You and I are from different worlds

Chapter 2 – No One Will Shake Me Up

Ha-am-!

Mellie, who was walking out with her mouth wide open, stopped in front of the kitchen door in surprise.

She looked up at the wall clock, wondering if she had overslept.

Six in the morning.

She had woken up properly.

“Why did you wake up so early? Miss Mellie?”

“I just woke up early.”

Mellie, leaning against the shelf and said it with a faint smile.

In fact, it was a lie.

Due to the shock from what she had witnessed last night, Mellie had not slept a wink all night.

Her somewhat haggard complexion was proof of this, but Ozz, her maid, who was still half-asleep, did not notice.

“Well, that happens sometimes. But if you woke up early, why don’t you go for a walk? Why are you here? You shouldn’t keep acting like a servant. That too a noble lady like you.”

What kind of noblewoman is not a servant in a situation where she is living off of someone…?

Mellie answered with a bitter smile.

“I made tea. Drink a cup and start working.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Ozz tilted the pot Mellie held out and poured tea. The steam with a subtle fragrance filled her nasal passages. Ozz responded to Mellie’s kindness with an ecstatic expression.

“Your tea always smells good no matter when you drink it. That must be why the Duke only seeks out your tea, right?”

“… … .”

Mellie did not deny it.

Contrary to his gentle and generous appearance, Edric was a man with picky tastes.

He was especially picky when it came to tea, so he would not touch anything that did not suit his taste.

Mellie meticulously and patiently matched his picky tastes, counting the tea leaves and strictly observing the right temperature and time. She was the only one who could do what no one else could.

“Oh!”

Ozz, who was sipping tea, hurriedly took her mouth off the teacup as if she remembered something.

“The lady said that when the Duke gets married, he will go down to the southern estate.”

When he gets married… … Ahh.

It was a sharp remark that stabbed Mellie’s already troubled heart, but she continued the conversation without showing any emotion.

“… … Why?”

“Why? Because of the new mistress.”

“… … .”

“Well, she doesn’t want to make her daughter-in-law uncomfortable. These days, mothers-in-law’s are very mindful of their daughters-in-law’s.”

Mellie was unable to find any other words to say and just listened in silence.

Ozz was single, but perhaps because she heard a lot of stories from her married friends, she knew a lot about the marriage customs of today.

Mellie absentmindedly listened to Oz’s slightly sarcastic chatter about what Madame Felton would lose by gaining a great daughter-in-law.

“I think a daughter-in-law like Miss Rosaline who is too talented is a good person to stay at social circle. You might end up having to live with her. Alas! It would have been much easier to take in a daughter-in-law who is not so great and manipulate her as you please… … .”

Mellie nodded, although she didn’t completely agree with Oz’s words. In fact, there was nothing else she could do in her current state of mind.

‘Marriage, daughter-in-law… … .’

Each word was like a sharp piece of iron, piercing her heart mercilessly. However, it was nothing compared to what Oz said next.

“And she’s going to come back in about ten months.”

“Why ten months?”

“Because the baby will be born by then.”

“… … A baby?”

“Oh, didn’t you know, Miss? They set their wedding date based on Miss Rosaline’s menstrual cycle. So that the baby can be born right after the wedding.”

“… … .”

“How pretty will their baby be? If possible, I hope it’s a son who resembles the Duke.”

“A daughter would be fine too. If only she resembles Edric… … .”

Mellie said emphatically.

Thinking back to the shocking scene last night, she couldn’t help but say that.

‘This isn’t it. This won’t do.’

She bit her lip.

***

A moment after her meeting with Oz, Mellie carefully found Edric’s quarters, holding two cups of tea.

Edric was sitting in an armchair by the window, where the morning sunlight streamed in. He was reading a pamphlet in a navy satin robe over his nightgown, and he looked so elegant that it was hard to believe he was a man who had just woken up.

“Excuse me… Edric. Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Of course.”

At Mellie’s words, he looked up from the book he was reading and smiled.

The blue eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses shone like agate beads.

“What were you trying to say that you came all the way to my room this morning?”

Mellie felt even more uncomfortable as he spoke with an expectant look in his eyes.

“That’s… … .”

Edric closed the book and took off his glasses as if he was trying to listen to Mellie’s words intently.

“That’s actually Ro… … .”

