TYSK 30

Chapter 30

“Mm. I’m taking Kiki with me today too. Ah, she gets aggressive if she’s hungry, so put some jerky in as well.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Today was the day Lilia had promised to meet Melissa.

Whatever method Marit had used, she had managed to get an outing permit from Juan this time.

Since it was Melissa’s day off, they decided to visit her house directly.

In fact, Lilia had purposely chosen to meet outside the duke’s castle. There were too many watching eyes inside. If possible, it was better to gather information quietly.

Clop, clop.

While dozing off in the soft carriage, they soon arrived at Melissa’s house.

Shaa—

From a small cottage covered with rose vines, morning glories, and colorful flowers, Melissa appeared, holding a watering can and smiling brightly.

“Miss Lilia, Yupi! I’ve been waiting.”

“Your house is so pretty.”

Lilia looked around the flower garden in admiration.

“Maybe because you’re coming today, Miss Lilia. The flowers look especially lively. Shall we go inside?”

Scratching the bridge of her nose shyly, Melissa opened the arched green door.

The three of them sat at a cozy table.

Pour.

Reddish tea filled the old teacups.

“It’s raspberry black tea.”

“Wow, it smells so nice.”

Lilia didn’t really know much about tea, but since it was offered, she took a small sip.

At that moment, they heard Kiki scratching loudly inside the basket.

“Oh, it’s a small animal friend I’m raising… May I feed her for a moment?”

“Of course. What does she eat?”

“She’s carnivorous, so she eats meat and insects… but she likes jerky the most, so I brought some.”

After feeding Kiki the jerky, Lilia gently stroked her back.

Energized, the little creature began sniffing and exploring every corner of Melissa’s house.

‘Is she trying to find holy power?’

Smiling, Lilia decided to distract Melissa so Kiki could move around freely.

“Melissa, was there anyone you were close to at the Temple of Soriel?”

“……”

‘Did I ask the wrong question?’

Melissa, who was always cheerful, suddenly looked sad and sorrowful.

“…Ah, if it’s hard to talk about, you don’t have to answer.”

Lilia also looked downcast and placed her small maple-leaf-like hand over Melissa’s.

“No.”

Seeing that, Melissa tightly grabbed the hem of her clothes, barely holding back her rising emotions.

Then she slowly opened her dry lips.

“Yes, there was someone very close and precious to me. A child more precious than my own life.”

In a calm voice, Melissa began telling the story of her tragic life.

To summarize her long story—

Melissa had been the most promising saintess in the temple, but she fell in love with a nobleman who visited.

They met at a charity event held by the temple and fell in love at first sight. The man pursued her endlessly, and Melissa eventually opened her heart. They loved each other passionately, as if it were fate.

About a year later, she became pregnant with his child.

When she told him the news, he said—

“My life’s happiest news. Thank you, Mel. I will return to my family and prepare for our marriage. After that, I’ll come back to propose again. Just wait a few days. I promise I’ll make you happy.”

She gave up her life as a saintess and firmly believed in her lover’s promise.

But the man—the child’s father—never returned.

Tormented by betrayal, and when her pregnancy could no longer be hidden, Melissa decided to run away.

But unfortunately, the day before, another saintess discovered her condition. Melissa overheard the Great Saintess planning to send the baby to an orphanage once it was born.

Holding the holy relic that contained all of her divine power, Melissa prayed for the child in her womb.

“Dear God, please protect my baby. I don’t care what happens to me… just please, let the baby be safe.”

As a result, Melissa’s holy relic shattered and disappeared, but the baby was born with tremendous divine power.

The Great Saintess expelled Melissa from the temple, whose divine power had weakened, and took away her precious child.

Afterward, Melissa—who had once used her holy power to tend the temple gardens—worked at a flower shop in the capital. Later, through Head Maid Anna’s recommendation, she began working at the duke’s castle.

“It must have been a boring story for you, Miss. Everyone calls me a foolish woman who was deceived and betrayed by a man.”

Melissa smiled bitterly.

Lilia shook her head strongly.

“That’s not true. You’re brave and wonderful for facing your feelings honestly. Falling in love, protecting your baby—both of those things. I’m sure your baby thinks so too.”

For a moment, Lilia’s clear face overlapped with the image of her own daughter in Melissa’s mind.

A warm, soft feeling filled her chest.

No one had ever said such words to her before.

They only blamed her as a foolish woman who had tarnished the purity of a saintess by being deceived by a man.

Yet this small child was healing her so naturally.

“…Kind Miss, thank you.”

When Melissa’s eyes reddened, Lilia rummaged through her lunch basket.

Then she offered a golden, leaf-shaped pastry.

“Would you like to try this? It’s a thousand-layer pie under a magic spell.”

It was a gift she had received from the castle’s head chef after sending three letters of appreciation for the best dessert she had tasted.

It was truly baked in a thousand layers, and the crispy texture was excellent.

“This is really delicious.”

Since Melissa seemed to feel a little better, it was time to move to the main topic.

Carefully, Lilia asked,

“Melissa, may I ask your baby’s name?”

“…Tiana. If it was a daughter, he said he wanted to name her that.”

“!”

As expected, Melissa’s daughter was Tiana.

Then something was strange.

In the original story, Marquis Biche, who visited the temple and adopted Tiana, treasured her dearly.

Later, when he learned that Tiana was his biological daughter, there was a scene where he was heartbroken.

That meant Marquis Biche would never abandon a woman carrying his child.

‘Was there some unavoidable reason he couldn’t keep his promise?’

After reaching that conclusion, Lilia thought she needed to find out Marquis Biche’s current situation.

There were many limits to a six-year-old gathering information on her own.

‘It would be perfect if I had at least one informant to help me.’

Blinking slowly, Lilia called her.

“Melissa.”

“Yes, Miss.”

“May I come here again next time?”

“Of course. But you can meet me at the duke’s castle too.”

Looking around quietly, Lilia smiled brightly.

“I like Melissa’s house better. It smells warm and cozy.”

“I’m happier meeting you here too. It reminds me of my daughter.”

“You’ll definitely meet Tiana again someday.”

“That sounds like a dream. All right. I’ll definitely bring her back.”

Seeing Melissa clench her fist with determination, Lilia felt truly envious of Tiana for having her as a mother.

“I’ll help too. You’re really a good mother, Melissa!”

“Thank you.”

Melissa looked at Lilia with pity.

She must have heard from the other maids that Lilia didn’t have a mother.

Maybe because she had no memories of her childhood.

In truth, Lilia did not miss her mother.

She was only curious why she had left, and what kind of person she was.

“They say my mother left me behind. I don’t know the reason. But they also say everyone has unavoidable circumstances.”

My mother did.

And Marquis Biche did as well.