#Side Story 2

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Ellin stared blankly out the carriage window with nervous eyes.

Though all she had seen for a while were hills and lush trees, her eyes remained fixed outside.

“Don’t worry too much.”

Dominic took Ellin’s hand.

“In fact, Mother is probably waiting more eagerly.”

He didn’t understand why Ellin was so worried about meeting his mother.

While crossing his legs and unfolding the newspaper he was holding, he continued to reassure her.

“But the letters……”

She couldn’t gauge how angry his mother still was, since she only permitted a visit after sending three letters.

Unlike Ellin’s worries, Dominic was relaxed.

A smile spread across his lips as if he knew something she didn’t.

“She was probably just counting the days until the third letter would arrive.”

Third letter?

Ellin looked at Dominic, not understanding the meaning of his casually spoken words.

“What?”

He continued speaking while leisurely turning the newspaper pages.

“She’s the type who only pretends to relent after making people anxious about three times. She considers it a virtue.”

Dominic looked up from the newspaper and spoke as if reminiscing.

“Father was rejected three times before finally succeeding in getting a date, and he had to propose three times before barely making it to marriage.”

He shook his head.

“She firmly believes that showing sincerity three times proves it’s genuine. I don’t understand why she has to be so tiresome.”

At his words, a slight smile finally spread across Ellin’s lips.

Her anxious feelings from just moments ago had subsided.

“Come to think of it, there was a time when even three times didn’t work.”

Dominic folded the newspaper and adjusted his posture.

Ellin now listened to his story with curious eyes.

“She went to a desert or prairie for some volunteer work, and we received word that she was unwell. I was worried and sent letters every day asking her to return, but she didn’t.”

His brow slightly furrowed as if thinking about that time.

“I eventually had to go myself. I took a ship and traveled for two weeks, thinking it was really serious, and couldn’t sleep from worry.”

Ellin’s expression grew serious as she listened to him.

“If I had known it was just a mild fever, I wouldn’t have stopped all my business dealings and gone all the way there.”

He shook his head, recalling his sometimes childish mother.

“She wanted to confirm how much I cared about her in that way.”

A small laugh escaped Ellin’s lips.

She had always seen his mother as an elegant and stylish figure, someone Ellin wanted to emulate.

Now she couldn’t help but imagine.

The image of her greeting her son, who arrived haggard with worry, with a completely fine face and brazen attitude.

She couldn’t help but laugh imagining her husband’s face, dumbfounded with frustration and emptiness.

She found it rather endearing to picture the most elegant lady in the capital teasing her son, who was rumored to be a cold-blooded man who only knew work.

She even thought she might like to play such pranks herself someday.

“She must have needed her son’s attention. I understand. How lonely her heart must have been despite having family.”

Dominic raised one eyebrow crookedly, making a face that said he still didn’t understand.

Ellin linked her arm with his and tilted her head.

The man who had just shown an indifferent reaction while talking about his mother quietly put down the newspaper he was holding.

He lowered his body so his wife could lean more comfortably, offering his broad shoulder like a cozy cushion.

In truth, he was such an affectionate husband despite saying things he didn’t mean. It must have been the same with his mother.

Other people still found it difficult to approach the Duke of Linderto.

Ellin felt pleased that she knew a side of him that no one else did. She wanted to be the only one who knew.

This gentle side he didn’t show to just anyone.

When the shawl slipped from Ellin’s shoulders, Dominic put it back with his other hand and said.

“Besides, we have a tremendous weapon. Mother won’t be able to resist forgiving us.”

Ellin lightly punched his chest at his mischievous(?) smile as he glanced at her lower abdomen.

She didn’t want to use the life in her womb to seek genuine forgiveness.

She was also nervous about whether the old duchess would be happy to know she was carrying her husband’s child.

“She might faint from joy.”

Dominic was confident, as if he already knew what reaction would come.

He lightly lifted his wife’s hand and kissed the back of it.

