“It’s not him who’s infatuated, it’s me.”
I mocked myself.
“Madame Marcel and Hannah often urge me to speak honestly.”
"What?"
“Madame Marcel and Hannah often urge me to speak honestly.”
"What?"
“That I care about him. They want me to confess.”
Madame Cronach's hand, which had been drawing rouge on my lips, stopped in midair.
“Why are you so surprised?”
“Well, I’m surprised that you seem to be doing well even though you suddenly got married.”
“Anyone would think so. Because it’s Vermont and Temnes.”
“I was very surprised to see the Duke treat the Duchess.”
“That’s why I like him.”
I closed my eyes at the feeling of the puff touching my cheek.
“He’s surprisingly kind and attentive.”
The man's attitude may change after a while.
It was true that he was treating me gently now.
“The Duke would be happy to know that the Duchess loves him.”
“Maybe not. I don't want to talk about it because I'm afraid. It’s okay as it is right now.”
I only talked about this with Madame Marcel and Hannah.
I felt uncomfortable that Madame Cronach naturally brought up this topic as if she was curious or not.
Maybe Madame Marcel had something to say to her? So is she secretly asking this?
Madame Cronach's hand, which had been drawing rouge on my lips, stopped in midair.
“Why are you so surprised?”
“Well, I’m surprised that you seem to be doing well even though you suddenly got married.”
“Anyone would think so. Because it’s Vermont and Temnes.”
“I was very surprised to see the Duke treat the Duchess.”
“That’s why I like him.”
I closed my eyes at the feeling of the puff touching my cheek.
“He’s surprisingly kind and attentive.”
The man's attitude may change after a while.
It was true that he was treating me gently now.
“The Duke would be happy to know that the Duchess loves him.”
“Maybe not. I don't want to talk about it because I'm afraid. It’s okay as it is right now.”
I only talked about this with Madame Marcel and Hannah.
I felt uncomfortable that Madame Cronach naturally brought up this topic as if she was curious or not.
Maybe Madame Marcel had something to say to her? So is she secretly asking this?
She also wanted to. If she were the owner of the salon, she might receive a lot of curious questions from other nobles about her relationship with Kaian.
“You truly like the Duke.”
Madame Cronach smiled.
“Is that so?”
“The fact that you are afraid of losing something means that it is very precious.”
“...”
I couldn't say anything.
I thought that I wanted to avoid him because I was afraid that the situation would get worse, but after listening to Madame Cronach's words, I realized that I cared for Kaian too deeply.
It's so precious that I'm afraid of losing it.
"Right. I might like him more than I think.”
“You’re done.”
Madame Cronach quickly put away her makeup tools, held my hand to help me get up from the soft chair, and straightened my clothes.
I walked through the curtains.
The man standing at the entrance to the box seat was being greeted by several people.
Upon seeing me, Kaian approached me and held out his arms.
“You’re fine.”
Others won't know.
This man says these things to me with an arrogant, cold-looking face and only mischief in his eyes.
I placed my hand on Kaian's outstretched arm and glanced at him.
“As expected, I wasn’t fine earlier. Madame Cronach took a moment to fix my makeup. She knew but didn’t tell me.”
He told me that Temnes' honor depends on a handkerchief and asked me to wipe the rouge.
“Do you think the Duchess’ disgrace is not a blemish on Temnes?”
When asked, Kaian slightly raised the corner of his mouth.
At that moment, small screams from women rang out from all over the place.
He spoke softly to me about it or not.
“If that were the case, I would have wrapped you up with that curtain and carried you to the carriage.”
I was shocked by Kaian's shameless words, and my heart became frustrated.
'Ha. Is this happening again?'
It was a different feeling from excitement.
‘Kaian. I love you so much.'
The moment I thought back to myself, I felt like I was about to cry.
When I heard Hannah's words, I couldn't even imagine myself confessing to Kaian.
But now, it felt like the moment when I had no choice but to tell him was slowly approaching because I couldn't hold back the emotions rising to the top of my throat.
Salon Arvo was a thriving place both day and night.
Hannah stood on the terrace, illuminating her darkened path with an oil lamp as she gazed down at the carriages hurrying by.
It was a famous place with a view of the royal castle, but such a view was not even in her eyes, so she waited for a long time for Madame Cronach to return, with her eyes anxiously focused on the entrance to the Salon Arvo.
