4.1 – Table Turned

The endless rows of many shops and splendid mansions suddenly disappeared from sight.

Instead, from a certain point, the scenery alternated between forest paths, fields, and more forest paths, until a familiar sight began to appear. 

Horses on the meadow, deer visible in the forest, and fields filled with various crops. Ellen felt relieved by the familiar landscape. She had finally arrived at Alber Village.  

“I’m here.”  

The carriage stopped in front of the gate of a white mansion wrapped in vines. Ellen stepped down from the carriage and took a small breath. 

She had to hide her wounded heart and put on a bright smile, so she steeled herself.  

“You’re back, Sister.”  

Returning to the Novary household after three weeks, Anna was the only one to welcome her. Although she hadn’t notified them, it seemed everyone was out, as no one else was visible.  

“Why are you alone?”  

The servants who used to work were nowhere to be seen, and the mansion was messy, so Ellen looked around the house with a puzzled expression. There shouldn’t have been any significant events in the short span of three weeks, yet she felt an ominous vibe.  

“Dad and Luca went to look at land, and Mom went shopping.”  

The answer felt off. Her father was looking to buy land, and her mother was doing work that a maid should do herself.  

“Oh my. Ellen, you’re back. Did you have a good time in Melchia?”  

At that moment, her mother returned from her outing with the maid, Mary.  

“Yes, it was enjoyable. But why are you shopping yourself, Mother? What about the head maid, Basha?”  

“Oh, the financial situation isn’t good, so we let everyone go except Mary.”  

“What?”  

“It was hard managing the house with just Mary, but thankfully, you’re here now. You can help out too.”  

Madame Novary headed to the kitchen with a bright smile, carrying the groceries she bought.  

What on earth happened? 

Although the family’s financial situation wasn’t great, it wasn’t this bad. No matter how much she thought, Ellen couldn’t understand what had happened in just three weeks.  

“Did Father fail another investment?”  

Ellen followed her mother and asked. She had pleaded not to invest because they didn’t have money, but could it be?  

“No, that’s not it. Since you’re marrying Baron Aran, he’s been spending a bit more. He said he’d provide financial support once you’re married, so he’s already planning to spend money. After calculating future expenses, we couldn’t afford to keep the servants, so we let them go.”  

Her mother forced a bright smile as she spoke, and Ellen felt sorry for her somehow.  

“….”  

A sigh escaped her. Her heart was already troubled, and now her father had caused problems too.  

To Ellen, love and heartbreak seemed like luxuries. She didn’t have time to think about the pain of being rejected by Leon. She had to worry about survival first.  

“When is Father coming back? What is he doing after selling me off?”  

Since she always nagged him about spending money, Viscount Novary had sent Ellen to Melchia under the pretense of granting her wish, and during her absence, he seemed to have spent money lavishly. There was no one to stop him except Ellen.  

Returning a week earlier than planned might have been fortunate for Ellen. If she had come back later, Viscount Novary might have caused another accident.  

“I won’t leave him alone when he comes back!”  

Ellen clenched her fists. She thought she would pour all her anger about the hurt Leon caused her onto her father.  

* * *

Through the gap in the bedroom door, Leon could be seen preparing to go to the training ground. He should appear as usual, but he didn’t, so Mia paused while walking down the corridor.  

“Brother?”  

“….”  

There was no response when she called. Just eyes lost in confusion, staring blankly into space.  

Mia sighed deeply.  

Since finding out Ellen had left, Leon had been acting strange.  

He spent long periods staring blankly into space, and as a result, he was increasingly late to the training ground. The man who used to move precisely on time was now showing signs of being scattered.  

Why did he want to break up if he was going to be like this?  

Mia had visited Courtney Earldom to find out what had happened the night Ellen hurriedly left their mansion. She wanted to ask Ellen about the events of the previous night.  

‘Oh? Ellen returned to the Novary household. Your brother must have hurt her so much that she suddenly left.’  

‘I apologize on behalf of my brother. Could you please tell me what happened last night? My brother hasn’t talked about it.’  

‘What happened? A big incident happened. I’m speechless.’  

But by the time she arrived, Ellen had already returned to the Novary household. So, she could only hear the general situation from Donna.  

Although she didn’t expect detailed information, half of the words from Donna’s mouth were curses about Leon, and the other half were repetitions about how he hurt Ellen.  

Rejecting a woman three times….  

Not knowing the details of what happened between Ellen and Leon, Mia felt Ellen was remarkable for liking Leon despite being rejected twice, but Leon also seemed remarkable in a different way for rejecting her three times.  

He must have disliked her so much to reject her three times, yet seeing Leon’s state, he acted as if he was the one rejected three times. The man who appeared neat and noble was now full of gaps.  

She wanted to intervene between the two….  

Mia felt sorry for Leon and wanted to intervene, but she held back. She couldn’t mess up a second time after already messing up once.  

Moreover, Donna had firmly asked her not to tell Leon anything about Ellen, so Mia decided to step back this time. She chose to observe their relationship without intervening.  

“Why are you like this? Don’t just stand there blankly; pull yourself together. Anyone would think you were the one who got rejected.”  

All Mia could do now was urge Leon to return to his usual self.  

She handed him a mirror. He needed to check his appearance to regain some sense.  

“Why am I….”  

Leon was surprised when he looked in the mirror for the first time in a while. He felt noticeably haggard.  

“Do you realize your condition is strange now? You can’t see any of your usual clean and neat appearance. In this state, any woman would come and leave disappointed.”  

“That’s true.”  

Leon stood up. As Mia said, he couldn’t remain dazed. In this state, he couldn’t call himself a Knight of the Imperial Knight Order. He appeared vulnerable, as if he could be attacked by enemies at any moment, which was dangerous.  

But somehow, he couldn’t muster any strength. A sigh escaped him, but even that was weak.  

Since Ellen left, days had passed aimlessly. It was just a normal routine. Yet, during that time, he couldn’t seem to maintain his sanity.  

He needed to pull himself together….  

Leon carefully swept his hair back and headed to the training ground.  

Mia watched him with a concerned gaze until he disappeared from sight.