CH 61

“Y-young Master!”

At that moment, the butler rushed over, calling Charelize urgently.

“… What’s going on?”

When Charelize asked in a puzzled way, his expression hardened. In addition to Baroness Pionia, quite a number of servants were passing by there.

“That’s…”

Perhaps the butler couldn’t answer properly because he was conscious of the surroundings.

“You may leave now.”

“I hope you’re always in peace under the protection of Goddess Resina, Your Highness.”

Not being able to do this or that, Charelize let out a difficult breath and sent Baroness Pionia away.

“In the parlor on the first floor… A guest is coming.”

“Guest?”

“Once you enter… you will know.”

As soon as Baroness Pionia left, the butler opened his mouth as if he had been waiting. He said there was a guest in the parlor on the first floor, and he seemed to want Charelize to go there.

Charelize narrowed her brows at his ambiguous answer, but she followed the flow for now. The butler wasn’t a person who would come to her for nothing.

“…highness.”

“Little… Duchess.”

The guest that the butler referred to was Viscount Shumir, the aide of Marquis Radiasa.

“Butler.”

“…”

“I want you to explain to me what this situation is.”

“…I apologize.”

She had already been instructed to burn all letters from Delphir.

“Young Master says she won’t be accepting guests for the time being.”

“Since that day, he hasn’t been able to drink water properly. I mean, he’s dying! I don’t know what happened between the little Duchess and Delphir…”

“Now, please go back.”

The butler was well aware of this, even when Delphir and his older brother, the little Marquis, visited. He only informed Charelize later, but he didn’t let them in. However, how could he bring an idea of Marquis Radiasa without her permission now?

“…I will ask Viscount. Why did you come all the way here?”

Charelize intuitively noticed that the situation was different than usual. Rather than blaming the butler, she prioritized figuring out what had happened.

“This…?

“The Marquis… sent it.”

Viscount Shumir bowed his head and handed over a seal ring of Marquis Radiasa. In the case where the seal ring of the head family was given, that meant there were unavoidable circumstances that prevented them from speaking directly. It was like a token for another person to speak on their behalf. It was common for the head of the family not to take off the seal ring until their death unless unavoidable circumstances happened to the ones whom they regarded as their own life.

“What did Marquis have to tell me, to the point he gave you this?”

“The young master…”

It was about Delphir. Normally, she wouldn’t have kicked him out without listening to his words.

“…”

However, it seemed something unexpected had happened, so she waited patiently.

“He… passed away.”

“…Who?”

Charelize hoped that what she had just heard was something she had misheard. Pretending not to hear, she asked again.

“Young Master Delphir… committed… suicide.”

The answer came back again about Delphir’s death. Her anger that was hidden in the depths of her heart rose up. She clearly told him to live in hell for the rest of his life.

While Charelize didn’t even feel the emotion of happiness, she couldn’t even smile. Then, time passed by, and everything was forgotten. But now she remembered why her child, who never saw the light of day, died.

If Delphir had been killed by someone else, she would have considered it to be unavoidable. But she could never forgive him for choosing his own death.

“Let’s go to the Radiasa March right now.”

Having finished her thoughts, Charelize went straight outside to find the coachman.

“I-I apologize, Your Highness. All the carriage wheels are broken…”

“…How long do you think it’ll take to fix it?”

“At least half a day…”

She didn’t have time to wait for the carriage to be fixed. Charelize then headed to the stable.

“Where’s Maen?”

And she ordered to bring her horse, which Delphir had given to her as an engagement gift.

“Your Highness!”

“Didn’t… Your Highness… get it when you get engaged and haven’t ridden it for a while?”

“Riding a horse yourself can be dangerous!”

Hailey and the butler stopped Charelize at the same time. It was because there was a risk of falling off the horse. Contrary to their concerns, Charelize had been riding Maen for about four years in her previous life. At least she knew it would like it wherever she touched Maen. Of course, it wouldn’t be like Maen back then, but it was the only way she could think of right now. And, this time, she had to completely cut off the string of their relationship.