“You truly like the Duke.”
Madame Cronach smiled.
“Is that so?”
“The fact that you are afraid of losing something means that it is very precious.”
“...”
I couldn't say anything.
I thought that I wanted to avoid him because I was afraid that the situation would get worse, but after listening to Madame Cronach's words, I realized that I cared for Kaian too deeply.
It's so precious that I'm afraid of losing it.
"Right. I might like him more than I think.”
“You’re done.”
Madame Cronach quickly put away her makeup tools, held my hand to help me get up from the soft chair, and straightened my clothes.
I walked through the curtains.
The man standing at the entrance to the box seat was being greeted by several people.
Upon seeing me, Kaian approached me and held out his arms.
“You’re fine.”
Others won't know.
This man says these things to me with an arrogant, cold-looking face and only mischief in his eyes.
I placed my hand on Kaian's outstretched arm and glanced at him.
“As expected, I wasn’t fine earlier. Madame Cronach took a moment to fix my makeup. She knew but didn’t tell me.”
He told me that Temnes' honor depends on a handkerchief and asked me to wipe the rouge.
“Do you think the Duchess’ disgrace is not a blemish on Temnes?”
When asked, Kaian slightly raised the corner of his mouth.
At that moment, small screams from women rang out from all over the place.
He spoke softly to me about it or not.
“If that were the case, I would have wrapped you up with that curtain and carried you to the carriage.”
I was shocked by Kaian's shameless words, and my heart became frustrated.
'Ha. Is this happening again?'
It was a different feeling from excitement.
‘Kaian. I love you so much.'
The moment I thought back to myself, I felt like I was about to cry.
When I heard Hannah's words, I couldn't even imagine myself confessing to Kaian.
But now, it felt like the moment when I had no choice but to tell him was slowly approaching because I couldn't hold back the emotions rising to the top of my throat.
***
Salon Arvo was a thriving place both day and night.
Hannah stood on the terrace, illuminating her darkened path with an oil lamp as she gazed down at the carriages hurrying by.
It was a famous place with a view of the royal castle, but such a view was not even in her eyes, so she waited for a long time for Madame Cronach to return, with her eyes anxiously focused on the entrance to the Salon Arvo.
Aunt Leonie.
“You were alive.”
Something hot swirled in Hannah's heart.
As soon as she saw her, she asked what she had been doing for not visiting Claud all this time, but no further explanation was needed as Madame Cronach showed her her mangled body.
On the one hand, the faint hope that her parents and younger brother might be alive somewhere was oxidized and blown away.
Living people leave traces.
Although it was at the edge of Valmonde's estate, it did not mean that no rumors or information were circulating.
Evan spread the rumor to the castle at the bottom of the mountain closest to the village of Plogne that he was taking Claudel and Hannah to the castle of Valmonde.
They asked all their regular stores to let them know if anyone from Plonne Village came across them and came looking for them.
When the haggard man, who had lost his wife and had only one daughter alive, came to the neighbor's orphanage and asked for his wife with a sad face, people felt sorry for him and no one could refuse him. No news for 10 years meant there was absolutely no hope.
Still, Hannah was wondering if it was possible.
In the end, the wish to see her family again remained an unfulfillable wish. Hannah wiped away the tears gathering around her eyes with her fingertips.
“She’s lucky she’s alive.”
Claudel meets her mother. Hannah always wanted her to be happy, but at this moment, her heart broke that Claudel's luck had come to crush her fleeting hopes.
The fact that Madame Cronach didn't even mention her family at all was like confirming their fate.
The village of Plogne was a place with secrets.
After following a thin and narrow forest path that is difficult to find unless you know it, you come to a cozy basin deep between the dense trees.
In the middle of the village, there was a huge tree, Arbor.
Even when she thinks about it now, Arbor was a strange tree. Usually, any tree, grass, or flower growing in a forest had a name and could be spread by cutting it or planting it, but Arbor was the only tree.
There are cases where male and female partners are needed to bear fruit, but Arbor was the only sacred tree, so there were no trees of the same type.
Sometimes Hannah would follow her parents as they watered the arbor, tilting her head back to look at the branches reaching towards the sky.
