I dreamed of my childhood. The orphanage I stayed in was a quiet place. The “Lavianne Orphanage.” Honestly, it wasn’t a particularly bad orphanage. Among the imperial orphanages often guilty of abusing children, the director was indifferent to the kids but didn’t torment them. However, he didn’t particularly like me.
“The doctor said you won’t live very long.”
The director told me this when I was feeling sick due to stress.
“Do you know how much trouble it causes when you get sick so often?”
Whenever other children found their families and left, I had to stay alone at the orphanage every time. They said they couldn’t introduce a sick child to others.
‘I wish I had a family too.’
Whenever I had free time, I would draw pictures of my imagined family on the ground with a stick. It was silly, but I wished for a family that wouldn’t blame me even when I was sick.
“You must be Estelle.”
“Hello, Duke Libertan.”
And on the day I first met Duke Libertan, I had overly high expectations. They knew I was often ill.
“…As I heard.”
Still, I thought I might be loved.
“Duke Libertan is a noble family on a different level from commoners. Since you are adopted as my daughter, you must absolutely not do anything wrong.”
But my dreams were nothing but foolish delusions.
‘I shouldn’t have even dreamed of a family.’
It’s painful and difficult to hold onto hopes like that.
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
Erich found Lord Lexius Pulman. Now a baron, Pulman was tearful as he learned the revealed truth.
“My father was killed by such a scoundrel… It’s a relief that the truth has come out now. Thank you for clearing my father’s name.”
In the past, the Blanchet family was respected by many noble houses. And the Pulman family was also loyal to such a Blanchet noble family. But during John’s era, the changed appearance of Blanchet made them hesitant to act.
“Even the Duke Blanchet hasn’t forgotten us. I am ashamed of myself for being blinded by prejudice and not going to pledge my loyalty.”
The Pulman baron was one of the central noble families. If Pulman moved, Duke Blanchet could fully regain his strength and even restore past glory. That was very good for Blanchet. John thought he didn’t need to go to such lengths to gain glory. All of this was the work of that fake, daughter of Libertan.
‘Could this also have been her intention?’
Thinking this way, Erich felt a shiver. As Lord Pulman muttered about his father’s case, he asked.
“But how could you catch the real culprit?”
“…That is.”
Erich forced himself to hide his discomfort and spoke.
“The new lady of the house found out.”
“Are you talking about Lady Blanchet? That woman…”
Edgar’s expression froze as he thought of Estelle. He knew the story that she was not a proper lady, even in high society.
“You mean she revealed the injustice of my father? I guess you can’t trust rumors after all.”
He nodded and carefully folded the paper with his father’s news and put it to his chest.
“By the way, I have a question regarding my father’s death. Do you know where the orphanage he was investigating at that time was?”
“Ah, the orphanage. Yes.”
Edgar nodded in response.
“On the day before my father died, he was investigating a particularly strange orphanage.”
“Which orphanage is that?”
“It’s called the Lavianne Orphanage.”
Erich’s face stiffened. Lavianne Orphanage. That orphanage…
‘The orphanage where Libertan’s daughter was adopted from.’
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
Lady Patricia Gillett. She was originally the former duchess and the person who served Agnes Blanchet, John’s mother. Agnes trusted Patricia so much that she asked her to be her daughter’s godmother. During the few years Patricia’s husband was away in the eastern kingdom, the Blanchet duke vanished completely after those years. And he was disgraced with a false charge of treason. Honestly, Patricia, the daughter of a weak baron, who had lived a modest life among similar-sized noble families, couldn’t do much. But still, Patricia couldn’t forgive herself.
‘Even the grave of a friend can’t be visited. What kind of friend is that?’
To her, John’s final act was almost like last atonement. Patricia deeply understood John’s desire for revenge and wanted to help. So she worked diligently as a maid in the vacant Blanchet estate, which was supposed to be the duchess’s residence. John, now the new duke, was exactly the ideal master she had imagined. Until the fake lady Estelle, who disregarded his orders, entered. Of course, Patricia did not disobey orders outright. She was loyal to John, after all. But she did have some limited authority to act late in response to incomprehensible commands. Then unexpectedly, Anton suddenly assaulted the Duchess Blanchet. From a logical perspective, it was a natural turn of events. But Patricia’s situation was completely different from what she had expected. John, who had already been punished with a warning, called her with a blank expression and delivered the message.
“Patricia, thank you for your hard work as the lady of the Blanchet estate all this time.”
Why? Where did everything go wrong?
“From now on, focus on your duties as a maid.”
Now Patricia was about to be driven out, pushed aside by the fake who had collapsed from illness. Moreover, she was in a state where she hadn’t even woken up yet.
“Are you trying to kick me out?”
“Kick you out?”
John, who seemed to have completely changed, looked at Patricia coldly.
“That’s something my wife, who has become the head of the family, should decide.”
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
As soon as I woke up, cold sweat covered my forehead.
‘It’s been so long since I had that dream.’
I usually don’t have nightmares. It was such a strange thing.
“Lady. Are you awake now?”
Betty’s face was right in front of me, looking anxious.
“…Betty?”
“Yes. Do you recognize me?”
“That’s because I haven’t lost my memory.”
Betty’s face looked somehow more gaunt.
“How long was I unconscious?”
Now, it was just some body aches, not too painful. Only the damp sweat on my forehead showed signs of the pain I’d endured.
“Yes. You haven’t been awake for a whole week.”
“A week?”
I gasped in surprise, my eyes widening.
“You mean I slept that long?”
“The situation was quite serious. Lady, we thought you might not wake up at all…”
Betty murmured with a bitter expression.
