“It seems like a very unfavorable environment for a child to grow up in. However, an unfortunate upbringing cannot justify Lizzy’s sins.”
“I agree.”
Adam stepped back with a noticeably relieved expression.
Finally, the carriage, fully prepared, started moving with difficulty. As it traveled along the unpaved road, the body of the carriage shook violently, and the clattering noise continued.
Ariella stared blankly out the window, where well-kept scenery was nowhere to be found, and fell into thought.
The voice she had thought was simply cheerful suddenly came to mind.
“…Doesn’t it feel like fate?”
Lizzy, who had asked if they were fated to be together because they looked alike and shared the same name and memories, had already planned to pull Ariella down at that time. To be precise, she was just waiting for the moment to execute her plan.
At that time, Ariella had nodded without much thought. She believed that, if nothing else, their meeting was indeed fateful.
However, her thoughts had changed slightly now.
“…Indeed, you and I are truly fated.”
The two women, with similar names and appearances, had lives that mirrored each other so closely that it was impossible to explain their connection without invoking fate.
Entangled by fate, yet looking in different directions, that was the relationship between Lizzy and herself.
A murmur, indistinguishable between a sigh and a laugh, slowly dispersed into the dust-filled wind.
The motion sickness began to set in again.
***
On the same day, unlike Ariella, who had visited the distant outskirts of Edinburgh, Lizzy attended a lavish party held by a high-ranking noble family.
Wearing a light pink dress that accentuated her lovely face and a large emerald necklace gifted to her by Aaron during their past romance, Lizzy returned home after the twilight had already settled in.
“Miss, welcome back! Your outerwear—. Eek!”
Aurora approached and greeted her politely, but what returned was not a greeting but rather her outerwear and bag thrown roughly.
She couldn’t even complain about being hit on the head by the bag and bent down instead. The atmosphere was far from normal.
As Aurora had thought, Lizzy’s condition was far from good, unlike when she was heading to the party. Her anger was sky-high, and her eyes were already half-rolled back.
It was because she had been humiliated at the party she had attended after a long time.
‘How dare…! How dare they mock me?!’
What could have possibly gone wrong? The gathering, which had clearly started off on a good note, had somehow transformed into a place that ridiculed Lizzy.
Was it because Aaron, who had said he would arrive a little late, never showed up? Or was it because a friend of Catalina kept bringing up the incident from the debutante ball?
Whatever the reason, as the party progressed, the nobles began to subtly mock Lizzy, and those she thought were friends did nothing but stand by and watch.
“Lady Lizzy, would you like some more wine? Oh dear, I made a mistake. How rude of me to mention wine in front of you.”
“Lady Lizzy, please teach me how to melt a man’s heart. I happen to want a nice necklace too.”
“By the way, who gave you the necklace you’re wearing today? It’s a tradition in some families to gift emerald necklaces to their beloved women, isn’t it?”
“Oh my, Lady Lizzy wouldn’t know such things. Instead of asking that, shouldn’t you be asking how to shake out a blanket so the dust disappears neatly?”
Lizzy had anticipated that there would be people who would look down on her because of the incident at the debutante ball.
However, she had not realized that the fact she had been a maid had spread to everyone, nor had she expected that Aaron, whom she thought would stand by her side and silence the others, would not show up at all.
As a result, today, Lizzy became the main character of that gathering. A terrible main character whom everyone turned into a laughingstock, just like how she had made Ariella the main character at Catalina’s dinner party in the past.
“Ugh! I’m so annoyed! I’m so annoyed!”
Lizzy began throwing anything she could grab. Expensive decorations crashed against the wall with a clatter and shattered, while the servants, unable to even attempt to stop her, cautiously retreated.
‘How did it come to this?’
Something had gone terribly wrong.
She had thought that after finally securing the position of the Duchess of Bedford she had longed for, all that was left was to be happy. Yet, for some reason, there hadn’t been a single day of peace in her heart.
The nobles who had praised her quickly turned around and spat out mockery, and her fiancé, who seemed like he would do anything for her if they could just share a bed, was busy following another woman and hardly responded to her messages.