Even looking at it until her back was bent, little Hannah could only see endless branches reaching towards the sky.
The tree did not seem to be growing upward but rather seemed to be supporting the ground with its roots in the sky.
Those who watered the sacred tree and took care of its well-being throughout their lives lived as children of the tree.
And one of them becomes Arbor's fortune teller.
It was recorded that Arbor showed strange signs whenever trouble occurred on the continent.
The villagers, who usually wore simple cotton clothes like ordinary people, would wear hoods and cover their faces with masks when a messenger from the royal family of a country was sent to serve as guests.
Meanwhile, the children took the snacks brought by the guests and went to play in the forest.
So, it was normal for the kids at the time to not know which of the adults was Arbor's fortune teller.
Hannah, who, like Claudel and her sisters, was going back and forth between each other's homes, happened to see a pattern on the inside of Leonie's arm when she was about six years old.
‘Aunt Leonie. What's this?'
She looked like there was a single round fruit hanging from a tree branch.
She said her arm hurt and she always had a bandage on her right arm. When she saw the symbol on the spot, Hannah thought to herself, 'That's what Aunt Leonie said made her arm hurt.'
But she thought it would be rude of her to ask anything more from Leonie, who smiled silently and bandaged her hand and did not explain, so Hannah just kept her mouth shut.
Sometimes, as she grew older, she naturally understood and learned things without anyone having to explain them to her.
A single fruit on a branch of an arbor that does not bear fruit.
That was the fortune teller of Arbor.
The leader of a village who worships a sacred tree and hides the secret of fortune telling.
After the village burned down and a long time had passed, Hannah wondered if Claudel knew about this.
The shock was causing her insomnia and she couldn't even remember her mother's face, so it wasn't something she would ask Claudel out of her curiosity. So Hannah kept it to herself the whole time.
“Aunt Leonie won’t believe me.”
It didn't occur to her that she lied to her.
However, she could not completely answer what Hannah was curious about.
“If this salon was built with the lord’s financial guarantee. In reality, the owner is no different from the lord.”
If Madame Cronach had been injured that badly, it would have been next to impossible for her to be rescued outside the village, which required a long walk up a concealed mountain path, even from the nearest castle.
“So did he come from Temnes to visit the village of Plogne?”
Why? For what reason?
At a time when it was burning out of control in the village?
As Hannah's thoughts trailed off, she felt a noise coming from the hallway outside the room.
Sweet.
When her door opened and she saw Madame Cronach waiting for her, Hannah greeted her enthusiastically.
“You’re back!”
"...Yes."
“Why are you so late? What about Claudel? You met Claudel, right?”
Madame Cronach nodded. However, contrary to Hannah's expectations, she seemed discouraged.
“Why are you looking like that? What did Claudel say?”
Could it be that she said she couldn't remember her mother's face?
“You were alive.”
Something hot swirled in Hannah's heart.
As soon as she saw her, she asked what she had been doing for not visiting Claud all this time, but no further explanation was needed as Madame Cronach showed her her mangled body.
On the one hand, the faint hope that her parents and younger brother might be alive somewhere was oxidized and blown away.
Living people leave traces.
Although it was at the edge of Valmonde's estate, it did not mean that no rumors or information were circulating.
Evan spread the rumor to the castle at the bottom of the mountain closest to the village of Plogne that he was taking Claudel and Hannah to the castle of Valmonde.
They asked all their regular stores to let them know if anyone from Plonne Village came across them and came looking for them.
When the haggard man, who had lost his wife and had only one daughter alive, came to the neighbor's orphanage and asked for his wife with a sad face, people felt sorry for him and no one could refuse him. No news for 10 years meant there was absolutely no hope.
Still, Hannah was wondering if it was possible.
In the end, the wish to see her family again remained an unfulfillable wish. Hannah wiped away the tears gathering around her eyes with her fingertips.
“She’s lucky she’s alive.”
Claudel meets her mother. Hannah always wanted her to be happy, but at this moment, her heart broke that Claudel's luck had come to crush her fleeting hopes.
The fact that Madame Cronach didn't even mention her family at all was like confirming their fate.
The village of Plogne was a place with secrets.
After following a thin and narrow forest path that is difficult to find unless you know it, you come to a cozy basin deep between the dense trees.
In the middle of the village, there was a huge tree, Arbor.
