Chapter 012: The Husband’s Women
“Perhaps he was deeply hurt by the Countess’s discrimination……”
Even so, Roanne’s expression remained as impassive as ever. Feeling embarrassed, Leah shut her mouth.
“So what. What about it?”
Roanne said.
“Does everyone live like that just because they were heartbroken or discriminated against by their mother? He could just become independent or meet a new woman, tsk… with that face of his.”
Leah stood there with her mouth agape, utterly dumbfounded. She had never seen anyone evaluate Alexis in such a way. Truly, Roanne—the noble lady she served—was beyond special; she was peculiar.
However, incidents kept occurring that made Leah’s defense of Alexis in front of Roanne seem futile.
“Hey, are you that man’s wife?”
Special guests had found their way to the East Annex. At a glance, the visitor was no ordinary woman; she was dressed in a flashy and extravagant manner. Judging by her conduct, she didn’t seem to be the daughter of a noble house. If one had to guess, she looked closer to the world of entertainment and pleasure.
The necklace and earrings glittering under the light were dazzling. Roanne clicked her tongue and looked at the jewels with admiration.
“To whom are you referring?”
“Who else but Lord Alexis!”
The woman shouted irritably.
“Is there another wife of Lord Alexis besides you?”
“Ah…….”
Roanne let out a blank sound.
“…There might be another.”
“What are you talking about?”
“No, well, putting that aside.”
Roanne waved her hand dismissively.
“Why are you here?”
“Why else! I came to warn you!”
The woman acted truly arrogant. Roanne clicked her tongue.
“I was acquainted with Lord Alexis long before he married you! Just because you suddenly appeared doesn’t mean I have the slightest intention of giving him up! Do you understand?”
Roanne nodded.
‘I guess she got dumped.’
Leah, unable to watch from the sidelines any longer, tried to get angry. Roanne blocked Leah with one hand. Then she nodded once more toward the woman.
“Yes, yes. Go right ahead.”
At that, the woman’s complexion changed instantly.
“Wha-What?”
“I said, go right ahead.”
Roanne emphasized it once more. Perhaps not having expected this reaction, the woman began to feel flustered.
“You… did you clearly understand what I just said?”
“Yes, yes. I understood it all.”
Roanne said.
“Alexis, the man designated as my husband—you’re saying that human belongs to you. Go ahead. Take him.”
At those words, Leah turned pale and cried out.
“Lady Roanne!”
The woman’s reaction was no different.
“Wha… What kind of person is this……”
“No, I mean, you barged in here with such momentum saying you’d take my husband, but a mere husband? I can give him to you. I don’t have much lingering attachment to that man anyway.”
His looks are certainly handsome, though. But Roanne shook her head inwardly. What’s the use of being devastatingly handsome?
By all means, her ideal type was a diligent and stable man.
“You……!”
The woman, who was trembling and glaring at Roanne, soon let out a scoff. She crossed her arms arrogantly and sneered at Roanne.
“Because you’re his wife, I thought you were someone impressive. But then again, seeing as you’re staying in this shabby annex, it’s only a matter of time before the Count’s house casts you out.”
At those words, a vein throbbed on Leah’s forehead.
“What are you saying, you rude woman!”
However, Roanne’s expression didn’t change at all. Her face looked completely unaffected by the woman’s words. The more she acted that way, the more the woman bit her lip.
‘What is with this woman? Does she have no pride?’
If it were her, even if it were a husband in name only, she wouldn’t be able to stand it if some woman suddenly appeared and caused such a scene. But Roanne did not. She was thinking about tonight’s dinner menu.
‘If I make a thin dough crust, spread tomato sauce on it, and put bacon on top…….’
This world doesn’t have complex cooking tools. Preparing food by hand always took a fair amount of time and energy. She didn’t want to waste even a bit of that energy on that woman.
‘Should I roll it up and eat it like a taco, or bake it like a pizza?’
This morning, the butler had sent her fresh bacon, sausages, and various spices through a maid. There were also herbs she had grown herself, dried and turned into powder.
