Chapter 14

Translator and Editor: Effe and Yonnee

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Tessa recalled the kind Hert. He was the one Tessa wanted to see the most, enough to bring tears to her eyes just thinking about it. But the boy was no longer there. It was a fact that Tessa had confirmed herself. How could she not know? She practically killed him with her own hands.

So there was no room for misunderstanding. It was no longer necessary to see that boy from the past in the present Hert. How could she do that after dropping him into the abyss? Humans shouldn’t do that. Tessa lowered her gaze downwards.

Yes, maybe Hert… it could have been a test.

Tessa, did she know her place?

There often were women who acted arrogantly, thinking that they had captured a man just because they had spent the night together. Hert could be trying to figure out if Tessa was one of those sorts.

Hert was now the one in power here, and Tessa was a widow with nothing to her name. From Hert’s point of view, she could appear desperate enough. She had lost her husband, the previous lord, and had become a widow who met a man she had a past with when she had nowhere to go. People would think it’s easy to have vague expectations.

So Tessa thought that she should be careful about her future behavior. She didn’t want Hert to misunderstand. Trying to use him to open his arms…

Of course, for Hert, Tessa could have already been that way. Tessa, who he knew from the past, was a traitor who sold even her most precious person to become the wife of an old noble.

So he shouldn’t have considered these favors now for her. It was no different than making himself ignorant.

‘Yes, I’m just a traitor who now has to pay Hert for my sins. Let’s not get confused. Hert wouldn’t be doing this particularly for my sake.’

Do not forget. He hates her.

But as soon as she made up her mind, her heart throbbed. It felt like someone was ripping her heart out. Tessa bit her lip. She couldn’t even comprehend her reaction.

‘Stop it, please. That’s right. Hert hates you. It was not wrong to think that. Other than that, you shouldn’t expect anything. You shouldn’t be in so much pain.’

Contrary to her thoughts, however, tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

He’s also probably…

‘I like you.’

In the end, Tessa couldn’t hold back and burst into tears. Tears dripped down on the blanket. It was Mani who was surprised because of it. Oh my, Madam! She hurriedly found a handkerchief. Tessa couldn’t raise her head for a while.

“I will stop eating. I just want to sleep.”

“But Madam…”

“I want to be alone. Please, Mani.”

At Tessa’s earnest request, Mani eventually vacated the place. She looked back at Tessa several times before leaving the room. But Tessa slipped into the blanket and curled up into herself.

Her body was getting more and more painful as if she had been beaten. Her head was spinning round and round.

She’s been hearing hallucinations ever since.

‘I think I like you too, Hert.’

She doesn’t want to hear it. Not now.

Tessa slowly closed her eyes with a face that was about to cry.

It was the worst.

* * *

Nearly a fortnight had passed, and Hert, who had been away for a while, never returned. Meanwhile, the Jutert estate, which had been immersed in bleak tension, was slowly finding its place. Tessa was also recovering her health day by day under the special care of Mani.

Her skinny, thin body slowly filled up, and her face began to have color in it again. Tessa herself felt that she was getting better and better.

The amount of food she ate, which was less than half that of the average person, was now more than before. Above all, in the past few days, there had been frequent visitors for her with Kennis’ permission.

“Tessa, are you feeling much better?”

The visitor for Tessa since early this morning was none other than Janet. She dragged the hem of her voluminous skirt and hugged Tessa tightly.

“I’m really glad that you seem to be doing well.”

“Thank you, Janet…”

“Actually, I wanted to come sooner, but the child in me was being unusual. I will come to visit more often in the future.”

Stroking her bloated belly, Janet said brightly. Her face was so cheerful. Literally, when Tessa seemed to be in good shape, she looked relieved.

“Anyway, it’s not a big deal, but I thought it would be rude to come empty-handed, so I brought snacks. It was specially made by me.”

Janet beckoned lightly, and the maid brought a bowl covered with a glass dome. When she opened the lid, a fresh lemon tart was there. The workmanship was very good for a handmade one.

Tessa looked at Janet with admiration. Then, Janet turned her eyes to face her as well. It felt like the originally bright personality was getting brighter. And she soon found out why.

“I was surprised that life in the annex was more comfortable than I thought. In fact, it’s only by nature, isn’t it, rather, it seems to be more free than before?”

She cut the tart herself and put it on Tessa’s plate, Janet said. Tessa nodded her head in agreement.

As Janet said, life in the annex was not lacking. Only the location has changed, but the Marquis’ remaining family members were doing well both physically and mentally. It was thanks to Hert’s consideration.

He supported the wives in living in the annex. For that reason, the annex was more lively than when the Marquis was alive.

“But you know, I have a question for Tessa, can I ask?”

“For me…?”

Since it was her first time eating a tart, Tessa was watching it while holding the fork. Janet suddenly asked Tessa a question, the round eyes twinkling with curiosity.

