Chapter 275
In the silence, Countess Coventry’s lips, which had been frozen stiff, began to twitch.
“F-Friend…?”
Something’s strange.
This made no sense.
Wasn’t it because of Duchess Bayern that Sophia’s path to marriage had been blocked?
And now she was calling her a friend?
It was already hard enough to believe that Sophia had become the Young Duke’s partner.
Something was wrong.
“Duchess, p-perhaps you haven’t forgotten, have you? It’s Sophia, Sophia Bernard! You know what that girl did, don’t you…?”
As Countess Coventry asked with trembling cheeks, Nina cut her off sharply.
“I hear you truly have no shortage of things you dare to say.”
“…Pardon?”
“Do you think I would so flippantly ask my brother to escort Miss Sophia?”
Nina didn’t do such a thing without reason.
She had her own important reasons.
First, it served as a signal that the ill-fated relationship between her and Sophia had been completely resolved.
Second, it could block the approach of mediocre men.
In Nina’s eyes Neville was still an immature kid, but among the young men here, he was considered something of an alpha.
In short, Neville’s escort was a way to elevate Sophia’s standing in high society.
She spoke calmly to the Countess, who stood there with her mouth open in a daze.
“My friend has recently suffered a great deal emotionally. Yet how can someone who calls herself her aunt dig into her niece’s wounds like this?”
There was a reason nobles who had broken engagements kept a low profile.
No matter whose fault it was, once people began talking about it there was nothing to gain.
And yet she dared to bring up marriage talks in such a public place?
“D-Duchess, surely you don’t think I intended to reopen my niece’s wounds on purpose? I was simply worried Sophia might disturb your peace of mind—”
“Worried, huh…”
“I mean, if she became the Young Duke’s partner while hiding that she had another man she was meant to meet, the Duchess would surely be angry.”
Countess Coventry swallowed dryly.
She didn’t know what trick Sophia had used, but it seemed that girl had somehow won the Duchess’s favor.
If the Duchess knew about the previous marriage talks, she had expected her to slap Sophia and tell her not to flirt with the Young Duke.
So why was she defending her?
And what about that gaze directed at herself?
‘Did Sophia perhaps say something strange about me?’
Otherwise, there was no way the Duchess would react this coldly.
For now, she needed to wrap what she had done in a convincing story and calm the Duchess’s anger.
“And I believe you misunderstand me. I found the best possible match someone with Sophia’s circumstances could hope for.”
Nina let out a hollow laugh.
He was a second son who couldn’t inherit his family’s title.
And he was even addicted to drugs.
And that man was the best possible match?
“…Of course, the age difference is a little wide, but he hasn’t seen his former wife or child, and he’s quite wealthy, isn’t he?”
Wasn’t she just talking about being mindful of the previous fiancé?
They had broken off the engagement not long ago, and in that short time she had already introduced a divorced man?
It felt disgusting.
Very disgusting.
The more she heard, the more anger boiled inside her.
Not only toward the woman in front of her, but also toward her own self from her previous life.
Because it confirmed her suspicion that even if the Sophia of her past life had broken off the engagement with the drug addict, she would still have ended up marrying someone she didn’t want.
How could such a sin ever be forgiven?
When Nina fell silent with a heavy mood, the Countess subtly spoke again, as if urging her to remember the past.
“…Everyone knows that Sophia isn’t virtuous. Who would willingly marry her?”
“……”
“In a situation where marriage proposals have completely dried up, finding a match like that was truly not easy. If I hated my niece, I wouldn’t have arranged the match at all.”
In truth, if one searched, there might have been better men.
But she had no intention of going to that much trouble.
How much suffering had her daughter endured because of Sophia all this time?
Sophia must have secretly mocked her daughter while basking in her own sense of superiority.
As a mother, wasn’t it only natural to take revenge?
The large matchmaking fee she had been promised was simply an added benefit.
“And yet she doesn’t appreciate my efforts, and instead says she is suffering and complains about me to you… I am the one whose heart is truly hurt right now.”
“You must take me for a fool.”
“…What?”
