Chapter 33
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I’ll take care of cheering up my sister. You can go back now, Sir Adrian.”
“Yes, I leave her in your care, milady.”
Sir Adrian gave me a polite nod before walking away with heavy steps.
He looked so despondent that I couldn’t take my eyes off his retreating figure.
“Will it really be okay to let Sir Adrian leave like that? He seemed so heartbroken…”
“It’s fine. This happens a lot.”
“This happens a lot?”
Lady Belle made a rather maturely worried expression, unfitting for her age.
“My sister and Sir Adrian always fight whenever he comes to visit. This is a secret, but…”
As Lady Belle rose on her toes, I quickly bent my knees to bring my ear to her level.
“They were engaged when they were really young—before my sister fell ill like this.”
But one day, the second daughter suddenly collapsed and became so weak that she couldn’t even get out of bed. The engagement, which had been arranged while she was still in the womb, became ambiguous.
Count Volani, who cherished his only son dearly, subtly suggested that perhaps they should cancel the engagement since there had been no formal ceremony.
Given the situation, the former Duke and the second daughter both agreed.
However, there was one person who opposed it—Sir Adrian.
“Their engagement was only maintained because Sir Adrian insisted on it.”
The second daughter was a noble lady of the ducal house, while Sir Adrian came from a knightly family that served the duke, which made the relationship all the more complicated.
Still believing that his daughter would recover someday, the former Duke and Duchess quietly sided with Adrian.
Since the lords he served took that stance, Count Volani had no choice but to withdraw his opposition.
He believed time would solve everything—either the second daughter would recover, or Adrian would give up.
But neither happened. Time simply passed, leading them to the present.
“My sister got really mad at him earlier, but the truth is… she likes Sir Adrian too. She just feels guilty because she’s stuck in bed all the time.”
Both the second daughter and Sir Adrian were now approaching thirty.
It wouldn’t have been strange if they had already married and had children by now.
Though it made sense for the frail second daughter to stay single, Sir Adrian could have easily married someone else and started a family, had he wanted to.
“Do you think the second lady treats him coldly on purpose, to push him away?”
“Yeah. Every time Sir Adrian leaves, my sister cries. I bet she’s crying right now too.”
Lady Belle hesitated a little before saying,
“Let’s wait a bit before going in.”
“Yes, of course, milady.”
The butler bowed silently at our decision.
Lady Belle and I strolled through the garden of the Lavender Hall before heading to see the second daughter.
“Sis!”
“Belle, it’s been a while.”
Indeed, the second daughter’s eyes were still a bit red, as if she hadn’t completely wiped away her tears.
But something else caught my eye.
“Hehe. You’ve never seen this lady before, have you? This is the sister-in-law that big brother brought home. Come on, you two say hi to each other!”
“Ah… I’ve heard the news. I’m Vanessa. I hope you’ll understand—I’m not well enough to leave the bed.”
“Of course. I’m Iree.”
As I greeted the second daughter, I discreetly glanced at her chest.
‘What is that?’
A faint reddish string started from her left chest—near her heart—and was connected to my collarbone.
‘This… it seems like only I can see it.’
I blinked hard and rubbed my eyes, thinking it must be some kind of illusion, but the red string didn’t disappear.
‘What on earth is this?’
“What’s that basket?”
“Oh, I wasn’t sure if you’d like them, but I baked some cookies as a gift.”
“They’re super tasty! You’ve got to try one, sis!”
Looking at Belle’s bright smile, the second daughter gave a warm smile of her own.
“For our picky Belle to give praise, you must be quite talented.”
“It’s true! These are way better than what our chef makes!”
“That’s too much praise…”
As I chatted with the two ladies, I kept thinking hard.
‘What is that string? Why is it connected to me?’
Wait. Looking more closely… it’s not connected to me.
“Thank you for the gift. But I don’t really have an appetite right now… Would it be alright if I tried them later?”
“Of course. If you don’t like them, feel free to share with others.”
“In that case, give them to me. Especially the jam cookies!”
“Want some now?”
“Huh? Now?”
Maybe she felt guilty about taking a gift meant for her sister. Belle hesitated a moment, her eyes darting.
But in the end, hunger won.
“Hehe, just a few then…”
While the second daughter handed Belle a jam cookie and she munched on it, I quietly turned away and pulled out the spirit stone necklace hidden beneath my clothes.
‘As I thought—it’s connected to this.’
Why is this spirit stone linked to the second daughter? And what is that string?
‘If only the plum tree spirit could talk, I’d go ask it…’
The plum tree spirit…
‘Wait, hold on.’
The nearly-dead plum tree had suddenly revived after I extracted this spirit stone.
Could it be that the spirit stone had absorbed the tree’s life force?
If that kind of stone is now connected to the frail second daughter…
‘Could this stone be the reason she’s sick?’
I stared at the string connecting the second daughter to the spirit stone.
‘If I could just cut this string… maybe she’d get better?’
With that in mind, I pinched the air with my index and middle fingers and mimed cutting the thread between her and the spirit stone.
To my surprise, the thread really disappeared.
‘What the—?’
The severed red thread scattered instantly into light and vanished.
For a moment I thought I might really be seeing things.
“Hehe, this is delicious!”
“Is it really that good?”
“Yep!”
The second daughter, watching Belle with a wide grin, murmured in wonder and looked down at the cookie basket.
“…Maybe it’s because you’re enjoying them so much, but now I kind of want to try one too.”
“Really? Have one! They’re amazing!”
“Shall I, then…”
The second daughter picked out the smallest cookie in the basket and took a bite.
Chew, chew—her lips moved a few times.
“Oh my… It’s really delicious.”
“Right? Didn’t I tell—huh?”
Belle stared at her sister with wide eyes. The butler and nurse of Lavender Hall did the same.
Just moments ago, she said she didn’t have the appetite.
Now, the second daughter grabbed multiple cookies in one hand and began devouring them, as if she were being chased.
“Lady Vanessa, please slow down. You’ll upset your stomach. Sip some tea as you eat.”
“Oh, we also brought some orange juice.”
“Orange juice? That sounds amazing! Hurry, give it to me!”
Right before our eyes, the second daughter ate every last cookie in the basket.
Unbelievably, it was the first time she’d eaten so well since she fell ill.
And it wouldn’t be the last.
Since that day, baking cookies every morning became part of my daily routine.
“Thank you again today, Lady-to-be.”
“It’s nothing. How is the second lady doing?”
“She’s doing much better. Lately, she’s been eating well, gained a little weight, and even went for a short walk.”
“Really? She went all the way to the garden?”
“Yes. According to the family doctor, she’s recovering rapidly, day by day.”
The butler of Lavender Hall bowed deeply before me. Then, in a slightly choked voice, he said,
“Lady Vanessa’s recovery is all thanks to you, future Duchess. We are truly grateful.”
