My Former Lover Didn’t Die And Came Back

“Haa….”

Cedric picked up his shirt that had been lying on the edge of the bed and wiped off her dirty stomach with it. She watched his busy hands with dull eyes.

“….”

Blair recalled their first night together after reuniting. The man who had roughened her all night left her in a mess and walked away. The next day, she struggled to clean herself up alone, feeling miserable with her hair, lips, and body covered in his dried fluids.

‘… Should I bring up the topic.’

Seeing the change in his demeanor that was as different as a drop of blood from a bird’s foot¹, Blair gained courage. She had something she wanted to say.

“….Cedric.”

“Why.”

He responded indifferently. Blair hesitated, then slowly parted her lips.

“….Can you remove the people you left at the main gate? I won’t go outside the mansion.”

“No, Blair.”

His answer came out without any delay. Surprised by his too-quick response, she paused for a moment before speaking again.

“….Because you don’t trust me?”

“I know you well.”

He let out a dry laugh and tossed the dirty shirt into a corner of the room. Watching him do that, Blair swallowed her saliva.

It’s not that she hadn’t expected him to refuse, so she couldn’t understand why her heart ached.

She moistened her lips for a moment before gathering the courage to speak again.

“….After you leave,”

“….”

“I’ll be alone with those people.”

“….”

His expression changed ever so slightly. It was a face that showed it was something he hadn’t even thought of.

“Yeah, I get scared whenever you’re not around.”

“….”

“I don’t know when the door I locked will open, or if the window will open at dawn…”

“They are trustworthy people.”

“…At least to you…!”

Blair’s voice involuntarily rose. Resentment filled her bright blue eyes as she looked at him.

“…”

Seemingly surprised by her raising her voice, he had a slightly startled expression. Her reaction made her a little fearful, since she hadn’t raised her voice like this in three years.

Blair shrugged, pulling the blanket over herself.

…What if he gets angry…? I’m not in a position to demand anything from him.

“…”

She waited for his response. But a while later, his voice was unexpectedly calm.

“…Those guys won’t enter the mansion without my permission. They will never lay a hand on you.”

“…”

…Of course. They were the ones who crossed the boundary between life and death with Cedric for three years; they were not like the woman who had condemned him to hell.

Blair fell silent, finding relief in the fact that he didn’t get angry at her for raising her voice.

One side of the bed felt lighter. He had gotten up to go to the bathroom. Blair turned her shoulder towards the wall and closed her eyes, pretending to sleep.

His footsteps echoed hesitantly, and then the bedroom door closed with a thud. For a moment, it seemed like she could hear a man’s sigh, but since it was mixed with the sound of the door closing, she couldn’t tell.

Alone in the room, she lay back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. And she thought to herself.

‘…I should just keep quiet and endure it. I’m not in a position to get angry.’

To him, she was a sinner. She was grateful just for not being killed. In this situation, to make such an unreasonable demand as to get rid of the guards… was absurd.

Locked up for too long, she was slowly reaching the brink of madness. She had no energy or will to do anything. Eating the same thing every day didn’t stimulate her appetite either.

Sitting still and daydreaming all day quickly put her in a gloomy mood. The only living beings she could see through the second-floor window were his subordinates. For no apparent reason, she found herself getting angry with them. Even though she knew they were here as errand boys under Cedric’s command.

Sometimes she just wanted to run outside the mansion. She wanted to disappear from this world by being shot by a rifle.

* * *

It was a sunny afternoon.

Blair looked out of the second-floor window. Cedric’s subordinates guarding the entrance seemed to be changing shifts occasionally.

‘…It’s been a week since he hasn’t come.’

Cedric had not shown his face at the mansion for a week. The last time was when he left the bedroom after Blair asked him to get rid of the guards.

‘…He didn’t like that request.’

She thought, fiddling with her fingernails.

‘It’s not even during my monthly period this time.’

He had only been absent for just one week out of the month, which happened to be her monthly period.

When she first realized that, she felt anxious. It was the moment she confirmed that he was only seeking her for ‘that reason.’

But this time, he didn’t show up without any reason. As a high-ranking military officer, he might have suddenly become busy. But since he didn’t explain anything to her, she couldn’t know for sure.

She remembered the first day they reunited.

He was terrifying that day. Clad in bloody armor and leaving behind the maids’ bodies, he stood in the darkness like a grim reaper. Although he was someone she once loved, seeing him twice the size in his military uniform made her body tremble with fear naturally.

