SMR | CH 14

~Chapter 14~

“Whenever Bella went to the masquerade, she wore a mask that covered most of her face and dressed in a way that didn’t reveal much skin. And when she met the men she seduced in the garden, she always wore a robe.”

The men, who had touched and even kissed Bella, wanted to see her again in the bright sunlight, but Bella, who only desired a night of pleasure and the valuable information those men held, rejected their advances. And during those times, Harriet served as the perfect cover for Bella.

“It was my niece’s doing. Bella was unwell that day and didn’t leave her bed, let alone attend the ball. It seems Harriet took Bella’s invitation.” John told the man who had come all the way to the mansion, apologizing. Naturally, the man was not only confused but furious.

However, embarrassed to admit he had been fooled by someone like Harriet, the man kept quiet, and more men ended up falling for the same trick.

“For the past three years, I’ve become the scandal maker of society in this way.”

“Why didn’t you explain yourself?”

“I wanted to. If my uncle hadn’t threatened me to leave the house if I went around saying such things,” Harriet said with a bitter smile.

She had begged Bella to stop doing such things, but Bella never took her seriously.

“How was I supposed to know that guy would come all the way to the house? Anyway, I gave Father useful information, so I did my part,” Bella had said.

The rest was “your job.”

When Harriet protested, her uncle scolded her with a frown.

“What else could you do for our family if not for this? You need to earn your keep!”

At first, it was about helping Bella, but over time, it became an expected task.

However, Harriet still couldn’t understand the last scandal.

“I don’t know how the Duke of Kailas’s brooch ended up attached to my skirt at the victory banquet. Who played that trick on me?”

With a long sigh, Harriet finished her story.

Feeling awkward with the silence, she smiled sheepishly.

“It sounds like a lie, doesn’t it?”

Catherine and Agnes wore complicated expressions.

They say you should hear both sides of a story, but weren’t these two sides too different?

However, Harriet’s version seemed to make more sense.

‘If Harriet had truly been impersonating her cousin and tarnishing the family name, Viscount Listerwell, who is her legal guardian, wouldn’t have allowed this to go on for three years, would he?’

Maybe he had spoiled her out of pity, as she had lost her parents. But even so, wasn’t Viscount Listerwell also responsible?

Then, when the situation got out of hand, they threw Harriet away, as if cutting off a troublesome limb, and sent her to the convent.

Catherine, unable to smooth out her furrowed brow, asked,

“If it’s not a lie, then I’m even more worried. Even if you return next year, what guarantee is there that the same thing won’t happen again?”

Harriet bit her lip and whispered,

“We can only hope that Bella gets married soon. If we don’t live in the same house, she won’t be able to use me as her stand-in.”

Until then, she could only hope Bella would behave.

Harriet felt helpless again. She thought she had nowhere left to return to.

But as long as her uncle was her guardian, she couldn’t escape from the Listerwell family, like a dog chained by the neck. It pained her deeply.

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Daphne Laurel, at twenty-one, was a delicate and pure beauty with dazzling silver hair and enchanting purple eyes.

She was the precious daughter of the Laurel family, who owned vast crystal mines, and she was also engaged to the eldest son of the Cheslow family, an earl.

Although she had been considered a beauty in society from a young age, due to her early engagement and shy personality, she didn’t attract followers like Bella did. She was mostly satisfied with her fiancé, James.

However, her gentle and diligent fiancé had been acting strangely lately.

“Dear Daphne, I won’t be able to meet you this weekend either. My friends have been pestering me, so I’m going hunting in the Herbos Forest this weekend. I’ll make sure to catch a nice fox for your winter scarf. Wishing you good health, James.”

Once again, the letter James had sent through the messenger was disappointing.

‘It’s almost been a month since we last saw each other…’

They had never gone this long without seeing each other. Even when James was busy with his training as the heir, or when he had to attend the military training all noblemen were required to do, he still made time to meet Daphne.

And there was something else that seemed off.

“Dear Daphne, Wishing you good health, James.”

The way he started and ended his letter was different from before.

He used to begin with “My dearest Daphne” and add phrases like “I dream of you,” “my goddess,” or “the owner of my soul,” all sorts of overly affectionate words.

The way he signed off was different too. He used to call himself “your eternal servant,” “burning with longing,” or “the luckiest man in the world.”

But now, “Dear” and “wishing you good health”? These are the kinds of words you’d use in a letter to an acquaintance, not a lover.

‘No, maybe he just wants to write more maturely since we’re not kids anymore.’

She could understand his recent busy schedule too. As the heir, he needed to maintain his connections.

Even so, she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling she had when they last met.

Back then, he seemed distracted.

“I want to make a bouquet with flowers from the garden. I was thinking of replacing some of the roses with hydrangeas or peonies. Which do you think would be better?”

“Well, either would be fine.”

“Oh! And we should have the wedding at Elvinas Temple, right?”

“Yes, I suppose…”

He nodded, but his eyes were focused on his barely touched drink, and his replies were half-hearted.

‘Is something wrong?’

Daphne was worried about James.

For him, who had always been happy to be her fiancé, to be so distracted even in front of his beloved meant something was clearly bothering him.

The news that would shake Daphne to her core came just a few days later.

“Melody! What’s going on? You seemed urgent in your letter, so I came right away.”

Daphne greeted her friend Melody Luce, who had sent a letter insisting they meet as soon as possible.

But Melody wasn’t smiling at all.

“Daphne, I need to talk to you privately. It’s really important.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll send the maids away.”

After dismissing the maids who had been waiting on her, Daphne offered Melody a drink, sensing that something was wrong.

“Here, have a drink and catch your breath, Melody.”

But instead of taking the drink, Melody grabbed Daphne’s hands. Her eyes were full of concern.

“Daphne, what I’m about to tell you isn’t a lie, and it’s not a misunderstanding. You trust me, right?”

“Of course I trust you. But why are you being so serious? You’re starting to scare me…”

“Daphne, last weekend my family went on a picnic to the Herbos Forest.”

“I know. You mentioned you’d go on a fall picnic before it gets colder.”

Daphne, nodding with her big innocent eyes, had no idea what bombshell was about to be dropped on her.

Melody sighed and said,

“We saw… Lord Cheslow there.”

“Oh! You ran into James? He told me he was going hunting in the Herbos Forest with his friends. But did you have your picnic near the hunting grounds? That sounds dangerous.”

Melody shook her head fiercely.

“Hunting? Do you think he was hunting with a woman by his side?”

“What?”

“James was with Bella Listerwell! They didn’t look like they were just friends.”

For a moment, Daphne was speechless, staring blankly at Melody.

“There were no other people around except the servants attending to them. It seemed like they didn’t notice us, but they also didn’t seem to care about being seen.”

“That can’t be…”

“Before the rumors spread, you need to call Lord James and confront him. You might even have to ask your father, the Earl, for help.”

Melody’s concern was valid.

Daphne and James had been engaged for five years, and both families were well-known. Everyone thought they were a perfect match.

Though their wedding had been delayed due to Daphne’s young age and James’s duties as heir, they were finally planning to marry next year. Everyone knew about it.

‘And yet, at a time like this, he goes on a picnic with another woman?’