Chapter 2
“This mansion is amazing! Living in a place like this has always been my dream.”
Jane excitedly looked around the mansion, and Theodore watched her with a gentle, affectionate gaze. If Rachel weren’t there, it would have been the perfect moment to wrap his arms around her and kiss her.
‘Playing around like that… in front of your wife?’
It was so obvious—how the original Rachel never noticed it at all was beyond comprehension.
Rachel felt a surge of irritation. She knew about the affair, she didn’t care for Theodore, yet she was angry. Uncomfortable, annoyed, and upset.
But she didn’t reveal her true feelings. Showing that she knew about the affair now would ruin all her plans.
Instead, she welcomed Jane with the same words she had in the original story.
“Since you’re here, why don’t we have dinner together?”
“Oh, may we? I’d love to!”
Theodore nodded with satisfaction.
“I must have surprised you by bringing a guest suddenly. Thank you, Rachel—you’re such a good person. I’ll go upstairs to change, so you two ladies can have a chat.”
A chat? More like a chaos session.
As Theodore climbed the stairs from the hall to the second floor, he gave Jane a knowing glance.
‘Don’t be lonely while I’m gone.’
‘It’s sad, but I’ll hold back and wait.’
It was like their silent conversation reached Rachel’s ears.
Only after Theodore disappeared did Jane finally meet Rachel’s gaze.
Rachel smiled gently.
“Shall we wait in the reception room, Jane?”
In the original story, Rachel had taken Jane to the mansion’s grandest and most beautiful reception room, reserved only for important guests.
Back then, Rachel, who longed for Theodore’s love, had treated his guest with utmost care—even if it was a young woman who stirred jealousy.
But this time, she did not. Rachel led Jane to the small reception room closest to the hall. Later, Theodore would be furious, wondering why she had taken his guest there, but she didn’t care.
Jane, though from a relatively well-off commoner family, didn’t know much about noble mansions. Seeing the room, all she could say was, “Is this the reception room?”—slightly disappointed.
As soon as she sat down, Jane leaned forward and whispered:
“Um, Countess, there’s something I’ve wanted to tell you… may I?”
Rachel had already guessed what it was and had to restrain herself from saying, “Don’t.”
“Of course, that’s fine. What is it?”
“I’ve wanted to tell you this ever since I first saw you in the hall…”
“Yes?”
“Madam, have you considered skincare? I heard there’s a new general store selling a perfume that makes your skin smooth. If you like, I can bring you some next time!”
Foolish Rachel was delighted by this. She thought, What a kind young lady! and even bragged to Theodore about how Jane wanted to give her a gift. She had no idea Jane was subtly mocking her.
Jane was nine years younger than Theodore and five years younger than Rachel.
Rachel had been Jane’s age when she was preparing to marry Theodore—an age where she was beautiful and radiant, yet she ended up marrying a man like him without ever properly experiencing love.
Though Rachel didn’t know it, she was beautiful: soft pink hair, sky-blue eyes, a gentle expression, and a slender figure. Unlike young Jane, she had mature charm.
Tragically, unloved Rachel had convinced herself she wasn’t attractive. So she followed Jane’s advice, did skincare, wore provocative lingerie, and forced herself to be coquettish.
All to gain the attention of a husband who had never looked at her that way.
It was ridiculous.
Rachel hardened her expression.
“You want to give me perfume? How utterly absurd.”
Taken aback, Jane’s voice faltered.
“Uh… I-I didn’t mean to be absurd, I just…”
“If you have time to worry about my skin on our first meeting, how about you worry about your own? I’m not someone who should be receiving skincare advice from a woman like you.”
“Oh… I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d hate it this much. I just thought it was a fragrance Lord Theodore liked, so you might like it too…”
“The fragrance Theodore likes?”
Perfume was a popular skincare item, applied after bathing.
She was basically saying, He likes the scent after the two of you bathed together?—essentially confessing, We slept together, openly!
It was a blunder beyond comprehension.
Jane’s face flushed as she realized her mistake.
“I… I’m really sorry. I—I didn’t… sleep with Lord Theodore or anything like that…”
Slap!
Rachel’s hand shot out like fire.
“Sleep with him? First, you mention the perfume he likes, now you bring up sleeping with him? Did you actually sleep together?”
“You… you’re hitting me! I’m just a guest of Count Theodore!”
