TBKU 03

Chapter : 3

The ducal carriage, drawn by four fine steeds, traveled smoothly along the dirt road, unlike the noisy stagecoaches.

The carriage was comfortable, but Sheyla’s heart was in uncontrollable turmoil.

The Viscount’s words before her departure kept circling in her mind.

‘A dream…….’

Sheyla sometimes dreamed.

Dreams so vivid that they were no different from reality.

Moreover, situations exactly like those in her dreams would actually unfold in real life.

At first, she thought it was just a coincidence.

But as such incidents continued to happen, it became difficult for her to dismiss her dreams as meaningless.

On the day she dreamed that her mother collapsed,

thirteen-year-old Sheyla gathered her courage and went to her parents instead of suffering alone.

‘I, I have something to tell you.’

‘What is it this early in the morning, Sheyla?’

Her eyes reddened at the sound of her mother’s gentle voice calling her.

‘M-Mother…… I’m worried that you…… that you might collapse.’

‘Me? Why would I collapse? Oh, Sheyla. You must have had a nightmare.’

‘Sob, yes…… Something like that really will happen. We should see a physician right now…….’

In the end, her tears burst forth.

As the image of her mother lying unconscious in the dream, unable to wake for a long time, came to mind, sorrowful tears rolled down her cheeks.

‘Sheyla, Mother is perfectly healthy. Don’t worry.’

The Viscountess pulled Sheyla tightly into her arms and comforted her.

Even with her mother’s gentle pats, Sheyla could hardly stop crying.

Then the Viscount’s cold voice struck her.

‘Enough. You’re past the age for throwing childish tantrums. It’s irritating to listen to this first thing in the morning.’

I’m not throwing a tantrum.

I don’t know when Mother will collapse.

Desperate, Sheyla even told them about her dreams, but it was useless.

‘That may happen, but you don’t need to worry about something so unlikely.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous!’

Watching her mother try to comfort her while her father dismissed it all as nonsense, Sheyla was beside herself with worry.

And eventually, that day came.

Exactly as Sheyla had said.

The Viscountess collapsed without any known reason and hovered between life and death.

Every physician in the capital was summoned, and even a renowned priest was sought out, but there was no sign of improvement.

As time passed and the money spent on the Viscountess’s treatment exceeded half of the Viscount’s family fortune, yet she still failed to regain consciousness, the Viscount’s frustration turned into anger directed at Sheyla.

Smack!

Sheyla covered her stinging cheek after being struck with all his strength.

She was so shocked that no sound came out.

She couldn’t react in any way.

She simply stood frozen like a stone, taking the Viscount’s furious shouting with her entire body.

‘Isn’t this all because you ran your mouth carelessly and brought this upon us, you damnable girl! You unlucky wretch!’

It was the first time.

Her body trembled at the insulting words she had never heard before in her life.

The pain in her cheek was nothing compared to it.

‘I-I’m sorry…….’

‘Useless thing.’

Sheyla barely managed to open her mouth and blindly begged for forgiveness.

She just wanted to calm his anger.

In her mind, which had gone blank as though someone had wiped it clean, only one thought remained.

It’s my fault.

It was only when the bruise on her cheek had disappeared that the Viscountess finally woke up.

Her weakened body was no longer the same as before.

Every time Sheyla saw her mother’s pale face, she was overcome with guilt.

She couldn’t even sleep properly, afraid that she might have another bad dream.

If only she hadn’t had that dream back then.

The thought that the young Sheyla had repeated countless times continued even ten years later.

Overwhelmed by the suffocating feeling in her chest, Sheyla let out a long sigh.

But her heart did not feel even the slightest bit lighter, and resenting that fact, she turned her head away as if she could ignore it.

‘Are we here?’

The carriage, having circled around a large fountain, slowly came to a stop.

The ducal residence, glimpsed briefly through the window, exuded an old-fashioned elegance.

Compared to the Viscount’s estate, the grandeur of the enormous mansion was practically that of a palace, making her tense once again.

She sat with her back stiffly straight and waited for a moment before the carriage door opened.

“We’ve arrived. Please get out.”

She took the footman’s hand, who had come all the way outside the mansion to meet her, and stepped down from the carriage.

At the end of the path lined with neatly trimmed shrubs, she could see the entrance to the mansion.

Sheyla’s gaze fell upon the firmly closed doors.

For some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to take another step.

“This way.”

Urged on by the footman, she reluctantly moved forward.

Come to think of it, she was wearing the same clothes she had worn when she came to the ducal residence a few days ago.

It was nothing particularly unusual, but this time was different.

Wearing an old dress and carrying a worn-out bag, she looked nothing like a future duchess, and her steps kept slowing.

“Welcome. We are pleased to welcome you to the Higgins ducal residence.”

“Hello, Butler.”

The door that had seemed as though it would never open finally did, and an elderly butler named Liam, whose hair had turned completely white, came out to greet her.

Meeting a familiar face seemed to ease her tension.

At least enough for her to breathe naturally.

“Was your journey comfortable?”

“Yes, it was fine.”

“The Duke is in his study. If it is all right with you, shall I escort you there immediately?”

“Yes.”

“Then I shall escort you to the study.”

Sheyla nodded and followed the butler.

Liam guided her quietly and without a word, yet with great care, matching his pace to hers.

The servants they encountered along the way behaved no differently.

They did not rudely look her up and down or stare openly at her face.

Instead, they stepped aside and slightly bent their knees in a polite greeting.

