When You Turned Your Back On Me, We Became Strangers [EN]: Chapter 8

Turning Away, You’re Just Another Person (7)

“Did I stamp the seal wrong?”

If that were the case, it would have been resealed. But clearly, even upon closer inspection, the color and pattern were indeed those of Herionde County. Reilly, attributing it to her heightened sensitivity, carefully rose to her feet.

She was about to return to her room, thinking that the cold wind wouldn’t be good for the baby. She turned along the path behind the mansion and headed towards the side door. Feeling a little reluctant to go inside, she strolled leisurely.

‘Once my body gets heavier, I won’t be able to come out as easily.’

She smiled, stroking her belly. She needed to relax, but lately, there were so many things to worry about, and she felt sorry for the baby.

“I should put some flowers in the room.”

Thinking she should at least bring some pretty flowers from the garden to the room, she examined the blossoms. Mixing a few types in a vase would look quite lovely. It would be nice to look at when she felt stifled, and it would surely lift her spirits.

As she bent down to choose flowers, she heard whispering nearby.

‘…What are they talking about here?’

It was a corner of the garden where people rarely came.

Her maids often knew she went to the garden, but they didn’t know she sometimes went back to the mansion this way.

If Theo knew, he would have prevented her from using it. When she went in with a maid or when he came to pick her up, she always used the usual path, so they wouldn’t have imagined Reilly would be there.

“They gave us a generous reward for doing it so discreetly.”

“Really?”

“Luckily, I didn’t burn the old one and hid it as collateral.”

“Right, it was a good thing we saved it just in case, like you said. Does that woman think we’re stupid?”

There was a tinkling sound along with giggling. At the mention of ‘that woman,’ Reilly held her breath and moved a little closer.

It was Phillia and Botte, who were always by Anna’s side.

She could see them standing at the back door, heads bowed, checking something. An odd premonition made her listen intently.

“Where did you put the rest of the letters?”

Phillia asked Botte, dividing the gold coins.

She had only pretended to take the letters to burn them and had handed them over to Botte, so she didn’t know where they were. They were in the same boat, but it wouldn’t hurt to know.

“Don’t worry. I hid them well, just in case.”

Botte said nonchalantly, pocketing the gold. It wouldn’t matter if she told her, but she didn’t particularly want to.

“Anna, that woman isn’t right in the head. How can she tell someone to burn letters from their family?”

“Don’t try to understand. How would we know what they’re thinking? Besides, she’s riding high on the Duke’s love.”

Botte shook her head, disgusted. Listening to their conversation, Reilly took out the letter she had received today and looked at it again. The distorted seal didn’t quite fit, as if someone had reattached it.

She hadn’t noticed it earlier because she was too eager, thinking it was Leta’s letter, but upon closer inspection, there were traces of the opposite paper being slightly torn and reattached.

‘…Could it be.’

The letters the maids were talking about couldn’t be the letters that came to her. But thinking back, Anna had always been in the Duke’s residence.

If she had secretly tried to intercept them, it was entirely possible.

Theo was busy with work and spent every day in his office, and the maids followed Anna’s orders rather than Reilly’s. Theo hadn’t entrusted anything to Reilly, so perhaps it wasn’t just a hypothesis.

If so, this letter was also likely to be fake.

“You didn’t hide it inside the Duke’s residence like an idiot, did you?”

“Of course not. I buried it in the ground.”

“What? In the garden?”

Phillia frowned and questioned Botte. Judging by her expression, she didn’t seem to be lying. But it was hard to understand why Botte would hide the letters there.

“Don’t you know the Duchess often comes to the garden?”

Phillia said to Botte with a panicked expression. Her anxious eyes darted back and forth, but Botte seemed relaxed.

“She doesn’t come this far. She always walks the same path, doesn’t she?”

“Still… Well, there are a lot of flowers, so she won’t notice.”

“I checked today too. The weeds are overgrown, so she won’t even look that way. There are hydrangeas right next to it, would she even look at the other side?”

“That’s true, you’re right.”

At Botte’s words, Phillia sighed in relief and nodded. Only after dividing the gold coins in their pockets did they look around.

Reilly’s figure was hidden from them by the dense hydrangeas. It was uncomfortable, but she couldn’t get up. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to find Leta’s letter that the maid had hidden.

‘Leta…’

Reilly’s heart began to beat rapidly.

She couldn’t believe it, but if their words were true, she had to find and check Leta’s letter immediately. Reilly remained frozen in place, waiting for them to leave.

