Chapter 7
The word “divorce” stirred something in my heart. While slicing his meat, Batis spoke casually.
“If they don’t get along, they’ll divorce. A lot of marriages are arranged, after all.”
“That’s true. Living a long time with someone you don’t match with must be really hard. Especially when their lifestyles are very different.”
Herder looked at me and smiled with her eyes. Then Batis added as if it were nothing important.
“But even if they divorce, the property issues will be a headache.”
“That’s true, and isn’t it also complicated because each family has its own family laws?”
“Right. In our family, if someone gets divorced, there’s a rule that some of the property has to be given to another sibling.”
Herder smiled as she spoke.
“That’s an interesting family law. Giving part of your property to a sibling if you get divorced.”
“It was probably made to keep the family’s wealth from going to the woman’s side.”
Hearing that made me feel even more uneasy. I had never heard of such a law. What if Cedric refuses to divorce me because of money?
“But can’t the woman just sign a paper saying she gives up the man’s property? That would solve everything neatly, right?”
“That’s true. But people are greedy, so things like that are never that simple.”
Anyway, I wasn’t interested in Cedric’s wealth. I had saved up some money secretly from my father, and I’d saved some more here too. Even if I got divorced, I wouldn’t have to worry about living for at least a year.
Still, I kept having hopes about Cedric and couldn’t stop caring. It was like I was slowly eating away at myself. So now, I really wanted to break free. I didn’t want to feel that empty, hopeless feeling anymore.
Just as I was about to eat without thinking, a large hand gently stopped mine.
Startled, I looked up to see Cedric calmly releasing my hand.
“There are peanuts in that.”
I dropped my fork in surprise. I had a serious peanut allergy—just a bite could give me hives all over. Now that I thought about it, what I was about to eat was a fried mushroom dish I didn’t even like.
Herder looked at me with concern.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
I was lucky Cedric had stopped me. I smiled like everything was fine, but Cedric called a servant seriously. The servant immediately took away all the food in front of me. Something felt strange.
‘I clearly checked the food’s placement earlier.’
Then Herder smiled softly and said,
“I didn’t know you had a peanut allergy. I really like peanuts, though.”
“Then you could’ve just brought this dish to your side.”
Cedric’s voice made the atmosphere grow heavy. I felt uneasy. I looked at the hand Cedric had touched.
“I really didn’t know!”
Herder shook her head, eyes wide. She looked truly sorry.
“Revril, I’m so sorry. I asked the servant to bring this dish to me, but maybe they made a mistake.”
Maybe the servant just placed it in front of me without thinking, since I usually don’t like this food. I smiled at Herder like I was okay, but my mind was full of Cedric.
He was drinking wine and looking at Herder. The wedding ring on his finger caught my eye.
If I divorced him, I would never see Cedric again. And I’d never have meals like this or live this kind of life again.
I looked down at the hand Cedric had held. It was amazing how he hadn’t forgotten such a detail about me.
‘By now, he should’ve stopped caring.’
Why does he still care this much about me?
The word “divorce” trembled at the edge of my throat, as if it had lost direction. I knew I shouldn’t expect anything from him, but strangely, I kept hoping.
It was always like this right when I was ready to let go. Feeling overwhelmed, I just started eating whatever was in front of me. I could feel Cedric’s gaze from time to time, but I ignored it. Eating was the only way to stop the endless thoughts in my head.
Then a glass of water was placed next to me. Cedric nodded slightly. A fresh forest-like scent lingered in the air.
“Eat slowly.”
His low voice was so soft it tickled my ears. He looked away, but I kept staring at the glass of water he gave me.
But I didn’t drink it. I didn’t want to fall deeper.
Maybe I ate too quickly. Lying in bed, I felt sick and like something was stuck in my chest. I tried tapping my back and moving around, but nothing helped.
Eventually, I got up and left the bedroom. I could’ve called a servant, but it was late, and I didn’t want to wake anyone. I knew there was medicine in the parlor drawer anyway.
Holding a lamp, I went down the stairs. The parlor was quiet and dark. The moonlight coming through the window was especially bright, but everything else was the same as usual.
After taking the medicine, I headed to the kitchen to get some water. But the closer I got, the stranger the sounds I heard. They weren’t normal—they sounded weird and uncomfortable. Almost like someone groaning.
I was nearly at the kitchen when I saw the door was slightly open. I could see a glimpse of someone’s leg through the gap. Then the sound came again, and I realized what kind of sound it was.
I stopped and stepped back, hesitating—then I heard a familiar voice.
“Revril.”
When I turned around, Cedric was there. I quickly closed the kitchen door and stepped back. Cedric looked at me for a moment and then walked toward the door. When he tried to open it, I spoke quickly.
“There’s someone inside.”
Cedric stopped opening the door and looked at me.
“I saw Lord Batis and Lady Herder.”
Cedric frowned and let go of the door.
“How long have you been here?”
“I’m not sure. I just got here a moment ago.”
Cedric rang a nearby bell. Soon, the butler appeared, looking tired and bowing his head.
“Take care of my brother and Herder in the kitchen.”
The butler bowed again and knocked on the kitchen door. Cedric turned to me and asked abruptly,
“It’s late. Why are you up?”
“I wanted some water.”
“You could’ve asked a servant.”
“It’s late.”
“Even so, servants are here for things like this.”
His tone was slightly scolding, but strangely, I didn’t feel bad. Maybe it was because I could sense some real emotion for once.
Suddenly, I became curious why Cedric was still awake at this hour.
When I looked up, our eyes met. Cedric wasn’t smiling. He looked at me with an intense gaze. I felt something strange—like he wanted me.
I stepped back without thinking, and Cedric said,
“I’ll tell a servant to keep your water stocked.”
I didn’t answer and just stared at him. Then he said,
“Don’t think too much about earlier. Some people just behave disgracefully.”
Feeling awkward, I nodded and went upstairs. Even though I’d taken medicine, I still felt sick since I hadn’t had any water.
I drank water first thing in the morning. It looked like a servant had left it last night. Next to the water bottle was some medicine. I picked it up and looked at it. A white pill—the same one I took last night.
But I had never told the servants about it. I hadn’t even told Cedric.
As I stared at the medicine, I heard a knock at the door.
“Come in.”
A maid carefully opened the door and walked in. She approached and looked at me with concern.
“Madam, are you feeling okay?”
“Were you the one who left the medicine last night?”
“Yes, the master told me to prepare the medicine and water.”
“Cedric did?”
The maid nodded.
“He said you didn’t look well and told me to get the medicine ready.”
I didn’t know Cedric had been paying that much attention to me. As I sat there in silence, the maid spoke again.
“Madam, the master’s brother and his wife left early this morning.”
“They left?”
I hadn’t expected them to leave so soon. Before, they usually stayed at least two days. The maid nodded again and quickly added,
“Lady Herder especially asked me to say she was really sorry.”
“For what?”
“She said she gave you the bath gift without thinking.”
Why was she only saying that now? Suddenly, I remembered what happened last night.
“Did Cedric tell them to leave?”
The maid hesitated. Her reaction made me press further.
“He did, didn’t he?”
Sounding almost sure, I asked again. The maid bit her lip and finally spoke.
“I’m not sure exactly, but Lord Batis went into the master’s office and they talked for a bit. When he came out, he looked pretty upset.”
As I sat quietly, the maid handed me something.
“Lord Batis told me to give you this. He said he couldn’t bring himself to give a sword as a pregnancy gift directly to his sister.”
I stared in shock.
Cedric gave a sword as a gift?
That was a very bad sign. Especially for someone who’s pregnant.
