Chapter 172. He Is Truly Amazing
“I will leave this in your care.”
Deborah bowed her head deeply toward the man boarding the carriage.
The item being sent via the person heading to Denver was none other than a single letter.
The recipient written on the surface of the yellow envelope was Lea Parker, but in truth, it was sent to Jade.
The reason for using such a deception was just in case.
Lest Jade’s identity, who was known here as Deborah’s husband, should accidentally be discovered.
So after much consideration, she decided to send the letter to Lea instead.
If it were her, she would surely deliver the letter to Jade safely.
To Jade,
Jade, I am sending a letter via someone heading to Denver because I have something urgent to convey.
A few days ago, the Cheister ducal family arrived here…….
He found out both that I am working at a nearby farm and that I am pregnant.
He found out both that I am working at a nearby farm and that I am pregnant.
The fortunate thing is that, thanks to doing exactly as Jade advised, he does not know the truth about the child.
Therefore, I am briefly writing this because I think it would be best for Jade not to come here for the time being until the Cheister family leaves this place.
Do not worry about me. I will handle things well on my own.
Well, I hope you stay healthy and well until we meet again.
Deborah.
The content of the letter consisted of a brief account of the situation here and an earnest request for him not to come.
Lest Jade, knowing nothing, should visit this place again and accidentally draw suspicion if he caught the Duke’s eye, after all.
-I am sorry, Deborah. My husband made a mistake…….
-Ah, that is…… because the Duke suddenly asked, it just slipped out without me realizing…… St-Still, I said it was two or three months just as instructed, so do not worry too much.
Deborah conveyed that it was fine to the Bailey couple, who were at a complete loss because they felt so sorry.
Although it was a bit absurd that it was exposed in just a few days, in truth, asking them to keep even the pregnancy—which everyone knew about—a secret was simply a way to buy time.
Even if it was a fact he would find out someday, she still wanted to delay it even a little bit as much as possible.
According to Mr. Bailey, the Cheister family would remain here until the season changed.
Then they would leave this place narrowly before her delivery date.
Therefore, until then, it was important to prevent him from knowing whether the child in her womb was his own.
To think that her worrying about not putting on weight despite her months advancing would actually help in this kind of moment…….
Looking at the receding carriage, Deborah unconsciously let out a chuckle.
While praying that this season would pass by as quickly as possible.
☆☆☆
Returning to the cottage, Deborah pondered for a moment.
A holiday where she happened to have no work.
Thinking about it, it only occurred to her then that she had never once taken a proper rest since coming here.
Of course, it was because she had no such leisure while adjusting, but in any case.
‘I think she mentioned there was a lake near here…….’
She could not remember well when it was, but she recalled what Maria had said during a meal.
That if one walked just a little toward the back of the farm, a scenic lake would appear.
“…….”
After pondering for a moment, Deborah eventually packed a bundle of cloth and thread into the basket placed beneath the bed.
It was from the thought that it would be nice to do needlework while viewing the outside scenery once in a while.
Somehow, she felt the child would also like that better.
“Now then, shall we go?”
Deborah looked down at her still-flat stomach and offered a bright smile.
The thought that she was not alone.
By that alone, Deborah felt that this current moment was no longer lonely.
“Wow…….”
In fact, she did not have any particular great expectations all the way here.
Aside from Maria’s words that it was just a decent sight, she had simply thought a lake is just a lake.
However, the moment she turned the corner, an exclamation slipped from her mouth unconsciously at the scenery unfolding right before her eyes.
A blue sky where white clouds drifted floatily.
The emerald lake, which mirrored that appearance completely, looked exactly like a painting.
Her heart began to flutter after a long while.
Thinking that she had done truly well to come out, Deborah kept moving her halted steps.
Just how long had she walked along the perimeter of the lake?
Discovering a towering tree on a slightly sloped hill, Deborah walked over there, settled down, and sat.
Spreading the cloth she had brought in her basket and leaning her back against the tree trunk, it truly felt like paradise.
Deborah spent a long while like that, leaning against the tree, appreciating the drifting clouds and the scenery of the lake.
