The Flower That Was Swallowed by the Beast - Chapter 16

Britney smiled as she looked at the magazine a maid had brought her.

Even though Alfred didn’t take Iris’ out of Keivrand’s hands, Britney hadn’t expected that much either.

She just wanted to instill in Keivrand’s and the people’s minds what a promiscuous woman Iris is.

This magazine with an article about Iris also contained things about ghosts and vampires, so it lacked credibility.

However, it wouldn’t take long for this article to spread far, as everyone liked to buy and read rumors concerning noble families.

‘Iris will be kicked out soon. To the family that guards the sacred relics, there is no way they would want a dirty, promiscuous girl.’

She hasn’t heard anything about Iris and Keivrand’s wedding yet.

It was clear that the Green family was opposed to it.

‘Or maybe Count Green is regretting that he took Iris on impulse. The girl has a gloomy personality and she’s not interesting. A pretty face isn’t everything, right?’

Just imagining the day when Iris is kicked out and has to crawl back to the mansion was thrilling.

“Miss. Lady Mortise is here.”

Britney, giggling as she held the magazine, jumped to her feet at the maid’s words.

“Katrina? Tell her to come in.”

Her best friend Katrina, who is the same age as her, was Marquess Mortise’s esteemed daughter.

She was just the right amount of dense where Britney could treat her like a personal maid.

“Brie, Brie, Brie! Did you see this?”

Katrina was as lively as ever.

In her hand was the same magazine Britney had been reading.

Britney slipped the magazine behind the cushion and asked with a look of ignorance.

“What is it?”

“Look at this, look at this. I knew you wouldn’t know. Anyway, you’re too indifferent to high society.”

Looking at Katrina speaking pitifully, Britney pretended to be innocent and blinked.

Katrina opened the magazine.

“This article!”

In the magazine was a short but precise article.

[The Secret Private Life of a Countess]

The magazine didn’t mention real names, but throughout the article, it hinted at the Green family by using the words ‘sacred family,’ ‘family protected by the Divine Kingdom,’ and ‘family protecting the sacred relics.’

“The ‘Duke’s flower known throughout the Eleron continent’ is Iris, isn’t it? The sacred family should be the Green family.”

“Ah…”

“Is it true? Did Iris really marry Count Green? T-that Count Green?”

“Mhm…”

“What’s going on? Wasn’t she supposed to marry Viscount Hutch? I heard Iris loved Viscount Hutch so much that she followed him around.”

“I know. But…one thing led to another…”

She could never say that it was Keivrand who had come and proposed to Iris.

“Well, I guess being a Countess is better than a Viscountess. I heard that Iris had threatened Count Green with blackmail. So he decided to marry her.”

“Really? What did she blackmail Count Green with?”

“I don’t know that. No, well. It’s not necessarily true…It’s just a guess.”

Britney would add such things as, ‘I don’t know either…It’s not necessarily true..It’s just a guess,’ when she spoke to Kratrina.

That way, if it becomes a problem, there’s a hole to get out of it.

“Wah, how can that be? Iris, she, I didn’t see her like that, but she’s really scary.”

“No, Iris, is a good girl. It’s just rumors.”

“Isn’t it ridiculous? It’s weird that Count Green suddenly asked Iris to marry him. Also, how long have they been married, and she’s already having an affair? Can’t be, can’t be. She was originally in a relationship with Viscount Hutch, so did she cheat on him with Count Green?”

“Ah, impossible. That sort of…even so…I think Viscount Hutch felt really hurt. He came here a while ago and was in tears.”

“I’ve heard that Viscount Hutch is staying at your mansion…So he’s in tears.”

“I know. It’s pitiable. I feel sorry for him.”

“Indeed. But it’s a little weird.”

Katrina tilted her head with her index finger on her chin.

“Count Green and Iris, why haven’t they had their wedding?”

“Well…I don’t know.”

“Ah, maybe his family is against it? Venerable Count Green’s personality is very strict. And don’t even mention Venerable Countess Green.”

“Maybe so…”

“It’s not maybe so. I’m sure. I went to a tea party the other day and saw Celestine Green.”

“Celestine Green…Count Green’s sister? I heard she doesn’t go to parties very often.”

“I guess she attends parties of close friends from time to time. Anyway, I glanced at her once and she was very scary looking. She’s very feisty.”

“Really?”

Britney almost burst out laughing, but managed to hold it in.

This will do, she thought.

The talkative, extrovert Katrina will put some credibility on the rumors and spread it around.

Words of a Marquess’ daughter will be embedded in people’s minds more strongly than the words of a faceless writer and maid.

* * *

The late Count Wyvern Green, who had handed over the title to his son early on, sat in a sunny garden, drinking tea with his wife, Helena.

The elderly couple’s leisure time was shattered by their advisor who rushed in.

“I think you should see this.”

What the advisor had brought was a newspaper.

It wasn’t a newspaper that Wyvern subscribed to.

Wyvern, who silently read the article pointed out by the advisor, handed the newspaper over to Helena.

Helena, who finished reading through the article, spoke.

“We…did we oppose Kei’s marriage?”

