A Young Lady Who Has Had Everything Exploited By Her Sickly Younger Sister Will Not Let Anyone Take Anything From Her Anymore - Chapter 9

Colette flipped through the documents while rubbing her fingers that had grown numb from doing nothing but work.

Inside the carriage, Liliane sat next to Dion as if it were the most natural thing, excited and chattering nonstop.
She seemed satisfied, proudly showing off not only her close relationship with him but also her dress, which was several times more glamorous than her’s.

When they arrived at the venue, Dion said, “The Count of Milliact asked me to escort her,” and naturally offered his arm to Liliane as they stepped out of the carriage together.

Hearing the coachman’s sigh, which seemed to say, “Hurry up and get out,” Colette reluctantly moved her heavy legs forward.

However, rather than just dealing with rumors about her fiancé being stolen and Liliane’s beauty catching attention, something far worse happened—something Colette hadn’t even imagined.

Liliane caused a huge scene at the party, where the sons and daughters of noble families had gathered.

She cut in line during greetings and conversations, and after hearing the names of higher-ranking young ladies and lords, she started speaking to them overly familiarly, as if they were close friends.
Even when Colette tried to stop her, Liliane, encouraged by her own excitement, continued to rampage around, shocking those around her with her poor manners.

Dion quickly distanced himself from Liliane and returned to Colette’s side, his face twitching awkwardly.
Apparently, he couldn’t bear to be seen with someone behaving so selfishly.

With a strained smile, he said, “I’ll leave the rest to you,” and disappeared somewhere into the crowd.

Left behind, Colette had no choice but to push through the crowd of people, desperately chasing after Liliane, who was gleefully roaming the venue.
She worked hard to stop her, apologize, and smooth things over wherever she could.

Liliane likely believed that she was merely enjoying the party. But in truth, her actions disgraced the name of the Milliact family.
There was nothing praiseworthy about it.

Eventually, Colette managed to grab Liliane’s arm and drag her out of the castle.
Even when scolded, Liliane—perhaps because no one was siding with her could only snap back, shouting, “What’s your problem? Stop getting in my way!”
She didn’t even understand what she’d done wrong.

Thinking quickly, Colette borrowed a carriage from Dion and returned to the Milliact estate was the right thing to do.
During the ride, she ignored Liliane, who spent the entire trip spewing insults at her.

When they arrived back at the estate, Liliane immediately burst into tears in front of their startled parents.

Their parents listened only to Liliane’s side of the story and refused to listen to her, assuming she was solely at fault.
When Colette saw them skip an important party just to stay with Liliane, she was shocked.

(What on earth are Father and Mother thinking…!?)

What followed was even crueler—Colette was accused of bullying Liliane and of using violence simply for grabbing her arm.
Her parents showed no mercy as they harshly punished her.

She was locked in the storage shed without enough food or water. In that cold, dark, and terrifyingly lonely room, she felt true despair.
She couldn’t understand why she, who had acted for the family’s sake, had to suffer like this.
The frustration nearly drove her mad.

Dion, who knew the full story, might have changed things if he spoke up. But not wanting to get involved, he stopped visiting the Milliact estate entirely, even though he used to come every other day.

It wasn’t until about a week after the party that her parents finally learned of Liliane’s disgraceful behavior.
By then, the swelling on Colette’s beaten face had just begun to subside.

Even after knowing the truth of Liliane’s blunder and hearing that Colette’s efforts had saved them, her parents never apologized.

“If only you had acted sooner, none of this would’ve happened!”
“Didn’t I tell you to keep a close eye on Liliane!?”

Even the usually indifferent maids, having heard how embarrassing Liliane’s actions had been, now looked at Colette with pity.
She was finally let out of the storage room, cleaned up, and given a warm meal.
But Colette was burning with anger and had no appetite.

Liliane, on the other hand, shut herself in her room and claiming she felt ill and had no appetite when everyone learned what she did at the gathering.