~Chapter 13~
“Please leave.”
“…”
The maid looked at Latryne with a protesting gaze for a moment, but she eventually left the room, as if she had no choice.
After confirming that the maid had left, Latryne straightened his sleeve, which had become disheveled while he was lying down, and spoke to me.
“I’m sorry. I’ll make sure to scold her harshly. You don’t need to pay much attention to what she just said.”
“Is it about the Duke’s former wife?”
“…”
I should have just pretended I didn’t know, but I ended up showing that I did.
But in this situation, wouldn’t it have been stranger to pretend not to know?
Though I didn’t know all the details, from what the maid said, it was clear that Erias hadn’t been treated well in this household.
I wondered if it had something to do with why they were hiding Erias’ existence.
Latryne’s face looked slightly apologetic.
Come to think of it, it seemed like he hadn’t been able to look me straight in the eye since earlier.
Was it because I resembled Erias too much?
Well, if I were in Latryne’s shoes, I would have found it hard to deal with me, too.
“…It would be odd not to notice. Yes, that’s correct. I’m sorry you had to go through such an odd situation.”
“No, it’s okay. If anything, I feel like I’ve learned about a personal matter that I shouldn’t have.”
“It’s fine. Most people who know us are already aware of our family’s situation.”
Latryne really did seem sorry.
I felt a bit awkward and scratched my head.
There was no need for him to feel this bad.
But why was Erias treated this way?
It was clear the maid had mistaken me for Erias and said what she did, but no matter how you looked at it, Erias had been the Duke’s lawful wife. It was strange for her to be treated this way.
“So, what brought you here?”
Latryne asked, bringing me back to why I had come in the first place.
“Oh, the rain was coming down so hard… I thought we should hurry back, even though we haven’t received any message from the palace yet. The roads are getting bad, and things could get worse.”
At my words, Latryne turned towards the window and opened it slightly.
Even though he barely opened it, the wind was so strong that rain blew in, and the window rattled as if it might break any second.
Latryne quickly closed the window again.
“That’s probably for the best. Thank you for letting me know.”
“What do you plan to do?”
“There’s a carriage we used to get here. Since there aren’t many of us, I think it’d be best to take it to the city center of Reed.”
That seemed like the best option.
“Then, I’ll wake Seri and bring him.”
I said this thinking that Latryne must be exhausted, but he shook his head.
“No, you’re not well. Why do you keep overexerting yourself?”
Latrin’s expression showed slight disapproval.
But I felt fine enough to move, so I answered confidently.
“I’m okay. I’ll go get him quickly!”
Before he could say anything more, I left the room to fetch Sertien, but Latryne called after me.
“Do you have any clothes to wear?”
“Huh? Now that you mention it…”
I had seen my clothes neatly placed beside me earlier, but they were torn and burned in several places, not in the best condition for wearing again.
But since it wasn’t a formal occasion, I figured it would be fine and said, “I could just wear what I came in, don’t you think?”
“Wait a moment.”
As if he had been waiting for this, Latryne walked to a corner of the room and handed me a paper bag.
“I think these should fit. But if they’re uncomfortable, you can wear your original clothes.”
I took the bag and peeked inside to find women’s clothes.
They were clothes that looked like they would fit me. When I looked at him with surprise, Latryne said:
“They’re new. I went out and bought them while you were sleeping.”
“I see. Thank you for being so considerate.”
I bowed my head slightly and left the room with the clothes.
Returning to the room where I had been lying earlier, I took the clothes out of the bag. They were more expensive than I had expected.
These weren’t the kind of clothes you wear just once or twice and discard.
And somehow, Latryne had chosen clothes that matched my usual style.
The outer garment was a coat that cinched at the waist, and inside was a two-piece skirt outfit.
Since I was a knight commander, I often wore pants while in the palace, and I have also been wearing pants today.
I usually only wore clothes like this when I was at home or attending social events where I wasn’t working.
How had he known my preferences so well?
And when I tried them on, they fit perfectly.
