Chapter 102
“Hmm? Was there a handsome instructor?”
At her feigned innocence, Adrian pinpointed it precisely.
“I mean the instructor who served as your dance partner, madam.”
“Ah, Alex. Yes, well… he is rather handsome.”
Lady Gardner responded with bored indifference, but she couldn’t quite hide the tremor in her hands.
Adrian quietly noted it, stepped closer, and murmured in her ear.
“That man’s gaze on you was quite heated. You’d do well to be careful—your husband seemed rather suspicious.”
“What?”
“I happened to see the two of you slipping away secretly, but I kept it from your husband.”
Lady Gardner’s face flushed crimson.
Only then did she grasp why Adrian had brought it up.
He warned her softly.
“Oh, and the masked woman you met is probably not our Delly. Delly has a strict nine o’clock curfew. She’s never broken it once.”
“I… I see…”
Lady Gardner, unable to recover her composure, clicked her tongue in frustration before offering me advice.
“Then you should be careful. It seems someone is impersonating the duke’s daughter.”
With that, she hurried away.
From what she told her attendant, she was going to find her husband.
I stared down at the card in my hand.
An impersonator.
This went beyond mere gossip—it was outright malicious crime.
No wonder she was so hard to track down.
I had commissioned a detective agency some time ago, yet they still hadn’t located the pink-haired courtesan.
She must have paid off the brothel to have her name removed from the registry.
And now she was even going around pretending to be me.
I was wondering where to begin untangling this mess when—
“Someone’s treating our house like a fool.”
The chilling voice made me whip around in shock.
“Oppa?”
Somehow my brother’s smile had grown impossibly deep.
If you want to know what a terrifying smile looks like while still smiling, Adrian in that moment was the perfect example.
“The impersonator is doing good work in my name, but this crosses the line.”
“O-oppa. Calm down first…”
“You knew?”
“…”
“Delly. You should have told me the moment you found out.”
“I only learned recently myself. I thought I could handle it on my own…”
I never imagined Cesare would hide the courtesan so thoroughly!
I was stomping my feet in frustration when Adrian caught me red-handed.
Then he spoke.
“Rodellia Peris.”
He hadn’t called me by my full name since I was little.
That alone told me how furious he was, and I turned meek.
“Yes, oppa.”
“Tell me everything you know, without leaving out a single detail. You know how scary I get when I’m angry, right?”
His gentle smile felt more frightening than any demon.
Oh no, oppa’s eyes have gone mad.
There was no stopping him when he looked like that.
“Yes. I’ll tell you everything I know.”
While Adrian and Rodellia were at the exhibition,
Alferen visited the Peris mansion.
Jasmine tilted her teacup gracefully and said,
“You just missed her. Rodellia left with Adrian a little while ago.”
“I know.”
“Oh? Then what brings you here?”
As Jasmine smiled with her eyes, Kianu, who had been standing stiff-faced beside her, spoke sternly.
“If you’re here to push for an earlier engagement, save your breath.”
His gaze now treated Alferen like a thief.
Kianu, facing the imminent loss of his daughter, spent his nights glaring at the proposal letter, debating whether to tear it up.
Alferen answered politely.
“I do wish to advance the engagement, but I fully understand your concerns. That’s not why I’m here today.”
“Then why sneak over without Rodellia?”
“This is why.”
Alferen produced several photographs.
Kianu’s brow twitched.
“Now you’re even tailing our Delly?”
The moment murderous intent flashed in Kianu’s eyes as he crumpled a photo,
Jasmine whispered softly,
“Kianu, look closer. That isn’t our Delly.”
“Hm?”
Kianu widened his eyes and scrutinized the images.
After a pause, he admitted,
“At a glance the back view resembles her, but the hair is darker. The skin tone is rougher too—I almost feel sorry for mistaking it even for a second.”
Instantly placated, Kianu asked with waning interest,
“Who is this ridiculous imitator?”
“A courtesan Prince Cesare has been meeting every day lately.”
“…A courtesan?”
At the impure word, Jasmine’s smile vanished.
Rumors always reach the people involved last.
The couple, still unaware of the gossip circulating in the palace, looked bewildered.
“Strange rumors are spreading in the palace. That this woman is Rodellia.”
“What!”
Kianu shot to his feet, eyes blazing.
His precious, sheltered daughter entangled in such filthy gossip.
Jasmine remained composed—
Or so it seemed; the teacup in her hand trembled faintly.
“So. Who started those rumors?”
Alferen observed their reactions before adding,
“On the surface it appears to be Jessica Miranda’s doing, but the Empress and the Prince are suspected to be behind it.”
“Jessica Miranda.”
They had already heard that the Miranda countess family had returned to the capital.
Rodellia had stopped Kianu from quietly visiting the countess house.
I’ll handle my own revenge. I’m not that child from back then anymore. It’s right that I finish it myself. If I need help, I’ll ask then.
He had thought she was still just a little girl.
At her desire to settle it personally, Kianu had deliberately stayed silent.
Yet even now, remembering that day eight years ago tore his heart apart.
Daring to target his daughter again?
Kianu’s eyes turned murderous in an instant.
Sensing her husband’s dangerous mood, Jasmine took his hand to restrain him and spoke.
“I heard that at the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet, the prince behaved rudely toward our Delly. Even a common thug wouldn’t have asked for a dance so crudely. It’s clear how that might have looked.”
Given the circumstances, it was understandable to suspect the woman frequenting the prince’s palace was Rodellia.
“Have you located that courtesan?”
“Yes. I’ve also secured evidence that he gave her an entire villa and instructed her to act as Rodellia.”
“Then leave the rest to me. I’ll go confront the Empress directly.”
“That would work, but completely ending the rumors will be difficult. Besides, since Delly has suffered needless misunderstanding, I don’t want to wrap it up quietly.”
“It sounds like you want to make it bigger.”
“I have a good plan. One that resolves everything without dirtying Lady Jasmine’s or Lord Kianu’s hands.”
“How? If there’s even the slightest chance Rodellia could be hurt, I’d rather oppose it.”
Jasmine’s eyes flashed coldly.
Eight years ago, she and Kianu had planned thorough revenge against the Miranda countess family.
It had been abandoned only because Rodellia, already deeply wounded, was suffering secondary harm.
If she lost her voice again, neither parent could bear it.
Alferen spoke then.
“I know what you both fear. I, too, want Rodellia unharmed more than anything. That’s precisely why I believe we must do this.”
Reading the sincerity in his eyes, Jasmine nodded lightly.
“Very well. If there’s anything I can do to help, I will.”
Her voice softened considerably as Alferen revealed his plan.
“Soon I plan to open the Ainluk mansion to guests. In front of everyone, I intend to expose Prince Cesare’s relationship with the courtesan—using Jessica Miranda’s own mouth.”
A cold, mocking smile curved Alferen’s lips.
Seeing it, Kianu realized Alferen knew about the events eight years ago.
“I’d like to hear the details.”
