The Reborn Lady is Loved by her Foster Brother: The Scariest Villain

CHAPTER 2 – AH, WHAT AN UNLUCKY LIFE!

Ortansia was originally a daughter born to a bar woman.
Her mother was a very attractive woman, so Ortansia never knew her father.
Still, she and her mother lived happily together when she was a child.

　Life was poor, but they always had a lot of happiness and laughter.
Until her mother passed away at a young age due to a sudden illness.

　Orphaned with no relatives to rely on, Ortansia was sent to live in an orphanage.

Life at the orphanage was not so bad.
She was sometimes mistreated by mean children, but she was still able to live with everyone huddled together.

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　Then, when Ortansia was seven years old, her foster father, the Duke of Verite, came to the orphanage.

　He took her in as an adopted daughter of the duke's family.

　Apparently, the Duke was one of Ortansia's mother's lovers.
When the Duke learned of her mother's death and that her daughter Ortansia had been left an orphan, he searched for her, wondering if she might be his own daughter.

“I'm sorry I left you alone, Ortansia.
I am your father.”

On the day they first met, the Duke of Verite, her foster  father, hugged Ortansia and uttered these words.
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　He seemed convinced that Ortansia was his daughter.

'But thinking about it, I think he just wanted a “duchess'' to marry off to an influential person as a pawn in…
political maneuvering! Because he is very good at scheming!'

　Duke Verite promised huge aid to the orphanage and took Ortansia in as his daughter.

An orphan who hasn't even received an education has changed classes to become a duke's daughter!

The Duke of Verite is one of the four great dukes that has existed since the country was founded, in other words, it is one of the most prestigious aristocratic families in the country.
Ortansia, who until a few days ago was carefree weeding in an orphanage, has quickly become a “Noble lady” who is served by many servants.

To be honest, she was more surprised than happy.
In the beginning, everything was new to her.

Ortansia, who didn't have even the most basic etiquette, was scolded by the teacher a lot.

Behind her back, the servants made fun of her, saying, “She is a daughter of a Mistress,” and “I doubt if she really has the duke's blood in her veins”.

She couldn't even ask anyone for help, and when she went to bed at night, she always cried aloud.
Her father, the Duke of Verite, was a busy man and was away from the mansion most days.
It was obvious to the young Ortansia that he didn't have time for her, his daughter, so she couldn't ask him for advice if she had any problems.

Besides, the biggest barrier was Gerard, her foster brother.
He was a problem from earlier on.
In the first place, it was hopeless to communicate with him.

Ortansia, who had been greatly frightened by her foster brother's absolutely cold stare at their first meeting, had since then excessively avoided him.
Even in the mansion, she tried to avoid meeting him as much as possible, and even when she did have dinner with him, she was so afraid of his cold gaze that she could not even look at him.

'Well, from my brother's point of view, I am just a lowly bar girl who may or may not be related to him.
Even if I suddenly say, “I'm your little sister from today!”, there's no way he will accept me…
'

　Because of this situation, Gerard never interacted with Ortansia, and the two of them were like strangers living in the same house.

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　No, they were worse than strangers.

Gerard treated Ortansia as if she were a “non-existent person” and every time Ortansia saw Gerard, she would run away as fast as she could.

'Because I was running away so much, I became more familiar with the structure of the duke's mansion than anyone else.
It didn't help me much, though.'

And so, she spent several years in solitude in the spacious mansion.

After a few years of living in solitude in a large mansion, Ortansia  managed to acquire enough manners to make her debut in the social world as a duchess.

She was warmly welcomed by everyone when she stepped out onto the social scene as a duchess.

“I heard that she is the daughter of a Mistress.
No wonder she is so vulgar.”

“I heard that Master Gérard doesn't even spea