Epilogue. End of Happiness – 02

“…Me, Iris, I’ve never seen her smile like that.”

Right after Iris gave birth to Ed, we were all kicked out of the room by Ariel’s logic that ‘mother and child need a break’. Aria and Kirie went back to their rooms with faces full of dissatisfaction, Sarah went up to the office to take care of the rest of the work, and Elena was the only person allowed to remain in the room in the name of washing Ed’s body. has become

However, the duchess of Estelle and Bianca, who would be second to none in the Estelle duke’s leisure, expressed their intention to remain in the room until the end, and eventually ended up being forcibly kicked out at the hands of Ariel. The story of Bianca and I, who had become unemployed in an instant, ended up chatting face-to-face on a snowy terrace with no place to go.

“That way? How was Iris laughing?”

“…Well. Something was laughing very brightly. Should I express it as a kind, compassionate face?”

Having said that, Bianca suddenly stiffened her face. And while maintaining that state, he raises only the corners of his mouth very slightly at an angle. The expression she was making now seemed to be very similar to someone’s usual smiling face.

“So, I thought that woman was a hard woman who could only laugh like this? right? With a savage personality who ignorantly likes to wield a sword, and not enough nagging about the manners and authority of the imperial family all the time, the woman who walked around with a stiff neck saying that she was the best among us was that woman. was it?”

“…..”

,,, was scary. In front of Iris, she always said ‘degrading’ and gave me honorifics, but did she always think this way in her heart? Was the adage that there are neither true friends nor true enemies in a relationship between women really true?

“By the way, just a while ago, it gave off a very different atmosphere. How can you make such a kind and comfortable expression? I had been concluding in my heart that she would never have a relationship with that expression for the rest of her life. Or, do all mothers make that kind of face toward their children?”

As she spoke, Bianca’s face was somehow wearing a bitter smile. If I had to use an analogy, I forgot to think that her face resembled a blizzard that was raging outside even at this moment.

“…Yes, Cain. Did your mother make that face at you too? Did he affirm you, be proud of you, and love you?”

I silently shake my head left and right at Bianca, who, for some reason, asks me such a question with a desperate expression.

“Well. To be honest, I don’t remember too well. Because my mother died when I was very young. My father was also very busy with his work as a duke, so he didn’t have much time to pay attention to me.”

“But one day my father told me. My mother said she was in tears after giving birth to Elena and me. I heard that you repeatedly thanked me for being born as your own child.”

“…I see. Normally, I thought it was nothing, but now that it’s like this, I’m a little envious. It is a mother who loves her children.”

At those words that sounded like Bianca’s lamentation, I looked straight into her face.

“…why are you saying that?”

“It’s nothing. Actually, it is because a woman like me doesn’t deserve to be called a parent.”

Her tone when she was saying those words was as flat as if she was discussing the menu she ate this morning.

“…yes. In fact, I’m not a great woman like the daughter of a marquis? Externally, she may have been treated as a noble person, but in reality, Bianca del Castana is just an insignificant girl who knows how to use magic.”

Her calm voice resonates everywhere. But in contrast, I didn’t miss the scene where Bianca was hammering her nails into her arm.

“…Bianca.”

After that, Bianca constantly confessed to me about this and that. In fact, he was just one of the experimental subjects artificially ‘created’ by the Marquis of Castana. However, she became the daughter of the Marquis of Castana just because she was born with an outstanding talent for magic. It is true that Castana’s lineage runs through her bloodline, but she is actually just a mongrel woman who doesn’t even know her parents’ faces, let alone the real daughter of the Marquis. Without missing anything, she reveals her past to me in detail.

“Isn’t it funny? In the past, the fact that I, who nagged you to behave like an aristocrat, was actually a lowly girl whose roots were unknown?”

“…..”

“Sorry for not revealing it earlier. Actually, I know very well that I should have said this before marrying you. But, I was scared. I know you’re not that kind of person, but I couldn’t stand the thought that you might look at me differently once you found out.”

The current Bianca was avoiding eye contact with me. He was reluctant to expose his two shaking eyes to me.

“Because everyone who knew that I was born not in my mother’s womb, but in a test tube somewhere, looked down on me. Well, that must be unavoidable. Anyone in the world who sees a fierce dog without a leash is bound to be wary, right? Needless to say, a spoiled girl who knows how to use magic that can bake a person’s head in the blink of an eye?”

Bianca giggles and smiles self-deprecatingly at herself.

“I don’t know if that’s why I was attracted to a man like you. To the man in the world who was the only one who wasn’t afraid of me and treated me as a human being. Even though I knew what kind of woman I was, to Cain von Estel at the time I asked to meet again later.”

And that was when Just in time, a strong wind blew through Bianca’s red hair. At the same time, the Hong-ok earring she was wearing caught my eye.

“…Cain. Is it okay if I ask you one question?”

She opened her mouth to me, fidgeting with the earrings she was wearing.

“Do you remember this earring?”

“…that earring you’re wearing right now?”

