“W-what are you talking about? There’s Ariante. And… And Ariante is a smart child. She’s seven now, and she knows a lot.”
Swan tried to defend Ariante, but even to her own ears, her voice lacked conviction.
Instead of defending Ariante, Swan’s face was getting hot, as if she was making a ridiculous excuse for a mistake.
Jocelyn subtly grasped the embarrassment and helplessness that Swan felt. Like a snake catching the scent of a frog, her senses were so sharp that it was almost disgustingly keen.
She spoke.
“Lady Ariante is smart.”
Swan sensed a strange undertone in Jocelyn’s words. However, despite being quick-witted, Swan, still a ten-year-old boy, didn’t know how to deal with the joint lady Jocelyn. None of Lord Glordon’s employees had ever threatened Swan like Jocelyn did.
Jocelyn’s pleading seemed overly courteous and entirely fabricated, but the still-young Swan didn’t know how to point out the contradiction. All he could do was continue to argue with a feeble voice.
“Ariante is… smart. Really. Teacher Ash always praises her like that. She memorizes well and is good at calculations. Don’t you know, Jocelyn?”
Upon hearing that, Jocelyn chuckled as if telling Swan to listen. Swan, who was disgusted by her impoliteness, only saw the scene with repulsion. It felt as if Jocelyn’s neck would stretch like a snake’s at any moment.
Jocelyn spoke.
“Young master, have you ever wondered why a noble house like the Valthamminster doesn’t have a mistress? Have you never been curious about why there is no Lady of the house and why the Duchess is absent?”
Swan, who was about to step back, frowned even more deeply.
At some point, Cedaloi had told Swan that he had a daughter. It happened at the royal palace, and as far as Swan could remember, it was Cedaloi who answered his question.
[Why didn’t your father get married? Do you have no children?]He couldn’t remember why he asked such a question.
But at that time, Cedaloi clearly said, ‘I have a daughter,’ and after hearing that answer, Swan spent a long time wondering what Cedaloi’s daughter would look like, what kind of child she would be.
But he hadn’t heard anything about the Duchess. Swan didn’t ask, and Cedaloi didn’t tell.
“I thought Ariante’s mother passed away, like my mother. My mother also passed away when I was young.”
At that moment, Jocelyn darkly chuckled and said.
“There was never a Duchess.”
Swan blinked his eyes a few times, silently showing that he didn’t understand Jocelyn’s words.
“What do you mean? Ariante… is much nobler than me. Because Ariante is the heir of the Duke’s family.”
Jocelyn, with a mocking smile, turned her head obliquely. Swan was disgusted by that sight. It was because the terrifying imagination that Jocelyn’s neck would stretch like a snake’s arose in her mind at any moment.
Jocelyn spoke.
“Young master, have you ever wondered why there is no mistress in a noble household like Valthamminster? Have you never been curious about why there is no Lady, and why you have never seen the Duchess?”
Swan, still frowning as he stepped back, showed a deeper sense of distrust.
“Wh-what do you mean? Ariante’s… mother must have passed away. Like my mother. I thought…”
At that point, Jocelyn’s chuckle became more pronounced.
“Now do you understand? Everyone believes in the noble lady without suspicion, but in reality, that child is the daughter of a common woman. In spring, she digs clams in the river and sells them, in summer, she sells plums, and in autumn and winter, she makes money by making lace or weaving. Moreover, her father is also something else. The Duchess believes that he is her brother, but in fact, he was the child of a servant woman.”
Swan was on the verge of collapsing at Jocelyn’s sudden and unbelievable words. Actually, his legs wobbled, and he was about to sit down, but Jocelyn held his shoulders and lifted him up.
The book he had in his hand fell to the ground. However, Swan barely glanced at it and was too preoccupied to pick it up. Instead, he just looked at Jocelyn with fear, his shoulders trembling with anxiety.
She’s lying, Swan thought. However, no matter how hard he tried to deceive himself, his heart continued to waver. In Swan’s young mind, he couldn’t conceive the idea of fabricating such a significant and serious matter with lies.
“…No way. I don’t believe it.”
“Whether the young master believes it or not, it is a clear fact. Haven’t I told you that I have devoted my whole life to the Valthamminster family? I know everything that has happened in this house.”
“Ariante’s mother, father… Is that really true? Is it really that Ariante is not the Duke’s daughter…?”
Jocelyn smiled at Swan with a harsh look.
“No, it’s not true. Not at all. That child was just born under humble parents’ luck. If the Duke hadn’t taken her in, she would have gone to an orphanage where fleas and mice boiled long ago.”
“No way…”
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
