My Former Lover Didn't Die And Came Back - Chapter 39

It was her father’s favorite suit before she got married. It had a slightly cinched waist and the back of the jacket finished like a bird’s tail, a popular design at the time.

“……”

In fact, she didn’t like this suit very much because her father had once been very angry with her while wearing this suit.

「My daughter marrying such a good-for-nothing!」

Her father opposed their meeting, because he was an orphan and a commoner, and was not a good match for their family.

A breathy smile escaped her lips as she recalled the past.

“……That did happen.”

The suit still looked good enough to send to the orphanage. As she tossed it onto the pile of clothes to be sent there, thud. A paper envelope fell out of the jacket pocket.

“What is this……?”

Blair carefully pulled out an end-yellowed, several times folded piece of paper from the envelope and unfolded it.

……It was a letter. The recipients were Blair’s parents. The sender was Adrian Cavendish, her husband.

“……Adrian wrote a letter to Dad?”

She turned over the envelope to check the date. The letter was written well before their wedding, back when Blair and Cedric were still dating.

“……Did the three of them know each other……?”

Blair slowly narrowed her brows and read on in her husband’s clear and orderly handwriting, which she had admired throughout their marriage for being neater than printed text, revealing unbelievable content.

【To the esteemed Count and Countess Seymour.

Hello. I am Adrian Cavendish, running a trading company in Blue Port City.

The reputation of your esteemed daughter’s beauty is growing day by day, reaching the fresh blue skies of Blue Port.

For parents with such a beautiful only daughter, pride and worry must come hand in hand.

After all, outstanding flowers attract not only admirers but cockroaches intoxicated by their scent.】

Blair’s hands trembled while holding the letter. She doubted if she had read it correctly. Her husband in the letter was comparing Cedric to a cockroach.

【Even if you wish to dispose of the rogue who seduced your lovely daughter, you might not know how to do so being so noble.

I have a plan. It will leave no trace, and it’s not murder, so it doesn’t violate the laws of the Eleonor Empire.

If you’re interested, please reply.】

Thud. The old letter fell from Blair’s hands.

What does this mean……?

Rough breaths escaped between her lips.

“Selling Cedric as a slave……”

……It was Adrian?

“My husband……?”

Impossible. Why would her ever-kind husband……

“Why……?”

She had to find more letters. There must be more correspondence between them.

“There has to be more……!”

She rummaged through the pile of clothes like a madwoman. Old clothes flew about without order as she searched through pockets of trousers and jackets for evidence. The pockets of trousers, skirts, and jackets were all turned inside out.

* * *

Only a rusted silver candlestick illuminated the Seymour house. Blair laid out the letters on the table, lit by the dim candlelight. The paper was old, yellowed, and curled at the edges.

The dates on them varied. The oldest letter was from after Blair and Cedric started seeing each other; the most recent was around the time Cedric disappeared.

“……Haah,”

Blair looked at the words on the paper with empty eyes.

【It’s not easy to kill a young man of Cedric Peterson’s stature. It’s even harder because he’s a mercenary.】

All in her husband’s handwriting.

【I hear they are recruiting galley slaves on the Litunia slave ship. The price per person is said to be 100,000 gold.】

That’s ridiculous. I don’t believe it.

The neat black ink handwriting made her feel even more heartbroken.

【If you’re interested, I’ll take care of everything. All Count Seymour needs to do is send Cedric Peterson to the train station on the agreed day. It might be good to have Miss Blair do it. The received price will be given directly to you, Count.】

It was all her husband’s doing—leading Blair to take Cedric to the train station.

She couldn’t believe what was written across several letters. Her husband had detailed plans to sell Cedric to a slave ship in letters to her parents. From what was written, it was clear her parents had responded favorably each time.

“Why would my husband……?”

Did he like me from before and removed Cedric as an obstacle? But how does selling an innocent man as a slave make any sense…? Even if nobles don’t regard commoners as people.

She had to meet her husband.

She kicked her chair away, and it rolled back from the force. She left the dining room to change into her going-out clothes.

Shortly after, dressed in a simple suit dress, she slipped out of the Seymour family’s house and boarded a train to the capital.

Clunk, clunk.

Having bought a ticket at the station and seated herself, she stared blankly out of the train window. The vast fields were beautifully spread out before her, but she felt nothing. She found herself absentmindedly chewing on her thumbnail because nothing else seemed to catch her gaze.

