Isn’t Being A Wicked Woman Much Better? - Chapter 8

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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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Chapter 8
The letter’s contents were nothing like what the Duke had anticipated.
He had naturally assumed that Deborah had recited the poem written on the stationery. However, the length of the text in the letter was not sufficient to contain the poem she had read.
‘Then why did she recite that poem out of nowhere?’
As he skimmed through the letter with a sense of surprise and bewilderment, he soon let out a soft laugh.
‘So that was her intention.’
Deborah had found the poem that his wife had read at that time and recited it before him—so that he could fully share the emotions and thoughts his wife had felt while writing this letter.
‘If I had seen this letter without knowing that poem, I would never have felt this way.’
To think she would do something so thoughtful.
Suddenly, I felt a pang of remorse. All this time, I had done nothing but lash out at Deborah whenever she visited with the letter, asking if it was about the diamond. I had made it painfully obvious that she should hand over the letter quickly.
Meanwhile, Deborah had forgone sleep and waited until late into the night, appearing with the letter at the moment when I most needed rest. Her words about becoming the bridge connecting my wife and me were no empty promise.
It was the same even now.
‘It couldn’t have been easy to find the poem my wife had read with only the clues in the letter.’
She would have had to read through the poems one by one to understand the content, and besides, Lantz Schubert was also a renowned poet known for his prolific output.
‘I am the narrow-minded father here.’
The Duke, who had belatedly realized his daughter’s delicate consideration, gazed down at the letter for a long time, overwhelmed by an indescribable feeling.
* * *
“Why does Deborah keep going in and out of Father’s office? I heard her confinement was even lifted.”
At Belek’s question, his servant bowed his head with an apologetic expression.
“All the servants of the Duke’s Mansion are tight-lipped, so I cannot ascertain the exact reason. It would not look good to pry too much.”
“Did you try to get anything out of Deborah?”
“Other than the information that she has been purchasing a large number of romance novels and poetry collections that have recently become popular among young ladies, there is nothing else.”
Because Deborah had wrapped the object she found in the Rose Garden in a long shawl and carried it about secretively, no one had imagined that there was something so important hidden within the garden.
Everyone had simply thought that hot-tempered Deborah had caused an accident out of frustration.
‘How irritating.’
Belek crossed his legs with an expression full of annoyance.
His younger sister, who tarnished the family name with her baseless behavior, and who, despite having nothing to show for herself, strutted about on the basis of being a direct descendant of Simour.
In his eyes, which judged people by their abilities, Deborah felt like a rough stone that needed to be disposed of as soon as possible.
‘Far from improving, she’s becoming more of a spectacle.’
She threw tantrums demanding absurdly expensive jewels, squandering the family’s wealth.
‘Fine, being as generous as possible, let’s say that much is true. It’s exactly the kind of thing that wretch would do.’
Deborah had even damaged the Rose Garden that their mother had cherished.
The moment he heard that news, Belek was certain that his father would impose a punishment on Deborah far more severe than mere confinement. Yet instead of harsh punishment, rumors began to circulate that she was enjoying tea time with her father.
When he directly witnessed Deborah emerging from his father’s office with a brazen expression, Belek felt his blood pressure surge to the top of his head.
Why was this wretch, who had caused such an absurd incident, walking about the mansion looking perfectly fine?
Moreover, regardless of the reason, he could not shake the feeling that his father was being unusually lenient toward Deborah alone. He weighed Rozad’s and his own competence with cold precision, yet he was generous toward Deborah, who had the least talent and ability.
‘I cannot understand Father at all. If I were the head of the family, I would not even allow such a foolish and incompetent creature a place to stand within Simour….’
Belek, lost in thought with darkened eyes, suddenly wore a bitter smile.
‘Yes, you won’t be here much longer anyway.’
Young ladies of the Asteia Empire had to marry once they came of age, and there were no exceptions. Once Deborah’s debutante ball was held this autumn, she could marry, and he was planning to expedite the betrothal and send her far away.
I dislike Belek for constantly blocking my path, but since we’re twins, our thought processes and actions are eerily similar.
Belek also wants to drive Deborah out of Simour as quickly as possible. In fact, he’s already swiftly selected a suitable husband candidate for her.
Louis Gazel, I believe?
‘This time, I should actively cooperate with that bastard Belek.’
Once she marries, her surname will change, and the Duke’s Mansion’s reputation won’t be dragged through the mud by commoners anymore. Besides, I won’t have to see her face either.
Killing two birds with one stone—Belek’s thin lips curved upward at the thought.
