<Prologue> Funeral in the Rain

“Ellie, do you know why I keep you by my side?”

Kiern’s voice, sweet yet somehow twisted, reached her ears. He was kind and noble to everyone, but he never easily let anyone close. However, in front of Elizabeth, he would reveal his raw emotions.

“Why do you keep me by your side?”

She tried to keep her voice steady, but whenever he treated her harshly, she felt as if all the blood drained from her body, making it hard to control herself. Sensing her agitation, he smirked and gestured with his finger for her to come closer.

Elizabeth’s gaze naturally turned to Kiern’s long fingers. In his hand was a cigar. 

White smoke rose around him. The once gentlemanly young master, who didn’t suit cigars at all, had become a man accustomed to them. And it was her mother who had made him that way, a fact that broke her heart.

As Elizabeth crawled on her knees toward him, he grabbed her chin and blew smoke in her face. 

The acrid smoke stung her nose, but she didn’t close her eyes. She simply stared into his sadness.

Kiern’s blue eyes were dull. No longer bright with intelligence nor damp with sorrow, they were dry. Gently caressing Elizabeth’s cheek, Kiern spoke.

“To think you still don’t know. Ellie, you’re more naive than I thought.”

“…….”

“No, it can’t be. With that woman’s blood running through you, you can’t be naive. Are you doing it on purpose then? Because you covet the position of Duchess like your mother?”

“Kiern.”

“Who said you could call my name so freely?”

His once gentle voice turned cold in an instant. The fact that they had become so distant that she couldn’t even call his name freely anymore frustrated Elizabeth.

When she closed her lips, he leaned in closer. His blue eyes were so close they seemed to devour her. 

Elizabeth had become afraid of those eyes at some point. They were the color she once loved most, but now they hurt her the most.

Her cheek, held by him, was pressed painfully, but she couldn’t protest. As he said, she was the daughter of that woman. As long as the blood of the woman he hated most flowed in her veins, she couldn’t resist him.

“It hurts.”

“Don’t pretend to be naive. It’s only creepy when you do.”

“…….”

“Don’t delude yourself either. I didn’t take in someone even that woman abandoned because I pitied you or loved you.”

Kiern spoke as he crushed Elizabeth’s red lips with his fingertip. His eyes were deep and dark like a night lake, seemingly empty.

“It’s just simple revenge. Just as your mother ruined my mother’s life, I intend to tear your life to pieces.”

With those words, his fingers invaded her mouth. When his cold fingertips touched her tongue, her body, already accustomed to his touch, heated up easily.

Elizabeth loathed her body for reacting that way and tried to close her mouth, but it only intensified the stimulation.

For a long time, the young Duke’s fingers ravaged Elizabeth’s mouth. Unable to hold back any longer, tears welled up in her eyes. Kiern frowned at her tears and said,

“Don’t cry. You don’t even have the right to cry.”

“…….”

“Just lie down at my feet like now and atone for your mother’s sins for the rest of your life. Because that’s the only way you’ll find forgiveness.”

With those words, Kiern devoured Elizabeth’s lips. It was a merciless kiss, but even that tasted sweet, making her hate herself unbearably.

The bitter smell of the cigar mixed with his scent made her head spin.

Since the day everything was revealed, he did not hesitate to ruin and break her.  

Appearing as a merciful lord, he clawed at her body and mind like a sweet executioner, leaving her in tatters. He lived solely for her misery, as if he existed only for her unhappiness.

Elizabeth was devastated by the reality that she was nothing but a source of pain for him. 

Kiern, who had been her everything during her adolescence, her first love, and her only friend, no longer existed. 

Only the ruthless master and his sordid mistress remained.

Elizabeth endured and endured again.

And when she could no longer endure, Elizabeth had to run away. Because she found out that an innocent life was growing inside her.

* * *

The day the Duchess died, Elizabeth felt as if Kiern’s world had collapsed.

