Night of the Abandoned Duchess

When she woke up after a long time, the day was getting brighter little by little. A bright light trickled in through the gaps in the thick velvet curtains.

Rosalind rubbed her eyes and quietly pulled herself out of his arms.

“When did the time come…”

She moved her steps and stood in front of the curtain, gently clutching the soft curtain. Lifting it slightly, the light came in more brightly. As she brought her ear closer to the window, she could hear the chirping of birds.

‘If you run out of energy, you can’t go anywhere. That’s good.’

Suddenly, his voice came to mind and she turned her head to look at Kyle.

A bright light was scattered around his face that was shining on him. He was a man she really liked. She was strangely greedy. Was it from the moment he held out his hand to teach her to dance, or was it from the moment he talked to her who was crying…?

At first, she felt like the lead in a romantic story with him, though now, she felt like a lost child in a long and complicated relationship.

“…Is it okay if I don’t go anywhere by your side like this forever?”

Does she deserve it…?

Even though she wanted to reach out and touch him, Rosalind couldn’t easily touch him because she knew how sensitive he was when he was sleeping.

Unable to touch him, she stretched out her hand as much as she could until she finally pulled it out.

“Goodbye.”

It was her own greed that she spent the night with him.

Perhaps, it was an impulsive night that her heart that liked him had created. Strangely, when she got entangled with him, her heart did not become like her. It was clearly her heart, although nothing went according to her will.

Rosalind gazed at him for a long time, and then she went through the drawer and pulled out a piece of paper. She began to write something on the paper, using the light of dawn as a lamp.

After writing down her thoughts, she put down the pen because it was not likely that the letter would contain all of her heart. She had so much to say that she thought it might be better to leave nothing behind.

She eventually folded the paper again and put it in her arms. Her heart was too heavy to put it all on this small piece of paper.

I’ll go first.

Whispering in a faint voice, Rosalind leaned her head carefully towards the man in front of her. She took a step after the last greeting.

Leaving the room, she walked down the long hallway towards Leo’s room. The child rubbed his sleepy eyes when he saw Rosalind and mumbled.

Then, she reached out her hand to Leo.

“Leo, do you want to go home with Mom?”

The child’s hand that grabbed her hand was small and soft. Rosalind clasped the child’s hand tightly, not letting go of the warmth.

She escaped Kyle’s castle while he was asleep. It was already morning by the time she got on the carriage and got home.

“It was hard to come early in the morning. Let’s go in and sleep some more.”

“Umm…”

Helen was waiting in the hallway as she left Leo, who was still drowsy and put him to sleep in his room. His habit of oversleeping was inherited from Rosalind, so she always woke up late in the morning. It was awkward and a little pleasant to see her mother awake at this time.

“…Mother.”

“Rosalind.”

“I’m home.”

“…Yes, my daughter. Good job.”

Helen slowly approached her and embraced her as she greeted her in her arms. Rosalind’s eyes widened in surprise at that, though she quickly calmed down in her mother’s arms.

“That’s a relief. I’m really happy.”

The voice that murmured over and over again was intertwined with worry, relief, and love. Rosalind felt her mother’s heart and smiled.

“Why did you wake up so early?”

“I haven’t been able to sleep well lately. I can’t sleep well, and even if I fall asleep, I wake up quickly… I woke up early today and was praying to God… I’m sorry, Rosalind. It seems like it’s all my fault.”

“Why is that mother’s fault?”

Rosalind answered in a warm voice.

“You suffer because of your parent’s sin.”

Because you have poor parents…

Helen couldn’t speak anymore, barely swallowing the rising emotions. When she opened her mouth again after a while, the emotions had somewhat subsided.

“Don’t stand, sit. I left a sick child for nothing.”

“Thanks to the Duke taking good care of me, I’m fine.”

No matter how good it was, Helen led Rosalind to the plush sofa.

