In a dimly lit office lined with shelves of ancient tomes and scrolls, two men sat tensely in armchairs.
Minister Julius Bormont, the paternal uncle of Victoria and Miranda, rubbed his temples. Across from him sat Viscount Kevin Bridge, his expression grim, his fingers nervously tapping the table.
"I agreed to let Victoria host the tea party," Kevin muttered, his voice low and strained. "And… I allowed her to invite Selene. But—I never wanted Duke Magnus to come."
Julius frowned. "I thought it was only the girl attending. Why in the world is Magnus Ravencroft coming to a mere children's tea party?"
Silence settled between them for a moment, thick and uneasy.
Then Kevin suddenly sat up straighter, his eyes wide. "Wait… you don't think Selene saw something, do you?"
Julius's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"The clairvoyant ability you told me she had, what if she foresaw something dangerous happening here, and told Duke Magnus? That would explain his presence…"
Julius paled, a chill running down his spine. "What could possibly happen here that would warrant a duke's personal intervention?"
"I don't know." Kevin swallowed hard. "But if it's serious enough for the Duke to act on a vision, then we're in trouble. I don't want to risk our family being entangled in anything scandalous."
Julius stood abruptly. "Then fix it. Whatever it is. Stop it before it ruins everything. If our crimes are found out, then we are finished."
Kevin's voice dropped to a whisper. "But what am I supposed to fix if I don't know what it is?"
Both men sank back into silence, thoughts racing but finding no answers.
Suddenly, the office door burst open with a bang.
A woman, her hair hastily pinned and makeup half-applied, stormed into the room in a flurry of perfume and panic.
It was Kevin's wife, Lady Clarissa Bridge, mother to both Miranda and Victoria.
"They're here!" she shrieked, her voice shrill and panicked. "Duke Magnus and Lady Selene just arrived! They're downstairs!"
Kevin stood, startled. "Calm down, Clarissa—"
"I will not calm down!" she snapped, wringing her lace-gloved hands. "They're standing there waiting, and you two are hiding up here like cowards! Don't you know how disrespectful this is?!"
Kevin blinked. "What do you mean? They were just invited guests—"
Julius gasped. "No, she's right. In noble etiquette, the host must personally greet their guests at the door, especially if the guest is of higher rank. And Duke Magnus outranks you."
Kevin turned pale.
"Dear gods…"
And without another word, the three of them rushed down the stairs, nearly tripping over themselves in their haste.
Meanwhile, at the manor's grand entrance…
A heavy silence lingered.
Duke Magnus Ravencroft stood like a pillar of authority beside his daughter. His expression was unreadable. Beside him stood Selene, quiet and graceful, folding the teddy bear in her arm.
And behind them were Damian Ravencroft and Merly.
Victoria stood there confused.
Why?
Why wasn't Selene suffering?
Why wasn't she trembling in rags and dirt, humiliated by her cursed status?
Why… did she still look the same?
Her hair was neatly braided with soft curls. Her dress was beautiful shimmered with elegance. And worse, a slender hairpin with a blue stone nestled into its center, sparkled in her hair like it belonged there.
Victoria's eyes locked onto it.
It was breathtaking.
A cold wave of envy washed over her.
Why… why didn't they care?! Wasn't she a cursed child now? Shouldn't they be hiding her, shunning her?
Were the Duke and Duchess… not ashamed?
She must be hiding it, she told herself bitterly. She must be pretending. Selene is just putting on airs. She's faking confidence. She must be scared underneath.
Her fists clenched at her sides.
She wanted to scream at her. Rip the stupid hairpin from her head. Tell her the truth—that she was nothing but a cursed monster.
But instead, she shook herself from her daze, drew her shoulders back, and stepped forward with a forced smile.
Her nose tilted slightly upward, her voice sugary sweet with mock politeness.
"Welcome… Lady Selene."
But before Selene could reply, the front doors burst open behind them.
"Duke Magnus!" Kevin, Julius, and Clarissa chorused as they rushed down the final steps, bowing deeply.
"We deeply apologize for the delay in greeting you at the entrance," Julius added hastily. "We were... preoccupied."
