Chapter 1 (Part 8)
Therese, sitting in the carriage, kept her gaze fixed on the window in silence.
‘Since my mind is complicated, let’s not think about anything.’
But contrary to her resolve, her thoughts reached the man sitting across from her.
Falling in love with him wasn’t a sudden event for Therese.
Duke Jeremy Richard, five years older than her, became the object of admiration for all the ladies of the empire. It was only natural, given his excellent family, outstanding appearance, exceptional swordsmanship, and remarkable intelligence.
And Therese Demori was no exception.
To her, Duke Richard was like a prince from a fairy tale.
‘Sophia, they say Duke Richard defeated a monster with his bare hands!’
Around the age of ten, he had already succeeded his father as a Duke and was wielding a sword on the battlefield. Therese blushed deeply at his daily feats.
‘Why don’t you go to a ball and make some friends?’
Sophia, worried about Therese, who always played alone and only imagined, asked.
‘I don’t like balls because they’re boring.’
Therese’s face, which answered indifferently, darkened but soon brightened.
‘Why don’t you be my sparring partner, Sophia?’
Sophia, who was arranging flowers in a vase, frowned and spoke.
‘What kind of lady wields a sword?’
‘It’s not fun…….’
Holding a wooden sword she had begged her father to buy, Therese roamed the drawing-room, imitating Duke Richard.
Then one day, an incident occurred.
On the way back from a shopping trip with Sophia, someone kidnapped her, aiming for Baron Demori’s money.
Caught by the assailant and trapped in a carriage, she was terrified. Therese struggled to call for help, but with her mouth gagged, she couldn’t make any sound.
‘Father, Sophia, please, someone help me!’
Sweating coldly, she looked around.
The carriage door was locked from the outside, making escape difficult. Even if she opened the door, jumping from a fast-moving carriage wouldn’t be easy.
‘What should I do?’
Dropping tears in fear, Therese tried to stay as calm as possible. If she couldn’t solve it alone, she had to get help from an adult. Unfortunately, she was alone in the carriage. Therese steeled herself, looking at the window, the only channel to inform the outside of her situation.
Clang.
After breaking the window with her bare hands, she waved them wildly.
Blood dripped, but she didn’t feel any pain.
At that moment, a knight on horseback approached from behind and made eye contact with her. Seeing Therese’s state, gagged and disheveled, the knight could easily guess the situation. The knight stopped the carriage at once and rescued her from the assailant without needing to draw a sword.
‘Are you alright, little one?’
The first words the knight said, looking at Therese after opening the carriage door. It was her first time seeing a knight up close, and it was so reassuring. It felt as if the knight had large white wings on his back.
‘Sob, I’m not a little one.’
As she tried to wipe her tear-stained cheeks with her glass-embedded hands, the knight held her wrist.
‘You need treatment first.’
He contacted the Demori family and showed Therese to a physician. After treatment, he personally took her home on horseback.
Until then, she didn’t know who he was.
Just before parting, he greeted Therese, who had bandages on her hands and face.
‘You were really brave earlier.’
She wanted to remember the name of the benefactor who saved her and even praised her like this. If given a chance later, she wanted to repay this kindness.
‘May I know your name?’
At her request, the knight slowly took off his helmet.
His sweat-soaked blond hair, deep black eyes, and a face that seemed delicately sculpted sparkled under the sunlight.
‘I am Jeremy Richard.’
‘……Ah.’
Recalling her first meeting with the Duke, she bit her lip. Many years had passed, but it was as vivid as if it were yesterday.
‘Why recall useless old memories?’
After all, he didn’t remember her at all.
Though it was certainly a thankful act that he saved her back then, it was also the beginning of a bad fate.
“May I ask what you’re thinking so deeply about?”
At the Duke’s question, Therese adjusted her posture.
“It’s nothing.”
“Is that so?”
Duke Richard, deeply leaning his back into the carriage, swallowed a short groan. Come to think of it, what she mostly said was that it was nothing.
‘In short, it means don’t worry about it.’
Recalling Therese’s earlier face, who supposedly enjoyed shopping, he stroked his chin with his fingers. Even when picking out precious jewels or admiring fine shoes, she didn’t seem happy at all.
‘Is she trying to deceive me with such a clumsy act?’
The suspicion that she was hiding something was now certain.
Moreover, the man they met at the bazaar earlier was quite disturbing.
He was undoubtedly skilled with a sword.
‘Very skilled indeed.’
