[Chapter 4. Belle Greywood
Belle looked up at the sky where thunder was thundering loudly and started to hang laundry in a hurry. She couldn’t let the quilt she had worked so hard to hang get ruined by the rain.
‘If Mother Superior finds out, she’ll definitely give an order!’
Belle shivered in fear as she imagined the terrifying sagebrush. However, before she could even hang up all the laundry, a torrential downpour began.
She was soon soaked by the thick stream of water that blurred her vision. As she was raising her sleeve to wipe her face, Bell suddenly froze stiffly as if she had been struck by lightning.
‘You have to die for the Vince family to be completely mine!’
Ah, what a twist of fate!
Memories of the past that had been completely erased suddenly came crashing down on her mind like a strong wave!
Belle clutched her head and thrashed about as the flood of memories surged in mercilessly.
The innocent first love, William Langford! The mischievous prince, Jade Malone!
And my father and mother who were brutally murdered by my uncle!
“no!”
Belle cried out at the vivid sight that seemed within her grasp. After sobbing in the rain for a long time, she slowly got up at one moment.
Gurruk, tears were hidden in the raindrops dripping down the chin, and Bell was no longer the Bell of yesterday.
‘I will never forgive you. I will get back everything I lost.’
Bell shouted, his fists clenched in boiling anger.
“Arno Vince! You don’t even know that I’m alive! I’ll destroy you at any cost!”
In a flash, the sky lit up and as if by magic, ‘Belle Greywood’ turned into ‘Belle Vince’.
Belle immediately started walking in anger. The girl, burning with vengeance, had nothing left to fear.
“I’m going to leave the orphanage!”
“What the hell are you talking about all of a sudden?”
Mother Superior shouted with a face full of surprise and displeasure, but it was not scary at all compared to Arno Vince who was looking down at her coldly.
Belle raised her voice in front of Mother Superior for the first time since she had the last name of Graywood.
“Write me a letter of recommendation right now! I want to become Count Vince’s maid!”
-The Stolen Youngae Decided to Get Everything Back- To be continued in Volume 2.]
* * *
“So, Melissa is at Banseng Street now.”
Walter put the book down on the sofa table with a bewildered expression.
In a study as large as the royal library, Walter and Gerard were having a secret conversation. The topic was, of course, the hotly-talked-about book that Gerard had brought.
“If this book is true, then yes?”
Gerard asked jokingly, tapping the first volume with his finger.
“What are you going to do now? If you storm into Banseng Street right now and find Melissa, you’ll have to arrest Count Arnold on the spot.”
“… … .”
“That would be a bit difficult, I guess. You can’t present a romance novel as evidence for a murder.”
He smirked and swirled his wine glass, probably thinking it was funny. Under the lamplight, a deep shadow fell over Walter’s face.
If it was true that Melissa had regained her memories and infiltrated the Count’s household to seek revenge, wouldn’t Count Arnold have recognized her?
Let’s say you don’t know the face of a single maid. According to Gerard, this novel, which has already become famous, is now secretly read not only by commoners but also by noblewomen.
Rumors would spread uncontrollably through social circles, and it would only be a matter of time before they reached Count Arnold’s ears.
If the Count were to get scared and run away, it would be easy to catch him. However, unless he was a really stupid person, the chances of that happening were slim.
Rather than shouting and accusing someone of framing a person with this kind of novel, he will go on a rampage.
Melissa Bahnsen. First, we need to find out if the child is working as a maid at the Count’s mansion.
If he had lost his memory and then regained it, why didn’t he come to me and instead went into that house by himself?
That’s correct.
Walter pressed his fingers firmly to his temples, which were beginning to tingle.
In fact, there was something even more surprising than the fact that Melissa, who had been missing for several years, might be alive. I had just realized it and was shocked.
His head turned to Volume 2 as if possessed. That woman. Hermia Bahnsen.
‘She’s been… harassing Melissa all along?’
Walter naturally recalled the moment when he first met Hermia.
How can I forget that intense memory of that day, when it seemed as if a flash of light had struck my heart and brain at the same time? I can say with pride that the shock of that time is something I will probably never forget until I die.
This was such a big incident that my late grandfather and father would jump out of their graves.
Walter Rockford was a great man who devoted himself to training at the military academy even when other boys his age were suffering from first love.
While his comrades were passionately burning up their romantic relationships by exchanging letters with their lovers, he gave up his vacation to burn the corpses of enemy soldiers.
Of course, he too went through puberty and experienced secondary sexual characteristics.
As my bones grew, my voice lowered, and I felt a surge of desire during a time of great change both externally and internally. However, I just controlled it with hellish training.
By rolling my body to the point of exhaustion, all distracting thoughts disappeared and I was able to regain peace of mind.
To avoid tarnishing the name of ‘Rockford’ and to maintain his honor as the successor to the Duke’s family.
