Chapter 46
Before long, Claude, now fully dressed and adorned, was finally just moments away from making his entrance.
And yet, he still couldn’t tear himself away from me, his face brimming with lingering attachment, along with a desperate confession.
“Ayla, even if I’m heading to that hall right now… the only one I will ever devote my life to is you.”
I tried my best not to let his words shake me and gently soothed him.
“Of course, Young Master. I feel the same way. I’ll stay here and pray alone, wishing only happiness for the two of us in the days ahead.”
“Ayla, even now, if I could just…”
“So, the consummation.”
To put a stop to a farewell that showed no sign of ending, I deliberately brought up a provocative topic, and as expected, he pressed his lips together.
“You absolutely must spend your wedding night with Lady Swinden. If not, the family will get noisy again, and all of that will end up falling back on me.”
……I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.
“Now, you really must go. There’s not much time left until the entrance.”
His large body, which had barely managed to take a single step away, turned back to me once again.
Like a loyal hound that keeps returning no matter how many times you shoo it away. Of course, I couldn’t bring myself to push him away cruelly, either.
“At least give me a kiss of promise. That way I might be able to feel at ease.”
“I really don’t think I can do that…”
Wouldn’t that be too much, considering the bride will be standing at the end of the wedding aisle with her eyes wide open?
“Ayla.”
But that was only my thought. I couldn’t hold out for long in the face of his urging.
In the end, I dared to commit the sin of stealing the lips of a groom about to be married, instead of his bride.
Lips that would receive no one’s blessing met each other.
I wasn’t afraid of divine punishment.
It just vaguely occurred to me that one more small crime had been added to my long list of sins.
At the end of our impassioned kiss, which was fated to be our last, my eyes grew hot for no reason.
“Your attendants are waiting outside.”
After what was probably the last and most deceitful kiss in the world, I pushed him away. I lowered my eyes to hide my expression.
Dressed in a grand formal suit befitting the star of the ceremony, and his already handsome features done up to perfection, he was dazzlingly beautiful.
After straightening his boutonniere for him, I waved with a bright smile at him as he turned back for a final look.
“Be happy, Young Master.”
When he finally disappeared and I murmured words of blessing behind the closed door…
I made my escape from the Duke’s manor the moment the ceremony began.
If not now, there would never be another chance.
That was the only thought in my mind.
It was the wedding of the Young Duke himself. There was to be a noisy reception lasting through the night, and with the wedding night to come, even Claude would not be able to spare a thought for me tonight. Nor would his father.
Tonight was the perfect night for a mere maid to vanish without anyone noticing.
A perfect night to disappear.
As soon as I returned to my room, I threw off my maid’s uniform, packed the belongings I had prepared, and secretly slipped out of the mansion.
It was truly a splendid and nimble escape.
If Claude had seen it, even he would have tipped his hat and applauded.
But it was a scene I could never allow him to see, even if I died. That was my only regret.
Even with the loud sounds carried on the night breeze, I stubbornly kept my eyes fixed forward.
The few tears I shed were, I believed, out of relief from being freed from all the pressures that had weighed me down.
The last image of the Young Master, like a child leaving his mother and constantly looking back, flashed through my mind, but I forced myself to ignore it.
At the same time, I made a sincere vow to apologize for deceiving him, for the rest of my life, from the bottom of my heart.
Maybe, someday, he would understand that I had no choice but to make this decision.
At first, he would surely be disappointed and angry, but it would not take long for him to recover.
After living with a beautiful and well-bred wife, he would soon realize just how foolish his entanglement with a mere maid had been.
More than anything, his bride would be a woman who could truly help Claude in the future. Unlike me, who would only ever be a useless weight around his ankle.
As the celebratory fireworks of the ceremony resounded, it was as if they were urging my feet to move faster.
Even as I wiped away the flowing tears with my sleeve, I never once stopped walking.
Because I thought of that as my atonement.
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