She watched the maids through the hydrangea stems. It was a long time before she saw them entering the Duke’s residence.

Only then did Reilly carefully rise to her feet.

“I have to find it quickly before others come out.”

She came out of the area filled with hydrangeas, which occupied a fairly large part of the back of the garden, and circled around it. She lowered her head and slowly examined the surroundings, lest she miss anything.

‘They said they haven’t burned it yet. It must be here.’

From what she vaguely remembered when she occasionally came here, the hydrangeas were only clustered in this area.

In the front, there were flamboyant flowers like roses and tulips, and it was mostly trees rather than flowers, so the place Botte mentioned must be here.

She must have thought it was a suitable place to hide because she didn’t come here often.

“Please, let it not be true. Let it be real from Leta…”

She hoped that the letter that said she was happy was real.

Reilly desperately steadied her anxious, trembling heart and began to search the weedy area around the hydrangeas. There must be traces of digging up the ground to take it out, even if it was just to give her the letter.

The Herionde family’s envelope and seal would have been needed to forge the letter.

There was no time. As she saw the sun slowly setting, Reilly became anxious. If it got too late, they would surely come looking for her.

Reilly began to scan the ground, careful not to strain her body. Her eyes moved quickly, trying to find any traces that might be left on the ground in the limited time.

‘Huh?’

After staring at the ground for a while, she noticed that one side of the weeds was awkwardly pressed down. The shape of the weeds being rummaged through and the carelessly covered grass caught her eye. When she looked around, the color of the soil was subtly different.

The soil was covered with a slightly darker color, as if it had been dug up and covered.

Reilly immediately reached out and dug up the soil. A box soon appeared, as if it hadn’t been buried deeply.

The box, which she carefully opened, contained Leta’s letters that had come to her all along.

[To my beloved sister, Lee.

I ran away because I didn’t want to get married, but Father dragged me back. Sister… how have you been holding up? After you left, I experienced Father’s behavior that I didn’t know when I was young, and it’s so hard. I didn’t know… I think I’ve finally seen your pain. What is the pattern…? He keeps asking me if the pattern has appeared on me. Sister, I’m scared.]

[To my beloved sister, Lee.

Sister, please come and get me… I don’t care what you make me do, can’t you just take me away? I hate Father, but I hate Count Herionde even more. I thought it would be okay if you were happy there, but it’s too hard to endure. The Count keeps looking at me with the same eyes as Father. Can’t I just, just live with you by your side?]

[To my beloved sister, Lee.

…Did you abandon me? I only have you. Save me from this hell. I tried to endure it. But will this time ever end? Will there really be a day when I feel comfortable if I endure it? No, I don’t think so. I’m sending letters secretly without Father knowing, but why don’t I get any replies? Have you forgotten me?]

[To my beloved sister, Lee.

Sister, it’s no use no matter how much I struggle. No one listens to me. I think I know now why you ran away and got married… I’m getting married tomorrow. I hope you’re happy there. I’ll send you an invitation without Father knowing. I miss you. And I don’t resent you, so please come see me, even if it’s just once.]

“Hic.”

It felt like even the hope she had been clinging to was collapsing. She had hoped that her sister would be better, she had some expectations, but it was no different from her.

Leta sent letters to Reilly until the end. Reilly’s heart broke at the words that she didn’t resent her.

How much had she looked for her? How many times a day had she cried and written letters? She couldn’t do anything for Leta, who had reached out to her.

Her body trembled with anger.

She couldn’t forgive Anna and the maid who had hidden the letters that came to her. She immediately took the letters and headed to the Duke’s residence.

“Madam, the Duke is busy with work and has ordered that no one be allowed in!”

She didn’t know where the strength came from, but Reilly lightly pushed away the maid who was blocking her. She brushed off the maid’s hand that was stopping her again.

“I, I will tell the Duke that you are looking for him right away.”

“There’s no need for that. I’ve come to find him myself.”

“B, but.”

“Why? Are you two tangled up inside?”

The maids’ faces turned pale. They had heard that Anna had entered his office earlier, and they knew what was happening after she went in.

But at Reilly’s knowing voice, they couldn’t stop her any longer.

Reilly immediately threw the door open without knocking.

“Re, Reilly.”

Theo’s flustered expression and Anna’s faint smile came into view.

A hollow laugh escaped Reilly’s lips at the sight of the two of them half-undressed, not even having had time to fix their clothes.