So, with almost a sweet demeanor, he said,
“Didn’t you get my letter?”
“I was busy.”
“I waited and waited for your reply and ended up coming here.”
“If it was important, my secretary would have delivered it. Strange.”
“No, Lily.”
Greer reached out, lightly lifted Lily’s gloved hand, and made a polite bow.
“I wanted to see you. That was the most important matter.”
In the past, her heart would have pounded, but now Lily felt nothing.
“Is that all you wanted?”
“It’s not appropriate to talk here. Let’s go somewhere quiet.”
“I have business to attend to. Where are you staying? I’ll check for your letter and reply. We can meet another day.”
Lily said this and tried to leave. She was already late for her appointment with Pulque.
Greer blocked her path. He had already discreetly checked that there was no one around. Lily spoke sharply.
“What are you doing?”
“Don’t ignore your husband.”
“We’re divorced.”
“I just want to talk for a moment.”
Greer’s face already showed signs of anger. Lily looked up at him, slightly annoyed. If he kept this up, it wouldn’t be easy to end the conversation. She didn’t even know what he wanted to talk about.
Once he lost his temper, Greer wouldn’t listen to anyone. There might not be anyone in the coffeehouse now, but you never knew when someone might come in. If they exposed their fight to many people, Greer wouldn’t care since he was leaving, but she would be left with gossip.
No one would directly criticize her, but it would still bother her.
“I have an appoi-”
As Lily was about to argue, someone silently appeared and intervened.
“The lady said she doesn’t want to talk.”
“Huh?”
Lily was startled. It was Breck, who had stepped in as if to protect her from Greer.
At least, that’s how it appeared to Lily. Though his eye color, hairstyle, and even face were different, his bone structure was the same. There were some differences in muscle tone, but those could be adjusted with slight weight changes.
It seemed impossible, so she stared blankly at him from his nape to his waist. But she had observed and drawn Breck so closely that she couldn’t mistake the differences.
Meanwhile, Greer raised his voice in disbelief.
“I want to talk to my wife for a moment. What business is it of yours?”
“Do people still call their ex-wives their wives these days?”
“Lily, is this the man you came to meet? Did you betray me for him?”
Greer, as if finally finding an answer, turned red and questioned her. Lily looked at him in disbelief, and Breck intervened again.
“Betrayal? I heard it was an amicable divorce.”
“Lily!”
“Don’t shout threateningly at the lady while I’m speaking politely.”
“What do you know that you’re interfering? What do you know about things between Lily and me? Who are you?!”
Breck should have kept his mouth shut at that point.
But just like when he transformed and followed because of a bad feeling, he had no thoughts now either. And the first word that came to mind, amusingly enough, was:
“Mill mate…?”
Greer stared blankly at Breck, not understanding what he meant right away. Realizing he had just spouted nonsense, Breck slowly looked back.
Lily’s face was bright red. Breck sidestepped out of her line of sight. Greer, a step behind, shouted angrily.
“I knew it!”
“Oh no!”
At that moment, an excited voice came from behind. Pulque, who had come out of the private room after waiting for Lily, saw Greer and Lily standing face to face and clapped his hands.
“Well, well, what brings you two here? Go ahead, talk. I didn’t mean to interrupt…”
Pulque smiled. Greer spat out a curse and turned away. He couldn’t afford to give Verdain Weekly such gossip fodder.
Lily finally snapped out of her frozen state. She turned to thank Pulque, but Breck had already disappeared. He had run away.
**
“I must be crazy.”
Thud! Crack!
“Why did I say that…”
A log split in half and fell to both sides.
“I must be out of my mind…”
Thud! Crack!
Breck swung the axe with one hand. The pile of chopped wood had grown so large it formed three peaks, almost taller than the storage shed.
He had started chopping wood to clear his mind and sweat out his thoughts, but unfortunately, his muscles were too strong to be exhausted by such labor. Instead of clearing his head, it was spinning even more. Normally, he would regulate his metabolism to sweat and lift the axe with both hands to make it look hard. But now, he didn’t have the luxury of such thoughts.
Thud! Crack!
Thud! Crack!
The logs split more easily than slicing potatoes. Usually, when Breck chopped wood, the maids would gather to watch his bulging back muscles, causing a small commotion. But now, they had all run away, horrified.
Breck didn’t even notice the change in his usual surroundings. He just felt mortified.
‘Maybe I should leave.’
He considered the possibility that his mistress hadn’t realized he was the same person. She seemed a bit absent-minded. Yes, she probably didn’t notice. Breck here was just a nobody, a commoner. Who would believe he had transformed, donned decent clothes, and blocked a noble’s path faster than a carriage? No one could see through his transformation.
‘There could be another man she invited to the mill.’
Thinking about it, that seemed more reasonable. What was wrong with a single adult woman finding a one-night lover? Given her status, it wasn’t strange to hide her identity.
But thinking that made him feel worse.
‘Tsk.’
It was just embarrassing, but she probably wouldn’t know it was him, so it shouldn’t matter.
Even though he thought it through clearly, he still felt like burying his head.
“Hey, that’s enough.”
“Oh, Cohen.”
Startled by the voice behind him, Breck stopped and turned around. Cohen stood there, looking incredulous amidst the piles of chopped wood that resembled a small wooden fortress.
“You have some strength. Are you planning to chop all the winter wood alone?”
“I could if I tried.”
“You should clean up as you go.”
Breck laughed awkwardly. Realizing how thoughtlessly he had piled the wood, he said,
“I’ll stack it in the shed.”
“What are you thinking about so much?”
“Thinking?”
“Trying to exhaust yourself? It’s obvious.”
“No.”
“Come on. Who is it?”
“Pardon?”
Cohen grinned with a knowing smile on his aged face.
“You’ve settled in, and now you’re noticing women. Who is it? If it’s a good match, I can arrange a meeting.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Of course it is. Why? Are you worried about not having enough saved to start a family?”
“It’s not that at all.”
Breck denied it so strongly he momentarily forgot his embarrassment. Cohen scolded him.
“It’s natural to want to start a family at the right time. Even if commoners marry for love, similar backgrounds make for a better match.”
“It’s not that.”
Breck sighed and shook his head. He just wanted to clear his mind.
“Well, do you need me to do anything? Should I pull weeds? Or maybe tend to the manure?”
“It’s almost dinner time. I came to call you for dinner.”
Cohen was right. Breck realized the sun was setting. Since there was no news, it seemed she hadn’t realized it was him. She would probably just think it was some strange guy.
Relieved, he put the axe away and took off his gloves, ready to head to the servants’ dining hall with Cohen. But then he saw the butler approaching briskly. Breck watched him with a sense of foreboding.
“There you are. What is all this?”
“Breck chopped a lot of wood today.”
Cohen said supportively. Breck, who had no desire to curry favor with the butler, nodded soullessly. The butler said,
“Breck, you have some strength. You could be a woodcutter.”
“Yes.”
“But that’s not why I’m here. The mistress is calling for you.”
“Me? Why?”
Breck asked, turning pale rather than looking innocent. The butler, unaware of the situation, frowned and scolded him.
“If you’re called, just go. She must have something to say.”
But the butler and Cohen were both puzzled. If it was about garden work, she would call Cohen. If Breck had done something wrong, she would communicate it through the butler.
Breck tried to back away, but under the butler’s stern gaze, he meekly followed him. The butler clicked his tongue as he led the way. He had no idea why Lily was calling for Breck.
Her face had seemed flushed, but that must have been his imagination. How could that be?
- ianthe
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