Merche knew the answer to her question as soon as she asked it, without needing to hear a response.

The wildly trembling eyes, the involuntarily gaping mouth, the arms and legs that were too frozen to even shiver – all those pieces came together to complete a single picture.

Greta Martin had stolen the Lupinus’ child.

As that one sentence reached its conclusion in Merche’s mind, Mrs. Martin finally sank to the floor.

“Please, I beg you, keep it a secret from the lord. If he finds out, my child will…”

Genovefa Lupinus is a cruel man.

He is known for his frequent laughter and generosity towards the servants, but those who have served him closely or glimpsed into the depths of his inner self realized that it was a shallow pretense.

Greta Martin was no exception.

Towards Elizabeth, her incomparable friend who served as a lady-in-waiting, she committed an unforgivable sin. But if Elizabeth knew Greta’s story, even if she cried and screamed, she ultimately would not be able to kill Greta.

Because that’s the kind of person Elizabeth is.

But Genovefa was different.

If he… if he found out what Greta had done… he would immediately and brutally trample everything of Greta Martin’s.

Her daughter, whom she cherished so much and tried to protect at all costs. Her granddaughter, whom she miraculously gained. Even the small red-roofed mansion she obtained after a long hardship.

Genovefa would personally burn everything of Greta’s to the ground under the name of “punishment”.

Greta was certain of that future.

That’s why she could toss aside her pride as if it were worth less than a rag.

Kneeling was as easy as breathing.

Please, if only this young Lupinus woman would pretend not to know me.

If only the gods Niram and Nisha would help me just this once.

Tears streamed down her cheeks along with her incessantly repeating plea.

Greta cried softly, kneeling and prostrating.

Amidst the dreadful silence that followed, a terrifyingly beautiful woman leaned over Greta, placing her hand on Greta’s wizened shoulder and lightly applying pressure.

Though the force was as light as a feather, Greta was drawn up as if entranced.

“I do not intend to rebuke you. Nor do I intend to threaten you, so please stand up.”

How strange. The chilling tone of her voice somehow sounded kind.

The sudden relief that welled up at those possibly empty words was peculiar.

Maybe… it was absurd, but perhaps she could hide what I had done from that cold-blooded man.

Grasping that sliver of hope, Greta managed to sit on the creaking chair with her trembling body.

Without any urging, Merche watched her, and that’s when she asked the question.

“I heard you were a long-time friend of Lord Comeaux. That you two were exceptionally close. But if you stole his child, I believe there must have been a significant reason.”

“……”

“May I hear that reason?”

Thinking of Elizabeth, Greta’s eyes welled up with hot tears.

What good would it do to confess the circumstances of that time?

If she were telling Elizabeth, that would be one thing, but otherwise, it would likely end up being a useless confession.

Nevertheless, Greta opened her mouth.

Perhaps to selfishly confess everything to someone and lessen her guilt, even just a little.

“…..There is a man named Torben Carney, the lord’s brother.”

It was a story about a very old grudge.

The story of Genovefa, the eldest son of the family who was born with overwhelmingly strong power, and Torben, the ambitious second son who always tried to climb over and challenge him.

Torben never stopped challenging Genovefa, who was essentially confirmed as the lord’s successor from an early age.

But there was no way to defeat his naturally gifted older brother, and in the end, the position of victor went to Genovefa.

The problem was what followed.

The first thing Genovefa did after becoming the lord and holding the succession ceremony – he killed Torben’s spouse, and even his young son.

The Lupinus bloodline loves only one spouse in their lifetime and can only have children with that spouse.

Despite knowing this, Genovefa killed his own brother’s spouse and child.

So it was only natural for Torben to go mad with rage.

Torben waited, harboring a black poison that would rot his very soul.

Waiting for Genovefa to find a spouse. For that spouse to bear Genovefa’s child.

And so, when the time finally came, Torben did not hesitate.

He targeted Elizabeth’s lady-in-waiting and threatened her by holding her only daughter hostage.

-If you want your daughter to live, kill Elizabeth’s child.

How could she dare resist when her own child was being held hostage?

There was no parent who would put friendship before their child in such a situation.

Greta Martin, a mother before being a friend, decided to kill Elizabeth’s child in order to save her own.

“But… whenever I saw Elli, I felt so guilty, I couldn’t bear to kill that child……”

Whenever Greta saw Elizabeth happily smiling while caressing her swollen belly, she was tormented as if burned by fire.

Unable to endure the hell-like pain in her heart, she squeezed out one desperate hope, casting aside all other possibilities.

……What if I could somehow secretly take the child away?

