The Abandoned Duchess Seems to Want a Peaceful Life - Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Tears of the Maid and the Smile of the Sister

Even after returning to the carriage, Marie couldn’t stop trembling and crying. Melfina sat beside her timidly and gently embraced Marie’s shoulder, softly comforting her.

“Sorry, Marie. I’m safe now. Everything’s alright.”

“…Yes.”

Feeling consoled this way made Marie feel guilty and terribly inadequate.

Her handkerchief was already soaked with tears, and if she cried any more, she felt she would soil Melfina.

Until now, Marie had never known she could cry like this.

Though she had lived hiding her true feelings since childhood, today’s intense emotional ups and downs left her feeling extremely exhausted.

She was an outcast in her family. Even after being taken in by the duke’s household, she didn’t have a place there and lived her days trying to stay unnoticed.

Marie thought such strong emotions had long vanished from within her.

—Yet it was Lady Melfina who had the terrifying experience.

The simple yet fine fabric of Melfina’s favorite dress was stained with dirt and grass juice.

It probably wouldn’t return to its original color even after washing.

Though Melfina was active, she wasn’t particularly strong, even weaker than the average woman. She was adept at household tasks, but often Marie or Cedric would take over work that required strength.

With her slender limbs, pale skin unfamiliar with physical labor, and the golden hair and green eyes symbolizing her noble status, she was a true lady.

No matter how much she laughed among commoners or serfs, she always seemed to be in a different atmosphere.

When she disappeared, chaos spread like a gust of wind from the lord’s mansion to Enkar Village. Upon hearing the news, everyone abandoned their tasks to search for Melfina.

Marie was one of them.
As Cedric and the men from the village were searching, there was no way Marie could think that she had no part to play. She frantically looked everywhere, from the lord’s mansion to the cellar, and even behind the newly built structures.

Even if a noble were kidnapped, unless they had garnered significant hatred from the populace, there were not many cases where their life was immediately in danger. Robbers would kill on the spot before making a fuss, but thieves who aimed for ransom would never treat a noble harshly.

In fact, it was not uncommon to hear that when pirates kidnapped noble ladies or wives, they would hold them for several years and treat them decently until a large ransom was arranged.

To maintain the value of the hostage, they would ensure that they were not violated or treated in a way that would cause them to waste away.

However, just knowing this didn’t alleviate Marie’s worry.

She couldn’t help but think of the worst-case scenarios: was Melfina shivering in the cold wind, or surrounded by rough men and frightened? These thoughts came one after another, making Marie impulsively want to scream Melfina’s name repeatedly.

The tension had been overwhelming, so when Marie finally saw Melfina safe, her emotions overflowed uncontrollably.

“Marie… I’m here. I’m alright. Please don’t cry so much. Your eyes will melt away.”

Marie nodded repeatedly at these kind words, but her feelings were so heightened that she couldn’t control them.

“L-Lady Melfina was the one who had the scary experience, and yet, I’m so sorry.”

“I was surprisingly okay. They were just cornered and weren’t really bad people.”

“That doesn’t mean they are forgiven for kidnapping you, Lady Melfina!”

Her voice unexpectedly grew loud, causing her to cough. Her throat was already sore from shouting Melfina’s name with a voice unaccustomed to being raised.

“When we return to the mansion, let’s have Ed make some milk with honey for you.”

Melfina’s continued concern for her made Marie feel both inadequate and painfully tight in her chest.

Surely, Melfina must have been scared. There must have been feelings of anger toward those who frightened her.

For the past six months and a little more, Marie had been constantly by Melfina’s side and knew that Melfina was not someone with an all-seeing, godlike perspective.

When something made her happy, she smiled; when she saw something painful, she pressed her lips together in distress. During meals with everyone, she would look content and happy, and when overwhelmed with work, she showed signs of fatigue.

She always cared for others and didn’t hesitate to put in effort for someone else’s sake, yet she constantly put her own feelings last.

In reality, Melfina wasn’t in a position of unshakable stability, like a goddess dispensing mercy from a pedestal.

“Lady Melfina. When people are burdened with something beyond their control, they feel indebted to those who help them. They start to believe that this person won’t make mistakes, that everything will be okay.”

“Marie?”

“But Lady Melfina, weren’t you the one who couldn’t be helped by anyone?”

—I didn’t mean to say something like this.

Melfina had been kind from the moment they met.

She never looked down on Marie as a mere servant. She called her by name and smiled at her.

Even after spending just a little time together, it was clear that Melfina was inherently good-natured and not at all harsh. Marie couldn’t understand why someone like her would decide to leave her marital home the morning after taking off her wedding dress.

It was only later that Marie learned Melfina hadn’t been expected to fulfill her role as a wife.

