Chapter 31

Everything went smoothly for Noel after that.

In particular, she got closer to Charlotte faster than expected. She often talks about her situation.

“My husband said there was nothing I was good at. He said I would have starved to death on the street if it wasn’t for him.”

Perhaps because of hearing her husband’s bad words continuously, her self-esteem had completely plummeted.

Noel tried to make Charlotte realize that she was a person who could stand alone enough.

“Absolutely not.”

We met with the excuse of wanting to let Eddie and Leah play and repeated it several times, and it worked to some extent.

Well, from what I heard, there were things that were more serious than I expected.

“But everyone around me said that the reason my husband did this was that I was wrong…… If the wife did it right, it couldn’t have happened.”

I wanted to grasp the situation as objectively as possible.

However, it was inevitable that Noel’s brain, mixed with modern thinking, went crazy every time she heard Charlotte’s confession.

‘The one who hit you is the bad one!’

“After hitting me, he always says he will be nice to me and never do that again……”

Noel was also firm about these words.

“He won’t.”

People are not easy to change, and once they wield violence, rehabilitation is impossible.

Anyway, Noel’s steady conversation worked.

Because every time she sees Charlotte, her face brightens a little.

“If I break up with my husband, will I be able to feed Eddie?”

“How much do you need?”

This was no lie. Mrs. Rizé said that if Charlotte had the courage, she would find a job.

“……”

Noel had thought that she had finally made a decision on something for her.

It was truly fortunate.

***

But the problem came the next day.

Because Charlotte showed up with one cheek swollen.

With her temper, Noel immediately got angry.

“What happened!?”

As she gritted her teeth, Charlotte smiled with her swollen lips.

“I told my husband that Eddie and I would go and live together, and this is what happened. He yelled out louder than usual.”

Despite being injured, she had a face that was more refreshing than expected.

“It was the first time I rebelled against my husband like that. I thought something clogging my chest was gone. It’s been almost ten years since we got married, and it’s the first time I’ve really felt this way.”

She looked to be in a lot of pain, but she seemed satisfied in her own way.

Noel was confused for a moment as to whether to congratulate or comfort her. Thanks to this, the heat rising from her head slowly cooled.

Meanwhile, Charlotte said, “Now that I’ve been hurt this much, no one thinks I’m hurt because I fell, right?”

“Yeah, everyone can see those wounds.”

Charlotte clenched her fist on her lap.

“Now, I think I can be honest about everything, no more hiding.”

Hearing these words from her tickled her heart. Because this was her original purpose.

It seemed Charlotte had found her self-esteem, and freed herself from her husband’s violence.

‘Mrs. Rizé will be happy to hear it.’

“Okay, but first, you need a simple treatment.”

It was then.

“Charlotte! Where are you? Come right now!”

A man’s loud scream was heard outside.

Charlotte shrugged her shoulders.

“It’s my husband’s voice, what happened?”

“This is the beginning of the last strike.”

Noel finished grasping the situation in an instant.

This kind of thing has happened occasionally in her previous life, and the behavior patterns of people who commit domestic violence are roughly the same.

“If you don’t come, I’m going to die in no time!”

Noel shook her head, ‘Would that make things a little easier?’

‘No, that’s not what a sane adult would think.’

I am really determined to become an exemplary adult to Leah.

“Where are you? I’m going to die with Eddie!”

Noel, who had been calm all along, had no choice but to panic at those words.

Did he possibly take his son hostage?!

‘If you want to die, you have to die alone, why do you have to bring your son!’

It was even when Eddie was playing with Leah on the playground.

“Where are you!?”

Noel and Charlotte hurried out of the medical center.

***

Leah was walking in front of the medical center, holding Leander’s hand.

Leah liked the duke whom she had recently met.

She liked the feeling of having her head stroked with his big hands or leaning wide on his broad shoulders as he carried her.

Somehow it reminded her of the time she was with her father. Leah was afraid and uncomfortable with her father, but that didn’t mean she hated him.

It was a secret from her mother that she missed her father, of course. The two didn’t get along very well as far as Leah remembers.

