We soon collected our purchase and thanks to Ardeat, were able to reach the estate earlier than expected due to all those teleportation gems she bought.

In this world, they usually sell talismans for most spells since they're easier to carry around but since teleportation spells require more mana than other spells, only mana gems can hold them.

"Ah... Home at last-" "Where have you been?" A voice belonging to Luden called out as realization hit me.

'... Was I really that mentally exhausted to have called this place "home"...?' I stared at the mansion in front of me in disbelief not even bothering to answer that question.

"I believe asked you something, Sovine." Luden harshly grabbed my shoulder and spun me around to face him but as soon as I saw his handsome face which heavily contradicted gtg his personality my face dropped from one of my previous disbelief to exhaustion.

"Does it really matter?" I slapped his hand away as the spell which changed my appearance into one similar to Ardeat's, at last, wore off.

"What do you mean "Does it matter"? What if you got lost, or abducted, or-" "Then you would've at last been happy." I cut him off as his eyes widened upon hearing my statement before narrowing into slits while he clenched his jaw.

"... Am I wrong?" I knew I wasn't, and so did he.

"... It doesn't matter how I'd feel about it..." Luden responded as he averted his gaze away from me.

"Ah... Now I get it, you're afraid of what rumors would spill out if I go missing since your "real" sister went missing as well huh?" I signaled Ardeat to leave while I distracted him since I knew he'd definitely be a bitch to her about this later if he saw her which he thankfully hadn't yet.

"Do not even speak of my sister with that vile tongue of yours!" He snapped at me as he made eye contact again his eyes burning with rage and disgust.

"I'll take that as a yes." I didn't seem the slightest bit affected by his sudden outburst which only made the frustrating feeling bubbling in his chest even more intense.

"... Just tell me where you've been..." He sighed massaging his temple while trying to regain his composure.

"To hell and back." I replied as I turned back to the estate but it wasn't exactly a lie since it did feel like hell.

"What?" Luden frowned at me but I ignored him and continued walking toward the estate unbothered.

"Wait..." Luden let out a sigh of defeat but I wasn't planning on listening and simply kept doing the opposite of what he asked.

"Explain to me in detail just where you have been this whole day-" Luden turned back to ne just to realize that I was already gone.

However, on my way back to my room I happen to run into my fiancé. A very ugly and old cranky Marquis, lucky me.

"You- It's about time you-" "I'm not in the mood, get lost." I walked past him only to realize the Duke standing by the door of the waiting room.

Glaring at me, like that would make me feel an ounce of remorse over my previous words. Well, it didn't. Instead, it only made me want to say more.

"What?!" The Marquis yelled, why was this old hag so damn loud? Shouldn't his vocal cords already be decaying.

"What are you so surprised about? You didn't expect me to treat you with respect after arriving unannounced, did you?" I whirled around to face the Marquis.

"Even if you are my fiancé, this is a Grand Duke's estate. So get out." I was still planning on keeping my words respectful due to the Duke's presence.

"What are you saying?! You should be grateful to me for all I've done for you while you're only a noble in name-"

"I'm telling you to get the fuck away from me. Is that so hard to understand?" I cut him off as the marquis fumed at my words.

Maybe it was due to old age or losing hair follicles. But he seemed to have zero patience and way too much of an ego for his brain.

"Sovine, what is this behavior?" The Duke finally decided to intervene seeing that the Marquis's patience was at its limit.

"Forget it, Duke Divinus! I will be sure to send an official letter to announce the annulment of this engagement tomorrow at early dawn!" The Marquis once again spoke up.

"I do not have the tolerance to endure this behavior which is as lowly as her blood!" My fiance announced glancing over to me to see my expression in hopes of finding some sort of regret in it.

H found none which only managed to enrage him even further. The Duke sighed hearing my fiance's decision.

He didn't expect him to do something like this. However, my mood only seemed to have been uplifted by this statement.

I had expected this to happen since Marquis Quarum was one known for his temper and reckless decisions and I did not regret the measures I took to provoke his anger in the slightest.

"Pardon? Have you forgotten that we had a written agreement that if this engagement falls through then-"

"I do not care about the contract or any of your noble nonsense! If she wants to make things difficult then so be it! She isn't worth the trouble." He was interrupted by the Marquis as he stormed out of the mansion.

"Are you happy now?" The Duke turned back to me with a sigh along with a slight frown in between his brows.

"Very." I replied as I walked past him, but he decided to keep silent. But it wasn't much surprising considering that it was like this even in the game.

After his wife's death, he put the blame entirely on Sovine instead of taking the blame himself for bringing in a replacement for his missing daughter which would have ultimately brought up some misunderstandings no matter how the situation played out.

He blamed a kid who barely even knew what was happening or why she was there for his wife's death to lighten the burden of his guilt and shift it onto Sovine.

And he felt guilty for it, which was the reason he let Sovine's vicious and absurd behavior pass so often. And that was something I could appreciate.

He knew it was wrong, so he gave Sovine a place to live lavishly under his name and title as the duke and still restricted her in return while having no idea just how miserable she was in there.

