Episode 20
I praised myself for skipping breakfast to prop up my waist perfectly cinched by the corset as I lay limply on the lit de repos.
Since a lady’s completion is a slim waist, having tightened the laces so fiercely that my ribs seemed about to protrude, my head was spinning.
“I can’t breathe.”
I muttered curtly and let out a languid sigh.
“Shall I loosen it for a moment?”
Marie cautiously asked while gauging my reaction. I waved her off and drooped my head. It was because even answering felt bothersome.
After that, due to the continuous nausea, I ended up skipping lunch as well. All I had eaten was lime juice and a few pieces of fruit.
Not only was my waist feeling like it might break from the corset, but the pressure of having to catch Madame de Lavallier’s eye was constricting me, so my appetite didn’t arise.
Thinking about the humiliation and contempt I would receive from her in the future made me dizzy already, and a faint anger was even rising.
Obedience without servility was too difficult for me. Walking the tightrope between arrogance and submission was an extremely tricky task.
Would I really be able to avoid spitting out a curse like “stone-headed” from my mouth? I hoped my self-control was heavier than a rock. Even if she insulted my mother right in front of me.
After another hour or two passed, a servant came in and announced that Madame de Lavallier had arrived at the front gate.
With Marie’s help, I got up from my seat. I checked my hair and clothes again through the mirror, and pretending a flushed expression due to curiosity and joy, I went down to the first floor. My stepfather, mother, and Roena were already there waiting for me.
“Is this your first time meeting Aunt?”
Roena whispered to me. Her face was still sparkling brightly, making me feel like I might vomit. I forcibly swallowed the bile rising to my throat and responded to her words.
“Yes. That’s why I’m really looking forward to it. Wondering what kind of person she is.”
My mother stood beside my stepfather with a face so pale it seemed she might faint soon. Her expression, as if she would collapse at the slightest touch, looked extremely precarious.
She looked like a young girl standing before a monster. Surely, if she didn’t have the title of the mistress of the Wischwaltz family, she would have screamed and run away for certain.
Soon the door opened, and Madame Lavallier entered. I almost laughed at her appearance, which was no different at all, but I held it back firmly.
To feel relieved at her unchanged attire, the old me would have surely thought I was crazy. But truly, Madame de Lavallier was exactly as she was in my memory.
Her hair, perfectly pinned up without a single strand out of place, shone brilliantly, and the dress softly enveloping her slender yet voluptuous figure was unmatched in elegance.
Her skin was a bit pale but glossy, and her lips with a faint rose tint were firmly closed, even giving off a strange sense of intimidation.
Her eyes, filled with blue sky, scattered a chilly aura as if embedded with ice, and her voice, low but clear in pronunciation, carried a strong force that made the opponent cower.
The emerald-colored cane she always carried emanated a deep blue sharpness like a knight’s sword. From the trivial action of removing her gloves or the voice commanding to place the luggage, the fragrance of her lineage strongly flowed.
In the appearance of Madame de Lavallier passing by my mother with her back straight, I glimpsed the image of a haughty cat with its tail rigidly upright.
“Welcome, sister. Was there any discomfort during the trip?”
“There was nothing problematic at all. Thank you for worrying.”
After lightly embracing my stepfather, Madame Lavallier glanced at Roena and me. Roena was completely excited at the sight of her aunt whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Oh, yes. It’s Eni. My cute lark. Have you been well all this time?”
“Welcome, Aunt.”
Roena’s appearance, lightly holding the hem of her skirt with her fingertips and greeting with smooth movements, was exactly like a cute lark as Lavallier said.
The cute dress with plenty of yellow frills made her loveliness stand out even more, earning everyone’s admiration.
Roena wore a bright smile all over her face and didn’t hide her joy at meeting Madame Lavallier. Because of that, Lavallier also showed a faint smile.
“You must be Sisse.”
As soon as Lavallier called my name, I stepped forward one pace and greeted her. While perfectly calculating the angle of bending my waist, the curve created by my arms, the number of fingers holding the hem of my dress, and the time to straighten my waist again.
When I greeted her, everyone held their breath as if by agreement. And when I straightened my waist and met Lavallier’s eyes, they were greatly shocked by the smile on her lips.
Madame Lavallier was looking at me as if surprised.
“You’re not dull.”
At the maximum praise she could give, I smiled brightly and replied.
“You flatter me.”
It goes without saying that everyone’s exhales were let out like sighs at this.
Chapter 2 Madame Lavallier
Madame Lavallier is a beast. No, a predator. She is the very image of an elegant leopard lying in the grass to prey on its hunt.
Sharp claws protrude from the hands stepping on the ground, and the buttocks raised high toward the sky maintain a taut tension as if ready to sprint at any moment.
Her eyes, burning fiercely as if piercing through everything, overflow with deep thirst toward the prey.
