"Are you sure the letter didn't come?"
Duke Dissen asked angrily again. As if he completely forgot the fact that he had already heard the same answer several times.
"Yes. There was not a single letter for the duke."
The caregiver struggled to suppress her anger and replied politely once more.
The Duke had always been rambling nonsense every time he woke up, but recently his condition had become serious. The caregiver was seriously worried that he might have to be transferred to a psychiatric ward.
"No way. Go down again and check it properly. Hurry!"
"You know I've been there three times already. Yesterday and the day before that too."
The voice of the caregiver soothing the patient was full of irritation that could not be hidden.
The Duke was a nobleman convalescing in a top-notch hospital, but in reality he was nothing more than an abandoned invalid. For a while, he even cursed at his daughter for not showing up once, but it wasn't long before he changed his mind. The duke's daughter had already done everything she could, just by not running away after severing ties with her father.
"Did they dare to ignore me knowing that fact?"
Shaking from not being able to overcome his anger, the Duke shouted in anger.
It started again.
The tongue-tied caregiver crept back, thinking of leaving the room at the right time. Because the Duke would cause a big riot soon. Thanks to that, if the Duke was sedated and slept, the caregiver would be able to get through the day.
"There's no way Tira, that stupid thing, could use her head, so no doubt Odette had created a version of this incident. 'Let's get rid of father and live well together.' It's clear that they originally intended to kill me. If I had fallen a little harder, I would have stopped breathing on the spot."
Duke Dissen mumbled and eventually burst into tears. The startled caregiver stopped dead in her tracks.
"He ruined Odette. Yes. It's all because of that despicable bastard. What hero? He's the devil. He is the devil who made me like this to marry Odette!"
He grabbed his now crippled leg and began to strike.
Deciding he couldn't be left as he was, the caregiver rang the bell and called for the medical staff. Not long after, a doctor accompanied by strong guards came in.
"Let go! Leave me and bring my daughter to me right away! Bring Odette!"
Even when he was pinned down and immobilized by the guards, Duke Dissen did not stop his struggles. It was impossible to know where such monstrous strength came from a body as thin and crippled as a dead man.
The caregiver retreated to the corner of the room and watched the chaos. The Duke searched for his daughter until the moment when he was stabbed with a needle and lost consciousness. It was a completely different aspect of anger from the past, when he was mainly pessimistic about his personal situation.
Could it be that his daughter had made him that way?
For the first time since starting this job, the caregiver pondered the duke's words seriously. If it was true at all, it was an obvious crime. Of course, one shouldn't blindly trust a half-mad man.
Drugged, the Duke quickly fell into a deep sleep. As soon as the medical staff left, his room became deadly quiet.
"I must leave this job soon or else. Every day is a war. It's war."
The caregiver clicked her tongue and tidied up the messy room. Whatever fixtures the Duke broke today, a new one would come in tomorrow. It was a luxury enjoyed with the money of the son-in-law (Bastian) he hated.
Still, the Duke's anger towards his son in law and his daughter was truly suspicious.
As the caregiver left the room with a tired body, his terrible curiosity quietly raised its head again.
It was about an hour before the next caregiver was scheduled to arrive, but she wanted to leave early to avoid being late for lunch. The duke would be asleep all day anyway, so there was no reason she couldn't leave work a little earlier.
Yes. It must be a sense of victimization unique to patients caught in despair and melancholy. The caregiver struggled all the way on the train toward the city center, but that was the only conclusion she could draw.
The Duke was like a ticking time bomb, but it was difficult to find a job that paid so well. So it seemed wise to turn a blind eye appropriately. There was nothing good about getting caught up in the personal affairs of those in high places.
Before she knew it, the train that had entered the center of Lutz came to a stop. After clearing her thoughts, she got off the train with a much lighter heart.
"Susan*!" (*one of the maids who worked for Theodora. I see trouble since the caregiver of Odette's father is Susan's sister. And Theodora wanted all the deeds on Odette.)
A bright smile spread over her face as she spotted her sister standing at the bus stop.
***
"Looks like I was worrying for nothing."
The Countess of Trier looked at Odette with a smile on her face.
Captain Klauswitz's party was perfect.
The coastal scenery, called the jewel of Ardennes, played the biggest role, but it was Odette, the hostess of this mansion, who gave it the appropriate tone and dignity. From the luncheon table decorated to harmonize with the garden overlooking the sea, to the food that suited the season, to the seating arrangements that took into consideration the status and friendship of the invited guests. It was an impeccably lovely party.
"In just one season, you've become a completely different person. I guess it's not too much to say that you're a fine lady."
The cries of seagulls flying low over the water combined with the praise.
"I guess you've already forgotten how I used to harass the Countess over the phone every day because I didn't know anything."
Odette looked at the sandy beach with a quiet smile.
