Chapter 24

****

I can’t believe you treat me like the lady-in-waiting you used to have.

I sneered and burst into laughter at the same time.

As I was so annoyed, I ran out of breath.

Leila, don’t get too excited. If you get excited here, you lose.

I took a deep breath, controlled my pounding heart, and answered with a smile.

“I don’t want to.”

When I flatly refused, Cecily opened her eyes wide. It was a face that didn’t know that I would refuse.

“Why?”

She looked obviously surprised, but the way she looked at me was the same as the way Countess Thebesa looked at me.

The eyes that were filled with contempt or disdain, many negative emotions.

Maybe that’s why I could see Countess Thebesa above Cecily.

As I recalled the words she had poured out onto me, my mood dropped sharply.

“…get out.”

Not knowing wasn’t a bad thing. But I had to tell her that this wasn’t right.

If Cecily’s action was purely from ignorance like Philen’s, I could endure it.

However, if it was a pretense of ignorance, I had no intention of putting up with it any longer.

“Stop pretending and get out.”

As I pointed my finger at the door, Cecily tilted her head innocently.

“Pretending… I don’t know what Lady Thebesa is talking about.”

“Stop calling me Lady Thebesa.”

I twisted my lips.

“From now on, call me young lady. Miss Heliode, no, I’ll call you Miss Cecily now. The Heliode surname disappeared when your kingdom fell.”

Cecily’s face turned white. Then it turned red again.

She leaped up from her seat and shouted.

“But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m a princess!”

“It should be, ‘I was a princess’, no?”

“…!”

As I corrected her, Cecily’s eyes were filled with venom.

She glared at me as if she would eat me up at any moment, but I wasn’t scared at all.

Because I had met a lot of people like that while acting on behalf of the Duke and Duchess.

And Cecily was on the cute side.

“You, who can no longer use the Heliode surname, are no longer a princess or a noble, but a commoner.”

I got up from my seat and walked towards the door.

“The reason I use honorifics to you is because you have his child.”

Cecily’s venomous gaze clung to me like a leech.

“Until you give birth and leave the mansion, I will treat you to the best of my ability. So, don’t cause any trouble, just keep quiet and get out.”

“I am leaving the mansion?”

“Didn’t you hear from Philen? Philen said he will get you out of the mansion as soon as you give birth to the child.”

Cecily’s wide-opened eyes trembled in disbelief.

It seemed she hadn’t heard any of it from Philen.

Well, as expected. He didn’t mean it seriously. He was just trying to reassure me at that time.

Even though I knew it, I pretended not to know.

“I can’t say I will be a good foster mother for that child.”

When I opened the door, I saw Sarah waiting outside restlessly.

“At least I promise I won’t abuse him.”

I winked at Sarah to tell her that I was okay, then turned to Cecily and said, “So, feel free to leave the mansion after giving birth to the child, Miss Cecily.”

*****

Cecily, unable to win the fight, left the room with such incredible speed that it was hard to believe that she was pregnant.

Since she was caught pretending, I didn’t think she’s going to keep acting in front of me anymore.

I didn’t expect her to be easy, but I didn’t expect her to be that easy.

But then, when I thought I would bump into Cecily a lot in the future, I felt terrible and it made my head hurt.

I took a deep sigh and rubbed my forehead.

“Are you okay, My Lady?”

Sarah asked with a worried look.

Instead of answering, I nodded and pointed to the sofa Cecily was sitting on.

“Take that sofa away. And change the carpet.”

It was a sudden order, but Sarah politely bowed her head and replied yes without asking why.

I asked Sarah to clean the room as well, then headed to the other room with a box, containing the seals of the Duke and Duchess, and the documents.

While Sarah was cleaning, I was going to look at the documents in the other room, but no matter how hard I tried to concentrate, I couldn’t.

Let’s take a break.

It would be better to take a break and look at it again than to keep holding onto it like a fool.

I just laid on the sofa and closed my eyes for a while to organize my complicated mind, but before I knew it, I fell asleep.

Bang-!

How long has it been? 

I opened my eyes in surprise at the sound of the door opening violently.

At the door stood Philen, furious.

“Why?”

It was an abstract question with no subject or object, but I immediately noticed that it had something to do with that woman.

From the moment I got mad with Cecily, I expected Philen to come, but then, he really came. I felt bitter.

“Why?”

However, as if nothing had happened, I stood up and straightened my back, facing Philen’s wrath, and asked back.

