CH 1

Chapter 1

Translated by Tam

Edited by Tam

“I don’t need a daughter like you in my family!”

A shout that turned into a sharp spear that pierced the chest. But it was as a word of abuse for Catherine today as it was for her to eat. Because it sounded like rice being eaten coming from a woman’s mouth.

Blinking slowly, Catherine sat on a chair in the drawing-room.

‘Here we go again. How loud will you be today?’

Before long, her stepmother, Mrs. Laura stepped forward with the sound of heels and ready to speak. “Oh my goodness… the guest is still standing, and the family’s eldest daughter happens to be sitting in the chair first? Did I teach you that way, Catherine?”

In front of Catherine’s nose, Laura’s white fingertips tremble. With the bright red face of an apple, it was a very contrasting color.

‘Teaching, you say? I’d rather say that the passing long-lived beetle is my teacher.’

Catherine cast a glance at the Count Charlotte Killholder, her guest house.

Charlotte Killholder.

Her only fiancé, and now her only enemy, were entangled in a totally fake “commitment” relationship, but one by one, the true reality was worse than the other. When their gazes met, the shoulder shrugged. Looking around and down at the ground. Catherine returned Mrs. Laura’s question after staring at Charlotte’s passive behavior.

“So, what exactly do you want me to do?”

As if they had been waiting, a sharp voice spoke up.

“Didn’t I tell you? We don’t need a child like you in the Orléans family! I don’t think it’s a shame that you were swept up in the scandal, but acting rashly in front of Count Killholder—”

Catherine sighed and touched her brow.

Laura has been the stepmother and new Viscountess of the Orléans family for ten years. She has been turning a blind eye to Catherine since she took her seat in Orléans. Viscount Orléans, who had tried to mediate between the two or had cared for his eldest daughter unilaterally, was now bothering Catherine’s existence.

When the Viscount Orléans got on her nerves, the stepmother’s rebellion grew stronger, and strange things began to happen one after the other. That was the most amusing aspect of this.

It had something to do with the fact that the Count’s mistress was Catherine’s half-sister Anne Orleans.

“Does that mean you want me to leave the castle, Mother?”

Anne, who was stamping her feet, grabbed Mrs. Laura’s arm as if worried about Catherine’s question.

“The rumors can’t be true. Don’t you think so, Sister? The horrifying rumor must be false. Sister, I’m the only one who believes in you!”

Catherine frowned and let out a small sigh. Anne’s eyes welled up with tears soon after. A single leaf has the appearance of a lily. When Charlotte saw Anne’s tears, he rushed over and hugged her slender shoulders.

“Anne, don’t cry. Your tears are too precious to shed in such a place—!”

“C-Charlotte! But mother—”

‘It’s driving me crazy.’

Catherine’s face was unimpressed as a result, and she was gradually cooling down.

If she had her way, she would have thrown a white handkerchief with the words “Get lost” on the stage. It was obvious that the street theater company’s puppet show would be more moving than this. It’s been two years since she’s had to deal with the disgusting mess in front of her eyes.

‘It’s been a long time.’

Catherine’s patience had run out after two years, which was not surprising.

“Sigh, lovely Anne. My baby is so kind.”

Mrs. Laura, who was looking pitifully at Anne, raised her eyes sharply and pointed at Catherine.

“Catherine, you don’t even look at your sister when she cries like this—”

“All right, I’ll go.”

Laura, Anne, and Charlotte’s expressions all went blank as a result of that voice. Catherine, on the other hand, was irritated rather than excited by their reaction.

“What’s wrong with your face? I’ll go out as you wish. I’ll take responsibility for the rumors that ‘the mistress devoted its body and soul to the lustful Count’ and ‘the vulgar woman who plays with her brother in law.'”

Romance novels, which are popular these days, are not as miscellaneous as they are.

Catherine, who had become a victim of the ridiculous rumors, wanted to applaud Anne, who had been spreading rumors by selling her feet here and there. She had struggled to clench her teeth for the sake of her deceased mother, but she no longer felt the need to do so.

Catherine has only bought ten pieces of clothing in the last two years. Having ten pairs is the same as having only one pair for each season.

So, how about Anne? Catherine remembered she had 50 outfits, so she was confident she had at least eighty in her closet.

She had no desire for luxuries such as necklaces.

When Laura threw an old watch that was rolling around Ann’s room as a birthday present, she was reluctant to do so. The curtains in the hideous bedroom were not bad because the ends were torn apart. The heels were worn out, so the shoes with different heights were fine.

“What are you suddenly…”

“What do you mean, all of a sudden? It’s mother who told me to get out.”

Catherine, on the other hand, is sick of it. It would be simpler to be a peasant than to be treated in this way. Otherwise, she’ll end up working at a watch factory.

Laura’s lips wrinkle up towards the end of her declaration. The stepmother did not attempt to hide her joy in front of Catherine. It was like looking through the eyes of a fisherman at a fishing net full of big fish.

“Do you think you can be forgiven for my humiliation to Orleans by leaving the house, Catherine?”

“Then do you want me to kill myself here?”

