“To think I believed I could even pretend to have a family with such trash.”

“Y-you, are you done talking? From the looks of it, you seem to have been kicked out of Evergeil. What gives you the right to act so boldly! Why don’t you go back right now and beg?”

Matilda’s eyes, raised high with arrogance, were fierce. Helena unclenched her fists that had been tightly clenched until now. She felt the sting of her nails digging into her flesh.

Or perhaps something unseen was even more painful. In truth, she wasn’t sure where it hurt.

She just spat out her final words like someone with indigestion.

“I wasn’t kicked out, I left on my own. And I’ll do the same here.”

There was a metallic taste from her tightly bitten lips. Helena stormed out of the mansion, slamming the door.

Bang!

A violent vibration struck her eardrums, but no further commotion followed. Behind her rapidly moving steps was only her own shadow.

Ah, suddenly Helena realized.

What trapped her wasn’t a simple regression. It was a perfect misfortune crafted solely for her.

The world seemed to mock her with a blood-red grin, saying no matter how much she struggled, there was no way out.

After the commotion had passed. Matilda fanned her flushed face and slumped into a chair.

Viscount Owen, heavily drunk, was already passed out with his head on the table.

“Oh my, oh my, that wretched girl……”

Matilda sighed deeply, trying to calm her anger. She soon poured out criticism towards Helena in a tough tone.

“A few days ago, some mad fellow with a decent build came looking for her. I wonder how she’s been conducting herself. No wonder the Grand Duke got angry and chased her out like this.”

“The Grand Duke didn’t seem like that kind of person though.”

“It’s been 5 years since they married. It seems Helena is no longer to the liking of that lofty Grand Duke.”

“But he used to dote on Helen quite a bit.”

“Hmph. I knew a day like this would come. Men caught between the legs always slip away like sand, my son.”

Eric yawned languidly, barely listening. He stared into space for a moment, stubbed out his cigarette, and clicked his tongue.

“That love… had quite a short expiration date.”

As he remembered, the Grand Duke had treated Helena with utmost care when they married.

To the point where all the young ladies in town envied Helena so much they even tried to harm her.

As Matilda said, it wasn’t that he hadn’t expected the love to cool down someday.

To such a high-ranking person, Helena would just be a pretty porcelain doll.

No matter if she became the lady of the Grand Duke’s household, it was all the same. In the end, the ground Helena stood on was the same world he lived in.

The moment familiarity spreads in love, the doll is discarded. To make room for a new doll to take its place.

In Eric’s view, Helena was such an existence. Her fate was as good as sealed.

Born with such a face into a life destined to hit rock bottom, what more could there be?

From the start, Helena had only one path she could choose.

‘Well, we benefited a lot thanks to her. Even so, if she was going to hang on, she should’ve lasted at least ten years, but she’s causing this fuss after coming back in just 5 years.’

It was quite regrettable that the steady stream of money was about to be cut off, but it wasn’t a problem.

With that pretty face, she’d be able to remarry anywhere, even if divorced.

‘Last time I heard, that nouveau riche old man Hector was looking for a new bride in his twilight years.’

It seemed perfect to hand over Helena in exchange for clearing his gambling debts. Surely, Hector would pounce on her like a dog in heat as soon as he saw her.

Having settled his concerns, Eric brought up a different topic.

“But who was that guy?”

“Which guy?”

Eric rubbed his bruised eye with his unbroken arm.

“The bastard who did this to me.”

Five days ago, a man had come to the mansion.

A shabby appearance no different from a common commoner, with a handsome face that didn’t match it at all.

The man who had barged in and asked about Helena’s whereabouts seemed quite desperate.

But aside from the fact that he was looking for Helena, he was quite irritating.

Because he was the one who had thoroughly ransacked the Owen family with his rampage.

As if recalling that nightmare, Matilda frowned deeply and waved her hand.

“It seems that Helen hussy must have been flirting around again. With nothing to his name but good looks, what else could he be but a lover? The Grand Duke must have noticed just as he was getting tired of Helen and temporarily chased her away.”

“Ah, she was going to be kicked out anyway, but if Mom hadn’t said Helen was dead, that guy wouldn’t have flipped out like that. Dad and I got beaten up for nothing.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. That way he’ll give up and stop coming. From the looks of it, they must have planned to elope together.”

“Come on, that innocent girl wouldn’t do such a reckless thing…”

“Hmph, the quiet cat is the first to climb on the stove.”

Matilda affirmed stubbornly, but Eric inwardly scoffed.

‘That Helena, having an affair and eloping? Even after Basil died, she resigned herself and kept sending money. If she had the guts for that, she would have cut ties with us long ago.’

It was nonsense even to hear in passing, but Matilda acted as if it were an established fact.

As if wanting to confirm that Helena was no different from herself – vulgar, vile, and without principles.

Eric shook his head as if he couldn’t stop her.

“What if she really runs away?”

“No, Helen will return to us.”

Matilda was resolute.

“She has no choice. She’s a child who’s always thirsty for affection with nowhere else to go. If the Grand Duke happens to ask about her whereabouts, we just need to keep our mouths shut.”

“It seemed like it would end soon anyway… There’s no guarantee that thug won’t go to the Grand Duke. Wouldn’t it be better to give old man Hector a heads up in advance?”