“Yes. If it is difficult to answer, you don’t have to answer.”

“Ah… What would you like to ask?”

“I wonder if you have known Sir Shine for a long time. Like the first time you saw him, I heard that you went to Lord Shine the last time too.”

Janet glanced into Tessa’s eyes. But Tessa had a face that didn’t seem to understand the words. Janet was rather surprised by this, but Tessa asked quietly.

“Sir Shine…? Who is he?”

“Huh? You mean you don’t know Sir Shine? No, the new lord is Lord Shine.”

“…Pardon?”

Tessa’s eyes widened at Janet’s answer. She looked completely surprised. Did Hert have a last name now? It was something she didn’t know. But it didn’t take long before Tessa accepted it.

In fact, it wasn’t unusual when she thought about it. Hert was an orphan like Tessa, but now he was a full-fledged knight of Marquis Borwen. Of course, while receiving the knighthood, he would have also been given a surname. Because all nobles had last names.

“Did you not know? I thought you knew.”

“Th-that… I did not know. It’s my first time hearing this. No one ever told me…”

Tessa realized that Hert was now really from a different world than hers. Unlike her, who was only a noble lady in name, he became a nobleman who was officially granted a surname.

And that too was attained by his own power.

If it was Hert, he would have always had a good chance. Even Tessa, who was ignorant about swordsmanship, knew that Hert had a talent for it. Therefore, she succumbed to the advice of the broker at the time. She wanted to make Hert a knight.

Tessa felt uncomfortable on one side of her chest again.

‘After all, Hert doesn’t need anything like me… He was destined to become a knight.’

With the vain thought of helping such a man, rather, she held him back, so how should she pay for this sin?

Tessa clasped the fork in her hand. She, too, was useless. She was lucky if she didn’t cause trouble to others. If Mani heard Tessa’s thoughts, she’d say that she shouldn’t think this way, but Tessa herself knew better than anyone that she was useless.

“So, what happened between you two?”

“That…”

Tessa paused. Can she say it? That he comes from the same orphanage as her?

…No, let’s not say it.

Tessa shook her head.

“Just… It’s just as you assume. A long time ago… We knew each other. Just… That’s all.”

Tessa bit her lips, glossing over it roughly, about her relationship with Hert. It was late, but even now, no, from now on, she didn’t want to hurt him. She was afraid that she might affect him badly if she said something wrong once with her tongue. That was something that should never have happened.

‘Never say that he comes from the same orphanage. It won’t be good for Hert.’

After she became the sixth wife of the Marquis Jutert, her first impression was that nobles were a conservative group to the bone.

Nobles always liked to distinguish between those who were noble and those who were not. It was precisely because of the inclinations of such nobles that Tessa lived in this castle and was ignored by everyone.

Most of the people living in the castle knew that Tessa had been sold on behalf of the Baron’s daughter. For that reason, some wives as well as employees actively rejected Tessa.

In the beginning, it was true that Tessa’s name was officially listed on the Baron’s registry and that she became a noble, but that was just a hastily registered list of the nobility in order to marry the Marquis. Tessa would almost certainly be despised as a pseudo noble rather than being treated as a noble.

“I… I don’t know him very well. I didn’t even know we were going to meet here… I just…”

In fact, the question of her relationship with Hert was one of Tessa’s plans from the beginning. Not surprisingly, didn’t Hert drag Tessa in front of everyone?

To be precise, he walked up to where she was and dragged her by calling her name. It made people wonder what Tessa and Hert had to do with each other.

“It’s nothing. Really nothing…”

So she shouldn’t even have anything to do with him. Otherwise, it could be difficult to fix later. Tessa thought that she would be a passing wind to Hert. To put it bluntly, she would be a one night’s play.

Tessa didn’t want to grab Hert’s ankle again. It was a fact that even retards would know whether to lean more towards the knight who led the war to victory and won the battle for territories or the poor concubine of the old lord.

“Ah… I see. I guess I shouldn’t have asked. I’m sorry.”

“No. It’s alright.”

When Tessa’s complexion didn’t look good, Janet changed the subject around that time.

“Oh, right. I have some news for you, Tessa.”

“…For me?”

“The Marchioness wants to meet Tessa.”

“What? The… Marchioness?”

At the mention of the Marchioness, Tessa’s mouth gaped open unconsciously.

The Kingdom of Mussieux was a country that allowed polygamy, and the deceased Marquis Jutert had seven wives. Among them, the Marchioness was the first wife of the Marquis, and she was a typical head wife. In addition, she was also the mother of the Young Lord, the official heir to the Marquisate.

However, she was living alone in the west spire of the annex as her legs were paralyzed in a carriage accident in the past. Especially since the Marquis strictly forbade her to come and go, the Marchioness was a forgotten figure here. She also hated to appear in public, so only the maid who went to and fro the spire knew that the Marchioness was alive.

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