When You Turned Your Back On Me, We Became Strangers [EN]: Chapter 38

“Turning Away, You’re Just Another Person (37)”

“Duke Beritar has been secretly moving towards the Printz family.”

Kaver, upon hearing Haban’s words, put down the pen he was using to sign documents without a word. Haban’s eyebrows lifted in surprise at his unexpectedly calm reaction.

‘I thought he would charge in immediately.’

Seeing that he didn’t even get up, it seemed like the day would pass quietly.

“Aren’t you going to go?”

Haban couldn’t hide his inner joy, his lips twitching slightly. It was a question he didn’t really mean, but he asked it out of anxiety.

“Isn’t it that you reported to me after the situation was already over anyway?”

Kaver glanced at his watch. At least an hour or two must have passed.

“Otherwise, Your Highness wouldn’t be here right now.”

It wasn’t that he intentionally delayed the report, but he thought it was for the best. Kaver tended to lose his reason when it came to Rayleigh.

“I suppose my warning back then wasn’t strong enough. I should have just cut off his legs.”

He had expected Duke Beritar not to listen properly. But hearing it directly still didn’t feel good.

“He’s still a nobleman, after all. You have to think about the aftermath.”

Haban added, worried that he might actually cut off the Duke’s legs later. Kaver lightly ignored Haban’s nagging and looked out the window.

‘I suppose I have to meet her.’

He couldn’t wait any longer.

Rayleigh’s trial and her staying there bothered him. Rayleigh had told him to meet and talk later, but there was no telling when that would be.

In the end, Kaver decided that he had no choice but to go himself.

“Send word to the Printz family that I will visit in two days.”

“They won’t like that,” Haban said firmly, expressing his disapproval. Kaver took out a document and placed it on the desk.

“It’s information about the property division lawsuit.”

“They’ll like that even less.”

“…Have I been too compliant lately?”

Kaver smiled as he looked at the documents on the desk. Haban felt a chill down his spine and quickly turned away, distancing himself from Kaver.

“I’ll inform them right away.”

“If you do well, I guarantee the documents on this desk will be safe.”

Using work as a hostage to threaten him! Haban reluctantly left the office.

* * *

After the Duke was confined to his room, Rayleigh entered the main house and wandered around as if it were her own. She had no time to waste, as she needed to find something to latch onto, whether it was the financial situation or anything else.

‘I was too tied down.’

The property division lawsuit, the alimony trial, was just around the corner. Ren was looking into it on her behalf, but there were limits.

“What do you think?”

Rayleigh rummaged through the desk before plopping down on a chair and sighing.

“That he wasn’t as stupid as I thought?”

“…He’s a Duke. To maintain a family, he needs to have that much brains.”

Theo’s reputation and trust were stronger than she thought. Although the scandal caused a stir, the gossip was quickly overshadowed by other stories.

More things happened in society than she thought.

For example, the discord between Duke Beritar and the Imperial Family. Or the rumors about Kaver’s succession to the throne.

‘Kaver is the rightful heir, so why are there rumors?’

Rayleigh tilted her head, skimming through the newspaper.

From a young age, he had excelled in academics and etiquette. There was nothing lacking in his qualifications.

“An unwelcome guest is coming?”

Ren, who was always hiding his presence, told Rayleigh.

“I don’t even need to see who it is to know,” Rayleigh blinked, staring at the door. She had expected Anna to come and argue with her right after she forcibly confined the Duke to his room, but she had stayed in her room for three days without saying a word.

She was hiding her claws and holding her breath.

“What are you doing right now?!” Anna shouted as she burst open the door.

The messy documents in the room were neatly organized. Only Rayleigh was sitting in the chair, staring blankly at her.

‘I clearly heard them talking inside, she was looking for something.’

She had bribed the servants to watch Rayleigh. She made excuses, saying that she had to take good care of the guest since her husband was sick, and stroked her belly once.

Currently, Anna was the official Duchess. If the Duke was away, she was the owner of this place. The servants who were watching Rayleigh couldn’t disobey her and immediately reported to Anna.

“I think you’ve forgotten, Rayleigh, you’re here as a guest. As long as Theo isn’t here, I’m the owner.”

