You Can't Catch the Wind (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5
The puppy, much smaller than its littermates and unable even to obey simple commands, was sold off cheaply by the viscount to someone else.
From that day on, Elise deliberately called Ael “Rida.”
With a look that seemed to say, “What difference is there between you and that dog?”
“Enough. Just bring some water and fruit.”
Elise waved her hand dismissively, as if annoyed, and brushed past Ael. Ael was puzzled by Elise’s attitude.
Normally, Elise would have snapped at her for waking her up. Yet today she simply walked by without a word. Ael understood.
Elise was in an exceptionally good mood.
Ael entered the parlor carrying a tray. Elise was lying on the long sofa, reading an invitation that Jena had left for her.
Only when Ael placed the plate of neatly sliced fruit on the table did Elise finally sit up.
She even hummed a rare little tune as she popped a piece of fruit into her mouth.
Though Viscountess Aradis was the same way, Elise usually remained scowling for hours after waking.
At such times, merely catching her eye would earn a barrage of complaints—but today, not a single word. She didn’t even raise her voice at Ael standing right before her; instead, she hummed cheerfully.
Just then, Elise spoke.
“Do you know what happened at yesterday’s banquet?”
So eager was she to boast that Elise began speaking before Ael could even ask.
“Did something… happen?”
When Ael asked, Elise grinned deliberately, as if savoring the suspense. It was a fresh, radiant smile that would make anyone else smile along.
But Ael couldn’t. Because Elise’s face was plainly filled with open contempt and mockery directed at her.
“Yesterday, Lord Lakheas danced the first dance of the banquet with me.”
“…!”
Ael’s eyes widened in astonishment. Elise smiled even more broadly, as if she’d expected exactly that reaction.
“Lakheas, you mean…”
“Yes. The younger brother of His Majesty the current king, who received the Grand Duchy two years ago. He politely asked my partner for permission, then courteously inquired if I would honor him with the first dance.”
Elise clasped her hands tightly, her expression brimming with emotion as she recalled that moment.
Lakheas was currently the most sought-after figure in the Kingdom of Denertum—everyone tried to add even a single word of praise to his name.
His noble birth alone was impressive, and his striking beauty, inherited from the late queen, captivated the women of high society.
That alone would have been enough to place him at the pinnacle of society—but a year ago, his betrothed, who had been promised to him since birth, fell ill just before her coming-of-age ceremony and passed away.
One person’s tragedy often becomes another’s joy.
When he returned to society three months after mourning her loss, women looked at him with even deeper longing than before.
Most men in high society married before the age of twenty-five. The Grand Duke, however, had waited for his betrothed to come of age and was now twenty-seven—meaning he was expected to marry soon.
Naturally, nobles who still hadn’t found suitable matches for their daughters began imagining their own daughters as future Grand Duchesses.
Viscount Aradis and his wife were no exception.
〈Just imagine how perfectly our Elise would match the Grand Duke.〉
When Ael heard her father’s voice, brimming with love and pride, through the door, she had nodded in agreement.
Elise, who had inherited her stepmother’s beauty, truly seemed to Ael the most beautiful woman in the world.
Her lustrous golden hair looked as if spun from strands of sunlight mixed with honey and gold; her clear blue eyes mirrored the purest autumn sky.
Her delicate, finely chiseled features, slender limbs, and a figure both voluptuous and graceful—along with her melodious voice and gentle manner of speech—made her the epitome of elegance. But above all, people praised one particular quality.
〈Lady Elise is a woman who knows how to respect gentlemen.〉
〈Indeed. It’s so embarrassing to see young ladies speak so boldly about business or state affairs without a shred of humility.〉
Each time she heard such praise, Elise would feign surprise, as if the very idea of such arrogance had never crossed her mind.
Standing beside such an Elise, Ael could barely lift her head. After all, those “arrogant young ladies” everyone spoke of were clearly referring to her.
People glanced alternately between Ael and Elise, offering ambiguous smiles. Even without words, Ael could read their thoughts: How could half-sisters be so utterly different? And why was one of them so…?
Remembering the cold stares once directed at her, Ael shivered and rubbed her arms.
She longed to return to her room immediately, but couldn’t leave until Elise dismissed her.
