Since When Were You The Villain?

Chapter 55.

 

 

While he thought she was foolish for just enduring it quietly, Ian wondered if that was the refined reaction of a noble.

His mother had done everything for him as if trying to compensate for the suffering she had endured so far, while she seemed to want to take everything away from Sophia.

And to elevate Ian’s name, she put the seven-year-old him into the Ruchtainer.

When he was barely adjusting to the unfamiliar county, he joined the knights and spent much longer in the knights than at home.

Because of this, he still didn’t feel that the Count’s estate was like his home.

However, the reason he looked forward to returning to the Count’s estate was solely her, Sophia Fraus.

Every time he returned to Fraus, he noticed slight changes in her appearance.

Her somber expression and her lack of words remained the same, yet every year, Sophia faced him with a more mature demeanour.

Despite wearing a much more worn-out dress than before, she still had the aura of a noble lady.

Her deep, outstanding young eyes emitted an even more mysterious atmosphere.

From her well-mannered gestures, hand movements, way of walking, speech, the languages she used, and her attitude towards maids and gardeners—even all the way to her comportment in the attic room.

Even in the attic, Sophia Fraus’s radiance hadn’t faded.

At least in Ian Fraus’s eyes, there was no woman more noble than Sophia.

If asked who was more noble between his mother, adorned with dazzling jewels, and Sophia standing quietly behind her, he would have pointed to Sophia.

People would probably laugh if they heard that.

The one considered the finest knight of Ruchtainer admired the delicate young lady who resided in the attic.

It’s fine to mock the pride of a count’s son.

No matter what he became, she was his goal and aspiration, and also the embodiment of “Fraus.”

He grew to surpass her and, on the other hand, chipped away at her and inflicted wounds.

He tormented Sophia yet paradoxically wished for her to remain the embodiment of ‘Fraus’.

It is impossible for the object he longs for in Fraus, to collapse.

At least, until he smashed it himself.

He hated the name Fraus as much as he hated Sophia, and at the same time wanted Fraus as much as he cared about her.

In this twisted web of contradictions, Ian and Sophia became a messy knot that could not be untied.

However,

‘… You’re the biggest problem.’

From one end, they began to untangle the messy knot.

Slowly, step by step, tackling a relationship that seemed impossible to undo.

Ian had his eyes on Sophia once again.

Then, you, who have changed, have become unlike Fraus?

Ian nodded.

Didn’t he say it himself? To him, Sophia is Fraus itself. (T/L: He literally sees Sophia as the representation of the house Fraus.)

Now that Sophia had changed, it was evident that Count Fraus would also change.

And Ian Fraus himself was already undergoing a transformation.

Translator: HaileyFranchette. Read on moonlight novels only

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Translator: HaileyFranchette. Read on moonlight novels only

Rubisella’s face, which had been waiting for Ian’s return, froze.

It was because one unwelcome face was following Ian through the entrance.

Rubisella’s negative feelings towards Sophia had grown even deeper.

‘Wasn’t it enough that she had spread gossip about her( Rubisella) to Lady Chanelia? And embarrassed her in front of Grand Duke Rivelon?’

And then, she left the house suddenly, not returning for over ten days!

Rubisella couldn’t hide the trembling corners of her mouth as she glared at Sophia.

“Who do you think you are, coming in here as you please?”

“Well, it’s my home after all.”

Sophia replied with a smile.

Her demeanour was so confident that even Ian, who had been trying to restrain his mother, hesitated at her response.

Sophia didn’t need Ian’s assistance to deal with something like this. While she had been vulnerable the last time due to her health, the current Sophia had returned from the duke’s estate well-rested and well-fed.

Rubisella stuttered, her words stumbling over each other as she tried to scold Sophia.

“How dare you be so shameless! Going out with a man and coming in here as if you have no sense of embarrassment…”

“Well, I thought even if others might not know, the lady of the house would never say such things.”

Sophia tilted her head as if she couldn’t quite comprehend.

Wasn’t Rubisella the one who had been having an affair with the Count even before Sophia’s birth mother, and who had then faced various persecutions as an unwed mother after having Ian?

If you considered what she had done before marriage, Rubisella was even worse off than Sophia. And regardless of right or wrong, she had been a subject of gossip and finger-pointing for a long time due to her issues with men, so she should know just how painful those judgmental looks could be.

“Not like I had an affair with another man, or lived with a married man while raising a child, it was just spending a few days with my fiancé. If you put it like that, how should I even respond…”

Sophia lowered her eyebrows in pity for her stepmother.

