Chapter 2 – Prologue (2)

When I heard the second reason from my father, I ran out from the house and went straight to Terio.

I wanted to ask him personally whether his heart had changed again. To ask if it was true that he had my sister in his mind instead of his marriage to me. I wanted to directly hear it with my own ears that he would deny the accusation and to say that he was not like that.

However, as soon as I met Terio, I realized everything.

Terio Alte no longer loved me. There was someone else in his heart now. And yet, despite realizing that, I couldn’t let him go.

So, when Terio asked what was going on, I merely smiled at him silently.

I returned and went straight to my room. And when I looked into the mirror, I saw that my face looked very calm. People wouldn’t even be able to realize that a typhoon was blowing in my heart if they saw that calm face of mine.

From this, I realized that I was truly an aristocrat to my bones. I couldn’t let myself laugh or cry freely in front of others. That day, I cried myself to sleep after 10 years.

The next day, I decided that since it was Terio Alte who made me like this, he had to take responsibility.

Thus, I refused the marriage offer and decided to prepare for my marriage with Terio. As such, the marriage offer I turned down was offered to Mellisa, and she became the marquess’ fiance.

I was the only one smiling while everyone else was worried. But it was fine.

Until the day before the wedding.

I have something to tell you.

Terio came to see me, drunk out of his mind with glassy eyes.

****

“If you need anything, please ring the bell.”

“Okay, thank you.”

I beckoned everyone to leave me alone, and all the maids went out of the bathroom without hesitation.

It was the first time I said I would take a bath alone, but no one even tried to question my decision. Was this what it felt like to be openly ignored?

I was so accustomed to this kind of treatment that I laughed.

As my laughter died down, I smiled while laying down in the bathtub. Because I hated strong scent and didn’t like fancy things, I usually only put some petals in the bathtub, but today was different.

The bathtub was filled with red roses’ petals that covered my whole body and the bath bomb with an intense scent. And I also arranged the maids to add some luxurious things like the glowing purple light that was placed next to the bathtub and to let me bathe accompanied with the sound of classical music. This was the first time I asked for such changes to the maids.

It was me who asked for the change of mood, but it didn’t fit me and I couldn’t bring myself to like it.

The color, the light, and the scent were so intense that I felt suffocated.

Thus, buried in a pile of roses, I closed my eyes.

*****

The wedding had begun. I wore a white wedding dress while Terio wore a black tuxedo to contrast nicely with my own color. However, as the ceremony progressed, the groom did not smile at all. Not even for once. Still, despite that, it was still enough for me.

Goyo Rubiet turned into Goyo Alte. I became Terio’s wife, and Terio became my husband. That was enough for me.

Even after getting married, Terio continued to wander around. And that was because there was another person in his heart instead of me. Since he married someone he didn’t want without even being able to confess, Terio acted colder than usual to me.

He treated me perfunctorily as was his duty as a husband, but no more than that. All the while, he always looked sad and distressed. However, the moment Melissa married the marquees, his behavior changed as if he had given up.

With that, I had my husband back. A friendly voice, a friendly laugh, and a friendly gesture. However, sometimes he looked elsewhere, far away from this place. At those times, I worried that he would disappear from my side. But when I called him, he returned his attention to me once again.

So, I thought everything was back in place now. I believed that I would not have to pretend to not know anything because of my jealousy to Melissa and cry again because of that.

Until the Rubiet Family went extinct.

At first, I didn’t want to believe it and thought that what I heard was wrong. I didn’t want to believe that my father who didn’t love me, but respected me; his wife, Mrs. Kazel, who sympathized with me and felt sorry for me; and my half-brother, who was not even an adult, died. But, it was the truth. All of them had died without exception.

And I was told it was because of a treason. And the one who executed them was my brother-in-law.

I couldn’t understand the rationale. Although the man who ascended the throne was not one who my father supported, Duke Rubiet also didn’t oppose the imperial family’s decision. So, although he didn’t actively support the new emperor’s reign, neither did he aggressively contend against it.

After all, we already had plenty of possessions. From authority, dominion, to wealth… We had it all. As such, there was no need for Rubiet to risk everything in order to vehemently oppose the new emperor. Even so, the emperor still ordered for the extermination of Rubiet Household without hesitation.

Before long, only Melissa and I, who had moved into other families’ registers, were able to survive. And the only reason we were able to do so was because of the fact that the Imperial Law didn’t enforce ‘guilt by association’ punishment.

However, before I could even think that Melissa and I were lucky, my step-sister was found dead in the Bethelgius Mansion.