TSHL 06

Chapter 6

Ken and Nick.
Diana’s two sons, and the two boys who would one day lead the Ducal House of Hydrian.

Ken, who resembled Diana so much it was as if her face had been copied onto his, was the eldest.
Nick, whose features were a softer version of the Duke’s, was the second son.

When Diana died, the boys were only thirteen and eleven years old.

At the funeral, they did not cry. Because they were young lords, they endured everything without shedding a single tear, even at their mother’s funeral.

It was understandable for the Duke—he was a grown man—but how could those children remain so calm?
Even I, who did not cry only because no tears would come, could not fathom their composure.

People wept even harder when they saw the two young heirs standing firm through the entire funeral.
They all said the same thing — that the children left behind were unbearably pitiful.

I, too, felt immense pity for those boys who had to experience their mother’s death at such an age, when they still so desperately needed her warmth.

Unlike the Duke, who treated me as a wife in name only, I wanted to be someone those children could lean on emotionally.
That was, after all, one of the main reasons Diana had asked me to take care of her family in the first place.

The first time I met the children as their new stepmother, my heart trembled as I reached out my hand.

“Ken, and Nick. I look forward to getting along with you.”

The boys didn’t take my hand.

Nick looked uncertainly at his brother, while Ken tilted his head to the side, glaring at me.

After a few seconds, Ken grabbed Nick’s arm and stormed off into their room, slamming the door behind them.

My hand remained awkwardly suspended in the air.
The Duke, standing beside me, said quietly,

“…I’ll apologize on their behalf.”

“It’s all right. I expected they wouldn’t take it well.”

I smiled faintly, withdrawing my hand.

“I’ll try to talk to them,” he said.

“Don’t push too hard. It’s just something that takes time.”

Back then, I truly believed that if I tried hard enough, I could get close to the children.

I really did try — just as I had when I was “Aunt Cassia,” maintaining a good relationship without any friction.
I thought that if I did my best, it wouldn’t be difficult to open their hearts.
After all, they were just children who still needed a mother’s hand.

But that was only my delusion.

In the early days of marriage, I often spent sleepless nights trying to adapt to life as the Duchess, buried under endless duties.

It was one such night.
I had been working late and stepped out to the garden for some fresh air when I heard a loud noise from Ken’s room.

“How could you do this, Father!”

Ken’s voice, thick with anger, echoed down the hall. I froze in place.

I knew it would be better not to look.
But before I realized it, I had already leaned toward the slightly open door, peeking inside.

The Duke sat on the edge of the bed, while Ken stood in front of him, trembling with fury.
In the corner, Nick sniffled, tears streaming silently down his cheeks.

The air in the room was heavy as Ken shouted again.

“I’m really disappointed in you, Father! How could you bring another woman into this house so easily?”

“Ken, I told you. It’s for your sake.”

“For our sake? Don’t make me laugh! Do you even know what people are saying about our family?”

“Ken.”

The Duke let out a deep sigh. I knew what that sigh meant.

He and I had agreed to keep our contract marriage a secret from the children.
There was no point in explaining such an arrangement to them in their emotional state.
They wouldn’t accept it anyway—better that they vent their anger.

Trying to protect me, the Duke said,

“I’m the one who brought your stepmother here. If you need to blame someone, blame me. I just thought you needed a mother.”

“I don’t want that! Nobody asked for another woman to sit in our mother’s place! I hate it—I hate it so much!”

Ken’s voice shook with rage. The Duke’s tone grew stern.

“Ken, watch your language!”

“Then send her away! If this is really for us, send her away for our sake! That’s our mother’s place…!”

Ken’s voice broke as he began to cry.
Tears streamed down his face as his words turned into sobs.
Nick, too, began to wail louder.

The Duke sighed again.

That was as far as I listened.
I couldn’t stay there any longer.

I ran. Out to the garden, as if fleeing from something unbearable.
My chest ached as though sliced open, and I could barely hold myself together.

Even after reaching the garden, I collapsed in a corner, gasping for breath, the pain in my chest suffocating.

That night, I realized something for the first time—
The loving boys I once knew, who used to follow me around, no longer existed.

They hadn’t even cried when Diana died, yet ironically, that realization finally brought me to tears.

The truth of Diana’s death, this marriage, the contract—
Only the Duke and I knew.

To the children, I was nothing more than what the rumors said:
The wicked woman who stole their mother’s place.

Wiping away the tears that wouldn’t stop flowing, I sat there in the garden alone, for a long, long time.

