The Stepmother Keeps Stealing the Male Leads - Chapter 7

The temple in the capital, Lephia, was the oldest in the Hersen Empire.

At the top of the temple built from pure white marble stood a sun-shaped sculpture that reflected sunlight and cast a sacred glow over the marble steps.

Though she had been pushed into coming by her stepmother for the first time in two whole years, Liliana couldn’t have been more delighted to see the sun statue again.

The divine atmosphere naturally brought a sense of reverence to her posture and seemed to cleanse her heart.

But it didn’t last long.

“…So the Emeldia family finally went bankrupt?”

“I heard that too. How could a house like Emeldia…”

“That girl must be the eldest daughter, Liliana, right?”

“She’s already twenty-two, and not a single marriage proposal has come her way.”

“Goodness. But who could handle that? Her stepmother’s completely insane. I heard she caused a scene at a gambling house and even got banned for assault…”

“Is she coming back to the temple now?”

“Who knows… Still, I don’t like the idea of her attending temple services.”

She expected it, but attending morning service at the temple turned out to be more painful than she imagined.

In high society, gossip among nobles was common, but what was directed at Liliana was no longer mere gossip—the voices were loud enough for the subject herself to hear.

As if they didn’t care whether she heard or not.

Liliana only spoke with the priests of the temple, never exchanging words with the noble worshippers.

She simply offered her prayers to the Sun God.

Still, one question lingered.

Why did her stepmother insist she return to temple?

If she was hoping to build social connections, it would be a colossal failure.

Those people hated mingling with someone from a scandal-ridden family. They made it a point to completely exclude Liliana from their world.

If only she had kept quiet and stayed out of sight, perhaps she wouldn’t have been so despised.

Today again, Liliana walked steadily, pretending nothing was wrong, and took her seat.

***

The Grand Duchess of Revladian gazed out the window.

The cloudless sky and the tranquil lake were dazzlingly beautiful.

The mild yet slightly tangy flavor of Herbyante’s specialty black tea lingered on her tongue.

Her sight and taste were in perfect harmony, but not her ears.

“The gambling’s one thing, but I heard there were many issues with men too.”

“Goodness, what did the Count of Emeldia even see in her?”

“Must’ve been her chest? When I first saw her, I thought she was carrying a whole armful of bread.”

“Oh my, I never imagined the Count of Emeldia was that kind of man.”

“And Lady Liliana might look demure, but under a stepmother like that, she must’ve picked up some things, don’t you think?”

The ‘Sun Fellowship’ was a social gathering of noblewomen centered around the Grand Duchess of Revladian after morning service.

Contrary to the grand duchess’s intention of deepening their understanding of the Sun faith and inspiring greater devotion, the gathering had devolved into a petty group for gossiping about the personal lives of other temple-goers.

But the Grand Duchess of Revladian had no interest whatsoever in the private matters of the congregation.

Still, the relentless talk about the Emeldia family in recent days brought old memories to her mind.

House Emeldia.

In her recollection, it had once been a prestigious family that had ties with her own natal family, House Kelso, before she married into Revladian.

Count Raul had served as an imperial knight. He was one of the few knights praised by her father, who had been a general in the Empire.

She recalled him saying it was unfortunate that Raul had to retire young due to an injury in battle.

The grand duchess thought the misfortunes that befell such an honorable family were indeed regrettable, but it had now been twenty minutes of this chatter.

She wished the conversation about Liliana would come to an end.

“And did you see Lady Liliana’s dress? A skirt that doesn’t even flare out? That style was in fashion ten years ago.”

Once again, the gossip about Liliana resumed.

With a faint sigh, the grand duchess turned her focus back to the view outside the window.

But the voices could not be blocked out.

“I saw it too. And weren’t the sleeves too short? I don’t think she’s bought any new clothes. How could she think of coming to temple dressed like that?”

The grand duchess recalled Liliana’s appearance.

As the ladies had said, Liliana’s dress was an outdated style from ten years ago—one without a petticoat, lacking any volume.

It was an old dress, but clean and well-kept. The way it was crisply pressed made it clear she ironed it every morning.

Lately, many noblewomen had begun flaunting new clothes even in the sacred space of the temple.

Disliking such frivolous displays, the grand duchess thought Liliana’s modest and clean dress was far more fitting for temple service.

She also remembered glimpsing Liliana’s profile as she prayed.

Never before had she seen a young lady so earnest in her prayers during regular temple visits.