* * *
‘Why is this bastard picking a fight again?’
After finishing my morning classes, I was hurrying to the Annex Building to finish reading my romance novel when Belek suddenly blocked my path.
“What do you want?”
“What do I want…”
I stared at Belek’s narrowed eyes with an uneasy feeling. Goosebumps prickled across my arms—apparently Deborah had despised that sinister smile of his most of all.
“How amusing. Our standards don’t match, so what business could I possibly have with you? I was on my way to see Father about a research report. Unlike you, I’m not idle.”
Wow, listen to him talk so prettily.
In my past life, my blood relatives spoke so similarly that it’s hardly surprising.
“If you have no business, then stop picking fights with your older brother and go on your way. I’ll go mine.”
I suppressed my displeasure and spoke in the most neutral tone I could manage.
Deborah lost her composure every time Belek ignored and mocked her, venting her anger on innocent servants and digging her own grave.
‘Pointless energy expenditure. I don’t want to get involved, so I’ll just ignore him.’
I tried to quickly pass Belek, but he lightly caught my arm.
“As your older brother, I can at least offer some advice.”
“I’ll pass.”
“If you don’t want to hear my warnings, you should have behaved properly from the start. Even though I’d like to ignore you as if you don’t exist, you’ve been causing quite the commotion around here.”
He tightened his grip on my arm, his sharp eyes narrowing further.
“I hear you’ve been making a fuss over some jewels lately. I lose sleep every night worrying about your future—greedy and reckless as you are. Who would ever take you as a bride?”
“I don’t need that kind of worry, so let go.”
“After all the concern I’ve shown, you say such things? It hurts. You have no magical talent, inferior intellect, and nothing but youth and a pretty face. Shouldn’t you be grateful and thank me properly for introducing you to a decent man?”
“What are you talking about?”
Surely he’s not trying to arrange a match right now?
“Louis Gazel. You’ll meet him soon enough, so remember the name.”
Louis Gazel?
‘Why does that name sound familiar?’
Suddenly, a scene from the novel came to mind.
That sleazy bastard who was hitting on the heroine!
He was only a minor character, but his behavior was perverted, and his name resembled Thomson’s Gazelle, so it had stuck in my memory.
‘This is insane.’
I roughly shook off his hand and glared at him fiercely. He met my gaze with a mocking expression and gave a light shrug.
“You need proper etiquette training from the beginning. I’ll personally help you acquire enough dignity to avoid embarrassment.”
The more he spoke, the more ridiculous it became, but losing my composure and getting excited would only invite his mockery.
As if a noblewoman of a great house couldn’t even control her own emotions.
I clenched my fists tightly, recalling the defensive rhetoric and tone my sister had employed in my past life to deflect the relentless nagging of relatives.
“Brother, you’re the one lacking courtesy in every word choice. If you’re planning to marry, you should start with basic language education.”
The moment I threw his own words back at him, he dropped his bitter smile and fixed me with a cold stare.
“How dare a mere duke’s daughter presume to match wits with me, the heir. You seem to be under the delusion that our situations are equal. Let me make this clear—given your current standing, you should be grateful that I’ve found a respectable young nobleman from a decent house willing to marry you at all.”
“I never asked you to find anyone. This is overstepping.”
“Deborah. If you had ever managed your own affairs competently even once, I wouldn’t have felt compelled to intervene. Isn’t that right?”
“I’ll manage things properly from now on, so stop meddling. If you’re so concerned about my life, just give me money instead.”
“Ha! How exactly do you plan to manage things now when you’ve never been capable of it before? Don’t tell me you’re still harboring the delusion that Philaf Montes will accept you as his wife?”
‘This man is absolutely vile.’
He was even dragging my sister’s unrequited love into this.
Velek’s mockery and verbal abuse continued relentlessly.
“Come to your senses. What could Philaf Montes possibly lack that he’d take you as his wife? I heard he’s recently become quite infatuated with some woman—you haven’t heard the news?”
The woman he was infatuated with was Miya Binoshu.
“I’m not interested in that woman’s affairs.”
“Hmph! Playing tough, are you? Or perhaps you’re in denial about reality?”
He clicked his tongue dismissively.
“Realistically speaking, no respectable noble house of Simour’s caliber would take you in because of your vulgar conduct. Not the princes of Montes, Orgo, or Visconte—none of them.”
“I’m not getting married anyway.”
My words brought his tiresome lecture to an abrupt halt. A crack appeared across his face, smooth as marble.
“What… what did you just say?”
I watched his thin lips tremble slightly as I spoke.
“I’m going to remain unmarried.”

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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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