The End Of Misunderstanding: Regret And Reunion - Chapter 1
Translator and Editor: Jess and Nabi
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Chapter 1
Bang!
After the resounding crash, Diana let out a deep breath and put her cleaning tools down.
The noise came from Baron Laffin’s study.
As she cautiously knocked on the door and waited for a moment before opening it, an enraged, sharp voice greeted her.
“Dad, have you gone mad?!”
‘What could be the matter today?’ Diana glanced at Heliana. Her face was red-hot, and veins formed on her neck, but feeling the baroness’ gaze—sharper than the shards of the broken teacup on the floor—she hurried to clean up the mess.
“You know what happened to the women who married into the Phenril Grand Duchy! How could you send me to that dreadful murderer?”
Diana’s hand paused as she wiped the drenched table. It seemed that what happened was that Heliana’s—Baron Laffin’s elder daughter—marriage had been decided.
And Heliana was protesting against that decision. She hung onto her mother, Baroness Laffin, and began to beg desperately.
“Mom, please stop, Dad. Please? Please! I don’t want to die!”
“Heliana, don’t be foolish and think carefully, mh? You’re not marrying into just any family; it’s the Phenril Grand Duchy! Won’t it be better to become Grand Duchess than just the wife of a mere Earl?”
Baroness Laffin calmly consoled her daughter. However, Heliana burst into tears, snorting at her words.
“Ha! What’s the point of being the Grand Duchess of such lowly barbarians among beasts?”
Unlike the southern lands, which had mild weather all year and fertile soil where art and culture could flourish, the northern lands governed by Archduke Phenril remained wild land.
Above all, it was too far from the imperial palace. For Heliana, whose dream was to enter the central social circles and become the flower of high society, being told to go to the north was equivalent to being told to live in a monastery for a lifetime.
Suddenly, Diana’s presence caught her attention for the first time.
“How about sending this one in my place?”
“What?” Baron Laffin, who had maintained silence all along, finally reacted.
Baroness Laffin also doubted her ears. Her expression crumpled, reflecting her confusion.
On the other hand, Heliana, with a mischievous smile, clapped her hands together as if it were a brilliant idea.
“I mean, the Archduke hasn’t specifically pointed to me as his partner, right?”
“Th-that’s true, but…”
“Then send that one. After all, ‘that’ is still Father’s daughter, isn’t it?”
Heliana’s face—beaming with a wide smile—looked radiant like a freshly bloomed flower, but her manner of referring to people as if they were objects was thoroughly malicious.
As she pointed out, Diana Laffin was indeed Baron Laffin’s daughter. However, no one in the mansion considered her a lady of the Baron family.
Even Baron Laffin himself was not entirely certain if she was truly his daughter.
The woman who gave birth to Diana was a vagrant who wandered into the mansion on a winter day. The head maid, feeling sorry for her situation, allowed her to stay at the mansion without Baroness Laffin’s knowledge.
The woman, with hair as white as falling snow, exuded a mysterious aura. Her tone and gestures showed an elegance that seemed otherworldly. It didn’t take long for Baron Laffin to be captivated by the mysterious gaze of the woman, who seemed to come from a different world.
And so, ten months later, Diana was born.
However, Baroness Laffin, uncertain of the mysterious origins of the enigmatic woman, denied the child, even as an illegitimate daughter, suggesting the possibility that the woman might have been pregnant even before arriving.
As a result, Diana grew up as an outsider in the Laffin family, neither as the baron’s illegitimate child nor as a lowly orphaned servant. She was just a stranger who shared the Baron family’s last name.
“Dad, pleeease?” Heliana deliberately dragged her pronunciation as she clung to her father.
“Hmm, you know. He didn’t exactly specify who to send.”
The baron’s gaze turned towards the woman who might be his second daughter.
He clicked his tongue in disapproval, looking at the branch-like wrists exposed between the worn-out clothes discarded by the maids. In such a state, rather than attracting a man’s attention, she would be treated like a dirty rat.
