Thought It Was 'The End', Only to Return to a Changed Genre - Chapter 129
‘What is with that woman?!’
Kaitlyn felt like screaming. She was so frustrated she could go mad.
‘Why isn’t anything going my way?’
When she defied her foster parents and set off for the Green Windsor Empire with the princess, Kaitlyn was burning with a desire for revenge. All she wanted was to kill the Saintess who had killed her precious Keith.
She knew it would be difficult to approach the Saintess directly, as she was under the protection of the church, but she never thought it would be impossible.
If Keith could do it, there was no way she couldn’t.
In fact, Kaitlyn believed that since she was taking direct action, she could achieve her goal more easily and quickly than Keith. Keith had been cautious and methodical, hiding his identity step by step, but Kaitlyn didn’t think she needed to go to such lengths.
Even if something went wrong, she was confident that she could survive unscathed.
As long as there was something alive within her line of sight, it would become her shield or weapon.
However, it wasn’t easy to attack even the weaknesses she had intended to exploit to hurt the Saintess.
Kaitlyn tried to drive a wedge between Duchess Blanchard and the Saintess.
Humans were creatures easily swayed by the opinions of others. Even if someone tried not to care, if they kept hearing “That person dislikes you,” they would eventually start to doubt.
‘Given all the rumors surrounding them, it shouldn’t be too hard.’
She figured that if she dropped a few suggestive comments to the people she lightly hypnotized, they would naturally side with her. It was human instinct to listen more closely to the words of someone they liked.
But as soon as Adeline’s name came up, people hesitated and grew wary.
“It’s risky to talk like that, you know. As expected.”
“If Lady Bertrand hears about this, she’ll be displeased.”
“No matter how much we’re talking among ourselves… right?”
The middle-aged noblewomen clammed up, too afraid of incurring Marchioness Bertrand’s displeasure.
They were the ones who had already gotten into trouble when they spoke freely after ‘Adeline Bertrand’ returned from the dead. Whatever they had experienced, just hearing Adeline’s name was enough to make some people leave the conversation with uncomfortable expressions.
Even the lady famous for loving gossip seemed reluctant to bring up Adeline. She had warned Kaitlyn not to speak to her again, saying there was no need to risk ruining herself by saying something wrong.
Kaitlyn didn’t even get a chance to sow discord.
‘What in the world did she do to make people tremble at just the mention of her name?’
Even if someone regarded their daughter preciously, unless they were kept completely hidden, it was impossible to avoid being the subject of gossip. Even an emperor would find it difficult to suppress all rumors.
But it was said that the Bertrand family would relentlessly track down anyone who spoke ill of their youngest child and always retaliated. They were so thorough that it seemed almost petty, never letting even the smallest whisper of slander slip by.
So, Kaitlyn switched targets. She focused on unmarried women of marriageable age who might have fallen for Shane Blanchard.
“No way, the Duchess wouldn’t do that.”
“I’m envious, but… there’s no one else who could handle Duke Blanchard except her.”
“If the Duke even hears the slightest whispers about the Duchess, he’ll at you like he’s going to kill you. Honestly, he doesn’t seem human, but in those moments, he’s scarily human.”
“Doesn’t seem human…?”
“Didn’t you hear? The person who made lewd comments about the Duchess before went bankrupt…”
“And also, I heard the Duke was laughing like a madman in front of the Duchess not long ago.”
“Oh, I saw that myself!”
“It gave me chills…”
Come on, who goes bankrupt just because they made a few crude remarks?
Isn’t that a villain? That’s definitely a villain…
‘And she acts like the most harmless, pitiful person when she’s with him…’
To Kaitlyn, Adeline seemed to be walking a path of blood-stained roses. From the innocent smile she’d seen, it was clear Adeline had no idea that those around her were doing such things. Just like Princess Mia, who had been raised with nothing but love.
If people weren’t allowed to speak about her, then getting close to her was even more impossible.
Kaitlyn had tried to use a servant at the Blanchard estate to get closer, but it was futile. Ordinary servants couldn’t even approach the Duchess.
The Duchess was attended exclusively by a servant she had brought from her own family, and whenever a stranger tried to get close, either the servant or the Duke himself was always nearby, making it nearly impossible to even exchange a word.
‘Since when does someone as high-ranking as a Duke personally deliver his wife’s meals…?’
There wasn’t a single crack to slip through.
It seemed like it would be much easier to get close to the imperial family.
