Chapter 2
“Anyway, I’ll just bathe and head back.”
“That’s new.”
He gave a light shrug. Then, as if something had just occurred to him, he added casually,
“There should be a new dress in the dressing room.”
Though he tried to sound nonchalant, Leonel’s eyes subtly flicked toward Dahlia, gauging her reaction.
“I’m fine.”
As if she had sensed his gaze, she didn’t even turn her head in his direction, simply shaking it dismissively.
This kind of response from Dahlia was nothing new to him.
Swallowing a sigh, Leonel soon curved his lips into a teasing smile.
“Then should I wear it?”
“It’d suit you.”
She shot back as if it were nothing more than a joke. But Leonel didn’t back down and tossed out another quiet remark.
“Wear it.”
“Lancaster.”
At last, Dahlia’s brow twisted sharply.
“I said I don’t want to.”
She sprang up from the bed. Her movements were rough as she shrugged off the silk robe and pulled on the dress from the night before.
Her angry steps carried her straight toward Leonel.
“What you’re doing is unpleasant.”
Her face was so cold it had turned pale. Dahlia glared at him icily before letting out a small, mocking laugh.
“I’m not some courtesan.”
With that, she stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
Silence settled over the room that had gone from two people to one.
With a lonely expression, Leonel let out a quiet sigh.
“…Ha.”
Clenching his teeth, he ran a hand irritably through his neatly combed hair.
“…That damned pride.”
But there was nothing more he could do here.
Feeling utterly helpless, Leonel could only stare blankly at the bed that still held traces of her presence.
“Ah, are you leaving, Lady Count of Noirrose—”
“I don’t need a carriage.”
Dahlia quickly refused the coachman waiting in front of the estate.
Whenever she visited the Lancaster ducal residence, Leonel always prepared a carriage for her.
Back when they were merely childhood friends, she would sometimes accept it.
But things were different now.
‘Relationships don’t stay the same forever.’
Crossing the long driveway—several times larger than that of the Noirrose estate—Dahlia bit her lip.
Naturally, she didn’t have the money to hire a carriage on her own.
Even if it meant walking, she simply didn’t want to use a carriage from the Lancaster family.
With a heavy heart, she walked for a long time.
Only after quite some time did she finally arrive at the Noirrose estate.
Standing before it, she felt as though she had just woken from a dream.
A place whose shabby exterior made the word “mansion” feel almost embarrassing.
That was the residence of Count Noirrose—her home.
“Dahlia!”
And it wasn’t just the outside that was shabby.
The moment she stepped inside, her father, Count Noirrose, came running out in a fluster.
“You went to see the Duke of Lancaster again, didn’t you? Well?”
With eyes that sparkled in a way that was hard to tell whether it was innocence or greed, he blurted out the question.
‘Right… this is how it’s always been. My utterly shabby family.’
“Please keep it down, Father.”
Dahlia replied irritably, as if this were nothing new.
At once, her four brothers rushed out of their rooms.
“Judging by her mood, it must be true!”
Starting with Pater, the eldest son—
“Sister, I want lamb!”
“Shut up, Grid.”
“Sister, you’re going to become a duchess soon, right?”
“Stop dreaming, Ditas.”
“Sister… I’m sorry, but this month’s academy tuition…”
Grid, Ditas, and even Crio—all of them looked only at her.
She couldn’t take it anymore. If she stayed here any longer, she felt like she would lose her mind.
“Crio, even you? Please, just—stop!”
Shouting at the top of her lungs, Dahlia immediately ran upstairs to her room on the second floor and locked the door.
“Ha…”
Leaning back against the door, her eyes fell upon her bedroom—so modest it bordered on pitiful.
Even the maids at the Lancaster estate wouldn’t live in a room like this.
Having unconsciously compared the two homes, Dahlia slowly slid down the door and sat on the floor.
“There should be a new dress in the dressing room.”
At that moment, Leonel’s gentle voice echoed in her mind.
‘Do you think I don’t know? As if I wouldn’t…’
She hugged her knees tightly and lowered her head between them.
From the beginning, she knew better than anyone that he had been trying to help her out of kindness for her poverty.
