Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It’s been a few years since she lived at the Count’s mansion, but this is the only thing she’s going to take with her. That was really funny.

Azela lifted her head and looked around the mansion, which had been stained with her hands, and never to be seen again. Now was the time to say goodbye. With light steps, she turned her body toward the front door and started walking.

“If you go out…….”

After walking three steps, Daniel’s urgent voice grabbed her from behind. Of course, she could have moved forward without stopping, ignoring him, but Azela stopped staggeringly at the sound of his voice.

“Where do you plan to go when you leave?”

“…… Well, I’m no longer the Countess, so I can go anywhere.”

There was no further reply to the cold tone of words that were spit out. It was just that question. Daniel did not stop Azela. That bitter reality touched her deeply. He and Azela, who loved each other as if they were on fire, were now like cold scrap metal that had cooled hard.

Like the main characters in the book, they overcame hardships and adversity, and supported and loved each other even in the midst of severe storms. In the end, happiness was in her hands, but the true end was ruin.

“I’m fine.”

Azela ripped open her complicated heart, leaving her final goodbyes and raising her head to look in front of her. And then she took her paused steps away.

As she opened the tightly closed front door, the figure of a man standing with arms crossed leaning against the pillar in front caught her eye. He was stained black all over, as if he had been born in the pitch-black darkness.

As Azela came out, he drew closer to her and looked up at her slyly, knelt down on one of his knees. He then gladly kissed the back of her left hand, wearing black lace gloves.

“Welcome, my Azela.”

At the soft, sweet low-pitched voice, Daniel made a vain laugh as if stunned. Azela’s heart thumped at the sound of laughter that seemed to laugh at herself.

As if noticing Azela’s feelings, he tightened the grip on her hands. It’s like saying, ‘I’m here.’

“Let’s go.”

​

Azela gently closed her trembling eyelashes and bit her lip. Now, it was really a farewell to this damn ‘Todd family’ forever.

When she spoke with a strong force on her neck so that her voice did not tremble, the man looked up at Azela with a dazed expression and smiled as he drew a half-moon curve around his lips.

“Wa, wait.”

Daniel, who had been staring at Azela with a puzzled expression, hurriedly called her again. It was a voice of disbelief.

“Why, why is the Duke here? …… no. Are, are you two going to go together now?”

Azela hardened her expression at the sound of Daniel’s voice that had a hint of embarrassment, and turned only her upper body to look at him. Daniel had a bewildered expression on his face, and Sylvia, who was next to him, was standing there with an angry face for some reason. Even with her hand on her stomach removed.

A man who she once loved with everything she had. The person who she wanted to take out her heart and hold it in his hand if she could give it to him. Such a man who presented only loss and death to her.

​

“Daniel. It’s not your business anymore. Because you and I are strangers.”

“My, my God.”

“Please, live happily ever after with Sylvia and your child.”

As Azela turned her upper body again, the Duke, who was on his knees, stood up. The two held each other’s hands, and he treated Azela very carefully, like a feather blown away by the wind.

When she got on the carriage she had prepared in advance, Daniel’s crumpled face caught her eye.

The story is not over yet. The story behind ‘We got married and lived happily ever after’ was only just beginning.

The door to the bedroom, which had been tightly closed all day, was opened only in the night when the moonlight flickered. Azela lifted her head and saw the face she had longed to see, Daniel, standing in front of the door with a hard expression on his face.

“Daniel.”

Rarely did he find Azela like this.

His shiny golden hair was shining brighter in the moonlight, and his green eyes, as if planted by nature, put her mind at ease. His soft chin line, soft eyes, and his soft overall impression were some of the reasons Azela loved him.

Seeing him like that made her heart soft, relaxed, and happy.

A bright smile was drawn on the corner of Azela’s lips as she looked at Daniel. But that didn’t last long.

“What the hell did you say?”

“…… Yes?”

Annoyance appeared on Daniel’s face. He ruffled his well-groomed hair and walked towards Azela’s face with thumping footsteps. Azela, not knowing the meaning of what he was saying, looked blankly at Daniel who was approaching her.

Green eyes, which had given her comfort, suddenly turned cold, and his soft eyes became cold as the days went by.

“Literally. I said, what did you say to Sylvia?”

Sylvia. Azela’s shoulders drooped unknowingly when a name she didn’t want to hear came out of his mouth. At least in her bedroom, she didn’t want to hear Daniel call that name.

The despondent Azela lowered her gaze and said in a somber voice.

“I didn’t do anything. I haven’t even left this bedroom today.”

“Lies. If nothing happened, there would be no way Sylvia would be crying so sadly.”

A smirk hung over Daniel’s lips. There was no doubt in his gaze, only certainty. He didn’t even seem to believe it when Azela told him it wasn’t her.

“You have no intention of believing me even if I said no.…… I really didn’t go out of this bedroom today. If you don’t believe it, you can ask the other employees and they will find out.”

“Everyone must’ve shut their lips. All the employees of this mansion are on your side, and they hate Sylvia.”

He was going through the mountains and he was caught by a bandit and he saved Sylvia, who almost suffered the same thing. It was their first meeting. Since Daniel was a righteous man, he certainly couldn’t have left her alone. After losing her parents and having no place to go after losing her sister, Sylvia was trying to get to the city safely.

After spending a cold night crossing a rough mountain and with only each other’s arms to rely on, the two became closer, and Daniel forgot Azela and filled his heart with Sylvia.

So he brought Sylvia to the mansion, gave her a room next to Azela’s bedroom, and even set aside servants for her.

Azalea had no right to stop him as mistresses were implicitly permitted to the nobles. That didn’t mean Azela was going to do nothing, though. So while Sylvia settled in the mansion, she too clung to Daniel. She brought out the memories of their past when he loved her, and also expressed her anger.

But the only thing that came back was his cold gaze. In the end, Azela had nothing else to do but looked at it.

“I can’t say I didn’t do something just because I didn’t want to be suspicious of, Daniel. You know me best. I’m not going to lie that I didn’t do something.”

“…….”

Daniel wrinkled his face at Azela’s remarks. Then, with a hardened expression, he stepped forward to Azela, grabbed her wrist tightly, and threw her straight onto the bed. She was startled by his sudden action, but soon Azela only closed her trembling eyes at the sight of Daniel climbing over her wildly.

She couldn’t stop him, no matter what he did, she couldn’t deny his actions because she was his wife. As Daniel ripped the dress off Azela, she couldn’t do anything but grip the bed sheets tightly. Her hands trembled at the fear, and her tears seemed to flow. But Daniel, who was tearing the front of the dress, did nothing.

In the silent bedroom, Azela gently opened her closed eyes. He was still looking down, crushing her from above. A cold wind blew through the torn dress, making her heart ache. Daniel, who was looking down at her, suddenly burst out laughing. Seeing his sudden laughter, Azela tilted her head. It certainly wasn’t a laugh out of excitement. It was much closer to a laugh of ridicule rather than a happy laugh.

“Oh, that’s right.”

After laughing for a while, Daniel nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes with his finger. Azela didn’t say anything, she just stared at him still.

“That’s right. Azela, unlike Sylvia, you were such a dry and uninteresting woman. I forgot for a moment.”

“!”

At the words of ‘unlike Sylvia’, Azela’s cool and refreshing blue eyes shook. No matter what he usually said, she was confident in managing her facial expressions, but she couldn’t do that at all. But, as if not seeing Azela’s wounded expression, Daniel continued his words.

“Never hurt Sylvia again.”

“…….”