CH 1.3

Chapter 1: Stop Calling People Ugly. Everyone Has a Reason

“We’ve arrived, my lady.”

Hearing the coachman’s voice, Lila shuddered and opened her eyes. She thought back on Jin Yura, the woman who had stampeded on her to try to save herself, and she cursed.

“You bitch.”

Lila grabbed the coachman’s hand and got out of the carriage. She secretly saw the coachman wiping his hands on his trousers, but she didn’t care.

She stared at the blue-roofed mansion, small and shabby for a noble family.

Este Barony.

It was her home now.

“You came, my lady?”

Becky, Laila’s exclusive maid, dressed in a colorful dress that made her look like a baroness, came out to greet her leisurely.

Lila looked at Becky with an impassive stare, then spoke the familiar words.

“Are your eyes strained?” Can’t you see it?”

Becky’s eyes fluttered as if hurt by Lila’s words, and she looked pitiful. She felt a pang of conscience, but Lila gave her an intentional glare, then pushed past Becky and went to her room.

She was relieved to finally be in a place where she could relax.

Bang.

As soon as the door was shut and locked, Lila kicked off her shoes and sat down on the couch.

“Haah…”

She thought as she put her feet up on the stool and wiggled around.

“She’s surely going to tell my cousin Louis, right?”

Becky was dating her cousin, who was the head of the baron’s family, so she was being extra mean. Only then will her cousin fall in love with her, and rumors will spread among the employees.

“It’s only a matter of time. You can do it, Yoon Seol!”

I clasped my hands together and shook them vigorously up and down. Exhausted and wanting to go back to sleep, Lila staggered to her feet and slipped off her dress.

She wasn’t wearing a corset, so it wasn’t hard to get the dress off on her own. Tugging at the joining straps, she slipped off the purple bustle dress and tossed it roughly into the closet.

She let the dress crumple. Something she would never have done in the past.

Pulling the odd bundle of fabric around the waist over her inner dress, Lila hid it well inside the closet.

After stripping off everything, Lila walked with an odd gait into the bathroom that connected to her dressing room.

She massaged her face with the cleansing oil from her pouch, rinsed it thoroughly with lukewarm water, and washed every inch of her body.

With a refreshed look on her face, she turned to the full-length mirror on one side of the bathroom.

Her naked body in the mirror looked nothing like she remembered. The fat on her stomach and waist was gone, as were the age spots on her body and the back of her hands.

Lila stepped closer to the mirror, towel-drying her softly falling mauve hair.

She wiped the foggy edges of the mirror with the towel and held her face close.

It’s admirable to look at it again.

She studied her face and let out a string of exclamations.

“You look crazy, really.”

There before her was a face that could be labeled innocent, sexy, sweet, gorgeous, and any other descriptor you could think of.

Her lilac-colored hair was as smooth as silk, and her eyes were a deep blue, like the color of the ocean, beneath a pair of rich mauve lashes that hung shyly down.

The large moles that flanked her slender nose and dainty nostrils were gone, as were the freckles that dotted her face.

Lila smiled proudly, her full lips glowing pink.

“I can’t believe my makeup skills defeated this main character’s buff… I can’t help but compliment myself.”

Beautiful!

As if the word wasn’t enough, Lila looked rather pleased and proud of herself for ruining her face so badly. She opened the pouch she had placed on the shelf.

The pouch, which looked like a small handbag, was elegant and beautifully shaped, with a large mauve ribbon and black lace on cobalt blue.

In the middle of the ribbon, a large blue sapphire was cut into squares and glistened subtly.

“Blow dryer.”

At the monotonous command, a blow dryer popped out of the pouch.

The electrical cord was still in the pouch, but the air flowed freely.

Whiiing.

After drying all of her hair neatly and changing into a soft nightdress, Lila placed the pouch right next to her bed and tried to slip into the cozy bedding.

Knock knock.

The unwelcome knock on the door happened just when she was about the close her eyes. It was also expected.

“Miss, may I come in for a moment?”

She heard Becky’s sultry voice. If she was the maid of honor, she should have been in the room long before now. But Becky came to her late. Lila quickly guessed why.

She wondered why her cousin hadn’t returned home, thinking perhaps he was seeing another woman at the banquet, with such distrust.

“There are many things to worry about in the world. If you date someone, you’ll be in trouble. You can’t help it, but you’re so determined, really.”

Lila shook her head at the sight of her cousin, whom she had seen before leaving the banquet.

“I can’t even eat dessert that voraciously. Please, Louis. I have my reasons; but what is wrong with you?”

“Miss?”

Becky’s voice reached her ears again as she talked to herself without opening the door.

Lila screamed with all the strength she could muster. Thinking back to when Jin Yura called her a bitch.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, who do you think you are to come into my room!”

A harsh voice poured out of her, but she didn’t care.

No, rather…

‘Yes, this is Jin Yura-style hysteria.’

A sense of pride washed over her. Of course, she felt guilty. If she was herself, she couldn’t be so harsh on Becky.

But Lila’s words were more ferocious.

“Get out! Don’t you dare come in here!”

“Sorry, I’m sorry. Then, take a rest.”

When she heard the sound of footsteps moving away quickly, she relaxed my upper body that she lifted as she was screaming. Lila murmured helplessly as she floundered on the bed.

“Hah, this is so emotionally draining.”