Cedric somehow heard those words and smiled slightly while looking at Vincent. I was stunned, blank and speechless. Cedric looked at me carefully and then stood up.
“I think Revril’s health is not good. I will leave first.”
The priest, as well as Chartine and Floren, hurriedly stood up. Even Vincent shook my hand to pull me. I had no choice but to stand up. Cedric glanced at me and said,
“I’ll give you some time to say goodbye. Come outside the temple in a little while.”
Then Cedric left the temple with his assistant. My mind felt empty, like a wave suddenly pulling away. At that moment, Chartine and Floren quickly approached.
“Revril, what happened? Was your ex-husband really Duke Jedburgh?”
Those words echoed loudly in my ears. I was too weak to answer and just nodded. Chartine looked at me with her mouth slightly open, and Floren covered her mouth and murmured,
“Oh no, I didn’t know my ex-husband was such an important person…”
“It’s okay.”
I barely answered, and Floren grabbed my hand tightly.
“The ex-husband I scolded all this time was my ex-husband. You know, Revril?”
I smiled weakly and nodded. Chartine looked at me with worried eyes.
“If you had told me earlier, I would have understood. I still can’t believe that the famous Duke Jedburgh’s wife was Revril!”
Then Chartine carefully asked,
“So, Vincent is his child?”
I held Vincent’s hand and nodded. There was no use hiding it now.
Chartine and Floren stared at me, surprised. Vincent, not understanding what was going on, kept pulling my hand and whining. The priests didn’t say anything first but looked at me quietly. They seemed surprised too.
A moment of silence passed. Suddenly, Chartine smiled awkwardly and said,
“Revril, it’s still a relief.”
I didn’t understand what she meant, so she continued.
“I was secretly worried. Even if we love Vincent here a lot, he might miss his father later. And the temple is unstable because of the ongoing war.”
I had nothing to say. She was right. Then Chartine firmly held my hand.
“Anyway, it’s a relief that things turned out this way.”
Words didn’t come easily. At least it was fortunate for them that the temple was still intact because I came here with Cedric. I had a lot to say but managed to speak.
“Thank you for everything.”
It was so sudden that I wondered if I could really leave like this. I hadn’t even done anything properly for the temple people who helped me so much.
When I couldn’t say more, Floren cheerfully said beside me,
“No, we’re the ones who are thankful. Thanks to Vincent, we laughed a lot.”
I gave a bitter smile. The temple people took great care of Vincent, especially Chartine and Floren, who treated him like their own child. I felt I hadn’t repaid them at all, so I said firmly,
“When I go back, I will definitely repay what you did for me.”
As soon as I said that, Chartine shook her head with a serious face.
“Repay? Don’t think like that. I didn’t help because I expected anything. And when you go, live well. Send letters sometimes.”
I held back tears and nodded. Even though Chartine said that, I wanted to send something when I went back. I had saved money working at the temple. I wanted to buy the brooch Chartine wanted, the beautiful dishes Floren wanted, and a rare lizard leather scripture for the priest as a gift. They sometimes joked about wanting to go to a good temple that gave such scriptures even to stray priests.
I hesitated to speak, keeping my lips tightly closed, when Chartine gently pushed my shoulder.
“Revril, go quickly. The Duke will be waiting.”
“I haven’t packed yet.”
Before I finished, Floren quickly handed me something.
“I packed the usual things. There was no luggage in your room anyway.”
I hadn’t bought proper clothes in five years living at the temple. I didn’t care much about myself because I was busy taking care of Vincent. I slowly took the worn luggage I brought when I first came here.
Floren handed me the bag and said,
“But now you’re the Duchess of Jedburgh. When you go back, throw away these kinds of bags. You’re completely leaving this place.”
I felt a deep emotion. I came here to escape Cedric, but now I was going back. I didn’t want to leave here, but I had no choice but to take the bag. Vincent, bored with the adults’ talk, kept whining while pulling my hand.
“Mom, where are we going?”
Chartine sat down to meet Vincent’s eye level.
“Vincent, you’re going to a bigger and better place than here.”
Vincent looked at me in disbelief. I didn’t want to tell Cedric anything good, so I held Vincent’s hand tightly and said goodbye to the temple people. Their faces were kind but had a slightly bitter smile. Especially Chartine who smiled but looked regretful.
“I’ll come back someday.”
I didn’t know when, but I wanted to come back here. Chartine and Floren smiled and nodded. Seeing them, I almost cried and turned to leave the temple. Vincent kept asking as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Is dad there?”
I stopped and looked at Vincent. Every time I saw Vincent’s bright blue eyes, I thought of Cedric, but I calmly explained.
“Vincent, I told you. Dad is very far away.”
“But didn’t you just talk about Dad?”
Vincent kept asking.
“That is…”
“Revril.”
At the sudden voice, I looked up and saw Cedric looking at me. I quickly stood up and held Vincent’s hand tightly. Cedric saw our joined hands and signaled to the carriage behind.
“Get in.”
Cedric’s soldiers surrounded us, as if to stop me from running away. I didn’t want to, but I held Vincent’s hand and got in the carriage. I never imagined leaving the temple like this. And Cedric came personally.
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t believe the situation. Vincent looked excited at the comfortable carriage, pressing the walls and cushions with his hands. Meanwhile, Cedric got in. His familiar scent came strongly—like the forest, dry and fresh. Before, his scent made me nervous because I cared about him so much.
But now, I didn’t care and turned my head away. Cedric sat opposite me, and I didn’t want to meet his eyes.
‘What does he want by making me go with him? Selena should already be there.’
I held back my anger and said,
“Selena will hate it. If Vincent goes too, she’ll misunderstand.”
Cedric smirked and said,
“What misunderstanding?”
I looked at him in surprise. He smiled and said,
“Selena has long been in exile.”
“Exile?”
I had never heard that and found it hard to believe. Cedric nodded and crossed his legs.
“The Crown Prince went to prison, so Selena had no choice but exile.”
“……”
“Looks like you’ve cut off all contact here.”
His tone was mocking, but I acted unconcerned.
“I didn’t need to read the news because your story was everywhere.”
After saying that, I looked out the carriage window. I didn’t want to talk with Cedric anymore. I hated being forced to go with him. Even if Cedric said he had nothing to do with Selena, I didn’t care.
He never explained anything properly to me, as if testing my feelings. He only ignored me.
At that moment, Vincent held my hand and leaned on my arm. I hugged him tightly. At first, because I was tangled with Cedric again, I had bad thoughts about Vincent.
But maybe time healed it. After giving birth to Vincent, those thoughts gradually disappeared. Anyway, Vincent was my child. Although he looked very much like Cedric with bright blue eyes, Vincent was everything to me.
Cedric didn’t take his eyes off Vincent beside me. His gaze annoyed me, but I didn’t care and held Vincent’s hand tightly.
