Chapter 84

Chapter 84

“We can live happily ever after. Understand?”

The two gazed at each other and then smiled. Sadness and happiness, and the sorrow of losing a loved one… It was a smile mixed with emotions.

The two of them hugged each other.

‘Len.’

He felt like crying at her warm body temperature. Zachary, who was enjoying her warmth, suddenly thought.

‘Can I enjoy this kind of happiness on my own?’

His father’s death. The weight on his shoulders was heavy. Still, even if he suffered from endless guilt and debt, even if he was punished for that death… Now, he wanted to fully enjoy Iellie’s affection.

‘…Father.’

He tightened her arms as he held her. Hoping to somehow shake off his thoughts of his father.

As Iellie sent a letter to her parents outlining the brief situation, Zachary asked a question with concern.

“Didn’t you tell father-in-law and mother-in-law until now?”

“Yes. Well, it’s okay. It was much more urgent to see you again.”

“Still, they must have been very concerned.”

“They must have been a little worried, but…”

Iellie rolled her eyes. Her conscience was a bit pricked that she came out without saying anything to her parents.

“Well, the letter was sent. They’ll get a little angry later, though that can’t be helped.”

“…Is it okay, though?”

“What can I do? It has already happened.”

She answered casually and entered her room. The view of her room was not at all different from when she had stayed here. With her eyes wide open, Iellie turned to Zachary, and he smiled brightly.

“Oh my, the room is the same?”

“That is…”

“You didn’t clear this room at all since I left the Duke’s Castle?”

At her question, Zachary nodded his head slightly with a slightly embarrassed face. He scratched his cheek and spoke.

“…I haven’t cleared out everything about you.”

“Why?”

“That…”

Zachary paused for a moment. He didn’t know how to explain it, but what was certain was that he couldn’t even touch anything related to her. He was afraid because he thought that even the accumulated memories of her would be ruined.

“Maybe, it’s because you still have feelings for me?”

“I think so.”

Iellie threw a joke with a smirk on her face, and Zachary affirmed with a serious expression.

“Now, you know how important I am, right?”

“Of course.”

Seeing him smile apologetically, Iellie decided to stop teasing Zachary at this point.

“I don’t know if everyone in the Duke’s castle was doing well.”

“Well, it seems that the working environment has become a little more difficult than it used to be…”

“Why? Nothing like salary or welfare has changed, right?”

With a puzzled face, she glanced back at him. Zachary crouched his shoulders.

“That is… There is the atmosphere of the workplace.”

“What’s with the atmosphere?”

“Honestly, the atmosphere at the Duke’s Castle after you left is a bit…”

Zachary narrowed his brow slightly. After Iellie left, the Duke had been bedridden the whole time, and he continued to be at the end of his nerves. What would life be like serving a sick Duke and a sensitive Young Duke?

‘The employees must have suffered a little.’

At the time, it was so painful to lose Iellie that he couldn’t even look around, but now that he thought about it, he was a little sorry. Zachary secretly made up his mind that he would give rewards to the employees.

“Is the funeral tomorrow?”

“Right.”

He nodded his head slightly. As she carefully examined his face, Iellie asked a question.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m okay.”

However, contrary to his words, Zachary’s expression still looked distressed.

‘…Father.’

With her abrupt return, the feelings, which had been separated, fill its spot in an instant. Zachary looked complicated. The emotion on his face is not just sadness over the loss of his father. Inside the sadness, there was a pain that could not be revealed.

The day before the funeral, Iellie met the people of the Duke’s Castle again. All of them greeted her with smiling faces.

“Welcome, Miss.”

“I am glad to see you again.”

She was warmly welcomed by the people of the Duke’s Castle. Iellie, who was touched inside, smiled softly. In particular, Mary, standing next to her, even had tears in her eyes. When they first met, she cried, though this time, Mary cried again.

Iellie was very moved.

“You are very welcome back, Miss.”

“Thank you, Mary. I couldn’t ask because I wasn’t feeling well before, how have you been?”

“I want to tell you that I’ve been well, but…”

“Why? Did something happen?”

Surprised, Iellie asked her. Mary smiled awkwardly, then gently shook her head.

“No, it’s not like that.”

“Then?”

“I just thought it felt new.”

Mary looked at Iellie with a happy face. She spoke to the bewildered Iellie.

“As I said before, the truth is, the atmosphere of the Duke’s castle was really dark when the Miss wasn’t here.”

Saying so, Mary narrowed her brow. She lowered her voice and whispered, like a child telling something to an adult.

“The previous Duke was still ill, and the current Duke was also in such a bad mood.”

“Oh, I see.”

“It felt like I was crossing a single-bridged tree every day.”

Then, she shrugged her shoulders and frowned. Mary then opened her mouth as she seemed to be pondering something.

“And also, the fact that the previous Duke died so suddenly.”

“…I see. Everyone must be very surprised.”

“Yes, especially, the current Duke was very heartbroken.”

Iellie nodded her head slightly. No matter how much they hated each other, the two were father-and-son who shared blood… that heartache couldn’t be small.

