Chapter 1. I was abandoned by my family
https://ko-fi.com/s/8529d5becf
***
“Look over there.”
“Oh, my God.”
The eyes of the ladies, who were cooling themselves with feathered fans, turned to one place. Their gazes were turned towards a pair of lovers, who were smiling brightly and dancing.
There was so much warmth and affection between the two that spectators thought they might melt.
“Isn’t that Duke Achilles?”
“Yes, you’re right.”
“By the way, who’s the lady he’s dancing with?”
“Isn’t that the eldest daughter who was recently expelled from the Leroy family?”
The Duke of Achilles, who is known for his misfortune in everything that he does, and the young woman, whose ability is to make others unhappy.
One of the ladies, who was watching the two, murmured softly.
“Better than I thought…”
They look good together.
Whenever their eyes met, Enoch looked at Leticia lovingly, and Leticia would tuck her head shyly.
Her figure was as fresh as a flower that had just bloomed.
Even the onlookers’ mouths lifted in satisfaction.
“I thought he didn’t know how to smile, since he always walked around without an expression.”
“I can’t get the smile off of my face.”
A man, who looked like a tree towering high without a single leaf in the middle of winter, was smiling as if he had just met the spring sun. He looked wonderful, and the noblewomen glanced at Enoch and Leticia.
“Come to think of it, didn’t that excommunicated girl have a fiancé?”
“She was expelled, it’s only natural that it was broken off.”
“I think she suits Duke Achilles better.”
“Oh, my God.”
One of the ladies, who had been engrossed in chatter, turned her head to find a man standing next to her and hastily stopped speaking.
“Well, I think I’ll have some more champagne.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“Me too…”
The women all smiled awkwardly as soon as they recognized the young man.
The only one left was Levion, who glared at the couple like he wanted to tear them apart at any moment.
‘They look good together?’
He clenched his fists, tighter and tighter.
Leticia, who would often avoid his eyes when she was with him, was smiling brightly at Enoch. What made him even angrier was that he held Leticia as if it were his right.
“It doesn’t look good on you.”
He clicked his tongue while he grimaced, his expression hardened as soon as he saw the ribbon tied to Enoch’s wrist.
At first glance, it looked like a common ribbon, but the blue color reminded him of Leticia’s eyes.
To the point that it could never be considered a coincidence.
‘Did you give it to him?’
It wasn’t enough that Leticia refused the white rose he offered her, she had to give her ribbon to him. Levion had been clenching his teeth, when he burst out laughing.
A white rose dangled from Leticia’s hair ornament.
He could feel his heart twisting just picturing them handing each other the white rose and ribbon.
He just couldn’t help but stare at them, and at the moment when he tried to take a step closer.
“Why? I think they are a good fit.”
Diana had walked up and stood next to him, she was looking at Leticia and Enoch.
Levion endured the moment, then asked in a sighing voice
“Did you know?
“What?”
“About the engagement between you and I.”
She hadn’t expected to hear it so directly, but Diana nodded nonchalantly.
“I heard from my father.
“When?”
“That’s…”
“It wasn’t before Leticia and I broke up, was it?”
It was a separate question, but Diana kept her mouth shut.
At the sight, Levion glared at DIana’s vague look.
“I’m your sister’s fiancé.”
“Who’s my sister?”
“You…”
When Diana didn’t even treat Leticia as her older sister after she was expelled, Levion was shocked into silence.
Diana turned away from him and said
“Not now, anyway.”
“Does that matter?”
“Yes, it’s important to me.”
There was no doubt in her determined voice. However, Levion looked down at her impassively and did not respond.
It was obvious that it was annoying.
“It matters to me.”
Levion said as his gaze drifted towards Leticia and Enoch again. Soon the music changed, and Enoch briefly left Leticia’s side to fetch her a drink.
As if waiting for that moment, Levion quickly approached Enoch. Looking at the stiff look on his face, she didn’t think a pleasant word would be spoken.
Staring at his back walking away, Diana’s head slowly snapped back to Leticia.
‘You’re annoying even after you’re kicked out.’
She bit her lip and was about to approach.
‘Who’s that woman?’
Diana frowned briefly as soon as she saw a woman approaching Leticia before she could. She quickly approached them with a ferocious expression.
***
‘I can’t believe the party is this fun.’
While Enoch was away getting a drink, Leticia sat in a chair and looked around the banquet hall.
She had been to a few of these parties before she was excommunicated, but this was the first one she had enjoyed herself so much that she wanted to hold on to the moment.
‘Is the person you’re with more important than the place?’
Suddenly, she remembered when she was with Levion at the lotus garden. Levion disliked that she had not awakened yet, so in front of him she would bow her head in shame.
‘Come to think of it, what did I do to be considered a sinner?’
She didn’t commit a crime.
‘I don’t want to be intimidated anymore.’
No, she won’t be intimidated anymore.
She wanted to move forward slowly but surely, and care for those who don’t have the ability to.
It was when she was clenching her hands, and making a steely resolution, that she saw Levion approaching Enoch. Leticia rose from her seat without realizing it.
