Chapter 76

Lilian was pretending to not care, but she was actually fuming. In the past, maybe she would have been clueless, but now she knew. The affection the Marchioness had shown her in her childhood was nothing more than cheap tricks. It wasn’t the love between a parent and child; it was just a ploy to capture the Marquis’s attention.

So each time she felt the sting from the slap of the Marchioness, it was inevitable that her anger would boil over. She had retaliated, but after enduring so much abuse, she felt it was hardly enough. It was hard not to think that way.

Meeting the Marquis in her heated state, she wondered what he was thinking as he looked at her with a blank expression. He silently gazed at the garden from the steaming tea table in the parlor. Why call her over just to sit in silence? As she took her seat, Catherine poured tea into the cup.

Where had the maids gone? The Marquis, whom she had called over, was merely staring at the garden without saying a word. Eventually, it was Lilian who couldn’t take it anymore and raised the white flag. She placed her teacup down with a clatter and glared at the Marquis as she spoke.

“So, why did you call me?”

“Catherine.”

“Yes, my lord.”

The Marquis called out Catherine’s name as if he had been waiting for the moment, causing Lilian to shut her mouth again. Catherine, who had been called over suddenly, responded quietly.

“Would you excuse us? I have urgent matters to discuss with my daughter.”

“Yes, understood.”

As Catherine quietly stepped away, the Marquis turned his gaze back to Lilian. Though the look was inscrutable, she quietly sipped her tea while feeling it. Perhaps it was the sunset casting a chill or the trees surrounding them, but even in summer, a cool breeze tickled Lilian’s hair.

“What if I… divorce your mother? What would you think?”

“…I don’t see how that concerns me.”

“She’s your mother, after all. Did you think I wouldn’t know what you’ve wished for all this time?”

“Ha.”

The Marquis’s tone, strangely relaxed, made Lilian lose her cool. In her near-scoffing lament, the Marquis of Portus silently gazed at her. Every time she saw that stare, those glassy eyes, she was reminded of how terrified she had been as a child. It felt like he looked at her not with hope or affection, but as a mere obligation—a child produced from duty.

That’s why she had clung to her mother, yearning for love, for attention. But in this vast mansion, there was only one person who showed her any interest: Catherine. Her past self hadn’t realized that until now.

‘Wait, hold on. Myself? No, I’m definitely different from Lilian…’

But could she really say she was different? Was the 23-year-old Kang Seo-hee, who just graduated from university and was finally playing the games she had missed, not the same as Lilian Beon Portus? Suddenly, that thought crossed her mind. At first, she assumed she was possessing a body—after all, wasn’t that the case? She hadn’t awakened her memories from Earth right away; they awakened just before heading to the Academy, right before the game started.

But Lilian’s memories were still alive. They weren’t vague recollections; all the emotions and memories from that time were intact, as if she had originally been Lilian herself.

Even Catherine didn’t seem unaware of how she had changed. For the first time, Lilian was able to form a hypothesis. Perhaps she was not a possessor but a reincarnator. The awakening of her memories right before heading to the Academy could be because the Academy was the main stage of the game.

To escape her doomed ending, and to smooth the way for Catherine’s as well, Lilian may have awakened her memories for that purpose.

“…Lian, Lilian!”

“…Yes?”

“Were you listening?”

“Sorry. I was lost in thought.”

“…Right, it was sudden, so you must be surprised.”

“You mentioned divorcing my mother, right?”

“Indeed. She likely wants that as well.”

The Marquis’s face was rather dark as he said this, but Lilian shot back with a sharp smile.

“Ha, don’t blame it on my mother. You’re just tired of her, aren’t you?”

“Tired? Well, I suppose that wouldn’t be an inaccurate statement.”

“Are you even able to divorce someone like my mother, who is the sister of the Emperor?”

Noble marriages aren’t simple. They involve countless vested interests and political calculations, so nobles don’t get divorced. No matter how tough the marriage may be, they usually take a mistress or bear a child on the side, but divorce is out of the question. That’s how they protect themselves and their families.

