When You Turned Your Back On Me, We Became Strangers

When she finally opened the door, the atmosphere in the ducal residence was different. There was a bit of a commotion, and people’s faces looked excited.

 

“……What’s going on?”

 

“Hm, ma’am, ma’am.”

 

Riley leaned against the wall and looked at the shivering maid. “That, that…….”

 

The maid choked out, unable to speak.

 

The butler turned to see the maid looking puzzled. When his gaze locked with Riley’s, who was glaring at him, he sucked in a sharp breath.

 

“Ma’am, ma’am.”

 

“……You all look so happy. What’s all the fuss about?”

 

“…….”

 

The butler and the maid remained tight-lipped, like mutes on honey.

 

Riley slowly approached the butler. Her cold eyes swept over him, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

 

Riley tilted her head to the side as they stood in silence.

 

“If you keep your mouth shut like that, it’s going to be worse.”

 

Hmmph.

 

The butler shuddered under Riley’s raised hand. Her voice was soft, but cold. The butler squeezed his eyes shut as a cold sweat trickled down his spine.

 

“What’s all this commotion about? It’s okay, just tell me.”

 

Riley’s eyes widened and the butler’s breath caught in his throat.

 

“It’s……. Lady Anna is having a child.”

 

The maid eventually confessed the fact and shed tears. The butler turned his head to see the maid, but the water had already been spilled.

 

Reilly’s eyes were on her. As soon as her child died, she had a baby……..

 

She felt like anger was blocking her eyes and covering her ears. The self-imposed sense of failure to protect the child slowly stuck out of her head and eventually wrapped around her.

 

“Ma’am?”

 

Anna, who had appeared just in time, approached Riley with an evil smile. It was enough to arouse her anger to look at her.

 

Everyone looked horrified as Anna and Riley came face to face.

 

“We need to get the Duke here quickly.”

 

The butler glared at them both and stepped back. Sensing Anna’s distraction, he quickly made his way to the office.

 

“Oh, did you hear that? How did the child come in just in time? How troubled the duke and I were as soon as the scandal broke out.”

 

Despite herself, Anna’s expression was cheerful.

 

As Riley had hoped, news of Theo’s scandal was plastered across the empire in the next few days, but it quickly died down.

 

Theo had travelled far and wide to appeal to the people, and he had a good reputation, so it wasn’t hard to win their favour.

 

He had a good reputation with the people, so it wasn’t hard to win their favour, especially since Riley’s inability to have children had left him in need of an heir, so the obvious lie that he was forced to involve in the mistress.

 

And all because Anna had fallen pregnant at just the right time.

 

Anna slowly stroked her belly and looked straight at Riley.

 

Riley’s fists balled up. Her nails dug into her palms, drawing blood.

 

‘She killed my child…….’

 

But no one will believe me. Theo was too busy trying to keep Anna in line that day. Riley heard a snap, the sound of something breaking inside her mind.

 

A snap.

 

Her hands went limp and she felt a sinking feeling. It was finally over, she thought.

 

Nothing had turned out the way she’d hoped. She’d sent her divorce papers to the imperial court, but this scandal would give them more to review.

 

In the end, Reilly, the victim of all this, had to swallow a laugh.

 

She hates Anna enough to want to kill her. But the child in her womb was not at fault.

 

“Yeah……. I see.”

 

Riley hated herself for not being able to do anything at this moment. But she couldn’t do the same thing.

 

They watched her back as she turned and walked into her room, their eyes filled with pity. They couldn’t imagine what was going through her mind as she walked away from Anna.

 

* * *

“It’s too weird to think about, but it fits.”

 

The divorce petition took longer than expected. She wrote to the imperial court asking what was wrong, but no answer came.

 

Ren only told her to wait a little longer.

 

“I told her it would take a while because I was trying to change the terms to be completely in her favour.”

 

If she used her powers, it would be quick, but if the Emperor found out, she might have to be returned to the Imperial service.

 

“It’s been ……4 months.

 

She’d been trapped in the dreadful ducal residence, unable to escape. She couldn’t wait to get out, but the moment she did, she wouldn’t be able to take a single thing from him.

 

That’s why she’s holding on for dear life. On top of that, she had to figure out Anna’s strange behaviour.

 

The belly she’d glimpsed a moment ago was still there. She didn’t look particularly full or pregnant.

 

“I think Anna’s belly is the same.”

 

It wasn’t that she was having a baby, but the timing was troubling.

 

“Her belly? Hasn’t it been four months already?”

 

“It’s been a while. She should have a noticeable belly by now.”

 

She pictured her again, and it wasn’t so big.

 

Ren shrugged at Riley’s comment. She don’t know what he thinks, but in her opinion, he’s a human being who deserves to be.

 

Riley nodded at Ren’s words.

 

“We haven’t spent the night together since Anna arrived.”

