This Villain Is Mine Now - Chapter 4

“Are you finished? Now go back to your room.”

The Marchioness gave Diane a stern look as she entered the mansion after seeing Elaina off.

She had smiled as warmly as an easterly breeze on a spring day before Elaina, but now there was no hint of happiness in her face. It was as if she was deeply offended that Diane had even been allowed to enter the main building.

Used to this kind of attitude from the Marchioness, Diane was not offended and merely bowed her head.

“Thank you for lending me your room, mother.”

“Can you stop calling me your mother? Why am I your mother? Why do you make people such a hassle? You, you haven’t touched a hair on the furniture, have you? I wouldn’t have let the likes of you set foot in my room in the first place if it wasn’t for Lady Winchester’s visit, tsk!”

There followed a growl from the Marchioness, saying she should know her place.

If Diane called her mother, she would get angry at her for calling her mother, and if she called her marchioness, she would get angry at her, saying that she wasn’t even a family member anymore.

The latter was followed by a sarcastic remark that she couldn’t fool her lowly blood, having been born in a maid’s womb, so Diane preferred the former, which was less painful.

“Why on earth should I give you my newly renovated room as if it were yours, when the thought of your touch makes me want to throw it away and pick it out again? Be careful not to do this in the future. If Lady Winchester wants to see you, give her an excuse. Do you realize how much money I’ve spent on useless clothes?”

“Yes, mother.”

Diane bowed meekly in response to the Marchioness’s insulting words.

With that, Diane turned to go back to her room. At that moment, the Marchioness’s voice came from behind her.

“Wait, that thing with your hand. What is it?”

The Marchioness’s attention was drawn to the object in Diane’s hand. Before Diane had a chance to hand it over, the Marchioness snatched it out of her hand.

When it came time for the event, the Marquis and Marchioness would dress her up from head to toe in expensive items. It was as if they were decorating a doll.

Once the event was over, the items were disposed of again.

Others saw Diane as a young lady who had been spoiled, but this was not the case.

Diane’s position in the house meant that if the Marchioness wanted something, even a gift from Elaina, it would have to be taken away.

Diane prayed to herself. Please, please, please don’t let her take an interest in Elaina’s gift.

Luckily, the Marchioness, realizing it was a simple glass artifact, looked at her with a snort.

“What, a cheap craft? Lady Winchester must have seen right through you to give such a thing as a gift.”

The Marchioness waved her hand, telling her to go away. She thought it was made of jewels, since it was from Lady Winchester.

Diane could only sigh in relief at the giggles that followed.

Stepping out of the Marchioness’s presence, Diane returned to her room. It was not the second-floor room in the main building, filled with sunny, reddish-brown mahogany furniture, that she had shown Elaina earlier. Since birth, her room had been a small room in the dark annex.

Diane set the crafts Elaina had given her on a worn table.

It was a little unsteady, with a broken leg and three stacked books to balance it, but there was nowhere else to put the crafts.

Elaina’s gifts sparkled in the sunlight. Looking at them, Diane’s heart seemed to glow a little bit like them.

“Luck and happiness…….”

Diane took a deep breath, remembering Elaina’s words. Just a few weeks ago, she hadn’t thought she’d be able to talk to Elaina like this, to exchange gifts. Or rather, only she received.

Elaina was as different as heaven and earth from her own humble circumstances: she was the only child of a duke, and though she was called a young lady outside the family, she was actually a lowly blood born to a maid.

Her mother, whom she never met, died giving birth to her. Whenever she heard the term “lowly blood” used against her, she used to think to herself. It was said that women who die giving birth to children go to heaven and become angels, so I must be the child of an angel, not of lowly blood.

But as she grew older, she stopped comforting herself with these stories.

She was grateful that, as the Marchioness had said, she was of lowly blood, but she was fed and housed in the mansion, and she followed her father and mother around like an ornament, lest she should make a mistake in front of others.