After that day, I changed my mind.
I decided not to approach the children anymore.

I realized that between them and me, we were no longer like aunt and nephews—we had become something closer to enemies.

They needed someone to direct their anger toward, and that was something both the Duke and I deserved equally.

Of course, many clashes followed.
Ken tried every possible way to drive me out.
When the Duke refused, Ken even ran away from home.
In the end, the matter was resolved when the Duke sent him to the Imperial Knights.

After Ken left, the duchy gradually regained stability.

The maids began to treat me as the rightful Duchess.
Rumors in high society slowly quieted down, and the servants who had once opposed my marriage lost their voice.

At least in public, I became the perfect Duchess to replace Diana.

Nick, the younger son, did not rebel or oppose me the way Ken had.

He was a timid boy—so gentle that his eyes easily brimmed with tears.
It was almost unbelievable that he hadn’t cried at Diana’s funeral.

He struggled to express himself in front of others, preferring books and quiet contemplation.
That was Nick, as I saw him.

But to him, I was always just “stepmother.”
He never called me “mother.”

It wasn’t that he disliked me—he just seemed… uncomfortable around me.
He used to smile brightly and call me “Aunt Cassia,” but as a mother figure, I was a stranger to him.

And he was in his adolescence.
Even with one’s real parents, those years can create distance—how much more so with a stepmother?

Whenever he returned from the academy, Nick would bow politely to me and go straight up to his room.

I wished he could think of me a little more comfortably, but I understood.

I didn’t push.
I wasn’t Diana. I was Cassia.
I could never be his mother—and that was only natural.

So I always kept a careful distance from him, out of consideration.

Still, after Ken left, sometimes when I baked the cakes I used to make as “Aunt Cassia,” Nick would quietly eat them all.
That small act meant a lot to me.

Time passed quickly.

Seven years went by in the blink of an eye.

Seven years later.

The annex of the ducal mansion was opened for the first time in years.
Servants carrying cleaning supplies filed inside.

The annex was usually used for banquets, but it hadn’t been opened for several years.
Neither the Duke nor I were fond of parties, and even the coming-of-age celebration that should have been held two years ago for the eldest son had never happened.

Now the servants were brimming with enthusiasm.

“Since the first young master didn’t have his coming-of-age banquet, let’s put everything we have into the second young master’s!”

They dusted off the furniture, threw open the curtains, scrubbed the floors until they gleamed, polished the windows, and cleaned out the storerooms.
They checked the kitchen and ensured everything was in perfect order.

Within a few days, the once-dormant banquet hall shone as if brand new.

Standing in the middle of it, I, Cassia, oversaw the preparations for Nick’s coming-of-age celebration.

My heels clicked against the floor as I walked, the hem of my now-familiar duchess gown trailing gracefully behind me.

“The banquet is tomorrow already. Everything’s proceeding as I instructed, I assume?”

“Yes, Madam. We followed all your directions precisely,” said the butler, holding a long list of preparations.

“Since guests from all ranks will attend, we’ve prepared a wide variety of dishes, as you requested.
Caviar canapés and salads will be served at each table as appetizers.
Main dishes like stews will be buffet-style.
We’ve also arranged staff to take special orders for high-class dishes. It will be the most splendid banquet we’ve held.”

“Good. And since many of Nick’s peers will attend, make sure there are plenty of desserts and snacks popular among the younger guests.”

I added a few more instructions.
By now, organizing an event of this scale was easy for me. I could instantly spot any shortcomings.

“Oh, and prepare a variety of coffees and teas. Our guests are all rather particular about taste.”

“Understood, Madam.”

“Good. You may go.”

After dismissing the butler, I lifted my gown and stepped outside the annex.

Sunlight poured down, warm and golden. I raised a hand to shield my eyes.

“…Seven years already.”

Seven years since Diana’s passing.
Seven years since I became part of the ducal family.

It hardly felt real.

Nick was an adult now, and the house was preparing his coming-of-age banquet.

A strange feeling washed over me.
The years had flown by, but I never imagined seven years would arrive this quickly.

…Had I been a good Duchess?

The thought crossed my mind, but I quickly brushed it away.
I had done my best, and that was enough.

After all, the time I had promised Diana was finally nearing its end.

There had been regrets, and painful moments too, but one thing was certain—
I had endured it all.

Brilliant sunlight slipped through my fingers, and beyond it, the sky was dazzlingly clear.

…It was almost time for me to leave.