The coffin, in which her father with a peaceful face lay.
Rosalind was told that he had been brutally stabbed to death, though her fatherâs eyes were silently closed as if he knew nothing of such pain.
Seeing her father lying down, it felt like reality was touching her skin little by little. He was a father who only felt so frightening, and he lay so helpless. He was going to go like this, she resented why he had lived such a futile life.
She then grabbed Leoâs warm hand by her side as though trying to shake off those complicated feelings.
The Priest continued his remarks, reflecting on her fatherâs achievements and life. His achievements, the moments that left a big mark in his lifeâŚ
As she was looking at it, something fell on her cheek. Those tears felt more like debris from a cluster of unknown and complex emotions, rather than pure sadness.
âFatherâŚâ
In her memory, her father was always strict and fearful. He was the bad person who hurt her mother. Thatâs why she didnât want to meet someone like her fatherâŚ
After the bereavement ceremony, which had been complicated throughout, people started to come and offer words of consolation to her. Rosalind, who had been standing awkwardly, was quickly greeting them lightly.
âI came early, but it seems to be late. What should I do?â
She turned her head to the source of the voice, recognized who it was, and smiled softly. It was Baron Albert.
âNo. Thank you for being here.â
âYou must be heartbroken. Your fatherâŚâ
âI know. Itâs a human thingâŚâ
Saying so, she laughed bitterly.
At that moment, her tears fell, and Albert reflexively stretched out his hand. Then, hesitatingly, he took his hand again.
âI almost moved my hands on my own. Iâm sorry.â
âNo.â
Rosalind smiled as she wiped the tears with the back of her hand.
ââŚIf itâs okay with you, could you give me a minute?â
At Albertâs words, Rosalind left Leo to the nanny and walked to a secluded place. Spotting a wooden chair in a corner not far from there, she blinked her eyes and pointed to the chair.
As she was about to sit on it, Albert stopped it lightly.
âI will bring you a handkerchief to sit on. I couldnât even bring a handkerchief because I was in a hurry.â
âNo, itâs okay.â
âNo. You canât get the skirt of a lady dirty.â
Rosalind gazed at Albertâs back as he went to get a handkerchief and smiled softly. She was very grateful for him, so she hoped that they would remain good friends like this for a long time.
Looking around, the flowers that had fallen on the ground came into her eyes. It must have been that someone had spilled flowers. Rosalind bent her back and picked up the flowers that had fallen from various places, then lifted her head and turned to the side where Albert had disappeared.
How come he was a little late?
Thinking that sheâd better go find him, Rosalind could feel someone grab her wrist.
âRosalind.â
At the same time, she was grabbed and turned roughly.
A faint groan came out of the strong grip.
âSir AlberâŚâ
The moment she made eye contact with the man, she couldnât continue her words and just froze.
The flowers in her hands also fell to the ground helplessly.
Low and rude voice. She stuttered her back as she was going to run away, though he wouldnât let her get away from him.
âLooking at your face, I donât seem like the person you were expecting.â
The person standing in front of her was not Albert, but her husband, Kyle.
âKyâŚKyle.â
She barely brought the name to her lips.
Unlike Rosalind, who had a look of embarrassment and not knowing what to do, Kyleâs eyes were unshaken.
âIt seems you still remember my name.â
I thought you forgot me foreverâŚ
It was a voice that was soft, bitter, or seemed to be twisted somewhere. A suffocating silence passed at the end of his words. As if time had stopped, she just stood there and watched him. Then, she heard another voice calling her from behind her.
âRosalindâŚ?â
Glancing behind her, she could see Albert standing there. He looked at Kyle with wary eyes.
âWho are you?â
Kyle was also staring at his face and opened his mouth arrogantly.
âIâm Kyle Spencer, and Iâm the husband of Rosalind Spencer.â
âHusband?â
That was the moment. Leo, who was approaching holding Annaâs hand, found Rosalind and started running.
Leo tugged at the hem of her skirt as if he was used to it.
âMom!â
Kyleâs eyes turned to Leo.
Oh, godâŚ
Rosalind closed her eyes in embarrassment.
Â
Rosalind Alicia.
It must have been several months since she left. He whispered her still vivid name. He glanced at the box and the mask that was placed on the chest of drawers in the distance.
