IELNDMH - Chapter 8 < Was It Something I Really Lover? >
I Ended Up Living Up Next Door With My Ex-Husband
The dessert presentation ceremony ended sooner than expected.
It was thanks to Adrian quickly gathering the employees. The employees kept tilting their heads while showing forced smiles filled with fear. It seemed that they were more reluctant than happy to receive treatment that they had never received from the Grand Duchess.
A group of employees said, 'Smell and eat to see if it's spoiled'.
I heard them whispering to each other a few times, but I just smiled and pretended not to hear anything. There's no way serving dessert would remove the dead flag of the original, but it didn't seem like a bad way to start off announcing my change.
'We mixed race demons, let's get along well from now on.'
I instructed all employees, including Mina, to take a break. And then I started touring the mansion alone with Adrian.
The inside of the dark mansion was entirely black, with light as brilliant as obsidian flowing through it. The floor, the walls, the stairs, and even the huge fireplace. It was especially beautiful to see the light pouring from the huge chandelier breaking on the vast black marble floor.
'Completely my style.'
It is truly the pinnacle of sophistication. It was a perfect fit for the name 'Mansion of Darkness'.
"It's quite different from the Mansion of Light, isn't it?"
In response to Adrian's question, I nodded repeatedly with a satisfied expression.
"Yeah, a lot."
And then for a while. Something came into view...
"What is that?"
A large fountain in the center of the spacious lobby, between the stairs going up on both sides. It was richly decorated with tropical flowers not found in the north.
"Ah, as you can see, the Dark Mansion is all black, so we often put colorful flower decorations here to give it a point."
"...Adrian himself?"
"Yes. It's a shame, but I have a knack for working with flowers and trees."
Adrian smiled shyly, but I thought it was a specialty that suited him quite well. If I had to give an example of Adrian's Image... Does he have the image of a neat flower shop guy?
'I like even that very much!'
I had secretly chosen Adrian to be the butler of the seaside mansion where I would stay after my divorce. Flower decoration skills are also a skill. This is because I liked his meticulous and sincere attitude seen in the perfectly maintained mansion, even though it is a building where the Twins family does not reside.
'Adrian, you are my butler both in the dark mansion and in the future seaside mansion.'
I looked up at Adrian with a satisfied expression and smiled slightly.
"I think we'll see each other often from now on."
Adrian blinked his eyes with an expression of disbelief at my words. But even for a moment, Adrian smiled the brightest smile I've ever seen.
"Really... I'm so happy, Your Highness."
He even took a moment to catch his breath, as if he was overwhelmed with emotions.
"If you come here, we will always welcome you with the same heart. If you need me, I will come there no matter what, even if you have to look for me separately."
I could feel the clear sincerity in his eyes that shined like amethyst.
"Anything I can do for you is great."
I looked at Adrian, who was thrilled, and then I opened my mouth.
"... I think Adrian is afraid of me."
A hint of bitterness crept over Adrian's face at my words.
"Do you want me to be afraid of Your Highness?"
"Not really. "Everyone is avoiding me, but only Adrian seems to truly welcome me."
"......."
"It's a little... I'd like to thank you."
I turned my head in a different direction and muttered. Adrian let out a faint laugh as if he had listened to my small voice. And then his soft silence followed.
Strangely enough, it had the power to gradually ease my mind. How long did that time last? A low voice came from behind.
"I hope Your Highness comes here... Because I've always waited."
***
An hour later. Adrian returned from seeing Rebecca off and entered the house. He immediately sat back on the soft chair in front of the fireplace and let out a shallow breath. Then, leaning back in his chair, he loosened the cravat that was constricting his neck.
"Ha..."
Adrian, who covered his face with both hands, leaned in his chair for a long time.
... Her Highness the Grand Duchess came. It still didn't feel real.
It was Rebecca who seemed like she would never appear in the dark mansion. To be able to share his story with her here and even laugh with her. As Rebecca's smiling face came to mind one after another, Adrian's beautiful face slowly turned red.
'Atlas... Have you forgiven me?'
The first time Adrian saw Rebecca was on the first night of her and the Grand Duke's wedding.
Rebecca was crying alone by the pond in the backyard connected to the Mansion of Light. The moonlight fell gently on the beautiful face of the crying woman. A pure white forehead, the bridge of her nose with soft light and shade, and teardrops flowing next to her red lips.
Adrian approached her as if bewitched by the pitiful sight that made him feel even her divinity. At that time, Adrian had just come to the human world for training, so he did not know that she was the Grand Duchess.
'I was abandoned even here. No one truly loves me.'
Rebecca looked like she was about to break down, tears streaming down her precarious face. Her pitiful tears sharply pierced Adrian's heart.
Adrian then learned that she was a Grand Duchess. And the fact that Cedric postponed the first night and left the bedroom to check 'Lillian's heart'.
