“And that Grand Madam Rochester just listens and stays quiet, how ridiculous! Everything’s strange! Really everything is strange!”

Frustrated that he couldn’t express all his thoughts and feelings in words, Sanderson stomped his feet. Then he tightly grasped Stella’s hand.

“Sister, run away! Huh? I’ll somehow handle what comes after. No matter how I look at it, this place doesn’t suit you!”

At Sanderson’s urgent and desperate appearance, Stella burst into laughter instead.

How could she not laugh and endure seeing that small child stepping forward saying he would somehow save her?

“It’s okay.”

Gently stroking Sanderson’s sulky cheek, Stella continued.

“Those people probably aren’t bad people either. They’re probably saying that because they don’t know us well.”

“……”

“Sister is really okay.”

Really okay. That was something she was saying to Sanderson, and also something she was saying to herself.

Even now, wasn’t her heart becoming calm just from the fact that she had someone on her side?

“So don’t worry too much. Understood?”

Tears welled up in Sanderson’s eyes. He seemed to instinctively realize that Stella’s words were just small comfort. And also about what his sister would face in the future.

“Sister, then if anything happens, tell me.”

Sanderson continued while swallowing his tears.

“I have a loud voice, so if anything happens to you, I’ll go and shout. I definitely will!”

But it was useless. Tears fell drop by drop.

“And you know what. If you ever escape from here and become free.”

As if he was going to say something important, Sanderson swallowed his tears.

“Don’t come back.”

“What?”

“Don’t come back home! Sister, you’ve suffered too much all this time!”

Sanderson continued while constantly wiping his tears with his arm.

“Only you suffer in our house! Our whole family has been living by depending only on you!”

Father because of the honor of being a count, Mother because her health wasn’t good, Sanderson and Mary because they were too young to work.

In House Ambrose, only Stella could work.

So how long had it been since Stella became responsible for the family’s livelihood?

“That’s why you couldn’t rest properly or eat properly! I knew about you collapsing from work last time too! If you come back, that will repeat again. Definitely!”

“Sanderson, how did you know that—”

“I’m sorry, Sister.”

The apology mixed with crying sounds couldn’t be heard properly.

“I’m sorry for making only you suffer. I wanted to grow up faster too. I wanted to grow up quickly and do proper work.”

Sanderson gave up wiping his tears and let his arms hang down.

“I didn’t want to just be a burden like this. I wanted to somehow be helpful to you……”

Stella knew well that Sanderson wanted to work.

Shoe shining, newspaper selling — he had stepped forward several times saying he would do it, and she had cleaned up after him when he caused accidents.

But at that time, she thought it was just because he wanted to have delicious meals and new clothes.

She never dreamed it was for this reason……

Tears welled up in Stella’s eyes too. The area around her eyes turned red.

“So if you become free, don’t come back, Sister. Go wherever you want to go.”

Having cried to his heart’s content, Sanderson roughly wiped his face.

“Live as you want to live, doing what you want.”

How could she not have imagined it?

Living freely without the heavy pressure of having to be responsible for someone — how could she not have pictured that in her mind?

But she didn’t know Sanderson had noticed.

“Oh my.”

At the suddenly interjected voice, both people turned their heads. The lady who had come to help with the wedding was just blinking at Stella and Sanderson as if flustered.

“Sanderson?”

Count Ambrose, who entered following behind the lady, also looked flustered.

“The wedding is about to start, so you should be sitting in your seat. What are you doing here? This is my son. He seems to have come to see his sister before the wedding.”

“Ah.”

Only then did the lady nod and smile at Count Ambrose’s explanation.

“The sibling affection is nice to see. But now you need to return to your seat. The wedding is about to start.”

The lady took Sanderson’s hand. As he was being dragged away, the younger brother shouted urgently.

“You have to promise, understood! Understood, Sister!!”

The door closed. Count Ambrose looked back and forth between the closed door and Stella.

“What did Sanderson want you to promise?”

“It’s nothing.”

Stella shook her head. Then, with the help of the lady who had returned, she put on the veil that had been placed beside her.

The pure white veil covered Stella’s face.

“Father, let’s go.”

Her anxious heart had calmed down peacefully as if it had never been troubled.

Now she was prepared.

The determination to somehow struggle and live, and…..

“Duke Rochester.”

