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Chapter 37
By the time she came to her senses, Roze glanced around at the old ceiling and the people surrounding her.
“…Who are you?”
She remembered seeing Duke Artheum, but after that, her memory was completely blank. Roze looked at them with a confused expression. Her gaze lingered on a woman with pink hair.
“Ah…”
A woman with delicate, refined features. Her eyes were violet, slightly different from Roze’s, but anyone could tell she was her mother. They resembled each other so much that it was instantly recognizable.
“This must be Roze’s mother.”
Roze averted her gaze from Ribera and looked at the middle-aged man in front of her. A man who seemed rather stubborn. His firm eyes hinted at authority, and she could see his tightly closed lips trembling slightly.
“This is Roze’s father… he’s still holding my hand.”
Could it be that he really cares for her? The hand in hers felt surprisingly warm. Roze had no idea how to behave toward her parents, whom she was seeing for the first time.
“What should I say? Judging by their expressions, maybe I can approach them with a smile first…”
She was almost certain that they were worried about her, but her words wouldn’t come out easily. They were the parents of ‘Roze,’ not her. She was nervous that if she acted even slightly odd, they would discover she was a ‘fake.’
“Parents would notice if their daughter behaved even a little differently.”
Cold sweat ran down her back. She was facing a dilemma as soon as she regained consciousness. Roze’s anxious eyes darted around. Meanwhile, Count and Countess Serviat were overjoyed to see Roze again.
“Darling…”
Ribera was the first to approach Roze. She embraced Roze while choking back tears. Roze quietly nestled into her arms, feeling comforted by her soft warmth. Ribera slowly lifted her head and met Roze’s eyes, running her hands over Roze’s face as she spoke.
“Darling, have you been well all this time?”
Ribera’s hands on Roze trembled. Roze silently nodded, feeling the warmth of her hands on her cheeks. Somehow, Ribera reminded her of her real mother in Korea. Even though there was no resemblance between them, Roze felt an inexplicable lump in her chest. Her mother had always proudly said that she herself was her pride. Roze had gone to a prestigious university without expensive tutoring and landed a big company job immediately, always being her mother’s pride. She had never thought her life was that remarkable, yet among her mother’s friends’ children, she had been known as the ‘perfect daughter.’
“…I wonder how they’re doing?”
Suddenly, Roze thought of her parents in Korea. Living in the novel’s world, she hadn’t had the luxury to yearn for them. Their faces appeared in her mind, and a surge of overwhelming emotion poured forth. Like the original Roze, she hadn’t seen her parents for three years. The difference was that it wasn’t because of marriage, but divorce. Her heart was too wounded, and for that reason alone, she had cut ties with both family and friends. She could have leaned on them and grieved, but back then, it had been too hard. Thinking of her parents from her previous life made her nose sting. Roze blinked rapidly, struggling to hold back the rising tears.
“Did they hear the news of my death…?”
After the divorce, her parents would only have heard of her accident in her small studio apartment.
“I wish… they hadn’t known.”
She wished her parents didn’t know that her life, which hadn’t fully blossomed, had ended so senselessly. Even if the whole country knew of her death, she hoped that only her mother and father remained unaware. She didn’t want to commit the ultimate act of filial impiety by leaving them behind…
“…How hard it must have been for you alone. I didn’t even know my daughter had become so thin… I’m truly sorry. I’m sorry, my daughter. Truly sorry.”
Countess Serviat repeated her apologies to Roze, even though she had done nothing wrong. Hot tears fell onto Roze’s shoulders. Ribera hugged her, crying without restraint.
“Ah…”
At Ribera’s words, the tears she had been holding back finally streamed down her cheeks.
“Ah… ah…”
The person holding her felt like her real mother back in Korea, and it broke her heart.
“…I’m sorry.”
Roze struggled to speak. Her voice was choked, barely audible.
“Mom… Dad… I’m really sorry.”
Having opened her mouth, she began sobbing, shaking her shoulders. She poured out everything she had been holding back, as if confessing to her parents in Korea.
“I’m so sorry I couldn’t come to see you for three years…”
If she had known she would almost die in despair, she would never have gone missing.
“I really… really missed you, Mom and Dad.”