Not a single day was clear during the funeral. It rained continuously, as if the sky was crying for Kiern. Kiern was only eighteen when he lost his mother. Throughout the funeral, there was no sign of sadness on his face.

Kiern neither cried during the entire funeral procession nor did he show any emotion while receiving condolences from all the visitors. It made him appear as if he wasn’t grieving.

He was always someone who didn’t show his emotions, so the mourners clicked their tongues and left, feeling he was too cold even at such a time.

But Elizabeth knew. She knew he was so deeply grieved that he couldn’t even cry. That he was struggling to stand still like a stone, unable to accept the reality that had struck him. That he was a body that would shatter into pieces with just a little nudge.

“Kiern.”

Elizabeth quietly held Kiern’s hand. It was an attempt to lessen his sorrow, even just a little.

“Madam must have gone to a good place. She was a good person.”

It pained her that she could only offer such a cliché comfort, but it was sincere. Elizabeth sincerely hoped the Duchess had gone to heaven.

At that moment, Kiern glanced at her with his fair and gentle face.

His blue eyes were as somber as the overcast sky. The blue eyes, which had never lost their light, were filled with sorrow.

Elizabeth could see it, but others could not.

People only knew him superficially, unaware of the swirling despair in those eyes.

“She must have.”

His voice was monotonous, yet somehow sharp and cold. His reply carried a hint of sarcasm. The unrefined emotion that was unlike him made Elizabeth look up at him in surprise. But was that just her imagination? He smiled softly as if nothing had happened and whispered.

“Thank you for your concern.”

His voice was as graceful as usual, so she felt relieved. She couldn’t take her eyes off him, feeling constantly worried about him.

Kiern loved his mother, the Duchess, more than anyone. He always prepared roses, her favorite, in a vase for her and made sure she was well before going to bed. It was routine to care for her meticulously, as she was often sick. He especially worried about the Duchess, who suffered from severe colds every season change.

On the other hand, his father, Duke Agaphel, was indifferent. He didn’t hold back financial support for his wife, but he wasn’t one to shower her with affection. Thus, the Duchess spent much time alone. And during that time, she poured all her affection into Kiern.

The Duchess loved Kiern dearly, and he loved his mother in return.

Elizabeth liked Kiern’s kindness. She secretly admired his gentleness.

In fact, from the moment she first met him, she couldn’t help but fall in love. He was the most handsome and gentlemanly person she had ever seen.

He seemed like a nobleman by birth, with refined actions and speech that made him seem like someone from a different world. Yet, whenever she discovered even a small habit of his, Elizabeth felt as if she had found a gem.

Kiern’s deep, blue-black hair had long since dyed her heart like ink that wouldn’t wash away. Elizabeth wanted to be a comfort to him. Though his mother had passed away, she wanted him to know that people who loved him remained by his side.

So, she gathered her courage, held his hand, and spoke.

“Kiern, don’t be too sad. I’ll be with you for a long time, taking the place of the Duchess. I promise.”

She never imagined what that promise would mean to him.

* * *

Elizabeth came to stay at Agaphel Castle four years before the Duchess’s death. At the age of fourteen, Elizabeth was experiencing the sorrow of her first separation due to her father’s sudden death.

But the harsh world didn’t leave her to grieve. After her father, Baron Lua, passed away, the debts had increased tremendously.

Her mother, Stella, who became a widow, was not a woman who could live on the little inheritance left by the Baron. Even if she worked as a maid for a great noble, she couldn’t control her already extravagant spending, and she was ignorant of household management.

Unfortunately, without a son to inherit the title, their family became one in name only, and she was always anxious.

At that time, young Elizabeth could do nothing but comfort her crying mother.

At the time, young Elizabeth could do nothing but comfort her crying mother. Stella, who was half-mad, was able to stand again thanks to the help of the Duchess of Agaphel, who was both a friend and an employer.

Hearing the pitiful circumstances of the mother and daughter, the Duchess allowed them to stay at the castle.

“The Duchess is truly compassionate. It would have been better if she were healthier.”

