Although it was quieter than last time, there was a small commotion every day because this was an alley where only the lowest class of residents in District 8 lived.
"No. You have two fatherless brats? Just what on earth did you behave like, to be so young?"
From some point on, he would kiss Shioana whenever she passed by. It seemed he had noticed that Shioana's belly had started to show a little.
Even though she hadn't done anything wrong, Shioana ended up covering her stomach for no reason.
"You don't need to pay attention to what others say. I know that you have nothing to hide, and Goddess Diana knows it too."
Martha, who had come out to meet her, patted Shioana's shoulder and cheered her up.
"That's right, I didn't do anything wrong."
However, the problem started to erupt from an unexpected place. The parents of the children who had been listening attentively in class began to take issue with Shioana's behavior.
"I do not know what your circumstances are, but since you are unmarried and have a child, how can that be a good example for our children? It is already common in this neighborhood, so I am being cautious. I trust you will understand."
They weren't exactly criticizing it, but the conclusion was that she would stop the class.
It wasn't just one or two households; overnight, every single household refused to attend classes, as if they had conspired in advance.
A look of despair crossed Shioana's face as she suddenly became unemployed.
"Did I do something wrong?"
No matter how much she thought about it, she hadn't done anything wrong except for harboring feelings for someone she shouldn't have loved.
It was not her fault that she came over from Regbell to this place. She was forced to leave her beloved hometown as if being chased by Eli’s reckless actions.
'My second marriage, too...'
Shioana was really reluctant. Of course, it was hard to deny that she had harbored vain hopes, but while the scorching stars of Urcheka were only hot, Shioana's shoulders kept hunching.
No matter how much she resolved to muster up strength and live diligently, the situation kept wearing her out.
"It feels like I've been cursed by someone."
Just then, she made eye contact with someone across the street. To be precise, she spotted a man with his entire body covered.
“That person..."
Upon spotting Shioana, he hurried to cross the road. The ox pulling the cart was running at a very fast speed.
"Why are you looking only at me while I'm crossing the road?"
The man walked straight ahead without looking to either side of the road, as if staring only at Shioana. At this rate, she felt like he was going to be kicked by the cow right away.
"You're definitely going to get hurt."
Shioana threw down her bag and ran toward the man.
“It’s dangerous, so get back!”
At her shout, the man seemed to notice the approaching cart only then. However, instead of stepping back, he sped toward Shioana.
"...Ah!"
Before she could even realize what had happened, she rolled on the floor in the man's arms.
"Are you crazy? If you see a cart, you should back off. Why are you coming here?"
Tightly held in the man's arms, Shioana poured out her resentment. The man's clothes were a mess, and his hands were all scraped and bleeding.
"Get up and follow me."
As Shioana pulled away from him and straightened her clothes, the man limped out following her.
Shioana stopped walking when she found a quiet open space suitable for conversation.
"I can't really say thank you for saving me a few times."
Shioana spoke coldly to the man standing there holding her bag. Just because she had a foolish side didn't mean she was a fool.
"..."
The man remained silent at Shioana's words.
"Stop that clumsy acting, Your Excellency, the Duke."
"...Hmm."
She didn't recognize him when he first brushed past her, but as soon as he was in her arms, Shioana immediately knew who the mysterious man was.
He covered his face and tried hard to pretend to be someone else.
'It is still difficult to face Etienne.'
She felt extremely uncomfortable when she first realized that the man with the strange appearance was him.
Then, as he ended up saving her again and again, she started to get annoyed.
Although she was not in her right mind due to addiction when she left the Bernhard mansion, it was not a hasty decision.
"We are in a relationship where we become more unhappy when we are together."
As she resented and hated the man who had been so kind to her in the past, she also became angry at herself for being unable to easily erase him from her mind. In the end, she was seized by deep despair and ended up leaving him.
"We aren't exactly on good terms anymore."
It felt like he was mocking her, coming here and acting like this after pushing her out like that.
'I will never understand you.'
No matter how much pain Etienne suffered from the loss of his family in the past.
“So stop it.”
Shioana strode over, snatched the bag from his arms, and left the vacant lot.
***
"I introduced it as a quiet alley. Did I get it wrong?"
When he took a bite of the apple, Raul looked at her with a very puzzled expression.
"It wasn't like that before, but it's been a bit chaotic lately."
Whenever Martha, Harriet, and Shioana passed through the alley, there was a lot of gossip behind their backs. Naturally, not a single good thing was said. It was mostly about Shioana's promiscuous behavior.
