Chapter 10: The Female Lead(2)

Why did Marinette hate Diana so much?

When Diana helped bring me back to my room earlier, that question popped up in my head.

Was it because of the crown prince? No, that wouldn't make sense because Marinette already hated Diana before that.

Did Marinette hate Diana because Diana got all the love from her family?

I would never reach the answer even if I kept thinking about it.

When the next morning arrived, I came out of my room to go to the front gate to welcome the new character in that scene.

The person Diana got the gene from. Her genes were so strong that Diana didn't get any characteristics from the duke.

Duchess Catherine, Marinette's stepmother.

"Oh dear, you grow up quite well." her voice could attract the pirate's ear and bewitched them to do what she commanded them. But that wasn't the only attractive thing about her.

From the scarf wrapped around her head showing only a slight ponytail behind her back and the sunglasses that she wore, she walked into the household in the dress with one long sleeve.

A fishnet to cover her naked back, a sexy yet elegant lady, Duchess Catherine.

She was what you called an icon in the novel. She was a trendsetter. Madame Rosita could reach fame today thanks to her. All the fashion designers in the empire called her an empress of fashion.

She ruled the women's fashion industry.

The duke and Tristan weren't there to welcome her. Even if Tristan stayed in the house, he still wouldn't come to meet the duchess due to their relationship.

Under the big white umbrella, the duchess called Diana to hold a meeting between us three in the garden.

"Mother..."

"Hmm...I heard you're sick. Are you better now?"

She had an accent from England, she was the type of person I wanted to listen to in a listening test.

I was mesmerized by her beauty, the way she talked, and the way she moved.

"Yes, mother."

Diana on the other hand wasn't her usual self that day, she was somehow awkward. 

She wasn't supposed to be the one to be awkward though, I was.

The topic of the meeting was none other than the engagement.

"Marinette, about the engagement..."

"Mother!!! Enough!!"

Diana let out a loud voice that made the Duchess spill the tea on top of her black glove.

I gasped when I saw how the Duchess gave the silent treatment to Diana. The maid brought the handkerchief to wipe the duchess's hand.

With her right hand being wiped by two maids, she turned to me and continued her sentence without giving a response to Diana.

"The crown prince is already in love with Diana. Since you're mature unlike someone...you should consider how these young fellows felt if you...you know..."

She had a way of making the other party feel guilty about their action.

"Indeed, love is everything in marriage, not the partner's status, not the partner's money, love...love is everything. You're right, duchess. But...who am I to defy the will of an emperor...you know how it feels, do you?...to be forced into marriage by an emperor?"

My face slowly closed in on her as I stared right into those pink eyes. I could see the dirty blonde hair come out of her scarf as she tried to calm down her nerves. It seemed I touched her old wound a bit.

There were two types of ways to hide your old past. It was to bury it in the past or build a great present that your past wouldn't matter.

Although the duchess succeeded in building her reputation and everything for her name, she still couldn't escape from the nickname gold digger in the eyes of everyone.

The parasite, the worm, the one who grabbed the duke to raise the status of her family, was what the duchess was known for.

No matter how hard she worked, in the eyes of everyone, her success came from the duke. 

The forced marriage set up by her family and the emperor only benefits them, not the duchess.

"Marinette Mortel...do you think you're worthy to be an empress?"

"Are you questioning the order of the emperor?"

"No, I'm questioning you. Will you be alright?"

"What?"

She put on a new set of gloves. The new gloves were red just like the lipstick she put on her smirk.

"Without love, you only had the status of the emperor's wife, but never the emperor himself. You would have his wealth, but his heart will never be yours. The night you waited for him, he was thinking of his loved one. You waited and waited for a slight chance of his love, but that will never happen because, to him, you're only...an empress, not his wife."

I changed some of Marinette's dialogue, but the duchess's dialogue remained the same. Flynn came in after the duchess and her daughter left.

I was there sitting at the table with my head down. Although the marriage would never happen, the chance wasn't exactly zero.

Just imagining the scenario the duchess described, I wouldn't want to be in that situation. How could one endure a life like that?

"My lady, you have an invitation."

"Yes...come back to me when the carriage is ready, Flynn."

"Yes."

'The tea is cold.'

+++

The duchess lay down on the sofa in Diana's room reading the fairy tale with the title 'Four Pieces of Gem' while her daughter massaged her feet.

"My daughter, I lied."

"..."

Diana kept silent as she tried to hold back her tears.

"Love isn't everything. No one cares about love in the political world. Do you think you can enjoy hot tea in that beautiful garden because of love? No...at the end, wealth and status won."

"..."

"Do you agree?"

"Ah."

"Hmm?"

"Ye...yes...mother."

With two whips constantly hitting behind her back, she agreed with her mother. She continued comforting the duchess while her knees lay on the heel of her mother.

"More cucumber, maids."

The maid could only put their head down doing what the duchess ordered them to do because they had no power to help their lady from her suffering.

"You don't love the crown prince anymore...you want to stop the engagement??? What about me!!??? Diana, how can you be so selfish to your own mother?!!"

The duchess put her right hand on her forehead displaying the distress she fell into because of her daughter.

"I'm sorry...I was wrong...mother..."

"I didn't ask much of you, Diana...just this one thing...don't you have any pity for your old mother??? What will people think if the crown prince abandons you and chooses Marinette..."

"What can I do to make you happy, mother?"

"...you might not love the crown prince...but the crown prince loves you, my beautiful daughter. Trap him. Do everything to make him choose you."

"!!!"

The duchess patted her daughter's head as her assistant brought the potion toward Diana.

"Use it well, darling."

To be continued...!