Seeing this, Rubisella’s face turned red with anger.

Sophia noticed Rubisella’s trembling hands, as if she wanted to hit her as usual.

However, maybe due to Ian watching, and the fact that Killion had warned her after their previous altercation, Rubisella seemed unable to act on her impulse.

“You, you…! You have no respect for your mother!”

“What did I say to you, Mother?”

Sophia innocently opened her eyes wide as she asked. She hadn’t directly mentioned Rubisella’s past actions, leaving it alluded and unsaid.

Sophia had merely brought up conventional reasoning.

However, Rubisella’s irritation flared up, and she exploded in anger.

Rubisella who was so angry, took one look at Ian and took a breath.

“Ian, I’m sorry, but could you go up to the room first? No, come with me, Sophia!”

Rubisella intended to take Sophia away to a place where others wouldn’t see them.

But…

“Mother.”

Ian grabbed Rubisella’s arm.

“… Please stop it.”

Ian’s resistance shook Rubisella’s resolve.

The look in her beloved son’s eyes was icy. He had been indifferent most of the time, but he had never looked at her with such coldness before.

“Ian, what do you mean by ‘stop’…?”

Rubisella asked, but Ian remained tight-lipped, his gaze fixed on her, refusing to explain further.

He had known it since he was a child.

That his mother had lived a life without dignity for a long time.

And one of the results of her shameful times was himself.

That’s why every time the flaws in his mother’s character were exposed, it felt like it would drive him mad.

This is why I can’t be Fraus. I felt like my mother was vulgar.

And because I can see myself inheriting that blood. “Let her go. You talk as if I’m about to do something to her.”

“…How long do I have to feel ashamed?”

Ian looked at her with a resentful expression.

To be quite honest, he wasn’t ashamed that his mother had feelings for the Count without marrying him.

She was his mother, and his origin.

He tried to understand as much as a son could, even if others criticized her for it.

But when his mother felt ashamed of that affair, when she felt inadequate and humble, when she struggled to assert an empty pride, he felt ashamed.

And he learned from such a mother how to feel inadequate, how to be humble, and how to build empty pride.

So, in the end, he felt ashamed of himself in a cycle.

“Now… I want to stop.”

It was time to stop tormenting Sophia with his feelings of inadequacy and humility.

False pride, pretentious nobility—those were to be abandoned now. He wanted to become a true Fraus.

Ian looked into Rubisella ‘s eyes as if pleading.

In response, Rubisella ‘s lips trembled.

“Am I making you embarrassed too?”

Facing her mother’s eyes, filled with empty pride and held-back tears, Ian lowered his head.

Now that there was no need to be embarrassed anymore, he wanted to say, “Let’s stop being embarrassed.”

He wished his mother could also let go of herself.

It had been more than ten years since they entered the Fraus County.

People had grown accustomed to calling Rubisella ‘the Countess’ and it was only natural to refer to Ian as “Ian Fraus.”

Welcoming gestures were more frequent than the pointing fingers they used to receive, and the aristocrats were eager to formally invite them into their circles.

Even without pushing Sophia away, even without erasing her or trimming her down, they were already complete Fraus.

So, maybe it was time to accept that we are equals with Sophia.

Ian, without uttering a word, managed to persuade his mother while acting as a barrier between her and Sophia.

Though no words were exchanged, Rubisella understood what her son was trying to convey.

Then, she turned her head and took a few steps back.

“I don’t understand why you’re acting like this all of a sudden, Ian.”

With those words, she turned away from Ian and swiftly disappeared across the hallway.

Ian didn’t follow his mother.

He didn’t resent his mother for not changing instantly. He couldn’t even explain to himself why he had suddenly changed.

Silence filled the hallway of Fraus Manor after Rubisella left.

Then, a small hand grabbed Ian’s arm.

Feeling the warmth of that touch, he turned his head to find Sophia standing there.

“You didn’t have to intervene.”

Sophie looked up at him, studying his expression.

“It’s enough for me to fight with mother.”

Sophie looked at Ian with eyes that conveyed there was no need for him to turn his back on his own family.

This, too, was a kind of composure that Ian couldn’t quite comprehend, a sense of ease that Sophie Fraus possessed.

(T/L: Well…this chapter was kind of sad, It’s not that I feel bad for Rubisella but indeed love is blind, she loving the count is truly pure love 😂.)

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