Night of the Abandoned Duchess - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

“What the hell am I…… !”

Suddenly, her cold blood boiled and she was suffocating.

It felt as if she had been thrown from a cliff with no path. In this country, barren noble women had no value. They had to understand that if they couldn’t have children, another woman would take her place. A noble woman’s greatest duty was to bear children and to carry on the family.

When she imagined Kyle holding another woman, she was terrified beyond suffocation. She clasped her hands nervously and hit her chest.

“What did I do so wrong!”

It broke her heart every time he looked down on her.

She struggled to smile, but often her heart ached like it was going to break. But she was surprised that it could be even more painful than it was then. Even when she pounded on her chest, the pain did not go away.

It was as if God had trampled on even her last handful of hope.

*** 

Rosalind was sitting expressionless and staring at empty space every day.

Kyle had been saying something since before, but she remained silent, as if his voice didn’t reach her at all.

“…… So the wife will give Olivia a suitable room.”

She could be misdiagnosed.

No, she’s infertile just by looking at her so far she hasn’t been pregnant.

Two thoughts constantly clashed in her head, as if they were fighting for each other. Whenever she thought she might be misdiagnosed, she leaned toward calling another doctor for a diagnosis, and if she thought she might be infertile…….

‘There is no such thing as 100% in the world.’

Strangely enough, when she heard that, all she could hear was that she was infertile, but as time went on, the phrase ‘there is no such thing as 100%’ kept ringing in her ears. She couldn’t even afford to realize it was just a rationalization, so she was determined to call another doctor and listen to her again.

“Are you listening to me?”

Rosalind was awakened at the sound of a louder echo in her ear.

“Yes? What did you say?”

“Give Olivia a suitable room.”

“…… Olivia?”

Rosalind’s eyes widened as if it was the first thing she had ever heard. She could see Kyle’s brow furrowing.

“I told you a few days ago. Olivia decided to stay here while she toured the capitol.”

…… Ah.

At that moment, Rosalind hurriedly searched her recent memory. As she pondered, she thought he had said that a while ago.

‘In a few days she says Olivia is visiting the capitol, and she wants to stay here. Is it okay?’

In fact, she couldn’t remember exactly what she answered. She couldn’t say anything else anyway, so her answer probably wouldn’t have mattered that much.

Olivia. Recalling the name, she licked her lips.

Olivia was his eight distant cousin, and despite her being not so close, she treated him with special kindness. However, she was quite cold to the wife, Rosalind, and it was a bit difficult for her to deal with.

“When did you say she would arrive?”

“Today.”

“Today?”

Her eyes widened. The butler’s voice pierced her bewildered ears.

“Looks like Miss Olivia has arrived.”

* * * 

“Duke!”

As soon as she was escorted out of the carriage by the maid, Olivia raised her voice and called Kyle. And as she ran, grabbing the hem of her dress, she took her steps towards him. It was a behavior that could be pointed out as being uncultured, not like a noble girl, but it felt good and warm, perhaps because of her unique cute atmosphere. Kyle smiled softly as he watched the approaching Olivia.

“What if you fall on your way like that?”

Olivia, standing in front of Kyle, spread the hem of her dress wide and bowed her head. Her graceful greeting was impeccable, and she also roughly greeted Rosalind, who was standing a little further away.

“But I wanted to see you. Duke didn’t want to see me?”

“Well.”

“What do you mean, well. Don’t say anything you don’t mean.”

Olivia shook her head in annoyance. Then she met his eyes, and quickly laughed. As she laughed and covered her mouth with the fan, she showed only the cutely folded eyes over it. The wavy, slightly curved eyes are pretty eyes that feel playful.

“Don’t you think I’ve become prettier?”

“You looked good when you were young, but you quickly became a young lady.”

Kyle smiled generously with playfulness. Although Olivia and he were distant relatives, she lived close from an early age and became very close like real siblings.

Watching the two people greet each other warmly, Rosalind opened her mouth carefully.

“Isn’t it hard to come a long way?”

“Not at all. My heart was pounding all the way here, so it’s not that hard, but rather anxious.”

The voice sounded somewhat confident.

