“Episode 9”
The touching reunion with the maid was short-lived. Soon, she was criticized for her appearance. Despite feeling deeply saddened, she didn’t shed a single tear, accustomed to suppressing her emotions.
Clutching the cage she had placed on the floor, she made her way to her room nonchalantly.
“Miss!”
Even this unremarkable figure had someone genuinely welcoming her. It was Marie, who had shielded her and suffered for it under her father’s hands.
“Why… why did you come back?”
Marie, I’m sorry. You sacrificed yourself to hide me, enduring the cruel punishment, yet here I am, back in my place.
“Why… why did you come back? After sacrificing yourself to save me, why did you return to the mansion?”
Marie’s eyes filled with tears. She spoke cautiously, glancing around anxiously as if afraid someone might be listening.
“I heard Simon informed Father of where I was staying.”
Resignedly, as she spoke, Marie sharply retorted, “Simon, the young lord? Why? What could he be thinking?”
“It’s unbelievable…”
Marie’s body gave in, and she sank to the ground like a broken doll.
“Why? Why did you come back? The young lady who risked her life to save me?”
Marie’s eyes filled with tears as she pleaded. Eventually, with trembling lips, she spoke up.
“That’s not it! It’s not Lord Briton who sent the proposal!”
* * *
The dinner table was filled with her favorite dishes for once.
Looking at the dishes laid out on the table, she couldn’t help but miss Ethan’s cooking, simple yet full of care.
“Your engagement issue has been resolved with Lord Briton himself, so don’t worry too much.”
“Yes, Father.”
“But in these few days, your face seems a bit swollen?”
At Father’s words, the servants busily moved about. In an instant, all the dishes made of flour were removed from in front of her.
“Yes, I’ll start managing it again from today.”
Her gaze fell on the dishes of beef and vegetables. Her favorite food, yet all she could eat was a small piece of carrot.
“Is there any news that can be brought up during the meal?”
“Good news?”
As she asked eagerly, Father wiped his greasy lips with a napkin and spoke.
“A proposal has been received.”
“…From Lord Briton?”
“No, I can’t send my precious daughter to that rascal. The one who sent the proposal this time is a very respectable gentleman.”
As Marie said. It wasn’t Simon, but another nobleman who wanted her. The reason for Father’s frantic search finally made sense.
“You’ve probably met Ambrose Duke before.”
“Ambrose Duke…?”
She recalled the name from distant memories. Even at the age of ten, Ambrose Duke had fully white hair, and his wife, as thin as a skeleton, always stood by his side.
“His wife, who couldn’t bear children due to illness, recently passed away.”
It was a very sad story to never see her kind smile again.
“With no wife and reaching old age, he’ll find it lonely. And considering your age, you seem quite young.”
“…Father?”
Father’s greedy gaze turned towards her. Trapped in that unpleasant gaze, she found herself entertaining a horrifying thought.
Surely not. There’s no way. Even if I’m a useless burden, I’m his only legitimate heir…
“If he has no heirs, all that wealth will be yours.”
Denying vehemently was futile. Father had already decided to sell me off to the aging Ambrose Duke.
“The Duke also remembers you. He said you were a very lovely and clever child.”
Remembering me, at such a young age…? To me, his granddaughter…?
“The old man wouldn’t take you to bed, of course. But having you as a companion or a second daughter should be fine, right?”
“Father…”
Father, when did you start worrying so much about my body? Even when I was suffering from severe smallpox and my life hung in the balance, you never once showed concern.
“How fortunate. Ambrose Duke himself came to visit, and wouldn’t it be disappointing if he couldn’t even see your face?”
It seemed like he was scrutinizing for any flaws in the sculpture to be auctioned off.
Father’s wrinkled fingertips descended onto my cheek. A shiver ran down my spine as his hand tenderly touched my cheek.
“Your cheeks seem to have sunken in a bit these past few days.”
With the struggle of the fever, I had skipped many meals, causing dark circles under my eyes and my cheeks to hollow out like a corpse.
“I hear Ambrose Duke prefers thin ladies.”