That momentary decision immediately led to action.

Obtaining the corpse of a dead newborn was difficult, but she couldn’t give up, if only for Elizabeth’s sake.

And after endless attempts, she finally found a child with dark hair and dusky skin, resembling Genovefa’s appearance.

Though it was heartbreaking to see Elizabeth faint, believing her child was dead, this was the best Greta could do.

“I planned to somehow take the child and leave it in front of the house of a couple who dearly wanted a child. I managed to get the child out, but… I was a fool. Of course Torben would be watching me.”

At the path where she emerged carrying the wailing, scrunched-up bundle, Greta encountered Torben, who smiled grimly.

-You stole the child.

Greta desperately clutched the child to her chest, fearing he would draw his sword and cut the child at any moment.

But instead of unsheathing his sword to kill the child, Torben snatched the child from her.

-…..I see. But now that I think about it, this isn’t so bad either. That bastard’s son growing up abandoned in the back alleys as an orphan. He’ll never know, even in his dreams.

That was Greta’s last memory of the child.

The child taken by Torben disappeared, and Greta wept in despair and relief.

She was happy that her daughter had safely returned to her arms and that she could reunite with her living daughter.

At the same time, she was disgusted by her own abhorrent self.

To feel such relief after stealing her friend’s child – it was so repulsive she couldn’t hold back her nausea.

“Yes, I know. I know how awful what I did was… how unhappy I made Elli… But I, I……”

Having poured out the entire story, Greta choked out sobs.

Shaking her head and pounding her chest did nothing to relieve the suffocating feeling. Then, a pale, slender hand gently grasped hers.

The blue eyes gazing at Greta were calm.

At a glance, they seemed inorganic, but Greta blankly stared into those crystal-clear blue lakes.

“It must have been unavoidable. Your child’s life was at stake.”

“……”

“I am not Lord Comeaux, so I have no right to punish or rebuke you. If there is someone you should seek forgiveness from, it would be Lord Comeaux, not me.”

Greta listened to Merche’s words without even breathing. At some point, her crying had ceased.

How could it be so warm? How could it be so sweet?

They were the words she most wanted to hear since abandoning Elizabeth and fleeing.

That it was unavoidable, that they understood it was an inevitable choice for her – that empathy and comfort.

The moment that consolation touched her, Greta could only yield to Merche’s every word.

Merche said to her:

“As you confess your sin to Lord Comeaux, there is also a chance to atone to the stolen child. I wish to offer you that opportunity and a related request, so would you please hear me out?”

The sky at dawn was much darker than the one remaining in his memories of the past.

Having slept for a long time during the day, Rude was not drowsy, so he gazed out the window while awake.

The eyesight he regained with the money of an astonishingly beautiful woman was surprisingly intact.

Each time he opened his eyes and saw the world, it felt so real that Rude was engulfed in ambivalent sentiments.

He felt grateful to Merche for treating him, but then irritation arose as if she had arbitrarily pitied him.

Following that neurotic emotion always led to one point of doubt.

Why?

Why did she bring me here? Why is she treating me and regarding me as a person, not a slave?

Merche was unfamiliar, curious, strange, and frightening to him.

There was an uncanny fear that came over him when he looked at Merche.

A dread that permeated his entire body, from head to toe, as if everything about him would crumble with that woman by his side.

Just as thinking about her fluttering, dazzling golden hair and blue eyes made his insides churn, a clear noise that halted all thoughts broke the early morning’s tranquil silence.

Thud!

Along with the noisy, dull sound, some woman opened the door and entered.

No, she practically tumbled in.

“…What the?”

The fact that it wasn’t Merche brought a surge of displeasure.

As Rude lowered his voice and spoke threateningly, the woman, still sprawled on the floor, retorted.

Her demeanor was clearly full of fear.

“Wh-who are you?”

“You’re the one who barged in here. How can you ask such a brazen question? Have some consideration for the dumbfounded victim.”

“I didn’t mean to come in… I…”

“What, are you a kid? Stop stammering like an idiot and speak properly. Who are you?”

With each word Rude spat out, the woman shrank back a fistful more.

Fumbling and groping the floor with her fingertips, she stood up unsteadily in a way that strangely felt like déjà vu, making Rude tilt his chin askew.

That… it’s like watching what he did when he was blin[d].

“…Sister. Where is my sister? Do you know my sister?”

“Do you think I’m some fortune teller? How would I know your sis-”

He was about to snap at her as usual according to his temperament but faltered.

Sister? For a woman of that age to call someone “sister,” and for a woman who could enter this mansion… there was only one person, wasn’t there?