“So you’re saying that my brother deceived me?”
Even though the situation was like this, Madame Cronach didn’t want Evan to resent the Duke of Vermont.
There was a time when she wanted to strangle the Duke of Vermont with her own hands.
When she thought of him, the memory of the moment when she was insulted came back vividly. The humiliation she experienced once was repeated hundreds and thousands of times in her endless memories.
She lived with the feeling of being unable to refute the words that mocked her, saying that she would take her young daughter to be a helper when she was kicked out of the land of Valmonde and that she felt like a thorn stabbing her heart. She hoped that she would see Claudel even from afar someday.
In a way, what she had earnestly wished for had already come true.
Claudel had grown up well.
Without her parents who had supported her, she no longer had the heart to blame the Duke of Vermont for taking her place.
The process is good if the result is good.
Rather than spending the rest of her life hating someone and taking revenge, she wanted to spend the time she had been unfairly denied loving and caring for her daughter and grandchildren.
Since she had already made up her mind, it was good to explain to him in anger that it wasn’t Temnes’s doing.
However, explaining the Duke of Vermont’s work was also not smooth and there was no way Evan wouldn’t know.
“He said you were dead and had a funeral already.”
Those were sad memories.
“If I want, I can go to the cemetery and see you.”
On the other hand, she thought that Evan would be the same as she was in pain.
“Unless you come back alive, what proof would there be that I am Claudel’s mother?”
Seeing that the atmosphere was getting heavier, Claudel slowly got up from her seat.
“Please talk slowly.”
While Kaian and I left the living room, neither Evan nor Madame Cronach stopped them or said anything.
“Whew.”
I finally sighed when I returned to my bedroom.
I became so lethargic in an instant that I couldn’t even move a finger.
It felt like all the energy I had left in my body was swept away along with the emotions I was swept away by.
“Come here.”
Kaian naturally hugged me and carried me to the bed, laying me down.
“You look very tired.”
“Thank you.”
“No thanks.”
His face still looked cold.
However, when we were alone like this, and sometimes even when there were others, he tried to be very attentive to me.
It seemed that he was trying hard to listen to my request that I not feel hurt and misunderstood whenever he spoke or acted as if he was drawing a line. It seemed that he consciously tried to soften his expression a little when our eyes met.
“Why?”
Even now, as he laid me down and sat on the edge of the bed, slowly straightening my messy hair and stroking it, his hands were filled with sincere affection.
“You were surprised, too?”
“Well, I’m not surprised.”
Although Kaian said it as if it was nothing, I could not calm down easily.
'There is a reason why Mom kept using the name Madame Cronach.'
I would call her 'Mom' without any hesitation.
It wasn't like I was allowed to do that, or that I had to ask permission.
At first, I couldn't understand why Madame Cronach didn't want to come forward and clearly state in front of the castle servants that she was my biological mother.
One day, when I carefully spoke to Madame Cronach, I heard something unexpected.
'Mom.'
'Huh?'
'You are my mom, right?'
Madame Cronach smiled gently and patted my head.
'You're all grown up and acting like a spoiled brat.'
'Mom. But why do you act like she's not my mom to people?'
'Me? I'm not.'
'Is there something bothering you?'
I looked at her as if asking for an answer, and soon Madame Cronach sighed.
'I can't be your mother.'
'What do you mean? Why can't you be my mother?'
Madame Cronach said with a pitiful expression.
'You were able to marry into the Temnes family because you were the daughter of the Duke of Vermont.'
Her answer was something I had not expected.
'Kaian will soon be leaving for the battlefield. I don't want you and your child's position to be shaken within the family.'
Madame Cronach's words were reasonable.
When Kaian went off to war, the castle would be vacant for a while. Then, only me, who had just returned from a long absence, and a blood clot born with only the symbolic color of the enemy family would remain in the entire family.
'Kaian is sincere in treating you, but not all the other members of the Temnes family feel the same way.'