Then at some moment, her eyes closed softly without her realizing.
With only the beautiful chirping of birds heard intermittently, it was an incredibly quiet moment, as if she were immersed in a hazy dream.
It was exactly then. That sound was heard by her ears.
What should she say. It was like the sound of footsteps treading on grass…….
……Footsteps?
At that thought, Deborah’s eyes soon fluttered open slowly above her.
And her breath stopped just like that.
“…….”
“…….”
Those blue eyes, as if they had transferred the color of the clear lake exactly as it was.
The moment she looked directly at the man’s chillingly frozen face, the blood in her entire body felt as though it were turning cold.
Robin’s flustered face, visible beyond that shoulder, could not even enter her sight at that moment.
Just how long did the breath-stifling silence last?
At the action of the man slightly gesturing with his head, only then was Robin seen stepping back from his spot where he stood behind him.
Her lost mind began to snap back to reality.
Deborah quickly pulled her body away from the tree trunk and sat up.
Right when she was hurriedly moving her hands with the thought of escaping this place as quickly as possible.
“You are truly amazing.”
At that low voice heard along with the sound of treading on grass blades, Deborah’s hands stopped right in their place.
Her gaze slowly lifted.
Deborah stared blankly at the beautiful face of the man who had approached right in front of her before she knew it.
“That fellow who is your husband.”
“…….”
Even while looking at the corner of his lips curling up cynically, Deborah did not understand what he was talking about.
It was after hearing the next words that followed immediately that she understood its meaning.
“I knew he had a strong stomach ever since he picked up a wench who rolled around under another man again, but.”
“…….”
At the scoffing sarcasm, her heart throbbed instantly.
“Even so—”
The blue eyes that had been pinned to Deborah’s face slowly moved downward and stopped precisely around her stomach.
“Just how much did you roll around after returning for you to already be pregnant with a brat in the meantime?”
“…….”
“Then again, the feeling of losing one’s mind after tasting that maddeningly sweet honey—well, it’s not entirely incomprehensible…….”
That explicit gaze slowly scanning down her body.
Deborah could endure it no longer.
Standing up from her seat, Deborah grabbed the cloth she had been sitting on and began to cram it into the basket just like that.
Without even thinking of brushing off the dirt, right at the moment she was about to move her steps with it stuffed inside.
With a groan of ‘ah,’ Deborah’s body was pushed back straight against the tree.
Their bodies pressed close in an instant.
“Th-This hand…….”
Startled by the distance close enough to hear his breathing, Deborah hurriedly twisted her body to pull out her captured hand, but it was a futile effort.
The more she did, the closer Raymond pressed his body as if to show off.
“For the rest of your life, you will have to live licking the soles of your husband’s feet.”
“…….”
“Because just by the fact that he accepted a filthy wench like you without casting you away, he deserves to be praised as a saint.”
“…….”
“To the point that I wouldn’t dare to even imitate it.”
“…….”
A tone uttered as if chewing through each and every word.
And words and actions anxious to inflict a wound on the counterpart before his eyes.
While she understood all of that, because she was also a human being, her mind ended up twisting in the end.
Deborah’s coldly settled golden gaze pinned straight down onto Raymond’s face.
“Thank you.”
“…….”
At the unexpected words of gratitude, the expression of the man, which had been jumping around madly, froze completely.
“The advice you have given…… I will continue to live while engraving it deeply into my heart in the future as well.”
“…….”
Simultaneously with the end of the quietly uttered words, the smile that lingered around Raymond’s lips also vanished without a trace in an instant.
For a very brief moment, a suffocating silence descended between the two.
The only thing passing back and forth was a gaze glaring at each other as if to kill.
Only after a long while passed did Raymond release the hand that tightly gripped her wrist as if throwing it away.
“……Get lost this instant.”
Deborah politely bowed her waist toward the man who commanded frostily.
A greeting containing the utmost courtesy.
And with that as the last thing, Deborah turned her body around just like that.
Without knowing that because of that action she did, the surrounding air encompassing the man had turned even more fierce—
She walked away rapidly, looking only ahead like that.
☆▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎☆
