Chapter 5.7

Even if it was an unwanted relationship, as she claimed. Moreover, according to Yvonne, there were others besides the man she eloped with…

‘How many men did she carry children for?’

Her body hadn’t conceived even after months with me. How much had she done?

How many times had she cried out beneath another man? Who heard her moans, touched her body, and penetrated her?

Just imagining it made him furious.

She acted like everything was her first time, shy and innocent. And he stupidly didn’t notice.

His past experiences with women were clearly in vain.

‘Stupid fool.’

As he smoked a cigar, he recalled Yvonne’s injured hand from the broken pot before he left the mansion.

‘She must have treated it, damn it, why am I even worried? Of course, she did.’

Liam drank again. After smoking who knows how many cigars, Gabriel, who had been silent, finally spoke.

“Well… as the owner of the house, I should ask.”

“…”

“Did something happen with your wife?”

“…Something did.”

Liam exhaled a long puff of smoke and laughed.

“A big thing.”

“…?”

Gabriel looked puzzled, but Liam offered no further explanation. Eventually, Gabriel cautiously spoke after much consideration.

“Did something happen to the baby?”

“What the hell?”

“No… I just thought that might be the only reason you’d be like this about your wife. If not, then good…”

Seeing Liam’s reaction, Gabriel quickly corrected himself.

He knew how much Liam had anticipated Yvonne’s pregnancy and how happy he was after she conceived.

But suddenly, he showed up with a grim face, smoking cigars, so it was natural to think that way.

“Or maybe your wife… has some illness… Ah, I guess not. Fine. I’ll shut up.”

Under Liam’s fierce glare, Gabriel lowered his gaze.

‘The baby is fine, and the wife is fine, so what’s his problem?’

Gabriel, not knowing the details, found it frustrating. While he was observing, Liam spoke.

“I need you to do something for me.”

“What?”

“Investigate Jeanne de Debroge.”

“About your wife?”

“Yes. Everything before she married me. Especially her relationships with men. And if she ever worked as a maid.”

“Gosh! Did your wife cheat? I didn’t see her that way…!”

“That’s not it, so shut up.”

Once again, Gabriel was met with a sharp gaze and criticism. He kept his mouth shut, instead grumbling internally.

‘Seriously, then explain properly. Don’t just throw it out there.’

Of course, his thoughts never reached Liam.

Four days later in the afternoon, Gabriel handed Liam a report summarizing what he found about Jeanne de Debroge.

“Here. What you asked me to find out.”

After being constantly pestered for the past few days about when he’d deliver it, Gabriel was thoroughly exhausted.

However, after investigating, he understood why his friend was so upset and decided to let it go.

“There wasn’t much to find. She was just a typical noble lady. Appropriately aloof, appropriately kind. The only peculiarities were that she wasn’t born a noble and that the elopement was true.”

“She wasn’t born a noble?”

“Monsieur Debroge’s first marriage, but his wife was remarried. After her husband passed… He proposed, thinking it was the right time. It was a famous first love among Verno commoners. A noble’s young master chased after a common girl so fervently.”

“I’m not interested in that.”

“Right. Anyway, the daughter born from her previous marriage was Jeanne de Debroge.”

“The man she eloped with?”

“His name is Elliot de Diego. Thirty-three years old, a private tutor who taught etiquette. Average appearance but supposedly kind. Though I don’t know if you should call someone who eloped with the lady he taught kind…”

“Thirty-three? She ran away with such an old man?”

“Compared to Earl Marlon, he’s ten years younger, so he probably didn’t seem that old.”

“…”

“More than that, Monsieur Debroge was careless. They usually don’t assign male tutors for brides, but the age difference was so great, he felt secure. But with the match being over forty, even I would…”

Gabriel stopped, sensing a piercing gaze.

“Anyway, it seems she realized it wasn’t right after running away. She returned when spring began.”

“…”

“Many saw her at the train station, and several witnessed her being taken by her former personal maid.”

“Personal maid? The woman who was with her when she distributed bread? She didn’t bring her after marriage.”

“No, there was another maid before her. Some say she quit, others say she returned home. She left with an older woman…”

“…”

“Someone said the woman was with your wife when she returned. They appeared together at the train station.”

Liam finished reading the documents Gabriel provided. He raised his eyebrows at unfamiliar names.