However, if he looked closely, she resembled her mother. With cloud-like white curls and almost unnaturally deep black eyes with a hint of blue, she could undoubtedly be sold at a high price.
‘Worth a try.’ The baron’s mouth curled into a sinister smile as he concluded.
“You, marry the Archduke instead of Heliana.”
“Oh my! This is perfect. Don’t you think so, Diana?” Clapping her hands, Heliana played along, fearing the baron might change his mind.
“I’ve always worried that you would sacrifice too much for the family and end up dying old and alone. But now, what a wonderful opportunity! Why the long face? Are you that happy that you can’t even speak?”
At the words that fell like thunderbolts in a clear sky, Diana stifled a fake laugh internally.
‘Now, he’s trying to sell me off to a murderer.’
“Or are you scared, perhaps? Don’t worry. The man who protects this empire should be as competent as they say. He’ll finish you nicely in one go without causing too much pain.” With a teasing smile disguised as kindness, Heliana assumed Diana’s rigid expression was the result of fear.
Diana’s heart was racing with excitement and anticipation. Regardless of whether the person to become her husband was truly a bride-devouring monster or not, it didn’t matter to her.
Accepting this proposal would allow Diana to leave Laffin Manor legally. It was an unparalleled opportunity. That alone was reason enough for Diana to accept the engagement to Archduke Phenril.
“Ah, but what if the archduke doesn’t like it?”
“Then, she’ll just die there.”
As Heliana’s endless chirping came to an end, a voice as cold as the blade of a guillotine followed. From the moment Diana entered the study, the baroness did not hide her disdainful gaze.
“When you consider the clothes provided, the food you’ve eaten, and even the money spent on your mother’s medicine, even the money sent by the Archduke will not cover it all. It would be better if you died there. Then, at least, we might receive compensation. If you know grace, you’ll do it. Don’t you agree?”
‘What is this woman talking about?’ Diana turned her head towards the baroness with a puzzled look.
‘I used medicine for my mother? Lies. She died one cold winter day without ever seeing a doctor.’
Her shamelessness and low character were not surprising anymore. But Diana never expected that she would hit that low. How could someone boldly declare that they would steal not only the bride’s gifts but also the consolation payment after dying?
Diana forced down the rising nausea.
“Who are you staring at?! You are a filthy bastard born from a lowly woman who was rolling around—who knows where! You should be kneeling and hitting your head on the ground, thanking the baron for such an opportunity!”
Malicious curses lashed at Diana’s heart. However, contrary to Baroness Laffin’s expectations, Diana didn’t humbly prostrate; instead, she defiantly lifted her head high.
She could endure everything else. Enduring being hit, being confined to the attic, even going hungry for three days—none of that mattered.
But she couldn’t bear to hear her mother insulted.
“…My mother is nobler than anyone.”
“What?”
Diana retorted, looking straight into the baroness’ eyes.
“My mother is nobler than anyone else and has nothing to be ashamed of, even before God! The one Madam should—!”
“How dare you!”
Pow! Suddenly, Diana’s head turned violently to one side as a sharp sound echoed.
The fan, crafted lavishly with ivory, gold, and jewels, served as an excellent blunt instrument. Diana groaned in pain; a metallic taste spread in her mouth.
However, no one pitied her. While the baron seemed to click his tongue in disapproval, the object of his sympathy wasn’t Diana.
“Wife, what if you scratched the present from the Archduke?”
“Humph! She’s unaware of her place, and she crawls around without a clue! I’m just advising my daughter, who’s about to be married.”
“Certainly. To become a bride truly loved by the Archduke, she must learn obedience.”
The baron, with a sinister smile, reached out towards the fallen Diana on the floor.
“There, is anyone there? Drag this away immediately! Don’t you dare let her out until her wounds are completely healed! Don’t give her a drop of water until she admits her mistake!”
Ironically, it was good news for Diana. Not only would she be leaving the mansion legally, but she wouldn’t have to see that irritating face until then.
For Diana, it was the first and last time she felt genuinely grateful to Baron Laffin.
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