Jerome Thorpe arrived late last night in Faro Village and had to spend the night in a shabby inn.
The inn was crawling with bugs, the residents were rude, and there were no amenities to speak of—this village was terrible.
Moreover, it was unbearably hot here.
Even for Jerome, who had been raised as a prodigy of swordsmanship, the heat was overwhelming.
His shiny red bobbed hair hung limply.
‘Damn it, if it was such an important matter, my brother could’ve come himself.’
Jerome muttered curses inwardly as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
According to the information he had obtained before coming to Faro Village, Countess and Count Gilespie were supposed to stay at a villa in this village.
‘I just barely managed to find out the villa’s location, but…’
Still, could he really approach someone requesting financial aid during their honeymoon?
That Rowan Gilespie?
Rowan had treated Fresa as trash and had coldly turned away from her.
He was the type of person who, once he distanced himself emotionally, would never look back.
Jerome recalled Elias’s words.
‘Just bow as flat as possible. Crawl if you have to.’
Yet, he couldn’t even think about kneeling on his expensive knees, while he spat out such words to his younger brother as if it were an easy task.
Jerome’s furrowed brow didn’t ease as he hurriedly boarded the shabby carriage heading toward the villa.
He focused on the monotonous scenery outside the window, trying to suppress his discomfort with the bumpy ride.
Then, suddenly—
‘…Fresa?’
Jerome’s eyes widened.
A woman who looked exactly like his dead sister Fresa Thorpe was standing in an unfamiliar garden.
The carriage was moving very quickly as he demanded.
The woman, who resembled Fresa so much, was already far away.
Jerome kept glancing back, convinced it couldn’t be her, but his heart was pounding.
‘She’s dead.’
He looked down at Fresa’s corpse, which was cold and stiff, and snickered at himself, remembering how he had behaved like a madman, mocking her death.
‘Is she a doppelgänger?’
Even so, she looked so identical that it was hard to believe.
So much so that even if Fresa Thorpe had somehow come back to life, he wouldn’t believe it.
“What the hell is this? What is going on?”
His neck was cold despite the summer heat.
A chill ran down his spine.
‘Am I just tired and seeing things?’
Jerome rationalized as best as he could, forcing himself to look away.
It wasn’t until much later that they arrived at the villa where the Gilespie couple was staying.
“Jerome?”
Alicia, dressed in a thin sky-blue summer dress, greeted him with a look of surprise.
She was, as always, his ideal type.
‘If only Rowan hadn’t been here.’
Hiding his true feelings, Jerome slightly blushed and greeted her.
“Hello, Alicia. How have you been?”
“Of course. Thanks to you. But what brings you all the way here…?”
Jerome stared at Alicia as if hypnotized, then hurriedly explained his purpose.
“May I meet Count Gilespie?”
“Oh, Rowan is busy with something else right now. Is it urgent?”
“Is he at the villa?”
“He’ll be back soon. Would you like to wait inside? I’ll prepare some tea.”
Alicia smiled warmly and led Jerome into the villa.
“Then, excuse me.”
Startled, Jerome nodded slightly and furrowed his brows.
‘What the hell is he doing, leaving his wife alone on their honeymoon?’
He sat on the sofa inside the villa, sipping the tea brought by the staff.
It was a luxurious villa befitting a wealthy count.
The all-white interior decorated with expensive ornaments caught his eye.
‘Too lavish.’
Just then, Alicia, sitting across from him, spoke.
“You must have had a hard time coming all this way. Is this something you couldn’t tell me in a letter?”
“Ah, yes. That’s…”
It might be better to confide in Alicia first.
Just as Jerome was about to explain the situation of the Thorpe family in detail—
“Count Thorpe?”
At that moment, Count Gilespie returned.
Jerome immediately stood up and forced a smile as he approached him.
“Count Gilespie, please forgive the rudeness. I have a urgent matter to discuss, so I came to see you.”
He cast a quick glance at Rowan, studying his reaction.
As expected, Rowan’s expression was quite displeased.
‘No wonder—he’s been disturbed during their honeymoon.’