In other words, she was worried that even those who treated me as a mistress would change their attitudes if my status became low.
Only then did I understand why Madame Cronach stayed by my side but did not act like a mother.
She was worried that her child, who she met again later, would have other problems because of her.
Even after learning that, I was unable to do anything.
Madame Cronach's thoughts and judgment were right.
It would have been better to be clear about this issue with Kaian, but the timing was not right.
What was the point of asking someone busy preparing for war to make sure of something that couldn’t be guaranteed?
Even if he went smoothly, gathered his blood relatives, and asked them to announce Julien as his successor, it was uncertain whether they would respect me and the child while he was away. It was even more heartbreaking to think that Madame Cronach had kept quiet until now because she knew I wouldn’t be able to come up with a clean solution. And my father had passed away.
There was less than a week left until Kaian's departure. I decided that it would be better to talk now since there would be less and less time and opportunity to talk from now on.
Even though the situation was like this, Madame Cronach didn’t want Evan to resent the Duke of Vermont.
There was a time when she wanted to strangle the Duke of Vermont with her own hands.
When she thought of him, the memory of the moment when she was insulted came back vividly. The humiliation she experienced once was repeated hundreds and thousands of times in her endless memories.
She lived with the feeling of being unable to refute the words that mocked her, saying that she would take her young daughter to be a helper when she was kicked out of the land of Valmonde and that she felt like a thorn stabbing her heart. She hoped that she would see Claudel even from afar someday.
In a way, what she had earnestly wished for had already come true.
Claudel had grown up well.
Without her parents who had supported her, she no longer had the heart to blame the Duke of Vermont for taking her place.
The process is good if the result is good.
Rather than spending the rest of her life hating someone and taking revenge, she wanted to spend the time she had been unfairly denied loving and caring for her daughter and grandchildren.
Since she had already made up her mind, it was good to explain to him in anger that it wasn’t Temnes’s doing.
However, explaining the Duke of Vermont’s work was also not smooth and there was no way Evan wouldn’t know.
“He said you were dead and had a funeral already.”
Those were sad memories.
“If I want, I can go to the cemetery and see you.”
On the other hand, she thought that Evan would be the same as she was in pain.
“Unless you come back alive, what proof would there be that I am Claudel’s mother?”
Seeing that the atmosphere was getting heavier, Claudel slowly got up from her seat.
“Please talk slowly.”
While Kaian and I left the living room, neither Evan nor Madame Cronach stopped them or said anything.
“Whew.”
I finally sighed when I returned to my bedroom.
I became so lethargic in an instant that I couldn’t even move a finger.
It felt like all the energy I had left in my body was swept away along with the emotions I was swept away by.
“Come here.”
Kaian naturally hugged me and carried me to the bed, laying me down.
“You look very tired.”
“Thank you.”
“No thanks.”
His face still looked cold.
However, when we were alone like this, and sometimes even when there were others, he tried to be very attentive to me.
It seemed that he was trying hard to listen to my request that I not feel hurt and misunderstood whenever he spoke or acted as if he was drawing a line. It seemed that he consciously tried to soften his expression a little when our eyes met.
“Why?”
Even now, as he laid me down and sat on the edge of the bed, slowly straightening my messy hair and stroking it, his hands were filled with sincere affection.
“You were surprised, too?”
“Well, I’m not surprised.”
Although Kaian said it as if it was nothing, I could not calm down easily.
'There is a reason why Mom kept using the name Madame Cronach.'
I would call her 'Mom' without any hesitation.
It wasn't like I was allowed to do that, or that I had to ask permission.
At first, I couldn't understand why Madame Cronach didn't want to come forward and clearly state in front of the castle servants that she was my biological mother.
One day, when I carefully spoke to Madame Cronach, I heard something unexpected.
'Mom.'
'Huh?'
'You are my mom, right?'
Madame Cronach smiled gently and patted my head.
'You're all grown up and acting like a spoiled brat.'
