Chapter 7 – Shaken Trust (Part 4)

“Annette, that’s too harsh. I know you have feelings for Sir Loden. But I can’t allow you to manipulate Sophie’s life for your own whims.”

The Duchess, who had been wearing a gentle expression, now spoke with a twisted face.

“Sophie was even willing to give up the marriage for you. But why are you only thinking of yourself? If that was the case, you should have said from the beginning that you wanted to marry him! How could you be so blinded by jealousy that you ignore Sophie’s feelings?”

“I-I didn’t mean to…”

Annette stammered, touching her reddened cheek.

“Do you think behaving like this will make Sir Loden’s heart come to you? You know well that even if Sophie divorces, you won’t be able to marry Sir Loden.”

“I know. I know, but how can I let go of something so precious!”

Annette shouted with a trembling voice.

“Accept that you and Sir Loden are not meant to be. So don’t just insist on your opinion; listen to what Sophie thinks.”

“Mother…”

Annette’s eyes, which had lost focus moments ago, began to clear again. Seeing this, the Duchess sighed in relief.

“You two need to have a conversation. I’ll step out, so if there are any misunderstandings between you, resolve them.”

After the Duchess firmly stated this and left the room, Annette bit her lower lip.

“Sophie, be honest with me. Do you actually like Sir Loden?”

“…Yes.”

Sophia hesitated before carefully answering. Annette looked a bit shocked, as if she had never considered what Sophia’s feelings might be.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be honest before. But you know what kind of man Killian is. Any woman would naturally fall for him. But I only realized my feelings recently, so I couldn’t say anything.”

“Weren’t you the one who wanted the divorce?”

Annette frowned, looking troubled.

“Yes, I did before, but not now. I guess I’m being punished for not being honest with my feelings and lying.”

She should have said she didn’t want a divorce, but not speaking up led to this situation. So it wasn’t entirely Annette’s fault. Sophia had some blame too.

“Punished for what?”

Annette continued in a trembling voice.

“Mother is right. I made a mistake from the start. I must have lost my reason to jealousy and gone temporarily mad. I realized it the moment Mother slapped me. I was only thinking of myself. I’m really sorry. But I didn’t do it on purpose. I thought you wanted a divorce…”

Annette’s face, now filled with regret, despair, and apology, twisted in pain.

“I can understand the misunderstanding. And I get what you meant when you urged me to divorce.”

“Does Sir Loden like you too?”

“I’m not sure…”

Sophia lowered her head, and her shoulders slumped with a lack of confidence.

“Sir Loden is a responsible person, so he probably maintained the marriage out of duty. That’s why Father wants the divorce, to prevent you from getting hurt.”

When Duke Dveshi pressured her to divorce by mentioning Lady Aeri, Sophia felt only resistance. But hearing Annette’s words brought out different emotions.

It was as if her deeply buried fears and feelings of misery were being forcibly dragged to the surface.

“I know.”

Sophia’s voice lost its strength as she replied.

Annette wasn’t wrong. Killian had treated her well under the premise that she was his wife. So if they divorced, Killian might change, just as Annette said. He could revert to the threatening demeanor he had when they first met.

Just recalling his cold eyes from back then made her heart feel heavy.

“What should I do? I’ll do anything you ask as an apology. How can I help?”

Seeing Sophia’s eyes becoming red, Annette felt sorry and held her hands.

What should I do?

After a moment of contemplation, Sophia spoke.

“Sister, could you find out if there’s really a marriage proposal between the Loden family and the Aeri family?”

She hoped the talk of Killian and Lady Aeri’s marriage was a lie her father concocted to make her give up. How could a marriage proposal proceed before the King even accepted the divorce?

“Alright.”

Nodding as if it was no big deal, Annette immediately left the room. Watching her leave, Sophia let out a deep sigh.

If the marriage proposal was indeed progressing, what should I do?

Even though she didn’t want to doubt Killian’s feelings, she couldn’t hide the anxiety settled deep in her heart.

Annette returned shortly after leaving the room.

“It seems the preparations for Sir Loden and Lady Aeri’s wedding are proceeding smoothly.”

“Really?”

Even though she already knew, hearing it from Annette made her heart feel like it was being crushed.

“It seems Lady Aeri frequently visits the Loden family. There’s even talk of her calling a madam from a dress shop to choose a wedding dress and ring.”

Annette’s expression was sad as she relayed what she had found.

“…”

Hearing that not only was there talk of a marriage proposal but preparations were also underway, Sophia couldn’t respond.

Is meeting Killian the right thing to do in this situation?

She felt confused for a moment but soon steeled her resolve. She hadn’t directly heard what Killian thought yet. So instead of being swayed by what others said, she needed to talk to him first.

To do that…

“Help me escape from here.”

With Annette’s help, sneaking out of the room wouldn’t be difficult. Disguised as a maid and walking with her, no one would suspect a thing.

“Alright. Let’s disguise you as a working maid and leave together. But where will you go?”

“First, we need to go to my house. I have to meet Emily or Victor.”

Sophia needed to meet Emily and Victor first. To reconnect with Killian, she had to let them know she was trapped at the Dveshi residence. Of course, she could ask Annette for help, but she had to be cautious to avoid being discovered by her father.

Annette nodded and left the room, returning shortly with a maid’s outfit, a hat, a wig, and glasses. Once she was disguised, they headed to the carriage together.

“How will you get inside the mansion?”

“Hmm.”

Sophia pondered Annette’s question for a moment. She was relieved to have successfully left the Dveshi residence, but the problem was how to enter the mansion.

If she boldly entered through the front gate, there was a high chance her whereabouts would soon be discovered by her father. So she needed to find a way to enter without being noticed.

How could I meet Emily or Victor without drawing attention?

“Ah!”

After thinking it over, Sophia remembered a small hole in the wall surrounding the mansion. She had discovered it by chance while exploring the grounds.

The vines spread wide, making the hole hard to see at a glance, so not many people working at the mansion knew about it. The hole was too small for a regular person to enter, but it was big enough for a child or a petite adult woman. So with her slender figure, Sophia could squeeze through the hole to enter the mansion.

“Talk to them well!”

The carriage stopped a little distance from the mansion, and Annette cheered Sophia on.

“Thanks!”

Gathering her courage, Sophia headed to where the hole was.

The hole was smaller than she remembered, so she had to struggle a bit to get through. She had lost some weight recently due to a lack of appetite, which made it possible; otherwise, she might have gotten stuck.

“Whew.”

Just passing through the hole made beads of sweat form on her forehead, so Sophia wiped the sweat from her brow with her hand.

Now, she had to hide here and wait for Victor or Emily to pass by alone. Victor often strolled through the garden, so the chances of meeting him were high.

As Sophia hid among the vines inside the hole, watching for Victor, she witnessed an unbelievable sight.

Killian, who should be at the frontier, appeared in the garden. And next to him was…

Lady Aeri?

Why were they together?

Sophia couldn’t understand why Lady Aeri was in the place where she should be. She wanted to confront them immediately but held back. It was more urgent to understand the situation first.

Then it happened.

Suddenly, Killian took Lady Aeri’s hand and kissed the back of it.

“!”

Sophia’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s.