In response to that question, I looked carefully at the red earrings she was wearing. A cheap earring made of ruby, which is not so good at first glance. To be honest, there was no doubt that the earrings were too short for the daughter of the Marquis of Castana, who had one of the wealthiest people on the continent. But unfortunately, I knew about those earrings. very well too. And in a slightly dishonorable form.

“That earring you left at the camp that day and told me to bring it?”

At my answer, Bianca tilted her head as if she didn’t know why.

“…What? campsite? What the hell does that mean?”

…Anyway, in the future that Bianca went through, the absurdity I had to go through didn’t happen. Should I express this as a little fortunate?

“At first glance, these are cheap earrings. Why are you wearing something like that?”

When I answered in the lightest tone possible, at the same time Bianca kicked me hard in the shin. Perhaps it was because she had a lot of selfishness, she felt a rather intense pain rising up her nerves from the tip of her toe.

“…Ugh-! What are you doing…!”

“Noisy! you really are a bitch I am the same crazy bitch who married a man like you.”

“…..”

While saying that, Bianca turned her head away from me as if she didn’t want to look at me. I scratched my head at her unexpectedly violent reaction and let out a slight sigh. It seemed that there was no choice but to take special measures to relieve her anger.

“…Bianca. Actually, I have one thing to confess to you. Can I tell you?”

“…What.”

It was blunt, but it was sure to be an affirmative way of speaking, telling me to do whatever I want.

“Actually, I knew. the things you just said From the fact that you were actually a test subject to the fact that you weren’t the real daughter of the Marquis. All.”

“…What? What did you say now?”

At those words, Bianca, who had been encouraging me not to see me again just a moment ago, looked back at me with wide-eyed eyes.

“Actually, right before I left the marquess, the old man who claimed to be your guardian told me everything. What kind of existence you are, what secrets you have, and what kind of life you have lived until now. The old man’s mouth was so soft that he told me everything in detail, even what I hadn’t asked. So, the confession you made to me isn’t anything that should shock you a second time.”

“…..”

In an instant, Bianca’s body froze in midair. She looked like someone who had forgotten not what to say, but how to act.

It took quite some time after that for Bianca to come to her senses and finally be able to open her mouth to me.

“…then why didn’t you tell me? You know everything, but why did you hide the truth from me?”

“Yeah, it’s not that important.”

I replied to Bianca’s question with a rather casual expression.

“For me, Bianca del Castana is a woman I have known since childhood, with a slightly broken personality, and the fact that she loved me was the only thing that mattered. What else could matter?”

Actually, it’s not that his personality is a little broken. Still, that could be said to be within the acceptable range. Isn’t it the law that everyone has a little emotional instability and extremes? Of course, Bianca is a little more severe than the others, though. It’s safe to say that it’s individuality.

“And thanks, Bianca.”

“…what?”

“That earring. for still having it And for still wearing it to this day.”

Saying that, I took out a small box from my pocket and handed it to her. Actually, I wanted to hand it to her in a more quaint and atmospheric setting, but given the circumstances, handing it to her now seemed like the right choice.

“…What is this?”

“gift.”

click-

At my words, Bianca carefully opened the box I handed over. Inside the box I handed her was an earring. Small earrings made of ruby, like the earrings Bianca is wearing now.

However, if there is a difference, is it that they are so expensive that they cannot be compared to the earrings she is wearing? As the Duke of Estelle has become much richer than before, I think this amount of spending is acceptable. Especially when you consider that a woman named Bianca is going to be my lifelong companion.

“That earring. It’s been over 10 years since I gave you a present. So, I was waiting for a chance to present something new someday. Actually, I was going to give it as a surprise for your birthday, but it’s only now that I have no choice but to reconsider your birthday present.”

“…..”

There was no reply from Bianca. With a trembling hand, she took out an earring that had been placed quietly in the box.

“How about trying it on? I think it will suit you well.”

At that, Bianca took out the earring she was wearing in her left ear and put on a new earring I gave her. Just as I had thought, the new ruby earrings fit her very well, as if they had been made for her in the first place.

…But at the same time, that was the end. She only wore the new earring on her left ear, but did not put the new earring all the way on her right ear.

“…wouldn’t it be better to change into a new one? To be honest, I think the old earrings are too old and cheap.”

At my words, Bianca shakes her head from side to side.

“No, I like this form better. I intend to wear it like this from now on.”

Saying that, Bianca smiled. Her red hair and ruby earrings matched perfectly, just as I had expected. Yes, I still think that a woman named Bianca del Castana is the most beautiful woman when she smiles like that, not when she has a gloomy expression.

“…Cain.”

“…Yes why?”

At my questioning, Bianca closed her eyes for a moment, and then called my name with straight eyes and a warm voice that had never been seen before. The way she looked so shy toward someone, it was clearly from the past that I was familiar with—

“…Thank you, really.”

The way Bianca said those words to me, as if she were shy, was very similar to the look of the girl I once faced when I was a child.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like