“Oh, Rosaline seems to have a great opinion of you.”

After moving her lips several times, Mellie finally found the courage to tell the truth, but in that short time, Edric started talking first.

He continued with eyes filled with respect for Rosaline.

“She said you seemed like a careful and calm child. If it’s okay with you, she’d like to have you as her younger sister. Rosaline doesn’t have a younger sister.”

“… … .”

Was it right to disappoint him, who had such a good impression of his fiancé?

Mellie felt her courage gradually fading away. But if she hadn’t seen it, she wouldn’t have known. She couldn’t ignore the inappropriate sight. Even if he was hurt, it would be better to get hurt now than later.

“Edric.”

When Mellie spoke in a determined voice, Edric tilted his head to one side. His smooth blond hair flowed down his head, and his handsome eyebrows were revealed through his bangs.

Mellie shut her eyes tightly and said in one breath.

“That woman, the step-sibling who came with her yesterday, is in love with her.”

It was so hard to speak that her hands were shaking, but Mellie decided to tell him the truth properly so that he could accept it quickly.

“I saw it in the hallway. They were kissing there. A very… … passionate kiss.”

“… … .”

Edric was silent for a while.

Instead, his tilted head had straightened up, and his arms were crossed in front of his chest like a lock.

‘Is he shocked?’

However, his eyes were a bit strange to see.

Rather than being shocked or angry, he seemed to have no thoughts.

Mellie, who was chewing her lips and feeling embarrassed by the unexpected reaction, asked just in case.

“Do you… … not believe what I’m saying?”

“No. I do.”

He said without the slightest hesitation.

“I believe every word you say.”

“Then why are you making that face?”

Mellie tilted her head as if she had no idea. Edric let out a snicker.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“… … .”

“Didn’t I say this before? Marriage is a meeting between two families. The purity of the other person doesn’t matter at all, Mellie.”

“Ah… … No matter what… … .”

“As long as the child Rosaline gives birth to is mine, that’s fine. She is free and even I am free to have a mistress.”

Edric was incredibly calm.

He continued speaking with a completely emotionless expression and a calm tone as if he was reading a book.

“Mellie. Most people in high society are like that. Marriage and love are separate things. Of course, it would be great if they were the same.”

That was a fact that Mellie had heard so well.

But even if it was a political marriage, it was still marriage. Even if it didn’t start with love, shouldn’t it at least start with trust? Whether it would break later or not.

Even a tower built on solid ground would eventually collapse, so if the foundation was shaky from the start, what would happen in the end?

Was this the way the great nobles thought?

Tolerating such immoral acts so casually…

“… …!”

Mellie suddenly wanted to ask.

“Would you do that too? Would you… … have a mistress?”

Please don’t. Even if most, if not all, people in high society did, I hoped that atleast Edric wouldn’t do that. Mellie desperately hoped that even if he couldn’t be her love, he would at least be faithful to his own marriage.

If he had a mistress after marriage, she thought it would be as sad as if he had never seen her as a woman.

“No.”

“… … .”

“Even if it was tacitly permitted, it wouldn’t be a pretty sight. And there’s a high chance that something annoying would happen.”

At Edric’s words, Mellie let out a sigh of relief without realizing it.

At least she was able to confirm that her ten years of unrequited love had not been a waste of emotion poured out on a worthless person.

“No way, Mellie.”

Edric said with a smirk as Mellie’s stiff shoulders slumped in relief.

“Are you worried that I will fall for others?”

“… … .”

“Don’t worry. That won’t happen.”

Edric reached out and lightly ruffled Mellie’s hair.

“No one will shake me up. I guarantee it.”

Then he opened the book again and put on his glasses.

Mellie stared at the blue eyes and long eyelashes covering them through the thin glass for a moment, then got up and left the room.

She had thought that her heart would feel lighter after talking to him, but somehow she felt even more confused. She knew that his fiancée was being unfaithful, and yet he was still thinking that he would marry her.

She was very worried, but she was also glad that he wasn’t hurt too much. And on the other hand, he felt unfamiliar all over again.

‘I knew it, but… .’

Edric Felton had a warm appearance on the outside, but when she touched him, he was surprisingly cold and rational.

‘No one will shake me up. I guarantee it.’

His confident voice lingered in Mellie’s ears all the way back to her quarters.