“Ugh, ugh.”
Ilya cried sadly. It seemed as if she didn't know what to do because she was resentful of having left the mansion in the middle of the night, with clothes and belongings carelessly stuffed into her bag.
If someone had done that to her husband, she would have slapped them in the face and torn their limbs apart. Even Sally, who had followed orders obediently, had nothing to say. Sally let out a deep sigh.
“Stop crying, Miss.”
“I’m screwed now! What do I do?”
All she could do was open the hated master's cloak and give it to her. She was still wearing only her thin nightgown underneath. All the servants in the mansion were glaring at her. It was impossible to change into proper clothes, let alone dress up.
“I need to call a carriage first. Please wait a moment.”
After Sally repeatedly asked her to wait in that spot, she left. Of course, she looked back several times during the process. Just like the time of day, Ilya was a girl who never listened to what she said.
Ilya stood blankly in front of the main gate of the Grand Duke's residence, sobbing. She had no idea what would happen next. Cecilia was even going to send a thank you? That was no different from her intention to completely rip off her family from head to toe.
“...”
As Ilya was mumbling and thinking about it, she suddenly felt a sense of injustice and anger. No matter how much she thought about it, it felt like she had been treated badly by someone, so it was hard to hide her resentment.
“Cecilia Burnett.”
Suddenly, the thought occurred to her that the Grand Duchess might have been manipulating everything. Ilya, her eyes swollen from crying so hard, chewed her thumbnails.
The invitation, which had been reviewed several times for quantity and content, was not properly delivered, and Curtis was sleeping in Eden's bedroom. Everything was suspicious. Could it be that Cecilia had bribed Eden's servant in advance to make her do something ridiculous?
'If you had ever had sex with my husband, I don't know if it would make a difference, but you've never even touched skin. What kind of confidence is that?'
It was also strange that Cecilia asked if she had ever physically touched Eden. After all, physical infidelity isn't the only kind of infidelity. It seemed as if she had been trying to get Eden to physically touch her by scratching her.
“This abominable...”
With a snapping sound, the nail that had been chewed crunched and broke. Ilya spat out the nail nervously and ground her teeth. Ilya spat out the nail nervously and ground her teeth.
'You want me to spend my whole life trying to please Cecilia Burnett as her maid?'
'That's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying to roughly adjust until the time comes. Isn't that good for you and for us?'
As he pushed Ilya into the position of Cecilia's maid, her father, Count Nova, said so.
'It's not time to reveal ourselves yet, so just hold on a little longer. Anyway, no matter what happens, the Line family won't be able to sort us out.'
It was clear that her father had some tricks up his sleeve. Maybe there was no need to be so depressed and whining like this. Ilya raised her head with a determined expression.
At that moment, the front door opened with a creaking sound. Ilya looked back, startled without realizing it.
“Miss Nova.”
“Your Highness?”
It was Eden. Seeing that he came out to see her off on her last journey, it was highly likely that Eden’s story of trying to chase Ilya away was a lie. Thinking that, Ilya smiled brightly without realizing it.
Yes. Perhaps, the words of gratitude were a lie made up to appease Cecilia? There was also a small expectation.
However, Eden just watched Ilya act coquettish. Ilya, who had become embarrassed without realizing it, smiled awkwardly.
“I felt like I couldn’t speak, so I came out to say it clearly.”
"What..."
The sun slowly rose, and the light tilted toward where Eden was standing. Ilya stared blankly at the brown hair shining with a gentle color. However, in contrast to the soft color, Eden opened his mouth with an expressionless face.
“You said you came to my room because you had something to ask me. I guess I didn’t tell you that.”
Ilya nodded as if she was possessed by Eden's words. It was a ridiculous excuse even to her, but if Eden had feelings for Ilya, there was no way to know how he would react.
“As Cecilia said, I said I’d better kick you out first.”
Ilya paused. Eden continued speaking calmly, looking at Ilya who was looking at him with a blank expression.
“The shamelessness of making mistakes without feeling much remorse, and the strange mentality of trying to seduce a husband without considering her master’s side.”
“...”
“Can we not tolerate such vulgar tricks as trying to do something with one’s body?”
