MDCHC 94

chapter 94

“No.”

Melissa might have been mistaken.

“The person who thinks I like Sir Winchester isn’t Miss Evelyn.”

But this matter could not be a misunderstanding. Sir Winchester had said it himself with his own mouth.

“Then…?”

Had he already forgotten what he said? His brow furrowed slightly as if he couldn’t even guess what others might think.

“Ellie…”

The moment he said that name, Sir Winchester’s expression stiffened.

After hearing Sir Winchester’s confession, I hesitated.

Wouldn’t it be fine as it was? Did I really need to bring up Ellie? He said he liked me, so couldn’t I just let it go? I could go back to the Camellia Manor with Sir Winchester, live happily with Daniel, and that would be it.

It was a sweet whisper.

But I did not succumb to that whisper. Even if future Melissa vanished, past Ellie remained. In fact, she was scarier and more terrifying.

The future, which hadn’t yet come, could be changed—just like I had prevented Daniel from marrying that scoundrel, his ex-husband Unshow.

But the past, which had already passed, could not be changed. I could not remove the woman named Ellie who was deeply embedded in Sir Winchester’s heart.

“Did you say Ellie? Elizabeth?”

“Yes. That’s right. The person you said you loved, Sir Winchester.”

“Indeed. I did say that. I said I love Ellie as if she were my life.”

Hearing that name and the words “I love her” from Sir Winchester made my chest ache. Absurdly, that pain felt almost sweet.

It felt like proof that I, too, liked Sir Winchester.

“But don’t ordinary older brothers feel that way about their younger sisters?”

That’s right. Normally, they love their younger sisters… wait?

“You said ‘younger sister’?”

“Yes.”

“Do you mean that the person named Ellie was younger than Sir Winchester?”

“Do older younger sisters exist?”

Sir Winchester’s brow furrowed slightly. Naturally. It was self-evident that a younger sister was younger.

Besides, unlike in Korea, people in this world didn’t call just anyone ‘older brother.’ Sir Winchester had clearly called himself ‘older brother’ a moment ago and referred to Ellie as ‘younger sister.’

As if… as if they were real siblings!

“What I mean is not that… Do you mean that the Elizabeth you said you loved, Sir Winchester, is your actual younger sister?”

“Yes.”

“You never told me that before.”

“Well, everyone knows that Elizabeth is my younger sister. I thought you might not know if I just said Ellie, so I said Elizabeth. Elizabeth de Winchester—that’s the name of my deceased younger sister.”

Sir Winchester did have a deceased younger sister. I knew that. But I did not know her name. Mentions of Sir Winchester, the protagonist’s father, were rare in the story, so the name of a minor sibling wouldn’t be mentioned.

“Why bring that up now?”

My mother, who had been quietly observing, spoke to me as if scolding a daughter who carelessly dug into someone else’s painful family history. My father nodded, siding with her.

Looking at my older brother James next to my parents, I saw him shake his head slightly, as if telling me to stop talking. When I looked at my new sister-in-law with a blank expression, she stared at me with wide eyes, as if to say, “Why? Is something wrong?”

Finally, when I looked at Freddy, he frowned as if to say, “What’s wrong with that sister?”

Everyone knew who Ellie was—except me, the one possessed.

“But Sir Winchester, Daniel’s biological mother…”

I stopped mid-sentence. No one knew who Daniel’s biological mother was. It was a secret of the Winchester family. Even though they were my family by blood, I didn’t know if I was allowed to speak this secret.

Sir Winchester nodded slightly, as if acknowledging that he had indeed told the truth.

That nod sent my mind spinning. In an instant, all the tangled threads unraveled.

The world didn’t know who Daniel’s biological mother was because the Winchester family had hidden it.

The Winchester family had hidden it because they didn’t know who Daniel’s biological father was.

I had heard about Sir Winchester’s younger sister to some extent from Sophia before the marriage. I only didn’t know her name.

Elizabeth, frail in health, rarely left Camellia Manor. Still, she was known for her beauty, and there were many suitors.

Perhaps out of concern for her weak health, or maybe because the greedy Countess Winchester was calculating a bride’s dowry, Elizabeth had not married or had a fiancé even by age twenty.

Then, one day, she became pregnant. In this patriarchal world, a young noblewoman who was unmarried, with no fiancé, and whose child’s father was unknown, was considered a disgrace to the family name.

So the Winchester family made Daniel’s status not as a child with an unknown father but as a child with an unknown mother. It was more socially acceptable for a man to father a child outside than for a woman.

And at some point after Daniel was born, Elizabeth died. Likely not long after.

That was how the story unfolded in my mind.

“Please, I’d appreciate it if you stopped using that title.”

Sir Winchester’s voice reached me, breaking me out of the daze caused by discovering Daniel’s birth secret. When I snapped back to reality, I saw him looking at me.

What had I said again?

“Ah! Sir Winchester.”

When I called him by that title again, his expression immediately frowned. His reaction was so honest that I almost laughed.

I didn’t because Sir Winchester was so serious. He was sincere about the way he was addressed.

“Husband?”

I carefully used the name he wanted, and a slow smile spread across his face. Seeing his calm smile, mine naturally followed.

“Ahem! Hmph, hmph!”

A sudden clearing of the throat cut off our gaze. When I turned, I saw my father staring at us.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but if you’re done, shall we leave? We can talk about the details in the morning.”

“…”

“Ah…”

At my father’s words, Sir Winchester bowed his head slightly, and I let out a short exclamation.

Pomotz, still in a gown and pajamas, stared at us, carrying a mixture of fatigue and disbelief. Though unspoken, their expression seemed to say, “Such a noisy marital dispute.”

“I apologize for the late hour. As you said, we will come to apologize properly in the morning.”

Sir Winchester bowed as he offered his apology. My father nodded, indicating that was enough, and waved his hand as if to tell us to leave. James yawned loudly, followed by my new sister-in-law.

“I’m sorry, everyone.”

I also apologized as the one responsible for causing the midnight commotion. My mother smiled gently, as if relieved that everything had ended well.

Youngest Freddy stared at me with a look of disbelief. Whether it was forgiveness or not was unclear. Seeing him slightly wavering while looking at his idol, Sword Master Sir Winchester, I assumed it was forgiveness.

“Shall we go back, my lady?”

After everyone from the Pomotz family, including the servants, had returned indoors, Sir Winchester spoke. He extended his large hand toward me.

“Shall we, husband?”

I placed my hand on his. Together, we walked to the carriage I had arrived in.

Though it felt like we had taken a long detour to reach the truth that was so close, in the end, the road back was together.