Chapter 95
It was a self-deprecating remark uttered without any particular intent. Angela herself hadn’t grown up properly—that was a fact—so she had simply voiced it aloud.
Yet Kalian was frozen, as if struck by an unexpected arrow.
“It’s not like it means anything specific; I’m just saying that’s how it is.”
Angela added it casually, as if it were nothing.
But it amounted to little more than an excuse.
It was utterly insufficient to pull out the arrowhead that had flown and embedded itself in Kalian.
“It really was just a meaningless comment.”
Angela approached Kalian and gently stroked his cheek.
It was her way of coaxing him to relax that deathly expression. However, Kalian bit his lip as if he’d been slapped.
“Don’t torment those pretty lips.”
Angela’s thumb softly pressed against the corner of Kalian’s mouth. At that, Kalian released his bitten lip like an obedient child. But that was all. His distorted expression showed no sign of easing.
Kalian’s head turned slightly to the side for a moment. At the same time, his Adam’s apple bobbed.
What had he swallowed?
Angela scrutinized Kalian’s face once more as it turned back toward her. She was trying to figure out what he had ingested to fill his stomach.
But Kalian soon opened his mouth with a composed expression.
“Angela has grown up splendidly. Anyone who sees you would praise you as admirable and commendable.”
His voice was gentle. It was so sweet that one might wonder if what Kalian had just swallowed was candy. It carried an even richer sweetness than the candies he had sent before, alongside that bitterly bitter medicine.
“So, please don’t think things like you didn’t grow up well.”
The voice melting stickily into her eardrums was so honey-like that she worried it might attract bees.
However.
“The one who should regret their growth is me.”
The words Kalian abruptly added revealed that what he had swallowed was not candy, but that bitterly bitter medicine. The period at the end of the sentence was clearly stained with bitterness.
Angela looked at Kalian as if he were spouting nonsense. As far as she knew, Kalian was the most upright young man who had ever grown up.
If a child was crying, he would immediately go to them; he wouldn’t ignore a woman in distress; and he was the first to approach an elderly person facing hardship. What reason could there be for him to doubt his own growth?
Unable to comprehend, Angela locked eyes with Kalian in a standoff.
Meanwhile, Kalian, gazing into Angela’s clear eyes that met his own precisely, felt an urge to lower his head. Looking into her pure eyes made his own thoughts about himself painfully transparent.
She was surely wrapping him up as quite a decent person. All while completely forgetting how he had treated her in the past.
Harsh words that couldn’t be taken back, sharp actions that couldn’t be undone—they had been there in every moment. It was Angela, who had borne the brunt of those insulting instances, who was making excuses that he hadn’t known better.
Why should such an Angela mock her own growth? How could someone like Kalian dare to receive praise from her for his own development? None of it made sense.
“I promised to become a fine man, but I’ve been nothing but a worthless one to Angela all along. I’m sorry.”
At Kalian’s apology, Angela gazed up at him quietly.
No matter how she looked, the man before her was so splendid that he dazzled her eyes. So, what was he saying about needing to become an even better man? She couldn’t understand.
Would his frustration only be appeased if her eyes were blinded by the brightness?
“Kalian.”
Angela called his name with a clearer pronunciation than usual. It was a lucid summons meant to ensure he listened well.
The sentence that followed was even more resolute.
“Don’t say things that diminish the value of the man I’ve chosen.”
It was a request, yet a command. Now, it was Kalian’s turn to reply with, “Yes, Angela.”
But Kalian’s tightly closed lips showed no sign of parting. He remained silent for a long while. Just as Angela was about to press him for an answer, his forehead gently touched hers.
“I’ll return those exact words to you, Angela.”
Spoken at a distance where breaths mingled.
“Angela is the person I love. Please don’t criticize her carelessly.”
Angela had no choice but to swallow every single word of Kalian’s without wasting a syllable.
“When you put it that way, I understand immediately.”
