CHAPTER 77……………………………………………….
The carriage didn’t stop until it had passed through the massive front gate and gone quite a distance further.
A view of the Estevan mansion unfolded, grand enough to evoke a sense of ancient history.
Sierra looked at Ashur being dragged along with a pitiful gaze.
But she couldn’t show it in front of Derek.
“…Where is the author taking him?”
“Why? Do you want to come along?”
Derek replied gently, a slight curl to his lips, but she couldn’t ignore the sarcasm hidden within.
As expected, he was not fooled at all.
Still, she couldn’t afford to reveal her weakness completely.
Sierra straightened her back and lifted her chin.
She didn’t want to show tears in front of someone so cruel.
“…No. Let’s go inside.”
“Go in first. I have some matters to attend to and need to step out again.”
“Alright.”
Derek left her in the lobby and suddenly disappeared.
The servants treated Sierra with utmost care.
The first thing she did upon arrival was sink into a bathtub.
With the skilled assistance of the maids, she wore a sweet fragrance and draped herself in a brilliant dress.
Sierra sat at an elegant dressing table and looked at herself in the large mirror.
The appearance of a typical noblewoman felt completely unfamiliar to her.
‘I don’t need this…’
After spending so long in the tower, everything seemed merely extravagant to her.
The sweet, pungent scent reminded her of the flower gardens in the sanctuary.
She recalled walking barefoot there with Ashur, and tears welled up again.
She fiddled with the only comfort she had—her earrings—and lowered her head.
‘The earrings aren’t reacting. That means Ashur is safe. So it’s okay… for now.’
But the servant assisting her seemed to take it in a different way.
“Miss Kleshad, shall I change your earrings?”
“No… something else will do.”
“Understood. I’ll braid your hair to one side.”
The simple earrings, unsuitable for the luxurious outfit, were hidden under her neatly combed blonde hair.
A necklace that strangely matched the mana-binding bracelet rested against her pale neck.
The thin platinum necklace, studded with dense emeralds, felt oppressively heavy.
Her face in the mirror, fully adorned, was pale without a trace of color.
Finally, a touch of red was added to her lips.
Sierra looked down, disgusted by the unfamiliar face staring back at her.
Knock—knock—
Someone tapped on the heavy mahogany door.
“Miss Kleshad, Lady Estevan has invited you for tea.”
“…Lady Estevan?”
As far as she knew, Derek’s mother, the Duchess of Estevan, had passed away long ago.
‘Who could that be referring to?’
With this question lingering in her mind, Sierra left the room and headed toward the invitation.
She carefully held the uncomfortable dress and followed the excessively polite servant.
The mansion’s impeccably solemn corridors were eerily quiet.
‘With a mansion of this size, some noise would be normal.’
The servants moved quietly, all wearing expressions devoid of life.
Until you got close, it was difficult to even sense their presence.
Knock—knock—
“Madam, I have brought Miss Kleshad.”
The doors slowly opened from within, revealing a lavish reception room that seemed out of place in the mansion.
In the center, a woman on an opulent sofa caught her eye.
Her bright blonde hair and sparkling golden eyes made her stunning beauty even more striking.
She looked only a few years older than Sierra.
‘Could it be… Derek?’
Confusion washed over Sierra.
Had she disappeared and he had already welcomed his wife?
But her guess was wrong.
“Welcome, Miss Kleshad. I am finally meeting my son’s fiancée.”
The woman greeted Sierra with a radiant smile.
Now it made sense—she was speaking of her son.
So this must be the woman the previous duke had taken as a second wife.
“You can call me Elaina. Lady Estevan is fine too… but I’m staying in this mansion thanks to Derek, after all.”
Elaina, having cleared the room, whispered to Sierra with surprising familiarity despite just meeting her.
“Thank you for your kindness… But where is Derek?”
“Oh my, calling me by name so casually! You must be close with Derek. You were engaged since childhood, I hear. You must have spent a lot of time together.”
Elaina said this excitedly, obviously flustered by Sierra’s one remark.
“No… that’s not the case.”
Sierra decided she needed to be careful with how she addressed people.
She was no longer a fiancée or anything of the sort. Derek was just the Duke of Estevan.
“Derek will be busy for a while. He’s always busy, but going to fetch you took a bit out of him.”
Probably because he was preparing for the war.
She recalled the newspaper articles she had read when trapped in the cabin by Adrian—he was always in the news.
For some reason, the way Elaina’s eyebrows drooped seemed odd, almost regretful.
‘How does she see Derek?’
She looked almost the same age as him, hardly like a mother.
Somehow, her expression felt exaggerated.
Sierra lowered her gaze to her teacup.
Elaina, showing her upset with a sigh, quickly changed the subject.
“Oh! I almost forgot. I have prepared something for you so you won’t feel lonely.”
Clap—clap—
Following Elaina’s applause, someone entered the reception room.
Sierra’s eyes widened as she saw him.
“…Owen?”
Even after so long, his face resembled hers too closely to deny their relation, and his expression remained innocently naive.
“Elaina, he had an accident. Derek barely saved him from dying, and since then, he’s been staying at the Estevan mansion. He sometimes keeps me company,” Elaina added.
Meaning he was freeloading unnecessarily.
He was her fiancée’s older brother and long-time friend, so nothing was strictly wrong—but the engagement was essentially broken.
Yet he brazenly stayed as a guest.
For Sierra, it meant another hostage to deal with.
Owen, if it were him, wouldn’t even realize he was being a burden.
Moreover, he stuck by Elaina during the entire tea time, pretending to be a polite gentleman.
‘Ugh. Disgusting.’
Sierra instinctively frowned.
He should be living independently—why was he acting like this here?
She forced back a sigh.
“What about the Kleshad estate?”
“Oh, when you disappeared, the income stopped coming in, so I had no choice but to sell it.”
He spoke without a shred of guilt, which was infuriating.
“So Sierra, go to the bank first. How much must have accumulated? And buy a new house if you can. I’ll move there.”
Owen had a knack for making people angry with every word.
“By the way, you know if you don’t return for a few more years, your fortune will come to me? Yet here you are, welcoming me—what a good brother! Smile, Sierra!”
He babbled nonsense while watching Elaina, making Sierra scowl further.
Eventually, she couldn’t hold back and pressed her throbbing temples.
“Forgive me, Madam. Owen is being a nuisance. We’ll arrange his lodging immediately.”
“Oh, no. I enjoyed his company when bored. How disappointing… I’ll invite him occasionally, so you must come, Owen.”
Owen kissed the back of her hand with a theatrically pitiful expression, which was quite the sight.
Just before tea time ended, Sierra suddenly asked as if remembering something:
“Madam, do you happen to know where the man I brought with me is?”
It was almost impossible to maintain a calm expression.
Sierra’s heart pounded nervously.