There were many things that Rosalind left behind. However, oddly enough, he didnât think she had left any traces of her, except for that mask⌠She was a woman with too narrow a realm of herself, as if looking back, she would surely leave at some point.
Ironically, even her personality made it feel as if she had prepared in advance to leave him. Even though he knew it may not be true, she could not control his twisted and tilted heart.
âSo⌠So, what will happen?â
He looked at the butler, Walter, with a drunken face.
The old manâs face was blurred with drunkenness. Walter was someone who had been here all his whole life, and he treated himself and Rosalind as warmly as a father. He remembered that Rosalind had gotten a lot of help by asking Walter things she didnât know by the time she came in as the mistress of the castle.
Suddenly, the youthful face that had been listening to Walter came to mind, and he smirked.
Rosalind looked younger than her age, and they often felt like a father and daughter when he watched them from afar.
As she smiled with her white cheeks blushing, she looked just like a young girl. When she gently lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes stood out, and she looked pitiful and naive when he touched her little hand and smiled mischievously.
âShall I look for Madam?â
Shortly after Rosalind was gone, Kyle said at Walterâs question.
âŚNo need to find her.
There was no need to find such a woman.
He thought she would come back, anyway. No, it didnât matter if she didnât come back. She felt like a mistake at every blink of his eyes. He tried to think that was better because she was a woman who scratched his nerves.
But, less than half a day later, Kyle ordered a search.
âSearch for her now. Rosalind, bring that woman to me right now.â
His face was cold, though his hand holding the glass was trembling slightly.
Perhaps, it was because of his drunkenness, emotions leaked out clearly, and at the same time, he was more sensitive than usual.
âMaster, why are you so angry? What did MadamâŚâ
Just thinking of her makes him angry as if it was natural, but when he asked why he was angry, he was so speechless. By the time Walter, startled by Kyleâs sudden hardened face, hurriedly bowed his head, his expression had already turned cold.
âI was presumptuous⌠Forgive me.â
Walterâs words sounded like an accusation, âWhat did the Madam do that made you so mad?â It was also funny to think that Rosalind had made everyone in this house on her side.
The answer to Walterâs question could not come to mind until a few months after Rosalindâs departure.
No, rather than coming to mind, it was right to say that he had felt the answer for months.
ââŚWhat are you mad about?â
A few months after she left, Walter stopped and asked again.
âIsnât it obvious? Sheâs a funny girl. When I say I like her, she disappears.â Uttering so, he smiled self-pitifully, as if frustrated.
âShe was very cunning and badâŚâ
âŚLike her father.
Kyle gulped down the wine. Soon, Walter opened his mouth in a cautious voice.
âMaster, drinking too often isâŚâ
âYou pretended to be kind in front of me.â
Kyle smirked and looked at him.
ââŚIsnât it?â
Walter didnât answer, he just bowed his head.
âYour eyes are like mine. Iâm thinking of using you as my son, how about it?â
When he was a young man struggling with boiling rage, Duke Alexander came to him. That was the first thing the Duke said when adopting him.
âWhat you must learn is not etiquette, learning, or swordsmanship, but hiding those eyes. In order to survive, you have to hide your eyes and emotions and learn to manage them.â
After his wife died childless, the Duke, who had no heirs, chose Kyle as his successor.
Later, when Kyle asked why he had chosen him, the Duke talked with a smile.
âBecause anger is the driving force of development. It may sound funny, but I saw myself as a child in your eyes. My eyes were a bit intense when I was young.â
Kyle didnât laugh at the mischievous remarks. And, as he said, he was raised as the eldest son of the Spencer family.
Just as his stepfather advised him to control his emotions, he grew up to be a man who knew how to control his emotions.
Kyle was more adept at dealing with people, including women, of course. To the shy, clingy, and even weeping young girls who confessed his feelings, he was gentle but firm. He sent them back by soothing them as he learned so his reputation would not be degraded.
In Oliviaâs case, she was no different from those women. Of course, it cannot be said that she was exactly the same, as his stepfather had instructed to âplease cherish and treat her like a younger sister.â
Although he cared for Olivia, not a grain of rational feelings were mixed in it. However, oddly enough, Rosalind was different.