When she was kidnapped, she got wounded, but fortunately, it was not serious. It was Kyle who was injured much more than she was. He cared for her more carefully than his deeply wounded body. There were three doctors stationed in the castle to watch her all day, and he would stare at her with a worried expression if she just walked.

Of course, her body was throbbing because of last night’s rough s*x, but this pain and that pain were different.

“Thank God… Still, you don’t know how glad I am that the Duke loves and cares for you.”

She was relieved as she saw her daughter, who had gotten much better.

“…Actually, I was debating whether or not to say this to you.”

“What do you mean?”

Helen glanced at Rosalind cautiously and asked, puzzled.

“There was a time when we had to dispose of the house because of a sudden fine. Remember?”

“Yes, yes.”

“If we couldn’t dispose of everything, we would have to pay a fine somehow. Still, we didn’t have the money to pay right away. It was Duke Spencer who helped at that time.”

“…What?”

Rosalind’s voice rang loud enough to break the still morning. She bit her lip hard at the unbelievable story.

“Why, why so much…”

She closed her eyes in her bewilderment.

…Kyle would have wanted to kill her father. He was injured by jumping into a dangerous situation to help an enemy-like family and to save that person’s daughter… Her heart ached as she remembered the sacrifices he had made.

As her mind was complicated, Rosalind’s eyes slowly closed.

“Actually… I thought that Albert might be the culprit. Some circumstances were a bit suspicious. There, my father appeared in my dream and complained all the time that it was unfair. As a daughter, it is appropriate to file an accusation, but I pondered until the end. He also suffered a lot… I was worried because of father.”

“Still, your heart was drawn to him as your father…”

“How many sins father had committed, I was afraid of that.”

She took a deep breath.

Without realizing it, she curled up the hem of her dress tightly. The bones of her pale hands were more prominent.

“At that time, I had a sudden thought… May I accuse someone for father?”

Rosalind paused for a moment as if swallowing something.

“I always struggled under father. I hate the coercive family atmosphere and him so much that I wish he would just disappear. Sometimes, it was really choking and stuffy as if my throat was really tight…”

Although she was trying to say it out calmly, her voice was churning with emotions.

“Though when I think about being choked, maybe someone is really choking… Just thinking about it that far made me feel like my stomach was burning, and I was suffocating. It’s so sinful and scary…”

“Rosalind…”

“My father did an unforgivable and terrible thing to Duke Spencer and the villagers, but I…am his daughter. The daughter of the very father who destroyed the whole village for not offering a virgin as a tribute.”

Rosalind bit her lip hard as she tried to speak again.

“I was so scared to find out who Father was.”

Before her kidnapping, she had asked for an investigation into her father’s misdeeds.

Seeing a man calmly unraveling the countless things that her father had done, her white face became even paler. She suddenly remembered Albert’s words that her father was like a snake. He flattered power with his cunning tongue and trampled the weak with that power…

“…How many sins father has committed.”

As she quietly threw the question into the air, her complexion subsided, “I inherited father’s blood, and I grew up eating what he accomplished.”

“Oh, Rosalind…”

“So, I want to make up for that atonement, even if it’s late.”

She knew she couldn’t turn back, and she knew it was too late to turn around… Rosalind lifted her head and met her mother’s eyes.

“Please, respect my wishes, too.”

Helen nodded her head at her daughter’s eager eyes.

“What can I do?”

“…First of all, I want to dispose of the remaining property.”

The late morning sun shone through the window, illuminating Rosalind. Her eyes were slowly regaining their light.

* * *

“Now, we’re going to write a simple letter today. Can everyone do it?”

“Yes!”

The children’s voices resounded cheerfully. Rosalind gazed at the children in front of her, smiling like a loving mother. She smiled just looking at the children’s excited faces and the sounds of laughter.

“Who are we writing to?”

“It’s okay to write to people you want to write to.”

“Anyone?”

“Yes. anyone.”

To the innocent question, she jokingly answered.

“Then… Can I write a love letter, too?”

The noisy children’s eyes quickly turned to her. It was quite interesting, so the twinkling light in those big eyes was vivid.