The Stepmother Has Left - Chapter 20

“Seven years ago, you looked so strong that I couldn’t stop you or help you.”

 

Cassia woke up from the recollection at Michael’s words and looked at him.

 

He looked at her with a firm expression.

 

“But now… it is not. I will help you somehow, and I will never leave your side.”

 

“So, if you ever need my help, just tell me. It’s also a way to forget the pain.”

 

Silence passed.

 

As time passed by looking at him, Cassia smiled and placed the cup on the table.

 

“Thank you, Michael.”

 

“…”

 

“But I am fine. You don’t really need to erase my memories.”

 

So… she was really fine.

 

Rather, it was good to remember Diana sometimes.

 

It was good meeting people related to Diana, and she wanted to continue remembering her.

 

To take out the person stored like a diary in one part of her memory…

 

It wasn’t painful or difficult for her.

 

She just didn’t want to forget Diana like that.

 

She just wanted to keep reminding herself of the beautiful times.

 

She wanted to remember Diana as much as possible.

 

Because she didn’t want people to forget her friend.

 

“Michael, seven years have already passed. It is true that Diana is becoming a faded memory for me, too.”

 

“A lot of things have changed. So did I. Like you said, the world continues to roll every day without her.”

 

Cassia continued my words silently.

 

She smiled softly and continued.

 

“I just want to keep remembering Diana like this. While revisiting the places I went with her, I kept trying to bring out our memories so as to not forget her. I just keep looking back on the times I spent with her like that. Because this would be the best thing I could do for her.”

 

“So, you don’t have to erase my memory. I really don’t want to. I don’t feel sad because she’s no longer here.”

 

She was talking to Michael like that, comfortably.

 

‘You don’t have to worry.’

 

All of these things are for Diana, and she is not trying to forget her.

 

This was probably a defence she threw at herself.

 

Although she didn’t know at that time.

 

Silence passed.

 

Soon his voice rang in her ears.

 

In an unfamiliar voice, he said, “Shall we go on a date tomorrow?”

 

It was both out of the blue and surprising.

 

Cassia looked back at him slowly.

 

Michael looked at her with an unknown expression and smiled softly.

 

Those eyes seemed to look sad for some reason.

 

“If you don’t like to go tomorrow, then let’s go the day after tomorrow. If not the day after tomorrow, let’s go the next day, whenever you want.”

 

“If you don’t want to erase your memory, I won’t recommend it anymore. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

 

“But like I said before, I will always be by your side and help you from now on.”

 

He reached out his hand to her.

 

“So let’s be together in anything from now on. We can talk about Diana together, or you can go on a date if you need a change of mind. Whatever you want, do it with me.”

 

Cassia looked at his hands.

 

The white hands that resembled his sister’s.

 

She stared at him blankly.

 

“I’ll be by your side, Cassia.”

 

Cassia could not speak for a while as her heart was suddenly pounding, and she looked at him.

 

After a long silence, she slowly reached out her hand towards him.

 

He slowly took the hand that had reached out in front of her.

 

A small reply came.

 

“…I like it,” she smiled softly.

 

With her heart pounding, she bit her lip and continued talking.

 

“…Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. I mean, the date.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“The next day, too.”

 

“Okay.”

 

They both burst into laughter.

 

As they looked at each other, the sound of their laughter echoed in the small building.

 

Then, Michael spoke, “…Anyday is fine. Let’s do anything!”

 

While holding her hand warmly, “If you look for new things that satisfy your heart, you will be happy before you know it. I’ll make you happier.”

 

They smiled at each other like that.

 

The hand she held that day felt very warm.

 

Like the day he shed tears for her 7 years ago.

 

And like the hand that held out to her one day in a distant memory.

 

***

 

Michael stayed in the gallery for a few more minutes, and Cassia showed him her paintings. He kept talking, and when he looked at her artwork, he had a look of surprise on his face, surprised at her painting skills.

 

As they talked like that, his time to go back was approaching.

 

He got up from his seat and said, “I’m sorry, but I have to go soon.”

 

Following him, Cassia got up from her seat.

 

She spoke while looking at him, “It was a pleasure to be with you today. Make sure you come back tomorrow.”

 

“I had a lot of fun today, too.”

 

Since tomorrow is the day the gallery will open, he decided to come to the gallery and spend time together.

 

Cassia’s heart raced with joy at the thought of seeing him tomorrow.

 

It felt like the colours painted her heart, just like the new paintings Irwin talked about.

