“Episode 4”
I’ll introduce the only employee of the Holden household. It’s the stable boy, Gers.
As we stepped outside the mansion after getting ready, a somewhat sullen-looking stable boy was waiting for us.
Upon greeting him, Gers responded by lifting the corners of his mouth without saying a word and bowing his head. It wasn’t until we got on the carriage that Ethan finally spoke up in a hushed tone.
“Gers can make sounds, but his tongue was cut, so normal conversations are almost impossible.”
“His tongue was cut?”
“Yes, a long time ago in an accident. I believe you’ll treat him fairly without discrimination.”
I couldn’t even fathom an accident severe enough to result in a tongue being cut when the limbs were intact. As I shrugged my shoulders with a sense of discomfort, Ethan smiled slightly.
“Breathing in the fresh air might improve your mood a bit. Is there anywhere specific you’d like to go? If not, we could visit some places we used to frequent.”
As for places I wanted to go, I silently glanced at the opera theater passing by outside the carriage window before turning my gaze away with a bitter expression.
Though there were a few places I used to visit frequently, even those were places I went to with Simon. The melancholy lingering inside the carriage seemed to be noticed, prompting Ethan to speak up with a slightly raised eyebrow.
“Well, I’ve changed my mind. Can I lead us to where I want to go today?”
“Ethan, can you read minds besides memories?”
“Of course not. One curse is more than enough.”
The destination of the carriage, which had been moving steadily, turned out to be a fabric shop in the Madreli shopping district. It seemed the promise to make enough dresses to burst the wardrobe wasn’t just a boast.
“Ethan, this is too much. Just making one or two dresses would be enough.”
To him, I must have seemed like a lost parrot. If new feathers sprouted over old wounds, he’d likely let me fly away without hesitation. With a tinge of bitterness, I raised my shoulders, anticipating that the fresh flesh would grow before winter came.
“I’ll buy everything before we leave.”
For some reason, he bought up all the piled-up fabric as if on impulse. The fabric shop madam was bustling with excitement.
“Shall we go see jewelry next? I want to gift a necklace.”
His voice remained affectionate, but his gaze toward me was as cold as frost. I didn’t want to upset him, so I quietly followed him to the jewelry store.
As Ethan was about to cross the threshold of the jewelry store, his steps suddenly halted. Thanks to him, I accidentally bumped my forehead against his sturdy back.
Looking up at him while holding my throbbing forehead, he lazily lowered his eyelashes and spoke.
“Isabella, how about we see the jewelry next time?”
Ethan’s large palm came to rest on my eyelids. Through the narrow gap between his slightly open fingers, I saw something I shouldn’t have.
The figure of someone picking out a ring while leaning against a jewelry store counter.
“…Simon.”
It was only then that I realized Simon wasn’t alone. Hanging on the thick arm that I once thought was mine was a slender woman.
I scrutinized her face. She was the woman I had once encountered at a reception.
“Ethan, could you please wake him up? He seems to be having another nightmare.”
My only worshipper, who had devoted their soul for ten years. And the betrayer who had pushed me to the edge with just one letter.
Eventually, Simon’s head slowly lifted. Ah, he had spotted me. Seeing myself standing in front of the jewelry store entrance, leaning against the ghostly marquis, was like being hit in the forehead with a realization.
When I clung to the marquis’s mansion door and begged, he didn’t even deign to look at my face once. Yet now, he was confronting me so vulnerably. Truly, it was the whims of fate.
As I sent a distant gaze, Simon cautiously pushed the woman hanging on his left arm away and spoke.
“Bella.”
How cruel. For ten years, I had called out that endearing nickname countless times, yet now I wasn’t even allowed a pinch of affection.
“Lover or not, it’s just about occasionally meeting and enjoying entertainment. She kept singing ‘Ring Ring’ all day, so I was tempted to give her one ring and send her away.”
“I wished he would tell me that he had to leave me because a woman he loved appeared, even if it was unbearable.”
Desperately rationalizing, hoping to feel a little better after.
“If there wasn’t a new lover, then what’s the reason for leaving me?”