Every word he uttered was like a blade. Ilya felt humiliated by the venomous words uttered by the man she had once secretly glanced at with excitement.
“No matter how many times you tell me to tell you, you're being mean!”
Ilya cried sadly. It seemed as if she didn't know what to do because she was resentful of having left the mansion in the middle of the night, with clothes and belongings carelessly stuffed into her bag.
If someone had done that to her husband, she would have slapped them in the face and torn their limbs apart. Even Sally, who had followed orders obediently, had nothing to say. Sally let out a deep sigh.
“Stop crying, Miss.”
“I’m screwed now! What do I do?”
All she could do was open the hated master's cloak and give it to her. She was still wearing only her thin nightgown underneath. All the servants in the mansion were glaring at her. It was impossible to change into proper clothes, let alone dress up.
“I need to call a carriage first. Please wait a moment.”
After Sally repeatedly asked her to wait in that spot, she left. Of course, she looked back several times during the process. Just like the time of day, Ilya was a girl who never listened to what she said.
Ilya stood blankly in front of the main gate of the Grand Duke's residence, sobbing. She had no idea what would happen next. Cecilia was even going to send a thank you? That was no different from her intention to completely rip off her family from head to toe.
“...”
As Ilya was mumbling and thinking about it, she suddenly felt a sense of injustice and anger. No matter how much she thought about it, it felt like she had been treated badly by someone, so it was hard to hide her resentment.
“Cecilia Burnett.”
Suddenly, the thought occurred to her that the Grand Duchess might have been manipulating everything. Ilya, her eyes swollen from crying so hard, chewed her thumbnails.
The invitation, which had been reviewed several times for quantity and content, was not properly delivered, and Curtis was sleeping in Eden's bedroom. Everything was suspicious. Could it be that Cecilia had bribed Eden's servant in advance to make her do something ridiculous?
'If you had ever had sex with my husband, I don't know if it would make a difference, but you've never even touched skin. What kind of confidence is that?'
It was also strange that Cecilia asked if she had ever physically touched Eden. After all, physical infidelity isn't the only kind of infidelity. It seemed as if she had been trying to get Eden to physically touch her by scratching her.
“This abominable...”
With a snapping sound, the nail that had been chewed crunched and broke. Ilya spat out the nail nervously and ground her teeth. Ilya spat out the nail nervously and ground her teeth.
'You want me to spend my whole life trying to please Cecilia Burnett as her maid?'
'That's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying to roughly adjust until the time comes. Isn't that good for you and for us?'
As he pushed Ilya into the position of Cecilia's maid, her father, Count Nova, said so.
'It's not time to reveal ourselves yet, so just hold on a little longer. Anyway, no matter what happens, the Line family won't be able to sort us out.'
It was clear that her father had some tricks up his sleeve. Maybe there was no need to be so depressed and whining like this. Ilya raised her head with a determined expression.
At that moment, the front door opened with a creaking sound. Ilya looked back, startled without realizing it.
“Miss Nova.”
“Your Highness?”
It was Eden. Seeing that he came out to see her off on her last journey, it was highly likely that Eden’s story of trying to chase Ilya away was a lie. Thinking that, Ilya smiled brightly without realizing it.
Yes. Perhaps, the words of gratitude were a lie made up to appease Cecilia? There was also a small expectation.
However, Eden just watched Ilya act coquettish. Ilya, who had become embarrassed without realizing it, smiled awkwardly.
“I felt like I couldn’t speak, so I came out to say it clearly.”
"What..."
The sun slowly rose, and the light tilted toward where Eden was standing. Ilya stared blankly at the brown hair shining with a gentle color. However, in contrast to the soft color, Eden opened his mouth with an expressionless face.
“You said you came to my room because you had something to ask me. I guess I didn’t tell you that.”
Ilya nodded as if she was possessed by Eden's words. It was a ridiculous excuse even to her, but if Eden had feelings for Ilya, there was no way to know how he would react.
“As Cecilia said, I said I’d better kick you out first.”
Ilya paused. Eden continued speaking calmly, looking at Ilya who was looking at him with a blank expression.
“The shamelessness of making mistakes without feeling much remorse, and the strange mentality of trying to seduce a husband without considering her master’s side.”
