TVIOWHFW 45

John narrowed his deep eyes.

“Is that what you call tenderness?”

Scar is a scar, even if she was an adopted daughter. It was undeniable.

Even as an adopted child, a scar on the body of a noblewoman? It didn’t make sense.

“And Estelle was a daughter loved in Libertan.”

For noblewomen, scars were a huge problem. And to have a scar on the daughter cherished in Libertan…

“Libertan has ties to the temple.”

The priests often visited the mansion to care for the frail Estelle.

“The scar is a wound that could be healed by a single blessing, yet it was left as is.”

Before Estelle, when there was a biological daughter named Yesstra, the Duke and Duchess of Blanchet donated extensively to the temple, and priests resided there to care for her.

It was said the priest even cared for her ailing daughter.

Perhaps Estelle is…

“Leave me and go.”

At that moment, memories of what happened in the Forest of Beasts flashed through John’s mind.

Tears kept flowing down the face of the woman soaked by rain, crying relentlessly.

The small hand pushing him away was icy cold, as if not alive.

John grew angry that she kept trying to die. If she were a living being, she should want to live, but she didn’t.

Somehow John lost his judgment and reason, swept along by emotion.

He lashed out at Estelle with an unfamiliar face.

“Why! Why do you keep saying you’ll die?”

He seized her delicate shoulders and shouted.

“Pray to live!”

He couldn’t endure it any other way.

Estelle, who had always smiled prettily at John, who spoke the words he wanted to hear, who acted so lovingly he couldn’t bear it, shattered.

Her blue eyes lost their shine, like white foam breaking on waves.

“Do you want me to live?”

“Do you think I don’t want to live?”

Estelle cried with a lonely anger.

“Did you think it would be easy?”

“Why would you think it would be easy? How could it be easy?”

John had never seen Estelle look like that before. The anger that had flooded him suddenly cooled, shockingly.

“John, what do you know about me?”

As if for the first time, he saw the hidden real Estelle.

The beautiful adopted girl from Libertan, within whom was the name Estelle—no longer the daughter of Libertan that people spoke of.

“On that subject, you tell me to live?”

John pulled Estelle tightly to him. His hand holding her collar trembled hard.

“How can you wear that expression…”

Her face was so sorrowful and desperate, almost tragic.

“You know nothing.”

The emotions and expressions on that face showed the real her. A surge of strong emotion overwhelmed John, tearing at his heart.

“Estelle, you’re right.”

John decided he had learned enough about Estelle.

“I thought I knew you.”

Not only did he investigate Libertan; he had even sent agents into the duchy.

But the agents’ reports did not differ much from common belief.

“Duke and Duchess of Libertan keep that fake well protected. They keep trying to spend time with her and stay together somehow.”

“I infiltrated the fake’s room secretly. They slept there in all sorts of luxury, blissfully.”

“Whenever something displeased them, they tormented the servant who used the same room. Even if she didn’t share Libertan’s blood, she looked exactly like Libertan.”

Some spies showed strong hostility toward Estelle.

“A shameless slave you can’t even bear to look at.”

“Do they really ignore people, thinking themselves superior because they’re Libertan royalty? I think you’ve forgotten your humble origins.”

“I tried not to hold biases, but she’s truly remarkable.”

Spies are supposed to be impassive, but she made even them hate her.

“But I knew nothing.”

Estelle, now the Duchess of Blanchet, was no different from the spies’ reports. A lovely adopted child of Libertan. Coming to a new place and pretending not to care, but soon her true colors would sour the spies. John thought so.

“Why didn’t you tell me more about you?”

Yet the face John witnessed in the rain could not be faked.

“At least I should have known you better.”

John had thought of her as a formal wife, not truly looking at her.

“Estelle, you were not loved in Libertan, you were abandoned—”

Estelle stirred and turned toward him. Even as she pulled away from him, she slept soundly; her sleeping face was as angelic as could be.

The rain hammered on the window, a heavy downpour.

When John rose from the bed, thunder boomed in the dark sky.

Boom! Thundered around!

Then Estelle, who had been sleeping quietly, twitched.

“Estelle. Did you sleep well?”

John spoke softly as he approached Estelle.

But Estelle did not look at John, nor did she answer. She simply stared at the floor.

“Her eyes have no focus at all.”

Her beloved face paled blue and trembled with fear, trying not to cry.

“…Estelle?”

John sat beside Estelle and reached for her shoulder.

“Don’t like it—!”

Estelle pulled away, instinctively curling up.

She clutched against him so hard that the red marks on his arms were obvious, and her nails seemed to draw blood.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please—”

John bit his teeth and tried to calm Estelle.

“Estelle, snap out of it. This is here.”

Estelle could not respond.

Still, he couldn’t let her be harmed.

With great effort, John released Estelle’s hand.

“What is this—”

Estelle’s eyes burned red and tears spilled.

Terrified, Estelle pressed her hands together.

“I’m in pain, I won’t do it again. So please… just this once…”

“Estelle!”

Boom! Thunder again.

“Aaaah—!” Estelle screamed, flailing.

“No! It hurts! I’m sorry it hurts! But, but…!”

Her legs, beating the bed, swelled red again. The thunder seemed to be the cause.

John pulled the curtains to block the outside noise, but Estelle still could not breathe properly; fear still haunted her somewhere.

She muttered something indistinct due to muffled speech.

“Estelle.”

John gently held Estelle’s cheeks so she would see his face. Her face had no color at all.

“You’re not breathing properly.”

He pressed his lips to hers, breathed in, and Estelle gradually calmed with the warmth.