In fact, she sometimes wonders about her father who always has a stern expression on his face.

Was he not lonely in that spacious mansion?

But this thought was also a secret from her mother.

Because she always wanted her mother to be happy with her.

Leander asked worriedly, “Leah, where do you feel uncomfortable?”

It was because Leah had been silent all this time.

Leah shook her head, “I’m fine, but is it okay for the Duke to stay here?”

With those words, Leander looked back to where he was once again.

Playground in front of the medical center.

It’s definitely a rare experience, but it’s not bad.

He shrugged.

“Because I was asked to look after you.”

When Noel said those words, Leander burst into laughter.

In fact, when he heard that she had helped his mother—Mrs. Rizé, he thought Noel would want big things.

It was not particularly strange.

Leander is in power, and most people want to profit from him.

But the first thing Noel asked him to do was look after her daughter.

His mother was very happy when he told her about it.

[After all, I have an eye!]

It seems that his mother liked Noel from the beginning. Are there any similarities between the two?

In the meantime, in the social circle of the Yuren Kingdom, Mrs. Rizé was secretly treated as a geek because she sometimes revealed the bad sides of the aristocracy.

Naturally, there were many nobles who regarded her as a thorn in their eyes.

A woman was so venomous, she was so vicious that her husband died prematurely. Despite hearing such derogatory comments, Mrs. Rizé was always steadfast.

And Leander has respected his mother.

“I have a question for you.”

Leah suddenly looked up at him.

“The Duke is a high-ranking person, aren’t you busy? Are you okay here with me?”

At the sudden question, Leander pondered for a moment.

“I’m not that busy.”

It was of course a lie.

In any case, things related to Noel were important to Leander.

Even if it was just taking care of her daughter, it was the request of the person who saved his mother’s life.

In fact, there was a little bit of curiosity mixed in.

It seems that Noel is the secret wife of a wealthy merchant…… For some reason, she was faking her identity.

In his view, such acting was too much. She might consider her acting natural, but she didn’t look like that at all.

Even his mother had concluded that Noel was hiding something special.

‘Leah is also smart and has the appearance of being educated in manners.’

The little girl who looked like a niece in Leander’s eyes was very cute.

The way she thought about her mother overlapped with him when he was younger.

“I’m glad the Duke isn’t busy.”

Leander patted Leah’s little head.

“My dad always had a lot of work to do, so it was hard to see him.”

“Who is your father?”

Leah was deep in thought. Actually, she didn’t know much about her father.

“With red eyes like mine……oh, everyone says my father is really strong!”

“Hmm……there is someone I know who is similar to your words.”

Leander thought of a man with red eyes and silver hair he knew. He was a man who did not hesitate to fight and left corpses wherever he went.

‘He was nicknamed the Demon.’

“Is that person the Duke’s friend?”

At Leah’s curious question, Leander shook his head.

“No. Besides, I don’t think anyone I know has a daughter as smart and cute as Leah.”

To be honest, Leander couldn’t even imagine that the man would be Leah’s father.

The flow of conversation was cut off for a while.

Meanwhile, Leah found Eddie holding a ball and waving his hand.

Leah did not run right away but glanced at Leander.

“You can go and play, but don’t leave the playground.”

“Yes!”

Leah let go of his hand and ran away.

Leander looked at his hand that had lost a little warmth and then smiled bitterly.

Taking care of Leah has been the best thing he has ever been asked to do by others.

“……”

Eddie seemed to be teaching Leah to play ball. As the two children played with the ball, nearby children snooped around. Eventually, the group grew bigger and several children started kicking the ball and playing.

Leander looked at the scene and thought about the future.

When Noel is done convincing Charlotte, he would introduce her (Charlotte) to someone to help her in court, and then……

‘I only got help this time, so I’ll have to ask her (Noel) again if there’s anything I can do to help.’

It happened at the medical center managed by his family. Leander felt sorry for Noel’s hard work in the original task he had to deal with.

“Ahhh!”

Then, a scream rang out from the playground. Leander looked up in surprise.