Chapter 7 (1/2)

Chapter 7

First Night (1)

Translated by iseuli

Edited by lili

There was no wedding procession(1), no guests to congratulate them, nor any blessings. They sat facing each other at a table, where Hugo Taran and Vivan Hesse signed their certificate of marriage.

She signed her full last name, ‘Hesse’, on the documents while writing down only the initial for her first name, ‘Vivian.’ That was the norm for marriage certificates. But for this marriage certificate, she signed her full name on top, and used the standard signing method just below.

Vivian. That was her name. She had lived as Vivian while she was with Count Matin for over five years. Following her divorce, she had lived the rest of her life as Lucia. But now, she would need to live the rest of her life as Vivian.

She had never thought that the name Vivian belonged to her. When she had lived by this name, she had felt nothing but agony and suffering. Lucia and Vivian felt like two different human beings. She was distressed whether the name written on the marriage certificate really belonged to her, or not.

She was frustrated that her fake shell as Vivian would be stuck for the rest of her life due to this marriage, but at the same time, she felt a sense of relief. On one hand, she felt a small hope that she would be able to break past her outer shell and escape to the outside world. On the other hand, Lucia could not see the lowest point of the dark hole she was about to fall into. Lucia could not express her feelings with one word.

Two men she had never seen before in her life stood as their witnesses; the process was simple and she was quickly promoted as the official Duke of Taran’s wife. That was how their wedding ended.

Lucia didn’t have any attachment toward things like weddings, but she was a little sad that the classic kiss upon marriage had been omitted. Following that first kiss, he had never made any sort of physical contact with her. She pretended to look somewhere else as she stole a glance at his lips.

His closed lips lied in a straight line, his stubborn nature seemingly reflected upon them. They weren’t too thick; when his lips had pressed against hers, they felt very soft. He had sucked onto Lucia’s lips as his tongue had entered her mouth…

“Tomorrow morning we’ll leave for the North.”

“Yes…Okay!”

When his mouth suddenly opened, Lucia jumped in shock. He watched her with strange eyes, so she quickly distracted herself by looking into another direction. She worried whether her face was flushed red at the moment.

‘Aah, I must be crazy. What are you doing? Seriously.’

“If you wish to remain in the capital, that’s fine.”

Her racing heart suddenly died a little, and a cold wind blew past, howling into the distance. The ink on the marriage contract had yet to dry, but he was already thinking of separating as something trivial.

She realized he didn’t see her as a woman. She didn’t have any expectations of a warm and loving married life, but she couldn’t help feeling bitter.

Her heart squeezed with pain. He was declaring that their marriage would never become something that would tie them together. Lucia, who had a little bit of hope at first, threw all that away.There wasn’t even a bit of frustration in her heart at the moment.

“…I will follow you. But if Your Grace wishes that I remain here, I will do so.”

She lowered her eyes to the floor and spoke in a soft voice, trying her best not to mix emotion into her words. She wasn’t trying to defy him or anything. There were no benefits to staying here. She felt his gaze on her with her whole body.

Lucia hoped to live with the flow, calm and relaxed as much as possible. She didn’t see him as a man who would physically abuse a woman, but there wasn’t anything bad about being extra careful. She had already experienced how hopeless a woman would be against a man who was physically abusive.

“There’s nothing fun over there, unlike the capital. You should make a firm decision so you don’t regret.”

“I’ll be fine.”

‘I’ve never found anything enjoyable in the capital in the first place.’

Once their carriage took off, they didn’t converse until they reached their destination. As soon as they arrived, he got off and shut himself into his oval office. Lucia was left alone at the front gate and only Jerome remained to show her around the estate.

“Greetings, Mistress. I am the current butler serving the Duke of Taran. Please call me Jerome.”

He seemed to be around his 30s. She was familiar with this man, who had midnight blue eyes while sporting a neat and tidy overall presentation. He had once served her tea when she had visited the Duke. ‘So he was the butler.’ He seemed too young to be the Duke’s head butler.

“Nice to meet you. The tea from last time was very delicious, Jerome.”

Jerome watched Lucia strangely, but all traces of his feelings were quickly erased. He answered with an amiable and gentle tone instead.

“Thank you. Please speak without formalities, Mistress.”

“I’m most comfortable speaking this way. Oh, if this isn’t appropriate as the lady of the Duke’s house, I will fix my bad habits.”

“That’s not the case. Mistress, whatever you say will be Taran’s new rules. Will you dine first or rest? Would you like me to show you around the estate?”

