Ding.
As soon as I entered the café, I gestured to the trailing server to bring me anything and headed straight for a seat on the outdoor terrace.
I chose a spot where I could hide behind the wide-open window shutters, making sure not to stand out. Thanks to that, I could hear the conversation happening on the terrace.
“Please, Lady Lilien.”
It was Verita’s voice.
‘Please?’
I narrowed my eyes and unfolded my fan.
Leaning slightly forward and perking up my ears to listen better, I saw Verita’s sun-kissed face clearly. Lilien’s side profile was barely visible.
Just then, the server arrived with my tea, placing it on the table while glancing at me suspiciously with wavering eyes.
I dismissed the server with a slight smile and turned my attention back to their conversation.
“…How did you know I was attending that academy?”
Lilien’s voice trembled, showing her nervousness.
It seemed Verita had waited persistently outside the academy until she managed to meet Lilien.
Verita glanced at Lilien anxiously, fidgeting with her hands on the table.
“It’s well known among the nobility that you attend a confectionery academy. They say it’s quite unusual for a noblewoman—”
Realizing her mistake, Verita quickly covered her mouth. She glanced at Lilien hesitantly. As expected, she had unknowingly struck a nerve. But Lilien, perhaps recognizing the lack of malice in Verita’s words, exhaled a quiet sigh and relaxed her tense expression.
“I already know. It’s fine, go on.”
Verita hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“I know my sudden visit must have surprised you, but I had no other way to see you. Please forgive my rudeness. I don’t have the status to send a letter to the Duke of Mipedian, and I doubt your sister would welcome me…”
She knows that well enough. I scoffed and pressed myself against the pillar, ready to intervene if Verita dared to be rude to my little pup.
“So, you’re asking me to help you meet Lady Etricia?”
“To be exact, I’m asking you to persuade her.”
“Persuade her?”
“My sister…”
Verita wiped her damp eyes with her fingers and lowered her head.
“She hates me. She took away the estate that the late Count Buell entrusted to me.”
‘Because she hates you?’
Did Lilien really not know the reason? Or was Verita simply leaving out her own faults?
I let out a dry chuckle.
I knew Verita better than anyone.
Even a foolish person like her had one skill—
Earning sympathy.
I once tried to use that on Edmund but quickly gave up. It didn’t suit me. Truthfully, it disgusted me because it reminded me of Verita.
At the Buell estate, Verita had always been timid and subdued. The servants knew about her background and her habit of stealing. They disliked her and often tattled to me.
A mere commoner, born of a servant, living as the pampered youngest daughter of a count’s family—it was bound to stir resentment.
Yet, that only made me pity Verita more.
At some point, however, she realized that her misfortunes and humble origins evoked a protective instinct in others.
And at the core of it all was self-pity. Verita truly believed that she was the most miserable and pitiable person in the world.
From another perspective, she was simply self-centered.
Now, she was trying to pull Lilien to her side as well.
How ridiculous.
A hot, suffocating anger bubbled up inside me. I grew anxious—what if gentle Lilien actually gave in to her?
‘Should I just barge in?’
Just as I clenched my fan and twitched my eyebrows—
“That’s too much.”
Lilien spoke calmly.
For a moment, I felt as if she were talking to me, and my shoulders flinched. Her voice was lower and steadier than usual, making it sound unfamiliar.
Verita’s lips curled into a relieved smile—but then it faltered.
“My sister was harsh, but I understand why… because I did wrong. But I didn’t expect her to be so heartless—”
“No, you.”
“What?”
“I said, you’re the one who’s too much.”
Lilien’s voice was unexpectedly sharp and composed.
As I stood there in shock, she continued, slightly breathless with emotion.
“You’re shameless. You’re selfish. You’re an odd and irrational person.”
“W-What?”
Verita looked as if she had been struck.
Looking down, I saw Lilien gripping her dress tightly with trembling hands.
She had never engaged in a confrontation before. This was an immense act of courage on her part—to protect me.
“Lady Etricia is pitiful. You don’t even realize how much love you received from her. It’s pathetic.”
Verita’s eyelids quivered. Panicked, she leaned forward slightly.
