MEWH~14

Chapter 14

The small village had one clear disadvantage.

Rumors spread like wildfire in a single day.

And in a place like Piachenna—isolated from the outside world—they spread even faster.

“Should I have chosen a city instead?”

But in places with many outsiders passing through, there was always a chance someone would recognize Elinor.

She was quite famous in academic circles, and during her academy years, there had even been an illustrated portrait of her published in a newspaper.

She was still hesitating over whether she should step forward or stay hidden when—

“Oh my, Elly!”

A woman noticed Elinor approaching and sprang to her feet.

At once, the conversation around her stopped.

People awkwardly fidgeted.

“When did you get here? You should’ve said something.”

“Are you here to buy things too? Oh, you even brought the baby.”

“Oh my, how cute. How have you been?”

“……Hello.”

After a brief hesitation, Elinor approached them as if she hadn’t heard anything unnecessary.

She thought for a moment, but decided she still had no intention of moving elsewhere.

Piachenna was, overall, not a bad place.

So there was no need to alienate the villagers over something so trivial.

“What do you need?”

“Baby formula. And soap too. I’ve been doing laundry more often than expected—it runs out so quickly.”

“Haha, that’s how it is. Baby clothes never end.”

“Right. When my Tommy was little…”

Fortunately, the topic shifted quickly.

Elinor socialized well with them, all while silently grinding her teeth at Matthias.

‘If that Duke hadn’t told that useless lie about being the baby’s father, none of this would’ve happened.’

There was no need to feel touched just because he said he was quitting smoking for the baby.

In the first place, all of this started when Matthias came to this village.

Elinor resolved to distance herself from him even more.

“Right, speaking of which, it’s almost Sophine’s youngest daughter’s wedding.”

“The groom said he’s holding the wedding in the village, right?”

“He said he’ll invite all of us. He even promised to send carriages.”

“Really? Elly, did you hear about it too?”

Elinor nodded.

“Yes. Sophie told me.”

“Oh my, oh my, the groom’s family must be wealthy.”

“Elly, then you’ll come to the wedding too—”

“El—Elly!”

While she was chatting with the villagers, a shadow suddenly fell over her.

Elinor froze.

After a moment, she turned her head with a reluctant expression.

“…Hello, Mr. James.”

“G-good afternoon!”

“Yes. I suppose it is.”

Unlike her friendly demeanor with the village women, her tone turned cold.

And there was a reason for that.

“Um… did you receive the gift I sent?”

He was a man who had been persistently pursuing her since the day she first arrived in the village.

For reference, he was 53 years old, a famous unmarried man in the village.

Old enough to have a daughter the same age as Elinor, yet he still continued to approach her.

It seemed he believed a single mother like Elinor would be easy to target.

“Oh my… James again…”

“That man is at it again.”

The women clicked their tongues and whispered.

They all knew he was bothering Elinor.

But they couldn’t openly stop him because he was the son of the village chief and one of its most influential figures.

“Ah… you mean the dried jerky? Sophie brought it to me last week.”

“That’s right!”

James grinned widely.

His yellowed teeth showed as he smiled.

“I made it myself. How was it? Did you try it?”

“I have a jerky allergy.”

Elinor cut him off flatly.

Honestly, it had looked suspicious anyway, and she didn’t want anything from James in the first place.

She couldn’t risk giving him even the slightest encouragement.

“I’m sorry, even though you worked hard on it. But Sophie said it was delicious, so she asked me to thank you.”

Sophie had taken one bite and thought:

“Ugh. What is this? What did you even put in this?”

She had ended up feeding it to her dog.

“Oh… I see.”

James slumped his shoulders in disappointment.

Finally, he should leave.

That was what Elinor silently wished.

But contrary to her hope, James quickly regained energy.

“Then what are you doing now? The flowers on the hillside are blooming. Want to go see them together?”

“No. I just need to finish shopping and go home. It’s almost time to feed the baby.”

“Oooh…”

At that moment, as if perfectly timed, the baby started fussing.

Elinor paid the merchant and quickly gathered her things.

“Then I’ll be going now. Thank you.”

But just as she turned to leave, James grabbed her wrist.

Elinor gasped and shook him off.

“What are you doing?!”

“It’s because of that guy, isn’t it?”

James muttered darkly.

“You’re rejecting me because of him.”

“What? What are you talking about—”

“The baby’s father! He came looking for you!”

James suddenly shouted.

Apparently, rumors about the Duke had even reached James, who was already ostracized in the village.

He growled.

“If that’s the case, then why did you accept my jerky? You accepted all my kindness, and now you’re acting like this?”

Elinor was stunned.

She had returned every single thing he ever gave her.

She had no intention of receiving anything from him.

He had only started sending gifts through Sophie because she kept rejecting them.

“Are you not meeting that man again?”

James twisted his face.

He stepped closer.

Elinor stepped back.

It was instinct.

His eyes darkened further.

“You’re avoiding me?”

“No, that’s not—”

“I knew it. So this is what kind of woman you are!”

“Eek!”

“Elly!”

James suddenly raised his hand high into the air.

People screamed.

Elinor instinctively shielded the baby.

And then—

“Ack!”

A rough scream echoed through the square.

Elinor, who had shut her eyes tightly, slowly opened them.

A broad back stood in front of her.

Wide shoulders like the sea completely shielded her.

And the owner of that back was—

“What exactly do you think you’re doing?”

The man she was living under the same roof with.

Matthias.

One hour earlier

After Elinor left, the inn fell quiet.

“Haa.”

Matthias sighed deeply and rubbed his face.

His gaze drifted to the plants growing in the courtyard.

Weeds that looked similar to tobacco.

He pretended not to care in front of Elinor, but in truth, he was in serious internal conflict.

‘Why did I even say I’d quit smoking?’

He had always been a smoker with good manners.

It was because there were younger siblings at home.

He never smoked in front of them, and if he did, he made sure they couldn’t smell it.

That was possible in the ducal household.

It was vast, with plenty of separate spaces.

But the inn he was staying in now was cramped.

Too easy to run into Elinor and the baby.

“Tch.”

He clicked his tongue irritably.

Frustration built up.

Why was he even doing this?

Couldn’t he just ignore Elinor’s words?

He already knew she was half teasing him.

But lighting a cigarette freely felt impossible because of the baby.

Elinor’s child was so small it felt fragile—like it would break easily if not carefully handled.

He had even seen the child fall sick from a fever himself.

But at this rate, I’m going to lose my mind.