“Unless I’ve gone senile and can’t remember, I didn’t.”

“Right? Unless both of us has gone senile at the same time…”

Helena folded the newspaper and returned it to the advisor.

The advisor asked with an embarrassed look.

“Do you want me to complain to the newspaper?”

“Complain? For what reason?”

Helena asked back as if she didn’t understand the question.

“That’s…Spreading these false rumors.”

“Leave it alone. Only when you respond to false rumors will people think it’s true.”

“But…People still believe it.”

“The voices of those who believe will be loud, but there will be more who don’t believe.”

“True, but I’m still worried. Maybe the article here is true…”

Helena’s eyes sank coldly, so the advisor couldn’t finish his sentence.

“I don’t believe my son would marry someone without telling his parents. Isn’t that right, dear?”

The advisor thought, ‘If it’s your son, then it might just be the case,’ but of course he didn’t say that.

* * *

Celestine’s patience was growing thin.

This is because Keivrand, who was expected to return in a day, never returned, and an article about Countess Green’s affair was even published in the newspaper.

Being in a newspaper was a different matter than being in a magazine.

Unlike magazines that can be created and operated by anyone, newspapers could only be created by the royal family or union with the government’s permission.

In terms of credibility, newspapers outperformed magazines.

What really irritated Celestine, who was about to explode, was the presence of Juliette Merdi, a maid of Keivrand who now worked for Iris.

In the Green estate where Keivrant and Iris weren’t present, Juliette was flaunting as if she was the mistress of the house.

“What are you all doing? I heard the Count is coming back before this evening at the latest, and you expect him to come back to this?”

Afraid that she would start cursing if she kept watching Juliette scold the maids, Celestine came out into the garden.

Nathan, who was twirling a gun with his index finger, just happened to be passing by.

“Nathan. Why the hell is that woman in there pretending to be the mistress?”

“Oh my goodness. How many times do I have to tell you? She’s Juliette Merdi. Your sister-in-law’s personal maid!”

Nathan, who had already been asked the same question for the 17th time, replied in an irritated voice.

“You know that’s not what I mean. Why the hell are you letting her do that?”

“Then what? She’s your sister-in-law’s personal maid, so why don’t you kick her ass?”

“Kicking, you’re good at that.”

“Who do you think I am? I don’t kick anyone in my life.”

“When you were a kid, you tried to kick my dad…”

“But you used to kick the late Count when you were a kid. Even now you’re kicking. L-look, look. You’re kicking again.”

Nathan quickly dodged Celestine’s kick.

“Hey, the boss is coming!”

At that time, Wallace raced toward the front gate and shouted.

Jamie, Eugene, and the other people in the mansion also headed to the gate to greet the Count and his wife.

Celestine grabbed Nathan’s sleeve as he tried to run.

“Hey. What?”

“Hide!”

“What?”

Celestine dragged Nathan and hid herself between a gap in the garden.

“Let me go, Cel. I’m going to go say hello to the boss and his wife.”

“Stay still, please!”

“Ha, I really don’t know what’s going on!”

Celestine wanted to see Iris’ appearance without any pretense.

It was because there were women who wanted to look good in front of their husband’s family.

The flower of Duke Whittle.

Celestine, who wasn’t interested in high society, wanted to quietly observe and see how true the rumors were.

Soon, the figures of Keivrand and Iris caught Celestine’s eyes.

She could see the newspaper that she was holding earlier obscuring Iris’ face.

In the large open space of the garden, Iris suddenly stopped walking.

The people who came out to meet the Count and his wife looked at her wondering what was going on.

Except for Keivrand’s shadows, few people revered Iris.

After all, they haven’t been married for long and Iris’ reputation has already been damaged, so there was no way they would look at her in a good light.

Iris should definitely be able to feel the atmosphere in the eyes of the employees.

But she didn’t lower her head or turn her eyes.

She looked around the employees with an elegant smile, picked up the newspaper and shook it slightly.

“I saw an interesting article.”

Some employees flinched.

Celestine wondered how Iris would explain the article.

“I’m…”

Iris’ gaze stopped on Juliette.

“I’m sure this article didn’t originate from this house.”

After saying that, Iris started walking again as if nothing had happened.

There was no excuse for the article.

But Celestine could tell by her attitude.

‘The article is a lie.’

Perhaps the quick-witted people standing here had also noticed.

‘And the article came from someone’s mouth in this family.’

It was easy to tell whose mouth it was.

At least for Celestine, who was watching from afar, could tell.

Only then did she properly see Iris’ face.

Fair and small face, perfectly positioned features, and crystal clear violet eyes.

The way she was dressed like a man and the way she walked slowly with an unshakable aura were engraved in Celestine’s eyes.

She radiated a bright glow where even being praised as the flower of Duke Whittle wasn’t enough to describe her.

“What the hell…”

After they left, Celestine spoke.

“Why would a woman like that marry someone like my brother?”

Nathan frowned and replied abruptly.

“How am I supposed to know that?”

== Translator’s Note ==

1. Please report any typos, grammatical/spelling errors, sentences you find weird, and other etc…in the comment section .