Chapter : 50
This guy’s fanatic obsession with Lady Rohanson doesn’t seem to be improving anytime soon. He’s usually perfectly normal, but whenever Lady Rohanson is involved, he turns into this mess. This is why I wanted to leave Michelle behind…
“Just move the luggage and go back with the others. Your role ends with bringing Misha here.”
“If I was able to be of help to Lady Rohanson, that’s enough for me. Sister, please make the best dress suitable for Lady Rohanson. You’re the only one in the world who can create clothing worthy of her.”
I have no idea who he’s even praising.
“Michelle….”
Raphaela quietly observed the situation.
There were less than two weeks left until Evangeline’s debutante, and there were very few skilled enough to complete a dress in such a short time. Given the tight schedule, even Artemisia wouldn’t have accepted the request if Michelle hadn’t been her younger brother.
Artemisia herself likely felt even more shocked, never expecting her younger brother to end up like this. Michelle had already caused her three major shocks—once when he became obsessed with a painting by Donau, once when he threw himself into a burning artwork, and now a third time as a fanatic of Evangeline Rohanson. And he didn’t even seem sorry to his sister.
Artemisia dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief.
“What a tragically deep love he’s fallen into….”
What? Raphaela wondered if she’d misheard and scratched her ear.
“To fall for Lady Rohanson of all people… the one surrounded by such notorious rumors….”
Leaving the two of them lost in their own world, Raphaela quietly returned to the carriage and began moving the luggage. She should’ve done this from the start. As she worked like an ant, Uriel approached her.
“Lady Raphaela, I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Since the opponent is the Commander, does Sir Michelle even stand a chance? Romantically speaking.”
Seraph beside them was also watching with interest, clearly curious as well. Raphaela gave up on answering. She just wanted to go back to the Commander. Commander, our knight order is doomed.
“Seriously, you two just move the luggage and leave.”
“Pardon? Understood.”
At least they listened extremely well—that was a relief.
Wow… all of that is fabric?
Watching the people carrying in the loads, I couldn’t help but marvel. The toilette room gradually filled up until it was almost fair to call it a full-on dressing room.
Evangeline, as a villainess, had little vanity, so she actually owned very few wearable clothes. On top of that, since she hadn’t debuted in society, she didn’t even have proper dresses for balls.
With only two weeks left, it was already too late to commission a dress, so I had planned to just buy some ready-made clothes. But Gabriel said he had a solution and ended up renting an entire atelier.
Not figuratively—literally. From the designers, tailors, seamstresses, and even the fabrics themselves, everything was being transported intact to the Rohanson estate.
The reason was simple: instead of commuting back and forth to the atelier, it would be faster to live together and continuously adjust, tailor, and fit everything on-site given the time constraint. They even provided guest rooms for lodging.
“I apologize for the inconvenience.”
Gabriel glanced at me apologetically. It suddenly hit me again that Gabriel was the male lead. Right… male leads in romance fantasy novels are basically people who only have money, and they solve problems by hiring manpower with it.
But Evangeline is rich too, you know? Who are you showing off your money to! Without realizing it, a sense of rivalry flared up, but I took a deep breath and calmed myself. Saving money is good anyway.
“Lady Rohanson, have you been well?”
Today, Gabriel’s socially active and highly supportive aide—who actively assists his romantic endeavors—had come along as well. Raphaela greeted me as if we were longtime friends. I wasn’t the only one feeling drained—Daisy beside me also looked visibly exasperated.
Hm? But who’s that behind her? Someone was trembling behind Raphaela.
“Oh, and this person will be the one making your clothes.”
Before I could even ask, Raphaela pushed the person hiding behind her forward.
Ah. So this is the designer Gabriel bought with money… They clearly didn’t want to be here, but must have been dragged along because the payment was too large to refuse. I was worried they might end up fleeing in tears like private tutors sometimes do.
“Her name is Altemi—”
“I—I can’t handle human skin!”
Before Raphaela could finish introducing her name, the person suddenly shouted loudly.
…What?
“What?”
A loud exclamation hung over everyone’s heads like a question mark. The entire toilette room fell silent in an instant.
“These insane siblings… I can’t believe this….”
Raphaela clicked her tongue and buried her face in her palm.
Yeah… I’m losing it too. Human skin? I must’ve misheard due to lack of sleep. Or maybe the translation is broken.
Just how far has Evangeline’s infamy escalated? I’ve never heard of a villainess in romance fantasy wearing clothes made of human skin. No matter how dark this world is, there should be limits. Just imagining it makes me feel nauseous.
