A beautiful blonde walks through the garden carrying an umbrella to protect herself from the sun, accompanied closely by a maid who follows her.

After a few steps, she stops right where three people are enjoying a picnic beneath the trees; they laugh while savoring the tea served by a lovely young girl.

Upon seeing the young blonde, they cease their laughter; the two boys look at her with annoyance, but she continues on her way, unfazed by the glances of those young men.

However, the girl with them, a beautiful young woman with light hair and greenish eyes, stands up to catch up with the blonde, despite the two boys pleading with her not to do it. The young girl calls out, trying to reach her, but she falls, prompting the two boys to rush over to help her.

—“Why don’t you stop?”— the first boy shouts.

—“Didn’t you hear Marlene calling you?”— scolds the other. —“Now, thanks to you, she’s hurt herself.”

The blonde stops and turns with an arrogant smile.

—“Did I ask her to run after me? She knows I don’t like her and still insists on approaching; you should be thankful I don’t break her leg.”— her voice carried a tone of anger.

And without waiting for the two boys to reply, the blonde continues on her path.

This beautiful blonde is named Valerian Lacaster, the despised daughter of the Marques Lacaster and the villainess of the story, "My Sweet Lady." A tale of love and fantasy.

The story unfolds in a fantasy world, in a small kingdom called Celes. Marlene is the niece of the Marques Lacaster; she became an orphan at 14, and the Marques adopted her as his daughter, bringing her to live in his mansion, where she was well-received and loved by her new siblings and the Marques. She received love and understanding from everyone; she was the treasure of the family, which sparked the jealousy of Valerian Lacaster, the Marques' youngest daughter. At 15, Valerian had never received affection from her siblings or her father; why? Because the Marques viewed her as the cause of losing his great love, as Valerian's mother died giving birth to her. Because of this, the Marques blamed the newborn and left her in the care of a nursemaid.

As she grew, Valerian received no affection from her family; the only one who showed her genuine love was her nursemaid. Her siblings grew resentful, calling her a "monster" because she was the one who killed their mother. Valerian became a child who longed for her family's love, putting in effort in everything, hoping for some attention, but that never happened. Although she managed to become the belle of society, catching the attention of the queen, a betrothal was arranged between Valerian and the crown prince.

With this, Valerian began to try even harder, for on the day of her debut, she saw the prince for the first time and fell in love with him, especially when he showed her kindness, something her family had never done. They danced together all night. Valerian started putting more effort into her education as a future princess and saw the prince every so often as he came to the mansion to train with his brothers. But as soon as the prince got to know Marlene, they hit it off well, becoming good friends. This did not sit well with Valerian, as she felt Marlene was taking away the only person who had shown her kindness—or at least, that’s how Valerian perceived it.

Upon seeing Marlene and the prince growing closer, Valerian began to harass Marlene, even going so far as to tell the ladies that Marlene was an opportunist who pursued engaged men. This rumor reached the ears of the Marquis and his sons, and even the prince heard of it, prompting them to investigate the source of these rumors. When it was revealed that Valerian was behind it, her father punished her, forcing her into exile from the family. He even sought to break the engagement, assuring the queen that Valerian was unfit for marriage due to being a cruel and envious young woman. During the process of this breakup, the prince and Marlene grew close, so he did not hesitate to propose to the Marquis that he marry Marlene to maintain the ties between the royal family and the Lacasters.

The queen, not entirely convinced, accepted, and Marlene began her preparation to become the future princess consort. She and the prince were fond of each other and prepared together to become the heirs. Into Marlene's life came the second prince, who soon fell in love with her.

When Valerian learned of the breakup of her engagement to the prince and that Marlene would be the one to marry him, she sought a way to return. Upon discovering that the second prince was in love with Marlene, she approached him and proposed that they join forces so he could win Marlene. The second prince agreed, and together they devised a plan in which Valerian would kidnap Marlene and take her outside the kingdom, where the second prince would await and flee with Marlene after celebrating a sacred union ceremony in a nearby temple. In that world, those who married through the sacred union of the temple could not break that marriage, or both could suffer a terrible illness that would shatter their magical core.

