# Chapter 49
Late winter in February, after January had quickly passed. Perhaps because winter was coming to an end, rain instead of snow was falling outside the window. Asher took a sip of tea from the teacup he was holding.
“…Looking at my physical condition, the heat will break out soon.”
Asher pulled the cardigan on his shoulders tighter due to the headache and body aches that had been coming over him for the past few days. Honestly, as Aria had said, he thought the heat would break out at the end of February. But true to its irregular nature, his physical condition was so poor that the heat could break out as early as tomorrow, and Asher hurriedly went to the table, found the medicine bottle, and swallowed a pill.
“Should I stay at the villa for a while…”
Asher looked at the villa key in his fingertips and slowly picked it up. Just in case, he had already informed Toms about the location of the villa. He instructed him to move there without hesitation if he were to lose his rationality or his condition were to become abnormal.
“Haah…”
As Asher sighed deeply and turned around, his elbow must have hit the ink bottle, which fell straight to the floor. As a result, the ink splattered everywhere, staining the surroundings and his clothes with black ink.
“What’s wrong with me today.”
Asher frowned at the unusually frequent mistakes today. Thinking that staying home would be the best course of action on a day like this, he called the servants who were outside to clean up the spilled ink.
After Asher changed his clothes and came out, Toms, who had been waiting, approached. Asher gestured with his eyes as if asking what was going on, and Toms handed him a letter.
“Young Master, a letter has arrived for you.”
Asher took the letter Toms handed him and checked the seal. But there was no seal on the letter. Suspicious, Asher went to the table, took out a knife, and opened the top part of the letter.
[Aria passed away this morning.
I feel I must let you know, so I leave this letter.
The place is where you met Aria.]
The letter, which had no sender written, contained shocking words. It was the death notice of Aria, whom he had seen just a few days ago. Asher staggered momentarily from the shock that left him speechless, and closed his eyes tightly.
Aria with her rare pink hair. Asher’s eyes reddened as he opened his closed eyes, remembering Aria who had promised to be on his side unconditionally.
“Prepare a carriage without anyone knowing.”
“Yes.”
Judging by the personal nature of the letter, the sender seemed to not want to inform others about Aria’s death. Asher also wanted to go quietly, so he changed into black clothes and got into the carriage.
*
As soon as he arrived at Aria’s house, Asher adjusted his clothes and pressed his hat firmly on his head. Due to the unusually heavy rain, Toms held up an umbrella, and Asher took it and knocked on her house.
Knock knock-. Despite the clear knocking sound, there was no response from inside the house. Thinking this might be expected, Asher opened the old iron door and went inside.
Aria had such a happy face that it was hard to believe she was dead. Wearing a warm yellow dress that didn’t match winter, she was holding flowers to her chest.
“Evening primrose…”
“It means waiting.”
Startled by the sudden voice, Asher turned around in shock. A man dressed the same as him approached where she was lying and placed a flower beside her.
“She was truly a warm person. Enough to mistake her for my real mother.”
“Real mother…?”
“But laughably, she wasn’t my real mother. If she wasn’t going to be, she shouldn’t have been so affectionate.”
The man’s voice was filled with resentment. Yet he seemed somehow empty and sad. Even without looking, Asher could tell how much the man was suffering, so he quietly listened to what he was saying.
“But do you know what’s even more ridiculous? The fact that she never once scolded me. Because I wasn’t real… she simply couldn’t fully open her heart because I was fake. Since her real child was elsewhere.”
“N-no way…!”
“Judging by your reaction, you seem to have guessed who I am and who you are.”
The man turned from where he was looking at her and slowly gazed at Asher. Looking closely, the man’s appearance was similar to that of the man he had met in front of the Anest family castle a few weeks ago. Asher, in shock, forcibly covered his mouth that wouldn’t close and blinked his eyelids.
“Have you been happy stealing someone else’s life?”
“…”
“I hear that people in society call you the rogue of the Duke’s family.”
They say that when people are too shocked, they freeze up. Asher couldn’t respond to Braden’s words.
“You should have lived properly. Then I would have hated you less. You’ve tarnished Aria’s face and even damaged the Anest family’s image. Not knowing how fortunate you were.”
“…Is your name Braden?”
“If you know my name, it seems you’ve already completed your investigation about me. Yet you still pretended not to know and showed me kindness?”
“That’s not true. I really didn’t know then.”
“Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. I’ve already made up my mind to reclaim my place. However, for Aria’s last request, I’m thinking of giving you time. Time to sort everything out… That was her last wish.”
Resentful that Aria had cared for her son until the end, anger seeped into Braden’s eyes. Then he gave a hollow laugh and threw a letter placed by her bedside to the floor.
“This is the last letter Aria left for you. She asked me to deliver it when you found out about my identity, but seeing the situation now, there seems to be no need for that.”
“…”
“Aria didn’t want me to return to the Anest family, but I plan to go back. That place was originally mine, and even everything you’re enjoying should have been mine to enjoy. So I’m going to reclaim it all. Even the small happiness you’ve enjoyed.”
Originally, the time for Asher and Braden to meet was April, when spring began. But the schedule that was ahead of expectations seemed to be because he had visited Aria’s house.
“…First, I’m sorry for taking your place. Whether I intended it or not, I was able to enjoy wealth thanks to you. Of course, if you return, I will leave. I might even face threats to my life as a price for deceiving the family. But that doesn’t mean I intended to stay. I’ve never been at peace even for a moment.”
As Braden said, he was a fake. However, unlike what he said, he was a person who had possessed the body of the fake Asher, and from the moment of possession, he had never thought of not leaving even for a day. He had clearly seen what happens when one deviates from the original work. Asher clenched his fist, recalling the day the Duke had showered him with pheromones.
“So I hope we can end this quietly for Aria’s sake today. I plan to sort everything out and leave, as you wish.”
At Asher’s words, Braden’s eyes shook roughly. With an indescribable look in his eyes, he turned his body and looked down at Aria.
“I almost wish we hadn’t met. You win. I’ll wait as you wished… Aria, stop crying.”
Braden seemed to think the rain falling outside was Aria’s tears. Feeling inexplicably sorrowful, Asher picked up the fallen letter from the floor.
“I can’t give you much time. Just two months. When spring comes, I’ll visit the Duke’s residence.”
As if telling him to decide the rest on his own, he brushed past Asher.
He must not have closed the door, as only the sound of heavy rain from outside filled the room. Asher didn’t have the courage to read the letter, so he put it inside his collar and approached the bed where she was lying.
“So you were Asher’s mother…”
Asher stood there for a long time with his head bowed, feeling an inexplicable guilt. More accurately, he couldn’t raise his head due to the tears that kept falling. Because Aria’s death, the absence of the real Asher’s soul, all seemed to be his fault, Asher shed tears endlessly.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
