BCDP 11

Chapter 11

At that proposal, Judy caught her breath.

She stared at Elodie with eyes full of suspicion.

“If something happens to me or my younger brother…”

“Come on, you know I wouldn’t do that.”

Elodie lightly laughed and shook her head.

“There’s only one thing I want.”

Click.

The clear sound of her heels echoed through the hallway.

Elodie stepped right in front of Judy and gently tilted her head.

Then, in a soft voice, she whispered into Judy’s stiffened ear.

“If you ever get the chance to reveal the truth between Mother and Sister-in-Law…”

A chance to reveal the truth?

Judy’s eyes widened slightly.

At the same time, Elodie calmly finished her words.

“I want you to properly testify about everything that happened, from an objective point of view.”

“Is that… really all you want?”

Judy swallowed nervously before asking Elodie.

“Of course.”

Elodie readily nodded, then turned the question back on Judy.

“So what do you want to do from now on?”

“What?”

“Do you want to keep working as Mother’s attendant maid like you always have? Or do you want to step away from the Duke’s family altogether?”

…Does that mean I can be free from Madam?

No more beatings.

No more having to constantly watch Madam’s mood and worry about every little thing she might do.

Could she really just live in peace?

Judy’s entire face brightened without her realizing it.

Her expectations swelled like a balloon.

Elodie simply shrugged at Judy.

“If you want to quit, I can help you.”

At that moment,

determination shone in Judy’s eyes.

Her lips slowly parted.

“I…”

Afterward.

I walked down the hospital hallway with a strange expression after parting ways with Judy.

This is really… unexpected.

Actually, I had only had two goals.

First, to completely prevent Judy from interfering with Isabel from now on.

Second, to have Judy serve as a witness for Isabel when Isabel eventually filed for divorce.

To be honest, I had been somewhat tempted.

I could have lured Judy into staying by Marisa’s side and used her as a double agent.

But Judy was already feeling guilty about what she had done, wasn’t she?

I didn’t want to make someone who was already struggling suffer even more just because of my own selfishness.

That was why I had deliberately avoided mentioning that option.

I never expected Judy to suggest it herself.

I thought back over the conversation I had just had with Judy.

At first, she had seemed as though she was ready to quit being Marisa’s attendant maid immediately.

But then Judy suddenly fell into deep thought.

And then…

“I’ve caused the Young Lady a great deal of trouble until now.”

Judy had said that with a flushed, determined expression.

“So this time, even if it’s only a little, I want to help the Young Lady.”

“Y-You don’t have to force yourself.”

I had quickly waved my hands.

But Judy’s resolve was firm.

“No. Young Lady was right.”

“…Judy.”

“No matter what circumstances I had, it doesn’t change the fact that what I did was wrong.”

Well, Marisa really had treated Judy terribly.

It wasn’t enough that she had manipulated Judy by using her younger brother as leverage. I had even heard that she had physically hit her.

In a way, Isabel wasn’t the only one who had been persecuted by Marisa…

In the end, I couldn’t bring myself to break Judy’s determination.

“Don’t worry too much about your younger brother. Even if Mother cuts off her support, I’ll help you.”

When I made that promise, Judy’s expression brightened so much that it almost made me happy just watching her.

“Keep the fact that you met me a secret, okay?”

After reminding Judy of that one last time, our conversation came to an end.

Then,

I absentmindedly raised my gaze and suddenly widened my eyes like a startled rabbit.

In the distance, a man was talking with a doctor from the hospital.

His straight posture, characteristic of a knight who had held a sword for many years, looked incredibly familiar.

Wait, why is he here?!

Jet-black hair that looked as though it had been spun from the night sky.

Elegant violet eyes.

Sharp, flawless features that looked as though a god had painstakingly sculpted them.

And a solid, well-built physique that resembled a statue.

That unbelievably handsome man, who would stand out no matter where he was…

He’s the male lead!!

Joshua Cayel de Eisenach.

The Crown Prince of the Eisenach Empire, where the original story takes place, and the male protagonist of this world.

Which meant…

He was the man who would eventually become involved with Isabel after she successfully divorced.

A handsome appearance, kind personality, and outstanding abilities.

The perfect male lead, flawless in every way, would support Isabel wholeheartedly without being prejudiced against her for being a divorced woman.

But I really didn’t want to run into that man.

Because…

The original Elodie had a crush on the Crown Prince!

As if being a villainess wasn’t enough,

Elodie had also played her role perfectly as an obstacle in the romance.

Whenever the Crown Prince even so much as brushed sleeves with another lady, she would immediately wedge herself between them and drag the Crown Prince away.

She would keep a close eye on the ladies around the Crown Prince, making sure none of them could approach him.

She had even secretly summoned a certain lady and forced her to kneel simply because she had exchanged a few words with the Crown Prince.

For the record, Elodie and the Crown Prince had absolutely no relationship.

Elodie had simply thrown her weight around using House of Lavantes as her backing…

And the biggest reason Elodie had been hostile toward Isabel was because Joshua chose Isabel.

How could he choose that lowly divorced woman over me?!

The way she had gone completely berserk in the original story was so vicious that the comments had been filled with things like, “Please, someone get rid of that crazy woman.”

Ugh. The secondhand embarrassment is insane.

Fortunately, this was still the beginning of the original story.

That meant Elodie hadn’t caused any serious trouble yet.

Of course, her villainess personality hadn’t disappeared, so the Crown Prince had already been thoroughly sick of Elodie for quite some time…

But why would someone as important as the Crown Prince come to the medical center?

I cautiously leaned my head forward and watched the situation.

Just then, the Crown Prince spoke in a serious voice.

“Make sure you provide everything necessary so that they can recover as quickly as possible.”

“Yes, Your Highness. And…”

Huh? Is someone sick?

I tilted my head in confusion for a moment.

Then I quietly began backing away, making sure not to make the slightest sound.

What’s the point of running into him anyway?

He had already disliked me for a long time.

It was best to quietly slip away without drawing his attention.

I was just about to make my escape.

But then—

“Lady of Lavantes?”

Damn it.

At the puzzled voice from behind me, I squeezed my eyes shut.

Seriously, couldn’t you just pretend you didn’t see me?

You know I don’t like you either.

Why do we have to stand here face-to-face and make awkward small talk when we’re both uncomfortable around each other?!

Of course, I couldn’t actually say any of that.

I creakily turned around and put on a bright smile before properly greeting him.

“Elodie von Lavantes greets His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince.”

“It has been a long time.”

The Crown Prince nodded and looked at me with a somewhat peculiar expression.

“So, what brings you here, Lady?”

“I, um… came to visit someone in the hospital.”

At my answer, the Crown Prince looked genuinely surprised.

“You came to visit someone?”

“Yes. The younger brother of an attendant maid has been admitted to this medical center…”

At that moment, the Crown Prince narrowed his eyes.

You? Visiting someone in the hospital? And even the family of a servant?

His gaze seemed to say exactly that.