'Why did I do that? I was hoping he'd get mad and have some guard kill me, but even if he did it wouldn't matter. He's not a love interest after all.' I couldn't help but click my tongue at the realization.

But none of that mattered now. At least it didn't matter to me.

I only had one goal here, either die and return to my original world or, run away and find a quiet house in the countryside to live a peaceful life in.

And I knew well myself, these emotions I was experiencing, weren't even my own. They were Sovine's.

Even if I had no memory of what she had been through, her body did. And neither of which included getting all "lovely family" with these bastards.

My priority right now was getting through that tea party without getting stuck in one of those ladies' schemes and hopefully finding a powerful lady to befriend who has some level of influence in high society.

It was finally the day of the tea party. And damn. I felt more nervous at this moment than when I was trying to convince Ardeat to join me mostly by bluffing half of the time.

As we finally arrived at the Allisun mansion's greenhouse where the tea party was being held I was at last given the chance to dismount from the horrid carriage that brought me there.

Though the carriage seemed lavish from the outside with added onto my elegant aura holding the grace of a noble though the gazes of the other ladies seemed to be saying otherwise.

The inside was as shabby as could be and it was clear that this was one of those idiotic brothers doing.

I was wearing a red and black gown with a single long cloth black ruffles stitched to the bottom of the red skirt.

It had black puffed sleeves which traveled over a red corset-like piece with simple designs made with a lighter shade of black causing it to seem gray to my neck leaving only my shoulders exposed.

Below which remained a black ribbon wrapped above my hip and tied to the side with a bow. I originally thought this dress fit the occasion, a tea party with many noble ladies.

It was simple but not too plain so I would not come off as rude or seem uninterested in the occasion but now that I was actually here...

How I wished I had Sovine's memories before being transmigrated here... Then at least I would've known how these ladys' appearances were before choosing this dress.

I stepped into the enormous glass greenhouse loaded with several kinds of unique and beautiful flowers and plants each organized neatly in their own separate abode with many glistening mana gems floating above them.

It seemed that the light from the gem kept the air around the plants at whatever temperature which would allow the plants to thrive.

"Ah, Lady Sovine. Have you been doing well? I heard you "slipped" off the Terrance of your room lately recently." One of the ladies spoke up in mock concern holding her fan above the lower half of her face to perhaps hide her smirk, in which she failed miserably.

The beige-skinned lady before me had long wavy red hair put up in a loose half-bun with many beads hanging from the bun in loops as an accessory.

She had natural siren eyes which only served to make her raven-stained eyes stand out even more. She was beautiful indeed but she had a rotten personality inside despite her outer beauty.

Similar to most of the other nobles of this time.

'Why is she so pretty?! Even with that creepy evil smirk?!'

'Imagine wearing a dress that has the exact same hair and eye color as the host of the tea party you're attending...' The once-calm greenhouse suddenly erupted in whispers of how rude I was to be wearing a something like that.

"Thank you for your concern, Lady Versutas." I sent her a sweet smile along with an elegant curtsy in which no mistakes could be caught for which they could criticize me.

'Time to change the subject before she can open her mouth.' I knew exactly what card to use to shut Versutas up and keep her from bringing up the gown color.

"I have nearly recovered since then and I must say, the medicine the Allisun manor has delivered for my recovery has been... Delightful." I rose up from my curtsy wearing a grateful smile though it truly had no positive emotions behind it in seeing which the lady suddenly flinched.

'Of course she would be surprised. After all. The medicine she had sent me,' Was poison, I was honestly pretty surprised at how bold this bitch was being by sending me that kind of stuff.

But then again, Sovine had no influence and, of course, no one would believe me if I said that. So that must've served as her reassurance.

"Ah... You flatter me, Lady Sovine..." Versutas replied wearing a taut smile in an attempt to hide her uneasiness.

It was clear that her nervousness was placed on the possibility that I might reveal that she had actually sent me poison in front of all the ladies. However, she also knew very well that even if I did.

No one would take my side or perhaps even use it as an excuse to start up a new rumor. With this slight reassurance.

Versutas convinced herself that I wouldn't dare bring the poison up in doing which her body began relaxing in her seat at the realization as her anxiety quickly faded away.

'You're right about that Versutas... No one would believe me. However, I plan on changing that very soon...' I gazed down at the ladies sitting on the hoop-shaped glass table coldly holding my fan extended above the lower half of my face in order to somewhat conceal my discontentment of being here.

"Please, Lady Sovine! Have a seat!" A lady exclaimed cheerfully gesturing to a chair that was placed in a particular place in between all the ladies giving off a hazardous feeling as if it was purposely put there to make whoever sat on it the center of the lady's attention.

To most, this might seem like a kind gesture given to a still-recovering lady however I knew better than that. I might just be over thing all this or this might just be another onecof these ladies schemes.

'...Why do I expect them to pull some middle schooler prank right here?' I gazed at the chair they gestured me to however reluctantly had to start making my way to it since it would be considered rude if I did not which.

To be continued...

I had to literally draw that dress at the top because I couldn't find any dresses that fit this occasion 🫠

Another half an hour of my life has been spent on this dress but I hope you enjoyed the chapter 👹