There are things one can know without having to cross swords. The precious sword adorned with jewels at his waist and his cool red eyes did not show any signs of intimidation in front of the Duke of the Empire.
Even knowing who he was.
‘My wife’s servant, huh…….’
It was the first time he felt such unpleasant and disgusting emotions.
‘It’s like someone took away something precious of mine.’
The unfamiliar sensation caused Duke Richard’s smooth forehead to wrinkle.
The Duke, tidying his crumpled expression, recalled an urgent matter.
“The Imperial Ball is coming soon.”
“……Ah.”
At the mention of the ball, Therese’s expression darkened rapidly.
Since childhood, balls had always been terrible for her. She had no good memories because she was either humiliated or ostracized.
The young ladies and gentlemen of other noble families, who acted very dignified in front of adults, soon revealed their true colors.
‘We’ve just started playing, so it’s hard to include you.’
They looked Therese up and down, casting disdainful glances.
‘No, you should play the servant role. You’re not originally a noble, right?’
Trying not to cry at their ridicule, Therese’s hope of making friends before coming here was shattered.
Moreover, while Duke Richard was on the battlefield for five years, she attended balls with her mother-in-law.
‘If only I could cut out those memories.’
Was it a blessing or a trial to return with all the past memories?
Recalling the balls with her mother-in-law made her fingertips tremble.
‘I’m not feeling well, so you’ll have to go to the ball with me.’
Her mother-in-law always asked her to accompany her for health reasons.
‘Grand Madame, I would like to rest this time.’
‘Nobility is built on sacrifice and patience. What would you know about that?’
It was all about fulfilling the duties of the most prestigious family in the empire.
Of course, it was all nonsense.
Dragged along to the ballroom, all eyes focused on Therese and her mother-in-law. After the respect for the Grand Madame of the Richard family and some pitying glances were withdrawn, a shower of contempt rained on Therese.
Appearing at the ball without her husband, Therese could easily hear the whispers directed at her.
‘A Duchess in name only.’
‘A low-born blood abandoned by her husband.’
They didn’t even try to hide their hostility towards Therese. Just as the employees of the Richard family ignored her, other nobles looked at Therese as if she were an insect.
‘Do you understand now? You’re just an outsider.’
Her mother-in-law, gripping Therese’s hand tightly, continued.
‘Look closely. See how much you don’t belong here.’
Therese already knew her place in society.
‘You don’t have to do this every time…….’
No matter how much she steeled herself, her heart broke each time.
Facing the waves bare-handed never became easier, no matter how often she did it.
On days when she met her father at a ball, Therese had to grip her dress until bruises formed on her thighs to avoid showing any signs.
‘So, Duke Richard went to subdue monsters again? Seeing you with the Grand Madame puts my mind at ease.’
He thought it was fortunate that Therese, who never felt a mother’s love, received plenty of affection from her mother-in-law. Since her mother-in-law always maintained a perfect image publicly, her father couldn’t possibly know the reality of Therese’s marriage.
‘Yes, His Grace always works hard.’
She always pretended to be composed.
‘You’re the pride of your father, Therese.’
Although her father’s words were a burden, she couldn’t say her married life was unhappy. If she revealed the truth, her father, who had a weak heart, might collapse.
“It seems you have a habit of thinking about other things while someone is in front of you.”
At the Duke’s words, Therese clenched her dress tightly, breaking away from her thoughts.
Since returning, she often got lost in the past memories.
Memories she never wanted to recall were so vivid.
“I hope you’ll adorn yourself with the jewels we bought today.”
“……Pardon?”
Answering without thinking, Therese suddenly looked up. It seemed like he was talking about the ball.
“Will you be attending as well, Your Grace?”
“Of course. That’s why I hurried back.”
“……Ah.”
Watching Therese sigh strangely, as if in disappointment or annoyance, the Duke frowned again.
It was the first time a woman showed no interest in him.
‘Please, let me hold your hand just once!’
‘Duke, I want to be your servant!’
It wasn’t unusual for excited women to confess their love to him. Having experienced such things from a very young age, he felt a sense of rejection whenever a woman approached him.
‘But this is too strange.’
His wife was as cold as the North wind in midwinter. Even when he spoke to her or looked at her, she acted as if it was terrible.
‘Though I haven’t treated her well…….’
It’s only been a month since they got married.
He didn’t have the time to either mistreat or treat her well.
They hardly spent any time together.
Moreover, their marriage was merely formality.
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well that’s what you think 😓 only she knows how much pain she had to experience just by being your side as your wife 😓😔
hopefully therese gets what she deserves this time around 🥹