The light kisses trailed from the back of her hand to her wrist and the inside of her arm, growing more intense each time they touched a sensitive spot.

“Ahh.”

When the hot lips reached her neck, Ellin’s head tilted back languidly.

The couple who had just been having an ordinary conversation suddenly felt the temperature rise where their bodies touched.

Soon, Dominic pulled Ellin into his arms and kissed her.

He deeply lowered his head toward her, entwining their tongues, and his hands began to caress Ellin’s heated body.

While the couple’s intimate display of affection unfolded inside the carriage, it leisurely traveled along the bumpy roads of the peaceful southern region.

The countryside mansion where Melissa Linderto was staying began to appear in the distance.

* * *

Alicia Hampton thought it was an unexpected windfall when her mother-in-law said she was going to meet Melissa Linderto.

She had heard that a noble lady from the capital was recuperating near her in-laws’ home but had dismissed it lightly.

She only recently learned that the noble lady was the old duchess of a ducal family.

During her recent visit to the capital after a long time, she had encountered interesting rumors.

She had thought the Linderto ducal couple, who had made a surprisingly unexpected marriage, were doing well.

But it seemed various incidents had happened to the ducal couple while she was away from the capital.

She heard that the Duke’s in-laws, the Nilson baronial family, had gone completely bankrupt, and the Baroness had committed serious crimes and was doing hard labor.

When rumors spread that the Duchess had disappeared and the Duke was secluded in his mansion, everyone believed they were finished.

But from the time new buds sprouted after winter had passed, different rumors began to circulate.

That the ducal couple had reconciled.

Some said they had been spotted at the courthouse, but no one had seen them in the capital since then.

Afterward, rumors spread that the ducal couple’s relationship had completely ended and the wife had gone abroad.

Others said they had reconciled and were recuperating somewhere in a warm region.

But people didn’t believe the Duke would be absent for so long.

“Could that be true?”

“A man so obsessed with business taking a leisurely trip? I can’t believe it.”

“I heard they were seen together in Castia.”

“The Duke does have a villa there. Then they might really be there.”

While stories about the ducal couple were abundant, no one could clearly answer about their private circumstances.

And now she could meet the Duke’s mother directly today!

Alicia desperately wanted to meet Melissa Linderto, even if it was impolite.

She thought she might be able to extract information about the ducal couple.

“Actually, my son and his wife are scheduled to visit today. They might arrive a bit late, but if the timing works, I’d like to have dinner together as a welcome.”

Melissa Linderto’s words came at an exquisite timing, almost as if she had noticed Alicia’s ulterior motive for visiting.

Alicia was so surprised that she coughed while drinking her tea.

“My goodness. What a coincidence. So the Duke of Linderto is finally visiting. We’ve been hoping to meet him in person at least once.”

The Marchioness’s eyes sparkled.

“Living in the countryside like this, time is all we have. The days feel eternally long. If it’s truly alright with you, I would gladly attend.”

The Countess promptly accepted at the thought of seeing the ducal couple in person.

Marchioness Hampton beside her also nodded at her daughter-in-law Alicia.

“Come to think of it, you both spent time in the capital, so you must have met the Duke before. Isn’t that right?”

When the Marchioness asked, her son tilted his head ambiguously.

“I’ve seen him from a distance several times. The Duchess too, of course. But I never had the opportunity to exchange greetings up close. If we get to meet them this time, it would truly be an honor for us.”

Alicia vehemently agreed with her husband’s words.

“Yes, absolutely.”

She gently placed her hands together on her chest, seemingly full of anticipation.

She had thought she would just meet Melissa Linderto.

To have the opportunity to be with the rumored ducal couple in a private setting as well—there couldn’t be better luck.

It was a perfect chance to confirm with her own eyes whether the two were truly living well together.

If she spoke about this upon returning to the capital, she would receive everyone’s attention.

Her heart was already racing.