“P-Please, listen to me, Lady Lilien. I understand that you dislike me, but I have nowhere to go if I lose that estate—”
“But, but—you only have excuses. You haven’t once considered how much Lady Etricia must have been hurt.”
“…”
“To me, you’re not pitiful at all. You’re simply facing the consequences of your actions.”
Lilien hung her head, catching her breath, before lifting it again.
Tears welled up in her eyes and began to fall.
“I only agreed to meet you for one reason—to say this.”
“…”
“Stay away from Lady Etricia.”
“B-But Lady Lilien, I—”
“Don’t ever appear before her again, don’t—”
Her voice wavered and grew quieter. Lilien bit her lip, swallowing back her sobs. My chest felt heavy, as if submerged in water.
I raised an eyebrow and let out a brief chuckle, which faded as I stood up.
The closer I got, the clearer their expressions became.
“P-Please don’t cry, Lady Lilien… I just—”
Verita took Lilien’s hand and forced a handkerchief into it. She must have been flustered—she had expected to cry herself, but now Lilien was the one in tears.
Lilien, having calmed down slightly, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
“If it’s money you need, I can give you as much as you want… So—”
The moment Verita’s eyes widened in delight—
“Why give her money?”
At my words, Lilien abruptly raised her head. Her tear-streaked, red-rimmed eyes shimmered.
‘My little pup might get tear stains.’
I snatched the handkerchief Verita had given her and tossed it away, gently dabbing Lilien’s eyes with my own handkerchief.
She blinked, stunned.
“L-Lady Etricia, how did you—”
“I happened to pass by. Thought you were being held hostage by a monster.”
A monster? Verita’s dazed voice trembled.
I turned to Verita with a bright smile.
“Oh dear, did you hear that? My apologies.”
Verita was too shocked to react, mouth agape.
I considered delivering one final blow but decided against it.
Lilien had already said everything I wanted to say.
I scoffed and turned back to Lilien.
“Get up, Lilien.”
When I gently pulled her arm, she came up with me.
“How much did you hear?”
“From the very beginning, when he asked you to convince me?”
“Ah…”
Lilien lowered her eyes, her face filled with embarrassment.
She looked like a puppy scolded by its owner, completely downcast.
“…Are you upset that I secretly met with my sworn brother…?”
“Not at all.”
I didn’t like how Lilien was trying to read my mood, so I teasingly wiped under her eyes with a light tap.
“But I almost got upset when you said you’d give him money. Don’t do something so wasteful.”
“Ugh… okay…”
Lilien pulled her head back to avoid my hand and rubbed under her eyes slowly, scrunching her nose. It must have tickled.
Before I knew it, I had taken her hand—her tears had stopped.
“Then, shall we go now?”
There was no reason to stay any longer, so I turned to leave the café.
“S-Sister!”
Verita ran out in front of me and dropped to her knees.
Because of her sudden action, people passing by the café started to stare.
‘What is she doing now?’
I frowned right away. I was about to speak sharply, led by my emotions, when Lilien grabbed my arm with her other hand and hid behind me.
She shrank back under the eyes of the crowd.
I let out a deep sigh, held back my anger, and gave Verita a cold stare.
“Are you trying to embarrass me?”
“N-No, I’m trying to ask for forgiveness.”
“If you wanted to make me angry, then congratulations. You succeeded. Now stop annoying me and move.”
I tried to walk past Verita, but she grabbed my dress.
I pulled hard, but her grip was rough and stubborn like stiff grass.
“Let go.”
When I gritted my teeth and said that, Verita flinched.
She slowly lifted her head, and her eyes were filled with tears like dewdrops.
“S-Sister, the Viscountess Dien has stopped eating and drinking, and Devon just stares blankly into space even when I visit him. It’s scary. I even got a court notice that the transfer of the old house was canceled. Everyone is being punished. So—”
“So, what? You think you’ve been punished enough and I should forgive you now?”
I looked down at Verita with a mocking smile, as if she were worthless.
She bit her lip so hard it turned white, and her body trembled.
Just as her hand weakly fell away—
