Celebrity Lady - Chapter 62

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Celebrity Lady
Episode 62
* * *
When I stepped outside, I ran into a face I hadn’t expected to see—someone I thought I’d miss.
“Rubetria!”
It was Victor.
“Brother?”
“You idiot! You’re supposed to exercise to lose weight, not just sit around doing nothing!”
A sharp ringing filled my ears.
My hands flew up instinctively, but before I could reach them, another pair of hands was already shielding my ears.
I looked up to find Lark, who met my eyes with an apologetic smile.
“You said you’d exercise! When did you give up and resort to shortcuts? There’s no such thing as a weight-loss pill!”
“Sir Victor, enough.”
Lark moved me behind him and intervened with Victor.
Two weeks of detention. Biego had monopolized the one daily visiting hour granted to outsiders, so I hadn’t seen Victor’s face in all that time.
He’d only heard about this incident secondhand, pacing anxiously the whole while.
‘He must have been so worried.’
My foolish younger self had caused quite the scandal trying to find weight-loss medicine just to shed a few pounds.
I couldn’t blame my brother for scolding me the moment we met after so long.
“Your Highness, come with me. You really need a proper scolding.”
“No, I don’t. I’ve already been lectured enough by Father and Biego.”
Though truthfully, I hadn’t been.
I used Lark as a shield, pressing myself firmly against his back.
“Then take a scolding from me!”
“I said no!”
“Sir Victor, please. You’ve been confined for two weeks, and you’re heading out immediately after the trial ends. You must be exhausted.”
Victor’s expression softened at Lark’s words.
His lips, pressed tightly together, began to tremble. He exhaled sharply as if trying to master his temper, then spoke.
“How could you… a whole year… alone like that? For heaven’s sake!”
Victor’s expression, as he irritably ran his hands through his hair, showed far more worry than anger. I felt a pang of guilt toward my brother, who was suffering in ignorance of the full circumstances.
I hesitantly stepped out from behind Lark and tugged gently at Victor’s collar.
“I’ll write you letters, Brother…”
“Ugh…”
Victor’s lips trembled as he looked down at me, then he suddenly pulled me into a tight embrace.
“Don’t starve yourself like an idiot trying to lose weight. If you get hungry, you’ll just binge and make it worse.”
“Okay.”
“And don’t cry… A year will fly by…”
“Okay.”
“The Investigation Team says they can visit once a month, so I’ll come.”
“Okay.”
“What about your attendants?”
“Rebecca will be there. She should already be at the Reubon estate by now. Also, Biego asked me to take his secretary with me.”
“And your guards?”
“The Crown Prince assigned plenty, so you don’t need to worry.”
“Close your door tightly at night in case of mosquitoes…”
“Summer’s almost over anyway… but I’ll be careful about locking up.”
“Good. Your father and brother will be busy and might not respond to your letters, so if anything happens, write to me first.”
“Yeah, I got it.”
“Sigh… You really are something.”
Victor released me from his embrace, then quickly raised his hands and pinched both my cheeks hard before I could dodge.
“Ow!”
“You need scolding! You need it! Hear me?”
“Stop! Stop it!”
“That’s enough,” Lark said gently.
Thanks to Lark stepping in, my cheeks were spared further torment.
As Victor continued chattering away, I quickly climbed into the carriage.
Lark, who had been assigned to escort me to Reubon, took a seat beside me, and the carriage slowly began to move.
I was waving goodbye to Victor through the open window when I suddenly felt a gaze from above.
The third-floor room.
Father was looking down at me.
“Father!”
Even from this distance, I could sense his stern expression, but he didn’t ignore my final farewell.
“I’ll be back soon!”
As I waved enthusiastically, Father’s hand rose slightly in return.
* * *
“Biego! Even for the Imperial Family, isn’t this excessive?”
The moment Rubetria left, Molga voiced her complaint to Biego.
Biego, who had been reviewing documents piled high as mountains, glanced up at her.
“What aspect troubles you?”
“You know Rubetria well enough. That girl knew nothing. In fact, she was so worried about the Fifth Princess that she went directly to the Investigation Team to turn herself in!”
“Indeed.”
“The Crown Prince himself—I understand he prevented the Fifth Princess from being deposed thanks to Rubetria, yet instead of gratitude, he’ll have our family under Imperial surveillance for a whole year?”
“…”
“Why did you agree to this? Even if the Duke cooperated, you should have objected!”
“Grandmother.”
Biego spoke in a low voice. His tone, subtly different from before, made Molga flinch.
He opened his mouth heavily, but didn’t continue immediately—instead, he simply gazed at Molga with steady eyes.
A brief conversation with Lark flickered through his mind.