When Melfina left the ducal house, her own future was far from bright. Despite this, she seemed apologetic about taking Marie, an unmarried daughter, to the remote region.

By that time, Marie had surely come to like Melfina. That’s why she was furious with her half-brother.

Marie knew that Alexis had an aversion to women, especially those in his family. She understood there were legitimate reasons for this.

Still, it didn’t justify harshly rejecting a lady who had married into the family.

Had he at least explained the situation and asked for time to deepen their relationship, Melfina would never have demanded anything hasty.

Just as she was doing now for Marie, she would have empathized and tried to offer her support.

“By the way, Marie, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you. When we left the ducal house, why did you come with me? Didn’t the head housekeeper say you didn’t have to serve me for long?”

“That’s…”

Marie did want to escape from the stifling environment of the ducal house. That was true.

She had been working and receiving proper wages since childhood, so she had accumulated some savings. Having finally reached adulthood, she had planned to leave the ducal house at some point.

Even if Melfina’s destination had been the royal capital rather than the remote Enkar region, Marie would have followed her.

But if Melfina hadn’t been the kind of person she was, Marie would have parted ways at an appropriate time.

“…It’s because I admired you, Lady Melfina.”

“Even though I left the house I married into so quickly?”

“I couldn’t find the courage to leave on my own. But you, Lady Melfina, got into a carriage the very next day. At that moment, I felt like I was being pushed to move forward.”

Marie hadn’t been mistreated in the ducal house. She knew that her real father, the former duke, and Alexis, who succeeded him, were considerate of her.

Young Marie had sensed that she didn’t have a place in her birth family. She also understood that the world wasn’t kind enough for a young girl to live on her own.

Knowing that she wouldn’t starve, that she could study as much as she wanted, and that the servants were considerate of her, she had resigned herself with a cold heart to the reality that defying the immense presence of the ducal house wasn’t feasible.

But Melfina was different.

Getting into Melfina’s carriage was almost a spontaneous decision. At that moment, she wanted to follow this person who was moving forward without any lingering attachment to the ducal house.

However, the impulsive decision back then and her current desire to stay by this person’s side were different feelings.

“…Lady Melfina, I don’t think you would laugh at something like this. I’ve always wanted a sister.”

Though there had been an “older sister” in her birth family, she had already married by the time Marie was born, so Marie had never even seen her face.

The women of the ducal house were exceedingly strange from Marie’s perspective and were not the kind of people she could easily get close to.

Even though she knew she would never get to call Melfina her sister, just as she didn’t call Alexis her brother yet saw him as such, she wished Melfina could be her sister-in-law.

Even if it was just a selfish wish, Marie wanted to think of Melfina as her sister in her heart.

“I see.”

Melfina, still holding Marie’s shoulder and staying close, murmured in response. As Marie worried that Melfina might be disappointed, she squeezed her hand tighter.

“I’m happy. I’ve always wanted a little sister too.”

“Lady Melfina?”

“Yes, of course. Even if it’s just on paper, the Duke is technically my husband, so you are my sister. How could I not have realized this?”

As Melfina gently pulled away, her sparkling green eyes and blushing face came into view.

“…Is it not unpleasant for you to be considered a sister by someone like me?”

Born the daughter of a marquis and having become a duchess, Melfina’s maids and secretaries, even those of higher rank, were still servants. The feelings Marie held toward her mistress were, in principle, quite presumptuous.

“I’m delighted! Of course!”

And yet, Melfina smiled at her.

—Oh, truly.

If only this person could be her sister.

Even if they had met sooner, light would have shone into that stifling, enormous house.

“You know, Marie, you say no one helped me, but in my darkest time, the first person to help me was you.”

“Huh…?”

“When you said you wanted to become my secretary, it felt like a door suddenly opened in front of me. It was the first time someone had chosen me.”

“Could something like that really happen? But Lady Melfina, you—”

She trailed off mid-sentence.

Marie had heard from Melfina herself that her legitimacy by blood had been questioned in her own family.

And now, there was this situation at her marital home.

—How could no one have recognized the worth of someone like her until that moment? This world must be wrong.

“I left the ducal house, and since then, you’ve been with me, haven’t you? We’ve cooked together, eaten together, done all sorts of things together. I’ve thought of you as my maid, my secretary, and also a friend.”

“…Then, I am your maid, secretary, friend—and sister, aren’t I?”

“Wonderful! I feel like I’ve received four treasures at once.”

Melfina was smiling joyfully. There wasn’t a shadow of doubt in her expression.

—I’m so glad.

I’m glad Melfina came back.

I’m glad Melfina is smiling.

I’m truly glad I can smile beside her.

The only thing that wasn’t good inside this small carriage box was that my tears, which had finally stopped, started flowing again, troubling Melfina.