'Mom. But why do you act like she's not my mom to people?'
'Me? I'm not.'
'Is there something bothering you?'
I looked at her as if asking for an answer, and soon Madame Cronach sighed.
'I can't be your mother.'
'What do you mean? Why can't you be my mother?'
Madame Cronach said with a pitiful expression.
'You were able to marry into the Temnes family because you were the daughter of the Duke of Vermont.'
Her answer was something I had not expected.
'Kaian will soon be leaving for the battlefield. I don't want you and your child's position to be shaken within the family.'
Madame Cronach's words were reasonable.
When Kaian went off to war, the castle would be vacant for a while. Then, only me, who had just returned from a long absence, and a blood clot born with only the symbolic color of the enemy family would remain in the entire family.
'Kaian is sincere in treating you, but not all the other members of the Temnes family feel the same way.'
In other words, she was worried that even those who treated me as a mistress would change their attitudes if my status became low.
Only then did I understand why Madame Cronach stayed by my side but did not act like a mother.
She was worried that her child, who she met again later, would have other problems because of her.
Even after learning that, I was unable to do anything.
Madame Cronach's thoughts and judgment were right.
It would have been better to be clear about this issue with Kaian, but the timing was not right.
What was the point of asking someone busy preparing for war to make sure of something that couldn’t be guaranteed?
Even if he went smoothly, gathered his blood relatives, and asked them to announce Julien as his successor, it was uncertain whether they would respect me and the child while he was away. It was even more heartbreaking to think that Madame Cronach had kept quiet until now because she knew I wouldn’t be able to come up with a clean solution. And my father had passed away.
There was less than a week left until Kaian's departure. I decided that it would be better to talk now since there would be less and less time and opportunity to talk from now on.
I brought up the question she had been wanting to ask Kaian.
“Kaian. I found both of my parents.”
He smiled brightly at my words.
“This is something to celebrate.”
“Really?”
“Isn’t it a good thing? You must have had a hard time.”
When Kaian said it so casually, I gained a little more courage.
“That’s why I lost my right to be your wife.”
“...What?”
He seemed not to understand what I was trying to say.
“Our marriage was by royal command."
I explained slowly.
“The royal command was to send Vermont’s daughter to Temnes for reconciliation.”
“That... is that so?”
“My parents’ relationship could not be formally established within the kingdom of Oberon.”
But my heart ached.
“I, their daughter, cannot be your wife.”
I reached out and touched his cheek as he looked down at me
“Is that so? Should I step down from my position?”
I wanted to hear the answer, but I was also a little scared.
What would he say?
Maybe even if he announced it, it would change after he left, but I hoped he would admit that he had no intention of abandoning me or the baby.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
Kaian said as if he was dumbfounded.
“Do you think that the relationship between you and me was still formed because of the orders of Valquiterre?”
“...No?”
When I asked him in bewilderment, he looked bewildered.
“Do you remember what you said to Valquiterre the last day you left the palace?”
“What I said to Valquiterre the last day?”
I tried to recall what I had said, but I couldn’t quite remember.
Kaian seemed even more bewildered as he watched me.
“Hypothermia doesn’t just take away your body temperature, it also melts your memories in cold water, right?”
“Uh. I’m sorry. I wasn’t feeling well that day and it was so hard.”
“If I were to get married again, I want to do it with someone I love.”
When he recited it, I finally remembered.
“I thought you proposed to me. I guess I was mistaken.”
My face flushed.
The marriage that the King had ordered was invalidated by the King’s authority.
So this marriage was no longer a marriage that was forced upon me.
“I thought you boldly proposed because you liked me.”
Kaian carefully lifted me from my lying position and hugged me.
“You don’t have to worry about that. I promised you that I would make you happy.”
“Yes.”
“Our second marriage will definitely be much better.”
He said with certainty, and only then did I feel reassured.
“I’ll believe you.”