“What nonsense! Do you know what kind of position that is! Are you telling me to be a fool who chases away the golden goose? We should hold out until the end first. It’s not too late to approach Hector after that.”

“I’m not sure if the position of the Grand Duke’s lady is something that can be held onto just by holding out…”

“Don’t talk about things you don’t know. It’s not over until the divorce is final. We’ve never seen Helena or that guy. We don’t know anything. Understand?”

Helena had clearly said she left the Grand Duke’s mansion on her own.

It seemed like it was already long over at that point, but faced with Matilda’s fierce glare, Eric had no choice but to nod.

“Yes, yes. Of course, that’s how it should be.”

The grand chandelier lit up the hall as bright as day. Beneath it, soft music and laughter mixed and flowed.

Eugene inwardly clicked his tongue and swallowed the wine as if chewing it.

‘Your taste is as consistent as ever.’

If the host hadn’t been his own mother, he wouldn’t have even set foot in such a dazzling display.

Even though her momentum had waned somewhat after her husband’s obituary, her stubborn nature hadn’t subsided. As if to represent that, brilliance rivaling a royal banquet glittered everywhere.

Eugene slowly tilted his glass repeatedly, surveying his surroundings with just his eyes. The majority of couples moving in pairs immediately came into view.

Truly annoyingly so.

These were also people he wouldn’t want to face if it weren’t for the social mask of being a collateral relative that he had to maintain.

Eugene suppressed his irritated mood and waited for the host to appear. He had originally planned to just show his face and leave.

Fortunately, before his patience ran out, the person he was waiting for appeared. An extravagantly dressed old lady approached, fluttering her fan.

“It’s been a while, Eugene.”

“It seems your time and mine are different, Mother. I feel like I see you too often.”

“You still haven’t fixed that lack of affection.”

“You never wanted me to.”

There was quite a chill circling for the first greeting between blood relatives. Though it seemed like they should stop the conversation, Christine paid no mind and acted shamelessly.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. When I die, just bury me with lots of diamonds. Stones that never change are much more lovable than people. I become more certain of that every time I see you.”

The displeasure Eugene had been barely suppressing slipped onto his face.

Seeing him, Christine quietly smiled. It was a face that still retained outstanding beauty despite the traces of cruel years.

However, as if not allowing even a single wrinkle, Christine raised her fan to cover her mouth.

Then she nodded towards the empty seat beside Eugene.

“By the way, why isn’t she here? She used to follow you around like an anxious hunting dog.”

She.

In unofficial settings, Christine often referred to Helena that way.

Not Lady Evergail, not dear daughter-in-law, not Helen, but ‘she’.

Eugene corrected ‘she’ in his own way and made an excuse.

“My wife is not feeling well and is resting. It seems she won’t be able to go out for a while, so please don’t create any unnecessary occasions, Mother.”

At that, Christine’s eyes immediately turned fierce.

“Now you’re making all sorts of excuses. Tsk, becoming more and more lazy… Sitting in an undeserved position without fulfilling your duties. It’s shameful.”

“I don’t believe it’s a daughter-in-law’s duty to indulge in her mother-in-law’s entertainment.”

“Then you shouldn’t have lied in the first place.”

Christine put away her fan and muttered, expressing her naked anger.

“You don’t know how insolently she behaves every time she sees me. Last month, she even dared to advise me to reduce the party, saying there might be a famine soon. Her excuses are as impoverished as she is. If I had known she would defy me like this, I should have disciplined her more firmly back then.”

Christine lightly waved her folded fan towards the surrounding nobles, signaling them to join the conversation.

A baron count who had been hovering around waiting for a chance to chime in quickly attached himself to Christine and whispered.

“My, how inconsiderate. Why don’t you understand His Grace’s feelings, Madam? Even the Grand Duke must be tired of seeing his wife every day. Please be patient for just one day.”

Not to be outdone, the countess wrapped her hand around the count’s arm and laughed brightly.

“This is why they say people should meet those of similar standing. They’re a couple, so they should understand each other.”

“Fortunately, our couple, who are on the same level, never tire of seeing each other every day.”

Watching the group barking like Christine’s faithful dogs, Eugene let out a small snort.

When you strip away that disgusting flesh, only indistinguishable skeletons remain, yet they have so much pride. Are they going to put a price on bone fragments?

Eugene really wasn’t in the mood to forcibly swallow such an unpleasant conversation today.

So he just spat it out as it was.

“That seems to be your own delusion, Count.”

The short sentence fell heavily. With that one thing, the flow of air was reversed. The freely flowing current began to concentrate on one person.

Christine, who had been laughing comfortably, the baron count couple, and the nobles who had been watching in agreement all held their breath and looked at Eugene at once.

Eugene, unconcerned, threw a mocking gaze at the countess.

“I vividly remember you begging that you would abandon your children and husband and run to me if I would only accept you. It doesn’t seem like such an old memory. If you want to test my memory, I understand, but as for patience…”

Turning his gaze back to the count, Eugene’s face had completely erased even the mockery. Only a suffocating pressure remained clear in his golden eyes.

“Well. I’m not sure how much I can endure either.”