Chapter 2 (Part 1)

The bedroom for the Duke and Duchess was exceedingly spacious. Even if all the furniture from the cabin where Sellakia had briefly stayed was crammed in, there would still be ample space. However, no matter how vast a room may be, it is still a confined space, and if there is a guard, it is no different from a prison. Sellakia couldn’t step out of the bedroom from the morning she woke up after a deep sleep until the afternoon when the sun was high in the sky.

Even a light wash was done in the room, meals too. Everything was conducted under Tenus’s instructions and supervision. She wanted to at least step out onto the balcony to relieve her frustration, but she gave up on that too. Tenus gave her such a piercing look when she glanced towards the balcony. It was as if he was convinced that Sellakia would jump off the balcony, which was right above a dizzying cliff.

Tenus, too, did not leave the room. He insisted on staying in an uncomfortable posture, leaving his office behind, and handled his work at the small table in the bedroom. Seeing him sitting there, unable to manage his long legs on the cramped chair, Sellakia couldn’t carelessly complain.

Having no other choice, she sat on the bed and leafed through the papers Tenus had brought her yesterday. It was meant to kill the boredom, but her eyes kept drifting to the trivial content that caught her eye at first glance.

“Why?”

Noticing her hesitant gaze, Tenus turned his head slightly. His eyes were cold as they looked at Sellakia.

“Speak.”

“…Did you not sleep last night? You don’t look well.”

Since she didn’t have anything particular to say, Sellakia just picked something she saw in front of her. Indeed, Tenus looked like someone who hadn’t slept a wink.

“What?”

Tenus nodded once and closed his mouth. Why ask if you weren’t going to answer properly? Sellakia grumbled internally but asked in a seemingly friendly tone.

“Did you sleep in this room too?”

Anyway, it was less boring than keeping her mouth shut.

“I told you I would stay by your side.”

Tenus’s answer was again very brief. Sellakia awkwardly scratched her cheek. She had been so reluctant to stay in the same room with Tenus, yet she had slept deeply without even knowing he was lying next to her.

There wasn’t a suitable topic to continue the conversation. Maybe she should sleep more. On the soft bed she hadn’t laid on in a long time, she felt like she could sleep as much as she wanted.

“Bored?”

Sellakia, who had been staring blankly at the bed, nodded quickly without thinking. Tenus had already closed the file he was reviewing and turned to look at her.

“The weather is nice, why don’t you go out to the garden?”

“Can I?”

“Why are you asking me? Do as you please.”

It was a refreshing suggestion. Worried that he might change his mind, Sellakia quickly found a shawl, draped it over the dress she was wearing, and left the room.

* * *

Under the brilliant sun, the garden of the Seidon Ducal House was truly a spectacle. The colorful flower beds, mixed with various exotic species, were splendid, and the white fluffy clouds floating in the blue sky provided a picturesque backdrop. The sound of the waves crashing against the cliffs below the coastal ducal castle created a dreamy atmosphere.

“…….”

Amidst the beautiful scenery, Sellakia wore a dark, lifeless expression. Her blue eyes, tinged with resentment, met Tenus’s across from her. Tenus, who had dismissed all the servants and was personally pouring tea, seemed utterly oblivious to Sellakia’s silent command to leave.

Some might say the highlight of the Seidon Ducal House’s garden was Tenus, but to Sellakia’s eyes, he was just a fly in the ointment.

“Hey. Aren’t you busy?”

“Not really.”

“I saw earlier that you had a lot of paperwork to deal with.”

Sellakia was desperately trying to chase him away. She wasn’t pleased with the situation of being alone with him in the quiet, empty garden.

Without warning, Tenus handed her a piece of paper.

“…What’s this?”

Is he telling me to shut up and help?

“I’m not really familiar with the business of the Ducal House….”

Sellakia suddenly stopped speaking. The paper handed to her was blank.

At that moment, Tenus handed her a pen.

“Write it yourself.”

“What?”

“Information about yourself that you remember.”

Sellakia faintly furrowed her eyebrows. 

