[Chapter 203] The Fall of Megara

The intriguing news of a fight between Natasha Grunehalts and Megara Ricciandros spread rapidly throughout the entire party venue.

Amidst the gathering crowd, Megara rose slowly. With a pitiful expression on her face, she raised her chin and spoke.

"A wretch? You shouldn't speak so recklessly, sister. Is it appropriate to hit anyone when you're feeling upset? I don't even know what you're unhappy about, and it's not pleasant for our family to be at your mercy based on your mood."

The term "wretch" seemed to be dismissed as a baseless insult.

"Anyone?!"

Natasha seemed on the verge of fainting but managed to restrain herself. She wanted to throttle Megara then and there, but if the situation escalated, the palace would investigate the incident.

Naturally, that wouldn't bode well for Natasha. Attempting to use the family's poison at a royal party could involve the entire Grunehalts family. While the use of poison itself might be tolerated in the palace, denying it from the other side would be the end of it.

Standing tall and dignified, she spoke provocatively, limiting the discussion to Megara alone.

"Answering back to a whore's daughter like me!"

Over a hundred people, including servants, heard her words.

Within the gathered crowd, the face of Lord Ricciandros turned pale. He quickly moved to bring his daughter out of the commotion.

"Make way, clear the way!"

However, the Lord's anxiety led to the opposite result. People began to surround him, scrutinizing his face.

At first, Natasha's words seemed nonsensical and people who thought she had gone too far were shocked to see the Lord's terrified face, realizing that there was truth mixed in with her vehement accusations. The shock-filled murmurs spread rapidly throughout the entire party venue.

Megara also keenly sensed the shift in atmosphere. She trembled her lips and sharply questioned, her face nervously expressive, something she had never shown in front of the social crowd before.

"Are you insulting my mother?"

There was not a person present who didn't know how much Lady Ricciandros admired Megara. So, if Megara was a wretch, it would naturally imply that Lady Ricciandros had a child with someone other than the Lord.

In that case, even the birth of Megara's younger brother, the Viscount Sofuc, would be in question. The faces of those who thought so briefly sparkled with interest.

"Yes, your mother. Instead of Lady Ricciandros, who quietly accepted another woman's child as her own due to her noble reputation, dare to seduce a married man and shamelessly introduce my child into noble society without fear!"

The Lord's relatives were also present at the party. Since Natasha had no intention of turning them into enemies, she focused on criticizing Megara's mother.

A greater shock now spread among the people than before.

Megara Ricciandros was not the child of Lady Ricciandros?

Then whose child was she?

Honestly, there was only one candidate. People strained to see Megara's face, trying to find similarities between the Lord's government, Rebecca Shirley, and appearance.

There was no need to try too hard.

With almond-shaped eyes, thick and distinct eyebrows, and a perfectly oval face, she bore a striking resemblance to Rebecca due to the Lord's features mixed in.

"How did we not know until now?"

"But she has violet eyes...? How can a commoner's daughter have them."

"Well, even among commoners, occasionally someone has such violet eyes! It's completely different from the case of the Grand Duchess who has eyes that even outshine jewels."

People who prided themselves on their eye for detail began to whisper that they had previously found similarities between Rebecca and Megara. Servants outside the circle quickly ran to spread the rumor to their masters or friends.

Megara's face turned pale with anger. It was an outrageous insult. She, she...! She couldn't possibly be a child of commoners. That vulgar woman couldn't have given birth to her!

"Don't speak so recklessly! Sister, do you realize that you are insulting not only my mother but also my father?"

"If speaking the truth is an insult, then everyone except you must be constantly insulted, as few people live a life as full of lies as you do!"

Megara discovered a bitter truth in Natasha's face.

The surroundings were in turmoil. The faces of those watching her turned dark. The ground shook.

Looking at the bewildered Megara, Natasha laughed loudly.

"If you can't believe it, shall I bring a witness? Your boasted violet eyes, they are in your vulgar mother's lineage. Who knows if that was obtained by your mother's ancestors secretly seducing a nobleman? You, pretending to be noble and clever alone in this palace, how does it feel? To realize that you are nothing more than a lowly servant in this palace?"

Natasha's words were harsh. But there was nothing wrong in the content... The nobles around thought so.

Even the lowest servant working in the palace, no matter how humble their tasks, was a distant relative of a noble or at least someone with a clear background.

Moreover, there was not a person present who was unaware of the recent closeness between Megara and Abelus. How infuriating would it be to almost lose the person who was to become the Princess to someone who had lived a life deceiving their birth?

And what about the vivid and insulting accusations?

Most of the noblewomen present here had been deceived at least once by their husband or fiancé's affairs. Of course, the root of the problem lay in meeting the spouse in the first place, but how could one not understand the desire to humiliate that spouse in front of everyone?