'I'll show you the way to Mount Manakin. His Highness the Grand Duke will be there now.'
I shouldn't have done that. Even though his heart sank at the sight of Rebecca looking like she was about to fall apart, he shouldn't have said those words.
After that day, the relationship between Cedric and Rebecca began to deteriorate rapidly. Cedric was wary of Rebecca and kept his distance from her, and Rebecca became obsessed with Cedric and gradually became hysterical. The employees' gaze towards Rebecca gradually became colder, but Adrian could not do that.
The relationship between the Grand Duke and his wife deteriorated. Rebecca's evil towards everyone in Twins Castle. This resulted in Princess Bianca's flight. And above all...
Rebecca gradually turned into someone suffering from mania. Adrian felt like it was all his fault. He would do anything for Rebecca to repay his debt of heart. So he waited a long time to see Rebecca again, but he never appeared in front of Adrian again.
Adrian thought that the reason she didn't visit the dark mansion was because she resented him. Thus, after five years, he made up his mind to leave the Twins family castle and return to the demon world where he lived. Tried to forget his guilt about Rebecca, along with his memories of his time in the dark mansion.
'But you came here again today...'
Adrian took out the envelope he had kept in his jacket pocket. It was a letter of resignation that he was going to hand over to the Grand Duke's aide this afternoon.
Adrian threw it into the fire without any hesitation. The pale orange light from the fireplace shimmered on his face.
'I think we'll see each other often from now on.'
Rebecca's soft voice rang clearly in his ears. He didn't know if her words were sincere, but at least he could have hope again.
***
Mina could not hide her happy expression as she crossed the road between the two mansions and returned to the Mansion of Light.
"Do you like it that much?"
"Aure! It's been a while since I saw Adrian. Adrian, how popular you are in the demon world!"
Mina was so cute that I burst out laughing. "Yeah, he was handsome."
"Just handsome? Adrian, it's so scary in the demon world! He is the second son of a historic noble family!"
"Okay? Why is someone like that serving as a butler?"
In response to my question, Mina excitedly swung the rattan basket, then stopped and tilted her head.
"I know, right? From what I heard, he came to the Grand Duke's house to practice life in the human world and stayed there without returning. I don't know why he did that..."
For a moment, she tried to continue her words.
"... Uh?"
Mina's eyes slowly widened as she inadvertently looked behind me. Her face looked like she was facing someone she never expected to see.
Just now. It was around this time that the carriage entered the gates of the Twins family. Cedric, who had been lost in thought the entire way, opened the envelope of documents he was holding. Divorce documents were stamped with the Emperor's seal and the Vatican's seal of approval.
As Emperor Letitz had said, their marriage would be completed perfectly as long as the couple signed it. It was something he had always wanted, and he was finally starting to see the end.
But... Cedric didn't know why he felt so upset.
"The more a person loves, the more the love cools down and there is no turning back. The Grand Duchess loved you so much that she has no regrets anymore!"
All he had to say was to just pass it over. If it had been Cedric before, he would have definitely thought that Emperor Letitz, who did not know the couple's circumstances, had uttered the funny word 'love'. But after he heard the Emperor's words, Strangely enough, he kept thinking about Rebecca from that night.
In particular, those eyes and voice that showed no emotion at all. She said she didn't love him anymore and she didn't want him anymore.
"..."
Until then, Cedric had been convinced that Rebecca had ulterior motives for agreeing to the divorce. He had thought that she was giving him one last chance to somehow change his mind.
But now he feels...
Rebecca's other ulterior motive was that her attitude was too refreshing.
'Like someone who is truly waiting for a divorce!'
That fact made Cedric think over Emperor Letitz's words over and over again...
'Did Rebecca really love me?'
Cedric's brow slowly furrowed as he was lost in thought. What good was it now that Rebecca truly loved him?
The relationship between her and her husband had long since become irreparable.
'Rebecca must have acknowledged that fact and given up her heart, even if it was too late.'
Even after he calmly sorted out the situation, he continued to feel uncomfortable.
A feeling that reason and emotions operate separately. This was a first for Cedric, who had always relied only on rational judgment.
'It bothers me in many ways.'
He was stroking his eyebrows when he looked out the carriage window. In the distance, a woman with red hair was seen walking out of the dark mansion.
For a moment he thought she was an illusion, but she was definitely Rebecca. She has red hair, white skin, and a gorgeous outfit. Everything was the same as before, but something was definitely different.
Rebecca... She was smiling. A smile that brightens the surroundings more brightly than lilac flowers in full bloom on a spring night. He didn't know that Cedric's gaze would be fixed on that smile for a while.
"...Let's get off here."
It was around that time that he stopped the carriage without realizing it.
Comments
Post a Comment