The Reborn Lady is Loved by her Foster Brother: The Scariest Villain - Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 – AH, WHAT AN UNLUCKY LIFE!

Ortansia was originally a daughter born to a bar woman. Her mother was a very attractive woman, so Ortansia never knew her father. Still, she and her mother lived happily together when she was a child.

Life was poor, but they always had a lot of happiness and laughter. Until her mother passed away at a young age due to a sudden illness.

Orphaned with no relatives to rely on, Ortansia was sent to live in an orphanage.

Life at the orphanage was not so bad. She was sometimes mistreated by mean children, but she was still able to live with everyone huddled together.

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Then, when Ortansia was seven years old, her foster father, the Duke of Verite, came to the orphanage.

He took her in as an adopted daughter of the duke’s family.

Apparently, the Duke was one of Ortansia’s mother’s lovers. When the Duke learned of her mother’s death and that her daughter Ortansia had been left an orphan, he searched for her, wondering if she might be his own daughter.

“I’m sorry I left you alone, Ortansia. I am your father.”

On the day they first met, the Duke of Verite, her foster father, hugged Ortansia and uttered these words. Read only on https://royaltywrites.com.ng/

He seemed convinced that Ortansia was his daughter.

‘But thinking about it, I think he just wanted a “duchess” to marry off to an influential person as a pawn in… political maneuvering! Because he is very good at scheming!’

Duke Verite promised huge aid to the orphanage and took Ortansia in as his daughter.

An orphan who hasn’t even received an education has changed classes to become a duke’s daughter!

The Duke of Verite is one of the four great dukes that has existed since the country was founded, in other words, it is one of the most prestigious aristocratic families in the country. Ortansia, who until a few days ago was carefree weeding in an orphanage, has quickly become a “Noble lady” who is served by many servants.

To be honest, she was more surprised than happy. In the beginning, everything was new to her.

Ortansia, who didn’t have even the most basic etiquette, was scolded by the teacher a lot.

Behind her back, the servants made fun of her, saying, “She is a daughter of a Mistress,” and “I doubt if she really has the duke’s blood in her veins”.

She couldn’t even ask anyone for help, and when she went to bed at night, she always cried aloud. Her father, the Duke of Verite, was a busy man and was away from the mansion most days. It was obvious to the young Ortansia that he didn’t have time for her, his daughter, so she couldn’t ask him for advice if she had any problems.

Besides, the biggest barrier was Gerard, her foster brother. He was a problem from earlier on. In the first place, it was hopeless to communicate with him.

Ortansia, who had been greatly frightened by her foster brother’s absolutely cold stare at their first meeting, had since then excessively avoided him. Even in the mansion, she tried to avoid meeting him as much as possible, and even when she did have dinner with him, she was so afraid of his cold gaze that she could not even look at him.

‘Well, from my brother’s point of view, I am just a lowly bar girl who may or may not be related to him. Even if I suddenly say, “I’m your little sister from today!”, there’s no way he will accept me… ‘

Because of this situation, Gerard never interacted with Ortansia, and the two of them were like strangers living in the same house.

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No, they were worse than strangers.

Gerard treated Ortansia as if she were a “non-existent person” and every time Ortansia saw Gerard, she would run away as fast as she could.

‘Because I was running away so much, I became more familiar with the structure of the duke’s mansion than anyone else. It didn’t help me much, though.’

And so, she spent several years in solitude in the spacious mansion.

After a few years of living in solitude in a large mansion, Ortansia managed to acquire enough manners to make her debut in the social world as a duchess.

She was warmly welcomed by everyone when she stepped out onto the social scene as a duchess.

“I heard that she is the daughter of a Mistress. No wonder she is so vulgar.”

“I heard that Master Grard doesn’t even speak to you. I guess he can’t tolerate a lowly person mixing with his noble blood.

Why don’t you learn to understand your place in the world? It’s disgraceful.

‘Yes, yes, I can hear you! They are saying this on purpose so that I can hear them’

Ortansia, a new duchess, was often ridiculed behind her back.

Ortansia, who had a timid personality, couldn’t even speak back, and always looked down at parties and other places.

As the daughter of a prestigious duke, she often received invitations to dance and other events, but she was afraid of making a mistake, so she always turned them down.

‘I wonder if I could have avoided the worst future if I had an arranged marriage with the right person at that time’

So, at the age of 16, Ortansia, who had made no progress with her marriage proposal, was invited into the royal court as a candidate for the prince’s consort.

(T/N: Consort is the same thing as Wife in this context)

It was not because the prince had taken a liking to her, but to give face to the ducal family and simply to make up the numbers.

It has been the custom in this country for generations that when the crown prince reaches a certain age and has no queen or fiance, a so-called “bride selection gathering” is held at the royal palace, where daughters of noble families at the same age as the crown prince are gathered to deepen interaction with him.

Ortansia, who was just the right age and had neither a Lover nor fiance, was invited to attend. Following her father’s advice to “take it lightly as a social experience,” the unfortunate duchess went up to the royal palace without hesitation.

However, even at the bride selection committee, Ortansia was the only one who stood out.

The other candidates for the crown princess, who were beautifully dressed and made every effort to look attractive to the crown prince, looked radiant and glamorous.

Ortansia felt inferior and ended up shutting herself up in her room all the time except when she needed it. To escape reality, she immersed herself in reading and embroidery. Which was too plain for her own good.

Even during the time set aside for each candidate to interact with the Prince, she was always trying to keep him from falling into an awkward silence.

She was sure that none of the other candidates saw Ortanshia as a rival.

It was during this time that her father suddenly fell ill and did not return home.

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‘I was surprised at that time… There was no foreseen sign of that at all.’

Ortansia, who was allowed to temporarily return to the ducal family from the royal palace, bursted into tears at the untimely farewell to her father.

As usual, her brother Gerard did not speak to Ortansia, and his occasional glances were cold, but Ortansia was vaguely concerned for his wellbeing.

Due to his father’s death, her brother was required to succeed to the dukedom at a young age.

On the day of the funeral, he remained resolute, showing not a single tear or emotion.

But it must have been hard for him.

‘I must be more firm and support my brother’, Ortansia thought, without realizing it.

‘It must have been a nuisance for her brother, though.’

When Ortansia returned to the royal palace, her mind was always occupied with when she would be able to return home, despite the ever-increasing heat of the bride selection.

‘When I return to the duke’s mansion, I would have to study so that I can help my brother as much as possible’. It was while her mind was occupied with that thought that an incident occurred that shook the royal palace… or even the whole country.

One of the prospective queens was nearly poisoned to death.

Fortunately, the doctor’s treatment was quick and she survived, but if it had been a little later, she would have died.

Hearing this story, one shudders, “How horrible,” and at the same time, Ortansia was captured as a suspect.

It seems that there were several people who testified that Ortansia had been acting suspiciously and that she had been in disagreement with the victim.

‘I didn’t even realize I was being set up, and I just kept bumbling alongThinking silly things like “when did my doppelganger appear?”.’

It was bad enough that I was holed up in my room all the time, with no allies and no good alibi.

Without time to argue, Ortansia was accused of the crime.

Grard did not try to help his sister. He had become known as the “Duke of Ruthlessness,” and he did not hesitate to abandon her.

She was captured as a criminal, interrogated and finally cruelly executed.

‘Looking back, what a life of bad luck ‘