MWHCMD~08

The Vanished Scar

CHAPTER~08

The Vanished Scar

What did he mean by that?

As Yvonne pondered over his words, blinking slowly, the carriage entered the Leroy Duke’s estate.

“Ah.”

She realized she should have asked to be let out earlier, but the carriage had already entered the mansion grounds.

Her efforts at the funeral to ignore Cedric and return his jacket, hiding any connection with him, had all been for nothing.

The carriage soon stopped, and the door opened.

Yvonne stared briefly at Cedric’s hand, which he silently extended, then took it and stepped out of the carriage.

The butler, who naturally expected the young lady to return alone, looked quite startled to see the two of them.

“What brings Sir Cedric here…?”

Cedric lifted his head and looked toward the mansion instead of answering. Following his gaze, Yvonne’s heart sank.

Logan was standing by the window of the office, looking down at them.

Yvonne quickly realized Cedric still held her hand and hurriedly pulled it away.

Cedric glanced momentarily at her hand escaping his grip, then shifted his gaze to the butler.

“I had a dinner appointment nearby, so I brought her along on the way.”

That answer would surely reach Logan.

Noticing this, Yvonne quickly matched Cedric’s lie with a polite response.

“Thank you for bringing me.”

Cedric, who had been silently observing her, spoke at last.

“Then, see you again.”

His low voice tickled her ear.

Yvonne paused at the meaningful words, and when she looked at him again, Cedric was already back in the carriage. Sitting down, he didn’t turn to look her way.

It was the same face she had faced just moments ago, yet without the faint smile, it seemed strangely unfamiliar.

Yvonne watched the carriage disappear before turning back into the mansion.

At that moment, a maid approached to deliver a message.

Even though she had expected it, her fingertips trembled.

Biting her dry lips, she ascended the stairs. The mansion, usually spacious, felt unusually narrow today.

Arriving at the office, Yvonne moved her lips several times but finally knocked silently. She couldn’t bring herself to call him “Father.”

“Enter.”

The voice inside responded immediately.

Yvonne took a deep breath and stepped into the office.

“You called—”

“Is the only thing your mother taught you to spread your legs for a man?”

The verbal abuse was familiar, but any insult toward her mother never became easy to bear.

Her heart froze, as if all the blood had left her body.

“Do not insult my mother. She is not that kind of person.”

“It is you who insults your mother.”

Yvonne was at a loss for words. She felt blocked by a wall.

“How you judge your mother from now on depends on your conduct.”

“…Isn’t that judgment already decided within you, Duke?”

It was something the usually timid Yvonne could never have said.

But at this moment, she could not endure silence, trembling all over.

Cedric, perhaps unprepared for such a reaction, did not push her down as usual, only watching coldly.

He looked at her green eyes trembling with anger and sorrow and spoke in a calmer voice.

“Cedric Glaston, do not entangle yourself with that vulgar commoner.”

“…”

“I will not repeat myself, Yvonne.”

Yvonne.

The name reminded her of her role and acted as an unbreakable shackle.

“Leave.”

She waited a moment for her reddened eyes to calm, then stepped out of the office. The tears she had just stifled welled up again.

‘It’s okay.’

She had safely entrusted her request to the detective agency, and Logan hadn’t noticed. So it was fine. No, it was for the best.

She remembered her mother’s voice, comforting her as she trembled in fear during her father’s outbursts.

Even her frail hands that had no place to lean on.

Yet, they had felt warm and safe.

‘…It’s okay.’

It really was.

If she could be embraced in that warmth again, she could endure this, no matter how many times.

***

On the day of the banquet, the Leroy Duke’s estate had been bustling since early morning.

It was the first banquet in over ten years, so the responsibility felt heavy on the staff.

By midday, the busy butler came to Yvonne.

“The preparations for the banquet are complete, Miss. It would be good if you could inspect one last time.”

“That is my mother’s authority…”

Yvonne paused. She could not overstep the Duchess’s prerogative.

The banquet exposed the household to outsiders, a task and responsibility of the lady of the house.

But the current Isabelle was incapable and likely unable to attend the banquet.

Knowing her own influence over Isabelle, Yvonne could not place that responsibility on her.

“Alright. Please guide me.”

Yvonne toured the mansion with the butler.

After checking the banquet hall, the dishes, and finally the garden landscaping, the sun was setting.

It was time for the host of the banquet to make final preparations.

Yvonne hurried back from the garden into the mansion.

Unexpectedly, someone was waiting for her.

“…Nadia?”

“Yvonne!”

Yvonne looked at Nadia approaching her with a bewildered gaze. It was too early for guests to arrive.

“Today is your debut banquet. You’re debuting alone, so I thought it would be less stressful if I came.”

It was customary for guests to arrive just in time for the banquet so the host could prepare comfortably.

But she could not send away Nadia, who had come worrying about her.

“Thank you for worrying, Nadia. Can you wait a little longer? I’ll finish preparing as quickly as possible…”

“Hmm, do I really have to wait here?”

Yvonne didn’t understand and looked at her. Nadia added naturally,

“I can just be by your side, like when we used to dress each other up as kids.”

“Ah…”

“You haven’t gone and started acting like my spouse after all these years apart, right?”

Yvonne felt uncomfortable with Nadia by her side, but she could not refuse her mention of the past.

She worried Nadia might notice that she was different from the Yvonne of her childhood.

She forced a smile and replied,

“Of course not. I’ll appreciate having you by my side.”

Finally, Nadia smiled.

The two moved together to Yvonne’s room.

The maids immediately began removing her clothing as soon as she arrived.

Nadia sat on the sofa, observing.

Even while her clothes hinted at her body’s curves, removing them fully revealed her beauty.

Pale, translucent skin showing veins. Her delicate frame contrasted with her ample, curved figure.

A body any man would naturally desire.

Nadia, gazing, unconsciously recalled a painting of a goddess she had seen in a museum.

Yvonne was beautiful. Just as when they first met.

Perhaps even more so than back then.

Over ten years ago, Nadia first met Yvonne at the Leroy estate, brought by her mother.

The child was kind and pretty.

She received love everywhere she went, naturally gaining all that was precious.

Even Yvonne had one flaw—a very small, secret imperfection.

Nadia approached the Yvonne dressing in a corset and gently touched her back. Yvonne flinched.

“Beautiful, Yvonne.”

Yvonne gave an awkward smile but did not push the hand away.

Nadia smiled reassuringly, feeling Yvonne’s tension, and traced her back.

Near Yvonne’s shoulder blades was a small scar, from falling while climbing a tree during her mischievous childhood.

As a child, Nadia often thought of that scar when seeing Yvonne’s bright smile. It was satisfying to see a small imperfection on such a perfect child.

But…

‘The scar is gone…?’

She lifted Yvonne’s hair to check again, but the scar was gone.

Had it faded as she grew?

It was a small scar from childhood, so that was possible. But reason and feeling are different.

Noticing Nadia’s subtle change in mood, Yvonne asked,

“What is it?”

“Nothing, really.”

Nadia absentmindedly rubbed where the scar had been.

“Your husband is lucky. Men just love a woman’s chest.”

Suddenly, she remembered that Yvonne Leroy, who had everything she envied, would marry Derrick Glaston, not Cedric Glaston.

So, a missing scar didn’t matter.