CH 33

Lily was used to living helplessly by others’ orders. It was a virtue of a wife to obey her spouse’s choices. But wasn’t this the result of all these mindsets now?

It was a child’s duty to obey the father’s decisions.

Returning to the capital right away or dying was not a good option. But trusting Blake and staying with him was also a problem.

‘If I stay here and be caught, I will definitely be burned at the stake.’

Aside from Count Fox, her father wouldn’t forgive Lily.

They would brand her as a witch who seduced men.

Her father was a cruel man.

Her father did not stop at memorizing and quoting classics like other nobles, but he also studied various disciplines such as economics and world geography. Especially anatomy…

The sight of him having fun dissecting more than ten mice for fun was just terrifying to remember.

Lily could be sure that her father had killed someone, just so far, no one has noticed.

“Miss Lily?”

At that moment, Gianna, a dedicated maid, entered the room cautiously.

“Miss Lily, the chef has made puree with avocado, would you like to have some?”

To make it look appetizing, Gianna grabbed the spoon with a strong hand and stirred it. 

But Lily only shook her head.

“I’m fine.”

“But you haven’t eaten properly for several days.”

“I have no appetite, I’m sorry.”

“Why do you keep saying you’re sorry to us?”

Gianna had hardly cried since she was born. But now she wanted to cry a little.

She wanted to cry like a baby and rolled on the ground. Then, break down a few floors, force her, and whine, ‘Please, just take one bite.’

“Miss Lily has nothing to apologize for!”

It was Lily who had been dazed for a while now, but she only stayed in the room after the argument with Blake. For Gianna, it was crazy.

Lily curled up on the bed.

“It must have been the Master’s fault. To be honest, we have no idea what’s going on, but the Master must have been bad! He’s not in a good condition, either.”

“What’s wrong with Lord Blake?”

For the first time, Lily, who had been quiet, had a worried look on her face.

Then she stopped immediately. Is she in a position to worry about others right now? Shw even thought that the act of apologizing to the person she raised her voice to was deception.

“He stopped talking. He’s a pure b*stard these days. His hair has become sporadic…He’s very savage, so it’s understandable that the capital people called him savages. Right?”

For Gianna, it was a self-sacrificing joke, but Lily was busy putting on a blanket and regaining her warmth.

There was no threat now, and every time she touched the air, she was vaguely terrified.

“…Thank you for not asking about the situation.”

“It’s okay! Whatever it is, it must be the Master’s fault! Why would a maid be mad at our Lily? Even if Satan comes back alive, I can’t do that. Do you want me to kill him?”

Lily couldn’t help but laugh at the harsh joke. She wanted to smile faintly for Gianna, but only her face was distorted.

It was quiet again.

Gianna lowered her eyebrows and placed the green porridge on the table.

“Even if we come to torment our master, it won’t be different this time, will it?”

“…”

“But keep this in mind. We are always on Miss Lily’s side.”

Gianna held Lily wrapped in a blanket in her arms. 

“I love you too. I think Lord Blake is a good person too.”

Lilly’s smiling face looked extremely normal.

But Gianna knew she was not okay. This little girl was not perfect in any way.

Lily let Gianna out.

Then she sat still in the corner of the bed for hours until dawn.

She could hear breathing, but it was as cold as death.

****

“The time has come for me to go slowly. Time to go.”

The butler, Alfred, who was ill with a cold, and his face was pale.

“What are you talking about, old man? What are we going to do without you? It’s just a cold.”

“Ho ho. It’s not just the cold. It’s because I’m not feeling well these days… I’m worried about my lord without me. It was a big deal when the previous headmaster of the family passed away, but what if even me leaves? Who remembers your childhood?”

The butler, Alfred, was packing his luggage.

Winter was good, but he wanted to spend the last days of his life at home. He lightened his luggage so that he could leave at any time when his condition got worse.

“Things that are going to be thrown away should be thrown away. Have my things become this large all of a sudden? Greed is also a disease, so I’ve saved up stuff I didn’t use before.”

