Chapter 58: The Marquis of Blossomweaver’s Secret
It had already been a week since Edelweiss collapsed from poisoning at Calliope Palace.
With time, she was slowly able to speak again.
“……Ah.”
But the stinging pain in her throat still lingered.
Everyone readily believed the excuse that she had caught a cold and was struggling to speak because of it.
Rubbing her throat, Edelweiss read the letter she had received that morning from Lady Leoni Scherna.
[To the Young Lady of Blossomweaver,
This is Leoni Scherna.
I’m so ashamed of my rude behavior last time that I don’t even have the face to see you again.
So I’m sending a letter instead. There are widespread rumors that Rosemary Benel has been expelled from the social circles and abandoned by Queen Roxanne.
They say she put a ruby necklace up for auction and tried to pin the blame on you!
And then she shamelessly showed up to see you and caused that commotion—what a ridiculous woman.]
The tone felt so natural it was almost as if Lady Scherna were speaking right beside her. Edelweiss let a small smile form on her lips.
‘Just as expected. She’s been cast out by the queen and now has nowhere left to stand.’
Rosemary was bound to be more isolated than she had ever been before, even more than when she wasn’t favored by Queen Roxanne.
She had billed the ruby necklace, which had been auctioned for 100,000 crowns, to the Duke of Stern, so he must have heard about it by now.
‘She probably cried to him that it was all a misunderstanding. The duke likely tried to comfort her.’
Edelweiss could easily imagine how the Duke of Stern must have responded.
Just as she was about to write a reply to Lady Scherna—
“Young Lady—!”
The door burst open as Anna rushed in, her forehead beaded with sweat.
Anna’s urgent cry filled the room.
She looked terrified—an expression wholly unlike her usual self.
‘What’s wrong?’
That was Edelweiss’s first thought. Had Rosemary come looking for her again?
“Th-The Marquess… But…”
What Anna brought was nothing like she expected.
“The Marquess is in critical condition. They say… she doesn’t have much time left…”
Edelweiss shot up from her chair.
She lacked strength, but just this morning at breakfast, the Marquess of Blossomweaver had seemed to be improving.
She had eaten more than usual and had even started to regain her former vitality.
So why now?
In her past life, the Marquess had passed away around the coming of spring. It was still winter now.
Even though she knew it wasn’t time yet, fear gripped her heart.
Edelweiss ran to where the Marquess was.
Her lungs tightened painfully as she raced through the corridor.
She finally reached the bedroom.
What she saw was horrific.
“Violet, please open your eyes… please.”
The Marquis sobbed desperately.
The family doctor stood with his head bowed in despair, and the maids and staff were all quietly weeping.
It was just like the day her mother had died.
So familiar that it gave her chills.
Edelweiss forced her leaden feet to move forward.
She knelt at the bedside of the Marquess of Blossomweaver, who appeared to be in a deathlike sleep.
She reached out and placed her hand by the marquess’s nose.
Faint, but unmistakable—she was still breathing.
“Mo…ther…”
Her voice barely escaped her throat.
Then the Marquess slowly opened her eyes and lifted a trembling hand.
“…Only the young marquess and the marquis… everyone else, leave us.”
One by one, the tearful servants filed out of the room.
The Marquess of Blossomweaver slowly raised her thin wrist and wiped away the tears soaking Edelweiss’s cheeks.
“…Don’t cry. I’ve told you again and again not to show weakness.”
It sounded like a final farewell.
Edelweiss tried to summon a green butterfly to bloom a blue rose, but the marquess feebly shook her head and instead released her own white butterfly.
The white butterfly wrapped its wings around the green one—preventing the blue rose from blooming.
“…Edelweiss. This is the end for me. But with you here, I can leave Blossomweaver and Cesare behind without worry. I can rest easy.”
…No, don’t.
Please don’t leave me first.
The words she couldn’t say hung painfully in the air.
Her throat, raw with pain, refused to give voice to her heart.
‘….You promised to place the veil at my wedding… You said you’d take my mother’s place…’
There was still so much she had to learn.
How could she lead Blossomweaver in her stead?
Would she only ruin the family the marquess had spent her whole life building?
Even handling bits of the estate’s affairs had been difficult.
Edelweiss, unable to suppress her sorrow, buried her face like a grieving child.
She had received so much and returned nothing.
If not for the Marquess of Blossomweaver, would she have ever left House Stern behind?
“I’ve known for a very long time… that I couldn’t have children.
But I didn’t mind much… I never liked children anyway…”
Edelweiss blinked slowly at the marquis’s words.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want children—she simply couldn’t have them.
“But you were so lovable… for the first time, I hated the fact that I couldn’t have a child. It made me angry.”
“……”
“When Iris was unable to take care of you after giving birth, I often visited the Stern estate… stayed up all night comforting you when you cried…”
“……”
“You always avoided the nursemaid’s arms but stopped crying and smiled when I held you. You were always lingering in my thoughts.”
Even as she struggled to speak, the Marchioness managed a smile, as if reliving the emotions of those days.
“I never said anything, afraid Iris would be hurt… But one day, you called me ‘Mama’ for the first time. Of course, you probably don’t remember…”
“……”
“I’ve carried that memory my whole life. It made me feel like a real mother. Selfishly, I even wondered what it would’ve been like if you were really my child.”
What kind of feeling must that be—
To hold on to a memory the other person doesn’t even know exists.
“I’m not as warmhearted as Cesare. Even when you returned here, I couldn’t take care of you properly.
I was too embarrassed to call you by any endearment, not even once…”
“……”
“I should’ve told you it was okay to cry in my arms, not scolded you for crying…
Even though I was hurting, I repeated the same thing to you every day and regretted it.”
“……”
“I failed to become the shade for you to rest under after a life full of loneliness and pain.”
Edelweiss shook her head, holding the Marchioness’s regretful hand.
Even though her throat ached like it was tearing apart—
Even though her voice barely worked—
She had to say it now.
If she didn’t say that she’d received love—
If she didn’t say it now, this goodbye would remain too sorrowful.
“…My child.”
The word she had never heard from her before…
Came in the saddest voice imaginable.
“..…”
“I tried… to stay by your side for a little longer.
But now, like Iris… I’m leaving you too. I’m sorry.
I never wanted to hurt you again like that. But what can I do…”
“….”
“I never said it, not even once…
But I love you.
You taught me that I didn’t need to birth or hold a child in my arms to truly love them.”
Each breath felt like swallowing shards of glass—like sand tearing through her throat.
“So please… know that I love you not because of Iris.”
Edelweiss’s lips trembled, but only empty breaths came out.
If this is the last time…
If she didn’t say it now, she might never get the chance again.
Just once.
Just once would be enough—
“…I… re…mem…ber.”
A voice barely above a whisper.
A sound scraped and broken like twisted metal.
Yet somehow, she forced it out.
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Idk how to feel about her relationship with Damian and charlotte honestly if we’re going to be frank isn’t Violet’s short lifespan because of charlotte – yeah I know she made a deal with Damian and both sides benefit from the deal but aren’t we just humans ruled by emotions like I definitely understand why Caesar hates Damian – and then she decides to marry the guy who shortened her adoptive mother idk this feels weird- her reason isn’t even deep like marrying Damian just to make Rosemary die with envy