“The master was very worried about you. He stayed with you all week. Now that he sees you are better, he has left.”
“I was that sick?”
“Yes. Are you feeling any pain now?”
“Not at all.”
Honestly, I don’t remember much, so I don’t even realize how serious it was.
“That’s a relief.”
Betty looked at the doctor sitting beside her and cautiously began to speak. The doctor was an elderly man.
“This is Lord Hansen Baron, the personal physician of the Blanchet estate. He took care of you while you were unconscious.”
“Hello, Lady. I am Henry Hansen, the estate’s doctor.”
“Hello, Baron Hansen.”
I nodded in greeting. Henry waved his hand and chuckled.
“May I examine you now?”
“Yes, please.”
Both Betty and Henry were very cautious in their demeanor.
“Then I will perform a quick exam.”
Henry took my wrist and started checking. He seemed a bit tense, probably because it was his first time seeing me.
‘Well, I should have gone to a doctor in the first place.’
The orphanage wasn’t a place where a doctor could easily come, and at the Duke Libertan’s estate, all my ailments were dismissed as feigned illnesses. Betty, misunderstanding my awkwardness, held my hand tightly.
“Lady, Baron Hansen has seen your scar.”
“Ah…”
Betty bit her lip, looking guilty.
“I’m sorry. But during the examination, I couldn’t help it.”
“It’s okay. It happens.”
“However, it seems the master didn’t notice the scar. I was the one who handled all your undressing.”
It’s not a serious secret, really. There’s no need to feel guilty.
‘That’s right.’
If anyone else found out, it would be fine. But John must not find out about the scar. If he did, everything would fall apart. I was relieved that Betty liked me quite a bit, unlike the original story.
“Just keeping this secret is enough. Thank you.”
“Lady…”
“You’re worried about me, so you tried so hard.”
It must have taken a lot of effort to prevent John, who was with her all week, from finding out. Betty’s expression suddenly flickered with emotion and sadness. Tears glistened in her eyes.
“No, Lady. You don’t have to thank me for this…”
Now I see that Betty is very sentimental and emotional. She’s so affectionate, I wonder how she survives in this treacherous dark mansion.
“Lady. Just in case, I have a question.”
“Yes. Please tell me.”
“Do you have any chronic illnesses?”
I shook my head. Henry’s expression grew more serious.
“Really? What kind of doctor…?”
“I’ve only been examined by a doctor for the first time now.”
“Ha…?”
Both Henry and Betty were shocked. If someone as frequently ill as me had never been treated by a doctor before, I’d probably be surprised too.
“I’ve been so lightly sick that I didn’t need a doctor.”
“Hah, but…”
Henry’s gaze shifted to the scar. Logically, it’s hard to call that scar minor, but I couldn’t help it. I forced a nervous smile and explained.
“It’s not as bad as it looks.”
In the uncomfortable silence, Henry nodded.
“It’s truly fortunate, but you need to take better care of your health from now on. Do you know what your current condition is?”
“What do you mean?”
I tilted my head and asked. Honestly, if I get sick once, I might be sick for about a week. Since I have no aftereffects now, I think I’ve recovered fully.
“Can you say it’s terminal?”
Of course, I do think I have a limited life expectancy. If I can’t escape this mansion, my life will end here. But being ill was a different matter.
“Your high fever never subsided until you regained consciousness. Your health was so poor, and your nutrition was lacking, so recovery was slow.”
“…”
“You could have even lost your life this time.”
Thinking about it like that, I feel a chill.
‘Just how careful do I have to be?’
I’ve gone through a big ordeal, but I wasn’t stabbed or hurt anywhere. Of course, my wrist still ached from scolding Anton. I furrowed my brow as a sharp pain flared up.
‘Isn’t this just telling me not to go anywhere?’
In a way, being constantly confined in the Duke Libertan estate might have actually extended my life.
“So I don’t have any particular illness?”
“That’s right. But I can’t say for sure. There are so many worrying symptoms…”
“It’ll be fine. If I start taking good care of my body now.”
As I said that, I looked at Betty, who nodded in agreement. Henry’s attitude seemed to question my calm composure as a doctor.
‘But I’m not hurting now, so I can’t even cry.’
After a moment of hesitation, Henry finally spoke.
“I’m employed by the master, but as a doctor, I respect the patient’s will above all. But Lady, are you really not planning to tell the master?”
“What do you mean?”
“Um…”
He hesitated, indicating there were various reasons. In the original, John acted as if he could rely on everything, but later, he changed his mind. It would have been better to set clear boundaries from the start.
‘If I say it’s terminal, I might be able to get rid of it faster.’
If the target of revenge dies before getting revenge, it could cause trouble.
“I don’t want to worry him unnecessarily. The duke is busy, after all.”
“Lady…”
“And it’s already in the past.”
Betty’s hand, which was holding mine, trembled. She looked up with tearful eyes and spoke softly.
Lady. Maybe… it’s not something I can just see as something in the past.”
“Why?”
“Because…”
Betty rolled her eyes and finally forced out her answer.
“Since you’re married now, I thought it would be better to tell him everything, including your illness.”
Seeing her distressed, I thought she believed that John would change if he knew I was sick.
‘Unfortunately, that probably won’t happen.’
Dark secrets are too dangerous.
“Illness?”
At that moment, a voice came from the door. A presence so strong and radiant that it darkened everything around. John was leaning lazily against the door, arms crossed. His gaze was intensely fixed on me, sitting on the bed.
“What is it that you don’t want me to know?”
His smooth face was oddly disheveled.
~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.
See you then!!
