Chapter 139
“Do you think your name master will keep feeding you? What are you hoping for from a man with nothing but a crumbling cabin? Seriously… don’t say anything later! You’re the one who said it didn’t matter!”
Yannick muttered to himself, his words echoing before he stormed off. Macy could see him trudging away through the window. Only then did she let out a sigh of relief.
“Phew…”
“Is that… your brother, Macy? Yannick Horton, is that him?”
“Yes. I… don’t get along well with my brother…”
Dia’s expression was odd. She didn’t say much, but it seemed like she couldn’t understand how a family member could act like that. From the way she knew his name, it seemed like Eren had told her something about him. Maybe Dia had heard the rumors that were circulating recently, too.
Given the directness with which Yannick had confronted her, Macy felt embarrassed to face Dia. Even if Dia might have known everything already, it still felt awkward.
“Macy, have you eaten yet?”
“Huh?”
Macy stood there, unsure of what to say, when Dia casually asked about her meal.
“If you’re hungry, I can prepare something for you.”
“Ah.”
“Did you have breakfast at the mansion?”
“No, I… didn’t eat. Did you, Dia?”
“No.”
A brief silence passed.
“Would you like to eat together?”
Dia spoke with a more cautious tone than usual.
“I’ve been a bit lonely here by myself.”
“Really…?”
“Yes. I’m glad you’re back to the cabin, Macy.”
Dia’s cheeks flushed slightly, as though she was embarrassed by her own words. Normally, Dia wasn’t the type to express her emotions so directly, but it seemed like she was trying to comfort Macy, and that made her anxious feelings slowly ease.
“I also think the food Dia make is the best. Let’s go eat together!”
“Yes.”
They walked hand in hand to the kitchen. Finally, it felt like they were back in the cozy, familiar home.
* * *
Yellow leaves fell onto the paper book. Arzena looked up, following the path of the falling leaves.
The birch trees’ leaves had turned yellow, signaling that autumn had arrived in the village of Lettern, in the southern part of the empire.
“Madam, are you not cold?”
The maid, following behind Arzena, asked with concern.
“Are you cold?”
“The sun is setting. The temperature has been fluctuating recently, and it will get chilly once the sun goes down.”
“Then let’s take a walk around the lake before it gets dark.”
“Yes, of course.”
The maid gently pushed the wheelchair, the sound of crunching leaves filling the air.
Her once vibrant red hair had lost its luster, and her porcelain skin had become dry and cracked. She felt weak, struggling to even stand, and her senses were growing more dull with each passing day.
When did things start going wrong? Was it the contract marriage with the previous Duke Krygen? Or was it the sin of bearing a weak heir to the Krygen family?
No, if she thought about it that way, it all began when she was born into Marquis Zandir’s family and hiding her illness.
She thought she had overcome all hardships, but now, she had caught the same disease that had taken her son’s life.
If she had known this would happen, she wouldn’t have clung so desperately to life. She wouldn’t have fixated on the role of Madam in the Duke’s house.
It was a late regret. Arzena could feel with every fiber of her being that this disease would soon claim her life.
“Last weekend, it’s said that Duke Krygen successfully held his engagement ceremony with Lady Werfel.”
“Mm, I heard that.”
Arzena responded with little emotion.
“But during the banquet, the Duke suddenly disappeared.”
“What do you mean by that?”
A crack appeared in Arzena’s previously emotionless expression.
“I heard that the painter who did the engagement portrait left with the Duke in a carriage, and that night, the lights were on at the Bayatten mansion.”
“The Bayatten mansion? Was the painter a woman?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know her name?”
The Bayatten mansion had always been the place where Dukes Krygen would spend the night with their mistresses for generations.
Rubens Krygen’s mistress.
No, Eren Wood, in the guise of Rubens.
Arzena’s interest in the maid’s story grew as she listened.
“That woman… I think she’s the sister of a famous painter. Was it Mary Horton or Maria Horton?”
“It must be Macy Horton.”
“Yes, that’s the name. Do you know her, Mdam?”
“Haha!”
“Madam…?”
For the first time in ages, Arzena laughed out loud.
She immediately started coughing, but the rush of endorphins made her feel giddy, like reading the climax of a novel.
The beginning of the novel had started a long time ago.
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