Chapter 51

Revealing the Truth (1)

The intense gaze of two pairs of eyes fell upon Retina.

‘What’s with that look? It’s saying, “What’s wrong with him?”’

Reading the unspoken thoughts in those eyes, Retina smirked, tilting the corners of her mouth upward with a soulless smile.

“Isn’t it the illustrious debutante, Crystal Moon Retina Cecilia? Sitting grandiosely in the VIP section, what brings you to such a humble place?”

Helen stepped forward, leaving the other young ladies behind, and faced Retina.

“I was on my way to cheer for my illustrious older brothers, and then I saw a familiar face. Since you’ve become the Crystal Moon, I can’t just ignore you and pass by.”

Retina, who stood tall and opened her chest wide instead of bowing to Helen’s imposing demeanor, spoke.

“Are you really going to see His Highness? No other intentions, right?”

“Other intentions? No, it’s not because Young Lady is here, is it?”

“Oh! Me? Lately, it seems the Crown Prince has been staying at the Duke’s mansion for a long time, and Young Lady’s spirits seem to have risen. She even jokes well.”

“Yes, not at all. It’s so good. Watching the Crown Prince all day, I almost fell for him. Oops, can’t I fall for him? If I do, I might incur the wrath of Lady Hellen.”

Sparks flew in the intense gaze of the two women. Due to Retina’s unyielding stance even in various situations, the confrontation prolonged, and whispers began to circulate among the people passing by. ‘What are the debutante ladies, who have experienced dances, doing surrounding a child?’

Retina, checking on Marie, who couldn’t come out due to being surrounded by the crowd, clicked her tongue. Marie, with red eyes, seemed to have shed tears.

“Miss Marie, Mr. Zenferno is looking for you. Let’s go together. He probably went ahead.”

“Huh? My brother? Right now, a little… a bit…”

“What does it matter? He said the sunlight was too bright and hurt his eyes. Why don’t you try asking for a seat?”

Ignoring Helen’s sharp gaze, Retina walked past her and approached Marie. The young ladies who had surrounded Marie unconsciously twisted their shoulders, making way for Retina.

“If you have no business, I’ll be on my way. I don’t have time to waste on you.”

Retina, grabbing Marie’s wrist, informed Helen and turned away abruptly. She then led Marie towards the waiting room without fully understanding the situation.

Struggling to match Retina’s confident strides, Marie occasionally stumbled, seemingly dragged along by Retina’s brisk pace. Not wanting to show a tearful face to Illiyan, Marie hastily wiped away the moisture around her eyes with her free hand. Retina glanced at her, wondering why she was acting this way.

“Phew, that was close. Were you scared when they glared at us?”

Once they were far enough away that Helen and her group were no longer visible, Retina checked behind and halted her steps. Fortunately, they didn’t follow Retina.

Worried about what might happen if they maliciously followed, Retina caught her breath with quick steps. Even someone as confident as herself would find it difficult to win against a group of people. She examined Marie, who was breathing heavily, and straightened her posture.

“Why endure harassment from insignificant people?”

“I-Illiyan, my brother, said he was looking for me. Here, my brother—”

“Do you believe that? Of course, it’s a lie. He was in the VIP section the whole time; he couldn’t have met you.”

While letting go of Marie, Retina confidently declared the falsehood. A sense of betrayal crossed Marie’s face. She had desperately suppressed tears upon realizing that Illiyan might have deceived her. With eyes now watery and resentful, Marie stared at Retina.

“Suddenly crying? Right here?”

Baffled by Marie’s tears, a bead of sweat rolled down Retina’s forehead.

“Um, well, it looked awkward, so I helped. It doesn’t mean I’ll inform Mr. Zenferno. Don’t worry about it.”

Feeling betrayed, Marie, who had tried hard to hold back tears, thinking she would meet Illiyan, looked at Retina with resentment.

Marie’s words deviated from Retina’s expectations. Well, she should express gratitude. It’s not like she acted to receive acknowledgment. Feeling embarrassed, Retina scratched her neck and avoided eye contact.

