SGC 26

CHAPTER 26

Translator: Rae

₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚

“She must have been displeased, knowing that you and I were once in marriage talks. Even so, I hope she does not misunderstand me. I truly wish to be on good terms with her…”

Lowering her lashes, Vanessa pressed a hand to her chest, then subtly shifted her gaze to study Edmund’s expression.

The man, still wearing a courteous expression, said nothing. He didn’t seem impressed by the exchange, yet when he spoke his tone was gentle.

“My wife is not yet accustomed to life in the capital. It is not intentional, so I ask that you understand her generously.”

My wife? You call her your wife already? Vanessa looked up at him, stunned.

And instead of comforting her, he defended that woman. Seized by humiliation, Vanessa barely managed to part her trembling lips.

“Of course. As her superior, I should be the one to look upon her kindly. But…”

A sorrowful expression crossing her face, Vanessa stepped closer to Edmund. She reached out with a graceful hand and lightly brushed the silver emblem button fastened to his uniform coat.

“I worry for you. If her identity is revealed to the public, it will surely affect you as well.”

With a face that seemed to falter at the very thought, Vanessa released a soft sigh.

The identity of the woman now hidden behind a veil was no secret among the royal family and certain nobles.

There had been none at the private wedding who failed to recognize her face.

Catherine Everett, the would be wife of the late duke. The daughter of the woman the public called a witch had now ensnared the d*ad duke’s son and taken that place.

Vanessa knew well that the royal family and the ducal house were working together to conceal that woman’s background.

If the ducal house were disgraced, the royal family would also take the blow. Thus her father and brother had ordered Vanessa to keep silent.

But Vanessa stood in a different position. At any moment she could expose that dreadful and shameful creature and bury her entirely within society.

The only reason she had refrained was a final hope. The hope that Edmund might yet change his mind and say that he wanted Vanessa.

If he would say so, she would wait as long as necessary. Her love for him would not be extinguished by a storm such as this.

“I know you are kind and compassionate, so you could not simply abandon her. But what if she harbors another purpose?”

As though the very thought tore at her heart, Vanessa lifted her chin with tearful eyes.

“What if she approached you deliberately to ruin the ducal house?”

Edmund met her gaze in silence. Vanessa’s eyes shimmered, intent on capturing his.

Whenever she wore such an expression, no one could leave Vanessa alone. Not her father, nor her brother, nor her maids, not even the stiff and rigid court officials.

For Vanessa was the joy of the Kingdom of Elmyre. 

“I gratefully accept your concern, but my wife harbors no such intention.”

Yet Edmund refuted her in a courteous tone. 

“I know her well. She would never seek to bring me harm.”

That certainty tore Vanessa’s heart to shreds.

“How can you be so certain? What is that woman to you?”

Having raised her voice without realizing it, Vanessa gasped and lowered her eyes.

It could not be helped. He seemed to choose only words that provoked her.

Before she truly lost her senses, she wanted him to explain. To say that he had chosen that woman out of unavoidable circumstances. That he actually still wanted Vanessa.

“Tell me. Why did you marry her? Why did you abandon me and choose her? What of the time we shared?”

Her desperate blue eyes blazed as though ready to consume him. It was then that Edmund’s firmly set lips curved in a faint, inscrutable smile.

That smile, whose meaning she could not decipher, was so alluring that she nearly forgot her accusations and rushed into his arms.

"Because I love her." 

Until those unexpected words fell from his captivating lips.

Stunned, Vanessa parted her lips as though unable to accept the cruel reality.

“Love…? Did you just say that you love that woman?”

Edmund answered clearly, as if determined to carve out her heart.

A swamp of despair swallowed Vanessa whole. Her chin trembling, she covered her mouth faintly. Between her quivering fingers, her teeth ground together.

As I thought… that witch’s daughter must have bewitched him.

“Don’t worry, Edmund. I… I understand you…”

Yes, that must be it. No rational man would claim to love such a woman. 

Perhaps the witch’s curse had truly fallen upon the House of Hayden.

