Chapter 142

I heard from the butler that a group of noble ladies came to visit me as a courtesy.

‘It’s a little annoying.’

When nobles who had been down in the estate came up to the capital, it was a social etiquette to visit and inquire about their well-being or exchange pleasantries, and it seemed they came under the pretext. I had the butler inform them that I was still eating, and then I leisurely finished my dessert and tea before getting up.

I was planning to quickly exchange greetings and send them off, then go horseback riding with the cats.

As I left the dining room, the noblewomen weren’t waiting for me in the drawing room but were gathered in the hall on the first floor, presumably touring the mansion.

“Ah, Duchess of Blois!”

The ladies spotted me and waved cheerfully, wearing the most friendly smiles on their faces.

‘What is this?’

As someone who tended to be wary of strangers, I hesitated the moment I saw them calling me so warmly with big smiles. Adorned with fancy feathered hats, brooches, and flashy fans, they looked like a group of peacocks with splendid tail feathers. They approached me and greeted me ostentatiously.

“Oh my~ Duchess, it’s been a really long time, hasn’t it?”

“I saw you at the imperial palace yesterday, but I was disappointed we didn’t get a chance to talk.”

“We stopped by to see how you have been. Is everything alright?”

I felt it intuitively.

‘…They have some other motive.’

At that moment, I heard the children’s voices scuffling on the stairs. The two of them, who had gone up to change, were coming down the stairs dressed in their riding clothes. Coco jumped down first, with Sasha chasing closely behind.

“Stop right there!”

“Would you stop if you were me?”

“You’re in very big trouble!”

I quickly signaled to the butler with my eyes.

‘Take them somewhere out of sight quickly.’

The butler understood and caught Coco in mid-air as he descended the six steps almost as if he were flying. If he had fallen, it was at an angle where he would have collided with the ladies. As the servant beside me reached out to catch Sasha, who was following him, the much more agile Sasha used the servant’s shoulder to somersault through the air and landed perfectly in front of me.

“Tada!”

Sasha looked up at me with a proud gesture as if to ask how good she was, then suddenly noticed the ladies standing beside me and hesitated.

“Huh…?”

Sasha, her mouth open wide enough to show her fangs before pointing at one of the noblewomen.

“Sienna?”

The woman called Sienna then opened her eyes wide in surprise.

“Aren’t you Pretty?”

She knew Sasha’s old name.

I glanced back and forth between Sienna and Sasha with an incredulous feeling.

‘…Is she the one who abandoned Sasha?’

Sasha, with a complicated expression, stared intently at Sienna.

“Sienna…”

Sienna, smiling broadly as if she was amazed, pointed at Sasha and chattered excitedly.

“Oh, this is the kid I threw away! How is she here? I can’t believe it!”

“….!”

I silently stared at Sienna as she laughed.

For a moment, I couldn’t say anything. Was this what it felt like to have blood rushing backwards? My chest heated up, and my hands curled into fists on their own. I couldn’t believe what I had just seen and heard.

‘Laughing?’

She was laughing?

I thought that if the person who abandoned Sasha ever saw her again, they would at least not react like that. Without any sense of guilt, she laughed so confidently and said things like, ‘This is the kid I abandoned,’ right in front of her?

Sienna snickered, not even noticing the change in my expression.

“Pretty, you’ve grown a lot since I last saw you. You’re growing up so quickly. You were cute when you were little, but now you’re… Well, anyway, it looks like you’re doing well with your new owner?”

I thought Sasha would be angry. I expected her to pour out her resentment and fury. Shouldn’t that be the case? But at this moment, Sasha, who was usually so bold and belligerent, was now in tears with a face full of longing rather than resentment or anger.

Hearing Sasha’s words felt like a crushing blow to me.

“Sienna, didn’t you miss me? I really missed you…”

It felt like I had been hit on the head.

Instead of getting angry and asking why she threw her away, she said she missed her.

I recalled the night Sasha, who had been abandoned, first met me—how she had hidden in my bed because she was lonely sleeping alone.

“I missed you…don’t go… I’m scared…”

It seemed like just yesterday that I had patted her all night, comforting her as she muttered in her sleep and couldn’t rest peacefully.

She had learned to hunt on her own while trembling with fear and fighting loneliness after being abandoned. When I thought about how harsh and miserable her life on the streets must have been, I felt so much resentment and anger toward that woman who abandoned her. Yet Sasha herself didn’t hold any resentment toward her.

