Chapter 69: Chapter 69

Chapter 69

Hearing Zagnac’s words, Azela took the hot chocolate she had set down and drank it again. The bitter taste she had felt at first disappeared, and the sweet taste was rather appetizing.

“It’s been a long time since I held a sword. As you can see for yourself, it will take a while for my swordsmanship to return. Maybe, I’m not as good as I used to be… Are you okay, though?”

She finally asked the question that kept running through her mind. It was a question she hadn’t asked lest he would change his mind if she ever asked this question, and if he thought she was useless, he would cancel his word to take her with him.

What he needed was an escort knight to protect him from the emperor. Nonetheless, it hadn’t been long since she took the sword again. It was obvious that she would not be able to properly protect Zagnac.

At the thought, Azela’s shoulders shrunk as she gave him an anxious look, but Zagnac didn’t mind it.

“I don’t care.”

She gazed at him with a strange look as he said that in a resolute tone. But still, he was relaxed, so she was too. He continued as he took a bite of the bittersweet cake placed in front and wiped his lips with a napkin.

“After all, what I need is not someone who will completely protect my body, but someone who will completely protect my secrets.”

“….”

“I can protect my body myself. But, as Duke Ferial, I can’t do that. It’s just borrowing the fame of ‘Azela Vellista.’ You just have to stand by my side like the perfect escort knight, and the rest, I will take care of myself.”

…Not someone who will completely protect his body, but someone who will completely protect his secrets.

Azela frowned, not pleased with his answer though she didn’t say anything. He was right, after all. No matter how hard she tried, she would never be able to completely protect him, who was not human. She didn’t know if it would be the other way around.

That said, she didn’t mean to just stand by him like a perfect escort knight doll.

When Azela jumped up as she put down her fork, Zagnac looked startled as she suddenly got up.

“I’m going to use the training ground starting today.”

“…What?”

“I can’t stop everything like you said, but…”

Then, she held the contract on her table and shook it lightly.

“Still, I want to do the best I can.”

The sweet scent of ripe fruit blew from her. As if Zagnac had been fascinated by the scent for a moment, he gazed up at Azela. Her soul was ripening quite well.

Zagnac nodded his head with a bright smile.

* * *

Azalea wasn’t too busy getting ready to leave the place where she had lived for quite some time. Perhaps, it was because of her already organized mind. She had already packed all of her luggage and filled out the divorce papers to hand over to Daniel.

Besides, Lina was sent away from the mansion as well.

There was only one thing left.

“…This is the first time Madam has come to see me.”

Sylvia sneered and greeted her without even getting her body up from the sofa. Azela didn’t want to turn her head, though she didn’t like seeing Sylvia with her hand on her stomach.

“I want to ask you something.”

“Madam wants to ask me something, it’s worth living very long time in the world to see it.”

Answering her, Sylvia pulled a cigarette out of a small drawer next to the sofa.

…Tobacco? Did she smoke? No. She always smelled of flowers, never smelled of cigarettes. Besides, she was pregnant and smoking? Azela grimaced as she watched Sylvia light the cigarette on her own, then opened her mouth.

“You don’t want to have children?”

Her words made Sylvia drop the cigarette she had placed in her mouth to the floor. Her expression looked like she was terribly surprised.

“That… what…”

“Even though you knew in advance that you were pregnant, you hid it.”

“….!”

“You didn’t look happy to have a child who could get rid of me, perhaps your best weapon.”

Sylvia’s hands trembled. As if stabbed in the head, she didn’t answer.

“…Besides, a cigarette. From what you’re hiding, it seems that Daniel doesn’t seem to know that you smoke.”

“I don’t think it’s Madam’s business. Wouldn’t it be better off for Madam if this child was gone?”

Sylvia replied, putting her hand roughly on her stomach. It didn’t look like the figure that cared about the child in front of Daniel.

“Isn’t it Daniel’s child?”

It was her first thought when Azela found out that she was hiding her pregnancy. Sylvia laughed at Azela’s question.

“Of course, it’s his child. Did you think I was pregnant with someone other than Daniel’s? Unfortunately, this is Daniel and mine.”

It didn’t seem like it was a lie because she was confident and, in some way, angry.

“Then, why?”

“…Should I tell Madam why?”

Sylvia asked in a voice that showed her nervousness. She then picked up the cigarette that had fallen to the floor, patted it with her hand, and put it into her mouth.

As the smoke rose, her anxious expression shifted to comfort.

Azela didn’t naively think she would tell her why. Still, she knew one thing. The child in Sylvia’s stomach was Daniel’s child. She didn’t know if she should consider it unfortunate or if she should consider it fortunate.

“Thanks to you, I have confidence in my choice.”

“…Choice?”

“I was worried about if you wanted the child in the womb, and you loved it very much and were proud of it.”

“….!”

Of course, she didn’t want to feel guilty about that child, she almost left doing nothing, but she didn’t want to see Sylvia and Daniel happy. Azela swallowed the words she couldn’t say.

Her eyelashes trembled, and she closed her eyes for a moment.

“I’m glad that it seems like you won’t be happy even if I’m gone, Sylvia.”

“Wh, what…”

“I don’t know why, but… Because the child in the womb that you don’t want to have, would end up filling my void and present you with misfortune. Because of you and the child, Daniel will be equally unhappy.”

“….”

“So, I can leave the matter here to him and go on my way.”

Sylvia did not respond to Azela’s words. She was only exhaling the cigarette smoke with a sharp expression face.

The deep breath she exhaled seemed to contain a wish to get rid of the child in her stomach.

Azela glanced at her before turning her body back to her bedroom. She then looked at the documents she had prepared so far about Todd’s family assets. If she had these, she could bring everything Daniel had to her without difficulty.

But…

“…Let’s stop here.”

Azela threw all of the papers in her hands one by one into the burning fireplace. The lit papers began to burn quickly. Eventually, she decided to stop. If people were to see her actions, they would have laughed at her saying that she was an idiot and that she was stupid.

Looking at the last sheet of paper she was throwing into the fireplace, it was Sylvia’s records that she had the servant investigate.

On that piece of paper, everything that Sylvia had done since she was born was written on it.

She was living the same life as her mother.

Her mother, who was a noble’s mistress, conceived Sylvia and was horribly abandoned as soon as she gave birth to her. The reason was simple… The first reason was that Sylvia was a daughter who could not be made the heir, and the second was that her mother lost her beauty after giving birth.

The end of a noble mistress’ life was always the same—abandoned by the noble. It was difficult for them to return to a normal life. In general, they were often killed by nobles who feared that their weaknesses, which the mistress had seen and heard during their life, would be revealed.

Her mother was the same, but the two ran away.

They ran away and lived a life worse than a commoner or even worse than a slave. Her mother sold her laughter to men in the dark alley day and night and blamed Sylvia for her tormented life.

Acquaintances with whom had been close with her heard a saying Sylvia always said on her lips.

‘I will never live like my mother.’

She said.

However, in the end, Sylvia was living the same life as her mother. She became the mistress of a noble and eventually conceived his child.

“…Maybe, that’s what she’s afraid of.”

Azela muttered as she put the last sheet into the fireplace.

Sylvia would never be able to love her own child as she would be trapped in anxiety before and even after the child was born.

So, she decided to stop here. Azela didn’t know if the child would be born or not, and she didn’t know what would happen to the child. She wished for the child’s happiness and, at the same time, Sylvia’s misfortune.

In the end, she decided to move forward because her revenge would not be on the child but on two seemingly happy people.