If the person hearing such words was the Viscountess, who had not yet crossed the line with the Prince, Natasha would have been criticized, but wasn't she a commoner's illegitimate child? That was the most despised birth among nobles, so no one felt the need to wait for an excuse.

At that moment, the Viscount moved away from the crowd and approached his daughter. Megara tried to ask for some explanation as she met her father's gaze.

Ironically, that brief eye contact was more insulting than all the words Natasha had uttered so far.

There was nothing more hurtful to a person than receiving unwanted truths.

Megara turned and swiftly left the party venue.

As the Viscount tried to approach his daughter, subtly blocking individuals moved aside when Megara approached, as if afraid she might touch them.

A vehement denial echoed in Megara's mind.

"No."

It couldn't be. It just couldn't.

"How much my mother adored me."

In Megara's childhood, Lady Ricciandros always smiled at her. She would embrace her when she called her "mother." Running to show off in pretty clothes, wanting to be like her mother when she grew up...

What expression did she have?

"I don't remember.

An empty corridor.

Megara stood still in a dark and silent place that seemed unfamiliar. The focus disappeared from her eyes.

❖ ❖ ❖

"Wasn't it quite fun?"

Neris whispered to her husband, watching Natasha being led away by a man dressed as a palace attendant.

The man's face was familiar to Neris. He was one of Kamil's direct subordinates. Perhaps he was wandering around inside the party venue like that.

Cledwyn chuckled.

"It should be fun since you arranged it."

"Don't worry about 'that person's' affairs."

The two were embracing in the darkest corner of the party venue. If anyone saw them, they would have been in a posture that could have been pointed out as a disgrace for lower nobility to not know their dignity as nobles.

However, Cledwyn was the kind of person who would break someone's finger rather than care about others pointing fingers at him, and Neris was accustomed to being criticized by society. She held her husband tightly around the waist and gently caressed his cheek.

'That person.' It referred to the former Grand Duchess. Although they carefully expressed it in case someone overheard, the two understood each other.

The former Grand Duchess was the illegitimate child of the late Tiphian Viscount. So, her existence was not known until the need for a strategic marriage arose, and then she was suddenly picked up like picking up trash from the ground and sent away.

Even though her life was already full of hardships, if her birth was revealed, she would have faced such criticism as well. And her son, Cledwyn, would also be criticized for not having the qualifications of a Grand Duke, with all kinds of nobles claiming connections to dozens of generations of Grand Dukes to try to take his place.

As Cledwyn kissed his wife's cheek, he whispered.

"Don't worry."

She knew he didn't care much, but Neris didn't want to leave even the slightest possibility unattended.

She wanted to pick up even the tiniest possibility that he might suffer and trample it all.

"Yes, if 'that person' came into society, they would have to hear such remarks. Many fools believe that their worth is proven by whether their parents visited a temple long before they were born. But what does that even mean? They simply lived diligently."

She took advantage of the way society thought because it was convenient, but Neris didn't agree with their values.

"...Alright."

Cledwyn's smile sparkled like a jewel. Beautiful and noble... Neris buried her face in his chest and closed her eyes.

The words she heard in her previous life came back vividly, as clear as yesterday.

"Understand? If there's even a hint of a smell, it can be uncomfortable for nobles."

"I wish people understood that just being in the same classroom as you can feel like an insult."

"Is there anything more base here than you?"

"Tell me, Neris. Sorry for being alive. No. Die instead of apologizing."

Children exchanging meaningless glances as they blurted out words without a subject, reveling in their sense of victory.

Thrown to the floor were the many class materials.

Answers deliberately left unsaid.

Oh, the dreadful gaze in that lake.

The various insults one person could inflict on another.

"Your Highness, it's not proper to peek into others' bedrooms."

"Unlike the officially married Viscount, I am just a mere governess... Can't you give me just a bit of that warmth? A night sleeping with Your Highness is my only solace..."

When Neris challenged Megara's feelings, Abelus soon understood the truth. While he claimed to be a humble governess, Megara wielded power beyond that of most former Princesses.

The real Princess endured coldness from her husband, was driven out into the garden barefoot on snowy days, and locked in the stables overnight was just the beginning.

"I am not happy."

For the Megara Ricciandros of this life to be humiliated in front of everyone and run away, it was simply unbearable.

The unknown darkness deep in her heart did not dissipate.

Regretting her excessive greed, Neris held onto her husband's waist.

Yes... it wasn't over.

Natasha's divorce from the royal family marked the end for her, and she could live the rest of her life on her own. Many families needed the help of the Grunehalts Duke, and some of them didn't necessarily need Natasha to bear a child.

However, for Megara, remaining silent would sever her ties with society. Even if some needed the help of the Ricciandros Viscount, they couldn't bring commoners into their households.

Megara, who always believed she should be superior, would not silently endure such a situation. If she couldn't secure her place in society due to her birth, she had only one option left before her.

The time had come for the final puzzle piece to fall into place.