CH 55.1

They weren’t the kind of people who would change so easily overnight. The couple in front of her had lived their entire lives bound by obsession, and Robert was an arrogant man who never apologized due to his pride.

She knew that best, having been with them for the longest time. So, a voice full of doubt came out of nowhere.

“The desire to elevate Libelois to a Duchy . . . Have you given up on everything?”

“After leaving you like that, I regretted it belatedly. Children are the greatest treasure. Is it not so?”

“Angroanne, unlike your brother, you have been good at everything since childhood, even when you were alone. That’s why I did it. It’s not that this mother wasn’t interested in you, it was because I believed in you.”

Their voices were weak, like they were repenting in front of a priest.

Anne didn’t know what to say. She kept her mouth shut and listened to what they were saying. It was the first time she had ever had a conversation like this, it felt so unfamiliar.

“Angroranne, will you forgive us?”

The faces of the couple showed sincere apologetic feelings.

Anne felt her heart throb as she grasped their intentions. She never thought the day would come when she would see her parents apologizing for what had happened. That was why her cold-hearted reasoning whispered that their words were lies, but her emotional side wanted to believe it..

Wanted to believe that they might be sincere.

Anne’s gaze fell to the floor at her complicated state of mind. She wondered what they would gain from false repentance, but there seemed to be no immediate benefit. In the first place, they think that their money can be paid off slowly.

They secretly exchanged glances as they looked at Anne, who remained silent. The Countess gently caressed the back of Anne’s hand. Anne remembered her mother’s smile, which she sometimes exposed when Anne was very young. Whatever it was, it didn’t feel bad.

Anne caught her trembling breath. Whether it was real or not, she could just wait and see. The shallow belief that they wouldn’t harm her because they were her family gave her strength.

Anne put her other hand atop the Countess’ hand.

“I will try.”

Anne struggled to smile. She thought she would never see her family again, but she felt the stone in her heart easing up a little.

Hearing those words, the couple’s faces immediately brightened. And after making eye contact, they asked the question again.

“By the way, Angroanne, since you came all the way here, stay at home. The family head succession ceremony will be held here anyway, so that would be more convenient.”

It was a reasonable statement, but Anne quickly answered that it was because of the Grand Duke’s condition for her to stay at the Grand Duke’s mansion that she refused.

“His Grace told me to stay at the Grand Duke’s mansion.”

“You will go back to the north, and this mother doesn’t know when I will be able to see you again. As you know, we’ve never been close like a mother and daughter should.”

Gloom quickly crept over the Countess’s face. Anne’s heart weakened at the sad look on her face, as if she was about to burst into tears. How could Anne refuse her parents’ request, while they behaved in such a servile manner to their child?

In the end, with their apology and persistent persuasion, Anne decided to stay at Libelois from that day on.

The Count told the knights who followed Anne that it was safe here, so they didn’t have to worry, and sent them back. They went to confirm with Anne in the end, so Anne answered that she was fine.

That night, for the first time, Anne had what seemed like a normal conversation with her family, without shouting or crying. As she accepted their request, the couple looked into each other’s eyes and smiled brightly. Robert still couldn’t look at her, but his depressed spirits were dampened.

After the meal, Anne opened her original room door. Even after she left, they didn’t neglect to clean the inside and it still looked tidy.

“I thought they got rid of all my belongings, but they didn’t.”

She felt strange, like she was staying in a stranger’s room, even though it was clearly the room she’d been in all her life. It was strange. The capital city where she was born and raised was so unfamiliar and she actually missed the North.

As she lay on the freshly made bedding, Anne thought, I told Marie too, so she’ll understand.

She knew that the Grand Duke would be reluctant to hear this news, but she assumed that it would be okay, that it didn’t matter where she slept, since it had only been a few days.

* * *

Life in the capital city under the warm sunlight was lively, but Anne felt rather awkward.

The atmosphere of the capital that she returned to was very unfamiliar. There were a lot of uncomfortable things, such as the questioning of her life in the North at the salon she used to go to, but by far the most embarrassing was when she asked about the Grand Duke’s appearance.

Still, her outings with her mother were pretty good. She couldn’t wait to get something more into Anne’s hands. The unfamiliar kindness was burdensome, but Anne was terribly unwilling to break the Countess’ heart, and her own heart was loosening little by little.