The Beast Swallowed by the Flower (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16
Britney smiled faintly as she looked at the magazine brought by her maid.
Alford hadn’t managed to take Lisi away from Kai, and Britney hadn’t even expected that much.
She merely wanted to implant in Kai’s and everyone else’s minds just how promiscuous a woman Lisi was.
The magazine featuring the article about Lisi dealt with subjects like ghosts and vampires, making it somewhat unreliable.
However, whenever scandals involving noble families appeared, everyone rushed to buy and read it, so this article wouldn’t take long to spread far and wide.
‘Iris will be cast out soon. A family entrusted with safeguarding holy relics would never tolerate such a filthy, immoral girl.’
She hadn’t yet heard any news about Iris marrying Kaelbrant.
It was obvious the Green family would oppose it.
‘Or maybe Count Green impulsively took Iris in and is already regretting it. That girl has such a gloomy and boring personality—being pretty-faced is her only redeeming quality, after all.’
Just imagining the day Lisi would be cast out and crawl her way into the ducal household sent shivers of delight down her spine.
“Miss, Lady Mundis is here to see you.”
Britney, who had been giggling over the magazine, shot upright at her maid’s words.
“Katrina? Tell her to come in.”
Katrina, Britney’s same-age friend and daughter of Marquis Mundis, was Britney’s favorite friend.
She was just the right amount of stupid—perfectly easy to handle like a maid.
“Bryn, Bryn, Bryn! Have you seen this?”
Katrina was as excitable as ever.
In her hand was the same magazine Britney had just been reading.
Britney quickly hid the magazine behind a cushion and asked with an expression of complete ignorance.
“What is it?”
“Look at this, look! I knew you wouldn’t know anything. Honestly, you’re way too indifferent to society gossip.”
Watching Katrina speak with such pity, Britney blinked innocently.
Katrina opened the magazine.
“This article!”
It was a short yet striking piece on one page of the magazine.
[The Secret Private Life of a Certain Countess]Though the magazine avoided using real names, it repeatedly referred to “a sacred family,” “a family blessed by the Holy Nation,” and “a family entrusted with holy relics”—making it obvious to anyone that it meant the Green family.
“‘The flower of a certain ducal house, known across the entire Elarond continent’—that must be referring to Iris, right? And ‘sacred family’ means the Greens.”
“Oh…”
“Really? Did Iris really marry Count Green? With… Count Green himself?”
“Yeah…”
“What on earth happened? Wasn’t she originally supposed to marry Viscount Fuchs? I heard she adored him so much she followed him around like a puppy.”
“Exactly! But… somehow… things just turned out this way…”
She could never admit, not even under torture, that Kai himself had come to propose to Iris.
“Maybe a count is just better than a viscount… I heard rumors that Iris discovered Count Green’s weakness and blackmailed him into marrying her.”
“Really? What’s Count Green’s weakness?”
“I don’t know. Well… this might not even be true… it was just the general impression, you know?”
Whenever talking with Katrina, Britney always added, “This isn’t necessarily true. I don’t really know—it’s just speculation.”
That way, she’d have an escape route if things ever backfired.
“Wow, how could she? I never thought Iris was capable of that—she’s actually terrifying.”
“No, Iris is kind. It’s probably just baseless rumors.”
“How could it be? Count Green suddenly proposing to Iris out of nowhere is already super suspicious. And besides… how could she be cheating already, when she’s hardly been married to Count Green at all? Wait, no—since she was already involved with Viscount Fuchs before, does that even count as cheating on Count Green?”
“Ah, no. Cheating? Not really… Still… Viscount Fuchs seemed really hurt. He came here recently and cried a lot before leaving.”
“I heard he’s staying at your mansion… so he really cried that much?”
“Yeah. It was pitiful. Made me feel guilty too.”
“That’s understandable. But it’s a bit odd…”
Katrina tapped her chin with her index finger and tilted her head.
“Why haven’t Count Green and Iris held a wedding ceremony yet?”
“Hmm… who knows?”
“Ah—maybe their families are opposing it? Marquis Green is notoriously strict, and his wife is even worse.”
“Maybe… that’s possible…”
“Not maybe—it’s certain. I saw Jereshien Green at a tea party recently.”
“Jereshien Green? Count Green’s younger sister? I heard she rarely attends parties.”
“She must attend close friends’ parties sometimes. Anyway, I saw her once, and she was scary—really sharp-tongued.”
“Is that so?”
Britney nearly burst out laughing but barely held it in.
That was enough.
Talkative and well-connected, Katrina would flesh out this story and spread it everywhere.
What a viscount’s daughter says carries far more weight in people’s minds than gossip from Count Green’s maids or servants.
+++
Marquis Wyvern Green, who had long ago passed his title to his son, sat in the garden bathed in brilliant sunlight, sipping tea with his wife, Heraina.
Their peaceful moment was shattered by an urgent visit from his aide.
“You need to see this.”
The aide handed him a newspaper.
It wasn’t one Wyvern usually subscribed to.
Wyvern silently read the article the aide indicated, then passed the newspaper to Heraina.
After scanning the article, Heraina spoke.
“Have we… ever opposed Kai’s marriage?”
