The meal was cold when I came back. It was only expected since it had been an hour. Jane had been looking for me because I wasn't in the cottage, and she got angry at me for having wounds on my cheeks and neck.
"What if the lady gets a scar!!!" she exclaimed, treating my wounds while I happily ate the desserts she had prepared beforehand.
"Who did this to you, my lady?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.
"Oh, just some nobody who wouldn't introduce himself," I scoffed, noticing the worried look on her face.
I grabbed a piece of cupcake and put it in her mouth. Though hesitant, she took a bite nevertheless. "Delicious, right?" I asked.
Jane pouted at me while bandaging my wounds.
'She looks like a chipmunk,' I thought, and I couldn't resist pinching both of her cheeks.
"L-lady, stop it! I'm doing my work!" she protested.
"So you're not against it?" I chuckled, continuing to tease her. Just then, a voice interrupted us.
"What are you playing at?"
We stopped and looked toward the source of the voice. Blonde hair, red eyes, and a white gown—it was the last person I wanted to see.
Jane composed herself and bowed. "I greet her, Lady Adele von Konrow."
What a beautiful face. It's hard to believe she has the title of Black Swan. Maybe White Swan suits her better? Her annoyed expression made it hard to prove my point, though. I slouched back and rested my chin in my hand.
"What brings you here?" I asked in a calm tone.
"Whatever you're scheming, you know you can't win against me, right?" Adele said, her voice laced with disdain.
I took a piece of chocolate and ate it. "What are you talking about?" I tried to sound oblivious.
Adele shook her head in disbelief. "No matter. This time, if you do something to me, you won't remain unscathed."
"Unscathed?" I drank my tea in one gulp. "What kind of delusion are you on?" I stood up and went in front of her.
"You think that being reduced to an outcast, treated as a villainess, and stuck inside the spare mansion is unscathed?"
"That's because you deserved it. You're lucky that's your only punishment."
"Then what do you want me to do?" I approached her, and she took a step back.
"You took everything away from me. What more do you want?" I grabbed her hand and placed a knife in it.
She tried to resist, but was surprised by my strength as I pointed her hand to my neck. "Why don't you just take my life at this point?"
"Lady, stop it!" Jane cried out.
"Stay away from this, Jane!" I shouted, my voice unusually harsh. "Just one cut from my carotid artery and you can achieve your goal, yes?" I pushed Adele's hand closer to my neck. She kept resisting, but her hand couldn't be stopped.
Before I could pierce it further into my neck, I heard a loud voice. "Josephine von Konrow, get the hell away from her!" I stopped and saw someone with black hair and red eyes, visibly angered. I dropped the knife as Adele knelt down on the floor.
"Adele!" he called out, rushing towards her. Before he could reach her, I stopped him with my hand.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Mark von Konrow," I said.
He drew the sword from his waist and pointed it at me. "Step away from her."
"If I got a gold coin for every time I get pointed at by a sword in the same day, I'd have two. But it's weird that I even got two in the first place."
I paid no heed to the idiot in front of me and instead gazed at the lively mansion, even though it was late at night. I smiled, feeling a tinge of bitterness.
"I'm supposed to have my debutante ball tonight, you know," I said to Mark and indirectly to Adele.
"But because I'm not a good girl, I don't get one. That's fine." I retracted my hand, and Mark immediately went to Adele.
"Adele, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, brother," she replied, looking down.
"At least with this, I don't have to pretend anymore." I looked at Mark, who was seething.
"You truly are despicable, Josephine," he said.
"Same as you, retard," I retorted while pointing a middle finger.
I called out to Jane, "Clean up the cottage. I'll go rest today and..." I looked at Adele, who was glaring at me from a distance. "Congrats again on your debutante. I hope you at least liked my gift." With that, I turned and walked towards my mansion.