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~Chapter 75~
At some point, Riden had stood and was gazing down the hill.
“The houses with their lights on look so pretty from here.”
“Don’t look over there. If you’re staying, then keep me from getting bored.”
At that, Riden brightened and turned back toward him.
“What topic would you like?”
“Anything.”
“At least give me a topic. If it’s just anything, then I won’t talk.”
“Then… let’s hear about Gemma.”
“……”
“You met me after she saw her husband cheating and left the house, right?”
Riden quickly raised her hand.
“Just to correct one thing—Gemma didn’t run away. She just left because she didn’t want to see it.”
Didn’t matter much. Ethan’s expression said any version would do.
“I wonder how she’s doing now. Surely she didn’t go back to a house with a cheating husband and a terrifying mother‑in‑law?”
As before, Riden wove pieces of her own story with fiction.
“Gemma’s doing well. Just as you said, she didn’t return to that house. She set off in search of a new home.”
His gaze drifted to his trembling hand, so she kept her eyes fixed there as she spoke. He hid it behind his back, masking the pain.
In a calm, deliberate voice, he asked,
“Did she go to her parents?”
“No. Gemma’s parents passed away long ago. She didn’t have close friends in her hometown either, so she decided to look for a new place.”
For Ethan’s sake, Riden chose to make the story as happy as possible.
“She decided on a region where a great river runs. Fertile land by the water makes for good farming—and for anything, really.”
“Fertile land by a river usually belongs to someone. Did she get a lord’s permission to settle there?”
“Uh… yes. A new village.”
But instead of taking comfort, Ethan kept poking holes in the logic, stopping her story short.
“Wasn’t Gemma working at an inn? How does she suddenly take up farming?”
“Phew… Your Grace doesn’t realize this, but being able to do just one job your whole life is a kind of blessing. Commoners? When life throws them a storm, they drop everything overnight and start something new. You think they want to?”
“Fine, let’s say so.”
“Anyway, Gemma was sick of the inn and wanted to try farming.”
His second objection came.
“But it’d be hard for a woman alone to farm.”
“Tch. Her parents farmed when they were alive, so she knows the basics. Enough to grow and live by herself.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
He jerked his chin toward her.
“Gemma’s beauty is remarkable. So remarkable it makes you wonder why her husband cheated. Like you. Right?”
“Hm?”
At his unexpected angle, Riden pricked up her ears.
“A beautiful woman shows up alone in a domain, struggling to farm? The whole area would be buzzing.”
It was a reasonable, convincing point.
Riden smiled faintly as she continued.
“You’re right, men were interested. But Gemma was tired of it. Remember—her ex‑husband cheated. She wanted a future where she lived well on her own. So she told everyone she was married. Said her missing husband would return someday.”
Ethan, still not giving up, pointed out another possibility.
“There are men who’d be even bolder if they think a married woman lives alone.”
“Oh, what was I supposed to do then?!”
Riden burst out, frustrated.
Damn this harsh world for women!
But she caught herself. Losing her temper at a man in pain wasn’t the point. She took a breath and resumed.
“You don’t know this, but Gemma’s very strong. At the inn, she could carry what usually took two people, and everyone praised her for it. So one day, she beat up a man from the village who tried bothering her. After that, everyone backed off.”
“Wait. I doubt even the lord would’ve left her alone.”
“Haa…”
She sighed, sketching the character for patience five times in her mind.
“So Gemma… ah, she made a contract marriage with the lord. Turns out, after talking, he wasn’t bad at all. He had no real interest in marriage.”
“That makes no sense. Why agree to marry if he wasn’t interested?”
Dealing with someone who didn’t know clichés was exhausting.
Did she really have to explain them one by one?
“The young lord wasn’t interested in marriage, but his family kept pressuring him. So, for convenience, he agreed to a contract marriage.”
“With a commoner?”
Riden decided to go all in. If it was a cliché, it had to be done right.
“Just then, Gemma’s true identity was revealed—she was actually a noblewoman.”
Ethan’s mouth fell open. He clearly wasn’t used to such tropes.
“How could that be? How was it revealed?”
“Well, she had a new mother‑in‑law from the contract marriage, right? One day, the mother‑in‑law threw a crystal goblet at her head. The blow made her recall the secret of her birth.”
By now, with so many implausible details piled up, Ethan seemed to lose even the will to question them.
“So… did they live happily?”
“Better than expected. Her new husband was very handsome. But when their one‑year contract expired, they parted ways cleanly, cheering each other on.”
“That’s not a happy ending.”
“Why not?”
“If she remembered her noble birth and her husband was handsome, wouldn’t a real marriage instead of a contract be the happy ending?”
Riden put on a serious face.
“Your Grace.”
“Mm.”
“Gemma’s first husband cheated on her.”
She rolled her eyes.
“For her, going back under the chains of marriage again would never be a happy ending. In any case, she got a huge sum for keeping the contract faithfully for a year. She went on to live alone. She was happy.”
Ethan narrowed his eyes at her.
“But why did Gemma marry the first time?”
Without hesitation, Riden answered,
“Because she wanted a family.”
So in the end, Gemma—who once wanted a family—ended up alone. Could that truly be happiness?
Ethan studied Riden’s resolute face.
Even in a fictional tale, her words followed the path she had set with unwavering stubbornness.
Listening, he realized it wasn’t a story to dismiss as a mere joke.
Just as the silence settled after her tale, Ethan suddenly collapsed forward.
“Your Grace?”
“Hh—haa… haah…”
Even before the brazier, his face had been pale as unmelted ice. Now cold sweat drenched him. His breath came in ragged gasps.
“Your Grace…”
Frightened, Riden dropped to her knees, not caring about the grass soaking her dress. She reached toward him.
“Stop.”
The low but firm command halted her.
He twisted against the wall like a man trying to escape, teeth clenched.
“Haa… Don’t. Don’t come closer.”
His trembling fist pressed into the ground. He lurched forward again.
Riden had no idea what to do.
Maybe he was right—maybe it was safer to just watch.
What if clumsy help only made things worse?
But her heart rebelled. She wanted to take his hand.
“Please…”
If only I had the power to ease his pain.
If only the words the “original” Riden once said weren’t just empty.
She reached out and gently clasped his hand.
“You—!”
He tried to jerk it away, almost violently. But the more he pulled, the tighter she held.
“Just wait! Please, just for a moment—just a moment…”
Just give me a chance. Maybe it’ll help.
Their eyes locked. Reading her determination, Ethan dropped his gaze, less feral now.
“If you get hurt, I won’t be able to take responsibility.”
“Why not? If I get hurt helping you, you’ll have to.”
“You—”
Is that really what you say to a man in agony?
He couldn’t finish.
Something wild and monstrous inside him roared through his body, breaking his control.
Half‑supported by her grip, he sagged forward.
“Please… you don’t know what I might do. Please…”
“If you stop responding, I’ll be the first to run. So don’t worry.”
And she laced her fingers tightly through his, holding on with all her strength.
Will something happen? Anything at all?
As she kept repeating her silent plea—
Static?
Like a spark of static from a carriage, a tingling sensation spread through her palm.
To Riden, it was barely a flicker.
But to Ethan—it was not.
His labored breaths grew heavier, muddied.
This is it!
Riden knew instinctively.
This was what she had been hoping for.
