Night of the Abandoned Duchess - Chapter 29

Chapter 29

“Oh my, already?”

She hastily adjusted Leo’s outfit.

Today was the day to keep the promise she had made on the ship before.

‘As you said, if there’s a chance… Can we have dinner together next time?’

Frankly, for Rosalind, it was just a fleeting promise, and she didn’t expect Baron Albert to mention it like this.

Towards the end of the funeral, he reaffirmed his desire to have dinner with her, and Rosalind nodded eagerly. When she offered to serve dinner as a token of her gratitude for coming to the funeral, he was very happy.

“Leo, he’s already here. Let’s go out.”

After checking Leo’s dressing, she came out of the dressing room and made her way to meet the baron. When she opened the door of the parlor and entered, the baron had already arrived, as the maid said.

As soon as her hat was revealed, the baron rose from his seat and greeted her.

“Long time no see.”

“You’re here early.”

“Thank you for inviting me like this.”

At the Baron’s polite greeting as he bowed his waist, Rosalind also gently stretched the hem of her dress and gently lowered her head. Leo, who had been grinning between the two of them in turn, bowed his head and said hello in his own way.

She opened her mouth to Baron Albert in a gentle voice.

“Have you met your relatives?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Is there anything to say thank you?”

Rosalind smiled and sat across from Albert naturally and offered to pour tea on the table. As the tea poured into the cup, the fragrant smell spread lightly throughout the room.

“I was worried that I might have been greedy. I hope I didn’t make you feel burdened…”

“What do you mean greedy? You helped me a lot when I first settled down. Maybe, it’s a treat that I should have given you earlier. Dinner will be ready soon, so please wait here for a while.”

“You even prepared a meal for me.”

Albert’s attitude with a smile was soft and sympathetic.

“After all, meals are always prepared. It is fun and good when people increase. Leo likes it too, right?”

Leo then replied yes to Rosalind’s voice and nodded his head again and again. She ruffled the child’s hair, and Albert, who was watching her, also had a happy face.

Actually, it was difficult to deal with people when she was young, and it was always tough to be close to people even after she grew up. Rosalind began to change in earnest when she settled in a new place and gave birth, and raised Leo.

At first, she thought she was responsible for one person, so the fact that she was pregnant was burdensome, and she wanted to run away. Though as she held and raised the child in her arms, she became a little braver.

Her name and responsibility as a mother made her a little more brazen, stronger and more mature.

“Next time, I want to treat you to dinner in return…”

Then, a knock was heard through the door.

As soon as she uttered the word to come in, a dependable servant began to move furniture into the house. Those were the ornaments shelves and cabinets Helen said she was putting up for auction a while ago.

Didn’t it sell at auction? What was this…

She was still watching, wondering why the auction items were coming back, but this time the maid came in carrying expensive teacups and cutlery one after another.

The maid approached her and asked where she could put it.

“Where should I put the teacups and utensils? Shall we put it where it was?”

“I guess you ordered a teacup.”

At Albert’s question, Rosalind made a puzzled face with her eyes widened before asking back, “I never ordered it. Did mother order it?”

“It seems that your mother has a special eye for things that look luxurious.”

“She said she was going out for a bit today… She’s not the one who won’t tell me this. It seems she forgot. Thanks to her, I lost my mind.”

“It’s okay.”

At Rosalind’s somewhat awkward and apologetic words, Albert smiled softly, saying it was okay. They were drinking tea and talking about one thing or another, but this time another maid came in and didn’t know where to put the jewelry boxes.

“Where should I put the jewelry?”

As the maid opened the jewelry box, Rosalind frowned.

Although the jewels were not only expensive, they were colorful enough to feel luxurious. It was shining even more brilliantly under the bright lights, and there were more than five boxes of jewels.

Seeing the jewel boxes appearing over and over, which seemed so heavy with just one, she noticed something about it that was strange and asked the maid.

“Who ordered all these things? Where does Mother get all this money?”

“…Duke Spencer sent it as a gift.”

“What…?”

She burst out laughing unknowingly at her answer, which she had never imagined.

That person again… Rosalind gripped the hem of her dress tightly. Her little hands trembled, and the hem of her colorful robe wrinkled relentlessly in her hands. Albert glanced at her and spoke with a curious voice.

