🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 15
My Wife, the Lady of the House, Will Decide
2022.01.21
I dreamt of my childhood. The orphanage I stayed at was a modest place—“Lavianné Orphanage.” Honestly, it wasn’t that bad. Among the empire’s orphanages, where children were often abused, the director didn’t mistreat the kids, though he was indifferent. Still, he didn’t like me much.
“The doctor says you won’t live long,” he told me.
He said it couldn’t be helped when I got sick from stress.
“Do you know how much trouble it causes the other children whenever you fall ill?”
When the other kids were slowly taken to their families, I always had to stay behind at the orphanage. The reason given was that they couldn’t introduce a sick child to a family.
“I wish I had a family too.”
Whenever I had free time, I would draw pictures of the family I imagined on the ground with sticks. Silly as it was, I wished for a family who wouldn’t blame me even if I got sick.
“You must be Estelle.”
“Hello, Duke Libertan.”
And, excessively, when I first met Duke Libertan, I had such futile hopes. They knew I was often sick, after all.
“…Indeed, just as I heard,” he said.
Yet I thought I could be loved.
“Our Libertan family is of noble status far beyond mere commoners. Since you are adopted as my daughter, you must never do anything wrong.”
But my dream was nothing more than an absurd fantasy.
‘I shouldn’t have even dreamed of a family.’
Expecting anything in the first place only leads to hardship and pain.
Erich had found the son of Sir Lexius Polman. Now Count Polman, he teared up at the revealed truth.
“To think my father died at the hands of such a man… I am truly grateful that the truth has finally come to light. Thank you for clearing my father’s injustice.”
The Blanché family was once respected by many noble families, and Count Polman’s family had been loyal to them. However, under Johan’s generation, Blanché had changed, and many were hesitant to act.
“The Blanché family never forgot us. I am ashamed that I allowed prejudice to prevent my loyalty.”
Count Polman’s family was central among such families. If they moved, Blanché could recover both its current power and past glory. It was a great thing for the family, even if Johan had worked hard to earn it—it was almost as if the glory had been handed to them. And all of this was the work of that fake, the daughter of Libertan.
‘Was this also her intention?’
Thinking so gave Erich a chill.
After reflecting on his father’s past, Count Polman asked,
“But how were you able to catch the real culprit?”
“…That is…”
Erich hid his discomfort and spoke.
“It was found by the new mistress who just arrived.”
“You mean the Duchess of Blanché? She…”
Edgar hesitated, recalling Estelle. He also knew the gossip in society that she was not truly a proper duchess.
“She revealed my father’s injustice, then. Perhaps rumors aren’t always to be trusted.”
He nodded and carefully folded the paper detailing his father’s fate, tucking it into his chest.
“But I have one question related to my father’s death. Do you know which orphanage he was investigating at the time?”
“Ah, the orphanage… yes.”
Edgar nodded.
“The day before my father died, there was one orphanage he said was unusually strange among those he was investigating.”
“Which orphanage?”
“Lavianné Orphanage.”
Erich’s face hardened. Lavianné Orphanage—the orphanage…
‘It’s where the daughter of Libertan was adopted.’
Baroness Patricia Gillite. She had originally served Agnes Blanché, the former duchess and Johan’s mother. Agnes had trusted Patricia enough to ask her to be the godmother to her daughter. When Patricia followed her husband to the eastern kingdom for a few years, the Blanché family she cherished had completely vanished, unjustly accused of treason and dishonored. Honestly, as the daughter of a minor baron and married to a man of similar status, Patricia could not have done much. Yet she could not forgive herself.
‘What kind of friend is one who can’t even visit a friend’s grave?’
For her, Johan became her last chance for atonement. Patricia deeply understood his desire for revenge and wanted to help. So, she worked as head maid in the now-vacant Blanché household. The newly instated Duke Johan was everything she had imagined in a perfect master—until Estelle, the duchess, entered, whom Patricia had initially ignored according to plan. Of course, Patricia never disobeyed orders; she was loyal to Johan. Yet she had the discretion to act slowly if a command was incomprehensible. Unexpectedly, Anton suddenly attacked the Duchess of Blanché. Perhaps it was all as it should have been. But what Patricia faced was far from what she expected. Johan, who had already punished her, called her with an impassive expression:
“Patricia. You have worked hard serving as the lady of the Blanché household.”
Why… where did it all go wrong?
“From now on, focus on your duties as head maid.”
Patricia, who had been caring for the sick fake duchess, was now being pushed aside. And the fake duchess hadn’t even awakened yet.
“…Are you trying to dismiss me?”
“Dismiss you?”
Johan, completely changed, gave Patricia a cold look.
“That is for my wife, the lady of the house, to decide.”
Upon waking, my forehead was covered in cold sweat.
‘It’s been so long since I had that dream.’
I normally didn’t have nightmares, which made it all the stranger.
“Madam, are you awake now?”
In my anxious state, I saw Betty right in front of me.
“…Betty?”
“Yes. Do you recognize me?”
“Of course, I haven’t lost my memory.”
Her face seemed thinner somehow.
“How long was I unconscious?”
I wasn’t in much pain—just a little soreness—but the cold sweat on my forehead was evidence of my suffering.
“Yes. You were unconscious for an entire week.”
“A week?”
I widened my eyes in surprise.
“You slept that long?”
“It was very serious. We feared you might not wake up…”
Betty’s voice was faint, her expression bitter.
“Master was also very worried about you. He stayed with you the entire week. Now that you’re recovering, he has left.”