In the meantime, her heart grew black and dry.

Luck and happiness were not even on the tip of her tongue.

“Elaina.”

The name seemed to brighten her peripheral vision just by thinking about it.

Elaina might not have known her, but Diane knew her well. Whenever she had followed the Marchioness to social events, the beautiful Elaina had been surrounded by people, laughing merrily.

How much love and care a person must have been given to be able to smile like that? Every time Diane looked at Elaina, beautiful and sparkling as a ray of sunshine, she felt small.

The fact that Elaina was being so kind and friendly to her made her mood float up into the clouds.

Every time she did, Diane shook her head and told herself.

If Elaina becomes disappointed in me and pulls away, don’t get too hurt.

It’s natural.

Someone as uninteresting and unattractive as herself couldn’t possibly be interesting to Elaina. So, as her mother had said, she should know her place and not get too attached to Elaina, no matter how friendly she was.

But……

Diane opened the drawer of her nightstand. She was careful not to rattle the glass artwork on top with the mismatched legs, lest it shatter.

Inside the drawer were letters. The drawer, which had originally contained only letters written in a neat handwriting, was now filled with affectionate letters written in Elaina’s elegant handwriting.

They were just letters, but to Diane, they were a treasure like no other.

***

“Lady Winchester. I never thought I would meet you in such a place as this.”

“Madame Setemba said she didn’t know Lady Winchester would be visiting either, but I wonder if you’d like to join the book club I’m hosting in a few days?”

Elaina smiled lazily as they exchanged pleasantries amidst the crowd of people coming from all directions. She stayed close to Diane’s side.

The right thing to do for Diane’s sake would have been to ask her to leave, but Elaina couldn’t do that.

With her arm around Diane’s and surrounded by people, Elaina glanced around the corner of the ballroom, her eyes meeting the man at the end of her line of sight.

She pretended not to notice his gaze, and casually looked away.

It was a small ball, held after the charity bazaar. Unlike her debutante ball, there weren’t as many people in attendance. Normally, Elaina wouldn’t have attended such a small ball, but today was different.

Countess Setemba, the organizer of the charity bazaar, was happy to see her. She hadn’t even sent an invitation because she didn’t expect her to come, but Elaina had come to the bazaar herself, bringing her old dress and jewelry.

‘Why did she come?’

All eyes at the charity ball were on Elaina, who, as the only child of the Duke of Winchester, received ten or twenty invitations a day to various social events. And yet, here she was, attending such a small event.

The people soon realized why. It was because of Diane, who stuck by her side at the bazaar.

Aha. Lady Winchester has made a new friend.

The sudden friendship between her and Diane Redwood was puzzling, but people shrugged it off.

“Lady Redwood rarely attends social events, so I’m guessing Lady Winchester came to this one to see her friend.”

“Perhaps we should invite Lady Redwood to the next event in our house, and Lady Winchester will come along?”

Small voices whispered among the nobles preparing for the social event. The mere mention of Elaina Winchester’s attendance is enough to make the event a hit. Those who wanted to speak with her were clamoring for invitations.

People learned two lessons from Madame Setemba’s event.

One: Invite Diane Redwood to your event. Elaina Winchester will follow.

And two: Never send an invitation to House Grant.

Their eyes turned to Lyle Grant. What the Countess of Setemba had in mind when she invited him was unknown, but he was not the sort of man who fit in well at social events. In fact, quite the opposite.

No one wanted to come within a meter of him. Alone, with his back to the wall, he was now on his second drink, and yet he was staring off in one direction with no sign of intoxication.

At the end of his gaze were Diane Redwood and Elaina Winchester.

Ding, ding, ding.

The bell on the chiming clock at one side of the ballroom chimed ten o’clock. At the same time, Lyle Grant, who seemed to be drinking for what seemed like forever, rose to his feet.

His steps were directed, quite naturally, to the end of the line of sight he had been staring at all along.