The Beast Swallowed by the Flower (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 9
“Aaargh!”
Britney threw the teacup she was holding.
Crash-
While the maids jumped in alarm to clean up the shattered teacup, Britney glared furiously out the window.
She couldn’t forget what had happened a few days ago when Kai had visited.
Though she’d briefly felt pleased hearing her father had secured a connection at the imperial palace, there were dozens—no, hundreds—of women who wanted to become the crown princess.
Whether she could break through that fierce competition and actually become the crown princess remained uncertain.
Yet dozens, even hundreds, of women had also desired to become Kaelbrant Green’s wife—and Lisi had become his wife without doing anything at all.
The humiliation she’d felt that day still hadn’t faded.
-If you ask me, your father’s just the same.
Lisi’s whispered words.
Lisi’s condescending gaze when she’d visited Britney in the drawing room.
‘Iris, you… pretended to be meek and obedient, but you’re really a snake of a girl. Count Green must see your true nature…’
Kai’s mockery of Britney had vanished entirely from her memory. All Britney remembered was Lisi’s arrogant and shameless behavior.
‘Iris—that girl always steals everything from me. Starting with our father… Lapord… yes, even Lapord.’
Britney recalled the blue-haired boy who’d once smiled at her with gentle, kind warmth.
Lapord, the tender and affectionate first love of Britney’s life.
-Sorry, Brin. I…
Lapord’s gaze, as he rejected Britney’s confession, had been fixed on Iris.
Iris, who’d turned her head while cleaning the window, met eyes with Lapord—and Lapord gave Iris a sweet smile, the kind he’d never shown Britney.
Britney couldn’t recall what expression Iris wore. Probably that shameless, coquettish smile meant to bewitch men.
Similar incidents had happened repeatedly after Lapord.
And yet, after living so promiscuously, she’d entered the Green family—the guardians of the sacred relic.
Kai must not know how loose Iris truly was. Iris would surely tarnish the Green family’s reputation.
‘If he doesn’t know…’
Britney’s eyes fell upon Viscount Alford Fuchs.
A few days ago, Alford had come to the Wittelo ducal estate looking strangely terrified. Even after hearing that Iris was already married to Kaelbrant, he’d refused to leave, demanding they hand Iris back.
He’d even outrageously declared that if they wouldn’t give up Iris, they should hand over Britney instead.
Although Alford held only a viscountcy, he was also the master of the Fuchs Grand Trading Company. In an era where wealth had begun to outweigh noble titles, Duke Wittelo couldn’t just evict Alford so easily.
‘Well then… I’ll just have to enlighten him.’
A smile spread across Britney’s lips.
She’d thought of a perfect plan—both to drive Alford away and to douse Iris’s happiness with cold water. Immediately deciding on her course of action, Britney hurried out of her room and ran straight to Alford.
Alford was eating Dadidan chocolate cookies while bragging to a nearby maid about how wealthy he was.
“Viscount Fuchs.”
“Oh, Miss Britney! Please call me Alford.”
Alford grinned with his greasy face, utterly convinced Britney would soon become his wife.
“How could I? Viscount Fuchs is my beloved younger sister Iris’s man, after all.”
Alford’s face twisted in displeasure.
“But didn’t the Duke give that Iris to Count Green?”
“Give her away?… What a terrible way to put it…”
“Well, isn’t it true? By our agreement, I should’ve already taken Lady Iris back to my domain by now.”
“I know, I know! How dearly Iris hoped for that herself!”
“…Really?”
“Of course! Because that Kaelbrant Green insisted on taking Iris by claiming his status as the sacred relic’s guardian… our poor Iris…”
Tears welled in Britney’s eyes as she recalled that day—not from sorrow, but from boiling rage.
“How much Iris wept as she boarded Count Green’s carriage… Just thinking about it still tears my heart apart.”
Seeing tears streaming down Britney’s cheeks, Alford looked at her with pity.
“But… but what could I have done? If even Duke Wittelo couldn’t stand against Count Green, how could I possibly take Iris back? So, Miss Britney, you and I…”
“Do you even know how beautiful Iris truly is? You must’ve seen her portrait…”
“W-well, of course…”
“Our lovely Iris cried, longing for you, Viscount Fuchs… Didn’t she?”
When she asked the maid beside her, the maid quickly nodded.
“Y-yes! Lady Iris cried so, so much.”
Alford gulped.
“I-I was originally supposed to marry Lady Iris, so of course I’d prefer to marry her! But there’s simply no way, no way at all…”
“No way? A man should…”
“No, why are you suddenly talking about me being a man here?”
“Viscount Fuchs, are you really unaware why men go wild over our Iris…?”
“Well, because she’s beautiful…”
“Of course, that’s part of it—but mainly because Iris is utterly pure and untouched, like a flower in the middle of a lake, never brushed by a man’s hand or even his breath.”
Alford nodded vigorously.
“That’s true enough…”
“Surely Count Kaelbrant Green also desired Iris for her purity. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”
Alford was a quick thinker.
“But who would believe such a thing?”
