TYWML 37

chapter “37. The Marquess of Lorraine”:

Rienna hurriedly changed her clothes and headed to the living room. She looked at the door connecting to the next room, then stepped out into the hallway.

After some hesitation, she knocked on Kassel’s door. He came out shortly after.

As she expected, he was already dressed to go out, wearing a dress shirt instead of loungewear.

Rienna glanced at the sleeves of his shirt, which weren’t even buttoned at the cuffs, and asked,

“Are you getting ready to go to the Marquess of Lorraine’s residence?”

Kassel, who had seemed puzzled by her visit, finally nodded as if he understood.

“That’s correct.”

“I’ll go with you. If you wait just a moment, I’ll be ready quickly.”

“I can go alone.”

“No, I’ll go too. If they’re your nephews, then they’re going to be my nephews as well.”

Kassel hesitated briefly. Sensing his reluctance, Rienna asked,

“By the way… is your nephew’s name Noah?”

Kassel’s eyes wavered slightly.

“How did you know?”

This time, Rienna was the one surprised.

‘So the nephew’s name really is Noah?’

That meant the man in her dream was truly Kassel.

Up until now, she’d been about 80% certain—now she was 100% sure.

But how could she have dreamed such a vivid name, one she had never even heard before?

And the fact that the child died from abuse—what was that about?

A sense of foreboding crept in. Rienna felt a strong sense of duty—she had to go and check on this child named Noah.

“I think I overheard it somewhere in the mansion. Either way, I really want to go with you. Is that alright?”

It wasn’t “Is it alright?” but “It is alright, right?” A kind of declaration.

Sensing her resolute tone, Kassel finally extended his hand toward her.

“Very well. Let’s go together.”

With Amy’s help, Rienna quickly got ready. But at Kassel’s suggestion to eat breakfast first, they headed to the dining room.

Kassel sipped tea and read the newspaper instead of eating. Rienna ate lightly and stood up.

“Let’s go now.”

Kassel folded the newspaper and slightly furrowed his brow.

“Are you sure you’re finished? You still have a lot left.”

“I’m not very hungry today. I usually don’t eat much in the morning anyway.”

Though Kassel still looked displeased, he rose without protest.

The carriage carrying the two headed swiftly toward the Marquess of Lorraine’s residence.

“What brings you here unannounced?”

As soon as they arrived and stepped out of the carriage, a middle-aged man rushed out to greet them.

Dressed in a neat suit, he appeared to be the head butler—but he didn’t seem particularly pleased by their visit.

In fact, he seemed quite nervous. Rienna noticed him rubbing his gloved hands together like a fly.

“I came to see my nephews. Is there a problem with that?”

“If that were the case, it would have been better if you had notified us in advance. We could have prepared properly to receive guests.”

“No need to think of us as guests. The Winklers and the Lorraines are family. Just think of it as a family visit.”

“How could we possibly treat the Winkler family so casually? In any case, the young lady beside you is…?”

As the man turned his gaze to Rienna, Kassel answered simply,

“She’s Lady Dyke, my fiancée. I thought it was time to introduce her to my nephews, so she came along.”

“I see.”

Even after the explanation, the man made no move to lead them inside.

Of course, showing up unannounced was a breach of etiquette, but as Kassel had said, it wasn’t inappropriate for family.

Eventually, Kassel, tired of waiting, spoke up.

“I’m fine, but as you can see, my fiancée isn’t very strong. It’s not proper to keep a lady standing outside for so long.”

The man glanced back at the mansion and sighed lightly.

“I’ll guide you inside, then.”

They were led to the drawing room. Soon, two maids arrived with refreshments and began to serve tea, but even they looked somewhat uncomfortable.

One maid approached to pour tea into their cups, but Kassel raised his hand to stop her.

“I’ll do it. You may leave.”

The two maids glanced at each other, then exited.

“I can do it.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

Rienna murmured quietly as she watched Kassel pick up the teapot.