At that moment, she hoped he would quickly tire of her and leave her alone. Just leave her with all her limbs intact.

…But.

She gazed blankly into space for a moment.

‘…Let’s take a walk.’

She slowly went out to the garden. It has become essential to her routine lately. When the sun was at its zenith, she had to walk in the garden. The days she walked in the garden and those she didn’t show a clear difference in mood. If she stayed holed up in the dark mansion all day, her mood would easily sink.

As she walked through the garden, she heard snippets of conversation among his subordinates.

“The commander went on a date with Lady Elena today?”

She paused.

Blair’s footsteps, treading on the verdant grass, came to a halt.

Blair instinctively turned her head as if in a trance. When her long blonde hair followed that movement, the soldiers naturally diverted their gazes towards her.

Blair slowly approached them.

“Excuse me, what does that mean?”

“T-That… uh…”

Blair stepped closer to the group of soldiers.

Unaware that she would approach them, they hesitated and avoided giving an answer. But Blair had already overheard their conversation attentively.

‘…Cedric went on a date with someone.’

There was tension in Blair’s white hand, clutching the hem of her skirt.

‘…It’s possible.’

Blair glanced briefly at the group of soldiers. They didn’t seem eager to continue their conversation about him. Since she had no information to gain, there was no reason for her to stay outside any longer. Without any lingering feelings, Blair turned her back and headed back towards the mansion.

“…”

Her steps towards the entrance of the mansion were slow. Her heels dragged, making a squeaking sound.

It wasn’t something she hadn’t anticipated at all. In fact, she had known since the first day of her confinement. She was a being sought to relieve his sexual desires.

Now that he became the successor of a high-ranking family, he had to fulfill the duties of nobility. Since Blair couldn’t marry him, he must be meeting a separate partner for marriage.

But hearing it in this way was a bigger shock to her than she had expected.

When the scene of him dating a well-dressed lady came to mind, she suddenly felt short of breath. She also remembered the words they had muttered to her a few days ago, as though they wanted her to listen.

「When the boss married a good girl from a good family, she somehow became a burden or something.」

Her steps continued to slow down. Small specks of dust rose from her toes, dirtying the garden.

* * *

Cedric’s office, located within the palace, was luxurious. The ceiling was decorated with golden clouds, while winged cherubs and gods were elegantly drawn in the center.

Cedric sat in a velvet chair, moving his pen. The table was piled with documents that needed approval. Unlike the diligent pen, his mind was elsewhere. He simply couldn’t focus on work.

Knock knock.

“General.”

After the knocking sound, Cedric’s secretary, Eden, entered.

“Speak.”

“Viscount Adrian Cavendish’s younger brother, Lord Alex Cavendish…”

As soon as Eden mentioned the surname ‘Cavendish,’ Cedric’s face stiffened. Alex Cavendish was Blair’s husband’s younger brother, or, in other words, her brother-in-law.

“He is preparing for a lawsuit.”

“…Is his brother innocent, then?”

It was expected. There was no way the Cavendish family would stay quiet. After all, imprisoning him was just a temporary measure to separate him from her. Fraud and embezzlement weren’t even serious crimes to begin with, so they couldn’t keep him in prison for long. The strange thing was…

Why was Adrian Cavendish so quiet?

He was unjustly imprisoned. Yet he didn’t demand a lawyer or cause a scene. Instead, he seemed to accept everything excessively.

…Why is that? Why?

Cedric briefly thought of Adrian Cavendish’s face. It was a face completely different from his cold demeanor. Although his slightly squinted eyes gave a gentle impression, his thick eyebrows, angular jaw, and high nose also exuded masculinity.

If Blair had married an old and wealthy man instead, he might have been less annoyed. If her husband’s face looked like it had been soaked in water, it might have been better. But her husband was excessively young and handsome. That’s why he was more irritated.

…Could it be that they got married because they felt mutual affection?

His own face, with his fierce eyes, received mixed reviews. He felt it as he looked at the women he encountered in the palace. There were women blushing and others rigidly stiffening in fear. But Adrian Cavendish was different from him. If Blair’s peers saw his kind and bright face, there would be no one who wouldn’t envy her.

Cedric realized that what he was doing to Adrian was the same as what trapped him three years ago: putting an innocent person in trouble. Cedric falsely accused Adrian of crimes he didn’t commit and sent him to prison.