TSHL 22

chapter 22

 Reunion

…And so.
Feeling as though he had been completely defeated, Adolf trudged back home.
The words he had just heard from Michael echoed relentlessly in his mind.

“Don’t touch that woman.”
“To you, she might be just an interesting person—but to me, she’s not.”

“…Honestly.”
For some reason, irritation bubbled up in Adolf, and he kicked a pebble on the road.

“What does he even know about me?”
How could he claim to know whether she was just “interesting” to him or not?

Letting out a deep sigh, Adolf felt a burning in his chest.
…Still, one thing was certain—Michael’s feelings for that woman ran deep.

When he had heard Count Allison’s firm voice warning him, Adolf had been truly startled.
It was a side of him he had never seen before.

That had been a personal warning.
A voice filled with private emotion, stripped of status, image, or dignity—
the voice of a nobleman who had thrown away everything else to speak from his heart.

It was a tone Adolf had never once heard from him before.
There had been passion in that voice—a desperate desire to protect someone.

What kind of relationship did the two of them have, for him to speak to me that way?
And why, when I think of them together, does my heart feel so unsettled?

He sighed.
Shaking his head, Adolf finally arrived home. Entering his room, he threw himself onto the bed.

“…So, what is it, this feeling of mine?”
Was it really just curiosity, like the Count had said?

Adolf couldn’t be sure of anything about his own heart.
Only one thing was certain—
he had promised himself not to be curious, and yet he kept wanting to know more about her.

Her name. Where she came from. The story of her life.
What kind of name she bore, what kind of personality she had, what kind of story she carried.

“…Just who are you?”
His growing curiosity about her—about everything concerning her—was becoming a real problem.

4. Reunion

It was ridiculous—losing sleep just because someone had called it a “date.”

As dawn broke, I faced my reflection in the mirror.
My face was pale, the kind you get after a sleepless night.
It had been a long time since I’d seen that kind of tiredness on my face.
I looked at my unfamiliar reflection and let out a small, helpless laugh.

Meeting Michael truly stirred something new inside me.

I decided to go to work early. My body was tired, but my heart was light.
My wardrobe was all shades of gray, yet each outfit had its own design.
After much deliberation, I chose the one I liked best and put it on neatly.

“…Why am I…”
…shaking like this?

As I looked in the mirror, my heart fluttered like that of a schoolgirl in love.
All because I was going to see my first love again—
a childish affection I barely remembered, blossoming once more after all these years.

It was strange. Not even when Diana died had I felt this way.
My life had been numb for so long.
It was embarrassing, even foolish—but I decided to just accept this fluttering feeling.

However—

When I arrived early and walked through the quiet countryside toward the gallery, I stopped dead.
A young man stood there, staring at the building. His back looked strangely familiar.

Sensing my presence, he turned—and our eyes met.
His eyes wavered, his expression trembling.

It was him.
The one I could never forget, no matter how hard I tried.

“…Mother?”
“Nick?”

It was Nick.
Nick Widrian.
He had come to find me.

That sleepless night turned out to be meaningless—
because my “date” with Michael was immediately canceled.

Nick’s sudden visit had made it impossible, and thankfully Michael understood when I sent word.
He was disappointed, but said he’d come see me once things settled down.

There were no customers that morning.
Even Arwin didn’t show up, for some reason.

I sat at a table, watching Nick eat a sandwich.
The air between us was awkward—understandably so.

“Mother!”

Earlier, the moment he saw me, Nick had burst into tears, thrown himself into my arms, and sobbed uncontrollably.
Though he had soon composed himself and let go, the awkwardness lingered.

Seven years had passed since we’d last even looked each other properly, let alone embraced.
We were both flustered.

Nick devoured the sandwich I had made, clearly hungry.
I watched him quietly.

He looked thinner, perhaps from not eating well.
Back at the coming-of-age ball, his cheeks had still been round; now they were slightly hollow.
Not emaciated, but worn—like someone who’d endured hardship.

“The sandwich is delicious, Mother.”
“…I’m glad you like it.”

After finishing his sandwich, Nick finally spoke, and I replied softly.
His visit was completely unexpected—I had no idea why he was here.

The duke had likely signed the divorce papers by now.
The ducal house had already let me go.
There was no reason they wouldn’t have.
After all, our marriage had been contractual.

So Nick’s visit worried me.
If he’d come all this way, maybe something had happened in the household…
Though it was no longer something I needed to concern myself with.

“So, why did you come here, Nick?”
“…”

When I asked, Nick looked at me quietly, chewing the last bite of sandwich.
His eyes—strangely complicated—met mine.

Regardless of his reason, that expression made him look heartbreakingly sweet.
I felt an instinctive urge to do more for him.

“You can take your time, dear. But wait just a moment, all right?”

When I smiled, the stiffness in the air seemed to ease a little.

I stood and went into the kitchen behind the counter, preparing a small gift for him—
a cup of freshly brewed coffee and a cheese tart, his favorite.

“This is a new item on the menu. Try it, Nick.”

I remembered how he used to love the cakes I made.
Nick looked at the coffee and tart, then murmured a soft “Thank you,”
accepting them with trembling hands.

I noticed his fingers shaking slightly as he lifted the fork.
He took a slow bite—then tears began streaming down his face.

“Why are you crying?”

Startled, I grabbed a napkin and handed it to him.
He took it, wiping his face while continuing to eat, tears still falling.

It looked almost absurd—crying while eating dessert.

For a while he couldn’t answer, then finally murmured,
“It’s just… it’s so good.”
“…”
“It’s really delicious. And your cakes—they were always so good, Mother.”
“…”
“I always wanted to tell you that. That I really enjoyed them, all that time.”

He spoke as if to himself. Then, after wiping his tears, Nick grabbed my hand.

“Mother, please come back to our family.”

I stared at him blankly.

“It was all my fault.”
“…Nick.”
“I knew how hard you worked for us. I really did.
I wanted to get closer to you—to be a real family.
But I was too young, too scared to try.”

“…”

“So the first thing I did after becoming an adult was to come find you.
But you were already gone.”

“Nick…”

“I heard from Father—about the contract.
That you became our mother to protect us.”
“…”
“It was all because of us.
I was wrong. I don’t want things to stay this way.
Please… come back to the house.”

I couldn’t speak.
A rush of confusion and emotion overwhelmed me.

Why had Nick suddenly come here—why was he saying these things now?
I hadn’t expected anything like this.

After a long silence, I finally smiled gently.

“Nick,” I said softly,
“I’m sorry. But I’m not going back.”

I slowly pulled my hand from his.
I saw his face go pale.

“…Why?”

His questions spilled out, his eyes wide with disbelief.

“Why won’t you come back? Please, tell me.”

“Because… things are better this way, don’t you think?
Our relationship, I mean.”

“…”

“I joined the ducal family only to protect you all.
And now that my part is done, I’ve simply left.”

From Nick’s reaction, I guessed the Duke hadn’t told him everything—
not about Diana’s death, at least.

Of course, it would be hard for him to.
By now, the children must have found their own way to move on.

“But still…”