A Shadow Cast in Paradise (23 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 7

  1. Home
  2. A Shadow Cast in Paradise (23 Chapters Left to Complete)
  3. Chapter 7
Prev
Next

Shade’s departed room.

Liana remained alone, curled up on the bed.

The air was cold, and the blanket against her skin prickled like thorns.

Liana hugged her injured leg. A tear dropped onto her knee.

‘How foolish…’

She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and gave a dry, self-mocking laugh.

When Shade had approached her, absurdly, her heart had begun to beat as if it already belonged to him.

Like a moth leaping into flames, knowing full well they would consume her.

Shade would never know.

That the first emotion she felt upon recognizing his face was relief.

Realizing he was alive and breathing had lifted an old burden she’d long carried deep within her chest.

After all, she had always wondered.

About the legendary undefeated hero—the duke of slave origins spoken of in rumors.

Whenever she heard the name ‘Shade Lester,’ Liana recalled the slave she once knew.

The endlessly gentle and devoted slave.

She had secretly read tabloids and newspapers brought into the Godwin household, drinking in his name with her eyes.

First came tales of Lupus, who had once saved the duke’s life; then, before she knew it, ‘Shade Lester,’ the duke’s adopted son, had risen to fame.

After the late Duke Lester’s death, ‘Duke Shade Lester’ had graced front pages for months. His name was always tucked into victory reports like a bookmark.

He shone brilliantly—not even heroes from fables could outshine his story.

Liana gazed up at that beautiful star from the mud.

She loved the star, but she knew she must stop there.

She had no right to face Shade Lester.

Nor should she ever meet him.

So she had hidden herself in this remote corner of the vast empire,

believing it would be safe, as Baron Godwin had little connection to the Lester family.

But as misfortune had always cursed her, fate’s leash had ultimately dragged her here.

Remember your sin, Luise.

It felt as though the cold air whispered into her ear.

Liana curled up tighter and covered her ears.

Then, a soft click pulled her back from thorny memories to reality.

Liana hastily wiped her wet eyes.

Turning toward the door, she saw a middle-aged man adjusting his monocle and watching her.

Werner sighed at the sight of the woman sobbing, curled up on the bed.

Her disheveled clothes, trembling body, and tear-streaked crimson cheeks—

‘…It seems you failed to satisfy your master.’

Werner shook his head, guessing roughly what had occurred in the bedroom.

“You’ve let a good opportunity slip away.”

Werner approached her and handed over a thick robe to drape over herself.

Liana simply lowered her head at his words.

A good opportunity—apparently, that’s how others saw it.

Perhaps they meant that a lowly maid ought to be immensely grateful for the honor of sharing the bed of His Grace, the illustrious Duke from the esteemed princely house.

Liana had been instantly reduced to a pitiful woman, too worthless even to seize such a rare chance.

Ah… maybe she already looked pathetic enough that there was no lower she could fall.

She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and let out a bitter chuckle.

Werner looked at Liana with pity in his eyes.

He didn’t know the details, but he thought her fate truly wretched.

“Stay here for now until His Grace gives further orders. You likely have nowhere else to go anyway…”

“I do have a place to go.”

Liana lifted her head sharply and looked up at Werner.

Her tear-filled jade-green eyes had already hardened with resolve.

Trending

A place to go? In truth, there was none.

She had no intention of returning to that despicable Godwin household.

But either way, she had no wish to remain under Shade’s roof.

‘If I leave, surely something will work out.’

Liana clenched her fist tightly over her chest.

“You’re not thinking of returning to the Godwins. His Grace mentioned you have no family. Where do you plan to go?”

Werner asked, studying the frail, slight woman before him.

At a glance, she looked as if she’d collapse on the street after a day or two.

Besides, her body—especially her leg—was clearly unwell.

“Fine. I understand you’d want to run away after experiencing something like this on your very first day.”

The head butler nodded.

After such an ordeal in a strange place, she likely felt too ashamed to stay.

Abandoned alone in the master’s bedroom, it would surely be impossible for her to remain here.

“But for now, you belong to the Lester household, so wait here until a decision is made.”

Werner pointed to the emblem embroidered on the robe she wore.

The clear mark of a wolf with a sword in its mouth—stamped unmistakably as Lester’s property.

Without even realizing it, she had already become wholly Shade Lester’s possession.

Though years had passed since she abandoned her noble status, she still shuddered at the helplessness of having her fate sealed by a few words from her betters.

“Follow me.”

Werner turned away, as if unwilling to waste more words.

[This is the timeline separator]

Eklas’s head turned along the second-floor corridor.

A woman with deep brown hair followed Head Butler Werner, draped in a white robe.

‘My eyes weren’t mistaken.’

