The Stepmother Has Left - Chapter 30

“Wow, this is great…”

 

As Cassia entered Irwin’s tent, she stood in a corner and looked around the unfamiliar space.

 

A space that looked shabby in some ways but full in other ways.

 

Neither small nor large, the just-right space was reminiscent of a commoner’s house.

 

It was a place where everything was there. A well-made bed, a bathroom where you can wash your body, and a kitchen where you can easily cook something.

 

Since he was living alone, he had all the necessary facilities to do everything independently.

 

Irwin’s collections were everywhere. Various ornaments he had bought while travelling were filling the inside of the tent.

 

A dream catcher gift from an Indian tribe, an elaborate sculpture of a lion purchased from an unknown street vendor…

 

There were also small pictures hanging in the corner, as if to prove Irwin’s words that he liked painting.

 

“When I was travelling, when I saw paintings I liked on the street, I bought them.”

 

Irwin pointed out and explained to Cassia one by one the things she was curious about.

 

It was an unfamiliar space to her, but it was a space inside a tent where Irwin had been staying for a long time.

 

‘Is that so?’

 

Even though it was the first time entering the space, it was somehow filled with a warm feeling.

 

After looking around the house while listening to Irwin’s explanation, Cassia remembered something and looked at Irwin.

 

“Oh right. I have something to give you, Irwin.”

 

Talking to him, she put the basket she brought on the table in the corner.

 

Irwin looked at it and tilted his head.

 

“I’ve been curious about it since a while ago. What is that basket?”

 

“What this is? These are the foods I prepared for Irwin.”

 

“What…?”

 

Irwin made a puzzled face. Cassia took them out one by one with a sense of pride.

 

“These are the foods I often make at home. This is a sandwich filled with fresh vegetables and ham, and this is a stew with tomatoes and beef. Even though it looks cold, you can still eat it.”

 

Irwin stared blankly at the food in her hand and pulled out one by one.

 

“After receiving the note, I thought about whether there would be anything that could be of any help, and I made these. Irwin was being chased, so I wondered if he might not be able to eat and hide…”

 

Cassia continued speaking subconsciously, realizing something, and slowly blurring her words.

 

She just had to say with her mouth that Irwin was being chased.

 

In fact, from the moment Irwin ran away after seeing Duke Whidrian, he was exposed to her as the third prince.

 

But she didn’t want to talk about it in the first place, unless he spoke first.

 

So she made a promise to herself and came to see Irwin.

 

She was unable to speak for a while because she felt a little bit of humiliation and bewilderment about the current situation.

 

Irwin looked at her and smiled softly.

 

“It’s okay.”

 

“…Irwin. Sorry. I wanted to pretend that I didn’t know until the end, but I didn’t realize it, unconsciously.”

 

“My identity was already revealed from the moment I saw the Duke and ran away, to you.”

 

“…”

 

“I asked to see you today with the intention of telling you who I am. Because I didn’t want to publicly reveal my identity to you through other people’s mouths.”

 

His voice was softer and more serious than ever. Cassia turned to him.

 

He was looking at her with a smile that resembled her voice.

 

“But before that, I want to tell you something.”

 

“What?”

 

“Even if you come to know my true identity… I want you to treat me the same way you do now.”

 

He looked into her eyes and continued to speak as if asking for an answer.

 

“Promise me, even if I tell you my true identity, our friendship now won’t change.”

 

Anxiety was young in his eyes.

 

Anxiety that he would feel burdened if she knew his identity.

 

As she looked at him, she laughed out loud.

 

‘Did he have in mind what I said last time as a joke?’

 

Naturally, she had no intention of abandoning the friendship even if he told her about her identity.

 

It was because she had become close with him from the beginning, as Cassia, not based on his status.

 

If he had revealed his identity from the beginning, it might be that Cassia and Irwin, who have now become friends, have a belated identity revealed only as a secondary factor.

 

“…Of course, Irwin.”

 

He looked at him and nodded.

 

“Even if I find out who you are, I will still be your friend.”

 

“Like now?”

 

He asked to confirm. Cassia nodded and looked at him.