She felt confident that she could completely abandon her feelings of love for this man.

Looking at the handsome man who received her hand from her father, Stella smiled.

As if seeing such a smile from Stella, Kalian’s eyes narrowed briefly, but it was soon buried in the ceremony that began.

She couldn’t hear the people’s mockery, murmuring, or piercing stares — nothing at all.

Stella just listened to the ceremony while hardening her heart.

“Please sign here, both of you.”

A marriage certificate was placed in front of the two people.

It was a certificate that condensed the long, long officiant’s words that Kalian Rochester would welcome Stella Ambrose as his wife and cherish her, and Stella Ambrose would welcome Kalian Rochester as her husband and follow him.

Kalian was the first to pick up the quill pen. He wrote his name without hesitation.

Following him, Stella took the quill pen from Kalian and wrote her name next to his.

The two became husband and wife like that.

⁕⁕⁕

How did the day pass?

Sitting on the bed, Stella just blinked blankly while receiving moonlight.

They said the wedding day was one of the most important days in life. She couldn’t properly remember such an important day.

All she remembered were countless people, malicious gazes, murmuring mouths, Mary who burst into tears realizing they were parting and Sanderson who swallowed his tears in contrast, Mother who seemed to have noticed something, and……

“It’s all for you.”

Father who cried while tightly holding her hand.

“Duke Rochester has the power and money to protect you and let you live in luxury. So surely you can live happily too.”

No, Father.

I wanted to marry someone who would love me even if I only earned fifty coins a year.

But she couldn’t say that.

From the hand that held hers, from the wet eyes, she could feel Father’s sincerity in wanting to pull at least her out of this poverty.

Father had no malice.

So Stella could only smile again this time too.

Another thing she remembered was the large hand that had firmly grasped her hand throughout the wedding without letting go even once.

‘It was warm.’

The large hand with scars here and there and calluses was warm and solid, making her want to lean on it if she let her guard down just a little.

Stella gazed at her hand that still felt as if it was being held.

She tried to give it some meaning but soon dropped her arm. Hadn’t she decided to stop doing such things?

Then she deliberately led her thoughts elsewhere.

‘The Grand Madam seemed nice too.’

Because her health hadn’t been good from the beginning, the time they talked wasn’t long, but she didn’t particularly seem to hate her.

She didn’t know if only she felt that way.

One thing that was certain was that, befitting the current king’s sister, she was a person with royal dignity and beauty.

Getting close would be a little — no, very difficult though.

‘What else happened?’

Still, it felt regrettable to let today pass without any meaning, so she was slowly mulling over today’s events when the door opened.

It was Kalian Rochester, who had become her husband from today.

Whether he had washed, Kalian strode inside while lightly shaking his golden hair that still had moisture in it with his hand.

He raised his head.

The moonlight coming through the window drew out in turn his thick eyebrows, the sharp eyes visible beneath them, his prominent nose bridge, and the lips pressed together in a straight line beneath it.

Through the loosely tied robe, his solid chest was clearly visible at a glance. If she lowered her gaze just a little more from there—

“……!”

Stella turned her head in surprise.

Right, it’s the wedding night.

She didn’t have the leisure to ruminate over today that had already passed. She should have been thinking about what was to come.

When she turned her head slightly again, Kalian was standing in front of a small table.

Clink, Kalian filled a crystal glass containing ice halfway with alcohol and drank it straight down. His Adam’s apple moved greatly. The already loose robe opened a bit more.

Stella, who had drawn in a breath, turned her head.

Her face was red enough to be recognizable even under the dim candlelight and moonlight.

“Um, that, shouldn’t you properly fasten your robe?”

Stella, covering her eyes with both hands, trembled as she spoke.

“Your stomach is all visible……”

Despite being words she had barely managed to say with courage, Stella’s request was ignored.

“You should be used to it, wife.”

Kalian, sitting in a chair, tilted his head.

“If you’re pretending to be a modest new bride, well, that’s not bad either.”

While saying this, Kalian took something out of a drawer and placed it on the table. Looking at Stella, he pointed to the chair across from him.

When Stella sat down, he pushed a document toward her.

“We’re going to divorce.”

It was a calm and composed voice, as if asking what about duck for dinner tonight.

“The period is a maximum of three years. What you need to do during that time is play the role of a modest and quiet Duchess of Rochester.”

“……”