Magnus merely gave a faint nod, his eyes flicking briefly over the trio before returning to his daughter.
Selene stood silently beside her father, her eyes fixed on Victoria Bridge. Outwardly, she wore a composed expression, her posture elegant and her face unreadable. But internally, her thoughts churned like a violent storm.
This girl…
She scanned Victoria up and down, her crimson eyes glinting with caution and suppressed fury.
Back on Earth, when she first read about Victoria's actions toward Miranda, her own younger sister, Eunji had been livid. She despised women who would strike another girl over a man. But to do that to your own sister? It was disgusting.
In the original game script, there was a scene, Victoria capture Eri and laughed as she told the story of what she did to Miranda. Back then, Selene remembered throwing her tablet across the room in rage, wishing she could jump into the game just to strangle Victoria Bridge herself.
Now?
Now she stood right in front of her.
Selene's fingers twitched at her sides.
She wanted to do it. Just one solid slap. A right hook. A flying kick. Something. Anything.
But… It hasn't happened yet. Victoria hadn't done anything outrageous yet. There was no excuse to act violently, no socially acceptable justification. Not yet.
She'd wait until the little viper gave her a reason. And once she did… Selene would make sure to collect interest on all the emotional damage she caused, both in this world and the last.
But, oh God, the temptation.
She barely noticed Victoria eyeing her hairpin with envy. Her attention was too fixated on restraining herself.
On the way here, Selene and Magnus had spoken through their telepathic link device. They had gone over Victoria and the real Selene's past, how they'd met and most importantly… the many things Victoria had done to the real Selene before this current "Selene" had taken her place.
The more Selene heard, the angrier she became.
"You let that girl near your daughter?" Selene had snapped mentally.
"I tried to stop it," Magnus had replied, his voice calm but tired. "But when I ordered Selene to cut ties with Victoria, she cried. She threw a tantrum. Then she went on a hunger strike."
Selene had gone quiet after that, stunned.
A hunger strike? For Victoria?
Her brain spun at the absurdity of it.
It was ridiculous, so ridiculous that the only explanation she could think of was magic. "Are you sure Victoria didn't put a spell on her?" Selene had asked, voice dark. "Like a charm or manipulation spell?"
"There was no trace of enchantment on her," Magnus said. "We had the court mages examine her. I guess Victoria found a way to get into Selene's heads."
"Naive," Selene muttered bitterly. "She is so naive, she ignored every red flag."
And then, Magnus had recounted the incident that happened last year.
According to him, it started with a remark from Damian that provoked Victoria. He doesn't know what the remark was as Damian refused to tell him but whatever it was cause the girl snap.
She'd grabbed anything in reach, books, glass, porcelain, and began smashing them.
The maids tried to restrain her, but she dodged them, picked up a glass cup, rushed across the parlor, and struck Selene in the head. The cup shattered and blood poured from her forehead.
If Selene hadn't tilted her head slightly in that moment, it would've hit her face, a girl's most precious asset in noble society.
In noble society, a girl's face was everything. A blemish could shatter marriage prospects. A scar could end engagements, destroy reputations. Families would risk their lives to protect a daughter's beauty—and if it was ruined, the girl herself might choose to end her life. It was a brutal, twisted reality of this world.
There were rules, of course. If a boy ruined a girl's face, intentionally or not, he had to marry her. That was why Lucien and Victoria became engaged after she fell and a stone sliced her cheek open when he pushed her.
But if a girl damaged another girl's face? There were no official rules. It was considered unthinkable.
In fact, if the victim was of lower status, she would usually be offered hush money. If the attacker was of higher rank, justice was rare.
But for someone of lower status to harm a noble girl of higher status? It was a scandal worthy of war.
If Duchess Evangeline hadn't healed the wound instantly, the Bridge family would've been erased from existence.
Selene pressed her fingers to her forehead.
What kind of twisted mind… What kind of girl would attack another over a petty insult, aiming for the face, no less?
Selene looked at Victoria now, standing with forced poise and a plastic smile, and her stomach turned.
What is going on in that little girl's head? She couldn't understand it. But what she does understand is this girl is very dangerous and need to be unguard at this tea party.
Now Selene regret coming.