If I Were Reborn, I Wouldn’t Marry You - Chapter 15

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 16

However, the opportunity did not come easily.

Lady Kate was a cunning hypocrite.

Except for the first day, she never acted suspiciously, wasn’t servile even to me who had the Roderick backing, and her teaching skills were excellent.

If I hadn’t known the future, I would have thought she was a good teacher – such was her excellent conduct.

‘She only targeted children from weak families or with timid personalities for abuse, which is how she went undetected for years.’

To avoid leaving marks, she would pierce under fingernails with needles and make them destroy their own favorite things – truly cunning ways to break a young child’s spirit.

I clicked my tongue inwardly while watching Lady Kate bid farewell, saying she’d see me at the next lesson.

‘Quite troublesome.’

I could have simply said I didn’t like her and asked for a different teacher, but I didn’t want to do that.

Right now she was only in charge of my etiquette lessons so she couldn’t torment other children, but if she stopped teaching me, that might change.

The students might be bullied again.

At this point, she had a good reputation among adults as an etiquette teacher, so there was a high probability she’d be assigned to teach her previous students again.

‘The person who suffered the longest was Viscountess Ravis’s Second Daughter, wasn’t it.’

She was a student Lady Kate had taken on when she first started working as an etiquette teacher.

And she was also the victim who suffered Lady Kate’s abuse the longest.

She had a timid personality and Viscountess Ravis wasn’t a particularly powerful family, making her the perfect target.

I had encountered her once at a ball after becoming an adult, and she maintained her position with a terrified expression before quickly leaving.

‘She lived in seclusion due to childhood trauma.’

Viscountess Ravis’s daughter, who was about seven years older than me, eventually couldn’t bear the trauma and entered a convent about two years before my regression.

Lady Kate carried herself with the perfect demeanor of a lady, befitting an etiquette teacher.

Because of this, just seeing things inseparable from noble ladies like dress hems and fans would remind her of Lady Kate, making it unbearable.

‘For that Young Lady, it would be fortunate that Lady Kate is now teaching me.’

Though we had only met once, if her childhood could be a little happier, a bit of trouble was worth enduring.

‘But I can’t make it so Lady Kate can no longer teach etiquette without evidence of abuse.’

With the ducal house’s influence, such a thing would be easy, but Mother wouldn’t allow it.

In the end, with the mindset of cleaning up thoroughly since I was going to clean up anyway, I decided to set a small trap.

I planned to target the area Lady Kate had been sensitive about during our first meeting to draw out her true nature.

‘I’ll use that as an excuse to make her pay for her crimes. So there won’t be any more victims. Targeting someone’s weakness is underhanded, but bullying children is worse, right?’

Having quickly finished rationalizing to myself, I made appropriate preparations and eagerly awaited only the next etiquette lesson.

And finally, that day arrived.

“Hello, Lady Kate.”

When I greeted her with a bright smile, Lady Kate returned the greeting.

“Young Lady’s greeting is perfect today as well.”

Lady Kate, who gave the compliment with a gentle smile that looked just elegant enough, was about to start the lesson.

“Now then, today let’s study tea party etiquette as I mentioned last time.”

Lady Kate gestured toward the tea table that had been prepared in one corner of the lesson space.

“First, I’ll play the role of the host. Then we’ll switch roles so Young Lady will be the host and I’ll be the guest.”

I reacted as if the lesson content, which was close to role-playing, was interesting.

“Wow, that sounds fun.”

The lesson content was perfectly suitable too.

Lady Kate smiled and handed me an invitation she had prepared in advance.

It was made of gold-leafed paper with a wax seal, just like invitations used at real tea parties.

“Shall you open it?”

When I opened it using a letter knife, I saw words of invitation written in elegant handwriting.

“…It would be an incomparable honor if Lady Roderick would attend the tea party commemorating my birthday.”

When I read the invitation written only in simple words considering the recipient’s age without hesitation, Lady Kate gently offered praise.

“Excellent. Now, would you please write a reply?”

“Sure.”

I went to the desk where letter paper and sealing wax were placed.

Then, with a careful expression, I dipped the quill pen in ink and lifted it.

“But…”

After starting to write the first letter, I put down the quill pen and asked with an innocent face.

“Should I write the recipient as ‘Lady Kate’ here? Or would it be correct to write ‘To Miss Kate’?”

The title ‘Lady’ was attached to daughters of those with the rank of count or higher.

In Lady Kate’s case, since her uncle inherited the title after her father’s death, strictly applying etiquette rules meant she couldn’t use the title ‘Lady.’

‘She’s only allowed to use the Lady title as a courtesy.’

Even when we first met, Lady Kate had been sensitive about her precarious position after the title went to her uncle following her father’s death, so I was confident this would work.

‘Lady Kate’s story is certainly tragic.’

Being an etiquette teacher might look decent on the surface, but since it was mainly a profession for noble ladies with nowhere else to turn, they often faced unfair treatment.

It seemed I had accurately hit Lady Kate’s weak spot.

“To Miss Kate?”

Lady Kate’s face, which always maintained an elegant smile, momentarily contorted like a demon.

‘Incredibly scary. That must be her true face.’

It was a face filled with such malice that if I hadn’t been Young Lady, she would have done something terrible.

However, that wasn’t enough to intimidate me.

I used the privilege of being a child to tilt my head and smile as if it was pure curiosity with no ulterior motive.

Lady Kate seemed to have regained her senses.

Though it wasn’t her usual gentle smile, she managed to pull herself together and created something resembling a smile at the corners of her mouth.

“Well. It is a rather difficult situation for a young Young Lady, isn’t it?”

After buying time by pretending to think for a moment and perfectly composing her expression, Lady Kate answered in a gentle but firm tone.

“It would be better to write ‘Lady Kate.’ Of course, following proper etiquette is important, but sometimes etiquette doesn’t reflect all real situations.”

She was someone who had cunningly abused nearly twenty young ladies for over ten years without being caught.

Since I didn’t expect her to reveal her true nature in one attempt, I obediently responded and wrote the first line.

“I understand, ‘To Lady Kate.'”

I handed over the reply I had written appropriately.

Lady Kate, perhaps upset by the recent incident, nitpicked even the most trivial things that she would normally have overlooked.

“This line here is a bit crooked. An excellent lady should be perfect even in her handwriting… Young Lady still seems lacking. You’ll need to work harder.”

Objectively, it was wrong to expect better writing from a six-year-old.

However, I pretended to be dejected and gloomily fidgeted with the end of the invitation.

“Should I rewrite it?”

As if I had never heard negative words before and was greatly shocked.

“No, I don’t think you need to rewrite it. It certainly shows clumsiness, but Young Lady is still in the learning stage. You’ll gradually improve.”

Lady Kate’s eyes, speaking in a voice more gentle than usual, flashed with delight upon seeing me pretend to be discouraged.

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