“Everyone lives like that, huh? Since you have lived here for several decades, wouldn’t you have a lot more luggage?”

“Even so, it was bad that the suit I wore when I was young was still here.”

Alfred laughed in an old, calm voice.

How much did he throw away the trash and distribute useful items to those around him? 

“No, this is…”

The old man found an old locket necklace in the closet. Faded eyes twinkle with surprise.

Immediately, he walked slowly to Blake’s office.

“Master. Do you remember this? You entrusted it to me when you were young. After that, we completely forgot about it.”

Blake couldn’t sleep and picked up the necklace with bloodshot eyes. He couldn’t remember.

“Why does it look so expensive? Did I have such luxury?” 

“Open it.”

Blake meekly looked at the picture kept in the locket necklace. A deep silence came, and after a while the man murmured in a subdued voice.

“……Wait a minute.”

Portrait of young Blake and Lily as small as a head.

He recalled the memories he had at the banquet. In that memory, young Blake and Lily were in a carriage.

They were secretly chatting at a big party. I wondered if there was anything to be proud of riding a carriage together….

Now he knew.

“It was my birthday then. That’s why I was able to go and greet her justly.”

Blake’s father, who was busy with work, felt sorry for the two children who could only play little by little.

So, on the occasion of Blake’s birthday, a celebration party was held in the capital.

“A lot of people have accepted the invitation. Nobles, monks, bankers…. No one really came to congratulate me on my birthday.”

However, young Lily made a flower ring with her little hands and handed it to Blake. Butler Alfred nodded.

“Then the picture on the necklace must have been drawn then.”

“That’s right. It was the moment we were playing in the flower bed in the banquet hall. It was painted by the painter we hired…”

At that time, young Blake was quite happy.

To the extent of taking the painting and asking his father like this.

<Buy me a locket necklace to keep it! Two! I asked the artist for another painting. I asked him to draw what I remembered the last time I met Lily at the beach party. I’ll give Lily the necklace with the picture.>

So Lily and Blake had the same locket necklace, but the necklace that was in Lily’s hand was discovered by her parents not long after. 

– What the hell is this, Duke!

Lily’s parents, the Marquis, immediately questioned Blake’s father.

Blake was also there at the time and listened to all the conversations.

―My daughter has a portrait that I did not allow. A picture with a boy that I didn’t allow! Someone told me, isn’t he your son?

ㅡ haha. Little children can have memories.

—-I’m sorry, but Lily is fragile and easily follows others. No wonder the results of etiquette education have been insufficient these days, so without permission, this, this, this, this, this, this!

Although they did not dare to speak out, the Marquis and Marchioness were questioning Blake’s origins. ‘Barbarians.’

The Marquis couple were furious.

—-Oh, I should have thought it was weird. I heard that you invited Lily to a birthday party and escorted her because she was the same age as your son. In fact, you had a different intention!

—They were just hanging out together.

—-Lily hasn’t even made her social debut yet. I can’t let the rumors go around already. If she gets involved in the wrong gossip, it will be difficult to find a good marriage partner later.

The situation that young Blake feared most had arrived.

—-Do you understand? From now on, your son and Lily will not meet again. Never again.

Young Blake blamed himself for leaving evidence of the necklace.

It was the reason Blake had roughly thrown away the precious necklace he shared with Lily.

After that, he couldn’t talk to Lily again. His heart was in pain, so he tried not to think of her anymore…He had to throw away all his memories.

Decades passed like that, and Blake, who forgot everything, remembered.

“After breaking up with Lily, I cried a lot. I remember clearly now.”

The man who finished the recollection was still frowned as if crying.

“I cursed the unruly adults. We were just playing. Adults say that everything is up to them. They treat their children like toys… .”

But the current Blake thought he was also selfish.

He realized how wrong he had done to Lily. He rubbed his face with his hand and let out a sigh.

How can I be so stupid?

I have to meet Lily. Right Now.