She had heard something really unbelievable just now. But she was currently suffering from a bad headache and she couldn’t dwell on the topic for too long. Lucia related what she wanted most at the moment.

“I want to rest first.”

“I’ll show you the way to your bedroom.”

Jerome escorted Lucia to her bedroom and introduced her to two middle-aged women.

“These will be your two maids who’ll take care of your needs for your convenience.”

Jerome quickly introduced their names and experience. The maids attended to her while she undressed. She wore her under dress to bed, while waiting for her painful headache to pass.

She fell into a deep sleep, then awoke from a voice after a long while. Thankfully, her head didn’t ache anymore.

“Mistress, why don’t you eat a little before returning to sleep?

Her maid asked her with a very careful tone. She did not know her Mistress’ temper and she feared whether her Mistress would yell and hit her.

“Um… How long was I asleep?”

“You’ve been sleeping for about six hours now.”

“…I’ve slept for a long time.”

“We are preparing dinner right now.”

“Has His Grace already eaten?”

“He will have a light meal at his oval office later. He frequently has his meals in the office when he has a lot of official business to look over.”

In conclusion, it meant that Lucia ought to eat alone. On the day of Lucia’s marriage, she sat all alone at a grand table full of delicious treats. She felt a little bit disappointed. Eating together wasn’t such a hard thing to do. They lived in the same house after all.

She was a little sullen, but she quickly did her best to forget about the whole thing.

‘Don’t hope for anything. Let’s not hope for anything at all.’

If she were to get disappointed due to every single small detail, her married life would soon become hell.

‘I’ve obtained a comfortable home for myself and I won’t have to worry for the rest of my life. Also, I’ve escaped from that man.”

Those were the things she had originally wished for. But a human’s desire was truly unending. She had only gotten married, but she had already planted some expectations in her heart.

“Jerome, about the maids who are attending to me…”

“Yes. Have they made a mistake of some sort?”

“That’s not it. It seems they are the most experienced and oldest maids, is there a reason they need to be in charge of serving my trivial needs?”

Inside her dream, Lucia had once lived as a maid of a noble’s family. Therefore, she understood the type of tasks a maid would be in charge of depending on their age and experience.

“I apologize, I did not explain to you ahead of time. Mistress, you will sleep here just for today. Tomorrow, we will leave for our territory. While we are moving from place to place, they will be attending to you. When we return to our territory, the maids who will serve you will be different.”

“Oh, the other maids in this estate are based in the capital and they are unable to leave with us. Correct?”

“It is so.”

“Then what will the maids be in charge of, once we return to our domain?”

“They will be given appropriate tasks depending on their age and experience.”

“I understand. Thank you for your explanation.”

“It’s not a problem.”

Following this event, Jerome judged Lucia would have no problem managing basic household affairs. If Lucia were to find out, she would have adamantly denied his claims.

Lucia got familiar with the Duke’s mansion as a maid showed her around. The mansion was so huge, she could not tour the entire place. The mansion itself was huge, but the surrounding garden was many times more spacious.

“Has this mansion been with the Taran family for a long time?”

“No. The Taran family never had a mansion in the capital. This mansion was prepared several years ago.”

“Is that so? Who was the original owner of this place? The mansion and the garden are so huge. They must have been a very prestigious noble family.”

“Our Lord owned many mansions. He must have bought about 10 of them. This was the only mansion he kept, and the rest were destroyed.

“…Ah.”

He had to be a far richer man than Lucia had originally thought.

The washroom was spacious and luxurious. The bath wasn’t made of porcelain like usual bathtubs; they had built up a wall starting from the floor, making it into a spa. The maids didn’t need to fill the tub manually; there was a heating water tank connected to this place, so hot water was only a turn of a faucet away.

She had heard of such washrooms before, but it was her first time seeing it in person. Usually, it was the servant’s job to draw and drain the water. No matter how much effort they spent to heat the water and fill the tub, there wasn’t a city-wide water system. Therefore, many people didn’t go out of their way to spend their money to improve a facility to this level.

‘I doubt he built this type of water system to make the servants’ lives easier…’

As Lucia thought, this wasn’t something the Duke had ordered. Jerome, who was in charge of the house facilities, had sought to create an efficient system. One of his only hobbies was to destroy and remodel parts of the house.

After her bath, she returned to her bedroom. The maids attended to Lucia with great care. They helped dry her hair and gave her a flower essence used to make the skin soft and smooth. This would be their first night together after their wedding.

‘That person… He won’t come to my room tonight.’