He must have been aware of how she was treated in high society and wanted to support her in whatever way he could.
But even in her circumstances, Dahlia still had her pride.
If the night they spent together was to remain nothing more than a fleeting mistake, she couldn’t accept anything from Leonel.
At least, that was how she saw it.
In a family that would sell even their pride if it could be turned into money, she had to protect hers—no matter how insignificant it might seem.
‘Yes… this is enough.’
Without clinging to this stubborn inferiority and fragile pride, she wouldn’t be able to maintain any kind of relationship with Leonel.
At least, that’s how it would be.
Overwhelmed by waves of anxiety and gloom, Dahlia remained still for a moment before abruptly lifting her head.
“…If I’m going to cover Crio’s tuition, I need results in this month’s report.”
Unfortunately, she didn’t even have the luxury of indulging in her anxiety.
Muttering to herself, she stood up and walked to her desk.
Last month, she had only received half her usual research funding because she failed to properly interpret an ancient document.
So this time, she had to succeed.
‘There’s no time to think about anything else.’
Rubbing her tired eyes irritably, she began analyzing the mountain of ancient texts piled on her desk.
Her quill moved ceaselessly.
And so, the light in Dahlia’s room did not go out all night.
Several days passed.
She remained busy as ever. Having stayed up all night working again, her whole body felt heavy and sore.
“Maybe it’s because I didn’t sleep…”
For some reason, her body felt heavier than usual.
Over the past few days, she had skipped meals or eaten carelessly due to her research, but today she felt unwell enough to think she should have a proper meal.
‘Right. Especially today…’
Her condition was one thing, but more than anything, today was a day she ought to eat with her family.
Narrowing her eyes, Dahlia let out a small sigh and headed downstairs.
But the moment she entered the dining room and saw the table, her face froze in shock.
“…Cabbage?”
Cabbage stew, steamed cabbage, cabbage steak.
It was a full-blown cabbage feast.
It wasn’t as if she had given them so little money that they had to survive on cabbage alone.
She had handed over every last bit of her research funds—so how had they managed the budget to end up like this?
“Good morning, Dahlia!”
“Good morning, Sister!”
“Sister, please sit here!”
“Sit here, Sister!”
“The cabbage steak is delicious!”
Oblivious to her feelings, her father and brothers greeted her brightly.
“What is this? Why is everything…!”
She tried to stay calm, but unfortunately, the situation didn’t allow it.
Her voice trembled with anger.
“Well, you see… I made a small investment to ease your burden…”
Count Noirrose scratched the back of his neck awkwardly as he spoke.
“Father!”
She didn’t need to hear more. He had clearly been scammed again using her research funds.
Cutting him off with a shout, she added in a low voice,
“Do you know what day it is today?”
“Uh, well…”
Dahlia’s hollow gaze slowly swept across the five men standing there in confusion.
“Today… is my birthday.”
She murmured, her expression miserable.
How could it be that in such a large family, not a single person remembered her birthday?
Since her mother passed away, she had lived each day desperately.
So just for this one day, she wanted nothing more than a simple meal and her family’s congratulations.
She didn’t even hope for presents.
And yet, after working through several sleepless nights and coming down to eat with them, all she found was a table full of cabbage—and no one remembered her birthday.
A surge of emotion welled up in her chest.
“O-of course! We all remembered, didn’t we?”
“Of course, Sister!”
“How could we forget your birthday?”
“That’s right! We’d never forget!”
The five men quickly exchanged glances.
“H-here, we even have a cake!”
At that, the youngest, Crio, stuck a candle into a cabbage steak and held it out in front of Dahlia.
Perhaps it was because she was so angry—
The smell of cabbage, now right in front of her face, suddenly felt nauseating.
Her stomach twisted violently.
“Urgh!”
Unable to hold back the nausea, she quickly covered her mouth.
And in that very moment—
“P-pregnant?!”
At Count Noirrose’s hopeful exclamation, Dahlia collapsed backward.
‘Pregnant, my foot…!’
Even as her consciousness faded, that thought crossed her mind.
What a truly terrible birthday.