Valerian succeeded in her goal, successfully kidnapping Marlene and taking her to the temple where the second prince awaited. Valerian was delighted with the success of her plan, but the heir prince arrived at the temple, battling against the mercenaries Valerian had hired. The second prince prepared to stop Valerian since everything had been a plot to trap her. Even Valerian's brothers and the Marquis looked at her with disappointment for her actions, and in a fit of rage, she attacked Marlene. However, it was the second prince who intervened, receiving a dagger to the chest. Valerian, upon seeing this, was further enraged, questioning why everyone protected Marlene while they despised her, despite her only wanting her family's affection.

No one paid attention to her pain; she was merely captured, and after a trial, she was sentenced to execution for killing the second prince. Thus, after several weeks of mourning for him, Marlene and the heir prince finally married, and after two years, they were crowned as kings, ruling with wisdom and justice.

But now, everything would be different, as Valerian no longer craved her family's affection; she didn't even care what they thought of her. This was because Valerian was no longer the same; another soul now inhabited her body, and she was determined to change the story, one where she would lead a quiet life in the countryside, far from her hated family and the loathsome princes. And although at this point she had already been engaged to the heir prince, she would do everything in her power to break that engagement, starting by abandoning her training as a princess. She had not attended for two weeks, and although the teachers came to the mansion, Valerian spent her days in her room or in an old salon in the southern part of the mansion, a place no one dared to enter as it had been abandoned for years. Valerian took advantage of this location for special training. She was returning to her room when a man stepped in front of her.

— Miss, the Marquis requests to see you, — informed the Marquis's assistant.

Valerian purses his lips, clearly wanting to reprimand her for what happened in the morning. As if she had pushed that fool.

°°°

•♧•♧•♧•♧•♧•♧•♧•♧•♧•

Valerian arrived at the Marquis's study. Upon entering, he and his brothers were present. The Marquis began to mention that Marlene had injured her knees during the fall and was now sad because Valerian had ignored her, causing her to think she was hated by the blonde.

"I don't hate her, but I don't care what happens to her. If she fell, it's because of her clumsiness. Or did you see me push her?" she speaks seriously.

"The problem is not whether you pushed her, the problem is that you ignore her when she's only trying to get along with you," replies the Marquis.

"You should be grateful that she wants to get close to you," says one of the blonds.

This was Einar, the younger twin brother. Meanwhile, Kenai, the older twin, looks at her angrily.

"But I'm not interested in getting close to her. If you only called me for this nonsense, I'll be on my way."

"Stop, you must apologize to Mar, she's very hurt," says Kenai.

"Sure, when you kiss the soles of my shoes," she smiles mockingly.

"Valerian! More respect for your brother, and you should apologize," shouts the Marquis.

"Marquis, I'm not going to apologize because there's no reason to. I'm tired of listening to you, always, it's the same thing." If this new Valerian lacked anything, it was patience, and what little she had, those people were quickly exhausting it.

With that said, Valerian left the study annoyed, but the Marquis had remained silent because he noticed something very clearly. Valerian had called him "Marquis" instead of father, as she had always done. He even noticed that the blonde's gaze towards them was cold and empty.

.

.

.

Outside the study, her maid was already waiting for her, worried about what might have happened, but Valerian tells her that it was nothing. On the balcony of the stairs, Marlene observes the blonde and when she looks up, she feels a slight chill, as Valerian's gaze held an expression of arrogance.

"Were you expecting them to hit me? I'm afraid not this time," she speaks coldly.

Marlene wanted to answer, but she only sees Valerian walk away. These last few days, the young blonde had changed a lot. Before, she would just keep quiet when her brothers scolded her, and when she spoke, it was to beg them to believe her, but now, she just looks at them with annoyance.

The next day, Valerian arrives at the Marquis' study asking to speak with him. He is surprised because the girl just stands before his desk without curtseying or giving a polite greeting.

"I want to go to the countryside, to the Lacaster grandparents' mansion. They left me that mansion," she speaks bluntly.

"Why do you want to go? There are only a few servants in that mansion. What about your classes?" asks the Marquis.

"It doesn't matter how many servants there are, I will go. And those classes, Marlene can take them. After all, isn't she the one who is always with the Crown Prince?"

The Marquis, who before had not taken his eyes off his documents, finally did so, but he was annoyed by the blonde's last words.

"What are you insinuating? What you say could affect your sister's reputation," he scolds her.

"Cousin, she's my cousin, and I don't care about her reputation. If it's ruined, it's because she can't keep her hands off other men," she replies calmly.

