Chapter 2 (Part 10)
Leaving Roshan behind, Therese was waiting for inspection at the capital’s gate. Unlike when leaving, entering required inspection due to monsters. It was Therese’s carriage’s turn, and someone knocked on the window.
“……?”
It was unusual for them to inspect inside the carriage, so Therese looked puzzled. When she rolled down the window, Duke Richard, clad in armor, smiled brightly.
“Madame, what a coincidence meeting you here.”
Trying hard not to show her surprise, her face slightly stiffened.
“…….”
The carriage she was in wasn’t the Richard family’s, so was it really a coincidence that Duke Richard found her so quickly?
‘Could it be that he’s started to monitor me?’
Then she remembered that she had called for the family’s physician. It was only natural that her whereabouts would be exposed.
When Therese said nothing, he dismounted his horse, tossed his helmet to a subordinate, and climbed into the carriage.
When Duke Richard got in, the small carriage tilted to one side.
“May I ask where you’re returning from so early?”
Though he wore a smiling face, the Duke was interrogating Therese.
“A friend was seriously injured, so I’m returning from visiting them.”
Since Roshan was injured, it wasn’t a lie. But the Duke’s cold gaze made her nervous, causing her to stammer.
“It must be a serious injury.”
Duke Richard’s sharp gaze lingered on her hand. Despite wiping it clean, a bit of Roshan’s blood was caught under her nails. As she hurriedly tried to put on gloves, he smiled faintly.
“I don’t think I’ve made myself clear.”
“Made what clear?”
Therese’s shoulders trembled at the Duke’s overly intimate tone. The air in the small carriage, with just the two of them, grew increasingly stifling, choking her.
‘Why is he wearing armor?’
His armored appearance was enough to remind her of the day he saved her. The knight with the shining golden hair had become her precious prince since then.
Observing her reaction, Duke Richard quietly spoke.
“The Richard family does not know divorce.”
“……!”
At his words, Therese’s blue eyes widened.
‘Did he realize I’m trying to escape from the Richard family and him?’
But even if that were the case, Therese had no intention of admitting anything at this moment. She straightened her posture and met his gaze directly.
“I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”
Jeremy Richard gracefully removed his gloves and whispered softly.
“Since you are the mistress of the Richard family, wouldn’t it be better to know about the family’s traditions?”
‘……Mistress.’
If she had married the Duke under ordinary circumstances, it would have been a given. But in the past, Therese had given up being the mistress of the family and chose death.
‘I never expected to hear such words from you…….’
As a bitter light flickered in Therese’s eyes, the Duke, leaning back against the carriage’s backrest, spoke.
“If you have no prior engagements today, you should accompany me.”
“……Pardon?”
At Duke Richard’s words, Therese tried to appear nonchalant.
‘Even without prior engagements, I have no intention of going out with you.’
Just facing him now was painful. She had long harbored a one-sided love for the radiant man before her. So, while she was surprised by the sudden news of their marriage, a part of her heart wondered.
‘Could this be our destiny?’
She was filled with such nonsensical daydreams. She didn’t dislike marrying the knight who saved her in her childhood.
With her hands neatly placed on her lap, Therese kept silent, prompting the Duke to chuckle.
“It’s about yesterday.”
“…….”
Somehow, he had defended her in front of her mother-in-law without reason.
As a faint crack appeared on Therese’s face, he added.
“I don’t know when I might have to return to the battlefield, so I thought it would be nice to attend concerts or operas together, or watch polo and boat races.”
The thought of visiting crowded places with Duke Richard, who stood out wherever he went, made her stomach churn.
‘Why is he doing this to me?’
Not only did he preemptively state there would be no divorce, but now he was suggesting they visit such places together.
It was vastly different from the past when they hadn’t even had a garden stroll together.
‘I should refuse.’
As she was about to voice her refusal, he suddenly brought up her father.
“These days, Baron Demori seems very busy. So much so that the empire’s economy wouldn’t run smoothly without him.”
The sudden mention of her father made Therese’s face turn ashen.
“Did I mention meeting Baron Demori at the Imperial Palace a few days ago? He was quite pleased to see me.”
Her father cherished his only son-in-law dearly.
“Th-that’s good to hear.”
“I heard Baron Demori is attending today’s performance, so how about having dinner together?”
The Duke’s continued mention of her father was undoubtedly a silent threat.
