Chapter 9
âIâve heard that the Orbetian family dotes greatly on their daughter. If that was an inappropriate thing to say, I apologize.â+
Well, they had come to my wedding and cried so bitterly. It wasnât entirely wrong to say that.+
âItâs fine. Of course, they love me. But Father and my elder brothers are busy, so it canât be helped. I understand that.â+
âThen, have you ever traveled together with them?â+
Even before I possessed this body and secluded myself within the manor, there hadnât been any particular memories. There was no way we had ever traveled together.+
âNot really. Father and my eldest brother rarely stayed at the Orbetian manor to begin with. I barely saw them. When I was young, Mother passed away early, so the household atmosphere was unpleasant.â+
At my words, the maidsâ and Emberâs expressions changed drastically. Realizing my mistake, I quickly added,+
âBut the nanny at the manor took good care of me. My youngest brother also played with me whenever he had time. That was enough to make me happy.â+
After all, I wasnât the real Julietta, so that level of affection was sufficient for me. Yet the real Julietta seemed to have suffered from emotional neglect. She had apparently become infatuated with kindnessâso much so that she had given her heart entirely to the current Emperor over just one gentle smile.+
âBut perhaps thatâs why Iâve come to appreciate kind peopleâŚâ+
In truth, both the real Julietta and I lacked someone to rely on emotionally.+
Surprised by my own unfiltered sincerity, I tightly closed my mouth. I hurried to smooth things over with a smile, whenâ+
A rough yet warm hand firmly grasped mine.+
âMilady, please donât worry. From now on, we will care for you more attentively than anyone else ever has.â+
âWhat?â+
Ember, who had seemed so frail just moments ago, straightened her posture and steeled her resolve. Moreover, the eyes of the maids behind her were all glistening.+
âI think I mightâve said something I shouldnât haveâŚâ+
But the water had already spilled.+
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âSigh. Theyâve clearly misunderstood me completely.â+
I couldnât help but sigh. I could already imagine exactly how they pictured me.+
They probably thought I was a pampered young lady who grew up doted upon, so Iâd been careful not to make any mistakes.+
But in reality, I was a delicate young lady who had been practically neglected under a busy family, enduring silently and pretending it was fine!+
And now, the story would surely spread through the manorâthat such a fragile girl, suffering in hardship, had been comforted by Duke Ferhaem himself, fallen for his kindness, and married him in a passionate love story.+
Yeah. This is definitely a huge problem.+
Worse yet, the pieces fit together perfectly, making the false narrative seem completely true.+
âHow on earth do I clear up this misunderstanding?â+
Even if I denied it now, they would only look at me with those warm, sympathetic eyes.+
Perhaps because of this sudden worry, I found myself unable to touch the food before me. Not that I usually ate breakfast with much appetite anyway.+
âIs the food not to your liking, milady?â
Lifting my head at the gentle inquiry, I saw Yezar looking at me. I couldnât possibly explain what had happened earlier in front of all the servants.+
âFine. Since the misunderstanding already exists, thereâs no point denying it now.â+
I might as well use this misunderstanding to make us appear like a loving couple!+
âItâs just⌠itâs been so long since Iâve shared a meal with someone. Having breakfast with you, Yezar, feels so nice.â+
I deliberately let my voice trail off, speaking in a pitiful tone. From behind, I could clearly hear someone quietly sobbing.+
Sigh. I donât even know anymore. But at this point, it should be enough.+
Then he said something completely unexpected.+
âI alsoâŚâ+
âWhat?â+
âI am glad to have breakfast with you, my wife.â+
His cheeks were slightly flushed as he said this. Though his gaze was lowered, I could see the soft curve of his eyes.+
I nearly fell for his natural reaction, momentarily tricked into believing it was genuine.+
After all, the servants didnât know about our contract.+
He was simply playing the role of an ideal husband, reacting shyly as expected.+
âI almost embarrassingly misread the situation.â+
Yezar was adjusting himself for my sake like this, and I had nearly responded awkwardly, unaware.+
âStay calm. To the servants, weâre a deeply loving couple.â+
So in moments like this, I needed to respond in kind.+
âLetâs eat together again. Anytime.â+
I smiled brightly, clearly showing how pleased I was by his words. In response, Yezarâs smile deepened.+
âYes, my wife.â+
To any observer, we would seem like a perfectly harmonious couple. Yet I felt as though cold sweat was trickling down my back.+
âDid I not seem awkward? What if he suspects something?â+
As I worried, I glanced cautiously at the servants. They were all averting their eyes, seemingly embarrassed by the display of affection.+
I hadnât realizedâI might actually have some talent for acting.+
Alongside a faint sense of pride, a wave of helplessness about my future life washed over me. I had managed to dodge this one, but living like this within the ducal household, constantly performing, would be exhausting.+
âYezar. After finishing our meal, would you like to take a short walk in the garden?â+
âYes, thatâs fine. Though the weather is still a bit chilly, so perhaps we should ask the maids toââ+
âNo. Iâd like to walk alone with you.â+
At that, Yezar dropped the knife he was holding. The utensil clattered loudly against the marble floor. As I started to move toward him in surprise, he spoke first.