Still, seeing him openly look so uncomfortable annoyed Jerome.
Rowan furrowed his brow and asked.
“What urgent matter has brought you all the way here? This is excessive.”
“Rowan, it’s an important matter. Please listen to Jerome’s story.”
Alicia whispered, grabbing Rowan’s arm.
But Rowan subtly withdrew his arm, as if to avoid her touch.
Her pupils trembled sharply.
As if she had never experienced this before.
Jerome was just as surprised.
‘What’s wrong with him?’
He had chosen Alicia over Fresa after breaking their engagement, yet his feelings seemed to have changed in an instant.
Anyway, what mattered most to Jerome right now wasn’t Alicia.
He carefully spoke to avoid offending Rowan.
“This is a letter from my older brother. It concerns the continuation of the Thorpe family. Please review it positively.”
Jerome handed over the carefully written letter Elias had prepared.
Rowan examined it with a stiff expression.
Jerome swallowed nervously.
After a moment, Rowan let out a hollow laugh and looked at him.
“So, you came here to borrow money? How absurd. I’m on my honeymoon, you know.”
“I apologize, Count. As I said, it’s about the Thorpe family’s survival, so I had no choice. Please understand. I ask for your help.”
Jerome suppressed his rising pride and bowed deeply.
His eyebrows furrowed even more as he lowered his head.
If Elias hadn’t given him the order, he wouldn’t have been so humiliated.
“Rowan, the Thorpe family is like family to us, isn’t it?”
Alicia’s expression softened as she earnestly pleaded with Rowan.
Family.
Few relationships were as mismatched as Alicia and the Thorpe family.
Though Jerome benefited from her sympathy, he wasn’t sure if Rowan shared the same feelings.
“Haa. I’ll discuss with my family and contact you. Please go now.”
Fortunately, Rowan seemed to agree to consider her words.
Jerome finally straightened his back, which had been bent as if about to fold.
“Thank you, Count. I await your reply.”
Rowan nodded briefly, his face still cold.
Alicia let out a soft sigh and lightly winked at Jerome.
He was momentarily captivated by her face, but quickly hurried out of the villa.
Better to return now to that shabby inn or even to board a ship to the capital.
Jerome headed toward the harbor via carriage.
As he retraced the way he had come earlier, he saw the house of the woman who looked like Fresa.
“Stop for a moment.”
He suddenly ordered the coachman to halt.
The coachman opened the door.
Jerome hesitated several times, then stepped out and approached the house.
‘Just to check. Just to confirm.’
That’s all he needed—to be sure she wasn’t Fresa.
Then his uneasy feeling would finally settle.
He approached the door confidently, but suddenly stopped.
‘No, this is madness.’
His sister, Fresa Thorpe, was dead.
She had been buried long ago. There was no way she could be alive.
‘Yeah, I’m just exhausted and seeing things. Maybe it’s just a woman who looks like her.’
He struggled to erase the face of the woman who looked exactly like Fresa from his mind.
He turned back toward the carriage.
Then, as he was about to get in, he tousled his hair in frustration, changing his mind.
‘Damn it, I have to check.’
If Fresa was alive—if she was really running away pretending to be dead—she wouldn’t show up empty-handed.
‘There’s got to be something. Fresa’s jewelry couldn’t have been just a few pieces.’
Finally, Jerome hammered loudly on the front door.
The wooden sign swayed from side to side.
‘A pharmacy?’
His sharp eyes swept over the sign.
It looked like an ordinary house, but now that he looked closer, it was apparently a business.
His conviction that she wasn’t Fresa grew stronger.
Just as he decided to head back to the harbor, he heard the creaking of the door opening.
The owner of the house appeared.
“Who are you?”
A woman, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Fresa, froze in surprise as she opened the door.
Her face, as if she had not expected him at all, was unmistakable—asking why he was there.
This woman was definitely Fresa Thorpe, Jerome’s sister.
Jerome’s jaw dropped as he stared at her.
“You, you crazy…”
He reached out to confirm Fresa’s true identity.
Just as his fingertips brushed her shoulder.
~·~·* . * . *·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.
See you then!!