Thinking about the dinner menu, Roanne eventually couldn’t endure the hunger and snapped her head up. Then she faced the woman.
The flinching woman put on an even more spiteful expression. After all, no matter what anyone said, the woman in front of her was the legal wife of the Alexis she adored. She actually knew that she was the one who had crossed the line.
“Wha… What… Just because you look at me with those eyes doesn’t mean I……”
“Look here, take my husband as you see fit and please go back now. It’ll be dark soon since it’s almost evening.”
“What?”
“Don’t struggle on the way back; go back quickly and have your dinner. I’m starving to death, too.”
Having finished everything she had to say, Roanne turned around.
“Leah, we have that flour dough we made, right?”
Startled by the sudden change of topic, Leah nodded with a bewildered face.
“Yes, yes… we have the one I made this morning and covered with a cotton cloth.”
It should be aged just right. I should prepare dinner right away. Roanne nodded, her mouth watering.
“Let’s go in quickly and prepare dinner. I’m starving.”
“No, Lady Roanne, even after you ate that much for lunch……”
“Since when is one bowl of noodles a meal!”
“But you had a double serving of those noodles……”
“Noodles digest quickly!”
The woman could only watch with a stunned face as Roanne entered the annex with Leah. Having said her piece, Roanne turned away from the woman without any lingering attachment and entered the annex.
Leah, who was following her in, suddenly whipped her head around. She glared at the woman with terrifying eyes. It was a silent attack, warning that she wouldn’t stay still if she touched her mistress any further.
Only after they entered the annex did the woman breathe a sigh of relief. She had thought she could have a hair-pulling fight or see the noble lady trembling in hurt, but it was far too unexpected.
‘She seems like a strange woman.’
That must be why she was kicked out to the annex as soon as she got married and was neglected by her husband. Feeling relieved by that thought, the woman soon turned away without hesitation and left the annex.
* * *
Things like this happened occasionally after that. Women of flashy and beautiful appearance came to check on Roanne, Alexis’s wife, and often picked fights.
However, every time, seeing Roanne’s indifferent reaction, they had to return empty-handed without any results. While she knew well that her husband was famous for being a debauchee, at this point, Roanne couldn’t help but be suspicious.
‘Is he actually meeting women or not?’
It was truly bizarre. If there really was a woman with whom he had a deep relationship, there was no need for her to come to Roanne and give such a warning. She could just talk to Alexis, the person involved.
Moreover, the reactions of the women were consistently as if they had been dumped hard.
‘Are the women he dated coming, or are the women he dumped coming?’
She couldn’t tell at all. But Roanne didn’t care at all. Whether Alexis met women or men outside, the only important thing to her was…….
‘Money! I have to save money.’
Even if the treatment from the Count’s house had improved a bit, she couldn’t rely on this forever. Furthermore, even if it wasn’t right now, if Alexis were to develop a woman he truly loved outside, she couldn’t predict how harshly he would treat her. Judging by his attitude on the wedding night, it would surely be cruel and ruthless.
Roanne was racking her brain as she calculated the money she had saved so far. She felt she had to grow it much more to be able to rent a house to stay in alone after leaving this Count’s house.
It was then.
“Madam, are you there?”
The butler had come to visit. Roanne hurriedly hid her ledger and frowned.
‘That guy!’
Irritation spread across her eyes unknowingly.
‘He visits far too often lately!’
That was right. Lately, the butler visited the East Annex frequently. At first, she had welcomed him because he came with abundant food ingredients, but lately, he was a real nuisance.
‘His ulterior motive is obvious, though…….’
Ugh, Roanne, having perfectly hidden her ledger, stood up from the table. She was about to open the door and go out when she suddenly heard a clamoring sound outside. It was Leah and the butler.
“No, Mr. Butler. This is really too much.”
“Ahem, what do you mean by that?”
“This isn’t some restaurant. Isn’t it too much for you to keep coming whenever it’s mealtime?”
That was right. The butler was at the level of being addicted to eating here lately.