“……Ah.”
Therese let out a small sigh.
‘Perhaps just once would be okay.’
She was his only child, and she wanted to show him that she was living well after marriage. Even if it wasn’t true.
“Then, please take care of me.”
After answering, Therese quickly turned her gaze outside the window.
Observing her intently, the corner of the Duke’s lips twisted.
‘It’s obvious she would have refused if it weren’t for Baron Demori.’
That morning, after receiving Knight Commander Dupont’s report, he heard that the family’s physician had been outside the walls. There was no reason for the Richard family’s physician to go to such a place. He immediately summoned the physician and questioned him as if interrogating.
‘Th-The Duchess requested it.’
The hesitant physician revealed everything about where he had been and whom he had treated.
After hearing everything, Duke Richard instructed the physician to keep this matter a secret.
‘Remember clearly whom you serve.’
In other words, he ordered him to keep it secret even from Maria. It wasn’t entirely for Therese’s sake.
It was a matter of pride.
‘Running to a wounded hidden man at the crack of dawn.’
Whether it was a political marriage or not, she was part of the Richard family.
‘……My person.’
Jeremy Richard had no intention of leaving the handling of his suspicious wife to anyone else’s hands.
With a languid smile, Therese’s cheeks flushed as she met his eyes. It was a very peculiar feeling.
❖ ❖ ❖
Roshan, trying to rise from his sickbed, screamed.
“Commander, getting up now is too much.”
A man with tattoos on his face brought him water.
“Victor, M-Miss…….”
“Miss is being protected discreetly by us, so you need not worry.”
Even while hovering between life and death, Roshan was only concerned about Therese. Seeing his commander like this, Victor shook his head.
“You need to recover first to be able to protect, Miss.”
Victor was slightly displeased with Roshan, who neglected his health for Therese, but he had no choice but to say this.
‘That’s the only way the Commander will take care of his health.’
Victor also pledged his loyalty to Therese Demori, the head of the guild, but perhaps because he had experienced unrequited love, he found himself caring for Roshan.
“Victor, what happened with the Owls?”
“Miss has taken care of all of it.”
“She must not overexert herself…….”
“We will do our utmost to assist her.”
“Report her condition to me regularly.”
With just a glance, he dismissed Victor, who hurriedly drew the curtain and left.
‘…Ha.’
It was a dire situation where he couldn’t be by Therese’s side enough, yet how did it come to this?
‘I am not worthy to stand by the lady’s side.’
Overwhelmed with self-reproach, Roshan wanted to cry.
His entire body felt like it was burning from the searing pain starting from his back and shoulders, but Roshan didn’t take painkillers. While the medication eased the pain, it muddled his thoughts.
The reason he left Therese’s side at the gambling den that day was that he had spotted a suspicious man. At first glance, he appeared to be a tall man, but the eerie aura emanating from beneath his black cloak was unusual.
‘Could he not be human?’
Driven by an inexplicable foreboding, Roshan hurriedly pursued the man. He was confident he could handle it quickly and return to Therese’s side.
‘But I was arrogant.’
While chasing the man, Roshan found himself trapped in a narrow passage. Although the man’s face was human when he threw off the cloak, it kept changing into different faces.
‘A human with the aura of a monster?’
Seeing that the man was unarmed, Roshan drew the shamshir concealed in his bosom and charged. He had never lost in a one-on-one fight before.
‘…Huff.’
As Roshan attacked, the man’s arm elongated, and his nails grew into hook-like claws. And it approached with the intent to cut him down mercilessly.
The opponent was not something he could handle alone.
Just as he was about to lose consciousness, the door at the end of the corridor opened, and Roshan collapsed. He couldn’t even remember how he managed to return here.
‘Commander, your horse was covered in blood, you know.’
It was only after hearing Victor’s words later that he guessed his horse from the gambling den had brought him back here.
‘Roshan. Don’t worry. I’m here.’
Recalling Therese’s tearful voice, it felt as if his heart was being torn apart.
Knowing that every day was painful due to addiction, he couldn’t fathom how he would repay the burden of adding such worries to her.
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Torryy
The hell is happening in the story?
And had I been in her place… I would’ve been so rude to him by now. She would’ve laughed at his face when he called her the mistress after neglecting her and letting his mother treat her like that. She seems so capable yet why did she let go of everything and let people treat her like garbage.