“Duke Spencer?”

“…Yes. Do you know the Duke?”

“I heard that he is famous in the Capital.”

She thought it could be. Because she also knew that she had heard that name from a rumor of long ago.

Even though he didn’t show his face often at banquets, he was already famous enough for his reputation. Kyle was one of the most powerful people in the family alone, and rumors had spread that even his appearance was gorgeous.

Moments after, Albert asked Rosalind carefully.

“Perhaps… the man you saw last time was Duke Spencer?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“I think he introduced himself as your husband that time. Is that right?”

Rosalind paused for a moment, then she took Leo in the hands of the maid and sent him outside.

As she closed the door and felt the sound of the footsteps receding, she slowly opened her lips.

“…To be exact, my ex-husband.”

“Maybe Leo’s…?”

“Yes. But, he doesn’t know that Leo is his son. Please. Please don’t tell him who Leo’s father is.”

“Why are you trying to hide it?”

At his words, she hesitated before answering.

“Leo is my child. Though I’m worried that he might be suspicious. I’m afraid he’ll find out. I’m just afraid of everything. The situation itself is changing…”

Even if Leo was taken away by any chance, even if he pretended not to know Leo, everything seemed to hurt her…

Rosalind was so happy right now, and she didn’t like the fact that something had changed. When she thought Kyle was going to find out, she used to feel like she was walking through a hazy fog, and it felt so daunting and difficult.

“So, please keep it a secret. I’m going to have to deal with these for a moment.”

She got up from her seat and moved her steps diligently. Rosalind hurried to the front door and ordered the servants who were carrying all kinds of things to stop.

Just as the servants hesitated at the words, Kyle’s voice was heard.

“…Rosalind.”

In the midst of his busy schedule, the low-pitched voice gave her a feeling of goosebumps. She turned her head and looked at the man who was staring at her. His eyes, directed at her, were as clear and unshakable as always.

“What is all this…?”

“You said that you are not in a position to treat me right now because things are not good, so when things get better, I thought you might want to have tea with me.”

‘Because I’m not in a position to serve anything right now. The situation is so bad that I have to sell all the teacups as well as expensive items.’

At that time, she was sarcastic like that only for superficial reasons, and she didn’t want to treat him with anything, whether the things in the house were good or not. Rosalind didn’t think he wouldn’t know either.

“It’s often difficult if you don’t have the things you use. When I heard that the Marchioness had put up items she had been using for a long time, I thought it would be very uncomfortable. So, I bought it at auction, and I just sent it in with a little more stuff.”

As soon as she heard the words, her expression crumpled up in an instant.

First of all, she was humiliated when he found out that things were getting bad enough to put things up for auction, and she was annoyed at him for showing off his fortune in this way. First of all, why all of a sudden? Why now…?

After reading Rosalind’s uncomfortable expression, Kyle opened his mouth with a calmer voice.

“Should I have replaced them all instead of buying them at auction?”

“Everyone, please leave. I don’t need it.”

“It would be inconvenient without it.”

“I don’t feel uncomfortable just because I’ve sold some jewelry or furniture. The only thing I’m uncomfortable with is meeting the Duke. There is someone waiting inside. I’ll get going first. Take these away right now.”

She could see his neck trembling at the firm voice. The green eyes gleamed with bitterness, but Rosalind turned her back on him as if it had nothing to do with her.

“Are you leaving…?”

The moment she turned her back to him, he unknowingly grabbed her arm.

His eyes as he gazed at her were serious, yet somehow unsure. Kyle paused for a moment as if dealing with a difficult person.

Rosalind found it funny. At the time of their marriage, he laid her on the bed so easily and used to covet everything as his own. Nonetheless, how could he look like he was hesitant about her? Wasn’t her former self the easiest thing for him?

“Isn’t the jewels or things you sent me not to your liking? Would you like a different design?”

A sigh escaped her lips.

She lost her words. Would she just throw things away because she doesn’t like them?

In addition, the fact that he tried to move her heart with these things hurt her self-esteem. Expensive jewels must have seemed simple enough to move the heart, in his mind.