Chapter 56
After Count Green left, we sat side by side in the room.
Sophie muttered in disbelief, “Is he actually insane…?”
I was also speechless for a while, stunned by the last words he had spat at his own daughter.
Adella simply sat in silence without saying anything.
That was when someone knocked on our door. When I opened it, two familiar men were standing outside.
It was Nick and Adolf, who looked as though they had rushed over straight after the debutante ball had ended.
“Mother!”
“Kasia.”
The two immediately began speaking without hesitation.
“As soon as the debutante ended, I asked Father for permission and ran here. Are you all right?”
“I came because I was worried about you and Lady Green. Are you both unharmed?”
“…We’re fine.”
Though another problem had arisen.
I turned and looked at Adella. Since this all related to her wounds, I wanted her permission first.
Adella looked startled at the sight of Nick and Adolf through the doorway.
They were familiar to us, but not to Adella—especially not Adolf.
His Highness the Prince…?
She seemed to murmur something like that, but soon said it was all right to let them in.
Nick and Adolf stepped inside. When they saw the disordered state of the house, they looked even more shocked.
“Kasia, why is the house like this? What happened here?”
“…Sigh.”
I let out a long sigh. The memory of Count Green’s outrageous behavior resurfaced.
“Adella, can I tell them what happened just now?”
It wasn’t a bad idea to tell Nick and Adolf. We couldn’t bring it up officially, but they could help in some way.
Adella looked at them, then nodded.
“Count Green was just here.”
I began explaining.
Adolf and Nick learned about the atrocities Count Green had committed and the things he had been doing within the count’s household.
By the time I finished talking, Sophie and Adella had calmed down enough to think clearly.
“So… what should we do now?”
Nick and Adolf were furious after hearing Adella’s story.
They didn’t show it as openly as Sophie, but I could feel their anger.
“Do you really think Count Green will banish Adella from the family?”
“If it’s the father I know, he probably will.”
Adella answered before I could. She continued,
“He’s merciless toward anything that he believes is ‘not his.’ And I’ve already done two things he considers unforgivable.”
She continued,
“Father saw all the possible outcomes and decided to cut me off. The people I associate with could bring harm to the family. He must have calculated the effort it would take to stop it—or to control me.”
“…”
“If it’s the father I know, that’s exactly what he’d do.”
She let out a bitter laugh.
“It’s miserable, but… honestly, it’s better this way. That family was suffocating.”
“Um, I’m sorry to interrupt, but I want to ask something.”
Nick cautiously turned to Adella.
“Angela… what will happen to her?”
Adella looked at him. Bitterness and complexity filled her eyes. Nick continued,
“After Angela graduated from the academy, she started avoiding me. Is that related to what you just told us?”
“…Yes.”
Adella nodded. Her expression made us all look at her intently.
“The problem is Angela.”
“…”
“That’s why, even though being cast out by Father is a relief in some ways, part of me feels uneasy.”
Adella gave a faint, bitter smile, then spoke with a resolute look.
“Recently, there’s been a secret discussion about a marriage between the Crown Prince and Angela.”
“…!”
All our eyes widened.
Nick in his way, Adolf in his, and I in mine—
It was shocking news for all of us.
“His Highness really wants to marry Angela?”
Nick asked in disbelief. Adella nodded.
“Angela feels guilty toward you as well.”
“…”
“But after the marriage discussion began, Father’s surveillance tightened. She can’t let him find out she’s close to you. That’s why she’s been avoiding you.”
So that was why Angela had been avoiding Nick.
The reason was far bigger than we expected.
A heavy silence fell.
I finally spoke.
“Why would His Highness want to marry Angela?”
“It would help him secure the throne.”
Adolf, silent until now, finally spoke.
“Eldest Brother is probably desperate… because I returned, when everyone thought I never would.”
He smiled wryly.
“Marriage would give him better stability—politically, socially, reputationally. Considering the family and her fame, Angela is a good match.”
“…I see.”
Adolf nodded with a bitter smile. Nick turned to Adella.
“Is there any way to contact Angela?”
“Impossible. Father is watching her constantly.”
Then Adella suddenly looked like she remembered something.
“There is… one way.”
She showed us something on the back of her neck—a necklace.
Her late mother’s keepsake.
“This is my mother’s keepsake. Angela has a matching ring. Those two items can communicate with each other. Father and the servants don’t know.”
“It’s enchanted, then?”
Adolf asked.
Adella nodded.
“Yes. It’s how I managed to visit the riding grounds without getting caught. Angela helped me because she saw how suffocated I was. But now…”
Adella closed her eyes and focused.
The necklace glowed faintly, then flickered.
“No good. There must be too many people around her for her to receive it.”
She stopped the attempt.
“I see…” Nick murmured.
Adella continued,
“Angela is smarter and shrewder than she looks. I fled by falling out of Father’s favor—but Angela chose to become exactly the kind of daughter he wants. When she gets a chance—when things quiet down—she’ll contact me.”
She reassured Nick not to worry too much.
Nick nodded, his expression easing a little.
Adolf spoke next.
“We’ll need to think carefully about how to handle this moving forward.”
He glanced at the clock.
“It’s late. Let’s adjourn for today.”
A wry smile crossed his face.
I looked at him.
It was the first time I had ever seen Adolf smile so bitterly.
I had a dream.
The lavish imperial palace where the debutante ball was held.
Countless people were staring at me.
The publicly announced divorce news.
The shocked stares in the dream rushed toward me.
‘It’s her, it’s her!’
‘That’s Duchess Kasia Hydrian!’
“If you were Hydrian, it’d be a problem for me to lay a hand on you… but if it’s Bennet, that’s different.”
And Count Green—
his hand raised to strike me.
I opened my eyes.
All the images vanished.
My expression was calm.
I got up, sat for a moment, then stepped outside to drink some water.
When I thought about it, I was nothing more than passing gossip to most people.
I knew that—but it didn’t mean I wasn’t afraid.
That was why I tried not to be seen.
Yet somehow, I’d ended up as the debutante’s unwanted guest.
What should I do now?
Everyone now knew I was in the capital. Ken must have recognized me too.
I took a sip of water and sat on the sofa, letting out a quiet laugh.
…What should I do?
Just draw, as usual.
I was flustered that my identity had been revealed sooner than expected, but that was all.
Eventually, my whereabouts would’ve come out anyway.
It didn’t matter.
I drank my water with a steady heart.
At that moment, a disheveled Adella walked out of Sophie’s room.
Ah, right—Adella had stayed here last night.
She had fallen asleep with Sophie.
“Adella, you’re awake.”
“…Yes.”
Yawning, she flinched when she saw me already up.
I said,
“If you want water, there’s a filled pitcher in the kitchen.”
“Oh… thank you.”
Adella went to the kitchen and poured herself a glass.
I watched her fondly.
She hesitated, then came over and sat beside me.
“Thank you, My Lady,” Adella said.
“Thanks to your help, I was able to sleep comfortably. And… thank you again for yesterday.”
“It was nothing,” I smiled.
“Like I said, I only helped you the way anyone should. Even if I hadn’t stepped in, someone else would have. Besides, Count Green did what he did because of me—so it was right that I stepped in.”
“Still…”
Adella gave a faint, bitter smile, thinking back to yesterday.
“There are so many people in this world who aren’t sensible… like the Green family.”
