CH 56

I glanced at the Duchess, shocked. She still had her head down with her hands clasped together.

“I know the gravity of it. What do you think? You must be wondering why I haven’t disclosed his will yet all this time.”

“……”

Of course I’m curious. Can she even tell me about this?

I’m… I’m an outsider.

“Rachel, I still don’t see you as family. How can we become a family sincerely?”

It seemed like the Duchess can also read minds.

How could she answer what I was thinking inwardly?

The Duchess continued speaking as though she was confessing.

“It’s true that I didn’t like you at first. The fact that you are… that man’s daughter also played a part.”

And I understand where she’s coming from.

If I were the Duchess, I would have hated me as well.

“Do you remember what I told you that day?”

“What is it?”

“About a mirage.”

“…Yes, I remember.”

It was the first time the Duchess allowed me to enter her room. I can’t forget what she told me back then.

A mirage.

A mirage-like family.

Or, a mirage-like person such as myself.

Either way, it seemed like they would not be able to mesh well together.

“But… It was like I kept waiting without knowing that it was a mirage, still under the illusion that he could one day love me. Just like that… I’ve just been waiting.”

Ah, seriously.¹

He’s a man full of sins, that Duke.

In the original work, I thought that the Duchess simply blamed the Duke. It’s a story that focuses only on the main characters, so was there ever a scene that portrayed the supporting characters’ true feelings?

The Duchess truly loved the Duke. And so she waited for him, expecting that this love would be reciprocated, and if I were in her shoes, I would have felt resentment towards the Duke instead—a mix of love and hatred.

Love seemed to have that nature.

But anyone would be able to see that any form of one-sided love wasn’t going to bode well.

It was a relationship that would end only when either side relents or breaks down.

If I were to guess which side would be more likely to break, it would be the side that would maintain that love alone.

My chest felt tight. The Duchess’ love was heavy and dark, yet I’ve only heard about it.

“My love became my priority, so I had neglected Lucian… You already know how he was treated, so… In the end, I’m just agonizing over it.”

It was sad and frustrating, yet it seemed as though she still couldn’t give up.

I can understand how she feels. Lingering feelings… I knew a lot about that.

But in this case, I would still side with Lucian.

I wanted the Duchess to become brighter these days, but in a way, wasn’t this all for the sake of Lucian?

I still couldn’t blame the Duchess.

But I would also hold my breath for Lucian any time, and I can wait if he tells me to.

“Duchess, why did you bring up the will of the previous Duke?”

I couldn’t help but go back to the pressing question. I could guess why the Duchess felt very conflicted.

If this was revealed, there would be a confrontation between the Duke and Lucian.

However, what really is in the previous Duke’s will?

“That’s…”

As soon as she was about to speak, her lips trembling, a resounding knock intervened.

“Duchess, I believe you must go now.”

It was the voice of the Duchess’ exclusive maid. Her tone was filled with urgency and tension.

“Right now, the Duke and the Young Master…”

Before the maid even stopped speaking, I rose to my feet.

The Duchess held the envelope next to the sofa with quivering hands.

“Can you come with me?”

I held the Duchess’ hand tightly.

“Of course.”

And so the two of us hurried to the office with the maid leading us there. The office’s door was wide open.

No, the door was completely ripped off.

Compared to the traces of a rough event, no sound could be heard inside the office. We hurried towards the opening, supporting the Duchess.

I was left speechless as I saw what was inside. As if they were in the eye of a storm, the only place that was unscathed was the space around Lucian and the Duke.

Broken pieces of furniture were strewn here and there and seemed to block other people from approaching them like a fortress.

Lucian was holding the Duke up by the collar.

Only his back could be seen as he lifted the adult man with only one hand, but it was obvious that he was livid.

“Kegh…”

At that time, the Duke found us and struggled. I tried to call out to them, but Lucian was relentless.

The moment I saw him grab the Duke’s neck, almost twisting it, I called his name in a desperate scream.

“Lucian!”

And his shoulders flinched as he heard me. He slowly looked behind him.

“…Ray? Why are you…”

Then he glanced over to the Duchess beside me, slipping away from my support of her.

At that moment, his golden irises froze like ice.

“Mother.”

“…Lu-Lucian. Wh… Why are you doing this to your father? Can’t you put him down now…?”

