The Stepmother Keeps Stealing the Male Leads - Chapter 12

Whack!

“Got it!”

At the same time as Jaina’s triumphant shout, Helene’s legs gave out and she collapsed to the ground.

A bird’s corpse dropped with a thud behind Helene.

“Hey… if there’s a bird, you should’ve said something!”

“Really? If I shouted, ‘It’s a bird! I’m going to shoot the bird!!’ do you think the bird would’ve just sat there?”

Why is she so annoyingly good with her words?

With nothing to say back, Helene stared at the bird impaled by an arrow.

It was a gray-headed wood pigeon, a bird nobles went crazy for, famous for how delicious it was.

Helene was dumbfounded.

She and Jaina had been standing quite far apart—so far they had to yell just to hear each other.

And yet she hit a gray-headed wood pigeon from that distance?

What kind of eyesight is that??

What’s more, the pigeon had been pierced clean through by the arrow.

‘Jaina… I’ve really been so sorry all this time….’

“Anyway, what about you—no, Stepmother—what brings you to this mountain?” Jaina asked while pulling the arrow from the pigeon’s body.

She had been so distracted by the bird that it hadn’t hit her until just now—seeing Helene here was truly strange.

This mountain was not only remote and rugged, but also a place ordinary people rarely came to, let alone someone like Helene.

“Ahem… well.”

Helene handed her a piece of paper. It was a drawing she planned to show anyone familiar with the mountain to ask if they knew the location of a certain thing.

“Ah, if it’s this…”

Jaina let out a soft scoff at the drawing—worse than something April had drawn at age three.

Still, she understood what it was supposed to be. The drawing was terrible, but Jaina, who spent almost every day in this mountain, knew what it meant.

After Helene got directions from Jaina, she finally asked about the situation.

“By the way, are you out here hunting or something?”

Jaina flinched.

Her hunting in the mountains was a secret. Neither Liliana nor April knew about it.

After their father died, she had started hunting to relieve the stress she got from her stepmother, remembering how she used to go hunting with her father as a child. What began as a hobby had become something serious.

Hunting was fun, it suited her, and it brought in money. Jaina had become a skilled hunter, capable of taking down even the fiercest predators.

Wearing a disguise, she would sell the pelts in town and made a decent income.

There was one reason she secretly saved money.

“April is a special child…”

Jaina had nodded at Liliana’s words.

April was undoubtedly a genius. She had learned to read before anyone taught her and now could fluently read books written in ancient languages her sisters couldn’t even understand.

Maybe someone like her was better suited to a different life, but her beautiful older sister should live a happily married life, and their brilliant, adorable youngest sister should go to the academy.

But the tuition at the academy, meant for royals and the highest nobility, was far beyond what the fallen House Emeldia could afford.

Killing beasts and skinning them did come with guilt, but if she kept saving money like this, she might be able to afford April’s academy tuition. And if she dared to dream bigger, perhaps even a dowry for her sister’s marriage.

“…Please don’t tell Liliana and April.”

Unable to come up with even a decent excuse, Jaina spoke plainly.

She still disliked Helene, but lately there was a strange feeling—like she could trust her not to tell.

Thanks to some mystery dishes, April’s face had filled out despite her terrible picky eating, and just yesterday, Liliana had come back from the Sun Temple humming a tune.

Maybe—just maybe—she herself had started to open her heart to Helene.

“And you’d better not tell anyone you saw me on the mountain. If people find out I hike, I’ll die of embarrassment!”

To the point Jaina’s worry seemed unnecessary, Helene boldly turned on her heel and marched away in search of “it.”

***

After morning prayer ended, seeing the Marchioness of Lausenne approach with a meaningful look, Helene knew she was finally about to be invited to the Sun Fellowship.

She had worked so hard to get into the good graces of the Marchioness of Lausenne for this day.

The Marquis of Lausenne was a notorious womanizer.

Perhaps it was because he owned the largest farmland in the empire, but he certainly had a gift for ‘sowing seeds.’