"I will not tolerate you speaking about my daughter like that, so..."

"I'm leaving. If you don't want me to ruin your precious daughter's reputation, let me go to the countryside and break my engagement to the Crown Prince," she replies, already annoyed.

"Do you think it's that easy? Breaking that engagement could offend the royal family."

It seems that for the Marquis it is not important that Valerian continues with the engagement to the Crown Prince, since he does not even try to make her desist from her decision.

"It won't happen, the Prince has his eyes on Marlene, he will be happy if he changes his fiancee, I just want the mansion in the countryside," she assures him.

The Marquis remains silent, as he did not expect Valerian to talk to him about something like that, when he saw her very excited about her engagement to the Crown Prince, she even never missed her classes. And now, she wants to leave and abandon what she has worked so hard for.

"If you leave, you don't come back..." he warns her.

"I wasn't planning on coming back. Why would I?" she asks without any expression.

"Fine, I'll take care of everything."

The Marquis returns his gaze to his documents, while Valerian leaves the place without another word.

Valerian arrives at her room and informs her maid that she must pack because they will be leaving for the countryside. She even asks her to gather all the jewels, they will go out to sell them to have extra money in case the Marquis does not give them anything.

"How are we going to survive in the countryside if he doesn't give you your allowance?" asks the frightened maid.

"Mandy, I'll know how to fix that, now we just have to get ready."

Valerian looks for a comfortable dress to go out in, even wearing a cloak, while the maid gathers all the jewels.

When they finish, Mandy quickly goes downstairs to ask for the carriage and Valerian comes down shortly after. At the foot of the stairs, the twins were there, ready to leave as well.

"Where are you going? As far as I know, we haven't invited you," Kenai mentions.

"What? I don't know what you're talking about, young Lacaster," replies Valerian. "Why would I want to go with you? The flower of society can't be near such a small thing." She looks the twins up and down.

Kenai is surprised by the way Valerian speaks to him, especially since she walks past him out of the house. He peeks out and sees her getting into a carriage used by the servants, surprising both him and Einar. They look at each other, but before either of them can say anything, Marlene arrives before them with a radiant smile, ready to leave.

.

.

.

After a couple of hours traveling to the village, Valerian has finally arrived. Getting out of the carriage, Mandy guides her to a place where they can sell the jewels but explains that she must be careful not to get ripped off. Upon entering the place, she uses the hood of her cloak. Standing at the counter, she shows the jewels to the person in charge. He is fascinated by the sight of them, as they are jewels of good quality, but he has some doubts about their origin, assuring that he does not buy stolen jewels.

Valerian shows him her family insignia and says that she is only selling the jewels to buy new ones. After a couple of minutes, Valerian gets a large amount of money.

"You did well, miss. I was afraid that man was going to rip you off," she lets out a sigh of relief.

"I told you I knew what to do."

They both go to buy some sweets and go back to the carriage.

°°°

In less than a week she already had everything ready to leave for the countryside, her bags were being loaded into the carriages while Maddy supervised everything. Marlene, seeing what was happening, immediately asked the twins what was going on, and they told her that Valerian was going to the countryside for a while.

"How wonderful, I want to go too, let's all four go," she speaks excitedly.

"If that's what you want, I don't see why not. Right, Einar?" Kenai asks.

"Right, I don't think Father would refuse," Einar replies.

"Great, we're going to have fun."

Marlene, seeing Valerian pass by, runs towards her with a big smile.

"Sister, I have great news, we've decided to go to the countryside with you, isn't it exciting?"

"Then if you go to the countryside, make sure it's not in the same house," she replies annoyed.

"We'll go to the same one, it'll be fun," she speaks happily. "Or do you hate me?" She lowers her gaze sadly.

"Yes, I detest you, I'm leaving because I can't stand to see you and I can't stand the twins, why would I want to be in the countryside with your company?" she asks annoyed.

"But I... I think it's better as a family..." she sobs, shrugging her shoulders.

"I have no family. So I hope you don't get the idea of going, I don't want your presence in the same place."

"Valerian, how can you be so cruel? Mar is just trying to get along with you..." Kenai scolds her.

"And did I ask her to? I don't care what she wants, if I'm going to the countryside it's to be away from all of you." She points at them.

The twins didn't expect to hear something like that from Valerian, she looked very upset.

"There is no doubt that you are a despicable woman, Marlene only gives you her love and you treat her badly."