“You’ve been riding a carriage for quite some time, so take a break until tomorrow and start exploring the capital the day after tomorrow.”

“I want to start doing it tomorrow. Oh, can’t the Duke guide me directly?”

“The Duke is busy…….”

Rosalind responded instead. In fact, she said it without much meaning. Really, he was quite busy, and shortly after the marriage he turned down a similar request from Rosalind. Of course, she was a little offended by his refusal, but she reassured herself that it was fine because she knew he was very busy.

But Olivia opened her mouth with a charming voice, as if she didn’t care at all.

“Will you make time for me? Can’t you give it to me?”

Kyle, who seemed to think for a moment at Olivia’s cuteness, finally nodded his head.

“Alright. Fine.”

Surprised by the cool response, Rosalind looked at him. Those words fell so blandly that the silence that had flowed was overshadowed.

When she asked for a tour of the capital, he refused without any hesitation, but this time he readily accepted. Rosalind struggled to correct her expression and smiled awkwardly.

She’s a relative. Because they’re close……, it’s just like his sister. Let’s not be childish about this.

“Then when is a good time?”

“At your convenience.”

“I think it will be better from tomorrow morning.”

He smiled friendly towards Olivia as if he couldn’t stop her. That intimacy seen in Rosalind’s eyes was warm.

He was originally a friendly person. He was always kind to everyone but her.

“Wow, I’m excited!”

She could see Olivia pressing her body towards Kyle. At first glance, the figure was so tender that she thought that she, apart from them, was like a third person, and that the two of them were lovers.

“Where do I start watching…….”

“The room! I’ll guide you through the room. Follow me.”

Rosalind opened her mouth slightly hastily. Olivia, who was staring at Rosalind at the sudden voice, slowly nodded her head. Then she followed her without saying a word.

Across the expansive garden, Rosalind led Olivia directly to the third floor, the guest room. She went up the stairs as she explained the rooms on the way. And the moment she steps her foot into the hallway on the third floor.

“Pfft…….”

A voice that seemed to laugh at her came from behind. Rosalind doubted her own ears and turned her head to Olivia.

“You don’t have to make an effort to introduce the place.”

She looked at Olivia as Rosalind was puzzled.

“It’s a place I’ve been to since I was a kid. I went for a walk in the large, beautiful garden, and read books in the library.”

A fresh, faint smile on her lips was strangely directed towards Rosalind.

“Looking back, it reminds me of my memories with Brother. It was so much fun that I still remember it clearly when I close my eyes. Does the Madam have any memories of being with the Duke in this castle?”

As her eyes stared at Rosalind, she absently rolled up the hem of her dress.

It was her responsibility to guide and introduce the castle, as she was Kyle’s wife and the Mistress. It was also a place of deeper meaning to Rosalind, as it was her surname, where he and she herself are raising a home. She wanted to build memories with him one by one here…….

“Memories?”

There is such a thing as precious memories that she can remember even when she closed her eyes.

“Oh, you haven’t been here for a long time, have you? How long has it been?”

“About a year.”

“It’s been longer than I thought. I thought it’d barely be half a year.”

Rosalind looked at her, startled by the sudden chill of the voice. The mood and tone were at times completely different from those Olivia had with Kyle, but above all, there was a certain hostility. When she saw Olivia at the wedding, it just felt a little chilly, but today it was too much.

“…… I beg your pardon?”

“I have seen the Duke, no, Brother for a very long time. So I know better than anyone. You both don’t love each other. At least Brother. Am I wrong?”

Still, she didn’t want to deal with the sarcastic remarks that were complicating her head.

“That was a rude question. Perhaps you have become sensitive because you have come a long way. Take a break and we’ll talk again later. If there is anything inconvenient, please call me or the maid.”

“Tomorrow, I should eat something delicious with Brother and look around. Reminiscing about the childhood we spent together here.”

Olivia answered without heeding Rosalind’s words. There was an exhilarating voice that hummed.

“You know that cousins ​​are legally allowed to marry, right? Brother and I are not even blood related.”

The words that they are not blood related seemed to stick in her ears. Rosalind swallowed her breath.