I'll Abandon the Fake Savior (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 3

Even so, Yuricien did not simply trust Heathcliff and remain idle. That did not suit Yuricien’s nature. Constantly thinking and preparing multiple paths ahead. That was more in line with Yuricien’s disposition.

Some people described Yuricien’s nature as troublesome and overly sensitive. Some even disparaged her, saying that, much like her sharp appearance, she had a difficult and irritating personality.

However, just as she paid no heed to public opinions about her appearance, Yuricien also cared little for what people said about her nature. For instance, it was precisely because of this disposition that Yuricien was able to discover whether Jorgen was alive or dead.

‘Father…’

Thinking of the missing Jorgen, Yuricien felt her heart tighten with pain. To Yuricien, Jorgen was an immensely significant and dependable presence.

In truth, in the Solzerion Empire, it was still uncommon for a woman to become the head of a household. Nevertheless, Jorgen wanted to pass the name of the “Great Windsor,” as the family was called, to Yuricien, not to her husband.

[Pay attention to prioritizing yourself in all things. It’s not about swallowing sweet words and spitting out bitter ones, Yuri. It means not immediately accepting words that hurt you.] [But Dad, what if the words that hurt me are true? What should I do then? If I don’t want to be hurt and stop listening to others, what then? I don’t want to be like that…] [Oh, Yuri. You already know the answer. You said you don’t want to be like that. Then you won’t be. Truly arrogant and foolish people don’t even think about not wanting to be that way.]

Jorgen, holding his daughter tightly as she already feared becoming prideful, continued.

[I’m so proud and happy that you strive to be humble, weighing right and wrong with every thought. But you tend to over-criticize yourself, like now. It’s okay, Yuri. Your father is always by your side. Whenever you’re unsure or feel anxious, come to me.]

Yuricien had never once forgotten the warmth of Jorgen’s embrace from that moment. Thanks to that memory, even now, under her stepmother’s control after Jorgen’s disappearance, she could keep her wits about her.

‘Father once told me. The Great Windsor may be great, but it is not perfect.’

Back then, she couldn’t fully grasp the meaning of those words, but now she understood clearly.

The name “Great Windsor,” admired and revered by all, was by no means all-powerful. Quite the opposite.

A position that allowed no disarray, no mistakes, no vulnerabilities. Great but not perfect—a position that could be attacked and toppled at the slightest hint of weakness.

To Jorgen, the “Great Windsor” was such a precarious position. And recently, Yuricien had come to deeply empathize with his perspective.

‘Everyone was just waiting for me to fall.’

Right after Jorgen’s disappearance, when Kendali openly moved to seize Windsor, only a very few extended a helping hand to Yuricien. No matter how much she was praised as the great lady of Windsor, she was not the head of the household.

‘I have to find Father.’

Having confirmed his survival, all that remained was to bring him back.

“Yuricien! Yuricien! Come down right now!”

“Sister, Mother is calling you!”

Unable to bear Yuricien’s brief retreat to the attic, Kendali and Lafine snapped irritably.

“She needs a good beating to come to her senses.”

“Sister Yuricien always messes up at the last moment and gets herself in trouble!”

“Who can deny it? She’s as foolish and lazy as her father.”

“It’s a good thing she’s with Mother now, right?”

“Oh, my pretty daughter, how do you always speak so sweetly!”

The sound of Kendali and Lafine laughing gleefully among themselves echoed.

Though she trembled with rage at their audacity to insult Jorgen, Yuricien endured, thinking that she wouldn’t have to witness their behavior for much longer. Their constant mockery and provocations were so routine that she was exhausted from wasting her emotions on anger.

“Yuricien, can’t you hear me?! Yuricien!”

Hearing Kendali’s sharp, almost violent shout, Yuricien steadied her breath.

‘Lower yourself, Yuricien. Stay quiet and watch for your chance, Yuricien.’

Even if tamed, a beast remains a beast.

‘Don’t forget that, Yuricien.’

When she opened her eyes, which she had unconsciously closed, a resolute glint shone in her ruby-like pupils.

