Chapter 1 (Part 5)

Wandering around the Dukedom, Sellakia also realized a few things on her own. 

The vast Ducal residence was generally too quiet, and the number of servants was surprisingly small. 

Moreover, here, Tenus Seidon was openly called the Duke and wielded influence. Even in his absence, his position was solid, and the presence of Sir Aldrich Logue, the acting Duke, was surprisingly hollow. The power struggle she had worried about between them seemed unfounded.

Though it remained a mystery why Tenus specifically chose her as a marriage partner, Sellakia thought that her decision to come to the Seidon Ducal House was correct.

However, when she awoke on the hard, cold wooden bed of a cabin, she couldn’t help but mock her own complacent feelings.

“Miss, Miss. Are you conscious?”

“Ah…”

“Thank goodness. You’re alive. Do you know how worried we were when you didn’t wake up for three days?”

“I thought we were dealing with a corpse.”

“This person! Is that something to say in front of a patient who just woke up?”

The faces of an elderly couple she had never seen before spun in her vision. Her head throbbed as if it would split, and her body ached all over. Sellakia asked with a voice that was heavy and subdued.

“Where… am I? Why am I…”

The elderly couple slowly explained what had happened. It was a simple story. 

Three days ago, late in the evening, the fishermen, who were working, went to the seaside early in the morning to retrieve the nets they had set. There, they found Sellakia, seemingly washed ashore by the waves, unconscious and soaking wet.

“It’s a miracle you’re safe. How on earth did you end up in the sea? Do you remember anything?”

“No, nothing…”

Everything was confusing.

The last memory Sellakia held was of the Duchess’s office in the Seidon Dukedom. She was writing a letter there. It was probably a letter to be sent to Chester. The date she had written at the end of the letter flashed through her mind.

“Today, what day is it today?”

“Let’s see. Today is…”

The old man counted on his fingers before telling her the date. Even considering the time she had been unconscious, more than a week had passed since the day Sellakia remembered.

There was now a week-long gap in her memory.

The elderly couple’s cabin was located in a remote area of the Seidon Dukedom. Occasionally, when the couple went to the bustling market to sell the fish they caught, Sellakia would watch their activities closely.

“You’re probably tired of eating fish every day, right? I bought some meat for you, Lia, some meat.”

“Old man, it’s unseemly to be so cheap in your old age. I know you bought it because you wanted it, and Yvette knows it too.”

“Why do you say it like that? I bought it for both reasons, for both.”

Using the excuse of lost memory, she hadn’t revealed her name, and the elderly couple called her whatever they felt like at the moment. The fact that they still didn’t know her identity seemed to indicate that no one from the Dukedom was looking for Sellakia. 

The peacefulness of the Dukedom, even with the Duchess’s disappearance, clearly indicated that Sellakia realized she had been abandoned.

The fear of nearly dying and the injustice of being abandoned tore her insides apart. Sellakia spent several days pondering why she had been thrown into the sea.

However, there was no sign of the perfectly excised memory of that week returning. Suspecting Sir Aldrich Logue, the acting Duke, was purely her conjecture.

But why?

There was no need for him to personally deal with a young lady from a humble Viscount family, who was as good as having no backing at all.

Sellakia had done nothing at the Dukedom and lived as if erasing her presence. Aldrich had also never shown any interest in her.

Occasionally, when they crossed paths in the mansion, he seemed like the epitome of a mundane character with a scholarly impression. He didn’t seem like someone who would commit such an atrocity, which made it even more puzzling.

“…Knowing the reason wouldn’t change anything, would it?”

Things around Sellakia always seemed to happen regardless of her own faults or merits. Her parents’ sudden death and the drastic change in her circumstances were the same.

It was just another similar event. And once again, there was nothing she could do.

Thinking this way calmed the stormy waves in her heart.

The threat of death had already passed. The danger was now a thing of the past for her, having left the Ducal House. It was wiser to focus on the future rather than clinging to an unresolved past.

Sellakia shook off her worries and got up after a few days. She felt rather relieved.

“Grandma, today I did the laundry perfectly. Please take a look. How did I do? I did well, right?”

“Did well? Tsk. Look at the water dripping here. Even after feeding you so much, your hand strength is still like this, why?”

“Grandpa praised me for quickly picking up housework. He said he’d soon teach me how to mend fishing lines too.”

“What’s so good about learning such hard work that you’re smiling, funny girl.”

Even while clicking her tongue, the old woman wrung out the laundry in place of Sellakia.

Watching the thick droplets of water fall, Sellakia laughed sheepishly.

Living in the narrow, shabby cabin was not easy. It was even more so because she had volunteered to repay their kindness by doing housework for the first time in her life.

Though her hands blistered and she was scolded for not doing things properly, it was far more enjoyable than her time at the Lensch Viscount house or the Seidon Dukedom, where only her body was comfortable.

Having conversations face-to-face, and feeling the sense of accomplishment from contributing as a member of the household, even if it was something trivial, was immensely satisfying.

She felt so fulfilled that she wondered why she hadn’t left a place that wasn’t even home sooner.

Having gained confidence, Sellakia planned to rest a little longer and then find a new identity to leave the Seidon Dukedom. She couldn’t continue to be a burden in the small cabin where the elderly couple lived.

However, coincidentally, the day after she made such a resolution, which is today,

“So you were hiding here.”

Tenus found her.

“Sellakia Lensch.”

Somehow looking more haggard than on their wedding day.

* * *

“Haa.”

At the end of a long recollection, Sellakia sighed.

Feigning complete memory loss and declaring to Tenus that she would leave the Dukedom was certainly an impulsive act of bravado, but she had no regrets.

Sellakia intended to leave in search of her own sanctuary. Having experienced a place where she could lay her body at ease, she no longer wanted to struggle in a place where she didn’t belong.

“What on earth was the Young Master Seidon doing while you endured such humiliation? Damn. Does he even know about this?”

Unaware of her resolution, Chester was still unable to calm down his excitement.

“No, knowing your personality, you must have kept your mouth shut. I’ll tell him right now, and report this to the Imperial Palace…”

“Calm down, Chester. The Duke of Seidon knows nothing. I have no evidence. It’s just a suspicion.”

“But!”

“Even if Sir Aldrich Logue is indeed the culprit and it becomes known, what are the chances he will be punished?”

Sellakia turned her head towards the window. Her face was skeptical as she watched the thinning rain.

“I haven’t even been officially recognized by the Imperial Family for my marriage. I’m just a Viscount’s daughter, and he’s the acting Duke of Seidon. Even a backward-walking crab would know which side the Imperial Family would support.”

In the Pangaea Empire, the notarization of a noble’s marriage is typically granted after a period of about a month for legal validity.

Sellakia had met with a mishap nearly a month after her marriage, and unfortunately, when she disappeared, the Imperial Family sent the marriage notarization through a spokesperson. As Tenus explained in the carriage, due to the absence of the Duchess, Tenus Seidon’s marriage was annulled. It was only natural since the notarization was to be received together by the couple.

Therefore, requesting a new marriage notarization would take another month.

This meant that Sellakia would have to stay here for at least a month.

“Still, the Imperial Family would judge fairly…”

Chester couldn’t finish his sentence and bit his lip tightly.