﹡ ⊹ ⊰ Chapter 4 ⊱ ⊹ ﹡
Seven years later, the Herbon Territory.
Seven years ago, Renee had finalized the marriage of Adele and Ethan in just three days during her stay.
And at dawn on the third day, Baron Millium had already gathered up the knights of the family and came to the Herbon estate to pick up Adele. There were many people who would line up to make connections to the family that would soon become the maternal relatives of the Imperial Family, so it would not have been a problem to recruit knights for the family with their support.
However, he could not take his daughter, who had already completed her marriage vows, at will.
There was nothing Adele could do other than to suffocate as she watched her father and sister arguing from afar. Eventually, his father left Herbon empty-handed, and Renee followed in his footsteps.
And the day after Renee left, Ethan also left for the capital.
Adele was not young enough to not know that he had fled the territory to avoid her, although he made a reason explaining that he will expand his knowledge in the capital.
After six years when Adele came of age, he returned to the estate for their wedding ceremony. And now a year has passed since the couple got married.
Adele was walking around the mansion in a light outfit today. And she also knew that Susan was looking at her with anxious eyes.
“Are you sure you climbed a tree today?”
In order to not tell lies, it was Adele's old habit of not answering questions that were unfavorable to her.
“Have you not forgotten what day is today?”
How could I have forgotten?
It is a grandiose day to call it union day, but in noble families, there was a fixed day for sleeping with one's own wife two or three times a month.
For the past year or so, every time that day comes, Ethan will make up excuses. Some days he worked until late, and one day he went out on the road from dawn to inspect the estate and came back the next day.
The night of their wedding was the only night they slept together, but that night was just a memory that Adele didn't want to recall because of Ethan who had been so drunk that he couldn't control himself.
For her husband, who was reluctant to do so, Adele was the first to come forward and come up with excuses. But now both had no more excuses to give. With a face of helplessness, she left a message to wait in his room tonight and went on a light hunt.
“You must take care not to let a scratch on your skin today.”
"No. I decided to go archery.”
“With whom?”
“Who else?”
Adele often visited places where the knights of the family were training.
On that day seven years ago, when Renee sister visited, the two knights who were guarding the front of the drawing-room have now become very close friends with Adele.
Among the two, a knight named Cedric even served as Adele's swordsmanship teacher for several years. Cedric was so tall at that time that Adele thought he would be a lot older than her, but he was only seventeen. He was a Knight who had just been released from apprenticeship.
“I’ll be back later. I'll try not to be late though.”
She tried to act as usual, but in fact, Adele's mind was busy all day.
One day, as a child, Adele had asked Ethan what his ideal of a woman was. At first, he merely smiled, but when Adele asked repeatedly, he stared into the distance for a moment. Then he said,
"A woman who walks like air, talks like a butterfly, smiles like a flower...… That's my ideal woman."
Ever since she first heard those words, Adele kept repeating those words in her heart every day. She herself would never walk like air or speak like a butterfly, but she wanted to become the wife that he needs as much as possible.
However, Ethan didn't know that Adele was the kind of person who rode a horse at a fast pace while shooting arrows, or goes to the market and gets along with people.
But now, after so many years, Adele's heart is empty, like a tree that is rotten inside, and only the outer shell remains.
“That's a shame. If you do, I will make your hair even more soft and silky today.”
"Alright."
"Really?"
"Yes."
“How about applying honey to your body?”
Adele is so docile today, so Susan never misses the chance and tries to do everything she wants to do for her master. Even if she says she doesn't like it, just for today...
“Yes, do it.”
“Yes?”
Apart from having Adele's heart empty, she didn't want to be accused of not trying hard as a wife.
In the meantime, Ethan did not stay in Herbon, so there was no pressure, but it has already been a year since he returned to the estate. He could no longer escape the pressure of his family for the succession.
Soon Adele was forced to soak in the sweet-smelling bathtub.
While Susan left to prepare for the night, Adele once again considered a place for the aqueduct system. The Herbon estate was a better place to live compared to other places, but it was needless to say that the environment was poor.
Most aristocratic mansions are well equipped with water facilities, but the people who live in the corners of the estate or near the mountains have to walk all day to get water. Adele has invested a lot of time and effort into this venture over the past few months.
Not only did she help dug up all the waterway facilities in the annex, but she also spent the whole day at the fountain at the back of the mansion saying that she was researching something.