 

Cassia was about to see him off as he left the gallery door, but he turned around.

 

“Oh, Cassia.”

 

“…Go ahead.”

 

When she tilted her head as if what was going on, he hesitated for a moment and then spat out.

 

“I think it would be best to be careful with that man earlier.”

 

“Who?”

 

“You said he was Irwin.”

 

“Ah.”

 

At his words, she smiled and looked at him.

 

“Why? Because Irwin is the Third Prince?”

 

“…Did you know?”

 

His eyes slowly widened.

 

Michael had been working in and out of the Imperial Palace for quite some time as the head of the Count’s household, so he must have recognized Irwin’s face as soon as he saw him.

 

How embarrassing was the previous situation for him?

 

As he remembered Irwin’s look with a slightly bewildered look in his eyes, he smiled.

 

“The two of you obviously didn’t seem to know each other’s identities earlier.”

 

“…I know. It’s a bit long to talk about why we became that way.”

 

She continued to talk.

 

“At first, I thought he was just a regular customer, but it turned out he was the Third Prince.”

 

“…I see.”

 

Michael let out a smirk.

 

His eyes seemed to be absurd and strange.

 

“Does he know who you are?”

 

“He probably doesn’t know that. He probably doesn’t know my face either, and I have never told him about it.”

 

Maybe someday she will have to tell him.

 

But she didn’t want it to be right now.

 

The moment they find out about each other’s identities, it seemed that the current relationship where she could be friends with him would be destroyed.

 

She may have to say it someday, but she wanted to say it as late as possible.

 

Besides, she’s also pretending not to know his identity, so won’t he understand her if he finds out about her one day?

 

“Now, he is like a close friend to me, and he is also a grateful customer who drinks my coffee every day.”

 

Strangely, whenever she thought of Irwin, a happy smile spread across her face.

 

Was it because she felt familiar with his unpretentious and innocent appearance, unlike his status as the Third Prince?

 

“Michael, if it’s okay with you, can you pretend you don’t know he’s here?”

 

Cassia asked him.

 

“I don’t know what’s going on, but it seems like he doesn’t want to go back to the Imperial family for some reason. I want to help him stay here a little longer.”

 

Michael shut his mouth for a moment, but his silence was only for a moment.

 

“…Okay.”

 

He looked at her and happily nodded his head.

 

“If you say so, I should be willing to do it.”

 

Meanwhile, Irwin walked slowly down the road, with his cloak deeply covering his face.

 

He came out of the gallery, but he walked a few laps around it, unable to return home easily.

 

“…Haah…”

 

‘Really, why did I do that?’

 

Standing on the road, he let out a deep sigh.

 

An unknown emotion arose in his heart when he first saw her painting in color. Knowing that he was not worthy of asking it, he wondered madly for a moment as to who had shaken her heart.

 

So he asked.

 

Of course, she didn’t reveal the person’s identity.

 

But when Count Allison entered the store, he realized immediately.

 

‘Oh, it’s you.’

 

‘You are the one who shook this woman’s heart.’

 

Even he was an acquaintance.

 

Michael Allison.

 

‘Wasn’t he the eldest son of Count Allison?’

 

‘He would know me too.’

 

It was a really uncomfortable feeling.

 

‘Have I ever felt this way since I was born?’

 

All the identities of the Imperial family members were kept a secret until they played their debutante ball, but they remained open to high-ranking aristocrats who had close relations with several imperial families.

 

For example, Count Allison or Duke Whidrian.

 

Adolf knew their faces as a child.

 

However, there was little emotion in the moments when he saw their faces while staying in the Imperial Palace, but strangely, Michael’s appearance bothered him.

 

Even though the Count had the same face, his appearance in a small gallery in the countryside was really surprising.

 

‘Just what kind of relationship did the two have that led him to come all the way to the countryside in search of her?’

 

How can a woman, a commoner, know such a noble?

 

‘Does she also have her secrets?’

 

Above all, however, an indescribable feeling arose, as the colors in her paintings and the man’s appearance continued to bother him.

 

It felt like an uninvited guest appeared in his yard, where he and Cassia became close.

 

Besides, when Michael appeared, Cassia stood up from her seat and looked at him warmly.

 

That look in her eyes…

 

When he saw the look in her eyes for the first time, he even felt a strange sense of despair.

 

Irwin left the store in a bewildered mood, but he couldn’t go home.

 

It was because he was very concerned about the situation in the gallery where only the two of them were left.