𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟓𝟎: 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐚

I was born into this world as Graciela・De・Mendoza, the Duke’s daughter. My first life, in a word, was spectacularly brutal.

Ever since the death of my father, the Duke’s household was usurped by my Uncle Gael, my fiancé Anthony abandoned me and fell in love with my cousin Sonia.

My uncle and his family began to belittle my brother Florenci and me.

The situation got worse day by day.

We were banished to the detached house used by the servants, ordered to labor, and placed in an environment where we weren’t even given meals. Even the servants started to look down on us as if we were worthless.

Slowly, my uncle began to charge us rent for using the detached house.

I had no personal assets and struggled to make the payments.

The one who helped me in such a situation was Ga-chan, a spider fairy named Galatona, who had contracted with me.

Using her spider silk, my magic, and imagination, we completed spiderwork and made a living by knitting lace and selling it.

The spiderwork was also worn out due to my uncle’s heavy use, and my magic was exhausted and could no longer be used.

People need magic to live, as it connects them to the world. If I used spiderwork anymore, I would die. When I appealed that, my uncle ordered me to do a different job.

That job was to sell necklaces, earrings, and other items brought by my uncle to a pawnshop in the downtown area called “Forbidden Fruit”.

The first necklace I received was a top-grade item that my uncle shouldn’t have been able to get.

I had no idea where he had gotten it. . . . . .

I had a suspicion that it might be stolen, but at that time, I was unable to pursue it because I wasn’t able to make a sound judgment.

My brother Florenci fell ill, and I needed money for medicine, so I listened to my uncle’s order and went downtown to sell the items.

While I was barely living, dragging my worn-out body, an unimaginable situation struck me. I was suspected of stealing the necklace of the queen of the neighboring country, Binemöer, and selling it off.

From there, my fate began to plummet like a rock rolling off a cliff.

ㅤ

I was accused of stealing the queen of Binemöer’s necklace, and my execution was decided overnight.

Worst of all, not only was I arrested, but Florenci was as well.

He was executed before me. He was beheaded right in front of me.

Why should innocent Florenci be killed?

The cries of grief turned into death throes.

I was executed in front of the public.

I thought that this body, which died as a criminal, would be burnt in the flames of purgatory.

Despite thinking that, my time had been rewound to before my father’s death.

ㅤ

At first, I couldn’t believe it.

I was so shocked that I wondered if all the terrible things that had happened were just a dream.

But as my father’s health deteriorated, I reminded myself that if he were to pass away, the same situation could occur again.

I couldn’t let my uncle take over the Duke Mendoza house ever again.

While my father was still alive, I decided to act first.

The first thing I requested was that the status and wealth of the Duke Mendoza house be frozen until Florenci came of age.

With this in place, my uncle wouldn’t be able to snatch it away.

Another thing I did was break off my engagement with Anthony.

Then, as I was contemplating leaving the royal capital and living in my territory, I met Rachael, the daughter of the Grand Duke of Binemöer.

Unexpectedly, I ended up owing her a favor.

Rachael promised to help me if I ever needed it, and I ended up relying on her right away.

That’s because my father’s death came sooner than before the time rewound.

Perhaps destiny changed because I had frozen the status and wealth of the Duke Mendoza house.

When I rejected my uncle who came to “help” me, he was angrier than I had imagined.

Feeling in danger, I decided to flee to Binemöer with my younger brother Florenci.

However, as siblings from a foreign land with a significant age gap, we would stand out in Binemöer.

So, I made another plan.

Florenci and I disguised ourselves as mother and son and headed to Binemöer.

The only one who knows about this secret is Rachael.

I’m utilizing her kind-hearted nature, as she is known as the Holy Woman of Binemöer due to her devotion to charity, to keep our secret.

Even though my conscience hurts, it’s for the sake of protecting Florenci.

As the only family that Florenci has in this world, I don’t have the luxury to worry about appearances until he grows up properly.

ㅤ

I entered Binemöer under the guise of Lara Dosa, a twenty-five-year-old mother, concealing my true name and age.

My single son, Florenci, arrived under the name Ren.

To help my young son overcome the sadness of losing his father, I told him we were playing a game of mother and child.

Although the clever Florenci may be aware of my scheme, he says nothing and plays along.

Rachael provided us with a place to live and work.

Our home is the natural-rich mansion of Marquis Falkenhigh, located on the outskirts of the royal city of Binemöer.

A misanthropic noblewoman, Marchioness Delma, lives here.

She is Rachael’s grandmother, a difficult person who prefers to keep her staff to a bare minimum.

There was a time when she fell in a mansion where no one was around, and Rachael expressed her concern.

She implored me to stay by her side.

I met with the Marchioness with trepidation, but she abruptly refused my assistance.

However, knowing that Florenci and I were in a pitiful situation, she allowed us to live in a small house in the garden.

Still, I felt bad for taking advantage of her kindness, so I attempted to persuade the Marchioness the next day.

Again, I was refused, but I unexpectedly met someone else.

Suddenly, a beautiful young man with silver hair and green eyes, Lord Leon・Von・Montyver, appeared before me.

He’s a tea-drinking friend of the Marchioness and seems to visit the Marquis mansion frequently.

I had heard about her tea-drinking friends from Rachael beforehand, but I was surprised because he was a young man in his mid-twenties.

I had assumed he would be around forty.