Though such greetings were nothing more than part of their everyday lives, they felt special to Sheyla.

A gentle smile naturally appeared at the corners of her lips.

She returned their greetings with a slight nod, taking in each of their faces one by one.

“Your Grace, Lady Sheyla has arrived.”

Liam’s voice could be heard.

Lennon, who was as absorbed in his documents as always, could not immediately recall who the owner of that name was.

Lennon asked Donovan.

“Who?”

“……Lady Sheyla. The lady who will marry Your Grace and become the Duchess.”

“Ah, let her in.”

At the Duke’s permission, the solid dark-brown door opened heavily.

When Donovan saw Sheyla appear behind the door, he felt like smacking his own forehead.

She looked truly pathetic, wearing the same outfit he had seen a few days ago and carrying a small luggage bag as though she had fled in the middle of the night.

Changing dresses several times a day was simply a normal part of aristocratic life.

Yet seeing her visit the same person’s home for several days while wearing the same dress made him think that even a commoner wouldn’t do that.

She wasn’t even a lady with only one dress.

Like Donovan, whose expression was far from pleased, Lennon frowned the moment he saw Sheyla.

“Do you particularly like that dress? Or have you decided to wear it every time you come to the ducal residence?”

A sharp question came before even a greeting.

Sheyla’s face, which had just entered the study, immediately flushed bright red.

Embarrassed and unable to do anything, she stood awkwardly until Liam, standing behind her, quietly urged her, “Please go in.”

The heart that had been fluttering faintly with anticipation began pounding irregularly.

She was anxious.

It felt as though the only thing she could rely on was the handle of the bag clutched in her hand.

She tightened her grip on the completely worn leather strap and approached the desk where Lennon was seated.

As he watched Sheyla tremble like an aspen leaf, Lennon’s mind returned to Donovan’s comment that she was far too timid.

‘Should I call the whole thing off now?’

His cold gray eyes lingered on Sheyla’s flushed face for a long time.

He wondered if he had unnecessarily created a troublesome situation.

Then her plump lips moved slightly.

“I-I…… I’ll do my best.”

He had no idea how much courage she had squeezed out just to say those few words.

She could feel Lennon’s gaze examining her from head to toe.

And the thought crossed her mind that perhaps he was going to suggest calling off the whole arrangement.

If, by some chance, she were sent back to the Viscount’s estate like this, she had no confidence that she could endure her father’s anger, which would boil over like lava.

She had to say something.

“What do you mean?”

“I-I mean, I will…… become the Du…….”

The words Duchess could not make it out of her mouth.

She wanted to say that she would take on and handle everything she could and should do as Duchess, and that she would help the Duke.

But the words remained caught at the tip of her tongue and would not fall.

As the courage she had barely gathered began to disappear, Sheyla’s face crumpled completely.

“You’ll do your best at the duties of a Duchess?”

“Yes, yes!”

When Lennon said exactly what she had wanted to say, relief brightened her face.

Her head, which had been bowed deeply, lifted, revealing blue eyes sparkling with moisture.

Seeing her tearful expression change in an instant, he let out a quiet laugh.

Looking at those ocean-like eyes that were at least worth tolerating, Lennon spoke firmly.

“There’s no need.”

“What?”

Her gentle lips, which had relaxed, stiffened again.

The way her expression changed every time he spoke was utterly insignificant.

‘Still, if she were someone else, she would already be making a fuss trying to act like the lady of the house.’

He didn’t like her appearance, which was anything but aristocratic, but he liked her attitude, which was equally unaristocratic.

Lennon decided to make her the Duchess of Higgins.

“I will give you the position of Duchess, but you really don’t need to live as my wife. You don’t need to take on all the affairs of the ducal family either. No, don’t do it.”

“…….”

Sheyla was confused.

Was he telling her not to work because he was worried that it would be too difficult for her, or did he mean that he couldn’t entrust her with anything because he didn’t trust her?

Her complicated feelings appeared plainly in her eyes.

Even while looking at Sheyla’s wavering eyes, Lennon did not stop.

“We’ll keep the occasions where we have to appear together as husband and wife to a minimum. Attend those occasions with me, and live freely the rest of the time. Let’s agree not to interfere in each other’s private lives. Ah, do you have a lover?”

“What?”

Her voice rose unusually loudly.

She was genuinely that surprised.

Yet he did not so much as change his expression.

“You may meet him whenever you wish, but I’d prefer you to be discreet and moderate, as long as you don’t cause any trouble for the ducal family.”

“I-I don’t have anyone like that!”

“You never know what might happen.”

“Just what…….”

“If anything else needs to be arranged, we’ll discuss it as it comes up. If there’s something you need to tell me, tell the maid or the butler. You don’t need to come to me personally and make yourself uncomfortable.”

Did he mean that she herself made him uncomfortable?

She didn’t want to let a trembling voice escape in front of his stern demeanor.

Sheyla silently nodded.

His gray eyes, meeting hers in the air, felt unusually cold.

“And someone from the temple will be coming soon. We need to make the formalities look proper, so we’ll have a simple ceremony between the two of us when they arrive.”

His low voice reached her ears.

Perhaps because of the pleasant sound of his voice, or perhaps because he had said they would have a wedding, the heart that had finally settled began swelling again.

I have no shame.

What am I supposed to do with myself, being swayed by every single thing he says?

Unable to give any meaningful answer, Sheyla left the study.

Even on the way to the room where she would be staying, his words kept coming back to her from time to time, leaving her heart restless.