 

If Theo had barged in and out of Anna’s room while I was pregnant, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d barged in with a child.

 

But why did it bother me so much?

 

It couldn’t be because Anna, the woman who killed my child, had a child. Riley could no longer believe anything Anna said.

 

She’d never believed her in the first place.

 

‘There must be something. What am I missing?’

 

It was clear no matter how ungrateful a husband was, he would not have tried to have another child as long as his first child died.

 

What Theo would have wanted was a child to carry the Trailla  bloodline.

 

It was also strange that Anna’s stomach hadn’t changed.

 

“What the hell is she thinking?

 

Riley jumped to her feet, opening the window to look out.

 

Startled, Ren stopped her.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“Look, there’s a guy I’ve never seen before.”

 

Riley raised his hand and pointed to a suspicious-looking man outside. If he was coming from that direction, he must have come from the Anna’s room.

 

It was also odd that he’d come out with his face covered like that, looking around.

 

Riley was sure. If she followed him, her questions would be answered.

 

“He must have something to do with Anna. I need you to follow him.”

 

Ren looked out the window at Riley’s words. He couldn’t see exactly who it was, as his cloak covered his face.

 

“Did that fool get discovered?”

 

Ren swallowed hard, wondering if he was carver. Even if it was just me, it was clear that Riley would not stand a chance by if she knew he had been interacting with the crown prince.

 

“Who is he?”

 

Fortunately, it wasn’t Carver. I had received a letter from him saying that he would not be able to come to the ducal residence for a while, as he was busy with a recent request.

 

I’ve never seen him before.

 

He was dressed as if he had been sent by Carver, but he was not of the Imperial service. His sluggish movements told me he was a novice.

 

“That man must have received something from Anna.”

 

How did she saw that?

 

Ren breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he’d have to be careful in the future. He’d thought she was indifferent, but Riley was watching him everywhere.

 

“Yeah, I’ll look into it.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

Quickly exiting the room, Ren watched the man from above.

 

The sneaky movements were as suspicious as Riley had said. His tightly pressed hat and pockets full of gold coins screamed, “I’m suspicious!

 

Ren followed him out of the manor and into the woods.

 

“That woman’s greed knows no bounds.”

 

The man smirked and hummed as he pulled a gold coin from his pocket. Ren, who had been following closely behind, stiffened and listened.

 

“I don’t think I’d be able to pull something like that off, not with all the fertility drugs and fake pregnancies.”

 

He shivered as if he had a chill. Somehow, a sense of unease came over him. When the man turned his head back, a large hand covered his chin and face.

 

“Ahh!”

 

The man, with his head still stuck to the tree by the merciless force, writhed. With Ren holding his face tightly, he couldn’t see clearly.

 

He felt a warm liquid on the back of his head. The man trembled with fear and dread. He saw a sinister shadow of death in the red pupils that could be seen between the fingers.

 

“Ugh!”

 

Eventually, the man peed like a child. His trousers were soaked and the liquid dripped onto the floor.

 

“What did you say earlier?”

 

“Please, please, please. Please, please, please, help me.”

 

He stammered, struggling to get the words out, like a child who hadn’t learnt to speak.

 

The man instinctively knew that the man in front of him was someone who could kill him at any moment.

 

‘Was she sent by the Duke? No, she said no one else knows about this.

 

He racked my brain for an answer.

 

Ren leaned in close and whispered in the man’s ear.

 

“Last chance. What did you take from her?”

 

” I’ll tell you everything.”

 

Ren’s grip loosened a little. His feet touched the ground, and the man’s body slumped to the floor with a thud.

 

Speak or die. The man had no choice. His red eyes flashed, threatening to cut off his breath at any moment.

 

“Anna, Anna, the woman asked me for medicine, for something to make her infertile! I got it a long time ago, and she asked for it again. Along with the medicine to make her look pregnant, I also bought some Supplies.”

 

The man blurted out everything.

 

“Supplies?”

 

“Pills and supplies to make me look pregnant.”

 

The words coming out of his mouth were unbelievable. Fertility pills had been the source of the strange odour in her food so long ago.

 

Wasted effort.

 

Riley’s unstable mana made it difficult for her to have children anyway.

 

“Isn’t it obvious, the pills?”

 

“It’s a specially formulated pill. It’s made with a scent that men can’t smell.”

 

It all clicked together in Ren’s head, which was why Theo hadn’t noticed.

 

“Now that I’ve told you, are you going to let me live?”

 

“Of course, I’m letting you live.”

 

The man breathed out in relief, but his eyes flickered to and fro as Ren, who had grasped his face, reached out with his other hand and grabbed his tongue.

 

“Eh, it’s an ailment.”

 

“Hana, I can’t just let you go because I don’t want you to go somewhere and leak.”

 

“Aaahhhhhh.”

 

The man’s scream echoed through the forest. Startled birds took to the skies, feasting in the trees.

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