Bringing up the deep-seated question, Simon shrugged and opened his mouth.
Finally hearing it now. The reason I had to be miserably abandoned after serving like a dog for almost 10 years.
“Well, it’s because you annoyed me too much. The girl kept bringing up marriage every day without any self-respect, who wouldn’t get tired of that?”
“Just because of that, you’re saying you abandoned me after relentlessly following me around for 10 years?”
“Bella, if you say it like that, it’s as if I committed a crime. The problem was solely with you.”
“I can’t understand…”
I raised my head stubbornly, trembling like a sinner.
“Tell me. Give me a reason I can understand! Even if it’s an excuse, please…”
I, who had never thrown even a slight tantrum towards Simon, cried for the first time in front of him, and Simon avoided my gaze with his tongue.
“Do I have to point out every little reason? Looking at your stone-like body makes my appetite disappear. If I had to live with such a woman for the rest of my life, wouldn’t you pity me too? At least you should act cute like other girls.”
Because of your fickleness, I was almost left naked in the streets, and the maid Marie, who had been serving me since childhood, became a scapegoat instead of me and was beaten by my father to the point of becoming crippled.
“Just because of such a despicable reason!”
I bit my lip against the overwhelming sense of humiliation. Sharp fangs settled on the tender mucous membrane, mercilessly pressing down the emotions. Soon, watery blood flowed down my lips.
“By the way, who is that man? I’ve never seen him before.”
Even though I was crying bitterly in front of him, he didn’t comfort me. He didn’t even wipe away my tears with his fingertips like he used to. He just looked down on me pitifully as I squeezed out tears.
“If you’re curious, why didn’t you ask directly? If you did, I would have gladly introduced you.”
As I raised my head to the soft voice in my ear, beyond the blurred vision filled with tears, bright emerald eyes were shining clearly.
“I thought the story was getting longer than expected, so I came to find you.”
Simon scrutinized Ethan with a wary gaze. Despite the clear eyesight, Ethan responded with a narrow-eyed smile.
“Better late than never for introductions, right? I’m Ethan Holden.”
As Ethan reached out his hand first, Simon’s chubby face twisted in disgust.
No matter how high-ranking a British nobleman he was, he couldn’t ignore the favor of the higher-ranked Holden Duke.
Even if Ethan was a ghost duke rumored to be a fallen noble.
“…I’m Simon Britton.”
Simon shook Ethan’s hand with a grim face. The clear-eyed gaze of Ethan, who was smiling brightly, suddenly turned cold as it passed over Simon’s pumpkin-colored pupils.
At that moment, when Ethan’s hand was firmly held, he mercilessly pushed Simon away.
“Oh, my hand slipped.”
Simon, who was writhing on the ground, revealed it, looking up at Ethan. It was too deliberate to admit it as a mistake.
“I’ll help you up again. Come on, grab on and get up.”
It was a chillingly kind voice. As Ethan reached out to Simon, Simon’s face twisted in anger.
“…Will you accept the hand I offered you politely, Mr. Britton?”
If Simon’s harsh tone were to continue, he might have spat out insults. Perhaps he didn’t want to make a scene in front of the jewelry store, so he bit his lip and tightly held Ethan’s hand.
When Ethan applied force for a moment and lifted Simon’s body, the oval glasses hanging precariously on Simon’s brow fell onto his shoulder.
When the dazzling emerald eyes were revealed without filtering, even Simon with his high nose seemed to lose his gaze in the deep depth as if hypnotized.
“…Ah, I can’t see in front!”
“There’s no need to be so flustered. I was just curious. I wanted to know what you were hiding inside, making you so conceited.”
Simon’s chin, which had been motionless like a broken doll for a while, trembled.
“Just quietly show yourself. All the dirty flaws you wanted to hide secretly…”
“Ah, hee hee!”
Simon flailed his arms in the air. It was certain that Simon was experiencing a hallucination, just like I did through Ethan’s eyes.
As I looked at Simon’s pale face, I became very curious about what he was hallucinating.
“It’s a snake in the belly!”