'It seems you go around seducing men like that.'
'I heard you've been kicked out after getting caught by the mistress several times, haven't you?'
'She looks so elegant on the outside, but she's completely rotten to the core.'
The situation was serious enough that even Raul heard it while passing through the alley.
"I told you to just stay at my place. We have plenty of rooms."
Shioana, who was sitting across from Raul, stopped sewing and grinned.
"If I owe you any more, my ugly face will get even uglier."
"Who said I'd let you stay for free? I'm planning to charge a fortune in rent."
Raul, who had been stealing a glance at Shioana's face, shouted loudly for no reason.
"But I can't do that. I'm already in so much of a debt that I don't think I could repay it all even if I spent the rest of my life doing it, Raul."
"Then pay me back little by little by staying by my side until I die..."
Raul muttered in a very low voice, so Shioana could not hear him properly.
"You know Raul has been acting a bit strange lately, right? Just look at how often his face turns red..."
"Who said my face turned red!"
Raul put down the apple and vigorously rubbed his face with his large hand. He had never done this in front of anyone else.
Only when he met Shioana did his mouth go dry and my cheeks flush like this.
He wanted to do so much for her that it was unbearable.
'I want to get this beggar-like house out of here right now.'
He hated that she and Harriet were receiving such criticism for no reason.
"See? Seeing how you suddenly lose your temper, it seems like he has similar symptoms to Martha."
At Shioana's words, Martha, who was making apple jam, shook her apron and laughed boisterously.
"Are you going through menopause, boss?"
"Me, me what?"
As Raul stammered, unable to understand what was being said, Harriet, who was stacking storybooks nearby, clapped and laughed.
"Anyway, I'm not joking. Just think about it. It was exactly like this last time, too."
At Raul's serious voice, Shioana stopped her busy hands abruptly. Actually, it wasn't that she wasn't bothered by it.
'If my belly gets bigger, the criticism will only get worse, and I don't want Martha and Harriet to suffer because of me.'
"I'm telling you, I'm doing this because I really want to make money. If I rent out two rooms to hang out in, wouldn't that be a win for me?"
Deep wrinkles formed on Martha's forehead as she watched Raul earnestly trying to persuade Shioana.
'If only such a simple and virtuous man had become our young lady's partner...'
Now that she is pregnant with the Duke's child, Martha has resolved not to covet the Boss anymore, but she feels a bitter taste in her mouth.
"Boss, our young lady foolishly likes only one man."
Martha didn't say it, but she didn't know how many times Shioana called out that name in her sleep, even when she was bedridden due to addiction.
'Etienne, Etienne, don't go.'
It was Shioana who had left, but it seemed that in the dream, it was always the master who left the young lady.
It was then.
Someone knocked on the door as if breaking it down, and Raul went out to look at the visitor.
"Who?"
"I told you I knew this would happen."
It was Diana Vale who visited Shioana's modest house. She appeared in a shabby alley, leading dozens of guards and servants, dressed splendidly as if she were going to a ball.
"You weren't invited, so please leave."
Without even getting up from the table, Shioana ordered the other person to leave.
At those words, Diana stepped onto the handkerchief she had dropped and held her nose.
"You're so shameless. Do you still think you're someone special?"
"Miss Diana, let's not do this here; let's go outside and talk."
As Raul, who had been observing the situation from the sidelines, tried to take Diana out, Diana struck his hand with her fan.
"How dare a mere merchant tell you what to do?"
Diana Vale had been groaning in pain for the past few months. She had been thoroughly rejected by Duke Bernhard, her first and only love.
'No. I can't believe it.'
However, the Duke's behavior, acting as if he were about to whip her, was not a dream. In the meantime, she received news that the Grand Madam of the Bernhard family had been driven out.
'What is all this?'
Everything was despair, but even in the mud, one can find a precious gem.
'Did that girl leave?'
Upon hearing that Duchess Bernhard's position was vacant, she tried to meet the Duke several times but failed. So, Diana changed her plan.
'First, I'll thoroughly crush that bitch, and then I'll get my man back.'
It took quite a while to find the rat that had hidden in the maze-like Zone 8, and it was only now that it could appear.
Diana acted as if this house were a garbage dump, as if it were absolutely terrible.
"There's something on my shoe here. Come over here and wipe it off."
Shioana was at the end of the fan.
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