Chapter 234 (1/2)
Chapter 234
Memories of the day that she left that place resurfaced in her ht her into a carriage felt like a distant past, she left on a whi the world, innocent Even in her dreaht that she would have returned there of her own free will She leaned her head against the wall of the carriage, drenched in a strange sense of despondency Her father, as sitting quietly across from her, looked at her and made an unpleasant expression, then struck the floor with a cane Max shuddered and sat upright
Riding in a carriage with her father was like torture, she couldn’t relax for aas et on his nerves Fortunately, Elliot ith theued that they could not disobey Riftan’s orders, so they insisted that at least one of them had to acco to be the one to escort her to Croix Castle
The duke couldn’t unleash his wrath upon her because he followed thee The duke could do nothing but ferociously glare at her with his eyes and clutch his cane tightly
“When you get to the castle, live as if you were a deadit to her ears the whole journey “Rosetta will becomes next year You should hide quietly in the castle until then I intend to reject all the visitors ill coh I told them to tell Calypse to co him meet you When he comes, he will formally demand for a divorce That will have to be delayed until next spring”
The Duke of Croix looked at her with faded gray eyes “Even the church sees it justifiable to divorce a worant that divorce with open ar what I have planned for decades”
Max was overwhelmed with shame and lowered her head It was his father’s ah Rosetta, he planned it to the point of obsession: it was so e time that it had stuck to the bottom of the pot He continued to speak of his plans, anxious to manifest it
“Rosetta needs to have at least two children A healthy child, a boy, ill inherit the royal lineage and another boy, a perfect child to be the successor of Croix I will surely convince them that Rosetta is the healthiest and most perfect woman, better than anyone else, unlike you”
Knowing that he wasn’t expecting a reply frohtly and earnestly prayed that an Ogre would coht away But, as always, her expectations were shattered The carriage entered the luxurious and ardens of Castle Croix without any trouble Hundreds of servants descended the stairs to greet the Duke, who returned earlier than expected, as she stood in front of the carriage and anxiously clutched the skirt of her dress
Elliott juht? Your coood”
“Shejourney” Before she could reply, the Duke of Croix quickly intervened “Now that she is home, she will recover soon”
He wrapped her around his shoulders and turned around Then, he looked at Elliot over his shoulder and talked
“Are you satisfied now that you have seen with your oo eyes that she has arrived here safely? You have fulfilled your duty I will allow you to stay in ht, but you must leave at once tomorrow”
Elliot’s face hardened at the duke’s rude words Max didn’t knohat to do, she looked at him and went up the stairs because she couldn’t overco force As soon as the duke entered the Great Hall, he pushed her away as if she were sonificent hall, it was so big, and its ceiling was so high that even ogres would be able to fit inside and hold a banquet Then, he yelled for the butler to take her to the rooaze of the servants who looked at her with surprise The butler, who had served the Duke of Croix all his life, obeyed his orders without asking as going on
“…please follow me, miss”
As he bowed his head, Max followed hihost Suddenly, she stopped when she noticed so above her head Rosetta was standing in front of the second floor, looking down at her fros Max took a deep breath How could it be? In just over a year, Rosetta had become so much more beautiful Her luscious, flax-colored hair shone like silver against the sunlight, and her slender, perfectly shaped body boasted her alluring charer sister shattered her chest ulfed in misery as she hastened to follow the butler He immediately led her to a quiet room at the end of the annex
“Well then, please rest well I’ll summon Joanna”
When the butler did his duty and left, she stood still in the middle of the room and looked around the space that she once lived in It was a dark roo the day and dust sat everywhere As she walked to theand looked out the scenery, she felt weak and helplessly slumped on her bed Moe opened the door and entered
“Miss…”
Max looked strangely at her nanny whose gray hair had grown considerably compared to the last time she had seen her The nanny, unable to continue her words for a long time, slowly approached her and took her hand in her wrinkly palms
“How did this come to be, my poor miss? Madam Arian also suffered the same misfortune and died…and no could it happen to the miss as well…how could God have no mercy?”//TN: Arian is the name of Maxi’s mother
The woht to the point of numbness Max’s face contorted as she pushed the wo her eyes full of pity felt more unbearable than the indifferent faces of the other servants
“I, I …” Max turned her back towards her and tightly shut her eyes that were sore fro “I… I feel tired I want to rest”
“Alright Please wait for a while, I’ll bring bath water and a meal at once”
Joanna wiped her wet eyelids with her handkerchief and headed out Max took the flagon sitting on the bedside table and vo As she threw up the sour liquid, the e broke like a dam Remorse and shahed heavily on her chest Every time she was reuilt pounded on her head like an axe
Max treon down on the floor Like other lords, Riftan would want to have a successor to pass on his castle, lands, and riches But would she be able to have another child in the future? Herher body, it was probably inherent in her blood Reminiscent of the woed her cold shoulders Would she be able to bear it when the cruelty grew?
Max touched her burning throat with shaking hands She had no face to see Riftan, and she was scared and frustrated when she iined hoould treat her She looked up and saw the ainst the wall When her pale, clear face caught her eyes, her spine seeuely re at her daughter, ould face the same fate as her Max squeezed her eyes shut and laid her dizzy head on the pillow
She didn’t want to think about anything anymore It would be better to live trapped in that s to be as insensitive as possible to pain and sadness as always If so, she wouldn’t have to worry about losing someone’s affection and she wouldn’t have to try so hard to be someone other than herself Max buried her face in the pillow It would be easier to pretend so like happiness did not exist in the first place than to have it ruined, even when her hands were barely holding it If she had nothing at all, then there was nothing for her to painfully lose
Max quickly adapted back to the life she had before she met Riftan The helplessness that was buried deep in her bones sed her up as if it had been there all along, just waiting for her While staying in her dark room, her confidence dropped as much as how it used to be, and her voice became a bit slurred because the only person she could talk to was the nanny Little by little, she felt the things that she had built in herself over the past year fall apart, and she didn’t have the strength to hold herself back Fear, frustration, and resignation ate her all up
Max sat by theand looked at the bare branches swaying in the wind It felt like she had gone back to that day when she was shaking with fear of being divorced No, the pain she felt now made her suffer more than before Before she left for Drakium, he didn’t even embrace her or ive her a chance to explain why she did it ‘Please, leave’ hat he said Maybe he wanted her to disappear before his eyes
Max looked up at the cold sky and then turned back to the bedroom She looked at the bed where her mother once laid and where her stepmother was, and then curled up on top of it In the corner of her heart, she kind of knew that this ht so hard not to be separated froled froht that her happiness, that cae However, her own actions backfired at her like a boo her to lose their child And now, it brought her back to this place
Max stared blankly at the ceiling, then slowly closed her eyes At lunchti a tray of bowls filled with porridge No matter how much she threw up, the nanny always tried to still feed her Considering the nanny’s sincerity, she forced the spoon into her mouth She hadn’t even consumed half of it when her face turned yellow, and she vo at her, sank into melancholy