Chapter 19
Folding the letter quietly, Elle turned to face Kalen.
The air in the study felt suffocating, pressing against her lungs like a weight.
She took a slow, deep breath and gave a small, nervous cough.
“Ahem.”
“……”
“Ahem ahem!”
Still no response.
Unease crept in.
Could he have actually fainted with his eyes open?
Carefully, Elle spoke up.
“The letter is finished.”
“……”
“Duke?”
“…Yes?”
His reply was slow, as if lost in thought—uncharacteristic of Kalen—and it unsettled her.
“The letter is finished.”
“Well done. Let’s call it a day for today.”
“Oh, yes.”
Though it felt unusually early to stop, Elle hastily rose, uneasy.
“Then, I’ll see you next time.”
“Lady Moora.”
“Yes?”
As she turned to leave, Kalen stopped her.
His gaze was uncomfortably intense—almost rude in its directness.
It wasn’t his usual indifferent look.
Up until now, his eyes had carried the formal politeness appropriate for official matters, but now they shimmered with something softer—wistfulness, sadness, longing, and a trace of discomfort.
A confusing mixture of emotions she couldn’t quite name.
Unsettled by his stare, Elle forced a brighter smile.
“Did you have something to say?”
“I think you should change your clothes.”
“My clothes?”
Only then did Elle lower her eyes and notice the state of her outfit.
Her cheeks flushed a deep red with embarrassment.
Thanks to Odin and Shif’s overenthusiastic greeting, she’d been rolled around the garden, slobbered on, and even bitten a little.
Her clothes were a mess—caked with dust and paw prints, some parts torn and ragged.
She gathered the hems to cover the worst stains and tears.
“I guess the dogs were a little… enthusiastic. Don’t worry about it.”
“I do worry.”
“Excuse me?”
“Wait here a moment.”
Without meeting her eyes, Kalen furrowed his brow, spoke tersely, and stormed out of the study, leaving Elle unable to see his expression.
Left staring blankly at the closed door, Elle frowned.
What on earth is wrong with him? What did I really do wrong?
But knowing Kalen, if someone had made a mistake, he’d call it out directly. Not act in a way that only made her feel awkward.
“He’s really acting strange today.”
After some time had passed, the butler, Carl, arrived carrying a dress.
“Please return the clothes the next time you come.”
“Thank you.”
Elle unfolded the dress, wondering if it belonged to the Grand Duchess.
It must be huge.
Thinking of Lisa’s figure, Elle tilted her head in confusion.
This wasn’t Lisa’s dress.
Though simple in design, it wasn’t a maid’s outfit either.
The fabric was luxurious, embroidered delicately with beautiful patterns, and trimmed with tasteful lace.
Having peeked into the lady’s small drawer before, Elle knew that though these dresses appeared modest and restrained on the surface, they were actually expensive garments—worn by young noblewomen, not middle-aged women like Lisa.
Whose dress is this?
Elle’s mind wandered.
As far as she knew, the only woman in the Elias family besides Lisa was Lisa herself. And if this was a dress from Lisa’s youth, it was remarkably well preserved, looking no older than five or six years.
She recognised the embroidery pattern—it was the same as one found on a dress cherished by Laura before their family fell from grace, back when that embroidery was fashionable six years ago.
Elle stared at the dress, lost in thought.
She felt uneasy putting on a dress she didn’t even know belonged to whom.
Maybe I should borrow a maid’s dress instead…
“Ah, I guess that’s not possible either.”
Only six people knew she was in the annexe—himself included.
What excuse could she possibly have to borrow a maid’s clothes?
With determination, Elle pressed her lips tightly together.
She would be riding the carriage home anyway, and she could quickly change before her mother saw her.
Carefully folding the dress, she draped it over a chair.
Then, glancing warily to see if Kalen might enter, she slipped out of the annexe and climbed into the carriage.
“Let’s go.”
“Whoa!”
With the soft clatter of hooves, the carriage began to move slowly, and Elle finally let out a long, relieved sigh.
For some reason, she had been tense all this time—probably because of the discomfort she sensed from Kalen earlier.
“He was really strange today.”
She drew back the curtain on the window and stole a glance at the annexe.
The thin curtain hanging over the large study window kept her from seeing whether anyone was inside.
Settling back into her seat, Elle exhaled again.