Yuricien brought her hand to her mouth and called out.

“Yes, I’m coming right now!”

That same evening.

“Madam said to have dinner and return early.”

The coachman who had brought Yuricien to the meeting place spoke. His tone sounded polite, but the way he looked her over was utterly disrespectful. His sticky, filthy gaze lingered on her exposed white collarbone.

‘Disgusting.’

The coachman’s leering stare felt like insects crawling over her. Yuricien turned her body to avoid his vile gaze. The coachman made a smacking sound with his lips.

“Quite the treasure.”

As if she’d soon be worn out anyway.

“…!”

It was shockingly crude harassment. Her face flushed red up to her neck, and it felt like sparks were bursting before her eyes. Her small handbag trembled in her tightly gripped hand. But Yuricien couldn’t even scream. All she could do was bite the inside of her cheek.

‘I have to endure. I must endure.’

Even if her body trembled like an aspen in winter, even if her rage boiled so fiercely it choked her, she couldn’t slap the man.

‘You can’t do anything, Yuricien.’

Because that coachman was Kendali’s lover.

When Jorgen was around, they met in secret, but as soon as Jorgen disappeared in a carriage accident, Kendali brought the coachman to her bed. More than once, she had deliberately called Yuricien to witness shocking scenes.

Kendali tormented Yuricien in every way imaginable. The coachman, having learned from her, was no different. He frequently harassed Yuricien, as if belittling a lady gave him some sense of superiority.

Still, she had to endure. Swallowing her misery, choking down her despair, she had to persevere.

‘If I don’t want to lose even the attic, I have to endure.’

With Jorgen gone, Kendali held the power to decide Yuricien’s treatment. The only reason Yuricien was given the attic was because of public scrutiny.

Now, Kendali was even planning to marry her off to a nearly fifty-year-old border count, and if Yuricien displeased her, she might truly be forced to sleep in the stables. That would make her nights even more unbearable.

Yuricien steadied her breath and looked the coachman in the eye.

“Very well. I’ll meet His Highness the Prince and return, so wait here.”

She spoke with deliberate arrogance. No matter how much you belittle and trample on me, there’s still this much of a gap between us.

‘Even as Kendali’s lover, you’re just a coachman not even permitted near His Highness’s presence.’

For a moment, the coachman’s face turned bright red.

“You—!”

Having learned only violence and contempt from Kendali, he twitched as if he might strike Yuricien. But in the end, he didn’t lay a hand on her.

There were too many people watching, and as Yuricien had pointed out, she was going to meet the prince of the Solzerion Empire. If her white cheek were red and swollen, the perpetrator would surely be hunted down and punished.

The coachman, grinding his teeth so hard his jaw bulged, said,

“Come… back.”

Yuricien, gazing indifferently at the coachman who didn’t hide his resentment, stepped forward without responding.

‘He’ll surely exaggerate this to Kendali.’

Though she feared the consequences, she couldn’t help feeling a sense of satisfaction. And based on past events, this incident wouldn’t be enough to send her to the stables. Her steps felt a little lighter.

Yuricien was now on her way to see Heathcliff, her savior and lover. While preparing dinner for Kendali and Lafine, she was startled by a message that Heathcliff was waiting at the Brandy Bar in the dukedom.

[His Highness Prince Heathcliff is waiting at the Penrigons Brandy Bar.]

When Jorgen was around, Empress Greta summoned Yuricien to the palace almost daily, to the point where she had to stay in a townhouse in the capital for a while. But after Jorgen’s disappearance, whether out of consideration for Yuricien’s feelings or not, Greta’s invitations gradually decreased.

As a result, her meetings with Heathcliff, whom she used to see at the palace, also became less frequent. But the kind-hearted prince would occasionally come to the dukedom unannounced like this, requesting sudden dinners or dates.

‘He must be thinking of me.’

Even if just for a moment, so that Yuricien could escape the watchful eyes of her stepmother and stepsister and breathe freely.

The kindness of her savior was, lately, Yuricien’s only refuge.