Chapter 25: A Love Without Forgiveness
When Veneruccia leaned in, his shadow completely covered Senelia.
“It was a question that could be answered with a yes or no. Why do you keep avoiding it?”
Because of his broad shoulders, Senelia could see nothing beyond him.
Veneruccia trapped her beneath his frame, clearly and deliberately, demanding an answer with his gaze.
She bit her lower lip hard. The more Veneruccia cornered her, the more Senelia didn’t want to answer.
Her mind was busy calculating how to make this man hers in order to survive. But at the same time, her chest surged with irritation and frustration.
She didn’t need Veneruccia’s love. She had long since stopped hoping for such a thing.
So why did his desperate yearning for love twist her insides like this? Even Senelia herself didn’t understand.
“Don’t bite.”
Veneruccia pressed her lower lip with his thumb. His finger gently rubbed where she’d been biting.
Unconsciously, she eased the pressure in her jaw. And then scoffed bitterly at herself.
The familiarity of his touch, the memory of how he used to touch her—this sensation was nauseating.
Tap.
Senelia smacked Veneruccia’s hand away. She wanted to escape from him, now.
“I’ve already given you my answer, Your Highness.”
She felt sick to her stomach. She hated herself for being shaken by him. So she decided—she would run.
Surprisingly, Veneruccia didn’t resist much as she pushed him away. Unlike before, when he tried to trap her in his arms, he let her go this time.
Senelia didn’t miss her chance. Once she was free, she quickly spoke.
“I need to help Mother prepare for Father’s funeral. I’ll be going now. A servant will guide you to your accommodations.”
Veneruccia had come all the way from the capital to the Daphne estate, and the Viscount’s family had already allowed him into their mansion.
There was no way they could just send him back now. Unfortunately, even that was dictated by law and custom.
“Selie, our conversation isn’t finished—”
Veneruccia still had no intention of letting her go. But when her next words came out, he had no choice but to stay silent.
“It may not seem important enough for Your Highness to remember, but my father’s funeral hasn’t even started yet. I don’t have time to dawdle.”
After saying it, Senelia was stunned at herself.
Her father had only just died, and yet she had been so distracted by this pointless conversation with Veneruccia.
She loathed that he still had this kind of power over her. That resentment made her hand rough as she flung the door open.
Bang.
The sound of the door slamming echoed behind her.
* * *
“You took longer than I thought.”
When Senelia returned to her room, the Viscountess was there waiting.
Senelia flinched.
She instinctively feared whatever her mother was about to say.
She felt like crying.
This is what it was like when a parent despised their child.
Even when the parent did nothing, the child would constantly walk on eggshells. Every word from the parent filled them with fear—a completely miserable, suffocating experience.
“I’ll ask directly. Selie, are you staying here permanently this time?”
The Viscountess’s question was only natural. Senelia was the sole heir to House Daphne.
Everyone—her parents, herself, and the people of the estate—assumed she would become the next Viscount.
Because of that, they’d never educated any other successor. There was no one else to take over the Daphne estate.
If her marriage hadn’t been so delayed, succession would’ve already happened.
Objectively, her years in the capital had been wasted.
Having spent all her time as Veneruccia’s lover, she had missed her prime marriageable years. And because she feared the Emperor, she couldn’t form ties with any high-ranking nobles.
Her parents had been astonishingly patient with such a wasteful life.
“Mother, I…”
Senelia turned pale and trailed off. Her thoughts were in disarray, and she had overlooked something so important.
There was no way the Emperor would allow her to stay here permanently.
Clifford wanted his dog always within reach.
It wasn’t just her parents that made it hard for her to return to Daphne estate. Since eight years ago, the person she always had to fear most was the Emperor.
Even her brief visits to and from the capital required permission. To live here full-time? Clifford would never accept it.
“If you don’t take over, the estate will fall into the hands of someone completely unprepared.”
There were relatives in House Daphne, but none of them knew anything about managing the territory.
That’s why the Viscount couple had never once considered passing the estate to anyone else.
The Daphne estate was small, but it had its own unique characteristics. And the only one who had been taught to rule in accordance with that was Senelia.
The Viscount couple took this matter very seriously. That’s why Senelia had been trained more strictly than anyone in matters of governance.
Succession had to happen immediately. And no one else had been prepared for it.
The estate needed a new Viscount. And Senelia was the only one ready for that role.
She knew this all too well.
“I’ve let your indulgence go until now, Selie, but this—this is not something you can run from.”
Her marriage could’ve been treated as a private matter. But becoming Viscount involved the estate and its people.
Senelia understood. This was her mother’s final, immovable line.
And it left her breathless. There was only one path for her to take now.
“The carriage accident was beyond your control. But this—this is your choice. If you choose to return to the capital with the Grand Duke…”
The Viscountess trailed off.
From the moment Veneruccia arrived, she feared her daughter might once again betray the expectations of her parents.
Only she knew how many sleepless nights she spent agonizing over how she would respond if that happened.
But even after all that, there was only one answer.
When the Viscountess next spoke, there was no hesitation in her voice. It was firm, absolute.
“If you abandon the estate that your father and I loved, I don’t think I can keep loving you unconditionally.”
It was her final ultimatum to her daughter.
* * *
After her mother left the room, Senelia sat alone where they had been talking for a long time.
Then a maid approached her.
“My lady, please eat something.”
Since returning to the estate, Senelia hadn’t eaten a thing. The maid must have noticed.
“…Did you bring this?”
Senelia hesitated as she opened the lid of the bowl.
Inside wasn’t soup—but porridge.
“Ah, well…”
The maid trailed off. Senelia frowned slightly.
“Do you even know what this is?”
There was no way someone from this world would recognize porridge.
Unless it had been one of those painful days when Senelia, terrified of Clifford and desperately ill, had impulsively recreated a dish from her previous life—no one, not even Veneruccia, should know it.
Her eyes narrowed.
Sensing her gaze, the maid quickly lowered her head.
“I’m sorry, my lady. I just… the Grand Duke said you should eat it, so I…”
Of course the maid wouldn’t know what porridge was. And giving something unknown to her mistress was a mistake.
But how could a mere maid disobey the Grand Duke?
Senelia understood, so she just sighed and waved her hand.
“It’s fine. You may go.”
The maid looked anxious but left the room.
Once the door shut, Senelia just sat and stared at the bowl of porridge.
Veneruccia, for all that he didn’t understand her, often picked up on these small things.
Like the temperature of the porridge—lukewarm.
No doubt he had told the maid specifically.
It was a logical assumption. In the Grand Duke’s mansion, all food was generally served lukewarm.
Some nobles wouldn’t touch food unless it was freshly prepared, but Senelia couldn’t handle hot food.
She knew this was Veneruccia’s silent consideration.
Her insides felt like a mess. A single tear fell from her eye.
Unfortunately, in that moment, Senelia finally understood.
She realized why Veneruccia’s actions tore her apart so painfully.
It was because she had loved him—for a very long time.
“How laughable. After eight years of burying all those feelings, I’m realizing this now.”
And with that, a single word of resentment finally slipped past her lips.
