Chapter 2.1Soon after this, her talent was heard about by the other gentlewomen and everyone coveted her talent. Audria"s talent was her ability to understand what suits which gentlewoman best. She advised on dresses, matching shoes, lip colors as well as on jewelry like necklaces, earrings, brooches and hair ornaments.
And after following her suggestions, the lady of the house became the talk of the party when she attended an important function.
When the other ladies noticed her talent, many ladies sought out Audria"s advice whenever they had to attend an important position. And soon she was known as someone who could make them look more beautiful, which naturally made her famous among the ladies. It was thanks to this that Audria was able to raise Amy and Noel for so long.
Now she was going to use the same abilities that she used to take care of her siblings, to make her business grow instead. Audria"s discerning eye was something that was coveted by all the socialites and she started her business banking on that fact.
No one could have predicted how popular she will become in a short period of time. As soon as the rumors that she was no longer a ladies maid but that she had started an independent business instead, many people anxiously flocked to her.
Among her clients, there were also more men than even she had expected. Young lords who wanted to look good for their sweethearts, men who wanted to look good during a banquet, men who wanted to impress their wives, as well as men who wanted to show off in front of their mistresses. She had countless satisfied customers.
And because Audria didn"t have to scrimp and save, her business became a huge hit. Her life, which she had been struggling with for so long, completely changed. The business which was started with such a small deposit was soon booming enough to afford a three storied building in the commercial district.
Audria thought that finally her life was rewarded, when she saw the signboard of her shop that said "Ophelia"s Shop" that hung on the wall. But her happiness did not last long.
Compared to the long and difficult times that seemed never-ending, in the end everything was ruined in an instant. The irony was that it was her siblings who ruined and sacrificed her happiness for their greed.
Noel was discontented with everything. Nothing was helpful in his house, his wife was useless, his surroundings bothered him and everyone around him were so much more stupid when compared to him that it was absurd!
It was ridiculous. He had to live a much more brilliant life in the future, without anyone else being a stumbling block to his career advancement. He knew that he had the ability to do so, but he was neither rich nor did he have a great family background, so he was unable to go further. He wanted to sit atop the ladder, but to do that, he needed money.
Amy who was married to Viscount Owen was angry, starting from the very next day of her marriage. She was obsessed with the idea that she had been married fraudulently. She had thought that he had a thriving business even though he didn"t have an estate. However the truth was that he was in a precarious situation and was in danger of not knowing when he would fall.
“How dare he marry me when he is in such a precarious situation and cheat me like this!” Amy was very angry but she could do nothing as there was no way out. She was praised for her beautiful appearance before her marriage and it would be difficult to get the same attention as before after a divorce.
If she had known this before she wouldn"t have married a man like this. She didn"t want to grow old in this tacky situation. She had to s.h.i.+ne, she had to look beautiful and make everyone look up to her. She needed money to do that.
At that time both Noel and Amy had the same thought “It"s all because of my sister.”
In the beginning Noel blamed Audria for not supporting him properly and then Amy blamed her for not stopping her from marrying Viscount Owen.
So the two did not feel any remorse whatsoever while making plans. They were so convinced that it was Audria"s fault for not taking responsibility properly for them and for living well while they suffered. Though there was no basis for their thinking, Amy and Noel thought it was only fair and natural for them to spend Audria"s money for themselves. The two of them were greedy for Audria"s fortune.
Audria happily gave Amy and Noel money when they came to her for help in the beginning. She had enough to spare and wished for nothing but to help her younger siblings and make them happy. But it did not take long for Audria to realize her mistake.
Their requests never ended and in addition the interval between the visits became shorter and shorter. The next time, when Amy and Noel came, Audria said emphatically: “I"m not going to give money for the two of you anymore, as I have no money to spare. You need to live by your own strength and means”
When she saw the two of them trying to solve everything with money, without making any effort to solve things on their own, Audria realized that she did them a disservice by always taking responsibility and solving their problems.
Audria wanted Amy and Noel to be responsible and live their own lives faithfully. In return she was betrayed as Amy and Noel found her an obstacle now that she wouldn"t help them anymore.
Audria was making her way to her parents" grave on their anniversary. It was located beyond the mountains because they were buried when she was poor. However, she was attacked by unknown a.s.sailants on the way there. She realized that it was a mistake to have not taken the guards from Ophelia"s shop, just because she wanted to quietly go and see her parents.
It was a remote road which many people didn"t choose to travel by and was known only by the people looking for the graveyard. She didn"t know who would want to attack her in a place like this.