Banished Villainess

56 : Sei Bruno Part 1: Forbidden Love

I am Sei Bruno, the 2nd son Marquess Alan Bruno, also the minister to the right. Although this may sound like me bragging, I was blessed not only with the looks, academic skills, and pedigree. On top of it, being the 2nd son of the house has freed me from the responsibility of an heir. This meant that not only can I obtain anything I wanted, I can also lead a carefree life devoid of responsibility. I could have been the happiest man in the world but the fate had other plans.

All ladies paid careful attention to me and ever since childhood, I had lived my days aware of the shower of yearning gazes coming from all my surroundings. Yet, I came to realize that no man in this world is blessed with everything.

The heavens has decided that in order to compensate for the blessings I received, my first love was a trial by fire.

The woman I fell in love for the first time was none other than the fiancee of my older brother, the heir of the house.

She was Masumi Sereknight, the younger sister of Marquess Blakia Sereknight, also the minister to the right, with a considerably large age gap. Born during the last years of the previous marquess, she was a lady raised showered by love, something clearly shown by her carefree temperament and warm smile. A lady with a nigh unbelievable kindness in her heart.

She had immediately captivated me when I was young, and was the one to let me savor the pain of an unrequited love.

My older brother, Soma Bruno, was 10 years older than me. A boorish man whose only redeeming feature is his diligence. A comparison between us in both looks and capability will result in his utter defeat. If I wanted to take any of his personal belongings, he would easily yield with a bitter smile.

But even as the innocent child as I am, I immediately knew that the lovely lady next to him, his fiancée is the only thing he will never yield. That was obvious enough, Lady Masumi was the woman who captured his heart. If he had easily given her to me just because I asked for her hand, I would’ve been severely disappointed with him too.

Still, Lady Masumi had never seen me as a man. For me, that’s the hardest pill to swallow. I did not mind if she doesn’t see me as a love interest but at the very least, I wanted her to be conscious of me as a man.

And yet, Lady Masumi enters my room alone care freely, and when she once told me that she would like to read me a book next to me to help me sleep, I wanted to doubt my ears. She completely treats me as her sibling, nothing more.

The lady who was the youngest child was extremely delighted at the thought of obtaining a younger sibling through marriage.

Unbelievable.
She had thoroughly crushed my pride as a man into smithereens.

After their marriage, I have distanced myself away from the House Bruno. The figure of her smiling dearly at my older brother, and he who ogles her just as much; they are both spectacles that I did not wish to see. I didn’t want to see my brother flaunting the happiness he obtained despite being wholly inferior to me.

I didn’t want to be reminded of my ugly self.

Still, I wanted to be free with my feelings. They are feelings I wouldn’t put into words, hence, I wanted to stay loving her as I always had. Lady Masumi is the only lady I will ever love.

However, a man from the Marquess House Bruno is not allowed to remain a bachelor, even if he was a only second son and sure enough, my fiancée had been chosen and arranged. The lady came from a generations old mercantile noble house, Lady Missouri Walter, from Viscount House Walter. She was a beautiful lady with dazzling sky-colored hair and a pair of eyes, but because I already have given my heart to someone else, none of those have impressed me at all. Both well-behaved and obedient, a combination that made her as boring as a doll. But perhaps she was the most suitable partner for me, an indispensable pawn used for political marriage.

“This engagement is only something our parents have decided. I will never love you.”

“Is that so?”

“I already have a woman I love. Although she will never look my way… I still–“

“Certainly, sir.”   

Even after hearing that I have fallen for someone else, the lady’s facial expression didn’t even move an inch. Just the thought that what awaits my future is marriage riddled with expressionless masks makes me depressed.

When I was approaching my marriageable age, I kept the company of all the women who approached me. There are days where I invite them to my room, and sometimes I stop over their houses, which of course, had earned the ire of my father. Even my older brother and Lady Masumi had disagreeable faces as they offered countless advice. The only one to accept everything without faltering was my fiancée, Lady Missouri.

I am the second son. All the affairs of the country and all the matters of House Bruno is something for my older to think about, not me.

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The only lady I ever yearned for had been obtained by my older brother, and the only recompense I got was nothing short of a doll.

All ladies left are naive women who easily swallow sweet words.

They are boring…

Everyone else left is boring…

Having enrolled, I continued to spend my monochromatic days, and as per usual, teased a lady that I crossed paths with, only this time, I was met with a momentary glance and ignored.

It was the first time it had ever happened, and although the fresh experience considerably stung, perhaps the lady thought she was not the one I greeted. I kept hitting on her afterward, and when I became a little too persistent, I received a slap in return.

“If you keep doing that to everyone, the lady you have truly fallen with will not look your way, you know!?”

The ladies who saw that happened were enraged, however, her words stabbed my heart, hurting far more than the slap in my cheek.  No admonishment coming from my family have reached me and yet, all of them were defeated by a mere slap and a single one-liner.

It hurt so much, but at the same time, my interest in the lady deepened further.　

That Lady was Momo Palette.

Later, I discovered that even his highness Leddorio was attracted to her as well. He was my foster brother and his fiancee, Chloe Sereknight, was the niece of Lady Masumi.

It appears that his highness was severely put off by his fiancee’ vain personality and was instead attracted to the fresh commoner-like behavior of Lady Momo.

I hated Lady Chloe. Her appearance clearly shows her blood relation to Lady Masumi and yet her attitude is a total opposite. Rather, the more the looks of the two paralleled with each other, the more it felt like she’s polluting her image.

Prince Leddorio had expressed displeasure in Chloe’s designation as the temporary Saintess and I am in the same thought. The only ones who deserve the title of a Saint are those who are similar to Lady Masumi.

This made me remember that she will become a mother soon which turned my mood sullen.