Whatever else might be said, her faith alone seemed truly sincere.

The grand duchess sipped her tea again. Strangely, the tea now tasted bitter.

***

Ssszzk— ssszzk—

The sound of meat sizzling echoed through the Emeldia mansion.

Other chores were still handled by the three sisters, but when it came to meals, Helene took charge.

Today’s menu was none other than grilled pork belly.

And Helene even made sweet, tangy, and slightly spicy pickled onions that even April—who wouldn’t touch onions—couldn’t resist.

“…Meat?”

“Of course it’s meat for breakfast. Come sit down.”

Once again, the sisters were greeted with a breakfast menu they had never seen before in their lives.

Before long, Helene placed the golden, crispy pork belly onto a plate and set it on the table.

A slice of pork belly glistening with oil, paired with sweet-and-sour pickled onions.

Wrapped in lettuce from the backyard mountain and popped into one’s mouth—

‘Yes, this is the taste!’

She missed having ssamjang, but every time Helene ate Korean food like this, she felt the memories of her past life were undeniably real.

Following Helene’s lead, the three sisters awkwardly started wrapping their own lettuce wraps and eating.

Jaina had to admit it.

She really hated Helene, but when it came to cooking, Helene was good.

She cooked dishes no one had even heard of, but every one of them was absurdly delicious.

“This is really good… Strangely, when you eat this with meat, it’s not greasy at all…”

Liliana exclaimed after putting the pickled onions and pork belly into her mouth.

The pickled onions cut the richness of the meat and added a crunchy texture, making it endlessly appetizing.

Before she knew it, her stomach was full.

Liliana wondered if it was alright to eat so much when she had to go pray soon.

Meanwhile, there was no plate of pickled onions in front of April.

Respecting April’s dislike of onions, she was only given salt and dipping sauce.

Helene proudly brought over another generous portion of pickled onions.

Maybe—just maybe—onions really were tasty, just as Helene claimed?

April checked her sisters’ plates too.

Jaina would eat anything, so that wasn’t surprising. But even Liliana, who usually ate very little, had a clean plate.

Still, she couldn’t ask for onions now.

Because she knew that was exactly what the damned stepmother was plotting.

Doing this over food? How petty.

Determined not to fall for her tricks, April stared at her plate—only for another dish to be gently placed in front of her.

It was full of pickled onions.

‘Is this bait? Is she mocking me?’

April’s mind was tangled with doubt, but Helene wasn’t even looking at her.

As if saying there’d be no loss of pride if she ate them.

A silent message that said: I won’t tease you if you eat it, and I won’t say anything if you don’t—no pressure.

“So, how’s it been going at the temple lately?”

Helene turned to Liliana.

This was also why she prepared breakfast.

Helene received daily reports from Liliana.

Liliana’s answer was always the same.

“The worshippers aren’t exactly welcoming… but it’s manageable.”

Though hundreds of rumors circulated about her, Liliana summed it all up with the phrase, ‘not welcoming.’

Just as expected.

Satisfied that things were progressing as planned, Helene thought it was time to move on to the next phase.

“I see… And today is the first of the month, so it’s donation day, right?”

In the Sun Temple, the first day of each month was a designated day for offering donations to seek forgiveness for one’s own and one’s family’s sins.

And that day was today.

It had weighed on Liliana’s mind.

She was a sinner, and so was her family (especially her stepmother), yet she had no money to donate.

Helene held out a pouch to Liliana.

“It’s for the donation. Just go about it as you normally would.”

***

Though Liliana had said she wasn’t welcomed, that was putting it mildly.

The harassment was growing worse by the day.

To noblewomen, bullying a fallen noble’s daughter was like indulging in dessert after a meal.

They felt guilty, but couldn’t stop themselves.

They watched Liliana’s every move just to mock her.

And today was donation day.

The noblewomen had even placed crude bets on whether the fallen count’s daughter could make a donation—and if so, how much.

Currently in first place was the Duchess of Dervis, who wagered a staggering 5,000 gold that Liliana would donate exactly 5 gold.

In principle, the donation amounts of worshippers were to remain confidential. But nothing was off-limits if you greased the palms of a corrupt priest.

Who would win the bet?

With trembling hands, they opened the donation ledger.

Liliana Emeldia.

They looked at the number next to her name.

Strange… What’s wrong with my eyes?

The Countess of Kellex blinked several times.

She had graduated from one of the Empire’s top academies, and yet today she couldn’t seem to read the number.

‘…There are too many zeroes!’