Angela replied meekly, then subtly lifted onto her toes and wrapped her arms around Kalian’s neck. Since she had unexpectedly shot an arrow and attacked, it was her duty to heal the wound.
Sensing her intent, Kalian slightly lowered his chin to seek Angela’s lips. The distance was short. Their lips were on the verge of meeting.
“Mmm.”
Mary stirred heavily.
Angela hastily pulled away from Kalian. She practically shoved him back. Then, she fiddled with her hair for no reason. It was already perfectly neat.
“Milady…?”
Mary, raising her upper body from the sofa, rubbed her sleep-heavy eyes and searched for Angela.
“Why are you awake already?”
Angela approached the sofa like a mother rushing to her whining child and asked.
“Uh…? Ah!”
Only then realizing she had been lying on her mistress’s sofa, Mary’s eyes widened enormously. Her drowsiness vanished in an instant.
Not being a child ignorant of basic etiquette even when given freedom, Mary jumped up from the sofa and stepped down.
Then, spotting Kalian as well, she blinked her round eyes before bowing deeply.
“I’m sorry for interrupting!”
With that, she left the room, and Angela stood there dumbly until Mary’s pattering footsteps faded away. A trivial question had popped into her mind.
What are you sorry for interrupting, Mary? Come back here, okay?
Watching this, Kalian thought to himself that if this wasn’t child-rearing, then what was it? He let out a soft chuckle. His black eyes, tinged with amusement, lingered on Angela without pulling away. He savored the peaceful time that wouldn’t last much longer.
* * *
Angela, with her hair tied high in a single ponytail, stepped out of the mansion’s entrance.
The area in front of the carriage she would board and depart in was bustling. Not with people leaving with her, but with those gathered to see Angela and Kalian off.
They gasped in surprise at the sight of Angela appearing in the simple outfit Mary had prepared for her, then quickly united in praising her, declaring she looked like the goddess of war.
“Excessive praise is flattery, and I distinctly remember saying that—it really makes my ears ache.”
Angela issued a cold warning when she could no longer stand it, but not a single one of them closed their mouth out of fear. At that moment, Emmett, who had just finished loading her luggage onto the carriage she would ride in and stepped down, spoke up.
“They’re all acting this way because they’re reluctant to see you go, so even if it’s bothersome, please take it graciously.”
Even as he said this, Emmett’s face was filled with regret. It hadn’t been this bad until yesterday, but ever since Angela declared she wouldn’t take a single maid with her, his complexion had deteriorated rapidly.
‘You mean you’re not taking anyone…? Then how will you manage your morning preparations? The disputed territory is quite a distance away, and without even a maid, you’ll be terribly inconvenienced.’
‘That’s right, Emmett. I’m not going on a picnic. What need would I have for a maid to dress up in the disputed territory?’
Emmett seemed to understand Angela’s reluctance to bring anyone else to a dangerous place, so he didn’t press further. However, he couldn’t quite hide the natural sorrow that showed on his face.
The other servants were the same. For whatever attachment they had formed, their expressions were all clouded.
Among them, those who didn’t know the exact circumstances assumed there must be a reason, yet they couldn’t understand Kalian for taking Angela to a battlefield and wore sullen expressions.
And the one with the greatest dissatisfaction was, of course, Mary. It had been a long time since she started shedding tears of regret.
‘Are you going to keep crying like that? You should show me a pretty smile, shouldn’t you?’
Angela had scolded her, but it was no use. Mary tried to force a smile, somehow pulling up the corners of her mouth, but in the end, she couldn’t stop them from drooping like they were tied down.
Even now, she was clinging tightly to Angela’s side, desperate to stay together for just a little longer. Angela, looking down at her curly hair, lowered herself to her level.
“Mary.”
As their eyes met at a similar height, Mary suddenly threw her arms around Angela. Even knowing it wasn’t proper etiquette, she couldn’t hold back and rubbed her wet cheek against Angela’s.