A little while after Elle left, Kalen entered the study.
He had watched her leave, wearing clothes covered in dirt, through a window in another room.
Now, he picked up the dress draped over the chair.
His face remained stern.
Why did I even bring this dress out?
He muttered softly, then tenderly stroked the fabric.
“Adela.”
The name slipped between his lips like a breath.
My beloved sister, Adela.
Cradling the dress carefully to his chest, his face was full of sorrow and bittersweet longing.
The curse whispered about the Elias family.
Their heirs were few, and their men’s lives were short.
It had been this way for as long as anyone could remember.
Though they wielded immense power thanks to great contributions to the kingdom during their brief lives, the burden of continuing the family line weighed heavily on them.
Kalen’s parents, Lisa and Jayden, married young.
Yet in their fairly long marriage, they had only two children—Kalen and his older sister Adela, who was four years his senior.
Having a son was a relief, but it was short-lived.
The Elias curse seemed to strike again when Jayden fell ill and was bedridden.
From that moment, Kalen felt the weight of expectation to marry.
He was ten years old when Lisa took him aside for a serious talk about marriage.
“Kalen, listen carefully. You bear the heavy responsibility of carrying on the Elias family name. That means you must marry early and have many children. Especially sons. Do you understand?”
But Kalen was not enthusiastic about marriage.
He had seen his grandfather pass away early and his grandmother live alone for many years.
His father’s illness left his mother to raise him almost single-handedly.
Though they had no financial worries, his mother could not fill the void left by his father’s absence.
Moreover, watching his ailing father, she pressured Kalen to marry and continue the family line before his father passed.
If I marry someone, that person will likely spend a long time alone.
Kalen pondered.
They would nurse my sickness, raise our child alone, pressure that child to marry, and grow old by themselves—just like my mother.
Knowing such a bleak future awaited the woman he might love, he could not bring himself to share that unhappiness, no matter who she was.
But it wasn’t always this way.
The burden to carry on the family name was inevitable for a noble born into this world.
Watching his sister Adela’s marriage gave him his first hopeful thoughts about marriage.
Adela, with her father Jayden’s black hair and mother Lisa’s honey-coloured eyes, was a beloved lady.
Even stoic Kalen revealed his true feelings and leaned on her for support.
Four years older, Adela cared for Kalen in place of their mother, who tended to the ailing Jayden.
“Kalen Elias, didn’t I tell you not to leave carrots uneaten? You have to eat properly to grow tall.”
“I don’t believe what you say. How could not eating carrots stop me from growing?”
Kalen let out a scoffing laugh as he stood beside Adela, looking down gently at her.
Though she was fourteen, he already towered over his older sister by four years.
Adela parted her lips in frustration, unable to convince her younger brother with logic.
Seeing her on the verge of tears, Kalen shook his head softly.
His heart always softened at the sight of his sister’s sorrow.
“All right. This time, I’ll eat the carrots. But only this once!”
“Kalen, you really are my amazing little brother.”
They were unusually close siblings—so close that to Randol and Ruena, who cared little for one another, their bond was utterly baffling.
Randol, who was the same age as Kalen, especially adored Adela, while the usually aloof Ruena could never resist playing along whenever Adela smiled.
The year Adela came of age, she married Raekin Morten, who had long admired her.
Though his family was neither noble nor wealthy, no one could stand in the way of the love that had blossomed between Adela and Raekin.
Jayden and Lisa, who valued people over possessions, gladly consented to the union, and Adela was truly happy.
Kalen, who had once regarded Raekin with suspicion—as if his sister had been stolen—slowly came to accept him as his brother-in-law, especially when he saw how beautifully his sister bloomed, radiant as a white lily.
It seemed their happiness would last forever.
But a year later, Adela, pregnant, grew ill from the very start of her pregnancy.
Lying weak in bed, she managed a faint smile for Kalen.
“Kalen.”
“…”
“Kalen, look at your sister.”
Breathing shallowly and unevenly, Adela grasped Kalen’s hand, which seemed so much bigger and steadier than hers.
“You have such strong hands. I can count on you. Kalen, I have a favour to ask. Promise me you’ll protect my child. Can you do that?”
“I can promise that a hundred times—just please, get up. Stop looking so pale.”
“Yes… I must.”
But before ten months had passed, Adela gave birth and passed away in the process.