I did groan a bit because of my injuries while putting them on, but otherwise, the fit was just right.
I let my hair down naturally, thinking it would go better with the outfit.
After quickly changing clothes, I hurried to where Sertien was.
When I reached Sertien’s room, the door was open.
For a moment, I thought to myself, hadn’t I closed it? Given my habits, I was sure I would’ve closed it automatically.
Maybe someone else had come in? I stepped into the dark room with that thought, and then I saw something shocking.
The first thing I saw was the maid who had just said strange things to me.
Holding a broom, the maid stood expressionlessly by the open window, allowing cold wind and rain to pour in.
I couldn’t understand why she opened the window while Sertien was sleeping there.
Seeing Sertien coughing repeatedly from the cold, yet the maid still leaving the window open, I was shocked.
It was as if she was intentionally leaving the window open.
“What are you doing right now?”
Without meaning to, I used the tone I would normally use when addressing subordinate knights, sharp and cold.
The maid flinched at my harsh tone and sudden voice, quickly turning to look at me. Her face was filled with surprise.
I quickly approached Sertien, who was coughing and covered him with Latryne’s coat, which was nearby. Then, I closed the window myself.
In my anger, I didn’t control my strength, so I slammed the window shut with a loud bang that echoed through the room.
“Are you out of your mind? The child is coughing right beside you, and you didn’t think to close the window?”
The maid seemed frightened by my deadly aura but still muttered something similar to what she had said earlier.
“No matter what I do, it’s none of your business, you dirty person.”
“What?”
“To be honest, I don’t care if that dirty-blooded child catches a cold or coughs. I actually wish he would disappear. After all, he is your son.”
I could feel my anger taking over.
I didn’t care much about what she said to me.
But I couldn’t forgive her for saying such things about Sertien.
Whatever had happened in the past, and whoever Erias was, it didn’t matter.
I was Litia Alpress, the captain of the imperial knights.
It was unacceptable for anyone to mistreat Sertien, someone I cherished, especially in front of me.
As my fury grew stronger, I could see the maid freeze in fear, unable to say another word.
“Do you have a death wish?”
“…”
“Who do you think you are, insulting the only heir of the Priscillia family in front of me?”
“…Because you’re Madam.”
“It seems like you’re mistaking me for Erias, but I am Litia Alpress, not Erias. I am someone who can take action against you right now. I don’t know the full situation, but if you keep provoking me like this, I won’t let it slide.”
Completely overwhelmed by my presence, the maid silently left the room.
I thought I should inform Latryne about what had just happened.
It seemed that the noise had woken Sertien, as he stirred and sat up, sluggishly.
“Mom?”
His voice was hoarse from all the coughing.
Noticing it, he smiled at me happily but quickly frowned, complaining,
“Mom, my throat hurts…”
Though he was still a young child, instead of whining, Sertien only frowned in discomfort over his sore throat.
I approached him.
“Does it hurt a lot? Don’t talk, okay? It’ll hurt more if you keep speaking.”
“Okay! But Mom, why are you wearing such a pretty dress again? And your hair is down.”
I told him not to talk, but still, Sertien couldn’t contain his excitement. His raspy voice made me think he looked adorable.
I didn’t mind being mistaken for his mother.
In fact, seeing this cute side of him made me wish he would continue to think of me as his mom.
But that couldn’t be right.
“Seri, let’s change your clothes. Can you do that?”
“Yeah, I can change my clothes! But why? Are we going out?”
When I asked if he could change clothes, he raised one hand confidently and responded, but then tilted his head in confusion.
“Yes, the rain is too heavy, so we need to go. Can you change? I’ll wait outside.”
“Okay!”
It wasn’t an exaggeration when Sertien said he could change clothes quickly. In an instant, he came out dressed, his eyes sparkling, and said,
“I’m done changing!”
He was clearly looking for praise.
Holding Latryne’s coat, I bent down and patted Sertien’s head.
“Seri, you’re amazing! You changed clothes all by yourself!”
Sertien beamed with joy at my compliment, his face lighting up with a big smile.