“What are you standing there so stupidly!”

“I-I will bring it right now.”

When Charelize shouted, the servant in charge of the stable hurriedly brought Maen. As Maen found Charelize, it stamped its front feet a couple of times and shook its whole body. Charelize stroked its left mane, and Maen gradually calmed down.

“How… could…? I have always had a hard time dealing with it…”

“Maen.”

Leaving the startled servant behind, Charelize hopped lightly on Maen’s back, recalling her old memories. Then she calmly called Maen’s name and pulled the reins.

“Let’s go.”

Maen took one look at Charelize, let out a snort, and started running briskly.

“Good job, Maen.”

It was while Charelize was tying Maen to a suitable place.

“Greetings to the little Duchess.”

“Marquis is waiting for you. I will guide you right away.”

The servants of the March, who came to meet her, were all dressed in black. The place they guided her to was the office of Marquis Radiasa.

“The little Duchess has arrived.”

“…little Duchess.”

At the news of Charelize’s arrival, Marquis Radiasa opened the door himself.

“Thank you… for coming.”

“Marquis.”

“…I lay him on the bed, so I will take you to his room.”

Perhaps because he didn’t want to acknowledge his son’s death, Marquis Radiasa didn’t say anything about his death.

When they arrived at Delphir’s room, which was once familiar to her but now became unfamiliar, she went inside. She then saw Marchioness Radiasa with the little Marquis wearing black clothes.

“Mother!”

Marchioness Radiasa, sobbing silently, eventually collapsed. The little Marquis supported her and quickly got her out.

It was the same as that day. The day she went to see Delphir after regressed. In his room, where they said they would be together for the rest of their lives, Charelize brought up about breaking up.

As she walked towards the bed with slow steps, she could see Delphir’s body covered with a white cloth. Only then did she know at the beckoning of Marquis Radiasa, who had barely removed the cloth with his trembling hands. There was something sharp pierced in Delphir’s heart.

“Delphir, what is this?”

“It is embedded with a gem that is the same color as my pupils. Think of it as me and always carry it with you. You never know when or where you might be in danger.”

It was that dagger. Dephir did the same thing as Charelize did back then.

“It is… what Delphir held in his hand.”

Marquis Radiasa opened the drawer next to the bed and pulled out a bloodstained paper.

“The day I was born, it rained. And it will rain on the day I die.”

“Rain? What do you mean?”

“When a child is born between us, if it rains that day, I will tell you more about my biological mother.”

Charelize remembered what she had heard from Delphir before. She thought it was strange that rain suddenly came when it had been sunny for a while. The rain that fell at that time was to let her know that Delphir was dead.

“…For now, please read it.”

* * *

[To Charel.

Ever since I was young, I was always anxious, not knowing when I would be kicked out. My mother said that no one in this world would ever love me until the moment she died.

Unlike me, I felt strange at some point while watching you always move forward. Was it from then? I lied to you and used honorifics because I felt a sense of distance. Even after knowing… how much effort you made to reach that point. Since that thought came to mind first, I was afraid you would find out.

I really thought… you were trying to kill Lillian. Why didn’t I think twice about whether she had put the poison in her tea and drank it herself?

To our child, I always said that I wanted to be a good father. So I wish I could be a sweet and kind father. That’s why I tried to be that kind of person… But I couldn’t be that kind of person for you.

You die with the dagger I gave you, and the baby too. I knew about it when the two of you had already gone from the world. I didn’t want to believe it, but it was raining that day. So I knew that what I heard wasn’t a lie.

Remember when I said it would rain when our child is born? When a person born of Edelise’s blood is born or dies, it rains all day. Having given birth to my biological mother, my grandmother was from the Edelise clan. The pink jewel on the dagger… It contained all of my biological mother’s power.

Just like now, I followed what you did with this one on that day… It seems that because of the Edelise blood I had, I was able to regress.