“...”
“Can we not tolerate such vulgar tricks as trying to do something with one’s body?”
Every word he uttered was like a blade. Ilya felt humiliated by the venomous words uttered by the man she had once secretly glanced at with excitement.
“No matter how many times you tell me to tell you, you're being mean!”
“Is that harsh?”
Eden asked back, his voice cracking. It seemed as if he was asking what he had done well to be so harsh.
“Yes! If all of this is a scheme by the Grand Duchess to corner me, why are you saying this?”
Ilya spoke up. Eden tilted his head slightly and looked down at Ilya. Cecilia's malice was just biting and hanging on.
“Are you trying to say that it was Cecilia who bribed my servants to find out my tastes?”
According to what Eden had observed, Cecilia had never shown any ill will towards Ilya, even when he had tried to use Ilya as an excuse to provoke her jealousy.
Eden, whose thoughts had reached that point, laughed briefly. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like it was not Cecilia but himself who was clinging to this relationship.
“Do you want to tell me that my wife did such a crude and cunning thing just to drive out Miss Nova?”
It was a mocking laughter that left the nuance of, “Would Cecilia have gone to such a fatal length to harm someone like you?”
“I’m sorry, but Cecilia has never done you any harm.”
And then, the very next moment, Eden let out a small sigh and closed his eyes. He seemed frustrated with having to explain everything to Ilya one by one.
“How did Your Highness know that...”
Ilya's words, which had been going on for a long time, trailed off. Eden, who had noticed a glimmer of suspicion, smiled gently.
“Because I did it all.”
“...”
“I stole the invitation from your room. I told my servant you called to invite you to my bedroom. I investigated your family background.”
Eden listed each and everything he had done, explaining it in a way that was so uncharacteristic of him that Eden would have rolled his eyes if he had seen it.
“Why, why...”
Ilya staggered back a few steps at the unbelievable story. Her body was swaying.
“My wife.”
“...”
“Cecilia is like me.”
Eden didn't catch Ilya like that. He knew that even if he did, she wouldn't be able to run away. His gentle blue eyes turned cold.
“But did you think I would tolerate someone like you daring to seduce me and insult her?”
“...”
“You dare to put my wife and you on the same level?”
It was such a cold threat that it was hard to fathom how she had managed to hide such feelings and pretend not to know until now. Ilya trembled in fear as if the man in front of her would cut off her balls at any moment.
“I only watched you to see what your father and you were thinking, so don’t you ever come near Cecilia again.”
Eden took a leisurely step forward. Ilya was not happy at all even though the man she had wanted so much had come one step closer to her.
“Even if your family gets through this crisis safely and you’re still hanging out in high society, Sienna won’t leave you alone.”
His approach was to warn her, not to get closer to her psychologically or physically.
“I won’t stand by and watch you harm my wife either.”
Eden mocked Ilya's situation, where she had been criticized by Sienna and had been unable to participate in proper social circles. He also warned her that if she continued to hang around Cecilia, he would use all his power as a Grand Duke, banker, and member of the royal family to get rid of her.
“It’s best not to reveal anything about today, especially not to Cecilia.”
“...”
“I always want to be a loving husband to my wife. If anyone gets in the way of that, I am willing to destroy even that family.”
It was a message telling her to try to talk lightly if she didn't care about her life. Ilya nodded with tears in her eyes. Eden looked down at the helpless thing that couldn't even fight back, and then quickly turned around.
"Miss!"
How long had it been since he left? The maid who returned with the carriage called Ilya. Ilya stared blankly at the morning sunlight stretching out along the street. The events that had happened up until then came back to her mind one after another.
Whether or not their relationship is love, Eden is obsessed with Cecilia's well-being. As a result, he executed her for talking back to Cecilia, and sent a letter of gratitude to the Count's family, even going so far as to strip her of her belongings...
“Hurry up, hurry up and go. We have to go to Father quickly!”
The moment came to her senses. Ilya got into the carriage with a pale face and hurriedly got on. The carriage started off hurriedly, rocking back and forth.
Then someone secretly followed her. Ilya arrived at Count Nova's house before the auditor sent by Aster so that no evidence would be destroyed.
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