Leaning slowly on the back of the chair, her legs crossed. Catherine smiles as she looks at Charlotte, who was previously her fiancée. He was once a man who made eye contact with her and flushed his cheeks.

“Do you agree, Charl? Will the honor of Orléans and your honor return if I hang myself here?”

“That’s…”

The Count turned his head aside, gasping for breath. Blue veins rose over the back of Anne’s hand, who grabbed his shirt.

“I, I, Miss Catherine…”

“Sister! Please don’t say you’re leaving. It’s completely my fault. You’d rather blame me!”

It was before Charlotte had finished speaking. Anne approached Catherine, who was sitting cross-legged, grabbed the hem of her clothing, and hung on.

‘It’s hanging on all the time. She thinks she’s a cicada.’

A loud stepmother, a foolish fiancée, and even a pretentious half-sister to round out the cast. Catherine rose from her position, tucking the hem of her gown that Anne was holding.  It was as if she was brushing away the dirty dust.

“Silence means okay, right? Then I’ll head upstairs and start packing. I don’t believe leaving without bringing anything is a good idea.”

Catherine took a big step up the stairs, pushing Laura and Charl’s shoulders as she went.

There’s nothing she can do now that she’s returned to her bedroom. She began by opening her jewelry box and taking all of her old earrings, necklaces, and rings. She then went through the entire room, stuffing little objects that may be money into the bag.

She scraped away all of her mother’s treasures that she had hidden for this special day, without missing a single one. Yes, that was just enough to fill one luggage bag.

“Catherine, what are you doing! How dare you take the family property, no matter how self-indulgent you are!”

Mrs. Laura, who was after her late, yelled into Catherine’s back, but when she finished, all she could hear was a ticklish noise in her ears. Catherine responded by poking her ear with the tip of her small finger.

“Would you mind doing me a favor if you’re going to kick me out? You should be considerate as a mother.”

“What are you doing talking back to your mother..?”

“Okay, now shut up. You’re loud.”

Catherine went to the bedroom door, holding her flashy bag.

She swore and shouted at her stepmother for the first time in her life. There was no sense of shame. Catherine, on the other hand, felt refreshed.

She had worked so hard to bring peace to the family, yet it was so simple to say!

Was it the righteousness of the eldest daughter, who was always obedient? Mrs. Laura gazed at her stupidly, her mouth open.

“If you want to live the life of Viscountess Orléans in peace, you should let me go in peace, you know? My personality. I’ve been looking around at home, but not outside.”

“W-what are you talking about—”

“Don’t look for me in the future; I won’t look for you either. You are free to tell my father whatever you want. I have a big heart, unlike anyone else. Can’t you give me that kind of generosity now that we’re parting ways for good?”

She pushed Mrs. Laura’s shoulder again, this time with both hands on the bag. The thin body, which was clutching the back of the neck and pointing fingers furiously, fell out like a sheet of paper.

In the daytime, the corridor had such a new heart. Count Charlotte and Anne were seen hugging on the small road where the yellow sunlight fell as if it were a scene from a romance novel.

Catherine stumbled out in front of them, trembling and falling. Slap! And with that, she slapped her fiancée, no, ex-fiancée, Charlotte, very roughly in the cheek.

“Ack!”

“I’m glad we’re done here, Charlotte.”

“C-charlotte, are you okay? What the hell are you doing, sister—Ack!”

Catherine then kicked her sister’s knee next to her ex-fiance. As Anne collapsed, screaming in pain, she staggered and clasped her knees. She’s been wanting to hit her sister. On the top of her head, Catherine smiled brighter than ever.

The sunlight pouring down the hall carpet is as brilliant and perfect as God’s grace. Catherine’s ankles did not swell with anger and sadness as she was kicked out of the family.

She was simply overjoyed. She had no idea she’d be so happy if she said everything she wanted to say.

Catherine smiled as she walked down the stairs and got out of the mansion, past the huddled employees. Obviously, she was abandoned as a result of the circumstances, but she also became lighter.

Catherine, who had crossed the road with unstoppable momentum, stepped into the four-wheeled carriage that was passing in front of her. The coachman removed his hat and moved his gaze to the backseat.

“Where do you want me to take you, Lady?”

“Let’s get out of Orléans for now. I’ll think about where to go on the way out.”

Catherine didn’t take long to open the map that had been buried at the bottom of her bag.

The Iterana Empire, which devours a third of the continent. And Orléans, a little Viscount, barely strung over the eastern corner of the empire. In comparison to the empire’s large territory, it was only a handful. No, it’s embarrassing to describe it as a handful in comparison to the big lands surrounding it.

‘On such a small piece of land, I’ve never been able to breathe.’

“Are you going on a trip somewhere?”

“…no, I was kicked out.”

“Aigoo, such a sweet and pretty Lady? What the hell is going on!”

Catherine herself has no idea what happened. Halfway around the house, she looked back and saw Orléans, whose house was getting smaller in the distance.

‘I’m sorry, Mother. Still, I wasted a few years doing that and then threw it away. You must understand this to some extent. I, too, must find my own way to live.’

She couldn’t seem to get her mouth to stop smiling.