“Why are you saying that now? Why did you say such abusive words to her?”

“Abusive words? I don’t know what you mean. Did I just tell her the truth?”

I closed and opened my eyes slowly, raising my lips obliquely.

“It is true that she is no longer a princess and that she has to leave the mansion after giving birth to the child.”

“Did you have to say such harsh words to a woman who was still shocked by losing her country?”

Philen looked at me with his eyes gleaming.

“Don’t you have any consideration? As a woman, how can you shock a pregnant woman so much when you too will be a mother in the future!”

My heart was pounding at the pouring criticism.

“And I should be the one who told her about getting out of the mansion. Not you!”

“So did you tell her? Isn’t everything I say true?”

Philen didn’t answer.

As expected, he didn’t say anything.

I was glad he didn’t say anything.

Certainly, Philen would have coaxed and soothed her, saying that he would never do anything like that.

It was expected. I laughed a little because I was speechless.

“See? It seemed like you couldn’t do it, so I just did it for you.”

“…who are you?”

“I’m your fiancée.”

“Yeah, fiancée.”

Philen twisted his lips.

“Not Duchess of Williot.”

“…!”

“Leila, I think you’re mistaken because you’ve been living under the Duke of Williot for over 10 years. But you’re not yet Duchess of Williot.”

His reproachful gaze and his pouring words pierced my heart cruelly.

“So, don’t even think about getting involved in the affairs of the mansion anymore, and don’t even think about arguing.”

I couldn’t look straight at Philen and looked down obliquely.

“That is not your role. You’re still a count lady. I want you to be aware of your position right now.”

Right. It’s not my role.

Because I’m Leila Thebesa, not Leila Williot.

But for what purpose have I been doing his job so far?

Why did I spend all ten years for the Duke of Williot?

“Fill in what Philen can’t, as Duchess, please take good care of Duke of Williot, okay?”

Yeah, it was for the Duke couple.

I did my best for them who treated me like their own daughter and cared for me…

But he didn’t acknowledge me. Just because of that woman.

Tears filled my eyes and my eyes became blurry. My hands clenched tightly by themselves. And I bit my lip until it bled.

“Did you understand what I said?”

Philen looked at me coldly and asked.

It was confirmed.

He stabbed a sharp sword into my already dying heart again.

All kinds of bad emotions, such as regret, lamentation, and despair, raged in my heart.

It swept through my heart like a storm, and what’s left behind was… giving up

After giving up, I was no longer angry.

It’s just that I felt so pitiful for myself, who had sacrificed for the Duke of Williot until now.

I felt like a fool to believe that I would become a duchess.

I looked at Philen with tears that had dried up in my eyes.

“I got it.”

“Then…”

“Then I won’t do it anymore.”

I’m sorry, Duke. Duchess. 

You cared for me so much.

You repeatedly asked me to take good care of the Duke of Williot…

I don’t think I can do that anymore.

I took out the seals of the Duke and Duchess from the box and put them down on the table.

“As you said, I’m Leila Thebesa, so I won’t do the Duke of Williot’s job anymore.”

At my words, Philen looked at me with precipitous eyes and opened his mouth.

“Have you been this irresponsible?”

Irresponsible? 

What else is this…..

“I’m irresponsible?”

“You’re not? You’re throwing away your job just because you argued with me, no?”

“Ha?”

What was this again?

Such a talent to embarrass himself with every word he said.

A good for nothing talent.

I swallowed a laugh and glared at Philen.

Philen didn’t avoid my gaze and faced me confidently.

“You have to say it correctly, Philen.”

Will you be able to keep confident even after hearing this?

“It’s not me who’s irresponsible, it’s you.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“Did you forget? Whose job is this originally.”

I picked up the documents on the table and waved them in front of Philen’s eyes.

“Originally, it’s your job, Duke Williot. Because you didn’t do it and threw it away, I’ve been taking care of it all this time.”

“…!”

“So it’s not me who’s irresponsible, it’s you, Philen.”

When I looked at Philen to see if he could refute it, he bit his lip.

The confident look on his face had long since collapsed.

Philen looked at me with a stiff face.

Anyone would know that he’s afraid if he looked like that.

“The Duchess’s job isn’t yours, but it’s not mine either.”

I snorted and put the documents back on the table.

“As you said, I’m Leila Thebesa, not the Duchess of Williot. Right?”