“Milady is someone I have to protect…”
Angela, as if entranced by the words mixed with sobs, hugged Mary back. She patted her back, which still seemed endlessly small.
“If you eat well and sleep well, your milady will visit you often in your dreams. Can you promise that?”
Mary nodded vigorously. Each time her chin shook, tears dripped onto Angela’s shoulder. Instead of avoiding them as if they were dirty, Angela held Mary even tighter. Mary, not to be outdone, hugged Angela back.
How long had they stayed like that? When the time to part arrived, and they slowly released each other without anyone prompting first, Mary suddenly said something unexpected.
“Emily…”
The name was so familiar to her ears that Angela stared intently into Mary’s eyes, which were brimming with moisture.
“That’s my mother… I promised her… That I’d definitely protect you, Milady Angela… So… you have to… come back safely…”
At the word “promise,” accompanied by an extended pinky finger, Angela hooked her own onto it. Then, unable to hold back, she pulled Mary close and hugged her again.
At this rate, it would be revealed that Angela was the one who didn’t want to let go even more than Mary.
But she couldn’t help it. Not after hearing such a shocking confession.
So she was Emily’s child. That’s why she’s so lovely. She takes after her mother completely.
Angela kissed Mary’s cheek as if she were adorable beyond words. At the sight, the servants, their noses tingling with emotion, turned their gazes to the sky and wiped the corners of their eyes.
It was then.
Even though Kalian hadn’t yet given the signal to depart, a loud whinny echoed out. Right after, the urgent sound of wheels coming to a halt followed.
The gazes of everyone preparing for their master’s long journey turned toward the source of the noise. There stood a carriage bearing the Bilton family crest.
Angela carefully released Mary and scrutinized the carriage. Soon, the door opened, and out stepped Yvonne.
She wasn’t dressed in pants like Angela, but in simple attire, carrying a large luggage bag, striding over purposefully—it looked like she was prepared to depart somewhere.
“Yvonne?”
At Angela’s puzzled call, Yvonne bit her lip hard before speaking.
“I want to go with you too.”
Before Angela could even open her mouth to say how absurd that was, Yvonne boldly climbed onto the carriage Angela was set to ride in.
Her stubborn attitude seemed to say, “Try pulling me down if you can,” as she stared straight ahead.
“Yvonne.”
Even when Angela called her sternly, Yvonne pretended not to hear. She clutched her luggage bag tightly to her chest and held her ground.
It was Emmett who cut through the strange tension between the two. He didn’t say anything, but by briefly climbing onto the carriage and organizing Yvonne’s bag, he expressed that he didn’t mind the situation.
Mary was no different. After crying so much, she seemed relieved at the thought of Yvonne going along. She wiped away her flowing tears roughly and looked up at Angela.
All the potential helpers were on Yvonne’s side. Angela turned her head to find someone who would take her side no matter what.
Kalian.
From a short distance away, Kalian was also watching the situation. Angela sent him a pleading look, as if asking what to do.
It wasn’t far enough that he couldn’t understand, yet Kalian merely tilted his head slightly and then focused on his own tasks. This was what it meant to be betrayed by the one you trusted.
“It’s a dangerous place.”
In the end, Angela tried to persuade Yvonne on her own.
“Yes, it’s a dangerous place for you to go alone, Milady.”
But all that came back was the resoluteness of someone who had already made up her mind.
“I, Yvonne…”
No words came to mind that could drag Yvonne out of the carriage right then. Then, suddenly, she thought of Yvonne’s jewel—Beatrice.
“What about Beatrice?”
“I said goodbye to her. This time, I want to protect you, Milady.”
Even so, Yvonne didn’t change her mind, and though Angela found it infuriating, she couldn’t stop her heart from racing.
The words she uttered to hide her uncontrollable joy were:
“You idiot.”
It was a complaint born of overwhelming happiness.