Anna raised her head and looked down at Rayleigh. Without knowing what she knew, Anna continued to question her.

“What were you looking for in the office? Do I need to call the guards for you to tell me what you’re scheming in this house?”

She wanted to kick her out right away, but she couldn’t. Anna had seen with her own eyes that Rayleigh had the Imperial Family behind her.

Wasn’t the Crown Prince directly involved in divorcing her from Theo?

“Anna, it’s just the two of us here.”

“S-So what!”

Anna unconsciously recalled that day and swallowed hard. Whenever she was alone with her, an unknown fear would grip her.

“I sometimes imagine. If you hadn’t come here that day, would my life have been different?”

Rayleigh got up from her seat and lightly swept her finger across the desk.

“If my child hadn’t died, would my life have been happy?”

“Ha! You think that’s my fault? You would have been unhappy anyway!”

Anna shouted, taking a step back. As long as she lived with a man like Theo, Rayleigh’s future would have been unhappy enough, even without her.

What he wanted was not Rayleigh or her, but only a reason to use the power of another family. The power to support him in the name of a child to carry on the lineage.

The reason Theo had no choice but to marry Anna was because of the eyes of those around him and the Crown Prince.

“But what does that matter?”

Fate continued to circle around her, slowly tightening its grip. Whether she wanted it or not, it flowed in an unwanted direction.

The fact that she lost her child, the fact that she had no choice but to make a contract with the sword, was her current fate that she couldn’t stop.

“My unhappiness is in the past, but what about you, Anna?”

Rayleigh stared straight at Anna. She walked straight towards her without wavering, grabbing Anna’s arm, who was staggering backward, and pulling her towards her.

Thud-

She lightly touched Anna’s swollen belly and put on a thick smile.

“The more you have to protect, the more afraid you become.”

Anna’s face turned blue as she understood Rayleigh’s words. It was because, unlike Rayleigh, who had nothing left, she was different.

She had to protect the position of Duchess that she had worked so hard to obtain, the child in her womb, and everything in her hands.

“Unlike you, I have nothing left now.”

If Anna only tried to protect her child, the story would be different. But Rayleigh was sure that she wouldn’t let go of anything else.

Anna slumped to the floor as if she had lost her strength. She didn’t want to go back to where she was, nor did she want to lose everything.

Gritting her teeth, she said,

“I’ll never let you have your way!”

Her voice, filled with malice, was heard from behind. Rayleigh leisurely left the office and returned to her room. Imagining Anna trembling with anxiety, she thought she would sleep well tonight.

* * *

Rayleigh stared at the letter in her hand without opening it. Judging by the seal, it must have been sent by Kaver.

“How long are you going to keep staring at it like that?”

Ren fixed his gaze on the envelope that came with the letter. It was likely to contain information that Rayleigh needed.

“Then, open the documents at least.”

“If he sent them together, there must be a reason. Like, if I see this, I’ll have no choice but to look at the letter even if I don’t want to.”

Unfortunately, she was right. Kaver knew Rayleigh better than she thought.

“Why don’t you meet him once?”

Ren didn’t really welcome the meeting between Rayleigh and Kaver. Nevertheless, the reason he said this was because he wanted Rayleigh to get out of here as soon as possible.

The longer it dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for Rayleigh.

“I can’t keep that guy locked up forever.”

If Anna started to move, or if the servants started to have doubts, all of this might work against Rayleigh.

“He’s smart, so he’s not acting up and staying quiet.”

Theo was thinking hard about how to get out of there. After being locked in his room for two days, he listened obediently as if nothing had happened.

“I know. It’s just that, not yet…”

A shadow fell over Rayleigh’s face. She knew very well that she couldn’t put it off any longer.

In the end, she slowly opened the envelope and took out the documents. The well-organized documents revealed Theo’s true colors, which Rayleigh had been so eager to find.

[I know you don’t like this method, but I had to meet you even if it meant doing this.]

As she turned the documents over, words that seemed to be written in Kaver’s handwriting caught her eye at the very end. Rayleigh slowly read the words and jumped up from her seat.

“…Kaver can use mana?”

[Rayleigh, you don’t have to become a sword for me. Fate has already changed.]

The last words Kaver left had a huge impact on her.