The Price is Everything of Yours (76 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 13
“You’re still lying! Look, here’s my initial!”
“A is my initial too!”
That was true. The children watching the scene began to whisper. Both Alecto and Angharad started with A.
Neris smiled coldly inside. That was exactly why she had chosen Alecto.
If the initial had been M, L, or I, Angharad would have quickly apologized, claiming she’d mistaken it due to how similar they looked. But if there was even a sliver of room to argue, Angharad would push it as far as she could—because once branded, that mark would never fade.
Just like it had for Neris.
Yet it was precisely that stubborn insistence that suggested deliberate intent. Alecto’s face flushed crimson with anger.
“The embroidery is from my maid! If you don’t believe me, have your Martha and our Lina each stitch an A and see whose sewing matches this ribbon exactly—that’ll prove who owns it! Got it? But if you lie, I’ll tell my father! Your father’s already been disgraced!”
Calling it a “feud” between Count Islani and Baron Nain would be too generous. Though Count Islani wasn’t among the most powerful nobles of his rank, he still held enough influence to merit his title.
Angharad sank to the floor and wailed. The children, witnessing this, cast cold glances her way. Diane tilted her head in confusion.
“Why would she take someone else’s ribbon?”
“Well, normally, if you lose your own ribbon, you don’t just assume the one on someone else’s head is yours, right? She probably thought she wouldn’t get caught.”
Diane nodded, accepting Neris’s explanation.
“You’re right, Liz. Then how did Alecto even know Angharad was wearing her ribbon?”
“Exactly?”
Neris shrugged casually, feigning innocence. Of course, she knew the whole story.
It had happened two days earlier. In the dormitory’s student laundry room, Alecto’s maid, having lost her mistress’s ribbon, searched the area thoroughly.
By chance, she found a very similar ribbon discarded nearby—one stained with lavender-scented marks.
Not all students used the student laundry; since laundering was hard labor, those with few or no attendants usually sent their clothes to a contracted laundry in town. Recently, Neris had visited that very laundry under the pretense of dropping off her own garments.
There, she spoke to the laundry worker.
“I’m so sorry, but I think I lost my ribbon after coming in here. It’s my only luxury item, and I’m worried it got mixed up with someone else’s.”
Seeing Neris’s modest attire, the worker believed her claim about it being her “only” such possession and showed her several newly arrived ribbons. Among them was Angharad’s, still faintly stained.
While the staff was distracted, Neris discreetly stole her target and politely said, “It’s not among these. I must have dropped it somewhere else,” before leaving. She then waited for the day Alecto’s maid came to do laundry.
Finally, when Alecto’s maid briefly left the laundry room, Neris stole Alecto’s ribbon from the pile and dropped Angharad’s right beside it.
Back at the contracted laundry, the missing ribbon caused such a fuss that they scoured the entire facility—only “accidentally” discovering the cream-colored ribbon beside a washbasin the previous evening, just after Neris had retrieved her own laundry.
The ribbon had been cleaned thoroughly, and the worker quickly sent it to Angharad.
Coincidentally, this happened right before the party. Angharad’s maid, overwhelmed with decorating the hall and preparing food alone, had no time to notice the subtly embroidered initial in a thread shade that blended into the fabric.
Even if she had noticed, she likely would’ve assumed it was a mix-up from the laundry and planned to swap it back after the party.
Had Angharad not worn cream-colored clothes today, the trap might have failed—but Neris hadn’t worried about that.
Because today, Angharad had truly spent a fortune. Desperate to fit in with the other children, she’d poured every coin her family gave her into this party—how could she not wear the jewelry her father had bought her from the capital?
She just never expected the party to end like this. Neris watched Angharad sobbing on the floor, missing not a single movement.
If Diane’s maid hadn’t spilled lavender punch on Angharad’s ribbon at the last party, Neris would’ve had to find another way to soil it—so she felt grateful.
After all, putting a spider in punch alone wouldn’t have been enough.
“Liz, you didn’t try the peach punch earlier, did you? That’s a shame.”