The worries of a child who couldn’t be completely happy that her parents were back alive disappeared in an instant. The belated, soul-quivering emotion of meeting her father came rushing in like an aftershock.
I closed my eyes in Kaian’s arms.
Hoping that tomorrow would be much better and happier than today, just as he had said.
I, who had skipped breakfast and woke up late, was very happy to hear that he had invited my parents to the lunch I always had with Kaian.
‘I’ll have to ask everything I was curious about today.’
My heart was naturally excited as I hurried to get ready.
However, nothing in the world was easy.
I hadn’t expected this kind of scene when I had fallen asleep the day before after Kaian had acknowledged the existence of my father and mother.
Kaian must have deliberately brought a round table for four people to my room to avoid having the head of the household sit at the head of the table.
Evan’s face, which had become much clearer after washing and changing clothes, was filled with discontent.
“Temnes and humility? It’s so disgusting that I’ve lost my appetite.”
“Kaian. I found both of my parents.”
He smiled brightly at my words.
“This is something to celebrate.”
“Really?”
“Isn’t it a good thing? You must have had a hard time.”
When Kaian said it so casually, I gained a little more courage.
“That’s why I lost my right to be your wife.”
“...What?”
He seemed not to understand what I was trying to say.
“Our marriage was by royal command."
I explained slowly.
“The royal command was to send Vermont’s daughter to Temnes for reconciliation.”
“That... is that so?”
“My parents’ relationship could not be formally established within the kingdom of Oberon.”
But my heart ached.
“I, their daughter, cannot be your wife.”
I reached out and touched his cheek as he looked down at me
“Is that so? Should I step down from my position?”
I wanted to hear the answer, but I was also a little scared.
What would he say?
Maybe even if he announced it, it would change after he left, but I hoped he would admit that he had no intention of abandoning me or the baby.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
Kaian said as if he was dumbfounded.
“Do you think that the relationship between you and me was still formed because of the orders of Valquiterre?”
“...No?”
When I asked him in bewilderment, he looked bewildered.
“Do you remember what you said to Valquiterre the last day you left the palace?”
“What I said to Valquiterre the last day?”
I tried to recall what I had said, but I couldn’t quite remember.
Kaian seemed even more bewildered as he watched me.
“Hypothermia doesn’t just take away your body temperature, it also melts your memories in cold water, right?”
“Uh. I’m sorry. I wasn’t feeling well that day and it was so hard.”
“If I were to get married again, I want to do it with someone I love.”
When he recited it, I finally remembered.
“I thought you proposed to me. I guess I was mistaken.”
My face flushed.
The marriage that the King had ordered was invalidated by the King’s authority.
So this marriage was no longer a marriage that was forced upon me.
“I thought you boldly proposed because you liked me.”
Kaian carefully lifted me from my lying position and hugged me.
“You don’t have to worry about that. I promised you that I would make you happy.”
“Yes.”
“Our second marriage will definitely be much better.”
He said with certainty, and only then did I feel reassured.
“I’ll believe you.”
The worries of a child who couldn’t be completely happy that her parents were back alive disappeared in an instant. The belated, soul-quivering emotion of meeting her father came rushing in like an aftershock.
I closed my eyes in Kaian’s arms.
Hoping that tomorrow would be much better and happier than today, just as he had said.
***
I, who had skipped breakfast and woke up late, was very happy to hear that he had invited my parents to the lunch I always had with Kaian.
‘I’ll have to ask everything I was curious about today.’
My heart was naturally excited as I hurried to get ready.
However, nothing in the world was easy.
I hadn’t expected this kind of scene when I had fallen asleep the day before after Kaian had acknowledged the existence of my father and mother.
Kaian must have deliberately brought a round table for four people to my room to avoid having the head of the household sit at the head of the table.
Evan’s face, which had become much clearer after washing and changing clothes, was filled with discontent.
“Temnes and humility? It’s so disgusting that I’ve lost my appetite.”
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