The next morning, I woke up feeling quite refreshed. As soon as the maid saw me, she smiled brightly. It was the first time I had seen her smile like that. It felt genuine, like she was truly moved.
“Lady Revril, are you feeling better now?”
I nodded and looked around. White cloths and silver baskets were scattered everywhere. It was clear she had worked hard all night.
“Did you really stay here all night?”
“I’m fine. Actually, since you’re better, Lady Revril, I’m not tired.”
“Thank you. And for taking care of me like this.”
“No, it’s nothing. The master ordered it, and I felt bad for not taking good care of you before. It’s only right to help now. Also, the doctor came by a little while ago. He said you are much better than yesterday.”
“What’s your name?”
The maid blinked, surprised by the sudden question. I calmly continued.
“I never even knew your name until now.”
She hesitated for a moment, then spoke carefully.
“My name is Meli.”
Meli. It was a simple name, but it stuck well in my mind. I didn’t think I would forget it easily. Remembering her name was the least I could do. After all, in this mansion, my position was no higher than a servant, maybe even lower.
When I stayed quiet, Meli spoke again.
“And the master came with the doctor a while ago. If you’re feeling well, he said he wants to have breakfast with you.”
“Just the two of us?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
It was unlikely he would invite Selena. That thought comforted me a little.
I gathered my strength and got out of bed. I searched through my dresses to go to the dining room. But all the clean dresses I had already worn were dirty now. There was no proper dress to wear.
Seeing me look hopelessly at my luggage, Meli came closer.
“Are you looking for something?”
“I don’t have a dress to wear.”
As I said that, my heart sank. I couldn’t buy a dress right now. The only dresses I had left were worn out. I picked up one of the old dresses. Meli looked at it carefully and said,
“Are you going to wear this dress?”
“This is the only dress I have left.”
Meli hesitated for a moment, then quickly said,
“Please wait a moment.”
She left the room quickly. I wondered what was going on but waited anyway. While looking out the window with nothing to do, I heard a knock and Meli came back. She held a familiar dress in her hands.
I stared blankly as Meli came closer holding the dress.
“It’s a dress from the mansion’s storage. I don’t know whose it is, but no one was using it, so I brought it.”
I couldn’t say anything and just looked at the dress. It was a dress I had avoided wearing on purpose. It originally belonged to the mansion. I wore it at the wedding banquet but didn’t want to think about that time. I remembered how excited I was, but also how Cedric’s mother glared coldly at me.
I didn’t want to remember the wedding with Cedric at all. When I said nothing and just stared, Meli looked at me nervously.
“It seems too fancy to keep in storage, but since no one owns it, I thought you could wear it. Or should I put it back?”
“No, I’ll wear it.”
If it was just sitting in storage, there was no reason not to wear it. It was my dress anyway, and I didn’t want to look shabby in front of Cedric wearing only old, worn dresses.
Still, I kept looking at the dress Meli held. It was bright and showed no signs of wear.
‘Maybe it’s lucky that this dress wasn’t thrown away.’
Thinking that made me feel a little better. With Meli’s help, I put on the dress. She admired me as she looked.
“This fits you perfectly, like it was made for you!”
Of course, it was made to fit my body. I hadn’t eaten much lately, so it was a little loose around the waist, but it fit well otherwise.
I looked into a small mirror. When I wore this dress before, I had worn flashy accessories—earrings and even a necklace. Those had bothered me.
There were no flashy accessories now, but it still looked decent. Meli helped me fix my hair neatly, and then I left the room. I felt a little excited to have breakfast alone with Cedric. It was comforting that he still thought about me.
But as soon as I stepped into the hallway, my expression hardened.
Pink roses decorated the entire corridor. They were even more splendid than yesterday. I was so surprised I leaned on the stair railing and looked down to the lower floor. It was the same there. The pink roses were fuller and more abundant.
I let out a hollow laugh, and Meli looked at me worried.
“Lady Revril, is something wrong?”
“No, nothing.”
I turned and headed toward the dining room. Pink roses lined the way, and my head started to hurt. I forced myself to hold back my feelings and stood at the dining room door.
A servant opened the door when I arrived. Inside, a generous meal was already prepared. Beyond the fancy food and decorations sat Cedric. He held a wine glass and stared intently at the luxurious food and setting. Under his neatly styled black hair were sharp eyes, a smooth nose, closed calm lips, and hands without any rings.
I sat in an empty chair. Only then did Cedric look up at me. His eyes stayed on me for a moment.
“How is your health?”
“I’m fine.”
I smiled. Cedric looked at me for a long time and then said,
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you wear that dress.”
“Luckily, it was in the storage.”
Cedric’s mouth twitched slightly, as if he found it amusing or strange. Without saying more, he gestured,
“Eat.”
I thought he was deliberately caring for me like this. It was a small moment of peace in my heart. But the pink roses in the hallway came back to mind. Selena must have done that on purpose. She pretended to agree but ignored everything and acted selfishly in the end. I had seen this before, so it was not new, but it still made me angry.
“Are you really going to be engaged to Selena?”
Before, I hadn’t gotten a clear answer. Since he didn’t wear a ring yet, I felt a little relieved, but I was still uneasy.
Cedric stopped drinking wine and looked at me. His face was strange. His lips were tight, but his eyes were sharply focused on me.
When I didn’t look away, Cedric put down his glass.
“I have been given power to rule as regent, and I have a lot of work ahead. People will talk if I don’t have someone by my side.”
“Then…”
“Anyone, I must be engaged.”
Cedric looked light and calm, as if he had finished all his thoughts. My heart sank. I had hoped he might change his mind a little, but it seemed he just wanted to delay things and then completely reject me.
I pulled out the words that weighed heavily in my heart.
“You said you want my body.”
Even after saying that, I felt broken and empty inside. It felt like I had no pride left.
Cedric’s face hardened slightly. He looked at me with heavy eyes. I didn’t understand and said,
“You treated me well until now.”
Cedric chuckled and looked at me.
“Revril, don’t misunderstand. I told you from the start. I only wanted your body.”
“Then are you saying I should just be your mistress?”
Cedric looked at me coldly, angry. I wanted to say something.
“I like you.”
I heard a laugh, as if he was mocking me. It hurt like a thorn in my heart, but I looked up at Cedric. He stared at me steadily.
“So, what do you want from me now?”
His voice was calm. His eyes were so cold it felt like my heart was freezing. When I said nothing, he said,
“Do you want to marry me again?”
I couldn’t answer right away. I had said so much earlier, but now I didn’t know what I really wanted.
Cedric seemed uncomfortable just sitting there and stood up. I spoke quickly.
“Then can you at least make Selena leave this mansion?”
I didn’t want to see pink roses all over the house.
“That’s not possible.”
“Why?”
“The mine is making money while Selena is here. It’s a mine we wanted to sell anyway. If we sell after making as much money as possible, no one can call us scammers, right?”
In the end, I had nothing and meant nothing. Thinking that, I stood up and approached Cedric. He looked at me sharply. I hesitated but said,
“I don’t want you to be engaged to Selena.”
Cedric said nothing and just looked at me quietly.15