“Are you alright now?”

When the tremors stopped, John looked Estelle over again.

Estelle had fallen asleep again.

“That seems like a lie just now.”

The only thing that proved this wasn’t a nightmare was Estelle’s swollen ankle from crashing into the bed.

John lifted Estelle’s ankle to examine it. The woman’s leg outside the bed was very gaunt.

He dressed Estelle’s ankle with a bandage, then hugged her as she slept.

He buried his face in the nape of her neck, holding her tightly. If he loosened his grip, she might fall.

“You’re okay, Estelle.”

John whispered tirelessly, not caring if she could hear.

“I’m here. I’m right here now.”

His throat swelled with grief and sorrow.

“Is this not just abandonment after all?”

John didn’t know what had happened to Estelle. But

“Abandonment must be more than that.”

~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~

I was having a vivid dream.

In the dream, I knelt like a guilty person.

“How are you going to deal with that fake?”

“To take the place of the saint is even more audacious.”

A woman sitting on a radiant throne moved her pale pink lips cautiously.

“Don’t be too hard on her. There must have been unavoidable reasons for her.”

Golden hair flowing like sunlight, mysterious blue eyes. Skin as smooth as porcelain, a kind and benevolent smile, a beauty that looked pure and innocent. I had only seen her in portraits, but I knew who she was at once.

Yes, Stella.

“Was Yes Stella not dead?”

If she died, she wouldn’t have looked healthy.

Next to Yes Stella were men who looked protective of her.

“Yes Stella, you’re so kind.”

The Crown Prince supported the frail Yes Stella on his shoulder.

“Yes, Yes Stella. It is not only that you impersonated her; you attempted evil deeds.”

Liandro stood guarding Yes Stella with a sword in one hand and her noble hand in the other.

“But still…”

Yes Stella’s many followers began to surround me. They threw rocks at me.

“Disappear, you fake!”

“Vile witch who knows nothing of her place!”

Yes Stella looked straight at me and lowered her long lashes.

“Enough. I’ve forgiven her.”

Then Liandro spoke sternly.

“But a sinner remains a sinner. Even if you forgive her, you cannot refrain from punishing a sinner.”

“Very well, Yes Stella. Your kind heart is beautiful, but there are truths in this world that must be dealt with in not-so-beautiful ways.”

“Ah…”

Yes Stella, who had looked at me with pity, smiled brightly.

“John! You’ve come to me!”

Some tall man with no face stood beside me.

“As I suspected, my faith was not misplaced. At last you will accept me as your true wife.”

Yes Stella linked arms with the man and looked at me. A superior gaze swept over me.

Yes Stella pouted her thick lips and turned away, her glamorous blond hair fluttering.

~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~

I jolted awake.

“What dream is this?”

My chest felt heavy as if a weight pressed down. I gripped the edge of the bed and steadied my breath.

“Why did Yes Stella appear in my dream?”

Of course, it wasn’t the first time I had dreamed of Yes Stella.

“But since arriving in Libertan I haven’t dreamed of Yes Stella like this.”

The Yes Stella dreams I had in Libertan were never like this.

Usually, Yes Stella appeared to torment me, and she used the Libertan Duchy to punish me, and I dreamt as she wished.

“Yes Stella is already dead.”

If Yes Stella were alive, there would have been no need to adopt me from Libertan.

I spoke to the trees.

-I had a truly strange dream.

-What kind of dream was it?

-Yes Stella came back alive and chased me out. The dead cannot return…

-A bitter smile crossed my lips as I recalled Yes Stella.

-I’ve lived all my life trapped by the shadow of Yes Stella who is dead.

-Oh dear…

-It’s okay. It doesn’t matter now.

In the Blanchet Duchy, they might see me as a “revenge target,” but they treat me as “Estelle Libertan.”

-So this is really…

At that moment, I saw the ankle bandaged.

‘It doesn’t hurt, does it?’

When I unwrapped the bandage, there were bruises inside. Had I injured it again?

I let out a sigh.

‘Another unnecessary misunderstanding.’

I realized last night I had fallen asleep with John.

-I should ask him what happened when he returns.

Sure enough, John barged in as if he had sensed I called him.

“John. Last night—”

He had just washed, wrapped in a long towel at the bottom and drying his dripping hair with another towel. His straight clavicles and broad shoulders. A refined, solidly defined body that was sexy even just to look at, wet with moisture.

“How can such a man exist?”

It felt surreal. I swallowed my saliva without realizing it.

“Yes, John. Why didn’t you change clothes before coming?”

“I didn’t want to be away from Estelle, even for a moment.”

John shrugged, then smiled with a slight upturn of his lips.

“Today I’ll examine you in my laboratory to treat you. It’s not serious, so don’t worry.”

“Okay.”

I nodded quickly.

“So go change clothes.”

His fit body kept flashing before my eyes, and rational thinking wasn’t working. I intended to avert my gaze, but I found myself peering at the lower part, wrapped in a long towel.

“Come to wash, then. You’ll be fine. I’ll wash you this time.”

“What?”

“Why don’t you go ahead with no clothes on? It’s a good time to do it.”

That was suddenly too bold!

“Not too surprised, is it?”

John sat on the bed and tilted his head toward me. His damp lips drew my gaze.

“If you want to see everything, go ahead. You can.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m all yours anyway.”

John whispered sensually near my ear.

“Now I’ll wash you too. You’ll be tense all over.”

‘I should refuse, but I can’t.’

His hot warmth stirred my own desires.

I swallowed hard and asked.

“Are you really mine?”

John’s red eyes lit with joy.

~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~

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!!