So Ael had to keep listening as Elise recounted everything that had happened at yesterday’s banquet—
how the Grand Duke had continued speaking with her after the first dance, how he’d even met Elise’s friends, and how they’d arranged to attend another banquet together.
After chattering happily for a while, Elise’s gaze suddenly sharpened.
“So, Rida—have you been making any effort toward marriage?”
“…Huh?”
“Mother said yesterday that now that it’s time for me to marry, having you still living at home makes her feel ashamed in front of others.”
“…”
Ael lowered her head deeply at Elise’s words. So she was still considered a stain on the household for remaining unmarried.
“She said she’ll take you to the next banquet as well. She seems determined to marry you off before the year ends, no matter what.”
“But the gratitude payment…”
“Oh, that. She said she’s just going to give up on it. As long as there’s some minimal show of propriety, she’ll approve any marriage proposal that comes your way.”
“…”
Ael had nothing to say.
In Denertum, when a woman married, the groom’s family paid a large sum called a “gratitude payment” to the bride’s family.
Also known as a “dowry gift,” this money was meant to honor the bride’s parents for raising her.
Naturally, if the amount offered was unsatisfactory, the bride’s parents could refuse the marriage.
Ever since Ael came of age, the viscount and his wife had immediately tried to marry her off—of course, purely for the sake of that payment.
Though House Aradis was a noble family in name only, men from lower-ranking houses would still seek to marry into it.
Viscount Aradis had no intention of passing his title to Ael, so any suitor would merely be marrying “the viscount’s daughter”—yet the viscount believed that alone would be honor enough for the groom.
‘Besides, shouldn’t I recover at least some of what I spent bringing her mother here?’
To the viscount, Ael represented his worst investment. To recoup that loss, he needed to extract from any man who took her away enough to cover his past expenses.
Moreover, he planned to use any surplus to ensure Elise’s debut in high society was furnished with only the finest things.
Though Ael’s awkward debut had still attracted a few suitors—perhaps her appearance appealed to some—proposals did come for her at first.
Viscount Aradis promptly replied to each with a letter stating the exact amount of gratitude payment he demanded.
Before long, society began whispering and laughing behind Ael’s back whenever they saw her.
They openly repeated—loud enough for Ael to hear—the outrageous sum the viscount had quoted to her suitors.
When Ael heard the figure, she dropped her fan in shock.
〈One hundred thousand guilders…?〉
It was an absurd amount.
Who in their right mind would pay such a sum for the daughter of a powerless noble house—especially when no title was even being offered in return?
Unsurprisingly, no more proposals arrived, and Ael became the laughingstock of society.
Just when Viscount Aradis was considering lowering his demands, another incident occurred: Ael got into a dispute with an elderly nobleman who had once been a professor at the Academy.
It wasn’t even really a dispute—the old nobleman had simply unleashed a torrent of abuse upon Ael.
It had started over something trivial. While Ael stood nearby, the old nobleman and several others began loudly discussing matters concerning the Empire.
As the nobleman explained trade relations between the Empire and foreign nations to his companions, Ael quickly realized his explanation contained serious errors.
So when their conversation briefly paused, she cautiously and respectfully asked if what she remembered differed slightly from his account.
In that instant, the old nobleman hurled his wine glass down beside Ael and roared,
〈You dare claim I’m wrong?! An uneducated girl like you questioning me—a former Academy professor?!〉
Only later did Ael learn that this nobleman was notoriously ill-tempered even within the Academy.
He believed himself always right and interpreted any hint of doubt as a personal attack.
Faced with the shattered glass at her feet and his ceaseless shouting, Ael—having only just debuted into society—could do nothing at all.
When yandere male lead believes she loves him — but she never did
“How dare you!”
“How dare you make me love you, only to cast me aside as nothing more than a friend?!?
“I will never accept that.”
“I will never let you return to him.”
“Even if I have to burn myself to ashes.”
“Even if I must shatter my purity, my dignity, my very soul.”
“I will never let you escape me!”
This was the first novel that introduced me to the matriarchal genre. I’ve read it three times already!
At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.
Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.
The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.
Synopsis:
Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?
Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?
Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?
The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.
The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.
Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~
_____
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