Chapter 4
“…Is something wrong?”
She couldn’t jump to conclusions, so she asked carefully. The Marchioness of Kline stared intently at Eleanor.
As she waited for an answer, Eleanor felt her lips drying with tension. In the end, she urged her softly.
“Mother.”
“…Nothing.”
A faint voice slipped out through trembling lips.
“It’s nothing, Eli.”
“…Are you sure nothing is wrong?”
“Yes. Nothing, nothing at all.”
That empty gaze and the voice repeating as if trying to brainwash herself—Eleanor found her answer there.
‘So it’s happened after all…’
She swallowed dryly and clenched her fists. Her body trembled. It was the anger she had suppressed ever since witnessing that a few days ago.
Ah—at least until her mother found out, it hadn’t taken the shape of anger. But after her mother learned the truth, it became something she couldn’t control, burning through her like wildfire.
Eleanor exhaled shortly, forcing herself to calm down, and asked again,
“Mother, are you really sure nothing’s wrong?”
“…Yes.”
“Then why are you suddenly refusing to eat?”
“It’s not refusal, Eli. I just…”
Mid-sentence, the Marchioness suddenly grimaced in pain and clutched her chest.
“Just leave me alone, Eli. Just for today.”
“…Mother.”
“I’m begging you.”
Faced with her mother’s weak plea, Eleanor didn’t know what to do. In the end, she gave her what she wanted and stepped out.
Click.
As the heavy door shut, it felt as though Eleanor’s heart dropped with it.
Leaning against the wall, she bit down on her lips.
She should never have been found out. Just how had her bedridden mother come to learn of it?
“…Ah.”
Suddenly, she remembered something a maid had said earlier that day.
“My lady has been wanting to take walks outside more often lately.”
…If her mother had secretly gone outside—and if they had been doing such things in the garden—
Eleanor’s face twisted in shock.
Eleanor stayed up all night, agonizing over how to help her mother recover from the shock.
Fortunately, the next morning, the Marchioness did not refuse her meals.
Hearing that her mother had eaten as usual, Eleanor finally felt relieved.
Maybe I’ve been underestimating her strength.
If so… perhaps it might even be possible to call off this marriage.
Eleanor decided she should have an honest conversation with her mother—over lunch.
But when she visited her mother’s room around noon, she was met with unexpected news.
“She’s not here? She’s still unwell—where did she go?”
“She was summoned by Her Majesty the Empress this morning and went to the Imperial Palace.”
“Why wasn’t I told?”
Eleanor rebuked the maid with an angry glare. The maid hurriedly bowed her head.
“F-forgive me, my lady! But the mistress instructed that it be kept a secret from you…”
…Why?
Eleanor exhaled sharply, covering her face with one hand.
No—this wasn’t the time for that. She had to go to the palace and bring her mother back.
Just as she turned to call for the butler to prepare a carriage—
“My lady, the mistress has returned.”
Soon, the Marchioness of Kline entered the drawing room.
“Mother!”
Eleanor cried out and ran to her. The Marchioness, who had been walking in with a stiff posture and expressionless face, faltered the moment she saw her daughter.
Up close, her face was deathly pale. When Eleanor grabbed her hand, it was so cold it hardly felt human.
“Mother… where have you been without telling me?”
“……”
“Have you forgotten the physician said you must avoid going out?”
“Eleanor.”
The Marchioness called her quietly. Her voice was so weak it made Eleanor’s heart sink.
“I want to rest now. I’m tired.”
“But—”
Eleanor bit her lip.
No. She shouldn’t push her mother, not in this fragile state.
Without asking anything further, she helped her to bed. For now, her mother’s recovery came first.
Returning to her room, Eleanor began planning her next steps. Now that her mother knew, there was no reason to hesitate any longer.
But as evening fell, disaster struck once more.
“My lady, s-something terrible has happened!”
Seeing the maid rushing in, Eleanor felt a chill run through her.
What now? Could things get any worse than this?
“The mistress is—!”
The moment her mother was mentioned, Eleanor didn’t wait to hear the rest.
She ran out of her room and hurried down the stairs.
“How could you do this to me?!”
Her mother’s scream echoed through the house.
Startled, Eleanor quickened her pace.
At the bottom of the stairs, in the drawing room, she saw her mother—hair disheveled—facing her father.
“Are you even human?! How could you do this to Eleanor—our daughter?! How could you think of marrying her to that woman’s son?!”
At last… Eleanor squeezed her eyes shut, confirming her worst fears had come true.
“If you thought of Eli as your daughter even a little, you couldn’t do this! This filthy marriage—!”
“Lower your voice. Do you have no sense of shame?”
“Shame? You’re talking about shame to me? Do you know what I heard today at the Empress’s palace?!”
The Marchioness shuddered as if the memory alone was unbearable.
“She told me to keep quiet for my daughter’s future. And then she said… by timing, she had been with you before me—”
She couldn’t finish. Her trembling hands covered her face.
“She said I shouldn’t feel too wronged since she hid it from me for so long… that once the marriage happens, she’ll be Eli’s mother too, so we should smile and get along…”
“Ah…!”
At last, the Marchioness broke down in sobs.
But the Marquis of Kline watched his crying wife with a terrifying indifference.
Eleanor froze at the coldness of his expression.
The Marchioness, collapsing in grief, looked up—and saw her husband’s face.
With a pained voice, she spat,
“You disgusting people.”
“Watch your mouth!”
At last, his expression twisted in anger. In the next moment, he shoved his wife violently.
She fell helplessly to the floor.
“Mother!”
Eleanor rushed to her side.
“I’ve been too lenient with you—you’ve forgotten your place.”
The Marquis looked down coldly, then ordered the butler,
“Butler, lock this woman in the basement immediately.”
“Father!”
Eleanor cried out, wrapping her arms around her mother.
“What are you saying? She’s ill! The basement—?!”
That place had long been abandoned, with no proper heating. In this cold weather, even a healthy person would struggle to endure it—let alone her sick mother.
“I won’t allow it. If anyone lays a finger on her, I’d rather die!”
“She dared to defy her husband—she must be punished.”
“Defy you? Aren’t you the one in the wrong?! You don’t have the right to say—!”
Smack!
Pain flared across Eleanor’s cheek.
Stunned, she stared at him as the burning sensation spread.
He looked down at her again, his expression cold as ever.
“You talk too much, Eleanor. It seems you’ve grown undisciplined since you haven’t been beaten lately.”
Her body trembled instinctively—but only for a moment.
If she backed down now, her mother would be locked in the basement… and might truly die.
Ignoring the tears welling in her eyes, Eleanor spoke,
“If you intend to marry a corpse to His Highness, then go ahead.”
“You insolent brat. Mother and daughter alike.”
His face twisted with fury as he shouted,
“Butler! What are you doing? Lock both of them in the basement!”