Of course, there have been examples of divorces, but mostly among barons or viscounts, and typically among fallen nobles. High-ranking nobles like the Marquis of Portus rarely get divorced. The last notable case was Count Rekio, who divorced his wife 40 years ago, but that was only because he was deceived into believing the child she had with another man was his own. To put it plainly, unless it’s a scandal like that, divorce is impossible.

Frequent infidelity? That’s not an issue. Noble infidelity is quite common. The chances of a spouse chosen through noble matchmaking being appealing are slim. If they practice their noblesse oblige outside, they can do whatever they want inside. That’s the mindset of nobles.

“It’s not impossible.”

Yet the Marquis was saying it was possible. Lilian snorted at that. Honestly, she was curious. What would her mother say if the Marquis handed her a divorce letter?

“I won’t concern myself.”

“Lilian?”

“Whether you two get divorced or stir up trouble and have another child, it’s really none of my business, so do as you please.”

“…Alright.”

The Marquis of Portus swallowed a few words in response to Lilian’s firm answer. To be honest, he hadn’t planned on having this conversation today. But seeing Lilian’s puffed-up cheek and slightly red left side from her makeup made him impulsively blurt it out.

With a silent sigh, the Marquis fiddled with the ointment tucked in his pocket. It was the ointment he had secretly applied to Lilian’s sore spots after she’d been whipped at the age of nine. Ever since that day, he had carried it with him daily. Though he wanted to apply it right there, he ultimately didn’t take it out.

“Take it easy.”

It would be better if the uncomfortable father just left. Thinking that way, the Marquis of Portus gave Lilian’s shoulder a light tap and exited.

“My lord.”

“Oh, Catherine. Here, take this.”

“…Is this ointment?”

“Yeah. To apply on my daughter… Lilian’s cheek.”

“Yes.”

The Marquis handed the ointment to Catherine he met on the way and sighed softly before heading back to his office. It would take time to bridge the gap formed over the years, but doing nothing would only let his wife’s misdeeds go too far. It was a never-ending dilemma. In that turmoil, he quietly pulled out a document from the drawer in his office and stared at it.

#

Since that day, it seemed as if both the Marquis and the Marchioness had agreed not to touch the young lady. The ointment given by the Marquis was quite effective as Lilian’s cheek began to heal quickly. When Lilian asked about the ointment’s origin, I merely dodged the question and let out a small sigh.

The distance was quite far, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t heard anything. Focusing her mana in her ears temporarily heightened her hearing. The shocking stories she heard that way were about divorce; so they were voicing that not-so-distant possibility. What kind of relationship did they have with the Emperor that they could go as far as to consider divorce? Or did they think their relationship was strong enough that it wouldn’t waver even with a divorce?

Though the current Emperor was pretty suspicious, the Marquis was the only trusted minister who could evade that suspicion. But most likely, that trust stemmed from being the younger sibling’s husband. If he divorced the Marchioness, the Emperor would have no choice but to keep an eye on the Marquis.

Meanwhile, our young lady decided to say she didn’t care. Letting out a small sigh, I handed a letter to Lilian. It was a letter the Marquis had given me on the way back.

“What’s this?”

“It’s from His Excellency.”

Well, it was obvious without even looking. It was probably a marriage proposal. Lilian was the most popular young lady in the marriage market. She was beautiful, resembling both the Marquis and the Marchioness, and had a powerful background. Her blood flowed from both the imperial family and the prime minister. Among royal bloodlines, she was practically unmatched outside of the royal family.

With all that beauty and honor came wealth, too. As I opened the envelope with the letter opener, Lilian took the letter and began reading it. Was it really a marriage proposal? If it were, she’d have already torn it to shreds.

“Catherine. Let’s go out somewhere tomorrow.”

“Eh? Ah, okay.”

Suddenly? I tilted my head in confusion but nodded. If I got curious, she would eventually provide an explanation, but it wasn’t necessary to know her destination.

“Alright.”

Seeing her nod with determination, I figured something must be brewing. I could only pray that nothing serious came up.