Since When Were You The Villain?

Chapter 8

 

The carriage stopped again in front of a splendid mansion.

Whether the party took place or not, people’s laughter crossed the wall even though they hadn’t entered the door yet.

“Duke Killian Viprons Rivelon!”

As I followed Killian out of the carriage, the butler at the entrance hurriedly met him.

A look of perplexity was evident in his eyes.

This is the residence of Lady Chanelia. And today a social party was being held in her mansion.

“Anyone who came with you…”

“This is my fiancee, Sophia Frauss.”

The butler’s eyes trembled as his and Sophia’s eyes met.

The person featured on the front page of the weekly magazine came to the social party on the same day, so it has to be.

“Now, please wait a moment.”

The butler showed us a seat in the shade and hurriedly ran into the mansion.

“Weren’t you invited?”

Killian shook his head.

However, he was the commander of the military police and the duke.

Few people could refuse his visit in the Empire.

Besides, if she was the queen of the social world, she would be even more unable to refuse the visit of the Archduke.

“Then maybe… Are you here to fight?”

“I’m here to talk.”

Killian said indifferently.

‘Hmm…’

While Sophia was restless, a woman in a shiny white dress came out of her mansion.

Instead of the butler, Lady Chanelia came to meet her in person.

And behind her, the nobility at the social party followed.

“Oh, Sir Killian! And…You must be Sophia?”

Contrary to expectations, Lady Chanelia greeted them with a soft smile.

Indeed, she exudes a sense of freedom like the godmother of the social world.

Sophia saw the people standing behind her.

They glanced openly at Sophia, their eyes twinkling like wolves.

“But why did you come all the way here?”

On the other hand, Lady Chanelia asked naturally, as if she did not know the weekly magazine.

“I was impressed by the story of my fiance in the tabloid today.”

Killian also responded to Lady Chanelia’s performance.

At the word  ‘impressed’, Lady Chanelia’s red lips twitched.

But she smiled softly again, and took a step back.

“It looks like we have a lot of stories to share. Would you like to come inside?”

She gladly welcomed the guests who had come to her.

* * *

In Chanelia’s private drawing room.

All the other nobles were left out, and only three of them sat around the tea table.

“At the same time, I also wanted to see you two. But there are people you don’t usually get to see easily.”

Lady Chanelia said, savoring the aroma of tea.

People you don’t usually see easily.

She was right, as Killian must have been a very busy celebrity, and Sophia had never made her way into the social world doing housework at the Counts’.

“I’ve seen everyone before, but it’s the first time I’m seeing Sophia’s face.”

Lady Chanelia said as she watched Sophia’s eyes wandering around as if her glamorous room was strange and awkward.

Sophia, who was suspected of being a maid, looked like a young girl who did not know the social world.

Lady Chanelia smiled leisurely and opened her mouth.

“Coming to see me like this means that you have something to say to me.”

Lady Chanelia said she didn’t have to talk about herself.

She said that in the first place, she expected them to come.

“Then I will ask you a question. Didn’t you think about checking the facts with the parties before publishing the article?”

“Is Sophia here a maid or not?”

Her eyes turned to Sophia.

“If I asked, wouldn’t it be obvious that the answer would come back as?”

She smiled.

If she asked, ‘Is Sophia Frauss a maid?’ they would both answer, ‘No’.

“I had to be careful not to ask questions to get a set answer. Instead, I received evidence from other nobles.”

Lady Chanelia took a sip of the tea, leisurely.

It was an attitude that had nothing to do with it.

After she received an anonymous tip, she went straight into further investigation.

And further investigations reinforced her suspicions.

“A young girl told me that she wasn’t feeling well and that she didn’t make her debut…”

Lady Chanelia said as she glanced over at Sophia.

Although she is a bit skinny, it didn’t seem to be serious enough to miss her debut.

“Yes. Fortunately, I am on the better side now.”

Sophia made an excuse.

Then Lady Chanelia smiled thinly.

“But there was no doctor who said that they had examined the late-countess’s daughter? Instead, there are people who have seen the miss do laundry.”

She inquired about the records of doctor visits within a week.

But there was no doctor anywhere that had seen Sophia.

“I want to ask you a question because the person in question has arrived.”

