“Why is your expression like that?”
Aiden couldn’t understand at all.
He prepared lunch deliciously, called the doctor when she complained of a sore ankle. When she said she couldn’t meet the doctor in that state, he even helped her get dressed.
But here she was again. Anje Fitzroy was wearing a stiff expression.
“…You’re asking because you really don’t know right now?”
“Yes.”
Aiden answered confidently. Did she think it was easy to call the only doctor in the entire town of Leslie?
He even had to do more royal deals than usual because of the doctor’s visit.
‘I can’t keep that chatterbox old man silent for long.’
He (the doctor) subtly looked around the house and asked questions to figure out Anje’s identity.
Although he couldn’t pry further thanks to her annoying ‘serial killer-like gaze’ she often gave to busybodies.
“You tied me up at home and left!”
“That’s right.”
He readily accepted Anje’s angry outburst.
That’s right. Before leaving to fetch the doctor, he tied a rope around her waist and connected it to the drawing table in the parlor.
With the clumsy touch of Anje’s hands, she couldn’t untie the knot he left. Along with the cane he left behind.
…Maybe that fueled the doctor’s curiosity even more.
“How could you leave a helpless woman tied up alone in this remote house?”
“Because she has a criminal record.”
“Even if I have a record, I can’t go anywhere with an injured foot.”
Even with her complaints, Aiden didn’t bat an eye.
“There were many soldiers who defected with severed feet on the battlefield. Such a minor injury can’t become a disability.”
“Ha!”
I’m not a soldier! Anje’s cheeks puffed up like balloons. Not being able to trust people like this, being tied up like an animal.
“Where are you going?”
“I can’t even go to my own room freely?”
As she shouted, Anje began to walk slowly. It was more like stumbling with a cane than walking.
“What about lunch?”
“I’m not eating!”
As Anje confidently ascended the stairs, she stopped before climbing and asked.
“…What’s on the menu?”
“I made sandwiches with herb butter spread on white bread, grilled with scrambled eggs and diced carrots inside.”
“….”
Anje’s Adam’s apple moved vigorously up and down.
“I, I’m not very hungry…”
“For dessert, there’s caramel. It came in at town store.”
“…I’ll just have one piece.”
This is definitely not surrender. Anje muttered countless times inwardly, but somehow it felt like she was betting on what she would eat.
As Aiden watched Anje approaching at snail-like speed, he suddenly said as if remembering something.
“Oh, by the way, there’s a letter that arrived for you earlier.”
“Huh? Why are you mentioning it now, oh my, oh my, it hurts.”
Startled, she stumbled on her foot. Aiden caught her arm to keep her from falling, supporting her firmly.
“You ignored me all afternoon.”
“You treated me like a defector first.”
Anje’s lips were almost as far out as her nose.
“Now that I’m not going to run away, can’t you trust me a bit?”
Of course, it didn’t mean she would continue to stay here indefinitely, just that she wouldn’t flee recklessly.
‘The letter has arrived, and now it’s completely over with this place.’
Let’s say she enjoyed a few weeks of suburban vacation from her life confined to the mansion and the capital.
If someone asked how she had been, she could just make up that she was at a fancy villa.
“Can you just trust me?”
With intentionally moistened eyes, Anje looked straight into his eyes.
He looked into her moist green eyes for a while and stated firmly.
“Your pupils are full of lies.”
Damn, sharp-witted guy. Anje cursed inwardly.
“Give me the letter quickly.”
Aiden obediently handed her the letter and let her go from his embrace.
He understood her longing for the region and family she had spent her whole life with. He had experienced similar loneliness in the palace.
Anje held the letter carefully in her arms.
“I’m going to take this to my room and eat it.”
She wanted to see the contents as soon as possible.
Aidan nodded obediently and put the sandwich and caramel in the basket and hung it on her arm.
“You shouldn’t spill on the bed.”
“Endless nagging”
“If you want bugs crawling into your bed—”
“Okay, I’ll be careful while eating.”
As Anje took the first step on the stairs, she remembered the words she had forgotten. It took a bit of courage to say lines she wasn’t used to yet.
“Oh, that…Thanks, for now.”
“…For giving you an advice?”