Diane suddenly covered her mouth as if just remembering. Neris calmly nodded under Diane’s gentle gaze.
“Nothing to be done about it.”
“You’re too kind.”
Diane clicked her tongue, while Angharad cried out to Alecto in a trembling voice.
“I—I didn’t steal it! The laundry gave this to me! I thought it was mine…!”
“You’re lying! Then why did you throw away your own ribbon? How did my ribbon end up at the laundry? Unlike you, Lina handles all my laundry! You stole mine because yours was ruined! You didn’t want your father to scold you, right? But how could you steal someone else’s?”
To the children, that reasoning made perfect sense.
In an instant, the banquet hall filled with murmurs, and no one laughed or played anymore. When Angharad finally fled the room in tears, the children poured out after her like a flood.
Inside, Neris smiled. Alecto was a clever child. Neris had never imagined that intelligence would someday work in her favor.
After all, nothing in this world is truly useless.
[This is the timeline separator]Angharad wasn’t present at the customary gathering of lower nobles held early the following month. Only two hosts had organized it.
The children, having seen enough of Angharad—head bowed, silent through lessons, unable to speak to anyone—raised no questions.
“Stealing, no matter how small, means two weeks of after-school detention and a meeting with Mrs. Hoffman. If you don’t show remorse then, they’ll contact your family.”
A fourteen-year-old partygoer whispered to a new attendee who recognized her. The newcomer couldn’t hide her smug satisfaction.
“She was always a bit odd.”
“Yeah, but that’s why you’ve got to be careful. Don’t leave valuables lying around like you do at home. If her maid insists she acted alone, it’s hard to impose further punishment. Understand?”
Angharad’s maid, Martha, ultimately took the blame for the ribbon incident and was expelled from the school.
Martha, born and raised in Baron Nain’s domain, would clearly face harsh treatment upon returning home—but to Angharad, this must have seemed the best possible move.
Yet how many would actually believe her?
Neris inwardly grimaced at the room’s atmosphere.
“Odd.” No one here had heard that word more often than Neris. A child deemed “odd” in social circles wasn’t born that way.
“They’re made that way—the longer they’re excluded by other children, the more ‘odd’ they become.”
Once bright and cheerful, Neris had grown increasingly withdrawn after being ostracized at the academy. But her darkness itself was secondary.
Even people who weren’t necessarily Megara’s allies showed unmistakable discomfort when speaking with Neris in society.
“Ordinary” topics, “ordinary” responses, “ordinary” expressions of emotion—none of these were learned outside childhood peer interactions. Mastering them had been Neris’s greatest struggle.
When children called someone “a bit odd,” they simply meant that person acted differently from their peers. And once labeled different, a child would be excluded all over again.
Just as it had happened to Neris—and just as it would now happen to Angharad.
Because children always recognized the weak.
“Hey, look—there’s Neris.”
Hardy, one of the party’s hosts who’d been chatting with Neris, brightened and asked eagerly,
“You take classes with the upperclassmen, right? Does that mean you get invited to their parties too?”
Neris shook her head.
“Not really. Upperclassmen already have their own set of friends they socialize with.”
“What a shame. I think you’d do really well at their parties.”
“Thank you for saying that. But I’d never even attended a formal party before coming to the academy. Every party here feels wonderful and exciting to me. Being invited to this gathering today is already a gift, Hardy.”
Hardy puffed up proudly, as did the other children at their table.
Since this was a lower-nobility party, the highest-ranking parent among those present was a viscount, and countless others were knights’ children. Yet hardly anyone came from circumstances as difficult as Neris’s—knights’ children usually didn’t attend school if they lacked funds.
A comfortable sense of superiority, and the generosity it bred, ruled over the students. Another child at the table declared with practiced maturity,
“Neris has such lovely violet eyes! You must be from a distinguished family. With your noble blood and intelligence, you’ll surely receive many invitations to refined gatherings in the future.”
That had once been true—though now it was only a painful memory of betrayal. Neris masked her bitterness with a suitably humble expression.
“You’ve never actually invited me to any of those parties.”
“Everyone got their invitations, right? See you Friday!”