However this was short-lived, as she couldn’t ignore the presence of the person who had approached her.
“How do you do?”
A woman approached and greeted Leticia with a smile.
‘Who is this?’
Leticia couldn’t hide her bewilderment at the strange face she had never seen before.
Her blond hair shone brightly and her red eyes gleamed with an eerie light. She was beautiful enough to make anyone do a double take if they passed by her, but she also somehow made Leticia feel uncomfortable as she was being assessed from head to toe.
Despite the agitation the woman caused Leticia’s heart, she tried to greet her with a calm face.
“Yes, hello.”
“May I sit next to you?”
Leticia was a little puzzled by the slight nod towards the seat next to her, but then she looked at Enoch again. She watched Levion approach him and began talking about something. She didn’t know what he was saying because it was too far away, but it was obvious it wasn’t friendly.
“Yes, you can sit down, but I have urgent business to attend to.”
While she spoke, Leticia’s gaze never left Enoch and Levion.
The woman smiled generously, even though she knew Leticia was distracted somewhere else.
“I need to talk to you for a moment.”
Surprised by the hand pulling at her arm roughly. She turned around and made eye contact with Diana, who stared at her with a savage expression.
“I have nothing to say to you.”
It was obvious that harsh words would come out, so Leticia sighed and tried to push Diana’s hand away. But the more she pushed, the stronger her arm was grasped. Diana immediately smirked, and looked her up and down openly.
“Where did you get the money for a dress after you were kicked out?”
“That is none of your business.”
“You didn’t buy it from the change you earned from the wishing bracelet, did you?”
“That is also none of your business.”
The strange woman was watching the two quarreling in front of her with a bored look, when she casually remarked.
“Why did you ask your maid to buy you a wishing bracelet when you treat your sister like that?”
“When did I do that?”
“Today when I walked past you, I overheard it.”
“Where are you getting this nonsense from?”
“I’m just saying what I heard.”
As the conversation became noisy, the young ladies, who were eavesdropping, began to burst into laughter.
“Really?”
“You asked me why I would buy such a childish and sloppy thing.”
“Oh, you said that to me too.”
“Then you secretly tried to get a bracelet for yourself?”
“And you were caught.”
Diana’s face gradually turned red as the quiet whispers changed to a loud conversation.
It was then that Enoch and Levion noticed the chaotic atmosphere and quickly stepped in.
“What is going on here?”
Immediately Enoch wrapped himself around Leticia to protect her. Leticia shook her head in astonishment at the nonchalant way he stepped in to protect her.
“It’s nothing.”
Unlike the two of them, Levion grabbed Diana by the wrist with an irritated sigh.
“Don’t make things worse, Diana.”
“But now she’s lying about me and making me a laughing stock.”
“Diana Leroy.”
As his voice trailed off, Diana was forced to follow Levion and leave. He did not forget to glance at Leticia and the blonde woman while passing by.
The woman, who was watching them the whole time as they left, murmured quietly.
“It’s a lie, but they all fell for it.”
Leticia, who didn’t hear what she was saying to herself, looked at her in question. The woman smiled and asked Leticia.
“Is it true?”
“What?”
“The ability to make others unhappy.”
“….”
Leticia kept her mouth shut, while the blonde woman looked at her with pure curiosity.
It seems that the rumors that had been circulating among her family had somehow spread to the entire empire.
“Do you know how rude those words are?”
Enoch exhaled roughly and stood in front of Leticia, but Leticia grabbed Enoch’s arm to signify she was okay.
However, she was feeling a bitter mix of emotions.
‘Now everyone knows.’
The fact that she was abandoned by her family.
She knew the story would come out one day, but somehow she felt bleak.
Leticia swallowed hard and stood in front of the woman with a determined look on her face.
“I don’t know what rumors have spread, but I don’t have that ability.”
The woman, who had been staring straight at Leticia without averting her gaze, raised the edge of her mouth gently.
“Can you be sure of that?”
“Yes, at least the people around me aren’t unhappy.”
“Oh, that’s a shame.”
“What?”
The woman’s gentle smile had a hint of sadness to it.
“I’ll be on my way for today.”
“Excuse me.”
“I’m here to find out what you and your unlucky friend are like.”
“What do you mean?”
Leticia grabbed Enoch’s cuff without realizing it.
The woman immediately noticed and glanced at Leticia’s hand, which was gripping Enoch’s cuff tightly.
“Don’t worry.”
We’ll see each other again.
At the end of that remark, she left with a calm expression as if nothing had happened.
As soon as the woman was far enough away, Enoch asked cautiously.
“Do you know her?”
Buried in the bustling crowd, the woman could no longer be seen. Leticia had been chasing after her with her eyes, looked up at Enoch and shook her head.
“No, I’ve never seen her before.”
“She’s suspicious, so you’d better be careful.”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
There was a lot of uncertainty around her.
‘Come to think of it.’
Leticia’s face hardened as she belatedly realized.
The woman seemed to know Leticia, but she never revealed her name.
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Note from Baset – I want to say a big THANK YOU to Jengamon for the kofi! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°