Chapter 74
Rosalind looked back at Leo, watching the family sitting together during mealtime as usual.
“Leo, where do you want to go on this vacation?”
When she asked, the child, who was holding his fork up, widened his eyes. His bulging cheeks were adorable because he put a lot of food in them, so she burst into laughter. After chewing the food in his mouth, Leo opened his mouth with a bright face.
“Um, so, uh…”
The voice was as careful as when choosing a birthday present. The way he rolled his eyes as if he was in deep trouble.
Rosalind spoke to Kyle, reaching out her hand and tickling the child’s hair.
“I feel sorry that Chloe was born, and I don’t think I could spend as much time with Leo as I did before. I need to take care of Leo more this vacation.”
“It’s okay. Leo is still young.”
Kyle also looked at the child’s face and nodded. His little son… After Chloe was born, Rosalind and Kyle had no choice but to pay more attention to her. Leo said he understood, but as his parents, they were concerned.
“Leo, did you think of a place you want to go?”
When Rosalind asked again, he answered while pondering his words.
“Well… I want to go home! Our old home. I miss Joseph, too…”
Our old home.
Surprised by those words, both Kyle and Rosalind’s eyes turned to Leo. ‘Our old home’ meant the place where she lived to avoid Kyle. After she told him of the divorce and left, she settled in a remote rural village across the sea, where she lived quietly, away from the public eye.
Joseph was the only village kid Leo used to hang out with at the time.
“Our Leo… you missed Joseph.”
It was not a happy memory for Rosalind, so she hesitated for a moment. It felt like a page of memories because a lot of time had passed, but she couldn’t help but think about it when she thought back on the painful days.
“Now, I’m tired of letters!”
Leo shook his head as if he was really tired. He was occasionally writing letters to Joseph through Rosalind or Kyle.
“I think it’s fine. What do you think, Rosalind?”
As Kyle said so, Rosalind nodded her head.
Yes, let’s do it.
She was curious about the place that felt like a distant past now, and more than anything, Leo wanted to go, so she thought it would be good to go there this time.
Rosalind glanced out in the rattling carriage. She deliberately didn’t go with many people since she wanted to visit quietly, without the fuss, as she herself did when she lived there a few years ago. It was not easy to cross the boat anyway.
“It’s been a long time.”
She muttered as she looked at the landscapes passing by.
It was a completely different landscape from Kyle’s estate, where Rosalind lived now. The rough roads, the women, wrapped in simple dresses, and the small, cute little house that were close together were completely different from where she lived.
“What were you thinking about?”
Looking at Rosalind, Kyle asked her.
“It just reminds me of the past.”
He stared intently at his wife’s face. She was quiet with the scenery in her eyes.
“Even though it’s been a long time since I’ve seen it, I’m just as familiar with it as it was yesterday. I remember what happened back then.”
She used to live here for years…
The places that were unfamiliar and difficult for her at first became natural, and by the time she finally left this place, she even felt a little regret. Perhaps she had regrets about the place itself though she would also feel regret for the things she had accomplished here and the memories she had left behind.
In her childhood, she was comfortable in the glamorous castle, but there were no special memories. To relive her memories after a long time, Rosalind decided to stop by her former house for a while.
Before she moved to the Decan Continent, she sold the house, and since then, she had only been told that the owner of the house had changed. Since there would be people in the house, she was just going to take a look at the outside appearance.
“We’re here.”
The carriage stopped with the coachman’s voice. When the door opened, Kyle reached out to reach Rosalind.
A simple and quiet town that has not changed over the years… Recalling that time, she was escorted by Kyle and got off her carriage.
“Wow!”
Leo’s cheers erupted the moment Rosalind set her feet on her ground. She looked ahead to see what was going on and saw an unfamiliar villa she had seen for the first time in her life. The road here was clearly familiar, but she wondered if her memory was wrong, so she looked around.
“I think we’re… in the wrong place.”
As Rosalind spoke to the coachman, a polite reply came.
“This is the right place.”
…The right place?
She widened her eyes in wonder.
