TBKU 04

Chapter : 04

“This is the room where you will be staying from now on.”

Having come down to the lower floor of the study with Liam, she carefully stepped inside.

‘The Duchess’s room…’

Knowing that this was a room where the duchesses had once lived made her instinctively more cautious about her manners.

She forced her restless heart to settle down.

Although she had not been given the role of the lady of the house, there was no changing the fact that she was the one who would stand beside Duke Higgins as his duchess.

‘This is where I’ll be living now.’

She did not know why she had been given such an opportunity.

But she knew better than anyone that she absolutely could not let it slip away.

Even if all she could do was play the role of a duchess in name, she had to do it.

She steadied her heart, which was trembling with anxiety.

“This room doesn’t have a separate reception area, so when you receive guests, you will have to use the small drawing room.”

At Liam’s words, Sheila looked around the room again.

Neither overly lavish nor lacking in anything, the room seemed devoted solely to its function as a bedroom, with only a few essential pieces of furniture.

She did not expect to have any guests coming to visit her anyway, but she nodded in response.

“I see. Where is the small drawing room?”

“It is across from the drawing room you visited before.”

“Understood.”

“Then I’ll take my leave. I’ll send a maid shortly, so please make yourself comfortable for a while, Lady Sheila.”

“Yes, thank you.”

As soon as Liam left, the corners of her mouth, which had been forcibly lifted, quickly returned to their natural position.

No matter how many times she exhaled, the heaviness pressing down on her heart would not disappear.

She placed her luggage bag on the small table by the window and opened the window.

She had wanted to feel a refreshing breeze, but contrary to her expectations, the air was lukewarm, making her feel even more dejected.

‘It’s not going the way I imagined.’

Sheila dragged over a chair, rested her chin against the windowsill, and gazed blankly at the garden.

If she ever got married someday.

She had wanted to see her adorable children and beloved husband playing together affectionately.

She had never even wished for such a large and magnificent garden.

A small front yard would have been enough, and she would not have cared even if it were nothing more than a field overgrown with grass.

She had imagined countless times a dreamlike scene where she would watch them from afar, just as she was now, and then happily run toward them when they beckoned her over.

It was the one and only romantic fantasy she had ever had.

Was that really such a great wish?

‘I can’t even imagine it.’

She could not even begin to imagine what a child who looked like Lennan and herself would be like, much less picture him smiling happily at her as they faced each other.

She could only wonder if such a day would ever come.

‘A child…’

With her gaze still fixed blankly on the garden, one thought led to another.

‘You don’t need to live as my wife.’

Did that mean she had no obligation to bear an heir?

Did he already have another woman he was seeing, and was that why he had told her she could have a lover as well?

Then why not marry that woman?

Why me?

Her heart rippled like a glass filled to the brim with water.

The resolve she had made only moments ago—to do her very best—seemed meaningless now, and she simply wanted to disappear like dust.

Knock, knock.

A knock echoed through the quiet room.

Startled, Sheila cleared her throat and told them to come in.

A maid who looked much younger than her entered with a bright smile and greeted her enthusiastically.

“Hello! My name is Kate. I’ll be serving you from now on, Lady Sheila. If there’s anything you need, please tell me anytime!”

“Oh, I see. Nice to meet you.”

“Were you looking at the garden?”

“Yes.”

Sheila had opened the window because she felt suffocated, but she gave a vague answer anyway.

“The view from the guest rooms is nice too, but they say the garden looks much more beautiful from the master’s room. I haven’t been inside yet either, but the older maids told me so.”

“Oh, the guest room…”

“Even so, this is the best of all the guest rooms. We took special care to clean and prepare it. And that painting was given as a gift to the previous Duke by a famous painter…”

Her ears grew hot, and she could barely hear Kate’s cheerful chatter.

Of course.

Naturally, it was a guest room.

They had not even signed the marriage vows yet.

She was someone who would become the Duchess, but she was not the Duchess yet.

‘What was I expecting?’

Finding it ridiculous that she had gotten ahead of herself, she almost let out a hollow laugh.

“Um, I’d like to rest for a while.”

“Oh! Yes! I’ll just put away the luggage over there and leave right away.”

“No, it’s fine.”

She was embarrassed.

Opening her old bag and revealing what was inside felt as though she were exposing her own shortcomings.

At her firm response, Kate said nothing more and lowered her head.

“Then please get some rest, Lady Sheila!”

She did not think she would be able to rest comfortably.

Her insides felt unsettled.

Hoping she would not look as though she were forcing herself to smile, Sheila smiled.

How long had she been alone after sending Kate out?

While she was staring at nothing but the sky, which was gradually turning red, servants came in and filled the room with large boxes.

“These were sent by His Grace.”

“All of these…?”

Sheila asked with wide eyes.

Her voice was filled with disbelief.

The servants gave a short answer confirming it, bowed, and left.

“What is all this…?”

Sheila looked bewildered as she pulled the bell cord.

Before long, Kate came running in.

“You called… Oh my!”

Kate carefully made her way between the boxes, which had been placed everywhere with barely enough room to step, and opened all the packages.

Every box contained clothes, as well as shoes, hats, gloves, and various other accessories. There were also countless dazzling pieces of jewelry.

Excited, she let out an exclamation that was almost a scream.