“I was wondering how you were doing. Has the baby grown up a lot? I wasn’t trying to attack the baby back then. I swear! I just thought they were so cute and wanted to touch them a little…”

Sasha explained to Sienna as if she had committed some grave mistake. However, Sienna tilted her head and looked puzzled.

“Did something like that happen? I don’t remember it.”

“Really? Aren’t you angry because I did something wrong? I was worried that the baby might have gotten hurt by my claws.”

With a relieved expression, Sasha took a step closer to her, though Sienna stepped back with a slightly displeased look.

“Oh, could you not come so close? You’re getting my clothes dirty.”

“….!”

Sasha’s expression twisted in shock. On the other hand, Sienna looked at me and clapped her hands together as if she didn’t care about Sasha.

“How can there be such coincidences? It’s fate, fate! The meeting between the former owner and the new owner! It’s so nice to meet you, Duchess.”

“Ha.”

As I grabbed the back of my neck in disbelief, Sienna tilted her head.

“Oh my, Duchess, what’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”

Saying so, she reached out a hand toward me.

I quickly pulled away from her hand and walked over to snatch the fan from another noblewoman. Then, I swatted Sienna’s outstretched hand with the fan.

Smack!

“Aaayh! What are you doing?”

“How dare you reach out with your dirty hands?”

The next moment, I slapped her shoulders and arms here and there.

“Fate? You’re talking about fate without a shred of conscience?”

“Aack! What’s wrong with you? Oh my! Aayh! Ah! You must be crazy! Ack!”

“Oh, yeah, I’m crazy. I’m the crazy woman here. Did you come all the way here without knowing that and bravely barked such trashy nonsense? My ears are ringing. What are you going to do about it? How are you going to compensate for my discomfort?”

The noble ladies, who must have experienced such a situation for the first time in their lives, glanced at each other with wide eyes and tried to calm me down, unsure of what to do.

“Du, Duchess! I don’t know why you’re suddenly so upset, but please calm down.”

“That’s right. S-Speak with words instead!”

As I ignored them and swung the fan as if wielding a sword and struck Sienna with a vicious blow, she stumbled backward and was pushed all the way out to the front door.

“What is there to say to someone who is worse than an animal? Only those who can understand words should be spoken to.”

“Aaaak! Help me! Aack! Help! Why are you like this?!”

I slammed the heavy front door shut right in front of her face.

“Aaah! There’s such a crazy woman! Mom…!”

Outside, the sound of Sienna crying and cursing me was heard.

“Ha.”

I let out a sharp breath of anger and threw the broken, ragged fan onto the floor before dusting off my hands.

“I borrowed it well. I’ll repay you with something better later.”

At my words, everyone stared at me blankly as I straightened my disheveled clothes. The next moment, I opened my mouth gently to Coco.

“Coco, why don’t you go upstairs with Sasha for a while? Let’s postpone the horseback riding for a bit.”

Coco nodded so quickly that it was like a gust of wind.

“Yes, Madam!”

Then, he picked up Sasha, who was now a little taller than him, and waddled up the stairs while carrying her. Sasha, who was dazed with tears welling up in her eyes, didn’t resist and was quietly carried away by him.

One of the remaining ladies came to her senses and protested to me.

“I-I don’t understand what that inappropriate behavior was just now, Duchess. Hitting someone like that!”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. What I hit wasn’t a person but a subhuman creature wearing a human mask.”

“Duchess!”

I had nothing more to say. After all, how much lower could Rowaine’s reputation go?

At that moment, someone placed an arm around my shoulder.

“I heard the commotion and came out. What’s going on?”

“Dimitri.”

He appeared at the perfect time, as if he had been watching from somewhere, and asked calmly.

“It seems someone has offended my wife.”

He enveloped me like a reliable ally and looked at each of the ladies as if to say that if there were any complaints, they should direct them to him. Eventually, the noblewoman who had been protesting to me raised her head and spoke on behalf of the others.

“The Duchess of Blois has gone too far. Such inappropriate behavior toward a guest…”

Dimitri abruptly cut her off.

“What I asked was…”

The emerald eyes that looked at the other person were frighteningly indifferent.

“Who offended my wife?”

His stern voice resonated heavily throughout the hall.

 
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