Chapter 6
On the day of the funeral for the Duchess of Devonshire.
Angela went to the funeral with the Kruger Marquis and Ralph.
It had been three days since she had taken on the identity of Penelope, and she hardly knew how those days had passed.
Physically, she had recovered quickly—one full day of rest would have been enough—but during those three days, Angela had confined herself to her bedroom, claiming she needed time to recover mentally and emotionally.
It still felt unreal that she had become another person. Staying inside was easier.
Even inside the carriage, she remained tense, afraid of making a mistake. The Kruger Marquis noticed and asked:
“Are you still unwell?”
“Pardon?”
“I should have let you rest at the estate a little longer.”
His concern made Angela force an awkward smile and shake her head.
“No, I’m fine….”
Ralph glanced at her with mild suspicion. He sensed something different about the way his sister spoke.
‘I still can’t face the marquis and his family properly.’
Angela deliberately avoided his gaze.
Soon, the carriage arrived at the temple where the funeral was being held.
They followed a servant from the Devonshire family and entered the building.
‘Even at the entrance, it’s all his people.’
As she walked slowly, looking around, Angela’s expression stiffened.
She didn’t know every servant of the Devonshire estate, but she recognized quite a few faces.
The place reminded her of a prison-like manor, and it was far from welcoming.
Moreover, she would inevitably meet her former husband here.
‘Still, I have to be here.’
She needed to truly realize her own “death” in order to feel at ease.
Even if Edward was present, she was now Penelope—there was no way he could ever drag her back.
And there was another reason she had to come….
“Thank you for coming, Marquis.”
At the entrance to the central hall stood her older brother, Howard, greeting them.
His dark expression made Angela feel uneasy.
“Of course. It’s only proper,” the marquis replied first.
Ralph glanced into the hall and addressed Howard.
“I don’t see the Duke of Devonshire.”
“He stepped out briefly to meet with his aide.”
“I can only imagine how difficult this must be for him, having lost his beloved daughter.”
The Kruger Marquis spoke politely, then turned his gaze to Mrs. Panning, standing beside Howard. Angela’s mother, she pressed a handkerchief to her eyes, struggling to hold back tears.
“How could something like this happen…?”
Her voice broke, and Angela’s eyes stung with emotion.
For so long, she had been unable to meet her family because of Edward’s control.
How much she had longed to see them while living under her husband’s shadow.
“What did the Panning Viscount say to you that made your expression like that?”
Back when she first began life at the Devonshire estate, Angela had still been able to see her family.
Recalling her brother’s words that had filled her with worry, she had asked Edward about it.
“What should I do? My brother says the investment in the mining development failed.”
The mysterious mineral, once hailed as more valuable than mana stones, had drawn Howard into a large investment.
But the mineral they had excavated turned out to be useless for any purpose. It had been false information from the start.
“An investment? I thought your last business venture failed as well.”
Edward noted how many nobles were turning to business to increase their wealth.
Howard had tried his hand at it, but his first attempt had failed.
Now, having poured even more money into a larger investment to recover his losses, the damage was severe.
“It seems my brother might have to sell the estate to cover the losses… It’s the home where he was born and raised….”
“That is unfortunate. To have to part with a place filled with memories.”
Edward responded with feigned sympathy. After a brief moment of thought, he asked:
“Angela. Do you want me to help?”
He smiled faintly as he asked—an expression that seemed out of place given the seriousness of the situation. Even then, Angela had sensed something strange about his calm demeanor.
Concerned for her brother, who could not bring himself to ask for money outright, she looked at Edward, hoping for help.
Edward smiled and gave his reasoning.
“I can’t let the lovely little home where you grew up be sold to strangers.”
It had been a time when she still trusted her husband.
To ease the immediate crisis, Angela agreed to his condition—though there was a price: separation from her family.
“The Panning Viscount’s family will continue to be under my protection. In return, I’d like you to keep some distance from your family.”
At the time, she believed reducing her visits would be enough.
But as time passed, the demand became pressure.
Though others misunderstood her silence as shame toward her modest family, she could never explain herself.
Edward intercepted her letters and sent visitors away, so her family must have been confused and hurt.
‘I should tell them it wasn’t my choice.’
Three years was both short and long.
In that time, the emperor had died and Edward’s older brother had become the new ruler, while her brother had become a viscount and even had a son.
She had only heard of her nephew—she had never even seen the child’s face.
‘Now I am free….’
Perhaps she should tell her family the truth.
Angela considered it.
She still didn’t know what she would do with her new life as Penelope, but the idea of revealing her survival to her family was tempting.
‘If we keep it a secret and I tell them I’m alive….’
At that moment, the Kruger Marquis murmured:
“The Duke of Devonshire has arrived.”
Following his gaze, Angela saw Edward, Duke of Devonshire walking down the hallway.
The moment she saw him, anxiety surged in her chest.
‘It’s fine… he can never recognize me.’
She calmed herself and slipped behind Ralph, hiding slightly.
When Edward approached, the Kruger Marquis spoke with pity.
“I am deeply sorry for your loss, Duke.”
“…I still cannot believe she is gone.”
Edward replied with a sorrowful expression. His once-beautiful face now carried a weary, hollow look.
“If only we hadn’t gone to the countryside that day….”
He spoke as a grieving husband, anyone could see his anguish.
“Because I wanted to give her everything she desired, I never imagined that decision would lead to such regret.”
Angela’s eyes narrowed as she watched him from behind Ralph.
“Even Mrs. Panning and the Viscount Panning—I feel ashamed. If I had known, I should have allowed my wife to reconnect with her family….”
‘Liar.’
“Why would you do this? How could you hide the letters…!”
The day she discovered that Edward had intercepted the letters from her family and never delivered them.
Angela had expressed her anger.
But Edward had responded as if he didn’t understand.
“Letters were out of the question. You couldn’t reply anyway—reading them would only hurt you.”
“Still, you could have shown them to me.”
When Angela refused to back down, Edward fell silent and gazed at her.
His look did not contain guilt—only mild irritation.
She froze, sensing the change.
Then he spoke.
“Angela. I tried to help your family, for your sake. You wanted that too. So why can’t you do this small thing for me?”
His cold tone felt unfamiliar, though it had happened before. He had always been so gentle that the shift was shocking.
“I could still help them in ways that would put them in deeper debt.”
“…!”
It was little more than a threat.
Angela stiffened, and Edward smiled softly.
“Keep the peace. I will continue to do everything for you.”
“Angela was truly a wonderful wife.”
Yet seeing him now, anyone would feel sick.