“Yvonne? Emma? What are these?”

“Emma is the name of the older woman I mentioned. And Yvonne seems to be the alias your wife used. When she returned from eloping, that’s the name she used to buy a train ticket.”

“Yvonne…”

What a refined name. A name meaning ‘beautiful woman’. Fitting for a woman who deceived him.

So brazen and vulgar, yet she pretended to be innocent all along.

“She never worked as a maid?”

“A maid? I didn’t hear anything about that. Did she work as a maid? During her elopement?”

Liam thought similarly to Gabriel’s assumption.

‘So, to summarize…’

She didn’t want to marry Natong de Marlon, so she eloped with that Diego guy, worked as a maid, got violated by a scumbag, and got pregnant.

Then she was cast out with the head maid of that mansion?

It seemed that instead of returning with the man she eloped with, she returned with the head maid. This indicated that she was ultimately abandoned because she carried another man’s child…

She was pretending to be a virtuous maiden while preparing to marry Natong de Marlon, but fortunately met him and got married. 

That’s it, right?

“Ha, damn.”

Liam laughed coldly as he tore the documents into pieces.

‘I wasompletely fooled.’

The woman he thought of as a cute canary turned out to be a siren, seducing and devouring men.

Liam was deeply angered, as if the puzzle pieces he forcibly fit together formed a complete picture. He swallowed the truths Yvonne revealed that fit logically and discarded the rest.

Finally, he threw all the remaining paper fragments on the floor and stood up.

Gabriel, seeing his dangerous expression and brisk steps, hurriedly chased after him, asking,

“Hey, hey! Where are you going?”

“Home.”

* * *

“Madam, shouldn’t you rest now? It seems the master won’t be coming again tonight.”

“I’ll wait… just a little longer. Head maid, you should go inside. It’s cold.”

Yvonne smiled faintly. She appeared fragile and quite forlorn, but the head maid knew from experience that Yvonne was quite stubborn.

It had been five days since Liam left the house. For months, they were a couple envied and pitied simultaneously, as Liam couldn’t stay away from his wife despite her body growing thin.

Among the servants, there were even bets on whether one of them would die from excessive pleasure.

Even after Yvonne became pregnant, they were still a harmonious newlywed couple. Everyone in the mansion knew Liam cherished his wife, fearing she’d blow away in the wind, and Yvonne relied heavily on her husband.

The rift between the couple began five days ago, when Liam left the house in a fit of rage.

When the surprised head maid and butler cautiously asked, Yvonne only said it was all her fault, and every evening she waited outside until the sun completely set, hoping for Liam’s return.

She only entered the mansion because the doctor said the cold wind was bad for the baby.

Had she not been pregnant, she might have waited endlessly for Liam to return.

‘She’ll wait for the master again today.’

Finally, when the head maid turned to get a thicker blanket, the sound of a carriage approaching could be heard. At this hour, there was only one carriage that would come to the mansion.

The head maid and butler’s faces brightened. They knew how anxiously Yvonne had awaited Liam’s return over the past five days.

“Madam! It seems the master is returning!”

However, Yvonne’s face wasn’t as bright. While she earnestly wished for Liam’s return, she feared how he would react once he came back.

Her heart trembled as she watched the carriage enter the mansion. The carriage stopped, and Liam stepped out.

He received the servants’ greetings perfunctorily and entered the mansion, stopping abruptly when he saw Yvonne.

Liam raised the corners of his mouth as he looked at Yvonne.

“Well, the seductress was waiting for me.”

“Liam…”

She had prepared words to say when he returned, but seeing his face, she couldn’t utter a single word. Except for calling his name.

She couldn’t tell if he was feeling better or still angry.

While Yvonne hesitated, Liam grabbed her wrist with a force that seemed like it would break it. Then he went straight to the bedroom and locked the door.

The sound of the door locking echoed coldly today. His voice, as chilly as the metallic sound, pierced Yvonne’s ears.

“Lift your skirt.”

“Wh-what…?”

“Don’t pretend to be innocent when you’re light on your feet. Ah, do you want me to lift it for you? On purpose?”

“…”

Yvonne was still at a loss. Her husband’s changed demeanor and vulgar tone were something she couldn’t get used to.

Especially when she recalled the tender moments he had shown before.