Even when she thinks about it now, Arbor was a strange tree. Usually, any tree, grass, or flower growing in a forest had a name and could be spread by cutting it or planting it, but Arbor was the only tree.
There are cases where male and female partners are needed to bear fruit, but Arbor was the only sacred tree, so there were no trees of the same type.
Sometimes Hannah would follow her parents as they watered the arbor, tilting her head back to look at the branches reaching towards the sky.
Even looking at it until her back was bent, little Hannah could only see endless branches reaching towards the sky.
The tree did not seem to be growing upward but rather seemed to be supporting the ground with its roots in the sky.
Those who watered the sacred tree and took care of its well-being throughout their lives lived as children of the tree.
And one of them becomes Arbor's fortune teller.
It was recorded that Arbor showed strange signs whenever trouble occurred on the continent.
The villagers, who usually wore simple cotton clothes like ordinary people, would wear hoods and cover their faces with masks when a messenger from the royal family of a country was sent to serve as guests.
Meanwhile, the children took the snacks brought by the guests and went to play in the forest.
So, it was normal for the kids at the time to not know which of the adults was Arbor's fortune teller.
Hannah, who, like Claudel and her sisters, was going back and forth between each other's homes, happened to see a pattern on the inside of Leonie's arm when she was about six years old.
‘Aunt Leonie. What's this?'
She looked like there was a single round fruit hanging from a tree branch.
She said her arm hurt and she always had a bandage on her right arm. When she saw the symbol on the spot, Hannah thought to herself, 'That's what Aunt Leonie said made her arm hurt.'
But she thought it would be rude of her to ask anything more from Leonie, who smiled silently and bandaged her hand and did not explain, so Hannah just kept her mouth shut.
Sometimes, as she grew older, she naturally understood and learned things without anyone having to explain them to her.
A single fruit on a branch of an arbor that does not bear fruit.
That was the fortune teller of Arbor.
The leader of a village who worships a sacred tree and hides the secret of fortune telling.
After the village burned down and a long time had passed, Hannah wondered if Claudel knew about this.
The shock was causing her insomnia and she couldn't even remember her mother's face, so it wasn't something she would ask Claudel out of her curiosity. So Hannah kept it to herself the whole time.
“Aunt Leonie won’t believe me.”
It didn't occur to her that she lied to her.
However, she could not completely answer what Hannah was curious about.
“If this salon was built with the lord’s financial guarantee. In reality, the owner is no different from the lord.”
If Madame Cronach had been injured that badly, it would have been next to impossible for her to be rescued outside the village, which required a long walk up a concealed mountain path, even from the nearest castle.
“So did he come from Temnes to visit the village of Plogne?”
Why? For what reason?
At a time when it was burning out of control in the village?
As Hannah's thoughts trailed off, she felt a noise coming from the hallway outside the room.
Sweet.
When her door opened and she saw Madame Cronach waiting for her, Hannah greeted her enthusiastically.
“You’re back!”
"...Yes."
“Why are you so late? What about Claudel? You met Claudel, right?”
Madame Cronach nodded. However, contrary to Hannah's expectations, she seemed discouraged.
“Why are you looking like that? What did Claudel say?”
Could it be that she said she couldn't remember her mother's face?
Hannah was embarrassed, but she thought that the kind Claudel could not have hurt Madame Cronach and that it did not matter to her as she could be the witness.
“I couldn’t tell her.”
“Why?”
As Hannah looked puzzled, Madame Cronach smiled faintly with her strange face.
"Hannah... Have you ever killed someone?”
“I couldn’t tell her.”
“Why?”
As Hannah looked puzzled, Madame Cronach smiled faintly with her strange face.
"Hannah... Have you ever killed someone?”
Try this series too:
- To Help You Understand [Ongoing]
- The Cup Of Revenge Is In Your Hand [Ongoing]
- I Ended Up Living Up Next Door With My Ex-Husband [Ongoing]
- Rosalyn Vogart [Ongoing]
- The Crown I Will Take From You [ New!]
- The Terminally Ill Princess Hold The Least Of A Mad Dog [Ongoing]
- The Fake Daughter of the Brium Family [New!]
- The Princess Imprints The Traitor [Ongoing]
- If Regrets Keeps Us Alive [New!]
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