The Duchess’ mental and physical condition was already weak before she came here to see this, but right now her entire body was shaking as though she was going to break,

I was worried about her quivering body so I grabbed her shoulder to support her and embraced her.

Perhaps she gained strength, so the Duchess continued speaking once more.

“What you want—I’ll give it to you. So please… Don’t do that to your father.”

Honestly, I didn’t like hearing this from the Duchess.

I didn’t hate the Duke or the Duchess. But I didn’t particularly like them either. That’s why under no circumstances were they my priority.

My only priority is my bias.

Lucian is my priority.

In that respect, what the Duchess was saying was ridiculous.

What had she ever done for Lucian all this time? Why was she worrying only about the Duke?

What the hell did the Duke do that it came to the point that his son grabbed him by the collar?

Honestly, I didn’t care about the love she had for him. Wasn’t that their business? Why did their child have to get caught in the middle of it?

I swallowed all my complaints. It was a habit by now.

“Mother will give it to me, you say. Do you even know what it is that I want? But before that, Mother…”

He let go of the Duke and glanced towards our direction. The Duke was now on the floor, glaring at Lucian.

No. Rather than glaring, it seemed like he was terrified.

Lucian blinked slowly, looking a little disconcerted.

Right, this was your habit.

He blinked whenever he felt happy or sad, tasted something delicious or bland, or whenever something stirred him.

Of course, I knew what he felt no matter what kind of blinking it was.

This kind of blink is when you taste something delicious.

Or this if you’re surprised.

…Or this when you’re angry.

But I’ve never seen him angry.

Until now, with the Duchess.

Why?

Wasn’t he angry with the Duke just now?

Lucian stared at the Duchess for a moment and continued speaking.

“Take Ray with you and go back this instant.”

“Lucian!”

“This is something between the Duke and me. This matter is not something that Mother should be concerned with.”

He spoke coldly without any hesitation.

It didn’t contain any emotion, but somehow, it was cold.

“I… I have it.”

Still, it had to be asked.

Why was the will of the previous Duke something that she believed Lucian needed, and why had she hidden it away until now?

“Wife?”

Then, the Duke spoke for the first time. This was perhaps because he saw the seal on the envelope that the Duchess was holding.

Whenever a new Duke succeeded the Duchy, the seal would be the same, but the color of the wax changed.

The Duke was currently using blue wax. And the wax that his predecessor used was gold.

After seeing the seal and wax that only the previous Duke could use, the Duke’s face turned ashen.

Lucian also stared at the envelope with a strange look.

“Hiic, hiic, I’m sorry. Until now, I… I’m sorry I didn’t tell you until now, I’m really sorry…”

The Duchess burst into tears and held out the envelope to Lucian with trembling hands.

But there was a considerable distance between them, and so it fell to the floor even before it reached him.

No, before it could even drop to the floor, Lucian lightly caught it. The envelope moved up as though the wind was to his mercy.

Lucian opened the envelope without any hesitation. The documents inside boasted of a thickness that you wouldn’t think would fit in a small envelope.

It seemed like the envelope was enchanted by magic.

“Wife, why is this…”

Heavily perplexed, the Duke looked alternately between the Duchess and the envelope.

“I’m deeply sorry. I hid it all this time…”

The Duchess sobbed. I don’t know what compelled me, but I embraced the Duchess first.

It felt like I was going to collapse along with the Duchess.

Here, I learned how heavy a person becomes the moment they lose strength.

I looked at the Duchess for a moment, then I raised my head. Right then, I made eye contact with Lucian.

His golden eyes were filled with joy. The paper trembling in his hand seemed to represent his feelings.

“…Duke. I have legal rights over the Duchy.”

“Lucian.”

“It was something that should have been handed over to me in the first place.”

“…Lucian.”

“It was the Duke who made things so odious all this time. He made a promise, but he’s been manipulating everything.”

“Lucian!”

The Duke continued to call his name, but Lucian did not look at him. Strangely as he spoke, Lucian was looking only at me.

As if there was no one else around, it was only me in his eyes.

Those golden eyes, shining like stars with joy, curved thinly.

At that moment, I had a fleeting thought that I needed to run away…

But I must have been mistaken.

——

t/n:

¹ The word used here for ‘seriously’ could also be translated as ‘vapor’, so it’s like a pun for the mirage allusion.