“No, not that! I mean, you didn’t advice me in the first place?”
Turning her gaze towards Aiden’s direction, she nearly dropped her cane in excitement..
“For calling the doctor. And for bringing the letter.”
“It’s nothing.”
His quick, expressionless response was no different from usual, but his hand was scratching the back of his head nervously.
Realizing he, too, wasn’t accustomed to such conversations, Anje felt relieved. She needed to escape quickly.
“Well then, goodbye.”
Anje relied on her cane and injured foot to somehow make it back to her room on her own.
“Phew.”
No matter how much she tried to brainwash herself into seeing Aiden as just a servant, cuddling and interacting with him like a child didn’t sit right.
‘Maybe he’s not the type commonly seen in social circles.’
Up close, she noticed his sunken eyes and sharp nose, giving his features a distinct outline.
Perhaps due to his military background, his body and face had strong lines, and his posture was always upright and rigid.
‘He’s rough around the edges, but handsome in appearance… What am I thinking?’
Lost in thought while chewing her sandwich, Anje suddenly snapped back to reality. She needed to read the letter soon.
The white envelope given to her by Aiden only had the recipient’s name, “Mrs. Anje Fitzroy,” and the address of this place written on it, with no indication of the sender.
‘Was it sent anonymously because the emperor was concerned?’
Curious yet cautious, Anje tore open the letter and began reading its contents.
[Are you doing well, Mrs. Fitzroy? Congratulations on your marriage.]
‘Who is this?’
Several minutes passed as Anje slowly began to read through the letter.
Crisp—
The sound of her teeth grinding came out as she clenched them. The hand holding the letter trembled like a willow tree and soon crumpled the paper.
“That darn woman…!”
Among the crumpled papers thrown on the floor, the sender’s identity was revealed.
[With respect and sincerity Amy Kendall.]
The letter, starting with congratulations on her marriage, went on to express false sympathy, claiming rumors about Anje circulating in the capital and shedding tears for her pity.
Amy Kendall subtly boasted about her recently engaged partner’s high status and considerable wealth, along with the grandeur of the upcoming wedding.
[I should follow Mrs. Fitzroy’s modest attitude and have a simple wedding, But my fiancé is so smitten with me that I simply can’t dissuade him, you know?
I’m trembling with fear that the jewels on my dress might be too heavy, causing me to fall during the ceremony.]
“I’m so annoyed, annoyed, annoyed.”
Her irritation multiplied as she accidentally rolled her foot, causing intense pain. Anje attempted to tear the letter into shreds to release her anger, but her fury didn’t dissipate easily.
Amy Kendall’s voice echoed repeatedly in her mind as she read the letter.
[I hear shopping isn’t easy there either. Would it be alright if I sent you some used clothes that I was going to donate to the poorhouse, madame? Please don’t refuse out of our past friendship.]
“Ugh…”
Her chest felt tight from the fake kindness and familiarity.
She understood now why the sender didn’t write their name on the envelope. They probably thought she might not even bother to read it before discarding it.
Anje, who had been rolling around on the bed, suddenly sat up.
‘Where did they hear about my situation? And why didn’t they write my address on it?’
If she guessed the source, it could only be letters she had sent to close friends.
‘Could one of them be a traitor?’
Someone who had abandoned her and sided with Amy Kendall, airing her dirty laundry? What kind of gossip was circulating in high society about her?
“Ugh, oh… my head hurts.”
Anje reached into her bag and grabbed a brown bottle, taking a big swig.
The sharp scent of alcohol brought some clarity back to her mind.
“I need to find a way back.”
There was a determined look in her eyes that wasn’t usually visible.
From now on, she wouldn’t sit still and wait for someone. She would find her way back to the capital by any means necessary.
Once there, she would restore her honor and deal with Amy Kendall and her treacherous gang.
“But… how?”
She looked down at the scattered pieces of the letter on the floor like scattered petals and muttered to herself.
Her only father, her longtime friends, had all turned their backs on her. The servants who had been like limbs to her were not on her side but were part of the Glasster artisans.
She was alone now.
Although she had shed tears of sorrow and loneliness many times before, this time she clenched her teeth and swallowed her tears. Now was not the time to cry.
“I need to find a way.”