“To be honest, every time we met, I was harassed.”

Large, round tears fell from Marie’s eyes. Retina waited silently until Marie’s crying stopped. During that time, Marie looked pitiful, having endured so much.

“Do Illiyan know about this?”

In response to Retina’s question, Marie shook her head from side to side.

“Wouldn’t it be better to talk to Illiyan first?”

“No, I can’t. Absolutely not.”

“You can’t keep living like this, enduring it all. You need to find a way, whether it’s avoiding them or confronting them.”

“No, I can’t. It’s my fault that things turned out like this. My brother knew it might happen, but I told him I was fine.”

After piecing together the information, Retina figured out why Helen was harassing Marie.

‘Because she stood up in front of the prince, even a friend who used to accompany her got abandoned.’

Observing Helen’s behavior, Retina found it infuriating. If she couldn’t have it, did that mean others couldn’t either?

Realizing why Helen targeted Marie after abandoning a friend who stood up with her, Retina felt exasperated. Helen’s behavior, despite having been in social circles for only two years, showed a cruel side. Considering Helen’s continuous actions during social seasons, she could now understand the prince’s actions of not keeping someone by his side.

“We might run into them again if we go back immediately, so let’s spend a bit more time here. If the other ladies don’t mind, you can stay in my place.”

Retina told Marie, whose tears were gradually drying. Her role had ended here. She wasn’t skilled at comforting or taking care of others, and this was the best she could do.

“Why are you following me?”

After walking a few steps, Retina turned back and asked Marie, who was following her.

“That… um, well…”

Marie, who had followed Retina and hesitated to speak, finally opened up.

“In truth, I’m the one who ruined the dress of a debutante at the ball.”

Marie, unable to face Retina directly, tightly clasped her hands, her fingers turning pale.

“Helen ordered it. And since there was no one else but me, the debutante participating in the ball, I couldn’t refuse… Now that I think about it, no matter what the circumstances, I should have refused. I’m sorry.”

Translators: Stardust. Read on moonlight novels only

So, that’s why she had been so indecisive and cautious at that time. Retina looked down at the cowering Marie, her already petite figure appearing even smaller.

“I always wanted to tell you, but I was too scared. It was too…terrifying.”

Just when it seemed the tears had stopped, they welled up again. Marie, with stolen tears, took gasping breaths, more sorrowful than the person who had suffered the harm.

“Well, it’s already in the past; there’s no need to cry. From what I see, it wasn’t a position you could refuse. Let’s leave it at that.”

Ironically, the situation unfolded when Retina comforted Marie. Back then, all Retina had in mind was finding the culprit to exact revenge. But now, even facing the culprit, she felt no need to express her anger.

To be honest, she had been so absorbed in the matters related to the prince that until Marie spoke, she had forgotten about it.

“They said you had it hastily repaired and wore it that day. Hm… I’ll compensate you for everything. I should have done this sooner.”

“It wasn’t really an amount worthy of compensation. If you want to apologize, do it to my maids and the designer, who suffered more than I did. But there were other ladies who suffered a similar fate. Was that also Helen’s doing?”

Retina observed Marie. There were issues that needed to be addressed, both for herself and for Marie.

“Oh, no. I just entered your bag to see what it was…”

Marie vehemently waved her hands to emphasize her innocence. Retina felt that she wasn’t lying just from her reaction.

“Thanks for telling the truth.”

The incident was in the past. If the dress had been torn and humiliated, it would have been a different story. But now, considering that they had safely overcome the situation with the help of those around them, Retina had no intention of digging it up again and causing discomfort. However…

“Since you had the courage to speak up, let me say one thing for you.”

Retina focused on Marie. There were problems that needed to be addressed, for herself and for Marie.

“If you’re an ‘eyrie,’ you should understand. I didn’t act even when I knew the truth.”

At Retina’s continued words, Marie lowered her head weakly. Understanding what Retina wanted to say, she bit down on her upper lip.

“That day, you saw it, right? The scene of me and the crown prince entering the same bedroom”.

Without elaborating further, Retina directly asked Marie, who had understood the unspoken words.