Chapter 54

I thought I was having a nightmare.

In front of me stood Merisa, the woman I never wanted to see again...

“It’s been a while, Amelia.”

Merisa said with a sticky smile, then scanned Amelia’s body with a look of surprise.

But that was only for a moment, and she quickly spoke up.

“...Oh, I’m terribly sorry, Miss ‘Amelia.’ I just couldn’t help it, thinking of old times.”

Merisa deliberately changed her tone and continued.

“Now, you are the Lady of the Helenberg family, right? Please speak to the gatekeeper and tell him that I am from the Haggle family and have been sent by the head to discuss the dowry.”

Hearing the word “head,” Amelia’s heart skipped a beat as her father Cedric’s face flashed in her mind.

(Ah... I see...)

Amelia understood that Merisa had been sent by her father.

“Due to certain circumstances, I wish to conclude this matter quickly and return. Please.”

Merisa’s desire to leave as soon as possible was because she had already spent three days in the capital, and she couldn’t afford to waste any more time. However, Amelia had no way of knowing this.

“Um... Miss Amelia, is what this person says true?”

The gatekeeper asked.

If Amelia said yes, he would probably let her in.

Ideally, she wanted to avoid this situation.

She should have said she didn’t have the authority and needed to check with Logan before leaving the scene. However, she couldn’t.

Amelia’s mind was only half functioning.

Back home, she had stopped thinking to endure Merisa’s harassment, waiting for time to pass. This habit was now manifesting in front of Merisa.

Moreover, Merisa was someone Amelia “couldn’t defy.”

The various abuses she had suffered from Merisa at home flashed back in her mind.

Without her consent, her instincts screamed in fear, ingrained like a reflex.

—Can’t defy... Scary...

If she refused here, she didn’t know what would happen. She was barely managing to keep her inner panic from showing.

The “words of others” that had been ingrained over years had deeply entangled Amelia.

The worst part was the self-blame, thinking it was her fault.

Merisa’s visit was due to her own failure to convey the dowry information to Logan, and this guilt compounded her response.

“...Yes, that’s correct. She is a maid from the Haggle family... and has come to discuss the dowry.”

Merisa nodded with a satisfied smirk.

“Is that so... Then there’s no problem. Welcome to the Helenberg family, please come in.”

The gatekeeper, unaware of the relationship between Amelia and Merisa, bowed with a smile. Merisa, dressed as a maid, was a plump woman, and it was understandable that the gatekeeper didn’t feel any suspicion.

“Thank you.”

Merisa turned to the gatekeeper with a fake smile and then approached Amelia, her large frame overwhelming the petite Amelia.

Just her presence was intimidating. Amelia tried to hold her ground, resisting the urge to step back.

...There was a moment of silence.

Merisa didn’t speak, her eyes lowered, looking surprised at something.

“...Um?”

When Amelia spoke, Merisa snapped back to her usual expression.

“You look well, Amelia.”

Once away from the gatekeeper, Merisa’s tone returned to its usual condescending manner, as if shedding a thick dress.

“Are you still wearing such a dirty dress? Since you’ve married the Duke, you should get a few new ones.”

“Ahaha... I’m so embarrassed...”

Amelia was certain from past experience that she shouldn’t mention that she had bought it today.

“Anyway, why hasn’t the dowry arrived yet?”

Merisa suddenly changed the subject, and Amelia felt her displeasure, swallowing hard.

“I’m terribly sorry... I failed to convey the information...”

“Hmph, I thought as much. You’re as incompetent as ever.”

Merisa crossed her arms, speaking in a high-handed manner.

“Think about the trouble you’ve caused me, traveling all this way. Truly, you’re the worst, causing trouble even when you’re gone.”

“Again and again... I’m terribly sorry.”

Amelia didn’t argue, just apologized, knowing it was the best course of action.

“Hmph, well, it’s fine.”

Merisa said dismissively.

“I’ll take care of everything. Now, quickly show me to the manor. I’m exhausted from a day of... work in the capital. I want to finish this and go home.”

Merisa seemed to understand that she couldn’t do anything reckless on the grounds of a noble family, especially a Duke’s. She seemed irritated, perhaps due to some frustration building up.

“Yes, right away... The manor is this way.”

Amelia wanted to put some distance between herself and Merisa. With that in mind, she headed towards the manor.

Merisa followed, and the pressure from her presence almost made Amelia trip again.

As she walked with her shoulders slumped, Amelia sighed inwardly.

(Why am I like this?)

Despite the change in her environment and being accepted by Logan and the Helenberg family, despite wishing to change when Logan invited her to a tea party...

Yet, in front of her family, she was like this.

(I really haven’t changed at all...)

She despised herself for not standing up for herself and being swayed by others’ words.

Self-loathing circled in her mind, making her want to disappear.

“By the way,”

“Kyaa...”

Suddenly, Merisa grabbed her arm from behind, forcing her to turn.

As Amelia looked up at Merisa in fear, Merisa spoke.

“Can you give that to me?”

Merisa pointed at the “Crown Blood” pendant shining at Amelia’s chest.

I apologize, but I will close the review section until the end of Chapter 2...!!

I will reopen it once Chapter 2 is complete.

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