“I’m truly grateful for your cooperation. If there were anything troubling your conscience, you wouldn’t have agreed so easily to stationing the Investigation Team at the Duke’s residence.”
“What do you mean by that? Troubling my conscience? Surely you don’t suspect Rubetria?”
“No, of course not. Why would I suspect the young lady? Few have earned my trust so quickly.”
“Then why would you speak that way…”
“Just making conversation. Not because the young lady has done anything wrong, but because every household has secrets they’d rather keep hidden—matters of internal family business that are best left unmentioned.”
“Rest assured. As Acting Family Head, I manage our household with utmost transparency.”
“I believe you. The readiness with which you cooperated speaks volumes. Only someone with something truly disreputable to hide would object.”
“…”
“And as for the Dowager Duchess—there’s no need to seek her permission beforehand, is there?”
Why had Lark brought up Molga so suddenly? The question clearly had an edge to it.
“Proving Rubetria’s innocence is paramount. Grandmother would have no reason to object—she of all people would welcome it. Don’t worry.”
“I see. Well, let’s just wait and see, shall we?”
But then…
“Tell the Crown Prince this treatment is unjust. How can he place an entire household under Imperial watch like this… We’ll become a laughingstock in society.”
“I’m afraid that’s impossible.”
“What?”
“It’s not unjust at all. We must cooperate fully. Wasn’t our family implicated in a matter concerning the Imperial Family?”
“Rubetria is innocent!”
“We believe in Rubetria because she’s family, but others don’t know that. To prove her innocence, we must cooperate with the Investigation Team.”
Biego was resolute.
“Surely you don’t want Rubetria suspected. I thought you’d be the first to welcome the investigation.”
“Well, that’s…”
“Or is there perhaps another reason why the placement of the Investigation Team bothers you?”
“Another reason!”
For a moment, alarm flickered across Molga’s face. Biego caught it.
“If that’s not it, then let’s speak no more of this matter. You may go.”
Taken aback by Biego’s uncharacteristic firmness, Molga’s lips trembled several times before she turned and left.
Left alone, Biego stared at the closed door.
“Brother, you see…”
“Grandmother doesn’t seem to like me very much.”
The confession Rubetria had hesitantly shared with him long ago.
What had he answered then?
“Could it be that Grandmother is of lowborn origin? Is that alone the reason you’re drawing a line between her and the twins?”
Yes, he’d simply dismissed it as a child’s petulance and moved on.
“Hmm.”
Biego exhaled heavily and lowered his head. His eyes, wavering into the void, were troubled as never before.
* * *
Bang, bang, bang.
Molga stormed out of Biego’s office with angry footsteps, and only managed to calm her agitation when she saw the Investigation Team members stationed before her room.
Forcing a pleasant smile as she entered, her expression immediately twisted.
‘That infuriating little wretch!’
She’d been thoroughly outmaneuvered.
The stationing of Imperial Investigation Team members in the residence clearly wasn’t to prove Rubetria’s innocence—it was to watch her.
‘The Crown Prince has already been won over by that old Rubetria. Changing sides quickly was definitely the right choice.’
The way Lark, who had been hostile to her before, had reacted just now, and the way Rubetria had probably rushed to tell him all about her mistreatment.
But why go this far?
‘The girl might be pitiful, but it’s not her own affair. For her to meddle this much is strange.’
Molga pondered carefully. No matter how she thought about it, there had to be something more between them.
She suspected that the utterly transformed Rubetria had employed some scheme to win over the Crown Prince.
‘What could it be?’
The image of Rubetria sneaking that sly smile just for her came to mind.
‘Damn that girl!’
Bang!
Molga brought her fist down on the table in frustration.
“…!”
Then, as the table shook from the impact, a single letter resting upon it—sealed with a familiar wax seal.
Only now noticing the letter, Molga jumped and looked around nervously.
“This is insane, really…”
With Investigation Team members stationed all around, she now had to be careful about every single letter exchanged.
Opening the envelope and checking its contents, she found just a single line written.
[Why didn’t you send this month’s money?]
Molga’s expression turned vicious immediately.
The sender was Count Bert—her biological father, a thorn perpetually lodged in her side.
‘The old bastard still won’t die.’
Gritting her teeth, Molga opened a sheet of paper and began writing a reply.
Things have become difficult. I’m under Imperial surveillance now, so don’t write absolutely under any circumstances for the time being.
And why hasn’t that idiot the Second Prince handled his task properly
Molga, who had been furiously scribbling, stopped and shook her head with a long sigh.
‘I can’t afford to leave a trail.’
She lit a candle and burned the unfinished letter, then began to prepare to leave.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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