CH 53

Chapter 53 – How can this be

Translator: Yonnee

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Ciel did not return to his chambers, but instead flew straight to the mountain behind the baron’s residence. He needed some time to think alone.

She had so firmly denied everything he said that, the entire time, he had been in a daze. He was in such a huge shock that he so clearly felt his mind going stark white.

The first piece of conclusive evidence was her guiding itself, and the second one was the fact that the back of his neck was sore after he had woken up.

In addition to those two, it was evidence enough that her pupils had been shaking and her heart had been beating violently all throughout the time that she insisted that she’s not who he thought she was.

There were so many pieces of evidence pointing to her true identity—from her small habits, to, crucially, the way she wielded the katar.

The form she took on as she swung that dagger, as well as the way she had shot those arrows some time ago—it was evidence enough that she was Seohyun.

However, she insisted on hiding this. She kept on covering everything up as though she truly did not know, and it was natural for Ciel to be shocked by this.

Perhaps, if one were to pick a single person who knew Seohyun best, it would of course be Ciel. He had always been in close proximity to her, and so he had always watched her carefully.

Thus, he knew just how much Seohyun loved him.

On the flip side, he knew just how relentless she was towards someone she was not interested in or someone she despised.

And yet here, his wife had drawn a line between them.

A line that was as dark as an abyss, as thick as a fortress’s walls…

This meant only one thing—he was no longer a person inside his wife’s inner circle. The fact that he had been pushed out…

It gave him such a shock that he couldn’t even breathe properly.

“Yes, I was mistaken… How could Seohyun be here? That woman doesn’t have Seohyun’s beautiful black hair and black eyes, but instead the appearance of an imperial citizen with coral pink hair and green eyes…”

Ciel denied reality, convincing himself that, yes, he had been mistaken. He would do that rather than admit that he had been pushed out by his wife. If he were to recognize this, it felt as if the world around him would collapse.

He shook his head violently in denial, but nevertheless couldn’t help but stare longingly at her room even as he couldn’t see her.

* * *

With Mary’s help, I got up, dressed for the day, and came down to the dining hall at an irregular hour. Ciel and Aiden were also there at the dining hall.

It felt uncomfortable, of course, considering what happened last night. However, I willed myself to keep a straight face. Leaving the other facts behind, it’s still true that I’d been found out to be a Guide, so I was worried about what’s in store for me from now on.

It’s been a while since I had reincarnated, but I still had memories and my mannerisms from the past, so I couldn’t seem to abandon my habits as a Guide.

It was both frustrating and laughable that I so easily fell into the motions of guiding someone with such familiarity.

There was one more reason for the frustration I was feeling. Since the table was lined with potato dishes of various kinds, I hadn’t even taken a bite out of any yet but I already felt full at this point.

It was difficult to get through mealtime, unlike most days, so I only sipped my glass that’s full of ice water.

“Since when have you liked drinking ice water? Other noble ladies don’t seem to like similar things that are even a little cold.”

Amid the quiet space, a baritone voice that’s pleasant to the ear rang out. Although he spoke in a lower volume than he usually did, his voice still projected quite well.

I quietly turned my head and answered him briefly.

“I don’t quite remember.”

Blue eyes stared back at me. Around the time that I was about to get worn down by that persistent gaze of his, Mom murmured something that sounded like a declaration.

“We’ll have to eat all the remaining potatoes before they go bad.”

At the very seriously delivered words of my mother, Ciel’s eyes twitched slightly. Pawing the air and missing his glass a few times, Ciel eventually reached for his glass of water and gulped down all its contents. He clearly was at a loss on what to do.

With an abashed expression upon his face, he politely replied to Mom.

“Baroness, I love potatoes quite a bit. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”

“…Then, that’s a relief. It’s the first time in a while that we’ve had guests in our abode, but I feel ashamed to serve such a simple meal to you both.”

A certain underlying meaning could be felt from her words, but nevertheless, Ciel quietly picked up his spoon to scoop up his potato soup. Only then did the persistent gaze leave me, and a small sigh of relief slipped through my lips.

I also started eating. Sitting in front of potato soup, potato salad, stir-fried potatoes and many other potato dishes, it felt as if the roasted potatoes I ate yesterday were still heavy on my stomach.

The table was quite literally full of potatoes. My eyes strayed and I realized that there was a small plate of sugar only for me. I thought Mom brought it for me, but she didn’t give me a knowing look to indicate this.

After watching her eat her potato soup silently, I even checked Brother or Dad if either of them prepared this for me, but my whole family was just focused on eating.

I wondered who it could be that brought it for me. Eventually,  I chalked it up to someone else in the house since most people knew my preferences anyway. I didn’t think about it further and went on to dip my butter-baked potatoes in sugar and took a bite.

When the sweetness spread in my mouth, I smiled without realizing it. And as I felt my eyes curving upwards, I once again felt a patient gaze trained on me.

I glanced towards Ciel, who now looked even more persistent than before. His eyes were on my hands rather than my own eyes. To be more precise, he was staring at the sugar on the potato I was holding.

At that moment, I felt it.

The fact that my ex-husband still hadn’t given up.