“Look at this! This is the dress that was sold out everywhere after the princess wore it recently! Oh my, this is a blue diamond necklace! I think it was chosen to match the color of Lady Sheila’s eyes.”

“No way.”

“My goodness, you could wear this tiara at the wedding! Look at how it sparkles. It must be even more beautiful under the sunlight.”

“Hmm…”

It seemed that a grand wedding was already taking place inside Kate’s head.

Watching the maid remove each item one by one with an ecstatic expression, Sheila could not help but wear a bitter look.

“Duke sent these, didn’t he?”

“That’s what I was told.”

“Wow, Duke must really love you, Lady Sheila. I’ve never seen anyone receive this many gifts before!”

“…Love?”

“Yes! My mother always says that a man never spares any expense when it comes to the woman he loves. If these aren’t Duke’s love, then what are they?”

Kate’s voice was filled with certainty as she spread her arms toward the floor covered with gifts.

“To fill an entire room with wedding gifts for a woman he fell in love with at first sight… I had no idea our Duke was such a romantic man! He’s such a lover!”

Just what kind of story was going around the ducal estate?

A look of utter bewilderment crossed Sheila’s eyes.

The words Lennan had spoken in the study came back to her.

Love, my foot.

She must not harbor any false expectations.

He simply did not like the way the woman who was going to become his duchess looked.

“Could you organize all this? It’s a bit overwhelming.”

Before Kate could launch into another lengthy speech about love, she quickly diverted her attention.

It was uncomfortable listening to a story that was not true.

At the same time, she felt as though Kate’s words might make her fall into the foolish illusion of thinking, Really? Me?

“Hmm, I think it’ll take some time. Since it’s almost dinner time, why don’t you go first?”

“Should I?”

“Yes! Then, Lady Sheila, let’s change your clothes first!”

“Change my clothes?”

“He sent you so many presents. You have to put something pretty on and make a grand entrance!”

Sheila ran her fingers over the sleeves, which were covered in abundant ruffles.

Hiding the worn-out section beneath the ruffles had become a habit.

‘Do you particularly like that dress? Or did you decide to wear it every time you came to the ducal estate?’

It felt as though Lennan’s icy voice was ringing in her ears again.

On impulse, she pointed toward a pale blue dress that caught her eye.

“That one.”

She had only intended to change her clothes, but at Kate’s insistence, she even finished having her makeup done before heading to the dining room.

It would be a lie to say she had not hoped to meet Lennan.

Part of her had secretly wished that he would be at least a little surprised to see how different she looked.

With a nervous heart, Sheila asked Liam,

“Perhaps Duke’s dinner…”

“He has already finished his meal.”

“Ah…”

It seemed she had taken too long to get ready.

Her appetite vanished in an instant, and her excitement quickly faded.

‘I’m such an idiot.’

She barely touched the beautifully arranged food on the table before getting up from her seat.

“You’re not going to eat any more?”

“…It’s delicious, but I’m full.”

“Shall I have some chamomile tea brought to you before you retire?”

The experienced old butler seemed to have immediately noticed her mood.

Sheila shook her head.

“No, it’s fine. Instead, I’d like to take a short walk…”

Her room probably had not been completely organized yet.

Besides, she did not have the emotional energy to deal with Kate’s overexcitement right now.

Worried that she might trouble Liam, Sheila quickly added,

“May I go by myself? I won’t go far, just to the garden in front of the estate. I’ll be back soon.”

“It is dark, so please be careful.”

Fortunately, Liam readily allowed her to go.

She had secretly worried that he might disapprove of her wandering around on her own, but Sheila responded with a faint smile before leaving the dining room.

As Liam had said, she followed the long corridor illuminated by wall lamps until she saw a door leading outside.

She felt impatient to get out.

“Ah, hello.”

She quietly greeted the knight standing guard outside the door, then hurried into the garden.

She wanted to be alone without attracting anyone’s attention.

However, contrary to Sheila’s earnest wish, there was someone watching her.

“What’s that?”

“Is something the matter?”

“I thought I was seeing things.”

Lennan, who had been standing by the window to drive away his fatigue, caught sight of a small figure.

Her clothes and hairstyle were different, so it took him a while to realize who she was.

“She was trembling like a leaf earlier, yet she’s wandering around quite well.”

“Is there something outside?”

Donovan poked his head out curiously.

He could see Sheila wandering around the garden.

“Oh, Lady Sheila? Clothes really do make the woman. I almost didn’t recognize her. It’s fortunate the mistress’s clothes fit her well.”

“Mother’s clothes?”

“Yes. In the meantime, we gave her the dresses and various belongings the mistress left behind.”

“Well done. She looks much better than in that curtain-like piece of cloth.”

At Lennan’s words, Donovan nodded vigorously.

Lennan’s eyes followed the golden hair that occasionally sparkled beneath the moonlight.

At some point, his eyes became filled with blue.

Even from a distance, he could clearly see Sheila’s trembling eyes.

They remained looking at each other for a long while before she turned away first.

“……”

His fatigue had disappeared, but for some reason, he did not feel particularly good.

He firmly closed the window and sat back down at his desk.

“…Donovan, go to the temple first thing tomorrow and bring a priest. If we just wait around, who knows when they’ll come. We need to get this taken care of and out of the way quickly.”