Chapter 18

Even while the argument continued, I ate with perfect elegance. By the time I finished, only my plate had been cleaned completely. Resisting the urge to lick off the sauce stuck to it, I shot the serving attendant a quick glance. He hurriedly pulled my chair back for me.

“Ah, that was delicious. It’s been a long time since I last sat around the table with everyone like this, but I’ve enjoyed myself far more than I would have eating alone.”

Everyone else had barely touched their food. Helena’s scowl was thoroughly entertaining, but this was nowhere near enough to make Ophelia happy.

“Ophelia. Just what are you plotting?”

Even his low, rumbling voice, like a growl crawling along the ground, posed no threat to me. I wanted to remind him not to underestimate me so carelessly when I’d once been called the villainess of the century. But as Ophelia, I had to suppress that impulse.

I would carry love, kindness, and compassion in both arms and walk a path to happiness worthy of her.

“I had a dream.”

My twin tails swayed lightly as I headed toward the door with a graceful, dancing step.

“And I received a divine revelation. A beautiful ginger cat would bring me happiness.”

“I’m not interested in hearing such nonsense—”

“How cruel of you to call it nonsense. It really happened.”

It was the absolute truth, yet what a terrible father he was to distrust his own daughter. Anyone who mocked a divine revelation promising happiness would never be able to obtain that happiness, even if they came to desire it later.

“That’s why I’ve decided to stop hanging my head, so I can properly accept that happiness when it comes.”

“A cat? You really think someone like you could become happy just because of some silly dream, Sister?”

Helena rose with an obnoxious scrape of her chair, squared her shoulders, and glared at me. She probably assumed that the person I held dear was Vincent.

“Hehe. You know, Helena, the way you’re acting reminds me of a cat.”

Covering my mouth with one hand, I smiled elegantly and swept out of the dining room, leaving the discord behind me.

I, Ophelia, didn’t even have a personal maid, yet Helena had three assigned to her. One of them was treated as a plaything for Helena to vent her stress on. She would yell at and mistreat the poor girl for no good reason, and afterward, Ophelia would secretly comfort her.

Her name was Yuri. If I remembered correctly, she was the daughter of a baronial family that had never amounted to much.

Once again, she’d been subjected to Helena’s unreasonable abuse today. I’d stepped in, settled the matter, and taken her away.