Chapter 7
A short while later, the entire mansion was thrown into an uproar.
“Mary! What happened to Mary?!”
Mary Goldian—the head maid of the estate and one of Josephine Ellester’s most trusted attendants.
“Mary! Are you all right? Open your eyes!”
Mary had completely lost consciousness.
It was hardly surprising. Her calves had been beaten to the point where they looked as though they’d been blasted apart.
Just like when she herself had punished Kanna not long ago.
“Who did this to her?!”
“W-Well…”
The maids hesitated before finally answering.
“Lady Kanna… punished her.”
“What?”
Josephine’s face froze. She doubted her own ears.
“That’s impossible. Kanna couldn’t possibly have had the strength left to do something like that!”
“N-No, ma’am! She walked perfectly on her own two feet! She even ran down the stairs! I saw it with my own eyes!”
At those words, Josephine’s blood ran cold.
Could someone have treated Kanna’s injuries?
“You—bring me the pharmacist in charge of the medicine room. And you—fetch the physician!”
She interrogated both the pharmacist and the physician, but they both insisted they were innocent.
Even more strangely, every herb and medicine in the dispensary was exactly where it belonged.
Not a single dose was missing.
Impossible. I’ll see it with my own eyes!
Josephine hurried upstairs and threw open Kanna’s bedroom door.
Then…
“Mother.”
The moment she saw the scene before her, her mind went completely blank.
“What brings you here?”
Kanna was sitting on the windowsill, gently stroking a tree branch that protruded through the open window.
Josephine rushed over and abruptly lifted Kanna’s skirt.
Impossible.
The swelling in her calves had almost completely disappeared.
That couldn’t be!
“Did you steal medicine from the dispensary?”
“Of course not.”
Kanna smoothed out her wrinkled skirt and smiled.
“If you don’t believe me, go check the medicine room yourself.”
Instead, I snuck into Mother’s greenhouse at dawn and stole a few medicinal herbs.
She kept that part to herself, merely smiling serenely.
“Surely you’re not unhappy that I’ve recovered, Mother?”
For a moment, Josephine was speechless.
Of course she was unhappy.
She had hoped Kanna would either die or at least be left crippled.
But admitting that out loud was an entirely different matter.
“What ridiculous nonsense are you talking about?!”
“Really? I thought you were angry because I’m perfectly fine.”
“Stop talking nonsense!”
Yet her reaction moments ago had certainly made it seem that way.
Realizing that, Josephine hurriedly changed the subject.
“If you’re all better, why didn’t you report it immediately? And Mary is the head maid of this household. How dare you beat her without my permission?”
“Mary was hoping I’d die.”
“…What?”
“She clapped her hands with delight while asking if that bitch Kanna had finally died.”
Josephine cursed inwardly.
Mary, you idiot! Why would you say something like that where Kanna could hear it?!
No one in this house cared about Kanna.
If she had simply wasted away from illness and died, no one would have paid any attention.
But openly declaring that they wanted to kill her…
That was a problem.
A very serious problem.
“Since Mary really did say those things, it’s only fair that I punished her, isn’t it?”
“She’s been punished enough. Mary has faithfully served this estate for decades. She’s an exemplary employee!”
Kanna pouted as though deeply wronged.
“I can’t live under the same roof as that maid. If you won’t throw her out, then I’ll leave instead.”
Naturally, to Josephine, it sounded like her arrogant daughter-in-law was making empty threats.
Where could Kanna possibly go?
There wasn’t a single place willing to accept someone everyone despised and scorned.
“Fine. Do as you please. If you’re leaving, then leave already!”
Yes! That’s exactly what I wanted!
Kanna suppressed the urge to cheer, forcing the corners of her lips to stay composed.
This was precisely what she’d wanted to hear.
She had deliberately provoked Josephine just to make her say those words.
So she could be driven out of the Valentino Ducal House.
“Understood. I’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning.”
But Josephine was no longer listening.
She let out a disdainful snort, spun on her heel, and stormed away.
Watching her retreating figure, Kanna smiled deeply.
Thank you, Mother.
Please continue helping me get divorced.
They said to strike while the iron was hot.
Since things had turned out this way, Kanna intended to make it absolutely clear that she was being thrown out before demanding a divorce.
To do that, she first had to speak with Sylvien Valentino.
He’ll probably welcome the idea with open arms, considering everything Juhwa has done.
Whew…
Standing before his bedroom door, Kanna took a deep breath.
Finally, she knocked.
“Your Grace, it’s Kanna. May I come in?”
Silence followed.
Kanna narrowed her eyes at the closed door.
Is he going to ignore me?
Just as that thought crossed her mind—
“Please come in, Miss Kanna.”
A cool, low voice answered from within.
Without realizing it, Kanna straightened her shoulders.
His voice naturally put people on edge.
Wait… Miss Kanna?
She already knew it, but…
He truly didn’t regard her as his wife in the slightest.
Kanna immediately opened the door and stepped inside.
Yet after taking barely three steps, she stopped dead in her tracks.
“What brings you here at this hour?”
Silver hair bathed in moonlight.
Eyes as deep and blue as the ocean.
Sylvien sat lazily on his bed, gazing at her.
He must have just finished bathing.
The tips of his silver hair still glistened faintly with moisture.
He looks like the Snow Woman.
A ghost story she’d once heard in Korea suddenly came to mind.
The Snow Woman.
A supernatural beauty who lured people into blizzards with her otherworldly appearance.
Those she seduced became so entranced by her beauty that they remained spellbound even as they slowly froze to death.
“I have something to say.”
After calming her breathing, Kanna finally spoke.
Juhwa might have lost her senses over Sylvien’s overwhelming good looks.
But Kanna hadn’t.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard… No, actually, I’m certain you have.”
Only after she began speaking did she regain complete composure.
His appearance may be dazzling, but underneath he’s nothing more than a cold-blooded monster.
There’s no reason to be intimidated by a man who wouldn’t care whether his wife lived or died.
“Your mother tried to kill me.”
At those words, one corner of Sylvien’s lips curved upward.
“Countess Ellester isn’t physically capable of beating someone to death with a switch.”
Anger flared inside Kanna, and she glared at him.
Just as she’d thought.
He had known everything all along.
And yet he still had the nerve to answer so shamelessly.
“Did you know that no one treated my injuries, even though I was seriously hurt?”
“Is there any reason I should have known?”
“I’m your wife. Your wife could have been beaten to death by her mother-in-law, and you chose to ignore it. Do you honestly believe that’s morally acceptable?”
“So?”
A look of profound boredom flickered across Sylvien’s eyes.
“You’re alive, standing right in front of me.”
“…”
“Is there a problem?”
His eyes curved gently.
The corners of his lips lifted into a pleasant smile.
His voice remained warm and courteous.
To anyone else, he looked like a man who would gladly offer someone his own heart.
Yet the air around him only grew colder and colder.
He was terrifyingly cold.
Kanna was certain that even if she coughed up blood and collapsed at his feet this very moment, he wouldn’t bat an eye.
Why did Juhwa ever fall in love with a man this heartless?
If Mom—no, Juhwa’s mother—knew about this, she’d be heartbroken.
The thought made hot anger surge through her.
“Then why did you marry me?”
She had to ask.
She couldn’t simply let this go.
Lee Juhwa, that fool, would never be able to stand up for herself.
So I’ll do it for her!
“Even if our marriage is only a contract, a marriage is still a marriage. Your Grace agreed to take me as your wife. Then the very least you owe me is basic respect, you…”
“You piece of trash!”
