Chapter 17

Michael Allison. 

Count Allison’s eldest son and Diana’s older brother. 

The current head.

The man she had not seen in a long time stood in front of her, looking at her as if surprised.

“…Michael.”

He had the same blood as Diana, but he was a man with a different appearance from her. Unlike Diana, who resembled her mother and had a bright and kind personality, Michael had a sharp personality resembling the previous Count, his father. 

Still, he was a man with a soft smile that matched Diana.

Like brother, like sister.

“Long time no see.”

He came and stood next to her.

“I thought a thief came in while the yard door was open for a while. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“How have you been?”

It’s been a really long time. It was also nice to see him in a place like this. When he greeted her with a soft smile, she answered with a smile, too.

“It’s just… I’m okay. I wasn’t happy, but I wasn’t sad. That’s how I spent my time.”

It was the face of him she had not seen in a long time. However, despite the passing of time, he maintained a tall and splendid impression. As her marriage was decided after Diana’s death, the relationship between the Count of Allison and the Duke of Whidrian quickly became awkward.

In order to be polite, the Duke asked Count Allison to forgive them for their marriage and understand that it was to protect the children. But that didn’t mean they could comfortably see Cassia and the Duke’s faces.

The Count and his wife, who were kind and generous, understood their marriage in their minds under the persuasion of the Duke, but at the same time, they did not.

Their daughter’s best friend, married to their deceased daughter’s husband.

Well, it meant that she couldn’t get along with them like before when she used to come to the villa to play.

Perhaps the shock caused by it had a share in the early death of the Count couple.

Maybe that’s why, after the Count almost cut off contact with her, she couldn’t see Michael’s face at all.

The last time she saw him was on the day of her wedding with the Duke, from far away, standing and watching her.

“I heard the news. The news that the Duchess had left the Duke’s mansion spread throughout the social circles.”

“Is that so?”

“The Duchy was in turmoil. But I had no idea that we would meet here.”

He truly looked surprised at the sudden reunion with her. 

She answered, “Now that the children are adults, I decided there was no reason to be there anymore.”

“…I see.”

“Can I trust you won’t tell Duke Whidrian?”

“I don’t have anything to gain. It’s been a long time since I cut off contact with that family.”

He smiled again. 

She was strangely glad to see his smile after a long time. When she smiled with him, he asked me.

“So… What did you come here for? Is it an obvious question?”

“When leaving the Duke’s mansion, I couldn’t say goodbye to Diana. I wanted to say hello like this.”

“I see.”

“…Not a single thing has changed here. In fact, I didn’t know it wouldn’t change this much.”

This place has been completely preserved as if everything had gone back to the past from the carriage ride. Everything was the same as in the past, except that there were no more people around and that the villa was a little older due to the weight of time.

“I was ordered to pay attention to management. I come here often, too.” 

Michael answered.

“It’s a villa that I don’t use anymore, but there’s no place like this where time seems to have stopped. I feel strangely at ease when I come here. I come here often when I want to clear my head.”

“I see…”

There was silence.

They stood side by side and looked at the sea together. Each of them was immersed in their own thoughts, so the flowing silence was not particularly awkward. 

As a long time passed, he opened his mouth.

“… Aren’t you angry?”

Cassia turned to look at Michael.

“You spent seven years in the Duke’s mansion because of my sister. Your willpower seemed strong, so I couldn’t stop you, but it bothered me the whole time.”

His gaze fell low.

“And now that you are out of there, personally… I think you’re lucky.”

“It’s okay. I don’t need any apologies.”

She chuckled.

“Michael, you know, that choice… of course it was for Diana, but for me, it was bigger than you think.”

Cassia looked at him.

She thought about telling him about Diana’s death and her kid’s favour, but she decided not to. 

The truth was that Diana’s death wasn’t accidental.

Diana was intuitively aware of her death, leaving Cassia a secret request. He was also a family, so he had some right to know. But she was also concerned about the shock he would receive.

After 7 years had passed and everything was in order, Cassia didn’t want to go through painful wounds and memories. Then, suddenly, a strange thought occurred to her. 

