The Archduke’s Gorgeous Wedding Was a Fraud

“Why does she looke like she’s being threatened?”

“Maybe it’s because she doesn’t like the dress? That store is notorious for selling tacky clothes.”

“… Tacky clothes?”

I had no idea.

Now that I think about it, the Madame who was smiling and rubbing her palms together was wearing a dress with low neckline.

A design that emphasizes the cleavage that no modest aristocratic young lady would choose.

It was obvious how one would be stigmatized in the social world if they went out wearing that.

“Ha… … .”

“What’s wrong, you’re not interested in her, are you?”

“No, not interested. I just find it too much.”

The middle-aged woman accepted the Madame’s greetings with a condenscending attitude.

Daphne is actually the one who should be receiving her greeting.

However, Daphne still had her head bowed with a cloudy face.

Narnia stared at the scene and frowned.

“I don’t know which family she belongs to, but she doesn’t have any manners. How dare she, a servant, act superior towards the lady she was serving?”

“Right. She looks like a cow being dragged to the slaughter house on a festive day.”

“Slaughter house, day, what?”

“Oh, it was just a figure of speech. Anyway, this isn’t a normal situation, right?”

The middle-aged woman tugged on Daphne’s arm forcefully.

Can a servant be so arrogant? Perhaps she’s just a noble dressed shabbily.

In any case, it was uncomfortable to watch her being treated so roughly.

After being treated so harshly, I can only imagine how relieved she must have felt after meeting Lacius.

I finally understood Daphne in the original work.

“Oh, unnie!”

It was then.

I locked eyes with Daphne, who looked up with a sullen face.

Daphne’s eyes widened and she called out to me in a loud voice.

At the same time, Narnia started emitting a black aura from her entire body once again.

“… Un… nie?”

A terrifying aura of jealousy spread through the surroundings.

I didn’t know how to handle this situation, so I didn’t answer right away.

Then Daphne cried out and called me again.

“Unnie, Unnie!”

“… Unnie, huh? Ahaha. I haven’t called you that yet. Ahaha, she called you unnie.”

… … It was a total mess.

“Ha.”

I let out a deep sigh and reluctantly stepped toward Daphne.

I didn’t want to get involved if possible, so why does this keep happening?

Moreover, every time I see her, she is always getting harassed by someone.

Isn’t it usually the male lead’s job to save the day and rescue her?

“W-What is it? Do you need something?”

“Move.”

“Excuse me? Do you even know which family I come from— kyaaaa!”

“She told you to get out of the way.”

Narnia, blinded by jealousy, shoved the woman out of the way.

I wasn’t surprised because I already knew she would do that.

Instead, I stopped her from laying a hand on Daphne.

“Stop. This girl is my cousin’s younger sister.”

“Ah.”

It was a lie, but for some reason, Narnia believed it and stopped moving.

Daphne looked up at me with round eyes in surprise.

“To be precise, she is the sister of my 8th cousin’s nephew’s cousin’s older brother, but I just referred to her as my cousin’s younger sister for short.”

“Oh, I see, I almost made a fool of myself by not knowing that. I thought it was just some random girl calling you ‘unnie.’ Ohoho!”

Narnia raised her voice and laughed, suddenly acting overly kind.

Daphne seemed puzzled, but after seeing my expression, she seemed to understand the situation somewhat.

“I missed you. Uhm, unnie.”

“Why are you crying? Is something wrong?”

“It’s just, uh, I’m just really sad.”

Daphne’s body trembled as she sobbed and tried to speak in a choked voice.

When I saw her before, she used to smile brightly like a sunflower, but now she was completely the opposite, and it was pitiful beyond words. I took out a handkerchief from my bag and handed it to Daphne, examining her closely.

“Blow your nose with this.”

“Um, alright.”

“Is that woman your maid?”

“No. Not a maid, but my etiquette… teacher. She’s Viscount Martha.”

“A Viscountess? What is your family name?”

“I-I’m the viscountess of the House of Fugeriana… … .”

In an instant, Narnia and I raised our eyebrows while having the same expression.

“Oh, I see. Then please leave now Mrs. Marta. And you, let’s go eat something delicious together.”

Narnia didn’t even apologize to Mrs. Marta for pushing her aside.

Rather, she squeezed Daphne’s hand tightly, her eyes twinkling as if she was having fun.

Narnia, who liked me so much and was possessive of me, couldn’t possibly be unaware of what I did to the Crisiona family’s vassal not long ago.

Among the victims, Viscountess Fugeriana was one of the people who suffered the least, but I never expected to encounter her again like this.

“Maam, I hope you don’t mind if I take Daphne with me?”

“Ha, this is ridiculous. You don’t even know what manners are, do you?”

Of course, Mrs. Marta, whose buttocks were crushed, felt extremely annoyed.

Especially since no one offered her a hand.

Eventually, she stood up on her own, frowned before glaring at me.

She seemed to think that it was me who ordered Narnia to do that.

“Oh my God. Did you just glare at Her Highness, the future archduchess?”

Of course, Narnia wasn’t going to let that slide.

Narnia attacked Mrs. Marta with so much ferocity to the point that she turned red.

“The one who doesn’t know etiquette here is you. If you are claiming to be an etiquette teacher, there’s no way you wouldn’t know who this person is. Perhaps you don’t know how the social world works these days? Or maybe it’s because your status is low, that you never received invitations to important gatherings?”

I know Narnia isn’t the type to hold back, but at this point I almost felt sorry for Mrs. Marta.

I put my hand on Narnia’s shoulder before the intensity of the conversation escalated.

“It seems like my dear friend has been quite rude to you.”

“… Ha! You’re not even the archduchess yet, and you’re already this condenscending. This clearly goes against proper etiquette!”

“Is it? Well, you should be grateful for receiving even condescension.”

Of course, that didn’t mean I plan on apologizing.

I narrowed my eyes and looked Mrs. Marta up and down.

“What will happen if I decide to ‘ignore’ you from now on?”

“Ugh… … !”

“This young lady is someone I know personally, so I’ll take her with me. Also, you better think carefully whether this young lady’s father would dislike this opportunity.”

Unless he’s crazy, there’s no way that would happen.

In a situation where it is certain that I will become the Archduke’s Consort in the future, even fervent efforts and prayers would not be enough to thank God for having his daughter have this connection with me.

Knowing that, Mrs. Marta wasn’t able to throw a tantrum anymore.

“… … Then I will go back first.”

I didn’t even look back at Mrs. Martha who was forced to say her farewell greeting.

It was a little awkward at first, but now I know.

How important Identity and rank are in this world.

“Are you okay?”

“Unnie … I didn’t, sniff, really expected to meet you again.”

Waahhh!

Daphne tilted her head back and cried softly, tears streaming down her face.

Even though it almost drove me crazy whenever her emotions got the best of her while reading the original story, seeing it in front of me like this made my heart ache.

She had grown up receiving only love in the countryside, but after coming to the capital, she faced ridicule, discrimination, and even abuse.

It would be weird if it wasn’t hard for her.

“It’s alright, cry as much as you want.”

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