Words she had swallowed alone while curled up in her tiny apartment for all those nights, drowning them in alcohol.
She missed her parents’ embrace. In truth, she had been incredibly lonely. Pretending that drinking alone could ease her pain had brought no joy. She longed for people, yet anyone connected to Lee Dohyun was unbearable to see. Since he occupied such a deep part of her life, the only thing she could do was leave for a place where no one would remind her of him. Ribera hugged Roze tighter. Feeling Ribera’s warmth, Roze finally sobbed like a child, crying out for her parents. Nestled in Ribera’s arms, she cried uncontrollably. She wondered what her real parents must have felt at her funeral. Three years had passed before they even heard a word about their daughter… Seeing their daughter’s cold, lifeless body must have been unbearable. Even though she felt sorry for the Roze in the original story, she wanted to convey to her parents that she was alive, that she was well, and that they needn’t grieve so much.
Watching Roze and Ribera, Demon’s eyes also welled up with clear tears. He hurriedly wiped them away, trying to hide his reddened eyes.
“I should step aside for now.”
Duke Artheum, witnessing the reunion of Roze and her family after three years, quietly gave them space. The mansion was soon awash with tears. No one could stop crying easily. They hugged each other in the joy of being reunited.
Meanwhile, at Cedric’s mansion, laughter bloomed.
“Haha, so you finally divorced?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Cedric laughed, unaware that Gwen had been kicked out, simply amused that Eric and Roze had divorced.
“The usually slowpoke finally handled things decisively.”
He muttered, satisfied.
“See? I told you Eric would handle everything himself.”
Tersia, sitting opposite Cedric, smiled leisurely and set down her teacup. Her thick, wavy hair brushed back, and her sharp eyes were almost mischievously raised. She held a fan slowly, unable to hide her smile, fluttering her hand.
“Eric inherited your decisiveness, didn’t he? Whose son is he?”
She was Eric’s biological mother, Tersia. Her heavy makeup and flashy jewelry made her look glamorous. The atmosphere was cheerful. Cedric and Tersia were clearly pleased that Roze, the thorn in their sides, had been removed. Only one servant in the room didn’t smile. He couldn’t laugh freely in front of Cedric and Tersia.
“I need to tell them the maid is pregnant with the Count’s child…”
Watching Cedric and Tersia revel in their joy, the servant hesitated.
“What about the papers? Did you seal them properly?”
“Yes. They’ve even been submitted to the temple, so there’s no need to worry.”
The servant bowed calmly. Cedric’s laughter grew even louder.
“Oh my, Eric really got serious. He handled things quickly.”
Tersia nodded, pleased. She had always known her son Eric would eventually come to his senses. She had pitied him for being too kind and letting women slip by. Though it wasn’t kindness but flirtatiousness, she refused to admit it. Eric was her precious child, so she always coddled him, unlike Cedric.
The servant stared silently at Cedric and Tersia, unsure when to speak. Finally, resigned, he said,
“There’s a bit of a problem…”
Cedric’s booming voice immediately stopped. The previously cheerful man now glared coldly at the servant. The servant flinched at Cedric’s piercing eyes. Tersia did the same, her sharp gaze fixed on him.
“Problem?”
Cedric leaned forward slowly, resting his chin on his hands.
“A problem with the divorce…”
The previously warm atmosphere turned tense instantly. The servant swallowed dryly and spoke.
“The Count has a child.”
“What?”
“A child with our Eric?”
Cedric and Tersia both reacted simultaneously. Their reaction was not joy at a grandchild. The servant, expecting this, continued cautiously.
“That cunning Roze must have seduced my son and gotten pregnant!”
Tersia spewed a string of vulgar words, furious at Roze. But the servant interrupted,
“It’s not Roze’s child.”
Cedric’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘Could it be…’
He thought of one of the household maids, the one who had even stolen Roze’s cosmetics. His suspicion was correct.
“The maid working in the mansion is the one who’s pregnant.”
“What?!”
Tersia jumped up, shouting in anger. The teacup clattered to the floor and shattered. After barely getting rid of a fallen noble’s daughter, now a mere maid had latched on? Tersia ground her teeth in fury, stepping on the broken teacup with a crunch, shattering it completely.