“Unless I’ve lost my mind and can’t remember, I don’t believe we have.”
“Exactly. It’s not like both of us would lose our minds at the same time…”
Heraina folded the newspaper and handed it back to the aide.
The aide asked hesitantly, “Should we protest to the newspaper?”
“Protest? On what grounds?”
Heraina looked puzzled.
“Well… because they published baseless rumors as if they were facts.”
“Leave it be. Responding to rumors only makes people believe they’re true.”
“But… people already believe it’s true.”
“The voices of those who believe may be loud, but there are far more who don’t.”
“That may be, but I’m still worried. What if the story printed here is actually true…?”
Heraina’s eyes turned icy cold, cutting the aide off before he could finish.
“I believe our son isn’t the kind of child who would marry recklessly without telling his parents. Isn’t that right, dear?”
The aide thought, ‘Given he’s your son, he’s certainly capable of doing exactly that—and more,’ but of course, he kept that thought to himself.
+++
Zen’s patience was slowly running out.
Kai, whom she expected to return within a day or two, still hadn’t come back—and to make matters worse, a newspaper had published an article accusing Countess Green of adultery.
Being printed in a newspaper was a whole different level of problem compared to being featured in a magazine.
Unlike magazines, which anyone could start and run, newspapers required official approval from the royal court, the imperial palace, or a governing alliance to be established.
Thus, newspapers far surpassed magazines in terms of credibility.
Adding to Zen’s already boiling frustration was the presence of Gillette Merdi—the girl who had once been Kai’s personal maid but had now become Lisi’s personal maid.
In the Green manor, with neither Kai nor Lisi around, Gillette strutted about as if she were the mistress of the house.
“What’s everyone doing? The master is supposed to return by tonight at the latest—how can the cleaning be in such a state?”
Afraid she’d burst out with a curse if she kept watching Gillette scold the maids, Zen stepped out into the garden.
Just then, Nathan passed by, spinning a pistol on his finger.
“Nathan, who exactly is that woman acting like the mistress inside?”
“Honestly, how many times do I have to say it? Gillette Merdi—my sister-in-law’s personal maid!”
Having heard the same question for the seventeenth time, Nathan replied irritably.
“I know that’s not what I meant. Why do you just let her behave like that?”
“What do you want me to do? She’s technically my sister-in-law’s maid—should I go kick her in the rear or something?”
“You’re pretty good at kicking, aren’t you?”
“I don’t just go around kicking people willy-nilly, you know?”
“You used to try kicking our dad all the time when you were little…”
“You kicked Marquis Green when you were a kid too—and you still do! Look, look—there you go again, about to kick!”
Nathan swiftly dodged Zen’s kick.
“Hey! The boss is here!”
At that moment, Wallace shouted as he ran toward the main gate.
Jamie, Eugene, and the rest of the household staff were also heading to the entrance to greet the count and countess.
Zen grabbed Nathan’s sleeve as he tried to run off.
“Hey, what?”
“Hide!”
“What?”
Zen pulled Nathan behind a cluster of garden shrubs to conceal themselves.
“Let go, Zen! I need to go greet the boss and my sister-in-law.”
“Stay still, just for a bit!”
“Ugh, seriously, I don’t get you!”
Zen wanted to see Lisi’s unguarded, genuine self.
She’d seen plenty of women who put on an act around their husband’s family, trying hard to make a good impression.
The “flower of Duke Wittelo’s household”—Zen, who cared nothing for high society, had even heard of this reputation. She wanted to quietly observe just how true that fame was and how delicate a flower its bearer truly was.
Soon, Kai and Lisi came into Zen’s view.
Before even seeing Lisi’s face, Zen noticed the newspaper in her hand.
Suddenly, Lisi stopped walking in the open courtyard of the garden.
The waiting household members stared at her, wondering what was happening.
Aside from Kai’s shadow guards, hardly anyone gave her a kind look.
And understandably so—she’d barely been married and had already tarnished the reputation of a family they revered.
Lisi surely sensed the servants’ disapproval.
Yet she didn’t lower her head or avert her eyes.
With an elegant smile, she surveyed the staff, then lightly waved the newspaper.
“I read an interesting article.”
Several servants flinched.
Zen was curious how Lisi would explain herself regarding the article.
“I…”
Lisi’s gaze settled on Gillette.
“I believe the source of this article is not someone from our household.”
Having said that, Lisi resumed walking as if nothing had happened.
She offered no defense regarding the article’s content.
But from her demeanor, Zen understood.
‘The article is false.’
Those present with sharp minds probably realized it too.
‘And the article leaked from someone within this household.’
It was easy to guess who that someone was.
At least, Zen—who had been watching from a distance—knew for certain.
Only then did Zen properly take in Lisi’s face.
A small, fair face, perfectly proportioned features, and clear violet eyes like gemstones.
Dressed in an androgynous style, walking steadily and confidently straight toward the house—her dignified presence was seared into Zen’s memory.
She radiated such bright light that even the title “flower of Duke Wittelo’s household” seemed insufficient.
“Seriously…”
After they’d walked away, Zen finally spoke.
“Why on earth did a woman like that marry someone like my brother?”
Nathan frowned and grumbled dismissively, “How should I know?”
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
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