“So? Being a guest doesn’t mean you can insult me! You must’ve forgotten, but I’m a countess and you’re a commoner. Just talking like this is outrageous. I was being polite, and you’ve completely overstepped.”
Truthfully, Rachel hadn’t intended to slap her. She planned to act like her old self until the divorce preparations were complete.
But seeing a woman openly flaunt her affair with her husband made her blood boil.
Jane trembled, unsure of what to do, her voice quivering.
Then, as if spurred by Theodore’s appearance, she darted out, seemingly ready to run into his arms—but paused, noticing Rachel.
“Count Theodore…!”
“J-Jane?”
Theodore froze at the sight of his lover’s reddened cheek.
“Rachel! What happened? Why is Jane’s cheek…”
“She did something she deserved. Right, Jane?”
Jane’s eyes welled up again at Rachel’s clear voice, but she couldn’t protest. Theodore would surely scold her for her blunder anyway.
Dinner was served, and Jane, Theodore, Rachel, and Graham gathered at the dining table.
Jane, trying to gauge Rachel’s mood, flirted with Theodore while seated beside him. Her confidence seemed bolstered by the presence of her boyfriend, unlike earlier.
“So many servants serving dinner—this is amazing! Count Theodore lives like this? It feels… so distant.”
“Distant? Just come often and you’ll get used to it.”
Really playing around. Come often? Who asked?
Before Rachel could protest, Graham spoke first.
“I don’t like her. Don’t come again.”
“Graham?”
Jane, oblivious to Graham’s attachment to his mother, continued talking.
“Hello, Graham. Count Theodore told me a lot about you. You’re really handsome. When you grow up, you’ll be amazing. You look so much like your father.”
Graham, the future Count Ellosa, was still a child. Talking down to someone of far higher status, even if it was Theodore’s lover, was overstepping.
Even more surprising, Theodore didn’t stop her.
Graham pouted.
“You’re silly! I don’t look like Dad. I look like Mom.”
“Well… you do look like your father—hair color, eye color…”
Though technically true, Graham’s heart was clearly hurt. Tears shimmered in his eyes.
“I don’t want to look like Dad. I want to look like Mom.”
His gaze pleaded for help from Rachel.
“Of course, you look like Mom. You’re Mom’s son, born of her. To me, you only take after your mother, not your father.”
“Right? I really look like Mom, don’t I?”
Graham beamed.
Theodore coughed awkwardly.
“Graham, you like Mom that much?”
“Yes! Mom is the prettiest and the best in the world.”
“And Dad? He’s pretty too.”
“Dad isn’t pretty.”
His tone made the question itself ridiculous.
Theodore scratched his head sheepishly.
“Do you not like saying Dad is pretty because he’s a man? How about Jane? She’s pretty, isn’t she?”
Graham looked across at Jane, shoulders slumping.
“Mom, we have a big problem.”
“Huh? Why all of a sudden?”
“I think Dad’s eyes aren’t working properly anymore.”
Rachel had to stifle her laughter at his serious tone.
“Dad’s eyes not working?”
“Marsha said that when people get older, their eyes don’t work as well. Dad thinks he’s handsome, so he says pretty things to an unpretty lady, but he never says it to the prettiest Mom. So his eyes must be failing, right?”
How articulate for a child!
And he subtly scolded Theodore and Jane. Truly, even as a child, he was formidable.
The expressions on Theodore and Jane, flustered and unsure how to respond, were priceless.
Rachel could barely contain her joy, secretly bouncing inside. She wanted to hug Graham tightly and rub his cheeks.
Maintaining composure in this situation was exhausting.
She couldn’t wait to divorce and live alone with Graham!
After the meal, Jane fled the mansion as if running for her life. Her face looked like she might burst into tears at any moment, though she hadn’t even done much.
How she would survive the even greater challenges ahead was beyond Rachel.
Theodore growled sternly.
“Don’t go to bed yet, Rachel. I have something to discuss with you.”
“Alright.”
He seemed intent on scolding Rachel for embarrassing Jane at dinner.
Rachel didn’t care.
Theodore escorted Jane out of the mansion and didn’t return until late at night. He approached Rachel with long, threatening strides.
“Rachel. Are you crazy?”
The crazy one here is you, Rachel thought, smirking inwardly.