 

“Yes, like now.”

 

Hearing her confirmation, a bright smile appeared on his face. Soon he reached out to her.

 

“I greet you formally.”

 

“…”

 

“I am Adolf de Fontrich. I am the Third Prince of the Empire.”

 

Cassia looked at his hand, stretched out in front of her. Then she smiled and took his hand.

 

“Nice to meet you… Adolf.”

 

At that moment, she had no idea why her heart was beating so fast.

 

* * *

 

Adolf was somehow moved by this moment. He looked at her with a complex expression that could not be expressed in words.

 

Irwin, who had been looking at her shaking hands for quite some time, burst into a small smile.

 

As he looked at her without knowing what to say, he scratched his head and smiled.

 

“No, it’s just… Looking back, I think it was really crazy.”

 

“What?”

 

“I didn’t run away even though I knew the Knights were chasing me.”

 

“…”

 

“Perhaps from that moment on, I would have thought this would happen.”

 

In the end, he was caught in a hurry and surrounded by a corps of knights.

 

And in it, a situation in which he had to reveal himself to her.

 

Irwin thought.

 

Perhaps all of that situation was foreseen in advance.

 

From the moment he met her.

 

From the moment he saw her paintings.

 

Deep down in his heart, he may have been drawing a future like this.

 

“Of course, I didn’t expect you to work so hard for me.”

 

His gaze turned to the food on the table spread out.

 

“Thank you so much for the food. I will never forget your heart for me for the rest of my life.”

 

“No. I’m sorry that I can’t help you with anything but this.”

 

“The fact that you came all the way here for me in this situation is already a gift to me.”

 

Irwin had a truly-moved expression on his face. He looked at her, and he pulled up a chair at the table and sat down.

 

He pulled up a chair in the corner with his hand, and he said to her as well.

 

“Come here and sit down.”

 

“…”

 

He seemed to have a lot to say. Cassia looked at him and sat down on the chair in front of him.

 

Irwin, no, Adolf thought for a moment and then smiled bitterly.

 

“Actually, I am a coward. A very ugly coward who ran away to face reality.”

 

“It’s okay if you don’t have to tell me everything, Adolf.”

 

She shook her head, wondering if he was trying to tell his story under the pressure of continuing to be friends with her.

 

“I’m not saying it’s mandatory. It’s just… I’ve been thinking about it lately.”

 

“…”

 

“You are wise, so I want to ask you a question. What choice would you have made in a situation like this?”

 

He looked at her as if he could ask. Cassia nodded her head. He continued to talk.

 

“There are A and B. The two are brothers. A loves B very much and wants to get along well as a family. But B hates A. Because my father only likes A. And the father wants to pass on everything he owns to A.”

 

“…”

 

“Then what is the best thing A can do to keep all relationships going?”

 

Cassia looked at Irwin.

 

She realized that the father in the story he told was the Emperor, and intuitively, A was Adolf and B was his brother.

 

It is also said that Adolf made himself missing and disappeared from the Imperial Palace for 7 years because of family relations.

 

However, if you think about it, Adolf’s example did not apply only to brotherhood. As she listened to that story, she kept thinking of Ken.

 

Seeing the past ‘her’, who wanted to get along well with Ken, and his father who kept taking care of ‘her’, Ken must have hated his stepmother even more.

 

Adolf’s example seemed to be asking her.

 

‘If I could go back to that moment in the past, what choice would I make?’

 

“I do not know… If I were A, I think I would have run away.”

 

When Cassia finally answered, his gaze turned to her and asked, “The reason would be?”

 

“If you reject the things that your father says you will pass on to you, at least you will get along well with B.”

 

‘If I could go back to that time, I would be a formal mother to Ken.’

 

‘Although I couldn’t give up doing Diana’s request. I knew I would do them a favour even if I went back.’

 

‘But at least I could decide what kind of mother I would be to the child.’

 

‘If I go back, I won’t go near that child. I won’t touch the child anymore.’

 

She would only be a formal mother who wouldn’t even come close to the child’s heart.

 

“…7 years ago, so did A. That I must disappear to keep all the peace.”