She has been so fine for seven years.

Contrary to what she was worried about when she first decided to take Diana’s place.

Was it because of the Duke’s cover? 

Why did Diana die? 

It was still a mystery. 

It was a secret that she would like to unravel if only she could solve it.

“The Whidrian family is Diana’s family, and they’ve always been close friends with me, so at first I thought I could do well, but it wasn’t.”

“But I didn’t want to quit the position right away and run away.”

She continued to talk.

“I thought even when I’ll leave, I would feel better if I took care of the family Diana left behind.”

Michael didn’t answer. He just listened to her.

She shrugged her shoulders.

“Seven years have passed, and I am here again after I came out of that family.”

After a long time, the first thing that came to her was nothing more than a sense of relief.

‘Didn’t I come to Diana to say what I wanted to say?’

Obviously, she now had some sort of qualification. Now that 7 years had passed, she felt like she could remember her friend with peace in her mind.

“It’s still a strange feeling, but I feel more at ease just knowing that I am done with that time.”

Cassia thought about it. 

Perhaps completing all Diana’s requests was to save herself, or was a struggle she had to endure fiercely to accept the fact that she had lost her friend.

‘So…’

‘So I…’

“So I… have no regrets, Michael.”

She did not regret the seven years she had spent in the Duke’s mansion on her friends’s behalf.

Michael looked at her for a while without answering. 

His gaze warmed up, and he opened his mouth to speak.

“…Do you know this?”

“You are a very strong person.”

Cassia looked at him with puzzled eyes. 

She just smiled and didn’t say anything more.

“Anyway, now that you’re out of the Duchy, it must be the beginning of a new life.”

A long time passed, and he continued.

“At all… did you decide to divorce the Duke? There are rumours that you left the divorce papers behind.”

“You heard it right. I’m going to get divorced and live a new life alone.”

It was honestly unclear whether the Duke would be willing to sign the divorce document.

But wouldn’t he have signed it already? She saw no reason not to sign it.

It was questionable that it had not yet been told that they had been divorced. 

‘What is the Duke doing now?’

Suddenly, a question crossed her mind.

“Is there anything you want to do?”

“… I’m taking a break and doing many things. I met some interesting people, and I came to see Diana today.”

Cassia smiled bitterly. It was because she remembered the time she had with Irwin while talking about ‘interesting people’. 

Michael looked at her like that for a moment and then said with a smile.

“…I want you to be happy no matter what you do. I’m serious. Let me know if you need any help.”

“Thank you. I hope that Michael will always be happy with his wife.”

At Cassia’s words, he looked at her. 

Looking at his distant eyes, she said cautiously.

“Marriage… I’m sure you did…?”

“I didn’t get married.”

“What?”

Cassia’s mouth opened slightly in shock.

‘Are you not married?’

Of course, she hadn’t heard of him getting married in those seven years. So she wondered if he had a quiet ceremony.

“I missed the timing, didn’t I?” He smiled.

“You are crazy, Michael. The head of the Count’s family is still single.”

The word ‘crazy’ didn’t come out of Cassia’s mouth very often. 

It meant that she was surprised. 

It was only natural to assume that he would be married. 

Who in the world does not get married even after becoming the head of the Count’s family? 

Considering the successor, marriage was a natural duty for the family.

“My parents died suddenly when Diana died as they started getting sick, so I became a head of state without being married, and that’s how time passed.”

“And I’m worried about the people around me, so I’m thinking about whether to adopt sons or daughters.”

“You must have had a lot of chances to get married even after you became the head. Why didn’t you do it yet?”

He was once the most popular man in the social world. He was the man whom all the young girls had admired and longed for like a dream.

A man who shone brightly like Diana, yet had a bright and sharp impression.

His quite attractive appearance drew attention wherever he went.

In addition, he has a comfortable personality, kindness, and wealth as a count. Even now, he would have been able to get married easily if he wanted to.

“Well… What about you?”

“What?”

Instead of an answer, a question came back.

***