“And he will probably stay overnight. Please prepare a room for him too.”
The maid nodded carefully and left the room. I looked at the letter again. Along with my name and Vincent’s, the word “Jedburgh” appeared quite often.
I didn’t expect him to care so much about the temple in Yurhen.
Why didn’t he tell me about this?
Besides, everyone at the temple seemed to think I had returned to my place and genuinely seemed happy about it. That felt a little uncomfortable, but I wanted to formally invite the people from the temple anyway.
Cedric already sent the invitation first.
I couldn’t understand his real intention. Then, I remembered what Cedric said in the carriage.
“You will be the happiest person in this empire from now on.”
Was it all to show that I was living well here? But my heart still felt unhappy.
I was glad the temple people would visit, but at the same time, I felt like I had to pretend to be happy, which made me feel very down.
I stared for a long time at the densely written letter.
In the morning, I planned to spend time quietly watching Vincent, but since the history tutor and the music tutor came together, I naturally stayed away from him. Though I worried, seeing
Vincent laugh brightly and focus made me feel a little relieved.
After a light lunch, I took a short walk around the mansion. I felt like I had been too still and needed to move. Also, since the people from Yurhen’s temple would come soon, I wanted to check the
rooms beforehand.
I stopped a passing maid and asked,
“Which room will the temple people stay in this time?”
The maid led me to a room on the west side of the first floor. My bedroom was on the second floor, but having a room on the first floor seemed good for moving around easily.
When we reached the long hallway on the west side of the mansion, maids were running busily. They greeted me at once but looked very busy.
When I looked around, the maid explained,
“At least two guests are expected, so we are cleaning all the rooms in this hallway first.”
“Probably no more than four will come. And two of them are priests, so there’s a high chance they won’t come.”
The temple in Yurhen was already short of hands. So, unless there was something special, the priests usually did not leave the temple.
“I think only two will come.”
I muttered quietly, and the maid answered immediately,
“But just in case, should we clean four rooms?”
“Do that.”
I said, and the maid smiled brightly and asked again,
“Is there anything else you need?”
She was very kind. I suddenly felt strange, as if I were acting like the lady of the house here.
“Ma’am?”
By now, hearing “ma’am” didn’t feel too strange. Maybe it felt even more so because it seemed like there was no way to leave this place. The maids kept glancing at me. It was as if they would chase me immediately if I tried to run away.
The maid in front of me was kind but didn’t feel completely like my own person. I said casually,
“I’m fine. I don’t need anything else.”
Then I left the hallway. I didn’t want to go to Cedric’s room, so I went to the playroom to see Vincent.
The sound of giggles came loudly from outside the playroom. I opened the door slightly and saw Vincent happily singing with his tutor.
“Isn’t just saying ‘I love you’ enough?”
Suddenly, I remembered what Cedric said. I could always say “I love you” to Vincent, but I never felt that way toward Cedric.
Still, yesterday Cedric looked at me as if he was sure I liked him.
Not at all.
If it weren’t for Vincent, I wanted to leave this mansion immediately. Being here felt like the past was holding me back, and it made me feel trapped. I wasn’t comfortable as if I were in a place where I didn’t belong.
Then, the lively laughter rang out again. Vincent looked very happy. Happier than being at the temple in Yurhen.
In the evening, Cedric returned. He kept time as if to join for dinner naturally. When I was married to him before, he came home late at night so rarely that dinner together was special.
I was staring blankly at the carriage entering the mansion when someone knocked on the door.
“Ma’am, dinner has been prepared in the dining room.”
“Did Cedric order that?”
I never said I wanted to eat in the dining room. The maid blinked, a little confused, then said,
“Yes, the master said you would have dinner in the dining room with him today.”
She looked very tired and then glanced around carefully. I had no choice but to leave the room. I was curious why Cedric hadn’t told me about inviting the temple people.
Before going to the dining room, I checked on Vincent briefly. He said he already ate dinner and proudly showed me what he studied today along with the delicious food he had. I praised Vincent a lot and left him to Sahel. I wanted to stay with Vincent longer, but I had to go to the dining room.
When I entered, Cedric was already there. He smiled when he saw me and said,
“You’re here?”
I looked at his hand and noticed there was no bandage. A servant quickly brought me a dish. The table decoration looked overly fancy, as if the emperor were coming. The emerald decorations with branches looked especially luxurious.
I stared hard, and Cedric said,
“It suits you. Don’t you like it?”
“It’s too fancy.”
“Fancy can be nice if it’s just right.”
“But why make the eating place like that…”
“The temple people come tomorrow. Wouldn’t it be better if you looked like the richest and happiest person?”
Cedric smiled slightly, but his words had a subtle pressure. He had a point. Since Chartine and Floren would come expecting the mansion to be fancy, there was no need to look plain…
Still, the emeralds really bothered me. Cedric had given me emerald brooches as birthday gifts often before. Although I sold them to pay off debts, the memories stayed.
“You’re still not wearing your wedding ring.”
Cedric didn’t take his eyes off my hand. When I clenched my fingers, he looked up and stared at me.
“Put on your wedding ring when the temple people come. I’m still your husband after all.”
Cedric smiled nicely. I planned to wear it for such an occasion anyway. He didn’t seem to want to hear my answer and turned his eyes back to the dish. He cut the meat elegantly with a knife.
I watched him for a moment and asked,
“Why didn’t you tell me you invited the temple people? And you said you helped the temple a lot, right?”
Cedric moved the knife without much care.
“It’s a reward for helping you and Vincent a lot.”
His voice was dry and indifferent. So he already knew Vincent was his child. It had been a long time since I sent that letter.
Cedric didn’t say anything more about inviting the temple people. Maybe he didn’t think it was worth answering or maybe there was another reason.
When I kept staring, Cedric looked up and met my eyes.
“Why?”
In his calm gaze, I saw a hint of desire. I looked away and answered roughly,
“Nothing.”
He laughed softly and cut the meat silently.
“And I called the doctor. You don’t have energy these days and don’t eat well.”
I was going to say it wasn’t necessary, but Cedric was quicker.
“If there’s a social event asking for you now, tell me immediately.”
“Why…?”
“You’re not well, so you shouldn’t be troubled with those things.”
