Chapter 52

* * *

Dean was never called by his given name by anyone.

He was kind to everyone, but the warmth he showed carried no meaning at all. It was like emptiness itself. Because everyone understood that, no one mistook his kindness for affection, and no one confessed or harbored unrequited love because of it.

“What do you think of Sir Peronte, Sofia?”

“Well, he’s kind.”

Sofia stacked and organized the baskets with an indifferent expression.

The maid across from her wore a complicated look. Sofia didn’t notice and simply spoke her thoughts.

“He’s kind to everyone, but there’s no one he treats especially differently, right?”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. He calls everyone by their family name… and Sir Peronte doesn’t like being called by his first name either.”

That was why Sofia didn’t have much interest in Dean.

When she first met him, she’d briefly entertained a childish fantasy that maybe she could be his one and only princess.

But Sofia knew.

That kind of happiness was far too big and far beyond what she deserved.

She was satisfied just knowing that she didn’t live as miserable a life as Reina.

Then the maid across from her spoke.

“No, there is someone who calls him by his name.”

“Who?”

Sofia wasn’t particularly curious. She only asked out of politeness.

It was probably Lily, who was famous for being pretty, or Margaret.

But the name that came out was unexpected and, after what she’d seen at the training grounds, maybe inevitable.

“Reina Botn.”

“…”

“Reina Botn. That woman. She calls him Dean.”

Sofia’s hand, which had been neatly arranging the baskets, stopped dead.

“I heard from someone else that he even goes out of his way to greet her from far away.”

Maybe he likes Reina. She looks vague and forgettable, but maybe she has some kind of charm.

The maid muttered on, but Sofia couldn’t focus on the rest.

She loosened her frozen hand and forced a smile.

“There’s no way he likes Reina.”

“You think that’s impossible?”

“Of course.”

“Why?”

Sofia’s face was filled with gentle kindness and pity.

“She has a kid.”

“Oh, Bonita.”

“Bonita is cute, sure, but she’s not even his real child. Would someone like a woman who comes with a kid? Sir Peronte is just…”

Just…

“He’s just an extremely kind person. And Reina’s had a really hard life.”

He’s the type who can’t ignore someone pitiful. That’s the kind of man Dean Peronte is.

Sofia muttered as if brainwashing herself.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair.

* * *

Then one day, Sofia had no choice but to admit that Dean truly looked at Reina differently.

On a day when a pleasant breeze fluttered lighter than a blanket,

his ears were burning red as he denied liking her.

Left alone, Sofia muttered,

“This is exhausting…”

At some point, it became hard for her to keep up this kindness.

‘It’s unfair.’

I worked harder than Reina.

Reina gained the duke’s trust far too easily and received someone’s affection without doing anything.

I’ve been at this estate longer.

It’s not just Reina who’s pitiful. If I look back, there were times when I was pitiful too.

I didn’t do anything wrong.

So why does only Reina get this kind of luck?

Sofia hated Reina.

She was disgusted by how easily Reina had grabbed hold of fortune.

All of these emotions came from self pity, jealousy toward others, and a desire to be admired.

* * *

“…I hated you from the very beginning.”

“Sofia.”

The face holding those dark emotions became utterly grotesque.

Even the darkness of the underground prison couldn’t hide Sofia’s ugliness.

No longer bothering to conceal her hostility, Sofia muttered in a low voice with a twisted face.

“I was just being nice because you were pitiful. You just got lucky and caught a man’s eye.”

Life was terribly unfair.

At least, it was for Sofia.

Someone with nothing better than her, who even had a kid like extra baggage, yet both Dean, whom everyone liked, and the powerful Duke Winternight only cared about Reina.

Bonita, who looked just like Reina except for her eye color, was uncomfortable too.

She tried to be kind because the child was young, but she could feel the child avoiding her.

It was nearly impossible to like a child like that.

“That little b*tch daughter of yours is just like you. It’s sickening.”

At that moment, Reina’s face, which had been filled with sorrow and pain, stiffened completely.

Sofia sneered, knowing she’d touched Reina’s reverse scale.

“Men these days must like women with kids. How many did you flirt with like that? Your husband dying in an accident was a lie too, right? You…”

“Sofia!”

Sofia poured out the contempt filled with obsessive jealousy she’d been holding back.

Reina’s face crumpled into a mess of sadness, pain, and rage.

“Sofia, stop it!”

The basket Reina had been holding rolled across the floor.

But Sofia didn’t care.

The more pained Reina looked, the more euphoric she felt.

The feeling of being superior.

The pleasure of trampling someone.

Sofia split her lips into a wide, crazed grin.

“Did you know? They say parents are mirrors of their children. Your daughter will grow up just like you in the end.”

The lantern that had been giving off light rolled across the floor, and the flame went out.

In the pitch black darkness, the sound of wind could be heard.

The heavy rush of air, the sound of something crawling, the drip of water falling.

And then,

“What you said about Boni. Apologize.”

A woman’s breath and voice filled with rage.

Even in the dark, Sofia saw the fierce yellow eyes blazing with anger.

A thin, pale hand reached through the bars and grabbed Sofia by the collar. Separated only by the bars, the two figures stood close, wearing completely opposite expressions.

“So you can make a face like this too?”

Reina Botn was the foolish woman who always laughed off rumors about herself.

And yet she was this furious just because Bonita had been mentioned.

Sofia sneered while being grabbed.

“You know, Reina.”

“…”

“Bonita. Do you know who her father is?”

“Why are you saying things like this to me? No, why are you going this far and dragging my daughter into it?”

“When someone you thought was beneath you suddenly stands above you, it feels like sh*t.”

“That’s all it is?”

“All it is?”

To me, this is everything, Sofia said.

“Being doted on just because you’re pitiful, taking every opportunity without any effort at all.”

Sofia wanted Reina to get even angrier.

She wanted her to be consumed by the same ugliness.

She wanted to drag her emotions down to the very bottom.

There was no tragic past that made Sofia this way.

It was simply her nature.

“If I knew this would happen, maybe I should’ve had a kid too. Who knows? Maybe then I would’ve gotten the same chances as you.”

Sofia deliberately spat out words she knew would hurt Reina.

“Yes.”

But Reina calmed her anger almost instantly.

She released the hand that had been gripping Sofia’s collar so tightly her veins stood out, picked up the basket, and placed it near the bars.

Then she lit the extinguished lantern with a match.

It felt as if a raging wave had suddenly gone still.

Reina stood up, and Sofia looked up at her.

“You’re not angry?”

“I am.”

But the fury that had filled Reina’s face earlier was gone.

“But you’re not going to apologize. You want to make me angry. You want me to get hurt.”

“…”

“The more I tell you to stop, the more you’ll insult my precious family. And I’ll get hurt. I know why you’re acting like this toward me now. So I won’t get angry over something I refuse to accept anymore.”

Was Reina always this sharp?

Sofia was the one caught off guard.

Could someone really change that drastically in an instant?

But Reina didn’t care about Sofia’s bewildered expression.

“I’ll meet more people like you in the future. Because I’m a powerless commoner, and a woman…”

Reina hesitated over the last word, then spoke quietly.

“And I have a child without a husband.”

Maybe it was fortunate that she faced something like this before going any further. In a bigger city, there would be far worse things.

Reina had often encountered people who pitied her for no reason, or wanted to press down harder just because she was pitiful. Those memories resurfaced.

She had only forgotten for a while after growing used to the comfort of the ducal estate.

Facing that familiar hostility again, Reina turned her gaze away from Sofia, who was trapped in the cell in a miserable state.

Then she turned her body away, leaving behind Sofia, who had begun to scream with strange, distorted cries.