…..If the content of the letter was true. If it was not her parents but her husband who had orchestrated everything. Then what had these past few months been for……? The humiliation she suffered at the Cavendish residence.

The thumbnail between her lips had become frayed without her noticing.  

……Cedric? Filled with rage, treating her like a sex slave……? Should she forgive Cedric? He didn’t know anything, did he? He treated her that way because he was deceived too, wasn’t he?  

Tears welled up in her eyes. A hot sensation rose from beneath her throat.  

How should she deal with Cedric? She couldn’t find an answer. If she knew the right path, her heart wouldn’t feel so tormented. Her mind was a complete mess. She didn’t know which way to go.  

The train was heading straight for the capital.

* * *

“A visitation?”  

Adrian Cavendish asked the guard who had come to the cell. The guard mentioned that someone had come to visit him at this late hour.  

Adrian appeared a bit dazed, not immediately grasping the situation.  

“……”  

It had been quite some time since Cedric Fitzgerald’s visit. Cedric had promised to release him in exchange for keeping the secret from Blair. So, he was just waiting for his trial, which would be in two weeks.  

It’s likely that Cedric would get him out of this prison.  

‘Maybe it’s a lawyer.’  

He was expecting the lawyer his brother had hired, but Adrian’s eyes widened upon entering the visitation room. It was because a familiar blonde woman was sitting there. Inside the small, gray visitation room, across a small table sat……  

Blair Cavendish, his wife.  

Adrian quickly took in her appearance. She was dressed in an outing dress, still looking neat and beautiful. But she seemed to have lost some weight and looked tired for some reason.  

“……I didn’t expect you to come.”  

The handsome blonde man spoke first.  

“It’s been a while.”  

Blair greeted him lightly.  

“……Blair.”  

“My parents have passed away.”  

Adrian’s eyes widened, and his hazel eyes shook as if he hadn’t expected this news. He quickly asked with concern filled in his voice.  

“……Oh no, what happened?”  

“The plague.”  

“It could have been treated if it had been caught early. They couldn’t do anything?”  

“……”  

Blair didn’t respond. She pressed her lips tightly together and stared into space, from which Adrian read something.  

……It must have happened when she was confined.  

Adrian’s mind raced quickly.  

Could it be that Blair’s parents died while Cedric had confined her? Even if Cedric is not directly responsible, could he be involved? Creating a situation where she couldn’t be at their deathbeds.  

Adrian scanned Blair’s face again. It seemed his guess was somewhat correct.  

That man must be feeling terrible by now.  

It was hard not for her to resent Cedric while being locked up in a small, old cell for months. A tiny thrill sprouted within Adrian.  

“I came today because I found this at my parents’ house.”  

She took out several old letters from her pocket and handed them over.  

“……!”  

The name on the envelope of the letter was blurred by time. But there was no need to verify whose letter it was.  

……Because he had written it.  

Adrian’s hazel eyes shook again, like buoys adrift at sea.  

“……Ah.”  

A sigh escaped the man’s lips.  

“Is what’s written here true?”  

Blair’s voice trembled. The white hand holding the letter shook like a leaf.  

“……Blair.”  

The noblewoman, who always cared about her appearance, rushed here without even wearing gloves.  

“……How could you,”  

Adrian lifted his head to meet her eyes. The delicate corners of her eye were heated up by now.  

“How could you deceive me for so long……”  

“I’m sorry. I have no words for you.”  

Blair shook her head sideways and asked.  

“Why, why did you do it……?”  

“……”  

Adrian only stared at his feet. The worn brown prisoners’ shoes looked pitiful.  

Why did he do it?  

The answer had been clear long ago. Three years prior, when he was captivated by a girl whose existence he hadn’t even known, as if he was struck by lightning. From the moment she was emerging from girlhood and was in the throws of her rosy first love.  

Why did he do it? Why did he sell Cedric as a slave and keep silent about it all this time? There was only one answer.  

Because he wanted her.  

But he couldn’t bring himself to utter that short answer aloud.  

His past shamed him, and it was indeed a petty act. His love for her did not excuse the grave misdeed he had committed. Adrian kept silent for a long time before finally confessing his sin.  

“……I’m sorry, Blair.”  

The man couldn’t bring himself to make any excuses. That’s how shameful he was.  

Adrian looked at the woman before him. Those gentle blue eyes that always turned towards him, unable to hide their kind nature. But today, those eyes were filled with nothing but distrust towards him. The heart of the husband meeting his wife after so long crumbled like ashes burned by fire.