The Full Story of an Incomplete Divorce - Chapter 40

Fortunately, Ben’s wife, Sonia, did not live very far away. The problem was that her wariness was more severe than anticipated. Despite Charlotte’s earnest attempts to persuade her over several visits, Sonia flatly refused to speak.

Returning from grocery shopping, Sonia spotted Charlotte, who was, as ever, waiting for her, and frantically searched her pocket for her key. In her rush, fruit came tumbling out of her basket, but she was solely focused on avoiding Charlotte.

“Sonia.”
“I have nothing to say to you, ma’am. It’s been a long time since I cut ties with him.”
“Could you just spare a moment?”
“Please, just go away.”

Charlotte picked up the fallen fruit and offered it, but Sonia refused to even make eye contact, fleeing into her house and locking the door.
“Why did you even come here? If it’s about what happened that day, instead of asking me, shouldn’t you ask your husband, the Duke, directly?”

Struck by Sonia’s words which hit the mark, Charlotte fell silent. It felt like a belated realization, like being hit on the head.
‘That’s right. Why did I even come here?’

From the start, she should have just directly asked Lucius if he was hiding anything about Linert’s death. Of course, he might not answer truthfully, or he might evade with silence as he had done until now, but that was a problem for later. The real reason she couldn’t bring herself to ask him was something else entirely.
“…Because I’m afraid.”

Afraid that she might hear from Lucius’s own mouth that he killed Linert. Afraid that the horrifying assumption, terrifying even to imagine, might be true. That’s why she had mustered all her courage and came all the way here. To prove that Lucius had nothing to do with Linert’s death.

Charlotte leaned against the wall as if exhausted. Even though the rain had stopped, the sky was still filled with a gloomy, ashen grey.

How long had she stood there waiting? Around the time a faint sunset glow began to filter over the vast horizon, the firmly locked door opened. Sonia’s face was one of utter resignation.
“Come in.”

Sonia led Charlotte into the kitchen and made tea with water boiled in a kettle.
“It’s not much to offer a guest.”
“Thank you, I’ll enjoy it.”

After a sip of the warm quince tea, her body, chilled from standing outside for so long, quickly began to thaw. As she set her cup down, Charlotte’s gaze fell upon Sonia’s swollen belly.
“It’s another man’s child.”

Sonia stroked her lower abdomen and gave a bitter smile.
“A few months ago, he went out fishing at sea and had an accident. Losing two husbands, what a wretched fate, don’t you think?”

Her shadowed eyes and sunken cheeks seemed to tell of her inner suffering.
“I’m sorry for showing up unannounced like this and causing you trouble during such a time.”
“You don’t need to apologize. As I said, all I know is what I heard from him long ago.”
“That is enough.”

Charlotte stared intently at Sonia for a moment before asking.
“By any chance, has my husband ever come here? Or contacted you separately?”
“No. Why would the Duke have any business with me? Besides, I never even worked at the Valentin mansion.”
“…….”
“When he was cast out from the Valentin mansion, to be honest, I was at a loss about how we would live. It’s hard for a disabled man to find proper work. But strangely, a living allowance started arriving every month without fail. It was even more generous than before.”
“…….”
“I asked him where the money came from, but he never told me. I had no way of knowing if it was money he received or money he stole.”

Sonia fidgeted with her teacup, hesitating, before adding heavily.
“One day, he came home dead drunk and said it. That he wasn’t the one who killed the young master. That the young master died by the hand of the little master.”