“Besides, the current Duke was the first person to discover the previous Duke’s death.”

“Zachary did?”

“Yes. At that time, the current Duke informed us that the previous Duke had passed away.”

Mary remembered what Zachary looked like at the time… The face that was cold as if it had been carved from ice with a knife.

‘Father is dead.’

Those are the only words announcing his father’s death. Zachary declared in a voiceless voice as if he had ripped out all emotions. However, the tears that could not be erased dried up on his face.

“Everyone said that the current Duke doesn’t seem to grieve over the death of the previous Duke, but…”

‘Maybe, I’m being too nosy.’

Thinking so, she glanced at Iellie’s eyes. However, Iellie just listened to her seriously. After she hesitated for a moment, Mary spoke up.

“I don’t think so.”

“Mary.”

“Because it was the first time I had ever seen the Duke’s face so sad.”

She looked at Iellie with a serious face. At that time, she could never forget the Duke’s face.

“People talk however they want, but that’s because they didn’t see the Duke’s face at that time.”

“Is Zachary so sad?”

Iellie asked in a hoarse voice. What did he feel? Mary let out a long sigh.

“Yes. I didn’t know that the previous Duke would die so suddenly.”

“I see.”

“So, everyone felt sorry for the Duke. Of course, the Duke became very sensitive afterward, but…”

As she listened to Mary’s words, Iellie felt her heart ache. She would, of course, feel that. Perhaps Zachary, at that time, had sharpened his mind so as not to fall from the moment he lost his father.

‘I should have been by his side.’

Iellie swallowed a sigh. It would still be very difficult. Still, she couldn’t express her feelings because it might be a burden on him, who was having a hard time. His figure, shutting his mouth while trying to say something, looked very clear.

‘…Actually, it hasn’t been long since the Duke passed away.’

Iellie’s face deepened. How she interpreted her dark face, Mary shook her head hastily.

“No, but it’s not your fault.”

“Mary.”

“Miss, at the time, you were down in the South, right? How would you know that the previous Duke had passed away?”

Mary’s face, who was trying to comfort Iellie somehow, was burning red. She continued.

“And, it was the Duke who asked Miss for a divorce.”

“However…”

“Honestly, the fact that Miss has returned this time is a sign of great consideration for the Duke.”

Mary’s voice was firm. Her voice was so firm that Iellie stared at her without realizing it.

“So, you don’t have to feel guilty at all. Got it?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Iellie gave a smile. Mary, who looked at her, smiled along. Long after she left, the people of the Duke’s castle were still on her side.

The depths of her chest warmed.

On the day Theron, the previous Duke Hessenweitz, left, it rained lightly from the morning. It was a rare winter rain in the Duchy. Raindrops poured down like tears as if saddened by the departure of the previous Duke.

‘…This is how I send the Duke.’

Iellie, who got up early in the morning and was grooming herself to attend the funeral, stared blankly out the window, thinking. Today she wore a black veiled hat to cover her face and a black dress.

‘Is this enough to see the Duke off?’

She was drenched in sadness. Until she left the Duke’s castle, she didn’t think the outfit she wore when she met her father-in-law would be a mourning outfit… the look of her Father-in-law gleamed in her eyes.

‘Duke.’

The Duke, whose cool and calm atmosphere closely resembled Zachary. He was a kind person to her. It reminded her of his willingness to drink because she had been making sweet lemon tea, which he didn’t like.

‘He didn’t know how to express kindness, but…’

What was his relationship with Zachary when she left? Perhaps even when he died, they only spit out harsh words and hurt each other.

Confused, she gently closed her eyes.

‘I still want to see him.’

She wished he had been as comfortable when he passed. Still, she didn’t think he would pass like this. At least, she wanted to show her face before.

Her complex minds mingled.

“Miss, the Master has come to pick you up.”

When Mary gave a small message to her, Iellie lifted her head suddenly. Zachary was standing in front of the door. His countenance was pale.

Maybe, he was dizzy as well. He struggled to smile.

“Len, I’m here to pick you up.”

“Zachary.”

Zachary, who was looking at her quietly, reached out his hand with a quick glance. Iellie grabbed his hand tightly.

“Did you get some sleep? Your face looks tired.”

“It’s okay. I’m a little tired, but…”

It must have been more difficult for Zachary to send the Duke off than to Iellie. There was a shadow under his eyes, probably because he couldn’t sleep properly. She raised her hand and rubbed his face.

“Still, not to the point where you have to worry.”

“I’m upset if you talk like it was someone else’s matter.”

“I didn’t mean to talk like it was someone else’s matter…”

As he was about to say something, he shut his mouth. Zachary lowered his gaze slightly and whispered a little.

“I was just afraid you would worry about me, sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, but sometimes let me worry about you as much as I want.”

Smiling softly, Iellie intertwined her fingers with Zachary’s. He smiled faintly and opened his mouth to her.

“I chose a family funeral arrangement for the funeral.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I only called the minimum number of people and tried to keep it simple.”

Zachary glanced through the rain-filled window. The appearance of the two gazing over the pouring rain, Zachary was fully leaning on Iellie’s warmth.

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