Lady Chanelia put down her teacup and stared at Sophia.

“Is miss the real Sophia Frauss?”

Lady Chanelia’s voice was as sharp as a blade.

Her evidence had already been alluded to in weekly magazines.

So to deny this, evidence was needed to refute it.

Sophia thought for a moment.

‘Lady Chanelia has already completed her logic.’

It’s ok to say that Sophia’s ‘well-educated her maid’ is enough even if Sophia speaks and behaves like aristocrats.

Even if Sophia’s childhood and present appearance are the same, it is over if she claims that she chose a maid who looks like herself.

As long as she has established her flow of logic, it is not easy to break it.

Sophia sighed inwardly at the attitude of Lady Chanelia, who was more confident than she had thought.

‘Wow, this is the seed I sowed, so I have to reap what I sow.’

Because she did a good job of provoking the report, she captivated people too much.

Sophia put down her teacup and lifted her lips.

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“You are right. As you said, a doctor has never examined me, and I did the laundry.”

Sophia gladly affirmed Lady Chanelia’s claims.

Then, embarrassed by her straightforwardness, Killian grabbed her wrist.

But Sophia didn’t stop.

Because the real story begins now.

“It’s no wonder that rumors like that…”

She grabbed her feelings and gave strength to the tip of her nose. Then she frowned and her eyes twitched.

Soon, a single tear rolled down her white cheeks.

“Because I was treated like a maid by the countess.”

She uttered a single word in a trembling voice.

As she trembled, and one of Lady Chanelia’s eyebrows twitched.

“What kind of Countess does that…?”

As Sophia lowered her head, tears fell on the back of her hand.

Then Lady Chanelia looked at Sophia with a bewildered look.

“Miss Sophia…?”

“So even Lady Chanelia sees me as a maid…?”

Sophia quivered her lips and she met Lady Chanelia’s eyes.

Lady Chanelia flinched at her sultry green eyes.

‘What kind of work is this…?’

Lady Chanelia was somewhat embarrassed, but she said calmly.

“It’s just a rumor, miss. I just want to confirm the facts.”

She kept her firm voice and spoke as if to appease a child.

However, that did not work for Sophia.

“You are also believing the rumors…! No matter what I say, you will not believe it.”

“Sophia, it’s not like that…”

“Right. I’m cheap even if I get pointed at because I’m a maid!”

Then Sophia buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

Embarrassment was also reflected on the face of Lady Chanelia, who had kept her elegance to this point.

Sophia checked Lady Chanelia’s expression between her swipe fingers.

‘Shall I start in earnest now?’

“My father has changed completely since he remarried…”

Sophia shuddered and continued her speech with her head lowered.

“After my stepmother came, she didn’t pay any attention to me. And… She discriminated against me and my brother, and I became a nobody in my own house.”

Sophia bit her lips again, as if she was about to burst into tears.

Then, Lady Chanelia’s expression changed.

“Is that really true, miss?”

She had a sad expression, but her eyes were twinkling with interest.

How to cover gossip with gossip.

The best thing to do is to throw new food to Lady Chanelia, who has all the rumors and gossip in her hands.

‘Besides, my stepmother doesn’t seem to have a good relationship with Lady Chanelia.’

As I have learned in the last few days, the relationship between Lady Chanelia and the Countess Rubissella Frauss has not been very good.

Both were women in the social circles who wanted to show off their influence.

In other words, rivalry.

Rumors about the Archduke’s fiance would be cautious about publishing it in a weekly magazine, but Lady Chanelia’s bold publication of it may have an impact.

Her suspicions about Sophia will damage Rubissella’s reputation anyway.

In fact, some even put forward some bizarre suspicions about Rubissella.

‘What if I let Lady Chanelia devour Rubissella?’

Still, as she expected, Lady Chanelia was caring for Sophia through the eyes of a lioness who had found her delicious prey.

Sophia controlled her emotions so that she doesn’t overdo it, and she exhaled once as if holding back her tears and continued her words.

Lady Chanelia shook her head as if pitying her.

“My stepmother kicked me out into the attic. My father didn’t stop her either…”

“Oh my god. Miss Sophia. I didn’t even know that…!”