“Don’t worry, Viscount Fuchs. Behind you stands our Wittelo ducal family—and we’ll ensure whatever you say is accepted as truth.”
+++
The most famous designer and dressmaker in Dakort City, where the Green comital estate was located, had arrived. Lisi opened the design book the designer brought and selected several styles she liked.
Two lavish gowns, one elegant gown, three dresses, several everyday outfits, and nightwear. She chose fabrics a few grades below the most expensive—after all, it was still too early to spend the Green family’s money freely.
“Are you sure these everyday clothes are alright?”
The designer asked with a puzzled expression—after all, the everyday designs Lisi had chosen weren’t what a noblewoman would typically wear.
“They’re fine.”
The designer replied hesitantly.
“Yes, understood. Ah—and since the Count asked me to bring some ready-to-wear gowns for now, would you like to try a few on?”
“Certainly.”
With the maids’ help, Lisi tried on several gowns and selected a few to wear temporarily. She also picked out a few accessories from the designer’s jewelry case.
“You have excellent taste.”
Lisi smiled at the designer’s compliment.
Of course she did—after all, in her previous life, she’d lived for a long time as the mistress of a Grand Trading Company.
After the designer and dressmaker left, Lisi picked up a green gown. The bodice was so pale green it nearly appeared white, gradually deepening in color toward the hem.
With the maids’ assistance once again, she changed into the dress.
‘When will the maid arrive?’
Since the maids had never dressed a noblewoman before, they helped as best they could while fumbling nervously.
As none of the maids could handle her hair, Lisi once again left her long locks flowing loose.
Stepping out of her room, Lisi spotted a woman walking down the corridor. The pretty woman with brown hair and green eyes had caught her attention over the past few days.
As always, the woman gave Lisi only a perfunctory nod before swiftly passing by.
It was common for some maids to feel jealous and struggle to accept a new mistress—but openly displaying such attitude was unheard of.
‘How irritating.’
Since she’d only recently joined the comital household, Lisi had been giving everyone time to adjust. But such behavior was unacceptable.
“Milord, I’m here.”
A coquettish voice came from behind. The woman stood before Kai’s room.
Though Kai and Lisi shared a bedroom, their private rooms were on opposite sides of it.
Before Kai’s door—a room even Lisi never entered without permission—the woman announced “I’m here” without even stating her name, expecting the door to be opened for her.
Whether Kai had invited her in or not, Lisi heard the door open.
‘She’s definitely no ordinary maid.’
Perhaps she was Kai’s mistress.
It was common for nobles to keep maids or ladies-in-waiting as mistresses within their estates.
As a young man, Kai having one or two mistresses was understandable.
But a mistress behaving so disrespectfully toward the estate’s official mistress was unacceptable.
“Who is that woman?”
The maid answered Lisi’s question with an awkward expression.
“She’s… the Count’s personal lady-in-waiting.”
“What’s her name?”
“Miss Gillette Merdi. She’s said to be the daughter of Viscount Merdi…”
“The daughter of a viscount?”
“Yes.”
The maid, who apparently also suspected Gillette was Kai’s mistress, kept her head bowed low.
‘A viscount’s daughter serving as a count’s lady-in-waiting…’
Though daughters from families below marquises sometimes entered service in higher-ranking households, it was almost unheard of for a viscount’s daughter to serve in a comital household.
‘So she really is Kai’s mistress.’
Lisi’s brows furrowed slightly.
Even if Gillette had been a commoner, such an attitude would have been troublesome—but as a viscount’s daughter, she might cause even greater problems.
Lisi sought only a peaceful and quiet life; she didn’t want anyone disturbing her newfound nest.
‘I’ll have to remove her from sight—or make sure she never dares lift her head before me again.’
She felt a pang of guilt toward Kai, but she couldn’t possibly tolerate a woman who treated the official mistress with such disrespect.
“Lady Iris.”
Jamie’s call pulled her from her thoughts.
“I’ve brought the maids. They’re in the drawing room now—would you like to meet them?”
“Yes.”
As they walked toward the drawing room, Jamie spoke.
“I could only find two this time since it was so urgent. If the Commander—the Count—had informed us of the marriage in advance, we wouldn’t be scrambling like this.”
Apparently, he still felt bitter about not hearing the marriage news from Kai earlier.
Not sure how to respond, Lisi hesitated—but Jamie seemed not to expect an answer and kept talking.
“But since I’m so capable, I handled everything perfectly even under these circumstances. The Count is truly fortunate to have a subordinate like me, isn’t he?”
“Indeed. How fortunate.”
This time, she managed a proper reply.
Jamie nodded contentedly, humming softly as they reached the drawing room.
Before opening the door, Jamie explained the two waiting maids inside.
Erwell of the Lutec family and Krishina of the Perni family.
Though both the Lutec and Perni families were commoners, they were reputable enough to receive quasi-noble treatment.
Just before entering, Lisi told Jamie:
“There’s someone else among this estate’s staff whom I’d like to appoint as my maid.”
“Yes, please tell me who.”
“Gillette Merdi. Tell her to wait in my room.”
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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