RBSP 6

Chapter 6

The Society’s Punching Bag, I’m Retiring!

“Good heavens, My Lady! You look breathtakingly gorgeous!”

The summer new arrivals from Larsson’s shop featured a style that boldly bared the neck and shoulders—not a style frequently seen in the rather conservative high society of the kingdom.

However, by utilizing a crisp, lightweight green fabric, it ensured optimal ventilation, while the hemline sat gracefully above the calf to add an extra touch of cooling comfort.

Given that summers in the Kingdom of Hibernia tended to be quite hot, a design like this was bound to become a trend in no time.

“Even the Junior Duke of Windsor will be utterly astonished. He’ll regret it deeply, thinking, ‘Was my fiancée always this magnificent?'”

I had established a specific set of criteria when receiving new items as sponsored gifts. First and foremost, it was vital that they looked stunning and suited me impeccably when worn. I was already catching enough flunk for everything else; looking unappealing on top of that was something I flat-out refused to allow.

Next, I considered how commercially viable the product was. There would be nothing more mortifying for both the madam and myself if I went out of my way to wear and promote an item, only for it to fail to sell out. If I lacked confidence, I rejected them firmly.

This dress, however, was guaranteed to succeed. And that wasn’t just because I was getting carried away by the maids’ praises. Knowing from the future that I continued wearing similar designs for a long time made it a certainty.

From the lace stockings sent by the shop to the round-toed black shoes, I decked myself out entirely in brand-new items. The Count looked deeply dissatisfied with my outfit, eyeing me warily as if calculating which sarcastic remark to hurl first. Before the Count could open his mouth, I hurriedly hopped into the carriage waiting at the rear.

I wasn’t the only one dodging the Count. Countess Helena Gloucester, who was already seated inside, greeted me with an awkward smile.

“M-My, you look absolutely radiant.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

True to being a member of the Gloucester household, I could effortlessly bestow the title of “Mother” even upon my third stepmother. Despite bearing a face that made “older sister” suit her far better than “mother” given their mere twelve-year age gap, Countess Helena carried herself with quiet dignity.

“Larsson’s shop sent over one extra piece. Would you like to try it on, Mother?”

“O-Oh, no! A dress like this only suits someone like Ri—Ria. A-As for me… the Count would only scold me for lacking proper decorum.”

Countess Helena replied with a downcast expression.

Up until now, the person who had held the title of Countess Gloucester for the longest consecutive period was my birth mother. Recently, however, the current Countess had finally surpassed my mother’s record.

While my siblings and I had considered throwing a celebratory party, Countess Helena had simply turned pale with anxiety, worrying that she didn’t have much time left before she, too, was cast out.

“I—I’m sorry, Ria.”

“What on earth are you sorry for, Mother?”

“I’m of no help whatsoever in high society… I’m deeply grateful that Marchioness Leonor has been helping out, but it weighs heavily on my mind knowing I might be causing you trouble as well.”

Countess Helena was a kind soul, after all. Though sheer terror of high society kept her from venturing much outside the home, she genuinely tried her best to care for the children, despite the narrow age gap between them.

The reason Isabella had been able to leave the capital to marry while leaving behind a much younger me was largely due to a certain level of trust she placed in Countess Helena.

“Oh?”

Strictly speaking, the children Countess Helena had raised were two. Eldest brother Mathias was already married and living on his estate, while Isabella had married the year after Countess Helena arrived. The ones she had raised all the way to adulthood were myself and my second brother, Theodore.

“Looks like all the ticking time bombs have gathered in one place.”

With a crooked, unpleasant twist of his lips, Theodore climbed into the carriage.

Ah, hell. Sitting next to him was entirely out of the question. I bolted upright and wedged myself tightly next to Countess Helena. The Countess looked visibly relieved by my change of seats. Even if the ride was a bit cramped, this was infinitely better.

“How on earth did every single walking disaster end up crammed into this one carriage?”

“Tell me about it. I certainly didn’t expect actual unexploded ordnance to climb aboard.”

“Look who’s talking—a whole collection of unloved, rejected female bombs gathered right here,” Theodore sneered.

Watching his lips twitch into a cackling grin made me feel a sudden, overwhelming urge to rip them right off. Ah, damn it all, Gloucester. Every single time my violent impulses flared up, I had forced myself to hold back, enduring it by telling myself not to stoop to their level.

Countess Helena, who harbored a particular fear of Theodore, trembled faintly.

When Theodore was seventeen, the young woman who had entered the ducal household as the new Countess endured every imaginable hardship while raising that monster. She had been battered by wooden practice swords on multiple occasions.

Seeking to comfort her, I gripped her trembling hand—rough and prickly like thorns—in a firm, reassuring hold.

“Poor Gloria, can’t even secure a shred of affection from her fiancé. Your future is literally that woman right there. Shouldn’t you be working a bit harder so you don’t end up like her?”