Cleaned and dressed in proper clothes, she was as beautiful as he’d expected.

‘So Duke Lester isn’t indifferent to women—he simply has high standards.’

Eklas idly twirled a gold coin between his fingers as he pondered.

His taste in women was rather refined and particular.

His calculating crimson eyes subtly glanced toward where the woman had emerged.

‘Isn’t that Duke Lester’s bedroom…?’

At this hour?

Eklas, his narrow eyes fixed on the firmly shut door, caught sight of Head Maid Caroline passing nearby and stopped her.

“That woman—she’s the one Duke Lester brought here earlier today, isn’t she?”

He spoke to the head maid in a surprisingly polite and gentle tone.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“I heard she came from Baron Godwin’s household?”

“That’s right.”

Caroline answered stiffly.

Eklas smirked, rubbing his chin.

“It’s still early—His Grace must have a short night’s rest, even at his vigorous age…”

It was barely nine o’clock. Counting the time Shade would have taken for dinner and bathing before retiring, it seemed too soon for the woman to be leaving his room.

So Lupus’s blood had finally stirred after all this time.

“No wonder unpleasant rumors keep circulating.”

Tsk, Eklas clicked his tongue, shaking his head.

Perhaps the rumors that he was impotent were actually true.

Whether it was his attitude or something else, Head Maid Caroline’s brow furrowed in clear displeasure.

“Did you send that woman back?”

Caroline recalled the woman Eklas had tucked under his arm earlier that day.

She’d worn a tawdry outfit that left her back and legs shamelessly exposed.

Her vulgar, swaying walk, thickly powdered face, overpowering perfume that stung the nose, vividly red lips, and deep, ample cleavage—all clearly marked her profession at a glance.

ads

At Caroline’s barbed question, Eklas’s eyes softened with amusement.

“Of course I sent her back. I couldn’t possibly keep such a refined young lady in danger this late into the night.”

Caroline’s frown deepened at his honeyed reply.

A refined young lady? How dare he use such a word for that sort of woman!

“It’s troublesome if you bring women like that into our Lester household so carelessly.”

As head maid, Caroline felt duty-bound to preserve the household’s integrity.

“Women like that? You’ll hurt our sweet lark’s feelings if you talk that way.”

“L-lark…?”

The head maid gasped, astonished by the absurd pet name.

She’d clearly seen the woman leave the mansion gleefully clutching a purse of coins before evening!

In truth, Caroline already knew that woman had left the estate before dinner.

Her question had merely been a warning to Eklas.

“Don’t be so rigid, Caroline. That’s exactly why Duke Lester can’t even bed a single woman. At this rate, the Lester line will die out.”

Eklas shrugged, laughing.

Caroline’s face flushed red as though deeply insulted.

“Our master is already engaged! He has no reason whatsoever to bring such a woman into his bedroom!”

At her firm and solemn reply, Eklas let out a soft laugh.

“Of course. His Grace must certainly uphold his chastity and purity. Naturally—that is virtue itself.”

Annoyed by Eklas’s flippant tone, Caroline snapped her mouth shut.

‘How utterly frivolous…!’

Caroline thoroughly disliked Viscount Eklas Vittel before her.

‘I shouldn’t expect dignity from a merchant…’

The Vittel earldom had originally been merchants.

Though commoners, the wealthy Vittel family—nominally credited with great contributions to the economy—had purchased their title from the imperial court with a large sum of money.

It was an unprecedented move.

The stigma attached to the first family to buy nobility with coin was obvious.

‘Though His Grace is of Lupus descent, he is far above that vulgar merchant.’

Though technically Shade’s origins were lower than Eklas’s, Caroline held immense loyalty toward Shade Lester.

‘After all, His Grace saved the lives of both the late duke and His Imperial Majesty.’

Earning a title through merit was traditional honor.

Shade had essentially obtained his title through just and honorable means.

Eklas observed Caroline’s resentful expression.

It was clear what the proud woman was thinking.

‘She’s only defending her master because she’d be shamed if she dismissed him.’

Here she was—scorning Eklas for his common origins while fiercely proud of Shade, a former slave.

Eklas knew precisely how tainted that pride truly was.

She simply rationalized it—disparaging Shade would be like spitting in her own face.

Had she not worked for the Lester household, she’d surely have been among the many who looked down on Shade Lester.

Generally, those who scorned Eklas Vittel tended to scorn Shade Lester as well.

“It’s getting late. Bring me a warm drink to my room.”

Thus, Eklas calmly gave his order.

Whether Caroline chose to disdain him or not, he was a viscount, and she was merely a head maid.

Most Commented This Week
Prev
Next

YOUR COMMENT

1. Please write comments in English.
2. Inline comments are now available. Tap the end of any line in a chapter to share your thoughts instantly.