Everyone in her class—except Neris—was regularly invited to gatherings held under the guise of “class parties,” roughly once every two weeks. Even after graduation, classmates who entered the academy together typically maintained their social circles, and once again, invitations never came for her alone.
Back in first year, she’d received Angharad’s invitation just once. Though something had felt off, Neris had been so moved by the mere fact of being invited like the others that she accepted.
She wore the finest outfit she owned and went to the location written on the invitation.
But no one was there. No matter how many times she checked, it remained empty. Worse, she later realized it was actually a classroom used by seventh-year students.
Other children’s invitations listed a different venue. Wondering if she’d misunderstood the location, Neris wandered around until a kind upperclassman told her the first-years’ party was being held at Megara’s dormitory.
Unable to let go, Neris went all the way to Megara’s dormitory and saw her classmates laughing and playing joyfully.
Beautiful clothes, exquisite food—Neris knew none of it had been prepared for her.
Just as she turned to leave, blaming only herself, she overheard Angharad and her friends chattering and giggling.
“Did she actually go?”
“She must have. She’s such a fool.”
“Oh, that’s hilarious! I wish I’d seen it.”
“Did you see her face when she got the invitation? Who’d even want her there? Angharad’s really something!”
“I’d hate it if she came. Honestly, even her mother seemed strange when we were little. Poor Sir Willemot…”
She wanted to believe it was about someone else. But the moment she heard “Sir Willemot,” Neris understood.
When showing off among her friends, Angharad cared nothing for truth. What mattered was summoning a trivial scapegoat like Neris—to shout to the school’s wealthier, higher-born students, “I’m just like you! Look how much better I am than her!”
Now, Neris had no interest in such petty gatherings. But that didn’t mean she was okay with it.
Therefore, she felt no guilt whatsoever over what had happened to Angharad.
Male lead is a clingy little husband
One-line summary: The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
Introduction:
One day, Lu Yuner’s soul transmigrates into a female-dominant world. She enters the Imperial Academy and takes up the position of a doctoral instructor, teaching classes and grading schoolwork.
One day, she encounters the young prince Su Qingwan secretly skipping class from the male academy.
As a result, Su Qingwan is punished.
From then on, Su Qingwan sees Lu Yuner as a “thorn in his side”.
But before long, this “thorn” becomes the person he cherishes most, and he goes to great lengths to win Lu Yuner’s affection.
Mini scene 1:
One day, the sun is high in the sky but Su Qingwan still hasn’t gotten up for class.
Servant Xiaoyuan: “Young prince, it’s time for class. You’ll be late otherwise.”
Su Qingwan says arrogantly: “I’m not going. I am the esteemed prince, my status is so noble, why should I suffer this hardship? Besides, isn’t learning all this just to please women? Hmph, they’re not worthy!”
Mini scene 2:
After Su Qingwan falls for someone, he completely changes. He no longer skips class and diligently learns how to be a good husband and father. But he discovers that Sister Yuner is always surrounded by admirers.
Drunk and overcome with jealousy one day, he clings to Lu Yuner, crying beautifully like a pear blossom in the rain.
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan likes Sister Yuner.”
Lu Yuner: “Young prince, you’re drunk.”
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan isn’t drunk. Qingwan likes Sister Yuner, likes you so much, likes you to bits…” Before he can finish, Lu Yuner’s eyes flash with emotion and she leans in closer.
[Reading Guide]
1. The female lead is gentle, gracious, humble and polite but not weak. The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
2. 1v1, a bit torturous in the beginning but definitely sweet later on.
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The male lead being so proud of his wife is honestly adorable, even when he gets jealous.
And the female lead is so elegant and beautiful—I can’t wait to see this scene illustrated
Haha, did the ML really just say that to the FL? He’s so cute when he gets a little jealous.
Can’t wait for next chapter
The ML is so considerate of his wife. He treats her with so much care and gentleness, even when she doesn’t say a word—he just understands her. He’s honestly so perfect, I can’t 😭
I really hope the FL can overcome these painful feelings soon. I can’t bear to watch her suffer this much. 💔