Chapter 4
At the House of Count Lahone, there was nothing to gain politically or commercially, so Lishio found his father’s choice puzzling. Yet, he didn’t ask why.
After his mother left the house during his childhood, the already distant relationship between father and son had grown worse than that of strangers.
His father left instructions in his will for the two of them to marry and then passed away.
A mere marriage, and yet it warranted a will. It was laughable. Lishio hadn’t followed the will anyway; it didn’t matter whom he married.
It was meaningless to him. Or rather, he had to empty his emotions to make himself meaningless.
If he didn’t love, he would end up like his father; if he did, he would end up like his mother.
Yet, his gaze kept drifting toward Anais.
Those mischievous green eyes reminded him of a girl.
A frail girl with black hair and green eyes—Isabel.
Lishio had once set out to find his mother, who had left the ducal residence during his childhood.
But instead of finding her, he ended up in a predicament in an unfamiliar place. That was when Isabel appeared like a hero and saved him.
Isabel became his friend, rescuing him from utter loneliness.
For young Lishio, Isabel had been his only source of support. But, like his mother, she had suddenly disappeared one day without a word.
“Ha…”
The wound from his childhood ached, and a vein twitched along his jawline.
Did he miss Isabel more, or did he hate her more?
The mere thought of her made his blood boil—surely, it was hatred.
Of course, Anais was not Isabel.
He knew that… yet
“You’re annoying. I wish you’d disappear from my sight, Anais.”
Despite his words, his gaze remained fixed on the sleeping Anais.
From early morning, Ellen strained all her senses, searching for the divine power that should be somewhere within her body.
‘Could it be that I have no divine power at all?’
She tried her best to locate it again, but even drenched in sweat, she couldn’t find any.
All her efforts to develop even the tiniest spark of divine power had been in vain—her body contained not a drop.
‘There’s usually at least a little…’
She had always been proud that her divine power was the fruit of her efforts.
Her mother, who had resorted to violence, had no divine power herself, so Ellen had trained harder than anyone at the temple she was sent to, cultivating her abilities.
As a result, Ellen had gained strong divine power.
She had carefully hidden it.
If it became known how powerful she was, the nobles would exploit her for healing, purification, blessings, and other burdensome tasks. The rewards would go to the High Priest instead.
‘After all the effort I put into accumulating divine power, I can’t even use it and might die…’
A bitter regret surged over her for having held it back.
‘Completely ruined.’
Realizing she had no divine power left her unwilling to do anything.
‘Maybe I should just ask for some wine?’
But the maid who entered the room was not Dorothy, and before she could ask for wine, news of visitors arrived.
“Your Grace, Count and Countess Lahone, along with your younger sibling, have come to visit.”
It was Anais’s family.
How should she deal with them? Anais had always said her family discriminated against her and even wanted to kill her.
They were suspicious people who had remained unseen until her marriage.
‘Definitely not a normal family…’
While Ellen pondered what to do, the door opened without permission.
She could even hear whispering at the entrance, as if plotting something.
‘Are they as strange as Anais said?’
Even if she pretended to be Anais, deceiving the family would be difficult. She decided it was best to pretend to be asleep and closed her eyes.
“Are you okay, sister?”
From the tone, it sounded like a perfunctory question as they scanned the room.
She had faced dozens of people a day before. She could gauge roughly what kind of person someone was just by their voice.
‘So that’s your attitude.’
When the maid left to bring tea, the sounds of them rifling through her belongings followed.
“Mom, look at this. She can’t even move, and there’s so much makeup and perfume.”
“This perfume is sold out everywhere. How did it end up here?”
The repeated clicking sounds and the overwhelming scent of perfume filled the room, giving her a headache.
The mother and daughter didn’t stop—they began stuffing makeup into a bag.
“Did I take too much?”
“I want this too.”
Between their conversation, a deep, muffled voice interjected. It was probably Count Lahone.
“Anais can’t even use these, right? But seeing them here, these must be gifts for our Charlotte. Ha ha.”
“Oh, you’re right, dear.”
As the laughter of the three grew louder, Ellen’s irritation flared.
What kind of people were these? Unable to resist curiosity, she squinted and observed Anais’s family looting her vanity.
Were they even family? Their hair color, eyes, and physiques bore no resemblance to Anais.
“Don’t we look like sisters, Saint?”
At that moment, one of Anais’s nonsensical comments came to mind.
Now that she thought about it, there was a faint resemblance—they were both blonde with green eyes.
Of course, neither hair nor eye color was exactly the same, and their overall appearance and aura were completely different.
‘Did Anais just pick her up from somewhere?’
It was a suspicion anyone might reasonably have, not just Ellen.
As she scrutinized the family’s appearances, Charlotte walked past, forcing Ellen to quickly close her eyes.
“Look at that. She can’t even move and still calls herself a duchess!”
“I know, right? What’s the Duke of Deveser thinking?”
“I don’t know why she’s alive to bother us.”
From the shaking, it seemed she was lightly hitting her for fun. Even if she was actually hitting, Anais’s body felt nothing.
“It’s creepy how she looks like a corpse. Should we have tea here? Let’s have tea with the Duke of Deveser instead, shall we?”
“Ha ha, Charlotte, that’s a good idea.”
Charlotte touched up her lips at the vanity, blinking several times to act cute.
Even just by seeing the flashy, inappropriate dress she wore to a hospital visit, Ellen could tell what Charlotte wanted.
“Do I look pretty? Should I say I’ll stay overnight?”
“That’s a good idea too. The Duke of Deveser will regret marrying Anais when he sees our beautiful Charlotte.”
Playing around. Did she want her sister’s husband? Ellen could understand the family’s attitude.
She had no reason to spy; she hadn’t given them even a glance.
When the maid entered with tea, Charlotte commanded as if she were the lady of the house.
“Follow me, we’ll drink with the Duke.”
“Yes, yes.”
They left, laughing and chattering among themselves.
Left alone, Ellen stared blankly at the ceiling, exhausted.
“Yeah, Anais, you had it rough, I admit that. But I also…”
She pressed her lips shut, stopping herself from making excuses.
Maybe it was conscience. The image of Anais’s sad face, something she had never thought about before, appeared in her mind, and her nose tingled.
“But that Charlotte girl won’t win over the Duke.”
If she did, it would mean Lishio had low standards—or worse, that he was shameless with women.
Suddenly, she remembered their first night together.
“Has he got beastly tendencies, though…”
Her lips sealed again as the door suddenly opened.
“Bring me a new shirt, Alex.”
“Yes, sir.”
Lishio, following Alex, began unbuttoning his shirt one by one, right in front of her.
‘Why is he… oh, must have been exercising.’
Sensing her gaze, Lishio looked toward her.
“Do you have a hobby of peeking? You said you were asleep, but this face is clearly awake.”
She had been staring at his well-built muscles, then rolled her eyes to avoid looking directly, before noticing something odd and looking back.
Sure enough, she hadn’t imagined it. His shirt bore a clear imprint of a woman’s lips.
‘That bastard…’
With a tsck sound, Ellen turned her head toward the window in disgust. She must have unconsciously bitten her lip; Lishio had pressed her lower lip to release it.
“Even if it bothers you, there’s nothing you can do. You’ll see a lot more of this, so it’s troublesome if you react every time.”
Was he boldly declaring an affair? High-ranking nobles apparently had no guilt about keeping mistresses. It felt disgusting, and her face darkened.
“Shameless.”
What she meant to think privately had slipped out. She quickly clamped her mouth shut, but it was already too late