Obviously, the surroundings were familiar. However, it was the first time she had seen a villa here. It was a bit rustic compared to the villas owned by the Spencer family, but the atmosphere in harmony with nature was warm.
A cottage with a cozy atmosphere, like a rural village with few people, with greenery where she could almost hear the birds chirping at any moment.
Rosalind shook her head, as she lived in a very ordinary, small house.
“Something is wrong…”
“Rosalind, you’re right. This is where we will stay during our vacation.”
Her eyes widened at his words. How did this happen, her eyes were demanding an explanation.
Actually, by the time she decided to come here, Kyle had told her that he had bought one of the villas in this town. Even though it was a remote and small country cottage, the price must have been much higher compared to the things they bought on a daily basis.
Rosalind diligently convinced him that she didn’t need it, but Kyle also refused to listen and insisted. In the end, she eventually raised her hands and gave up, as she knew he would never stop being stubborn when it came to her or her children, and she accepted his will.
…But, the villa he bought was here? Something was strange.
“And, this is where you lived.”
The more he spoke, the more puzzlement appeared on her face.
“It’s completely different. I can’t even remember the house I lived in. Much more plain, smaller and…”
“I bought it, remodeled it and expanded it.”
In an instant, Rosalind’s eyes turned to Kyle.
“…Why?”
“Leo seems to want to get in right away, how about going in first?”
He smiled relaxedly and glanced towards the villa.
Rosalind’s face was still puzzled. Originally, it was only a house, but now the garden was beautifully decorated. It was not big, but it was a lot of work. The abundantly hanging leaves swayed in the wind, and the flowers blooming beneath them were also pretty. The cute marble statues in the corner of the garden also made her smile.
Rosalind moved as if walking in a dream. She couldn’t believe that an ordinary house, which was nothing special, had changed like this.
“Young Master!”
Leo was busy running around several steps ahead of Rosalind. Leo, who was looking around the garden like a little puppy, reached out toward the tightly closed door.
“Open it!”
“Leo, you can’t run too fast.”
Even though she tried to stop Leo from running around, the child didn’t care what she said and pulled on the door. After a few grunts, the door opened more easily than expected. “Leo!” Rosalind said, trying to scold him, but she couldn’t stop the little one from going inside.
Eventually, she followed Leo to the house as well.
However, when she came in, she couldn’t say anything. They were in the same place, but the interiors were so different that it was hard to believe it was the same house.
The pretty chandelier shining over her head, the thick and soft carpet on the floor, and even the furnishings all had a warm and cozy atmosphere. While the size was also much larger than before, above all, the atmosphere inside was completely different.
“It’s so… pretty.”
“Do you like it?”
Soon, Kyle strode inside.
His voice was subtle, yet there was something poignant about it. When she heard that he had bought a villa, she thought he was referring to another place, and this place was just a stop to reminisce about old memories.
“How did you come up with buying this place?”
“I wonder how you lived, Rosalind, while I was away.”
He slowly approached and stood next to her.
“So, I stopped by once.”
Kyle often wondered about when she had run away, but Rosalind didn’t readily tell.
She just smiled.
Then, one day, the Emperor ordered him to come to this area. Although it was close, it was quite a distance from there, but Kyle went to the place where she had lived on purpose. How she lived during his absence, he had wondered about it terribly.
The moment he saw the house, he literally lost his words.
A low ceiling that seemed enough just for him to enter. It was a simple and shabby place with only a few rooms. The place where Rosalind lived before her marriage was in a mansion, and the place she lived with him was a castle. It was completely different.
‘It’s small.’
The voice that used to echo hollowly in the large castle quickly dispersed into the air in the small house.
‘In such a small place…’
Kyle laughed bitterly.
Strangely, he felt as if he had been hit in the back of the head. He felt guilty when he thought that a weak woman would have raised a child alone in a place like this. As he couldn’t hide his complication, all he could do was press down on his eyelids with his thumb and forefinger.
From that day on, Kyle bought the house and ordered it to be newly built and decorated.
“I wanted to do it for you.”
“Why?”
“No reason. Like greed.”
Rosalind smiled a little, thinking it was an obvious, slightly vague answer.
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