The Black-haired Noblewoman, Who Disguised Herself, Seems To Have Been Doted On While Serving As The Caretaker For The Duke Who Dislikes Women - Episode 40

Ever since that detestable little girl I hated so much left our Count Avery mansion, I’ve felt somewhat more at ease.

The daughter who suddenly appeared at our house when I was eight years old. The child of my father’s younger sister.

The moment I saw her, I was struck with intense shock, and then a creeping hatred began to rise within me. She had a beautifully symmetrical face like a doll, and her skin was pure white. Her eyes sparkled like honey, golden and shimmering… and for the first time, I saw her long, lustrous pink-blonde hair. It had a dreamlike color, adorned with a mysterious luster.

She was like a fairy who had come straight out of a fairy tale world. Both my mother and I were left speechless.

I instinctively touch my hair. No matter how much I take care of it, it will never look beautiful—dull and frizzy red hair. My skin isn’t particularly white or beautiful either, and it’s covered in freckles.

This child lost their parents and has no one else to rely on, so they will live with us starting today. I was devastated by my father’s words.

Am I going to have to live my life looking at such a beautiful girl? Every single day, comparing myself to her beauty, being constantly pricked by feelings of inferiority, feeling miserable…?

No way.

I was grateful that my mother also disliked Michelle. My mother and I bullied Michelle relentlessly, just to vent our frustrations. I was the first to roughly cut off Michelle’s hair with sewing scissors. For that brief moment, my chest felt light, and I was exhilarated.

My mother had Michelle make the dye powder and instructed her to thoroughly apply it to her pink hair. That little girl, who had taken my breath away the moment she appeared, now had her hair dyed a filthy black, wearing a tattered dress, and was crawling on the ground to clean. She was getting thinner and thinner, her cheeks and shoulders looking dirty and unsightly. Watching Michelle work silently with a downcast face made me feel a bit better about my own misery.

There was another reason I didn’t like Michelle. I noticed that my fiancé, Steve, was concerned about her. I couldn’t believe it. To be attracted to such a skinny, dirty, gloomy little girl. Every time I noticed him stealing glances at Michelle, I scolded him and sometimes even yelled at him loudly in the room.

So I actually knew. When I saw the two of them intertwined on the bed in Michelle’s room in the basement. Steve immediately said that Michelle had seduced him and forced him into this situation. But I sensed otherwise.

Even so, I pretended to believe Steve’s painfully weak excuses. Together with my father and mother, we berated and scolded Michelle, and finally, he was expelled from the Count Everly’s household.

With a dirty head and a tattered dress, Michelle was thrown out with nothing but herself. I felt relieved thinking I wouldn’t have to see that guy’s face anymore. But on the other hand, I was filled with hatred and distrust towards the fiancé who had laid a hand on someone like Michelle. Although we continued our conversations as fiancés on the surface, I didn’t have a shred of good feelings left for Steve.

Even though you have me as your fiancée, you dare to touch that filthy woman. You’re mocking me. I hate you. You’re such an ugly, stupid, beast-like scum.

About two months after Michelle left our home, a tea party was to be held at the Bracey Marquessate townhouse. The host, Lady Deena Bracey, is the eldest daughter of this family. The Bracey Marquessate, which has long had many marriages with members of the royal family and boasts immense power within the country, was respected by both my father and mother. The Marquis controls the high-ranking noblewomen of the Hastina Kingdom’s social circle. It is

“Lady Deena, your attire today is truly beautiful!”

“Yes, indeed. Is this from that designer you always mention, the one Lady Deena favors? The delicate embroidery is truly remarkable. It’s clear that this is something I could never afford.”

“Your hair is always so glossy.”

“Yes. I can’t help but be captivated by Lady Deena’s golden hair.”

When the tea party begins, the young ladies all praise Miss Deena in unison. It’s the usual scene.

Determined not to fall behind, I hurriedly interject as well.

“Truly wonderful! Surely, even if you searched throughout this vast kingdom, there wouldn’t be anyone with such magnificent blonde hair as Lady Deena. I’m so envious~”

However, today Miss Deena doesn’t even react to our flattery. She moves her tight, strikingly beautiful face without a flicker, simply bringing her tea to her lips in silence. …Is she in a bad mood?

The surrounding young ladies had awkward expressions on their faces, occasionally glancing at each other, yet they continued to desperately praise Lady Deena.

After a while, Miss Deena, unusually making a noise, set down her tea and let out a big sigh. All the young ladies around me tensed up at once, and the atmosphere in the room became charged.