In short, up until now he was no different from a priest carrying a gun instead of a cross.
The spark that I thought had gone out turned out to be somewhere deep inside, holding its breath, waiting for an opportunity.
The moment he stood on the stair railing and saw the refreshing blue eyes looking down at him, his whole body was engulfed in fierce flames without him realizing it. It was burning so fiercely that his heart was pounding painfully.
How pathetic I felt as I fled from the mansion in a panic. After returning to the duke’s castle, I couldn’t sleep for a while as if I had just fought a fierce battle.
‘I’m sure Grandpa wrote his will with Jack Bansen’s daughter in mind.’
She must have wanted to somehow repay him for risking his life to carry her son’s body back.
The reason the marriage lasted only one year was probably to take care of his grandson.
But, unfortunately, after Walter saw Hermia, he was convinced that no one else could be his companion.
Hermia Bahnsen. Even now, at this very moment, when I read a novel in which she appears as a villain.
“… … .”
He picked up the most recent of the two books on the table. What was written inside was something that naturally made him feel complicated.
Helen Vince, the illegitimate daughter of Arno Vince, who appears in Volume 2.
She was a novel villain who reminded anyone of Hermia Bahnsen. Helen and Hermia had identical appearances, silver hair and blue eyes, and they also had the same setting of being the illegitimate children of a count’s family.
At this point, it would be safe to say that he was begging for understanding.
In the novel, after Helen is adopted as Arno Vince’s daughter, she begins to feel a subtle inferiority complex towards Belle.
[A noble spirit that I could not find in myself, who had lived as a commoner for 14 years, was strangely exuded by the maid who came from an orphanage.]
This is the passage that became the origin of the evil deed.
From then on, the last page was filled with all kinds of bullying, including verbal abuse and contempt.
The words written at the very end were, humorously, ‘to be continued in volume 3.’ This means that the villainess Helen’s misdeeds do not end in volume 2.
Walter, who had come out of his long ruminations, finally got up from the sofa. Gerard, who was sitting on the edge of the table, was startled and raised his index finger to intercept the player.
“Wait, wait. Before you speak, let me read your thoughts first.”
His old friend had a knack for lightening a heavy mood. Only then did Walter turn his head, his expression slightly lighter.
“Here we go again. Give it a try.”
As soon as permission was given, Gerard stood up and began to pace around in circles. Walter’s turquoise eyes followed him slowly.
“First of all, you don’t believe this novel. Why? In the first part of Volume 2, Belle recalls the past when both of us liked each other.”
Gerard spread his arms wide and expressed his bewilderment with his whole body.
“To be honest, I had a bad feeling for a moment. Melissa was lovely to anyone! But you liked her for the opposite sex? From here on out, the credibility is already zero.”
“What? You’re saying that even a child… … .”
“It would be a problem if you made a prince of a country a criminal. Of course, I was talking about when he was young, you annoying friend.”
Gerard glared at him as if he was sorry, then waved his hand as if he was annoyed and continued speaking.
“Second. Miss Hermia was jealous of the elegant Melissa? A passing beetle would laugh at that. Do you not remember what her nickname was?”
His words brought back old memories to Walter.
When I think about it, Melissa was a child who would always fall over and cry if I took my eyes off her for even a moment. That’s probably why her nickname was…
“…Golden Calf?”
It was certainly a nickname that did not suit a noble young lady.
I remember that there was a time when I would lie down on the floor without hesitation after seeing a dog drink water, and that I was not very good at playing musical instruments or embroidery. I think I probably had no dexterity at all.
“I told him he looked like a baby and he started crying so I added ‘gold’ in front of him and he started bragging about it proudly.”
Gerard also added with a happy face, as if he suddenly remembered. Walter, who was smiling faintly, asked smoothly.
“So what’s the conclusion?”
“You check to see if Melissa is really in the Count’s household. And I find the author who wrote this fucking ridiculous book.”
Gerard concluded with a face that had lost its smile.
“I need to find out who the author, Joel, is, why he wrote this book, and what else he knows beyond what is written here.”
“You’re helping me so eagerly? You?”
When I asked him a question that naturally arose, he frowned and made a playful expression.
“…because it looks fun?”
“fun…….”
Walter gave up asking any further questions. The fact that Gerard was acting like that meant there was something inside that he couldn’t tell him.
Knock knock. At that moment, there was a knock on the study door.
“Come in.”
The one who cautiously revealed himself with the Duke’s permission was the Duke’s butler, Aiden.
“The necklace you ordered while you were out has arrived. Please check and I will pay for it.”
“A necklace? Ah.”
He paused for a moment, then started walking with a stomping pace as an idea occurred to him.
“What is it? Are you going to give it to Helen… or rather, to Miss Hermia?”
Anyway, you have to be aware of something. Walter blurted out, ignoring Gerard whose eyes were sparkling with curiosity.
“Engagement gift.”