While You're In Love

Why did she leave?

After the desolation he felt reading Lyla’s letter faded, Aslan’s thoughts were consumed by that question.

Restless and anxious like an abandoned child, he harbored a slight resentment towards Lyla for leaving him, and was also suppressing the desire to hold her right now.

Aslan kept contemplating the fundamental reason that made her leave.

If he wanted to prevent her from leaving again when she returns, he needed to find and eliminate the cause.

So, Aslan overturned everything that contributed to the reasons for her leaving. He couldn’t leave those who made her suffer unpunished.

He knew it well himself. There was a separate reason why she had left.

However, he directed his arrows of anger outwardly, refusing to admit that her departure was his own fault.

There were many who fell victim to his anger.

From the servants who dared to gossip behind his wife’s back, to the nobles who openly ridiculed her.

Uninformed servants were fired, never to set foot in the city again.

As for the nobles who tormented his wife with their delusions of grandeur, he destroyed their source of pride.

Bankrupt and in shambles, noble families who had their businesses and territories ruined, lined up to leave the city.

Amidst the chaos outside, the Torrdell Mansion sank into a gloomy silence as well.

It was impossible not to be shaken when every morning you woke up to find your long-time co-workers driven away in tears.

For weeks, the Tordell Mansion treaded carefully, as if walking on thin ice.

Everyone was so scared that they couldn’t perform their tasks properly, to the extent that even the dutiful butler, Dalton, was concerned about Aslan’s ruthless decisions.

After weeding out the impure individuals, barely half of them were left.

Moreover, word of House Tordell’s layoffs had gotten out, and no one was willing to join, leaving them short-handed.

This couldn’t go on, and with this thought, Dalton steeled his resolve and visited Aslan’s study.

Knock knock

As he gently tapped on the door, a slow voice was heard.

“Come in.”

Dalton’s expression hardened as he entered the office, hearing the low, calm voice.

Aslan’s study, usually pristine and neat due to his meticulous care, was now in a questionable state.

Because of Aslan’s occasional smoking, the acrid smell had permeated the furniture, and the desk was cluttered with papers, making the surroundings somewhat dirty.

The neatness and orderliness of the office seemed like a distant memory.

It wasn’t just the office that was in disarray.

Dalton’s flickering gaze met Aslan, who stood just outside the balcony door.

Aslan squinted against the bright sunlight, his face could only be described as miserable.

Eyes reddened from lack of sleep, distant bags under his eyes, and roughened skin.

At least he’d kept up his shaving routine, but everything else was falling apart.

“My lord. I have a report for you.”

Dalton’s lips parted reluctantly.

Aslan didn’t interrupt him, he simply kept his gaze fixed on the garden throughout the conversation.

“……Therefore I think that some changes are necessary for a revitalized atmosphere in the estate.”

As Dalton finished speaking, he glanced at Aslan.

Aslan still wasn’t looking at him.

Had he even heard what he’d said so far, he wondered disloyally, but didn’t say it out loud.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Aslan spoke up.

“I understand what you are saying Dalton.”

“In that case…….”

“But nothing will change.”

With a faint smile, Aslan didn’t add more.

Aslan had no intention of changing his attitude, the rigid atmosphere of the manor, or the hearts of those who feared me.

It wasn’t enough. Even now, he couldn’t quench the flames of his anger.

The garden visible beyond the railing, still beautiful and pleasant due to consistent care, helped to calm his anger.

If he left this place, he would become consumed by anger again, like a beast losing its senses.

And until Lyla returns, this fire wouldn’t extinguish.

Dalton, who had served Aslan for a long time, had guessed this, and Aslan himself thought the same way.

Therefore, after opening and closing his mouth a few times, Dalton couldn’t complain further.

“Understood.”

With a deep bow, Dalton left, hoping that the situation would be manageable by the time the Duchess returns.

However, the sharp blade of retribution was aimed at yet another person that evening.

---

Before bringing back his departed wife, there were things that needed to be done.

The task was to resolve the lingering issues that might make her decide to leave again.

Carefully examining even the vaguely known and previously ignored matters, Aslan began to clean both inside and outside the mansion.

From nobles to servants, he aimed to eliminate anything that could potentially cause his wife to leave him.

And so, it was only natural that Rosalyn Peridot was driven out as well.

Her very presence was something that Lyla couldn’t tolerate, and more than anything, various testimonies had surfaced.

“Rosalyn has earned Lord Aslan’s favor, and soon the Duchess will be driven away, and Rosalyn will become the new Duchess…”

The maid who was speaking faltered, biting her tongue under the chilling gaze directed at her.

“That…”

Seeing the maid struggling to continue, Aslan’s eyes narrowed further.

The maid was taken aback. Before a lightning bolt of anger could strike her, she quickly defended herself.

“Rosalyn didn’t deny any of that, either! So, we just assumed it was all true.”

The maid earnestly protested, hoping to divert at least a bit of Aslan’s anger onto someone else.

“If Rosalyn had told us it was all a lie, we wouldn’t have been so careless!”

Her plea was repulsive.

Regardless of the reason, it was an indisputable fact that they had treated Lyla disrespectfully.

However, the maid was a maid, and Rosalyn was Rosalyn.

In addition to this maid, testimonies came from here and there that Rosalyn dared to dream of the position of Duchess Tordell and secretly despised Laila.

From noblewomen who associated with her, gentlemen who admired her, to even the coachman who drove her carriage on frequent outings.

There was no blatant evidence of wrongdoing.

Rosalyn hadn’t insulted Laila in her presence, nor had she physically harmed her.

But she did indirectly harass Lyla by not stopping those who laughed at the Duchess of Tordell, or by standing in the middle of those who ignored her and watching with a smile on her face.

Indirectly, she joined in the harassment of Lyla.

“It’s all a misunderstanding, even though I didn’t get along with Madame because she seemed to shy away from me, it didn’t mean I was unkind to her!”

Aslan looked indifferently at the woman kneeling before him.

Rosalyn Peridot.

He had met her a few times during his childhood, but she hadn’t left much of an impression in Aslan’s memory.

Until their by-chance encounter, he had completely forgotten about her existence.

However, he had taken the trouble to bring her to the mansion, knowing full well what would follow, solely because of her usefulness.

When he met Rosalyn for the first time, a fragment of a future memory flashed before Aslan’s eyes.

[Could you think of me a bit more than that woman?]

Lyla, who would later beg him with teary eyes in the future he saw.

Aslan, who loved her but was reluctant to do so, drew Rosalyn closer to him at her words.

He didn’t wonder what Rosalyn was thinking as she blushed and glanced at him.

What mattered was Lyla’s feelings, which grew more intense with Rosalyn’s presence.

So, this time, Aslan brought Rosalyn back to the house.

It was an impulsive thought that she could be used as a means to fully possess his wife, Lyla, who seemed to get closer but never actually did.

That thought was the reason behind bringing Rosalyn to the mansion, under the pretext of sponsoring her.

People’s assumptions, like the familial connection or Rosalyn’s splendid and beautiful appearance, didn’t influence him in any way.

Thus, Rosalyn’s words filled with anguish didn’t move Aslan’s heart in the slightest.

“Even for the sake of our parents, please!”

“I promised a year of sponsorship, so I won’t stop all support right away. As promised, I’ll take care of you until the end of this year.”

“Then…”

Hope glimmered in Rosalyn’s eyes. It was an expectant look, as if she anticipated him to revoke his demand for her to leave Tordell Mansion.

Aslan simply squashed her hopes.

“The butler has arranged a place for you to stay, from now on, you’ll stay there and engage in your courtship activities.”