I didn’t know at all that the tears were flowing.

‘Hm, if I say I’m fine and cry without realizing it, I’ll look even more pitiful, right?’

It was a sure thing that Lilika would cry and pretend to be pitiful, so I cried first.
Tears are what it takes to win.
Though I didn’t think my father would be impressed by my tears, at least the effect of Lilika’s tears would be a little diluted.

‘… What?’

But it was surprising. The atmosphere in the study room, which was filled with anger, became quiet, and considerate of me.
Even my father, who had been upset and saying this and that about the family’s status, closed his mouth.
It was worth staring at the light in the study for a long time without blinking… But why?

‘I didn’t think he would care if I cried or not.’

I tried to make a pitiful expression while thinking hard.

‘Well, I haven’t really cried until now.’

Of course, it wasn’t that I never cried. Even if I didn’t have tears, how could I not have cried once?
My pride was so strong that I only cried when I was alone. I didn’t want to show weakness to others.

It worked so well that I thought about trying it next time, but I let it go. It would be hard for my tears to receive as much attention as they did this time anyway.

‘I don’t know about anything else, but I was sincere enough for my father and brother, who didn’t care about me, to know how I felt about Sir Vieira.’

I happily waited with my face covered, imagining what Lilika would say and if she would pretend to be pitiful again. Because I felt like it wouldn’t be too good for my eyes to force more tears.

Knock, knock.

There was a knock on the door around the time when my hands, covering my face, were trembling with pain. Excellent timing.

“Father. We’re here.”
“I called you long ago, and you’re only coming now?”

Lilika, who came late to our father’s study, was being accompanied by my brother, Jiksen, and hiding behind him.
My brother opened his mouth firmly despite my father’s vicious vigor.

“I’m sorry for being late. But I want you to think about how embarrassed and upset Lilika must have been. Although she gave him a handkerchief, they don’t have any special relationship, so it’s best to keep Yuria’s engagement intact…”

A calm tone of voice. A straightforward posture. It was a neat and praiseworthy attitude as the heir of the duchy.
But it wasn’t very good in this situation, and it wasn’t too comparable to me, who had been in tears all along.

“It seems like you don’t care if your sister has been humiliated like this.”
“What?”

My brother asked back with a questioning face at my father’s words, which seemed to be for my sake.
Of course, even at that moment, his calm expression did not change.
However, let me assure you, being calm in this situation was not an effective attitude.

“Does it make sense to keep her engaged when he caused such disgrace to a Primrose? Of course, it should be broken off!”

My father’s voice echoed through the living room.

It was the first time.
The first time that my brother, who had been speaking smoothly until now, was speechless.

“Wh-what does that…”

Yeah, he wouldn’t have thought that my father would be considerate of me. My brother was just acting like he always did, not caring about me in the slightest, so he was taken aback by this situation.

And so, the arrow went back to Lilika.
This time, he asked Lilika directly, who was hiding behind my brother.

“Why did you give your sister’s fiancé a handkerchief embroidered with the family crest in the first place?!”

Lilika’s face turned deadly pale.

——