His latest mistress was younger than his eldest daughter and had successfully given birth to his sixth illegitimate child.

The mistress was even gifted a manor and estate by the Marquis.

Since then, the Marchioness of Lausenne had grown increasingly obsessed with beauty and youth.

She was indeed beautiful for her age, but her skin didn’t reflect that.

Her entire face was covered in red, inflamed adult acne.

No doubt a result of the harsh cosmetics she used due to her obsession with beauty.

It was better than the mercury used in medieval times, but the cosmetics in this world were still underdeveloped.

‘If only I had houttuynia cordata.’

In her past life, Han Yena had worked part-time for three years to afford college, where she majored in makeup.

After graduating, she had landed a job at a fairly famous makeup shop.

She remembered the houttuynia face masks they used to make fresh every morning at the shop.

The head artist would have the plant specially flown in from Jeju and grind it by hand to make the packs.

Though the head artist’s personality was awful, her houttuynia packs were undeniably effective.

Before makeup demonstrations, applying a houttuynia pack would calm down red, irritated skin instantly and make foundation apply flawlessly.

‘Also known as chameleon plant, houttuynia has a fishy smell because it’s rich in essential oils. It’s effective as an antibiotic and anti-inflammatory. There’s nothing better for calming skin.’

Helene had scoured every mountain around Lephia in search of houttuynia.

Fortunately, Jaina—who practically lived in the mountains—had told her about a spot where it grew thick like a cultivated field.

Helene ground the houttuynia into toner.

This was true natural vegan toner.

Helene, like the Marchioness of Lausenne, loved heavy makeup. And because of it, her skin was far from perfect despite her striking beauty.

She used the houttuynia toner that very day.

Even after just a week, her redness subsided, her skin cleared up, and she no longer needed powder.

It seemed the houttuynia in this world was even more effective.

Helene poured the toner into a beautiful glass bottle she had bought in the marketplace and gave it to the Marchioness of Lausenne.

Though the Marchioness looked skeptical, Helene’s bare face showed not a hint of redness—it was clear and radiant.

The Marchioness decided to try it, thinking there was nothing to lose.

She was shocked.

No matter how much money she had spent, her skin had never improved like this. And now, a single bottle of toner had done what nothing else could.

For a moment, she even wondered if the rumors were true—was Helene really a witch using dark magic?

She didn’t care what it was. She wanted more.

Before she could even ask, Helene gave her more—houttuynia toner and even a bath bomb.

When the Marquis of Lausenne returned home after half a year, he couldn’t take his eyes off his wife’s transformed skin. He even returned to sleeping at the main estate instead of his mistress’s house.

“…Why are you giving something this good only to me?”

The Marchioness of Lausenne had always lacked confidence.

She was from the Kingdom of Arten, known for its strong military might.

As the third princess, her marriage paled in comparison to her two older sisters, who had become queens in foreign lands.

Being a foreigner, her exotic appearance and imperfect Hersen accent made it hard for her to fit into imperial society.

Even though she held the title of Marchioness, some countesses still looked down on her.

So she couldn’t understand why the Countess of Emeldia, of all people, would give her such a precious gift.

“Because I want to be friends with you, Marchioness Lausenne!”

What Helene wanted was genuine friendship.

The Marchioness slowly began to open her heart to Helene. She had always needed a friend like her.

She had always felt like an outsider in the Sun Fellowship. But if Helene—who was always on her side—were there, how wonderful would that be?

Besides, Helene, the ‘repentant stepmother’ famous throughout the empire, was an intriguing figure even within the Sun Fellowship.

This was also a chance to make up for falling out of favor with the Grand Duchess of Lebradian after wearing overly flashy dresses to temple.

During the Sun Fellowship’s tea time, the Marchioness of Lausenne finally gathered her courage.

“I… I’d like to invite a new friend to the Sun Fellowship. What do you all think?”

For the first time, the noblewomen’s eyes turned to her.