We siblings always considered it an absolute miracle that we hadn’t inherited the Count’s personality. However, one person—Theodore—was a thug who wouldn’t fall short even if compared directly to the Count.

According to the testimonies of Mathias and Isabella, the third wife, who was Theodore’s birth mother, possessed a temperament just as vile as the Count’s.

When the third wife was still around, she had even threatened Mathias’s position as the heir—truly a case of someone overreaching far beyond their station.

“Ah. And here I thought you were talking about that useless, parasitic bomb who has failed the noble knight examinations for seven consecutive years, despite accepting applicants who barely qualify as dogs or cattle.”

“What did you just say?”

Theodore’s eyes turned menacing. Right. This was his fatal flaw—this unhinged volatility that even led him to strike women. If the carriage hadn’t been jolting forward, he would have lunged to grab me by the collar. Ah. Never in my life would I have thought I’d feel grateful for wearing a dress that prevented someone from grabbing my collar.

“When is the sister-in-law who fled back to her parental home planning to return? Ah. Will she not come back at all? Since she caught you cavorting with a courtesan, you’ll be lucky if you don’t face a messy divorce.”

Normally, I would have dismissed him as a brainless, pathetic idiot and ignored him entirely. But Theodore was not worth sparing any restraint. On that freezing dawn when I was hauled off to the convent, the person driving the carriage under the Count’s direct orders had been none other than Theodore.

“Don’t worry your pretty head too much. Divorce is practically a proud family tradition of the Gloucesters, so who’s going to judge? Ah, not you—I meant your wife. I’m sure she’ll find someone vastly superior to you and remarry in no time.”

No matter how strictly it had been executed under Father’s orders, there were undoubtedly multiple ways he could have saved his own flesh and blood. If he couldn’t do it himself, he could have sought help from Mathias or Isabella.

The only people who knew I had been dumped out there were the Count and Theodore. Yet he had abandoned me and never once looked back.

“You’ve certainly grown quite bold with that mouth of yours in front of your older brother, haven’t you?”

“An older brother should act like an older brother if he expects to be treated as one.”

“You’ve changed, haven’t you? You weren’t a brat who ran her mouth quite this recklessly before.”

Theodore’s fist trembled violently. He was a violently unhinged man through and through.

Having inherited his father’s promiscuity and his mother’s abrasive malice, he was working overtime to drag the family name through the mud. Given that, punching me right here and now was well within his capabilities.

He was, after all, a miserable excuse of a man who had never felt a single ounce of shame since childhood when it came to tripping me in hallways or hurling vicious verbal abuse my way.

“P-Please, children. Stop this instant. If the Count finds out, it—it will be a catastrophe.”

Countess Helena mustered up her courage. Her courage, though it took an eternity to activate, did occasionally make an appearance.

“Ha! I was merely joking, you damned Gloria!”

Fortunately, Theodore’s momentum instantly deflated. It seemed he knew all too well what would happen if a massive brawl broke out and the Count caught wind of it.

To say the Gloucester household currently revolved around me would be no exaggeration. My marriage arrangement was the single biggest business transaction on the table, meaning everyone had their antennae stretched to the absolute limit.

If Theodore’s temper flared and he left even a microscopic scratch on my face, I wouldn’t have to look at his ugly mug in the capital for quite some time. Honestly, that didn’t even sound like a bad outcome—what a shame.

“If you genuinely wanted to play the part of a proper older brother, you should have helped ensure my fiancé didn’t harbor wandering thoughts so we could actually get married. Instead, you just find this whole situation endlessly amusing, don’t you?”

Once the floodgates of my tongue were unlocked, all the grievances I had bottled up poured out in a steady stream. Had I really possessed this little self-control all along?

“When Mathias gathered all those defamatory rumors mocking me and dragged them to court, what were you doing? Ah, what a foolish question to ask. You were probably sitting in the salons cracking low-brow jokes and betting money with others on exactly when Karl and I would call off our engagement, weren’t you?”

“Lord have mercy.”

Countess Helena uttered a low, sorrowful sigh and crossed herself. It was the exact moment her hard-earned courage threatened to fizzle out entirely.

“My Lady. We have arrived.”

Had the coachman not intervened to break the tension, Theodore’s fist might have finally flown straight toward my face. I seized the coachman’s hand the moment he unlocked the door and tumbled out of the carriage. Disappearing in a flurry into the venue, my retreating back became the primary spectacle for those left behind inside.

“Damn it! Mother!”

Theodore snapped irritably at Countess Helena. Fearing she might become the target of his redirected rage, Countess Helena shrank into herself, pulling her shoulders up to her ears. Fortunately, however, Theodore’s business wasn’t anger. It was a simple, baffling confusion.

“That Gloria… since when did she start running her trap with zero filters like that?”