Lucia was sure of that. Tomorrow morning, they would be returning to his domain, therefore he would choose to have a good night of rest instead. There was no guarantee he would visit her bedroom at all, even after returning to the North. He didn’t wish for a child in the first place. It was possible that he would never visit Lucia’s bedroom in this lifetime.

‘He already has a son.’

He went through a this marriage just for his son’s sake. If Lucia were to bear a son, matters would get very complicated. Although his son had been legalized through the law, the direct child of the legal wife would hold more power.

He would probably do everything in his power to prevent such a situation. He had stated that to her like it was a trivial matter, but those statements probably held a lot of weight to them. There was no way for her to prove that she was unable to bear children, so he would always suspect her.

The bedroom grew quiet once all the maids left. She laid herself onto the bed once more. However, she had been napping for so long, she didn’t feel sleepy at all. She twisted and turned in the bed, lost in her own thoughts.

‘It’s better this way…’

She had promised never to love him. That promise would be easier to fulfill the more distance he put between them. They had only shared a short kiss and it had caused her heart to beat so fast; if they did anything more, then… Lucia’s face gradually grew hotter and hotter. She quickly fanned herself with both hands, trying to blow all her thoughts away.

‘Let’s think about something else. Something else… What should I do now that I’m the Duke’s wife…? What’s there to do…?’

The first thing on her list that would benefit her husband would be to actively participate in the noble social gatherings. Count Matin had always placed all his efforts into getting Lucia to mingle with high society. But she could never achieve his expectations. She was always tired, and all she could do was stand still and count the time ticking by.

‘Haa… Participating in the noble social parties. I have no confidence in this aspect…’

By hiding that fact, would it count as a breach of contract?

The Duke’s original wife (in her dream) was very talented at making connections and mingling in those social events. She purchased all the latest and most expensive dresses, while accessorizing herself with all sorts of jewelry. The Duchess went all around town participating in social events with a charismatic poise. The noble women around her would all drown her with endless compliments.

‘But behind her back, they would do nothing but criticize and badmouth her.’

The Duchess had no amazing background. She was nothing but a pitiful rock that had somehow rolled into this place. There was nothing pleasant about discovering a rock. She had nothing in common with the noble women of high society who had grown up with a silver spoon in their mouths.

Of course, nobody would be so blatantly rude to the Duchess’ face.

Lucia had never gone out of her way to actively participate in the social parties of high society, but she had diligently participated every now and then. That was how she had come to know and see many things. She would stand a single step behind everyone, so she had many chances to observe others with objective eyes.

She had never been jealous of the Duchess’ glamour. From time to time, it seemed like she was struggling. At first, the Duchess was humble, but as time passed by, she became drunk off her own high pedestal.

After her marriage with Count Matin came to an end, she distanced herself from these social parties. Then, Lucia worked as a maid for some nobles and she came to know of the Duke of Taran.

The Duchess had not changed all those years later. Her reputation had gotten much worse with time. When the truth of her marriage was revealed, all the noble women laughed and jeered at her, spreading the news far and wide. The Duchess had dug her own grave. She had made far too many enemies throughout the years.

‘After that…’

She was not sure what happened to her afterward. Lucia had worked hard, saving money while working as a maid, in order to buy a small house for herself. She had led a quiet life after quitting her job. She had all the noisy and glamorous high society social parties behind her.

Very rarely, she would come across some gossip from her co-workers. Among all the gossip, there was information on the Duke of Taran, but the contents seemed a bit blurry.

‘Why…did I marry him?’

Lucia frightened herself.

‘Then… What would happen to the Duke’s original wife…?’

She only thought of it now. She shocked herself as she realized her own selfishness.

‘There is no helping it.’

Her guilty conscience didn’t last long.

‘If I had to mind everyone’s worries and struggles, I wouldn’t be able to survive in this dog eat dog world.’

Lucia jumped, realizing her selfish and cruel personality once more. However, it wasn’t like she wanted to fix that personality into a kind one. She had learned that nice people would be stepped on the hard way.

After thinking of this and that, she didn’t feel sleepy at all. If anything, she felt more awake. After flipping from side to side, she got up and turned on the lights in her bedroom.

‘Let’s look around the room.’

Everything in the bedroom was huge. Her bed, the sofa, all the furniture was this way. It was a creepy looking room and it seemed too cold and chilly for a female. If she had to stay in this place more than a single night, she would like to redecorate. Overall, there was a nice balance, but one thing threw the whole place off.