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Chapter 30
Ugh, how embarrassing. Ellen’s face was burning, and she fanned herself with her hands.
“Hmm, first, let’s go quickly.”
When they arrived at the carriage, Licio lifted her in and helped her sit down.
Seeing her eyes sparkling with anticipation, Licio asked,
“You seem to have an agenda. Tell me.”
“When we reach the Count’s house, you need to distract the Duke.”
“Why should I do that?”
Frowning as if unwilling, Licio leaned deeply against the backrest and crossed his arms.
“So I can search the room comfortably.”
“I can help you search the room.”
“Sir Rohan can handle that.”
“You mean you want to go to the room alone with a man, leaving your crazy little brother attached to me? Just the two of you?”
Ellen had to force a smile, even as her face scrunched up. She was the one frustrated here.
“Sir Rohan can’t keep Charlotte occupied.”
“That’s absolutely not allowed. Your brother will pretend to fall again and attack like a beast. How much money do you have in your room to try selling me out?”
Licio brushed his arms as if he was disgusted.
“Are you really going to do that again? What good is a handsome face if not now? Let’s use it now!”
Ellen playfully shook her shoulders back and forth.
“I’m already using my face well. Like this.”
Licio came to her side, stretching his arm to lean against the carriage wall.
Just his confined posture made Ellen’s heart race.
And on top of that, his face was slowly getting closer.
Why could she only see his lips? Ellen swallowed nervously.
At that moment, the carriage suddenly stopped.
Ellen’s body jolted forward.
Her eyes went wide.
“Ah!”
Her lips had touched his.
Whether it was from surprise or the unfamiliar sensation of his lips, she couldn’t move. Frozen like that, several seconds passed.
“We’ve arrived.”
Hearing Rohan’s voice from outside the carriage, their lips parted, but their gazes remained locked.
Was he as flustered as she was? His eyes were just as wide.
It had been an accidental brush of lips, but the carriage felt like it had heated up.
“Eunice!”
At that moment, the door swung open, and both quickly turned away from each other as if on cue.
Ellen clutched her pounding heart. Charlotte glared at her, signaling that it was time to get out.
“Time to get down, Duke.”
“All right…”
The awkwardness made her feel suffocated. She was almost relieved Charlotte was urging her inside quickly.
They entered the Count’s residence.
Licio, who had absolutely refused to go earlier, followed Charlotte and the Count and Countess Lahone to the parlor.
When Ellen said she wanted to look around her room, they seemed pleased.
She expected to at least have a cup of tea out of courtesy, but they subtly nudged her along, as if telling her to hurry.
Pouting slightly at the rude treatment, Ellen grabbed Rohan’s sleeve.
“Let’s go treasure hunting.”
They arrived at Anais’s room, tucked away in the far corner of the first floor.
Because of the lingering pain from black magic and being mentally out of sorts from possession, she hadn’t been able to explore the room before. Now, she saw that Anais’s room was simple, much like her own when she was a saint. It seemed like a space intended for servants.
“Judging by the dust, it seems exactly as it was when she left.”
Rohan smiled wryly at the neglected room.
No matter how much they searched, there was nothing of value. So Ellen called over a maid to quietly inquire.
“Have you seen any jewelry I might have left behind?”
“The only jewelry the young lady had was a pair of amethyst earrings. Didn’t you take them?”
“Just that? Hmm… I didn’t take anything.”
“Are you doubting me? They aren’t expensive, and the design is so old no one would covet them.”
The maid’s curt answer made it seem Anais hadn’t been well-treated here either.
‘What a mess.’
Rohan seemed to think the same.
“You are the Duchess Debesser. Show some respect.”
“Yes, I apologize…”
The maid bowed deeply to Rohan’s sharp remark.
Finding nothing worth taking, Ellen sighed.
“I wanted to collect what she treasured while we’re here, but there’s really nothing?”
“The only thing she cherished was that withered flower.”
Following the maid’s gesture to the window, a glimpse of yellow petals appeared.