This beast boasting superior lineage was in a very hungry state. But since she doesn’t eat just anything, she carefully examines the prey she’s targeting to see which one provides better quality taste. With hawk-like sharp eyes, she weighs and measures between me and my mother.
Unfortunately, Madame Lavallier’s presence was tremendous, so my mother couldn’t relax her stiff face throughout the move to the hall where the meal was prepared.
Even though I held her hand, her fingertips were frozen cold as if dipped in a glacier.
Her trembling body reminded me of a pitiful flower soaked in rain.
Her roughened breathing had long taken away all her nerves, making it seem like she had even forgotten how to walk.
If the perfect appearance as the new mistress of the count’s family hadn’t been required, she would have already fainted in my arms.
“Oh, child. Tell me I’m doing well.”
While walking down the hallway, my mother tightly held my hand and whispered in a small voice. Her pale, ashen face looked so pitiful as if tears might fall at any moment.
“You’re doing well.”
At the same time, I felt indescribable sadness, pity, and deep sympathy for the mother receiving comfort and consolation from her young daughter.
How could I not feel sorry for this woman enduring everything for my sake alone!
Therefore, becoming my mother’s shield and confronting Madame de Lavallier could be said to be my destiny.
Fortunately, Madame Lavallier’s gaze was directed at me, not my mother. The appearance of pretending to be nonchalant while feigning the face of a satiated predator was clearly an action conscious of me.
She must have thought that hunting a newly appeared beast, younger and fresher than the previous prey, would be more enjoyable.
Her appearance was so blatant that even my stepfather was fidgeting. Only Roena was chattering toward Lavallier with an innocent smile.
The meal with her was monotonous. In the dark atmosphere like having a large burden on one’s head, only silence occupied the space.
Even the talkative Roena kept her mouth shut like a clam during the meal. There was hardly any sound of clinking utensils.
The maids also carefully carried the food today without even making the sound of their skirts dragging. By the time dessert came out, everyone seemed to have forgotten even to breathe.
Before I broke through her iron wall, Lavallier’s influence in this family was enormous.
Having connections throughout the social circles and being a woman who receives respect and admiration from everyone, it was inevitable to treat her cautiously.
As a woman who clearly distinguishes between public and private, even her own brother, my stepfather, couldn’t go against her mood.
Everything had to suit the nobility’s dignity, and no trivial matter should go against the lineage.
The noble among nobles, the lady among ladies. Madame Lavallier’s reputation wasn’t gained for nothing.
But even this iron woman was very lenient toward her brother, my stepfather, as could be seen from her tacit approval of his marriage to my mother.
Although she couldn’t contain her anger and openly insulted her in front of all the women, afterward, she never interfered or gossiped about the Vishvaltz family.
But she too is human, so seeing my stepfather seemed to bring back the dissatisfaction from that time. Therefore, Madame Lavallier’s blatant gaze, the clear hostility as if she would bite the throat and strangle at any moment, was entirely poured onto me, the daughter of my mother.
“Not bad.”
The second praise she gave me only flowed out after the meal, when we moved to the drawing room for tea time.
“Whether innate or learned from before, these aren’t behaviors one would show in a short period.”
“I’m grateful for your undeserved praise. Since you’re looking at me kindly, it must appear that way.”
At my response, she revealed a cool smile as if she had been waiting.
“What’s the reason you can confidently say that I’m looking at you kindly?”
I stretched the corners of my eyes long and smiled widely.
“If you didn’t think kindly of someone, would you only see their strengths? Since you find me satisfactory and cute, you’re giving me such undeserved words of praise.”
At my answer, everyone fell silent. My mother was already dazed and on the verge of fainting, and my stepfather swallowed dryly while only looking at his sister.
In that, the only ones vividly alive and moving were me and Lavallier. Should I call it a tense atmosphere on the brink of explosion?
I enjoyed the murderous sensation constricting my skin and didn’t lose my smile.
If the past me had acted immaturely trusting a cunning tongue, the current me intended to cater to her mood and extract everything from her within the line that benefits me.
So, this kind of pressure is nothing. Rather, I should welcome it as an appropriate tension. Because it allows me to accurately imprint who I am dealing with.
After a moment, Madame Lavallier, with what might be a sneer, threw one word at me.
“Impudent thing.”
I bowed my head once more, feigning as if her praise was overwhelming and made me happy.
“Thank you, Aunt.”
A baby snake coils around the predator’s leg. But the beast, not knowing it’s a venomous snake with fangs, starts to lower its guard as if finding it ridiculous, as if the antics are cute.
Pitifully, this haughty leopard would regret only when the venomous snake has gradually devoured its entire body.
The venomous snake, a baby serpent full of sharp poison in its body, bows its head as if embarrassed by Lavallier’s words, presenting its glossy head. As if submitting to your words. While hiding its true nature.
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By Anna 💓