After the luncheon in the garden, the time for entertainment began. The sailing gentlemen went out to sea on yachts, while the rest of the guests stayed on the beach. Swimming, sunbathing, or walking. It was a leisurely afternoon enjoying leisure according to each person's preferences.
"To achieve this level of achievement with just a few words of advice is a talent worthy of praise. You can't lie about bloodline either. You are indeed the daughter of a princess. You were born this way."
The Countess of Trier praised Odette in a confident tone. If lineage really decided everything, shouldn't half of her resemble her father?
A disillusioned question came to her mind, but Odette respected the grateful old lady's wishes by not daring to contradict her. There was no need to ruin such a good day by mentioning her father. There was also a big reason why she wasn't ready to think about her father yet.
She abandoned her father for Tira.
Odette did not regret the choice she made that day, but that didn't mean she could erase the guilt and debt deep in her heart. Perhaps that was a debt of the heart that she would have to carry with her for the rest of her life. It was Odette's hell.
"Now you should go hang out with your peers. Isn't it a waste of time to be talking to dull old people?"
The Countess of Trier clicked her tongue as she set down her half-empty champagne glass. The remaining guests at this tea table set under a white awning were mostly elderly. It was not a place for a young lady as beautiful as a flower to stay.
"No. I like it here."
Odette looked at the scenery of the sandy beach and shook her head slightly. A young man appeared just as the Countess of Trier opened her mouth to speak.
"I don't think your daughter will ever learn to walk alone, Count Xanders."
The Countess of Trier looked up at Maximin, who had come over with his daughter in his arms, her brow furrowed.
"She's still a baby. Please be a little more forgiving." Maximin smiled calmly and took the vacant seat next to Odette.
With a disapproving expression on her face, the Countess of Trier withdrew. It was because she knew very well how much Maximin cared for and loved his wife. The fact that he had poured all the love that had lost its destination to his daughter was also true.
"I took my time to look at the garden. The landscaping is wonderful."
Exchanging a brief glance at Odette, Maximin brought up an appropriate topic.
"It's thanks to Lord Xanders' advice. It's late, but thanks again."
"You're welcome. I only recommended it. It was Mrs. Klauswitz who found the right answer."
The Countess of Trier's eyes sharpened as she watched the two of them exchanging polite courtesy. Odette and Maximin had similarities, like brother and sister. Especially the quiet and elegant aura they exuded. Looking closely, they seemed to have similar personalities and interests.
How nice it would have been for Odette to be with a man like that!
The Countess suddenly felt regret, but she hurriedly erased her nonsense thoughts.
"I see your husband is coming back."
The Countess of Trier pointed to the sea with her fan.
Odette, who was playing with Count Xanders' daughter, slowly turned her head to look there. A yacht was sailing through the dazzlingly sparkling water.
K.
It was Bastian's ship with the familiar golden initials engraved on it.
***
They looked like a normal family, Bastian thought. A young couple with a small child. There weren't many in that category among today's invited guests.
Having made that much judgment, Bastian strode towards the beach awning. The officers who disembarked with him followed suit.
Now it was time for them to mingle with their families and rest for a while before going back into the mansion.
The dinner and party would end with a fireworks display. That was all that was left of the event. That too would be perfect, Bastian was sure. It was the confidence that came from his trust in his wife.
Odette was a competent hostess.
He no longer seemed to doubt that fact. A woman who had been nothing more than an object of contempt and sympathy until last spring had blossomed into a socialite in just a few months. As if that was the natural order of things. She was like a queen who had lived her whole life noblely.
Bastian quite liked the coronation he paid for with his own money. If the world didn't give it to him, he could have made it. To wear a dazzling crown and reign upon a golden throne. However much.
"Bastian."
At the moment when he became puzzled by the fact that Odette, whom he thought would be there, was nowhere to be found, he heard a familiar voice.
Bastian cast his gaze over his shoulder to see the family he had just passed earlier. A woman with a child in her arms had left her seat, and the man sitting alongside her was with her.
Odette and Maximin. The corners of Bastian's mouth tilted at an angle when he recognized the identity of the couple he thought were a married couple.
"Did you enjoy the voyage, Captain Klauswitz?"
The first to speak was Maximin. Turning around, Bastian approached them with a face devoid of unnecessary emotion. Even while exchanging formal greetings, all five of his senses were focused on Odette, who was holding someone else's child dearly. The delicate confrontation ended when the child was suddenly returned to Maximin. (*Bastian basically took the child from Odette's arms and throw her to Maximum)
"Mom!"
As Bastian wrapped his arm around the waist of his wife, the Count's daughter burst into tears.
Surprised by the ridiculous stunt, Maximin and Odette's faces turned red. The reaction of the guests seated around the table was the same. However, the child, unaware of the situation, cried even more sadly and called Odette 'mom'.
Many times. She called for her mother so fiercely that the sandy beach roared.