âIâll finish my meal quickly.â+
âYou can eat at your own paceâŚâ+
I blinked in confusion at his reaction, but somehow, the servantsâ gazes toward us seemed even warmer than before.+
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After finishing our meal, I walked with him into the ducal estateâs expansive garden.+
âAre the other servants not coming?â+
âThey wonât come. Besides, didnât you say you wanted to walk alone?â+
âThatâs true. Iâm just worried something might get leaked.â+
âIs there something important youâd like to discuss?â+
His calm question made me wonder if he was teasing me on purpose. But his innocent expression didnât seem like he was trying to mock me.+
âHmph. Of course. No other servants know about our contract marriage, do they?â+
âOh.â+
Apparently realizing something, Yezar turned to me.+
âDid you encounter some difficulty because of that?â+
âYes. I was completely mistaken as a young lady who grew up neglected in the Orbetian household. Worse, I accidentally said I liked kind people, so rumors will surely spreadâno, theyâve already spreadâthat I fell passionately in love with the Duke because of his kindness.â+
Of course, I had added plenty of salt to the story they imagined, but I was still worried about what came next.+
âFirst, calm down, Julietta. Slowly tell me what happened.â+
I took a deep breath to steady myself, then carefully explained the events of that morning.+
But his reaction was strange.+
âIâd like to hear about your past.â+
âWhat? My past?â+
Why suddenly did he want to hear about my past? All I had was a life of seclusion anyway.+
âTo clear up the misunderstanding, I think I should first understand your story.â+
âIt wonât be very interesting.â+
It was definitely not interesting at all. I couldnât understand why heâd want to know.+
Yet Yezar, looking genuinely curious, led me to a bench in the garden and said,+
âItâs fine. I want to hear your story.â+
With no choice, I sat on the bench and began speaking slowly.+
âYou probably already know, since you must have investigated the Orbetian family. When I was young, my mother passed away after a long illness caused by complications from childbirth.â+
This was the root of Juliettaâs emotional deprivation.
âTo be honest, I donât have many close memories of her. She was bedridden due to illness, so we werenât close. Maybe thatâs why I donât miss her.â+
This explained why my lack of grief for Countess Orbetian didnât seem odd.+
âSo after she passed, though someone might call me heartless, I wasnât particularly sad. Instead, I felt suffocated among Father and my brothers, who shut themselves in their rooms and cried every day.â+
Through the memories lingering in the body I possessed, I felt the emotions, if only partially. At the time, Julietta, just a clueless child, had gone looking for her father and brothers to play, only to be turned away at the door.+
She had sobbed silently, confused and rejected, but everyone was too lost in grief to comfort the little girl. Julietta believed they had rejected her because they were too sad to have time for herâbut back then, they might have actually resented her.+
Because Countess Orbetian had died from complications after giving birth to Julietta.+
âThat must have been very difficult for you.â+
âWellâŚâ+
It wasnât my experience. Hearing his sympathy made me feel guilty.+
âBut they quickly recovered and treated me well afterward. Though they were extremely busyâŚâ+
Perhaps out of guilt for having neglected the little girl, Father and her brothers became deeply affectionate toward Julietta.+
But perhaps they tried to overcome their sorrow through work. They were hardly ever at the manor. Only young Weaslet remained at the estate and played with Julietta, but his blunt, abrupt manner didnât suit her well.+
Then, when Julietta fell gravely ill with a high fever and collapsed, she passed awayâand I took possession of this body.+
âNow that I think about it, Juliettaâs fate wasnât particularly happy either.â+
For a secondary antagonist, her upbringing was far too lonely.+
âI heard you secluded yourself at some point. Did you experience any particular change of heart?â+
He was asking about the time after I possessed her body. A change of heart? I had simply struggled to survive. So I answered jokingly. After all, no one would believe the truth anyway.+
âI just wanted to live longer.â+
Yet this man took even my flippant answer seriously.+
âDid something unpleasant happen?â