Such a Lord Montyver took an action that completely defied my imagination.

Unbelievably, he showed interest in me, despite my being married.

Perhaps he finds my stubbornness amusing.

I thought so, but then he said something outrageous.

Lord Montyver suggested, “You could live at my house.”

In other words, he was probably proposing that I become his mistress.

Setting aside my personal feelings for now, my current action should be to repay the favor to the Marchioness who extended a helping hand.

I want to stay in the Marquis house at all costs and be of use to the Marchioness.

My stubborn insistence paid off, and I was allowed to become a companion to the Marchioness.

ㅤ

Ever since then, thanks to Florenci’s efforts, we were accepted by the Marchioness.

Although I was troubled by Lord Montyver’s teasing, it was nothing compared to the malice of my uncle’s family.

ㅤ

The Marchioness’ attitude softened day by day, and she opened her heart to me.

She even entrusted me to represent her at the Queen’s birthday party, showing her trust in me.

I unexpectedly made my social debut in Binemöer, but it seems to come with a big problem.

The social circle of Binemöer is currently divided in two.

The Queen’s faction and the Concubine Faction.

Apparently, the favored concubine has expanded her influence, threatening the Queen’s faction.

Both the Queen and the concubine have sons, so there seems to be a growing voice for the princes of both sides to be the next king.

Fortunately, there is also a neutral faction led by the King’s brother, Prince Ghodrove.

As a foreigner, I decided it would be best not to belong to either side and live quietly.

However, I had an unbelievable encounter when the Duke’s daughter Lisa, a member of the Queen’s faction, picked a fight with me, and I almost got involved in the turmoil between the Queen’s faction and the Concubine Faction.

To top it all off, at the Queen’s place, I witnessed the necklace that was sold before time reversed and was held accountable for the crime.

The vivid memory of the moment Florenci was executed returns, and I am hit by a severe dizziness.

Cold sweat and palpitations did not stop, and I was about to collapse when Lord Montyver helped me.

I owe him a big debt.

I resolved to never get deeply involved in the social circle of Binemöer again. That was the story of the day I made that decision.

ㅤ

Everyday life at Binemöer was more peaceful than I expected, with gentle time passing by.

In the midst of this, I heard an unexpected story.

It was about Irma, the granddaughter whom the Marchioness loved.

She was the granddaughter whom the Marchioness had taken care of and cherished since her early childhood, in order to marry her into royalty.

Now, Irma does not appear in the Marquis’ house. The reason being, she drowned in the lake in the backyard of the Marquis’s mansion three years ago.

She slipped and fell into the lake in the middle of the night and drowned. The next day, it seems she was found floating in the lake.

The tragic death of Irma cast a dark shadow over the heart of the Marchioness.

The Marchioness was not the only one who had a deep relationship with Irma.

It seems Lord Montyver was Irma’s former fiancé.

I thought he might be consoling the grief of losing Irma together with the Marchioness, but it seems that was not the case.

It seems that Lord Montyver had rejected Irma’s love.

Shocked, Irma disappeared that evening and might have thrown herself into the lake――

Such suspicions have arisen.

However, one day I realized.

If she had drowned in the lake, she would have swallowed a lot of water.

If she had died in such a state, the body would have sunk to the bottom of the lake.

Yet, Irma’s body was floating in the lake.

Perhaps someone had killed Irma and dumped her into the lake. . . . . .

The backyard was misty even during the day and was a creepy place.

There’s no reason to go there alone at night.

If she had been called by Lord Montyver, Irma would have gone.

So, who killed Irma――?

I stop my thoughts there.

There was too much I didn’t know about Lord Montyver to make a judgment.

To understand Lord Montyver’s character, I went out on a date.

I realized he was a more sensitive and thoughtful person than I thought.

The carelessness and irresponsibility he had shown so far seemed to be a mask he had been wearing.

There might be a reason why he rejected Irma.

I need to know more about Lord Montyver.

Just when I was thinking about that, I got involved in an unexpected incident.

Lord Montyver, who ate the pancakes I ordered, vomited blood.

It seems he was cursed by someone.

It was common for poison to be put in his food, and Lord Montyver seemed to be extremely cautious about what he put in his mouth.

I remember him saying, “Isn’t it a very happy thing to die naturally as if you were sleeping?”

When I first heard it, I thought it was a scary thing to say, but for him, who was often exposed to the risk of death, death might have been a familiar issue.

ㅤ

There was no problem with Lord Montyver’s life, and the curse could be lifted.

When he woke up, he noticed that the purpose of my approach was about the cause of Irma’s death. He had always been strangely insightful, but to see through that much. . . . . .

He was also aware that he was suspected by some people as the murderer who killed Irma.

Lord Montyver said to me, “I want you to make sure with your own eyes that I’m not a villain.”

Of course, that was my intention, so I nodded at his words.

ㅤ

Since I came to Binemöer, I felt like I had jumped into the whirlpool of a tremendous commotion, and my head started to ache.

However, I can’t help but think that if this problem is solved, not only the Marchioness but also the heart of Lord Montyver will be saved.

ㅤ

Until a little while ago, I was determined to live for Florenci.

But now, I felt that I could do what I wanted to do.

Maybe my encounters with people in Binemöer changed me.

Even if something happens, I have Florenci and Ga-chan.

And besides, there are many kind people.

I couldn’t help but feel that the direction of my second life was blowing in a good direction.