In addition, it was difficult to provide a smooth water supply with the current waterway technology.
But recently, they devised a way to use the pressure difference to send water a little farther away safely. She wouldn't have been able to afford it if it wasn't for Hank's assistance.
Susan was overjoyed and chatting like a lark all day, grooming Adele's blonde hair gradually.
As the sun began to set, all efforts to concentrate on work were in vain.
It was a night she had hoped for relentlessly, but now she don't want it. The Adelaide who loved only that person no longer existed.
The man remained the same, but Adele grew from a child to a woman over the years.
“Let's stop for now,” Adele said, putting down the paperwork on the desk
"Yes? Oh, alright."
The moment she turned her eyes to Susan carrying a blowlamp, Adele remembered when she came back to the house, she heard a kind of noise she had never heard before.
And soon, the butler, Ben, appeared.
“A guest… have come.”
"Guest? Who is it?"
When a guest came, it was the butler's job to reveal who it was. But then he hesitated and couldn't reveal the identity of the person, so she suddenly felt ominous.
“Is it from my family?”
“It’s not.”
Adele stood up from her seat, she was brushing her skirt off the dirt and dust, as it was not yet time to change into comfortable clothes. She could ask again who the guest was, but she decided against it when Ben's perplexed face caught her eyes so she decided to just go to the drawing-room. On the way down, Ben revealed the identity of the guest in a lower voice than usual.
“She's a maid who used to work in this mansion. Her name is Annaston Lowell.”
Ben's words continued when he thought that the maid's name was quite formal.
“The other maids just called her Anna.”
Adele's footsteps stopped on the spot. That name was something that she couldn't possibly forget. On the first night of her wedding, Ethan was so drunk that she called that name to Adele's ear and called it over and over again. Like the ringing in her eardrums, the name that Ethan had whispered resounded inside her haphazardly without permission.
“Anna, Anna, my Anna……”
She couldn't breathe well at the repeated voices in her ears, so she took a deep breath to make it stop.
“Do you feel uncomfortable?”
“Oh, this is nothing. Come on, let's go.”
As the drawing-room door opened, a woman and a young boy caught her eye.
When Adele appeared, the woman got up from the couch and walked slowly toward Adele. She thought that her form of walking with her back straight was very beautiful.
“I greet the Countess.”
The woman, who spoke in a quiet voice, as if in a whisper, quickly smiled softly.
“I'm Annaston Lowell.”
Truly, she was a woman who walked like air, spoke like a butterfly, and smiled like a flower.
* * *
It was a frightening event that took everyone's breath away, but Adele tried to calmly accept the situation.
Adele turned her head to see the boy standing by the sofa. Was he about nine years old? But first of all, what caught her attention was the child's blue eyes as deep as the deep sea.
Noticing Adele's gaze, Annaston went to the child's side, grabbed his wrist, and led him in front of her.
“He is the son of the Count.”
“So, son?”
Susan trembled at the cold voice of the Countess she had not heard in a long time. The Countess, with her honey blonde hair and lovely pink cheeks, was far more rational and cold-hearted than she thought.
“Ah, yes.”
"Age?"
“He's eight years old.”
Even in the midst of such misery, the feeling of having to ask the age of a child and count the years backward was painful and distant. The child had Ethan's blue eyes and the woman's brown hair. He had a gentle and soft expression, but his drooping eyes were a bit sharp, just like that of Ethan.
"Name?"
“Rwain, this is Rwain Debryan.”
The woman spat out the family name as she provocatively looked directly into Adele's eyes. Adele never once had she allowed this woman to compare herself to her. Still, there was a strange sense of victory on the face of this unfamiliar woman. She looked at her with eyes as if forcing Adele to feel her defeat.
“The Lord will come soon.”
But Adele had no intention of being swept away by such childish emotional play. She didn't even sit down and just turned around, leaving only these words.
But at that moment, a loud bang was heard from outside, and the living room door swung open.
The only person in this house who could open that door like this without permission was Ethan Debryan, the owner of this house.
For a moment, Adele had thought she had met Ethan's eyes. She was determined to listen to him calmly and do whatever he wanted. However.
“Anna!”
Ethan flew toward the woman as if Adele was not there. He then grabbed the woman and hugged her without hesitation.
“Where the hell did you go? Do you know how long I've been looking for you?"
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May 03, 2022
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