“What did you just say?”
“Hii—! I’m sorry! I was wrong! Please don’t kill me!”
I had only asked them to repeat themselves to confirm what I heard, but the Altemi person bowed deeply, begging for their life.
“…Why would I kill you?”
No, seriously—I’m the kind of villainess who’s actually too kind for her own good and whose possession has already been exposed to everyone around her, yet somehow my public reputation hasn’t improved at all. If anything, hasn’t it gotten worse?
“You were brought here by Sir Gabriel, weren’t you?”
Had Gabriel not explained anything? What was he doing without giving any prior explanation?
Well, what could you expect from a taciturn male lead who probably doesn’t talk much? As long as things don’t go sideways, it’s fine. It was Raphaela’s responsibility to explain in Gabriel’s place.
Realizing her mistake, Raphaela hurriedly clarified.
“Lady Rohanson doesn’t just go around killing people at random.”
If she doesn’t kill just anyone, does that mean she kills some people? No—she simply doesn’t kill anyone.
This won’t do. If Raphaela handled this, rumors might spread that I selectively kill people. I’d better explain this myself.
“I don’t know what rumors are circulating about me, but please don’t pay attention to malicious talk. Judge for yourself based on what you see. What am I like in reality?”
“You are… beautiful….”
Perhaps captivated, the designer—Altemi something—murmured while brushing back their disheveled hair as they bowed.
As expected! My romance fantasy experience isn’t for nothing. My eloquence is shining today.
Or maybe it’s Evangeline’s face doing all the work. In these kinds of stories, there’s usually a designer character who exclaims, “Lady, you are my muse!”—and this person seemed exactly like that archetype.
“I apologize for misunderstanding! My name is Artemisia Schmitiana. I’m Michelle’s older sister.”
“I’m Evangeline Rohanson.”
“Altemi something” really has quite a long name. I’ll never remember their full name. But who is Michelle?
“I’ve heard you’re the benefactor who saved Michelle. I’m sorry for judging you based on rumors and causing offense.”
Ah, now I remember. They meant that very polite knight with melon-colored hair. The siblings really are alike—both chatty and full of personality.
“What kind of things did you hear?”
“Well, um…”
“I won’t scold you, so feel free to speak comfortably.”
Seeing Artemisia hesitate, I urged her to speak.
I was curious whether all my past good deeds had been completely ineffective. I wanted to hear it quickly. After hesitating, Artemisia finally spoke.
“Well… there were rumors that the real Lady Rohanson had passed away, and that the count brought in a substitute to take her place. Though seeing you now, that’s clearly not true! You carry yourself with great dignity, and if you were truly a substitute, the maids wouldn’t follow you so sincerely.”
What? That’s not entirely wrong—except for the part about being in the same body. At this rate, people might figure out that I’m a possessor. Sorry, but my people like me even knowing that I’m possessed…
“And there were also rumors that anyone who meets the lady has their soul taken away. Even noble knights have been enchanted—but surely that’s just because everyone is captivated by your beauty!”
Now this is going full-on villainess trope. The knight she mentioned must be Gabriel. They think Gabriel being so devoted to me is the result of some kind of trick.
“And there were also rumors that Lady Evangeline buys children.”
That was simply because I returned Daisy’s younger siblings to her. No—why are the people who committed human trafficking blaming me for it!
“There were many theories about why she would buy children….”
Out of all those rumors, it seems the one about human skin left the strongest impression. So that’s why she said that? It really was shocking enough to be unforgettable.
“But they were all just baseless rumors!”
“Hmm….”
Hearing her say that so brightly, I couldn’t help but swallow a sigh.
What should I do? It’s almost the truth. It’s just been exaggerated and twisted in strange ways, but the foundation is real.
“I did think they were rumors… but seeing you in person, I was a little, just a little bit scared…”
So in the end, the real issue is that Evangeline’s face is beautiful—but looks terrifying.
“Let’s make sure such malicious rumors never spread again! I’ll devote everything I have to support you so that you and Sir Gabriel can have the best debutante. I’ll make you the finest debutante dress.”
Artemisia’s eyes sparkled as she looked at me. The fear she had just shown seemed like a lie. If I told her the rumors were actually true, would she get scared again?
“It’s fine to take it easy.”
“But Lady, clothing is a statement that represents oneself. No matter how beautiful a person is, if they wear something that doesn’t suit them, they’ll often be disregarded.”
Is that so?
“Then how about what I’m wearing right now?”