"You're right, I'm despicable, so you better keep your distance from me or your precious Marlene might have a painful accident."

Valerian points to Marlene and suddenly she screams and falls to the ground, the twins seeing this, approach her looking at the blood on the floor and when Marlene lifts her skirt a little, they see that she has a cut near her ankle. The twins look at Valerian and she smiles while keeping a sharp look.

"Now you know, I don't want you near me, that house was left to me by my grandfather and I won't let anyone near it," she warns.

Maddy arrives to tell her that everything is ready, so Valerian follows Maddy to the carriage and gets in. The twins come out and watch as the carriages move away, Valerian didn't even say goodbye to them, nor to the Marquis. The twins look at each other, worried about what just happened, because in recent days, Valerian has changed a lot, because before she approached them seeking their attention and would scold them when she saw that they only cared about Marlene, this makes them think a little, what could be happening, but Marlene's sob attracts their attention and immediately they return to help her.

The Marquis is informed by his assistant about Valerian's departure, he mentions how she rushed to get the carriages ready and as soon as it was ready she left. This surprises the Marquis, for Valerian has not said goodbye to him, even in those days, she has not gone to his study to give him the morning greeting as she used to do and today, she did not bother to say goodbye, she simply left.

"Sir, it is not too late to fix it," his assistant mentions.

"Fix what?" he asks seriously.

"It is nothing, sir. With your permission."

As the assistant walks away, he thinks that the Marquis and his sons are unfair, Valerian has suffered greatly for their contempt, being the daughter that the Marquise left behind, but instead they give all their love to that girl who arrived recently and who only takes advantage of everything.

.

.

.

It took Valerian two days to reach the country house, it was far enough away from the kingdom, plus it was a perfect place to live in peace and by taking control of the village, she could have a quiet life.

Upon arrival, the few servants who were at the mansion welcome her, and the truth is that no one was expecting Valerian's visit, at least not that she would arrive alone, normally it is the Marquis and the twins who arrive to supervise that everything is well, besides that they have already heard that Valerian was not exactly the golden daughter of the family.

"Butler, I need you to give me the administration books of the house and the village. I will be here for a long time, so I will take care of the finances," she informs the older man.

"Of course miss, I will have everything ready for you tomorrow morning."

"Perfect, as for the running of the house, everything will remain as usual. And this is Maddy, she will be in charge of me personally."

"As you wish, miss, and welcome."

The butler orders Valerian's bags to be taken to a room, as well as dinner and a bath to be prepared so that she can be comfortable.

.

.

.

In the following days...

In the palace of the kingdom, a woman in her 30s walks down the corridors followed by several maids, she is Queen Isabella Valencia, the queen of Celes, a fair woman, but also with a touch of arrogance, she knows that to survive in that world of aristocratic society, she must be firm and strong in character. That is why she had a strict upbringing from a young age, she comes from Flame, a neighboring kingdom, a kingdom known for the family that carries the legacy of dragons in their blood and was betrothed to the current king as a way to bring peace to both kingdoms. Isabella enters a room without knocking, there was a boy with beautiful golden eyes and black hair, he is sitting in the room and shows annoyance at the sudden arrival of the woman.

But as soon as he sees the woman's expression, he stands up. She was definitely upset, though it didn't occur to him why.

"I just found out that Miss Lacaster has not accepted the teachers' lessons and that you have been seen very close to the Marquis' adopted daughter," Isabella speaks.

"Where did you get that? You know the Lacaster twins are close friends, but I didn't know about Miss Lacaster, she is very diligent with her classes," the boy mentions.

"How is it possible that you don't know? You go to the Lacaster mansion every three days, don't you talk to her?" she asks annoyed.

"Only sometimes we have tea, we don't talk much, and her sister is always present." He sits down again and lets out a heavy sigh. "And she's quite a talker.

"Why should the sister be present? You are going to see your fiancee, a date with her, not with the sister. I hope I don't hear any rumors, because you know that your position as heir is not stable," she warns.

"I understand, Mother, don't worry, I will speak to the Marquis about it," he assures her.

"I hope so," she warns. "I don't want any scandals.

The boy stands up and bows. As he leaves the room, he lets out a long sigh, luckily his mother was calm, because if she had been more angry she would surely have thrown a vase at him. He laughs at the thought.

°°°