“I was that sick…”
“Yes. Are you in pain anywhere now?”
“Not at all.”
I had no memory of it, so I couldn’t even sense the severity.
“That’s a relief,” she said. She carefully turned to the doctor sitting nearby, an elderly man.
“This is Baron Henry Hanson, the personal physician of the Blanché household. He took care of you while you were unconscious.”
“Greetings, Madam. I am Henry Hanson, personal physician to the duke’s household.”
“Hello, Baron Hanson.”
I nodded in greeting. Hanson waved his hand and chuckled softly.
“Is it alright if I examine you now?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
Both Betty and Hanson were very cautious in their demeanor.
“Then I will conduct a brief examination.”
Hanson took my wrist to begin checking my pulse. I was slightly tense, being examined by someone I’d never met.
‘Of course. I should be examined by a doctor.’
Orphanages never had doctors, and the Libertan household had dismissed all my ailments as malingering. Betty, misunderstanding my awkwardness, held my hand tightly.
“Madam, Baron Hanson has seen your scars.”
“Ah…”
Betty bit her lip tightly, wearing a guilty expression.
“I’m sorry. But there was no other way while examining you.”
“It’s alright. These things happen.”
“Besides, I don’t think Master noticed the scar. I was the one who helped Lady undress completely.”
It wasn’t really such a serious secret. There was no need to feel guilty over it.
No…
Even if others didn’t find out, this was something I absolutely couldn’t let Johann see. If he noticed the scar, everything would get complicated. I felt relieved that Betty, unlike in the original story, actually liked me quite a bit.
“Just the fact that you tried to keep this secret for me—I’m thankful for that.”
“Lady…”
“You went through all that effort because you were worried about me.”
She must have worked hard to make sure Johann, who had been around me all week, didn’t find out. Betty’s face suddenly looked touched and a little sad. Tears welled slightly at the corners of her eyes.
“No, Lady. You don’t need to thank me for something like this…”
Now that I noticed, Betty was truly sentimental and easily moved to tears. With such a tender heart, how did she manage to survive in this harsh, scheming mansion?
“Lady, I’m asking just in case.”
“Yes. Please, go ahead.”
“Do you have any chronic illnesses?”
I shook my head. Henry’s expression grew even more serious.
“Really? What kind of doctor…”
“This is actually the first time I’ve ever been examined by a doctor.”
“Eh…?”
Both Henry and Betty looked shocked. Honestly, even I would be surprised if someone who seemed sick so often had never been treated by a doctor before.
“My illnesses have always been minor, so I never needed a doctor.”
“B-But…”
The doctor’s gaze went to the side with the scar. Logically, calling that a minor scar was questionable, but it couldn’t be helped. I smiled awkwardly, trying to explain.
“It’s not as bad as it looks.”
In the uncomfortable silence, the doctor nodded.
“That’s truly fortunate. However, Lady, you now need to take better care of your body. Do you know the condition your body is in right now?”
“What condition?”
I tilted my head, curious. Honestly, it would make sense to be sick for about a week after being ill, but now there seemed to be no aftereffects. Maybe I’d fully recovered.
“Are you… terminal?”
Of course, I did think of my life as limited. If I couldn’t escape this mansion, my life would effectively end here. But being sick was another matter entirely.
“Your high fever didn’t drop at all until you regained consciousness. Your health was poor, and your nutritional state was weak, so recovery was difficult.”
“….”
“You could have lost your life this time.”
That thought sent a shiver down my spine.
How careful do I even need to be?
I had gone through something serious, but I hadn’t been stabbed or seriously injured. Though my wrist still ached from striking Anton to punish him, I now furrowed my brows at the sharp pain rising again.
Does this mean I shouldn’t even move around?
In a way, being confined in the Libertan Duke household might have actually extended my life.
“So, you’re not suffering from any particular disease?”
“That’s correct. But we cannot be hasty. There are too many concerning symptoms…”
“It’ll be fine. I’ll just take better care of myself from now on.”
Saying that, I looked at Betty, who nodded in agreement. Henry, as a doctor, seemed slightly troubled by my calm demeanor.
But I’m not in pain right now, so I can’t cry either.
Henry hesitated, then finally spoke.
“I am employed by you, Lady, but as a doctor, I must respect the patient’s wishes above all. But Lady, are you really sure you don’t want Master to know?”
“Know what?”
“Well…”
He trailed off, as if there were several things. In the original story, Johann had acted as if he could be trusted with everything, but later he changed. It was better to draw the line from the beginning.
If he knew I was terminal, he might try to eliminate his revenge target faster.
It would be troublesome if my revenge target died before I could take revenge.
“I don’t want to worry him over something unnecessary. He’s a busy man.”
“Lady…”
“And it’s already in the past.”
My hand, which had been holding Betty’s, trembled. Betty opened her lips with tears glistening in her eyes.
“Lady, perhaps… you shouldn’t just consider this a past matter.”
“Why not?”
“That’s…”
Betty rolled her eyes, squeezing out an answer.
“Now that you’re married, it might be right to tell him about the parts that hurt.”
Judging by her awkward demeanor, she seemed to think Johann would change if he knew I was ill.
Unfortunately, that won’t happen.
How ruthless the mastermind of this mansion is.
“Hurt parts?”
At that moment, a sound came from the door. A presence so intense it seemed to darken the entire room. Johann leaned lazily against the doorframe, arms crossed. His gaze was intensely fixed on me, sitting on the bed.
“What is it that you’re not telling me?”
His flawless face was slightly disheveled.