So that’s it. A sense of disappointment leaked through my lips.
“But, it seems like your waist has thickened a bit during the illness. You know it needs management, right?”
The reflection in the mirror was as eerie as gnarled branches, and as he looked down at my protruding ribs, he criticized me for my thickened waist.
A slim and delicate waist is only achieved by tightly lacing the corset, something you wouldn’t know, would you?
Though bitterness filled my mouth, I forced a fake smile, pulling up the corners of my lips.
“I’ll try not to disappoint.”
“That’s right, you better not, as my daughter. How about a hug? My proud daughter.”
I reluctantly leaned into Father’s embrace and mumbled dryly.
“…I’m very proud to be your daughter.”
Are you so satisfied with the result of your long years of indoctrination?
You must be proud to have created a submissive noblewoman with your greedy hands.
“But, doesn’t that dress look too childish?”
This morning, I struggled with a fever until dawn, so I didn’t have the strength to choose a dress myself. Marie chose a relatively simple emerald green dress for me, but it seemed even that wasn’t to Father’s liking.
“It would be better to dress more modestly. Even though your young blood is good, you wouldn’t want to look like a maiden, would you?”
Wouldn’t it be obvious? The Duke is an old man with white hair. Surely, beneath his suit gloves, there are dark mushrooms growing abundantly on his wrinkled hands.
“…I hadn’t thought about that. But what about the other dresses? They’re probably similar, right?”
The dresses tailored to Simon’s taste were all extravagantly glamorous, emphasizing the slender waist. The only modest dress was a black dress for a funeral.
“That’s right, wait a moment.”
After pondering for a while, Father hurriedly left. When he returned, he was holding a plain dress in his arms.
“This is the dress your mother wore.”
More accurately, it was the dress of my stepmother, the Countess. I remember burning all the heirlooms, but it seemed there was one left. The dress I received emitted a damp and musty smell of death.
“…With this dress, Ambrose Duke will surely like it.”
“Is that so?”
I smiled brightly towards Father, who seemed satisfied, gently caressing his chin.
Yes or no. Even if I wear this and hold hands with the Duke, burying myself in the ground wouldn’t be too bad.
“Alright, let’s dress your hair neatly to make you look older.”
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
As I returned to the bedroom with the dress of the deceased Countess, Marie’s face turned pale with shock.
“Miss, what is this about?”
“I’ll wear this today. And please make my hair look mature, and make the makeup make me look ten years older.”
Though my words were numb, within my closed lips echoed a desperate scream.
“…Miss, are you really okay with this?”
Marie asked worriedly. I nonchalantly replied.
“The dress? It feels a bit uncomfortable to wear clothes belonging to the dead, but I’ll have to bear with it. What can I do?”
“I’m not asking about that. Are you really okay with being sold off like an object?”
Sold off like an object… Marie, you know my situation well.
With a bitter smile, I raised the corners of my lips.
“…I suppose I should be okay?”
After receiving a letter breaking off our ten-year-long engagement with just one letter, and being marked as a remarriage partner for an elderly Duke nearing ninety, the horrifying future awaits me. But I never learned how to rebel. Father only taught me obedience.
So, Marie. I should say it’s okay, shouldn’t I?
“But you know, Marie. I’m really not okay at all.”
As a bastard child inheriting the vulgar bloodline. Even though I’m nothing more than a useless burden, shouldn’t I be able to bask in the dazzling sunlight?
“…Miss, I have a lifelong wish.”
With bowed head, Marie struggled to speak.
“Please, run away somewhere far. Anywhere is fine.”
Marie pulled out a worn-out piece of paper from her apron pocket. It looked like it would tear apart at any moment.
“It was promised that anything would be granted.”
Taking the crumpled piece of paper with bent fingers, Marie, who had been wandering the garbage dump, was given a name by my hand, and we decided to celebrate the day we first met as her birthday.
The piece of paper was the first birthday present I ever gave her. Marie burst into tears at the mere sight of the piece of paper.
“It’s the first present I’ve ever received. I’m truly happy, Miss.”
