Chapter 08
“What?”
“Answer me, Ria. You say you’re Cedric’s wife.”
I bit my lip hard at the unexpected question.
‘Did he have a scar on his thigh? Which side was it on? Left? Right?’
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t remember.
It had been so long since Cedric and I had been intimate. Even then, it had only happened a few times in the dark, relying on moonlight.
There was no way I would remember something as small as a scar.
“…I don’t know.”
I murmured blankly.
Behind me, the servants started whispering among themselves as if they had expected this outcome.
Their eyes—some filled with contempt, others with pity—pierced through me.
“But… there’s one more thing that can prove who I am!”
Pushed by their gazes, I hurriedly tried to recall a recent event. In my desperation, my words came out in a jumble.
“On our wedding anniversary, after dinner, I went back to the dining hall alone. There, I met two maids….”
“Sigh.”
But before I could finish, Gloria let out a long sigh.
“Ria, how long are we going to keep playing this ridiculous game? I feel like I’ll get tired of this before you finally admit the truth.”
“Don’t interrupt me! Just listen to me until the end.
The maids I met were Selly and Rina—”
“And if I listen till the end? Your words are nothing but lies. Just like when you used to steal my diary or pretend to be me behind everyone’s back.”
“I’m not making this up! Selly and Rina will remember seeing me that day.”
I scanned the group of servants, searching for Selly and Rina. But they refused to meet my eyes, stubbornly staring at the ground.
“Selly! Rina!”
I called them desperately, but it was useless.
With the past two arguments ending in my defeat, everyone here had already decided—I was “Gloria Ernst.”
“……”
It was over before I could do anything.
There was nothing more I could do.
“…Aren’t you even sorry to your dead husband?”
I asked in despair.
“My husband is right here. What are you talking about?”
Gloria suddenly wrapped her arm around Cedric’s, smiling.
On her left ring finger, my wedding ring gleamed.
My wedding ring.
On a beautiful spring day, surrounded by the blessings of countless guests, we vowed to spend forever together.
No matter where life took us, we promised to be good partners.
Through hardships and sorrow, we would support each other.
With unwavering trust, we would stay together for life.
That sacred promise now shone on her finger.
Something inside me snapped.
“Give it back.”
“Huh?”
“My ring, my dress, my hairpiece—give them all back!”
“Ahhh!”
I forgot my shame and lunged at Gloria, grabbing her hair and fingers.
She let out a sharp scream but didn’t fight back. I was too far gone to notice.
I just wanted to take everything back from her.
“Let go of her, madam!”
Cedric grabbed me and pulled me away with his strong hands.
The servants rushed in, restraining my limbs, but I refused to stop.
“How could you do this to me? How could you?”
Splash!
Suddenly, something warm was thrown in my face.
The tea Cedric and Gloria had been drinking together before I arrived.
“You have no shame.”
My father stood there, holding the empty teacup, breathing heavily.
I froze.
My father—who had never once raised his voice at me in my entire life.
And now…
“How much more are you going to disgrace our family?”
“Father, but—”
“Enough. Shut your mouth. Say another word, and I won’t consider you my daughter anymore.”
His face, filled with anger, made my vision blur.
Not just the servants—even my parents refused to believe me.
That was when I finally realized.
I had fallen into a perfectly planned trap.
“Count Drake, I apologize for my daughter. It seems she is not in her right mind after losing her husband.”
Father bowed to Cedric.
“It’s alright, Marquis.”
“I know this is shameless of me, but please make sure the servants keep quiet about this.”
With those final words, Father turned to the servants and shouted,
“Stop standing around! Go upstairs and pack the Duchess of Ernst’s things. We’re leaving for the duke’s estate immediately.”
“Father!”
The duke’s estate?
Why was I being sent there?
Shocked by my father’s decision, I shouted in protest.
“You, stop making a scene and prepare to go home. Guards, lock Gloria in her room until we leave.”
Before I could say another word, I was dragged away.
“This can’t be happening! Someone, please!”
As I was being pulled away, Gloria stepped closer, pretending to look at me with sympathy.
When I glared at her with resentment, she whispered, so only I could hear,
“Enjoy living in that gloomy duke’s estate with your ‘husband in name only.’ After all,
Herman Ernst was yours to begin with, wasn’t he?“
My desperate screams echoed as my footsteps were dragged along the floor.
The inside of the carriage felt like a prison.
As we rode to the duke’s estate, I pleaded with my parents to recognize me.
“Please, Mother. How can you not recognize your daughter?”
But it was useless.
No matter how much I begged, they wouldn’t listen.
To them, I was nothing but a madwoman who lost her husband and wanted her sister.
“When I was nervous on my wedding day, do you remember what you told me, Mother? You said I had nothing to worry about because I was ‘Marieanne.’”
“…Did you read Marieanne’s diary again? You used to steal it as a child, and you still haven’t changed?”
“Dear,”
My father cut off my mother’s scolding with a stern voice.
“The doctor said not to react. Don’t answer her. It will only make things worse.”
“I can’t bear this, Arthur. Can her illness be cured? What if she stays like this forever, our poor Gloria?”
They acted as if I didn’t even exist.
I turned to my father, desperate.
“Father, remember the cufflinks I gave you for your birthday when I was fifteen? You loved them so much!”
“Hmph.”
Father cleared his throat uncomfortably and turned to look out the window.
“I’m Marieanne!”
“……”
“You always said, ‘Our proud Marieanne!’”
“Enough!”
Finally, Father snapped.
“Because of your foolishness, the Ernst family lost everything to distant relatives! I should have known when you got greedy for a title that didn’t suit you!”
“Father….”
“If you wanted Marieanne’s position so badly, you should have married into Count Drake’s family in the first place.
Do you know how much I regret writing your name on the Duke of Ernst’s marriage proposal instead of hers?”
Then you should have.
Tears ran down my face as I buried it in my hands.
I had fought so hard to convince him to send me instead of Gloria.
And now, it meant nothing.
I hate you, Gloria.
But regret couldn’t turn back time.
And if I couldn’t change the past, I couldn’t change the present either.
I had lost everything.
And all I could do was cry.
—
Meanwhile, across the sea, a ship sailed towards the Empire of Balter.
It carried the last group of soldiers returning from the Central Continent War.
“Just a few more hours until we reach the Empire!”
“Yeah!”
The deck erupted in cheers.
For five years, they had been away from home.
And the reason they had survived?
Their commander had never given up on them.
“Say a few words, Commander!”
The soldiers chanted his name.
“ERNST!”
“Herman ERNST!”
Under the blazing sun, a man stood before them.
Their leader—who had been presumed dead.
He looked at each of them, then finally smiled.
“I won’t say much.”
His voice was deep and steady.
“You all did well.”
And then, he spoke the words they had been longing to hear.
“Now, let’s go home.”