Is he suspicious of the lie about losing my memory? 

But if that were the case, the documents Tenus had given her yesterday were too insignificant. They were hardly different from asking the person who claimed to have lost their memory directly.

The previous Viscount Lensch’s daughter and the child of her second marriage. Sellakia Lensch. Such trivial matters weren’t even worth calling information.

She hadn’t even set foot in society, let alone had a debutante, so even the resourceful Seidon Ducal House would have only managed to find out basic personal details about Sellakia, like her being left-handed.

“Simple things are fine, right?”

Twirling the pen with her left hand, Sellakia willingly wrote down a few things. Since she had claimed she hadn’t lost all her memories, there was nothing to worry about.

Her mother’s and father’s names. The happy memories spent with them while they were alive. The horrific accident that took them away. And her half-brother, the son of her mother’s first husband, who inherited the Lensch Viscountcy…

“…….”

When she finished writing, it was similar to the information Tenus had given her. She wanted to add something more, but since her life had been confined to her room after her parents passed away, there was nothing noteworthy to record.

Even with a short life, it was so insignificant. Sellakia clicked her tongue inwardly at her futile existence.

“Do I have to write it down? Can’t I just say it?”

She felt a bit embarrassed by the shabby account of her past that she had written down.

After all, it was information for herself, so was there a need to give it to Tenus?

While she was hesitating over the paper, Tenus sharply snatched it away.

“Is this your handwriting?”

Sellakia, now empty-handed, replied curtly.

“You just saw me write it.”

“You could have disguised your handwriting.”

“Why would I do that?”

It was an absurd assumption. Tenus fell silent, perhaps aware that she had no reason to do such a thing. After staring intently at the paper for a while, he muttered quietly.

“It’s different.”

After a brief pause, he continued.

“From your will.”

“My will?”

In response to her bewildered question, Tenus pulled something out from his pocket. It was a paper with frayed edges, as if it had been handled many times. On it, in handwriting she had never seen before, were words lamenting a lonely existence and asking not to be searched for as she departed to the embrace of the gods.

The content, suggesting an extreme choice, was indeed worthy of being called a will.

“I wrote this?”

“It was placed on the table in the room you disappeared from without a word, along with your wedding ring. The maid testified.”

Sellakia lowered her head to look at her hand. Come to think of it, the ring that had been on her right ring finger since the wedding was gone.

Ha. A dumbfounded exclamation escaped her. Although she had lost a week’s worth of memories, she was certain.

This was not a will she had written.

The handwriting being so different was the most obvious evidence, but what bothered her more was the overly sentimental content.

Sellakia had spent an indefinite period of hardship at the Viscount’s house. Loneliness was so familiar to her that it felt almost friendly, and although she sometimes felt sick of those times, she never found it unbearable enough to end her precious life.

Moreover, what was with the pitiful request not to be searched for? If it were her, she wouldn’t have bothered to write such words in a will. She was well aware that there was no one in this Ducal House who genuinely wanted to find her.

“No one doubted it because the handwriting matched the account book. More importantly, it matches the signature on the marriage certificate.”

The account book? 

She was about to ask in confusion when Tenus pointed to a part of the will.

There, at the bottom, was Sellakia’s signature, which she hadn’t noticed before.

“This is….”

Surprisingly, unlike the handwriting, the signature was identical to hers.

Sellakia, who had been staring at the signature in wonder, asserted confidently.

“It’s a forgery.”

“Are you sure?”

“Can’t you tell by the handwriting?”

“It’s something you might write.”

“I’m not that sentimental.”

As Tenus retrieved the will from her hands, he said in passing.

“That’s good. It could have been troublesome.”

Barely troublesome? 

Sellakia glared at Tenus and retorted sarcastically.

“A Duchess committing suicide and leaving a will. That would indeed be quite troublesome for you, Duke.”

“Then make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Do you think that’s up to me?

She almost shouted out loud. Sellakia calmed her frustration by gulping down the cold tea that Tenus had poured a long time ago.