He was the most noble and exceptional man in the kingdom. She must save him. If she drove that woman away, everything would surely return to its proper course.

As Vanessa’s precarious delusion began to swell, Edmund stepped back a pace or two and placed a hand over his chest as he had when they first met.

“It was a brief meeting, but a pleasure. Your Highness, I pray you regain your strength soon.”

“A-Ah…”

"I look forward to the next meeting." 

After meeting Vanessa’s eyes one last time in formal courtesy, Edmund turned away with an unhurried motion.

As his figure disappeared into the distance, Vanessa swayed where she stood. Her maids, who had been waiting from afar, rushed forward in alarm.

“Y-Your Highness!”

“Huhu.”

The sound of her weeping echoed through the hall without bringing any change. Soon the doors of the main palace closed completely.

A maid with a stricken face embraced her and tried to soothe her in haste, yet the anguished sobs would not cease for a long while.

₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚

[To my beloved and dearly missed Grandfather,

You have been waiting eagerly for my letter, have you not? I am sorry. I have truly been busy beyond measure these days.

I graduated safely from the academy last summer. And would you believe it? I took first place again in my final term. You may be proud of me in heaven.]

As always, the opening of a letter written after so long began with lighthearted news. Though somewhat delayed, Rozella carefully set down the events of her graduation season at the academy.

She did not forget to add that she had become the record holder for the most top honors, that she had neatly flattened the nose of that Sands fellow who used to slight her in subtle ways, and that she had been accepted into medical school.

Although she would not be attending medical school after all, she chose not to mention that. Since it had been so long since she last wrote, she wanted the pages to be filled only with happy matters.

Before long, the pale yellow paper was densely embroidered with her neat handwriting. After a brief hesitation, Rozella added what she had already resolved to say.

[I do not know when it will be, but I will surely come to see you. To be honest, it may not be this year but the next. Even so, please do not be too disappointed. It is only because your granddaughter has become successful and busy.]

She would probably visit her grandfather’s grave most likely after their contract ended. With her current status, she couldn’t just go wherever she wished.

Swallowing her regret, Rozella completed the final line at the bottom.

[From Roze, who has become the free and happy adult you always wished for.]

After placing the letter carefully into its envelope and sealing it, Rozella rose from the desk. She opened the shelf and added the letter to a light brown wooden box she had kept since childhood.

All of them were letters written to her grandfather, none yet laid upon his grave.

By then, evening had fallen. Rozella walked to the window and gazed beyond the maze garden at the wide iron gates.

Before long, the entrance opened and a carriage bearing the ducal crest rolled inside. Edmund had returned.

After checking her neat dress once more, Rozella draped a shawl over her shoulders.

Hurrying out of the bedchamber and down the central staircase, she saw the servants gathered in the hall to greet their master’s return.

After Rozella took her place among them, the front doors slowly opened to either side.

As Edmund appeared beyond them, the servants bowed in unison. Rozella also fixed his image in her eyes with a deliberately composed expression.

She had come out several times these past days to greet him upon his return, yet each time her body stiffened as though she wore garments that did not fit.

It felt like a play meant to deceive everyone, and she alone was the actress performing poorly within it.

She did not wish to seem awkward, yet whenever Edmund appeared she became like a creaking doll.

Lost in such foolish thoughts, she clasped her hands together just as Edmund handed his coat to the butler and strode leisurely across the hall.

His quiet gaze went straight to Rozella. As always, his steps halted before her.

"Ed, welcome home.”

She greeted him in a voice that strained to imitate elegance, and a graceful curve touched his lips.

“I’m home, Roze.”

His tone, adjusted to match her clumsy semblance of a wife, was meltingly gentle. At moments like this, it felt as though they were truly husband and wife, and Rozella could not help the heat rising uncontrollably to her cheeks.

***

Hello, thank you for reading! If you wish to support me and get extra chapter, please visit my kofi page: https://ko-fi.com/raewintersss and check out advance chapters at my Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/cw/raewinters or donate directly to my Paypal Account: @SeniaListya or [email protected]. Your supports are greatly appreciated!