Saying that, Stella held Elizabeth’s hand with an excited expression. She seemed elated at the prospect of living in the famously beautiful castle.

Elizabeth thought it was her mother’s way of enduring her sorrow. She was relieved that her mother hadn’t gone mad after losing her husband so suddenly.

So, although she was afraid to leave the mansion full of her father’s traces and go to the unfamiliar Agaphel Castle, she didn’t show it. She only hoped her mother could continue living.

Agaphel Castle, where they arrived with such anxious hearts, was more beautiful than expected, and the Duchess, whom they met, exuded an even more elegant atmosphere.

“So you’re Stella’s daughter.”

“My name is Elizabeth Lua, Madam.”

“I also have a son about your age. I’m sure, like Stella and me, you two will become good friends. He’s a bit reserved, but it would be nice if you could keep him company.”

The Duchess was a woman with a clear and pure soul. She was also the owner of a warm heart, bringing in the insignificant mother and daughter without once boasting about it.

To them, who were about to be thrown out onto the streets, she seemed as merciful as a goddess. And her son, Kiern, was the most beautiful man Elizabeth had ever seen.

“Mother.”

“Oh, you came at the right time. Kiern, come here and greet Elizabeth. She will be staying with us at the castle.”

The Duchess introduced Kiern, who had just entered, to Elizabeth.

“Wow.”

Elizabeth couldn’t help but exclaim upon seeing him.

The characteristic black hair of Agaphel was as dark as obsidian, resembling a bluish night. And his blue eyes, like stars, were enough to captivate her gaze.

Kiern looked at Elizabeth with a gentle gaze. He soon greeted her with a short bow, and it was so gentlemanly that Elizabeth’s hands sweated, and she kept wiping them on her dress.

“I’ve heard a lot about you from my mother. I’m Kiern Agaphel.”

“I’m Elizabeth Lua. You can speak informally to me, Young Master.”

Coming in as a maid’s daughter, she was no different from a maid herself. Judging by the Duchess’s words, she would be staying as the young Duke’s companion, so it was natural for him to address her informally.

But Kiern did not.

With a gentle smile, he said,

“My mother told me to treat you as a friend, so I can’t do that. If we’re going to speak informally, we should both do it.”

“Oh.”

“Shall we, Lady Lua?”

For the first time in her life, Elizabeth felt like she was being treated as a noble lady.

For the first time in her life, Elizabeth felt like she was being treated as a noble lady. She had never seen a great noble treat the daughter of a humble baron so kindly. Even though they shared the same noble rank, barons weren’t even considered part of the nobility.

Kiern, as the heir of the Duke, was a figure far removed from her. So it was unfamiliar yet thrilling for Elizabeth to be treated as a noble lady by him.

“If that’s what you wish, Young Master.”

“Please call me Kiern.”

“Oh.”

“You can call me Kiern.”

His crescent-shaped eyes held a playful glint. The casual manner in which he spoke felt like a departure from his refined appearance.

Perhaps he, like her, felt a small ripple in his heart, she thought with small hope. Embarrassed by the thought, Elizabeth’s face turned red. She stammered,

“Then you can call me Ellie. Ellie.”

The informal speech felt awkward, and she belatedly added a polite honorific, making Kiern chuckle as he said,

“Okay, I will. Ellie, let’s speak comfortably with each other.”

Elizabeth could only nod, unable to meet his eyes, fanning herself repeatedly. The Duchess watched her warmly, and Stella looked on contentedly.

That was their first meeting, and the day Elizabeth fell in love with Kiern at first sight.

But unfortunately, her feelings never fully reached him. It was more accurate to say they were shattered before they could even reach him.

Her once calm feelings were torn and tattered, but she had no right to protest. All she could do was make herself a cripple who couldn’t leave the cage on her own, as a form of penance.

Elizabeth believed she had to bear the sins of her mother, which she hadn’t known, and her own belated realization. She couldn’t abandon her beautiful yet scarred master, whom she loved.