‘After coming all this way, just a flower?’
Feeling frustrated, Ellen wanted to uproot all of Anais’s flowers that had been left behind.
“All right, let’s just go look at the flowers. You should go back now.”
There was no point staying there. Ellen headed with Rohan to the garden where Anais had cultivated the flowers to get some fresh air.
“I think I’ve never seen such small sunflowers.”
“They were planted in a place without much sunlight, I think.”
A sunflower in a spot that never got sunlight? How cruel. Its thin stem and pale yellow petals made it seem as fragile as Anais.
‘Why are you planted here… Poor thing.’
As Ellen brushed the sunflowers aside, Anais’s words suddenly came to mind.
“I planted the sunflowers with the secret seeds, and look—they’ve sprouted already. When they bloom beautifully, I want to show them to Saint Ellen. May I invite you to the Count’s house?”
“I cannot go out on personal errands.”
Hearing the firm refusal, Anais lowered her eyes and forced a smile.
Why did she do that? She could have visited at least once…
The secret seeds Anais wanted to show her. What could they be?
Ellen pulled out the sunflower.
“Rohan, check under this.”
At Ellen’s words, Rohan dug beneath the sunflower, revealing a small box.
She glanced around to ensure no one was nearby before carefully opening it.
Inside was a necklace with tiny gemstones the size of a fingernail, strung on a thin cord.
Not cheap, but not particularly valuable either.
‘Just this?’
She checked under other flowers, but nothing else appeared. Disappointed, Ellen sighed.
“Rohan, could you find out what those amethyst earrings the maid mentioned look like? I’ll wait by the pergola.”
Ellen wanted to understand how Anais had lived, but the closer she came to her life, the more painful it felt.
Because Anais had been pitiful.
“Understood.”
“Good. Bring the Duke along when you’re done.”
Rohan, perhaps considering Ellen’s distress, stepped aside.
Left alone in the garden, Ellen fiddled with the necklace, pondering.
‘Why did Anais hide this necklace?’
On close inspection, there were no initials, probably due to its tiny size.
The type of gemstone was unclear, but it was as clear as pure water.
“Droplet-like… kind of cute.”
She carefully placed the necklace into a coin purse decorated with a dog.
Just then, a man she hadn’t seen before approached.
“Pleased to meet you, Duchess Debesser.”
“And you are?”
“I am Taylor Marcel. Embarrassingly, Carla is my older sister. I’ve come here, risking my rudeness, to apologize on her behalf.”
Pale complexion, colorless lips, delicate features, and a frail appearance made him seem weak and feminine.
Unlike the striking and glamorous Carla, he had a gentle, cute look.
If not for his red hair and golden eyes, one wouldn’t link him to Carla; they looked nothing alike.
“If you wanted to apologize, you should have come to the Debesser residence.”
Taylor tilted his head slightly, as if puzzled.
“You may speak freely. I shouldn’t seem so intimidating.”
Taylor had a comforting presence, but perhaps because of his connection to Carla—or for another reason—Ellen instinctively put up a barrier.
Her senses were on edge, and without realizing it, she again addressed him formally.
“So, what do you want to say? Stop the small talk and get to the point.”
Even with Ellen’s cautious demeanor, Taylor smiled calmly.
“Actually, I made several requests to the Debesser household. However, the Duke did not respond.”
If that had happened, he should have informed me, Ellen thought, feeling slightly disappointed in Licio.
“I see… But how did you know I’d be here?”
“Miss Charlotte Lahone informed me.”
Of course, only Charlotte could have orchestrated this. Ellen frowned, recalling how Charlotte had forcibly brought her in front of Carla at the banquet.
“I don’t like feeling like I’m being followed.”
Taylor stared at her intently. Feeling uncomfortable, Ellen rubbed her cheek with the back of her hand.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“If it’s rude, I apologize. Are you aware that we might be siblings?”
“Pardon? Siblings?”
Could Anais be an illegitimate child of the Marcel Dukes? Ellen blinked widely, waiting for an explanation.