“It seems there hasn’t been much interaction with the Lorraine family.”

Though it was more of a mutter to herself, Kassel responded immediately.

“Very little. My sister-in-law and the Lorraines preferred it that way.”

“…Why?”

Kassel’s hand paused for a moment as he poured tea into her cup.

“I can’t claim to know her feelings, but it seems staying in contact with the Winkler family was burdensome for her.”

His tone was unusually sharp.

Rienna cradled the teacup in both hands and tried to understand the Marchioness of Lorraine’s feelings.

“I think I would’ve felt the same.”

“…?”

Kassel, pouring tea into his own cup, looked at her curiously.

“I mean, not for any special reason. Just that staying in contact with the Winklers probably reminded her too much of her late husband.”

“Now that you say it, that makes sense.”

“It’s just my personal opinion.”

Just as Rienna trailed off and was about to offer words of comfort, the door burst open with a bang—and a platinum-blonde woman stormed in.

“Why have you come again? What is it this time—are you here to torment me some more?”

Once known as Louisa Winkler, she had now returned to being Louisa Lorraine.

Kassel stood and approached her.

“Have you been well, sister-in-law?”

“Don’t call me that! I’ve been cast out of that family for years!”

“Cast out? What do you mean?”

“They sent me away to the Lorraine estate under the pretext of needing rest right after Asher’s funeral—what else would you call that but being cast out?”

The details weren’t clear, but it was obvious that misunderstandings had piled up between Louisa Lorraine and the Winkler family.

Should she intervene or not? After a moment of hesitation, Rienna rose and walked to Kassel’s side.

As Louisa approached, a strong stench of alcohol hit them. It was potent enough to make one dizzy just from the smell.

Not only that—Louisa looked haggard.

The skin under her eyes was sunken, her cheeks were gaunt, and her wrists protruded beneath her sleeves, bones stark against her thin skin.

She appeared to be suffering from alcoholism.

Rienna involuntarily furrowed her brows at the stench, and the Marchioness caught it immediately.

“What? Do I look like a worm to you, future Duchess? I don’t know what family you’re from, but it must be a charmed life, huh? While I’m rotting away like this!”

“That’s not what I meant…”

“Sister-in-law.”

Kassel stepped between her and Rienna.

“You’re being a bit harsh.”

“Harsh?”

Louisa jabbed Kassel’s shoulder with her index finger.

“Did I say anything untrue? I was about her age when I married Asher. Back then, I was innocent and bright too. Do you remember what the Winklers did to me?”

“Father only wanted you to have a fresh start…”

“Oh? And what about me? I never got that chance! Because of those damned kids holding me back!”

Kassel clenched his teeth and asked,

“We can talk about this later. Where are Chloe and Noah?”

“You never once checked on them after Asher died, and now you want to do what?”

“That was at your request, if I remember correctly. Was I wrong?”

“I never said—!”

Louisa lunged at Kassel, but he caught her wrist.

He didn’t grip her hard, but Louisa, weakened by alcohol, couldn’t resist him.

“We’re not here to cause a scene.”

“If that’s true, you wouldn’t have come at all!”

“We only want to check on how Noah and Chloe are doing. Once we do, we’ll leave.”

Louisa seized on his words.

“‘Check on how they’re doing?’ You make it sound like they aren’t doing well! Are you saying I’m starving my children?”

“You know I didn’t mean that.”

“Then why show up unannounced and stir everything up? And why bring her? To flaunt your new Duchess in front of me, because I lost that title?”

“I didn’t…”

Rienna couldn’t bear to stay silent any longer and opened her mouth to speak.

But Kassel stopped her.

“Step back.”

Worried that Kassel might get in trouble, Rienna quietly stepped back.

While the confrontation between Kassel and Louisa continued, the door burst open again—and a middle-aged man entered, shouting:

“Louisa! What in the world is going on here?!”