“Where are you coming from?”
A familiar voice grabbed Sabina’s hand as she opened her door. Sabina was so embarrassed that she stood there for a moment. This was because a person she had never imagined being here was proudly sitting on the sofa in her room.
After the prince left, she told Melissa that she no longer needed to prepare her snacks and that she was on her way back. She had no idea that while she was away for a while, she would be visited by such an unwelcome guest. Although she was offended that she had arbitrarily barged into an unoccupied room, Sabina soon changed her mind. If he had sent someone to look for her, it would have already been revealed that he met the Emperor.
‘I guess today is the day.’
After hanging out with the prince, she now had to deal with her strict grandfather. Although she was already tired, she was faced with another difficult situation. Sabina couldn’t just sit around in her private home like this, so she sighed inwardly and stepped into her.
Sabina walked to the front of her seat.
“I just went to get some fresh air.”
Today was a day of lying in many ways. Since she could not immediately confess that she had met the prince, she did not reveal who Sabina was with. Sabina had no doubt that she would have already come in contact with the prince.
Simon invited her to sit down, so Sabina took a seat across from him. What kind of business did he have that brought him all the way here? Sabina opened her eyes cautiously.
“But why did you come here…?”
“Didn’t you say you’d serve me tea the last time I came here?”
Sabina’s eyes widened at his unexpected business. It was true that she had said that, but she had not expected that he would really visit here on such business. Did it make any sense for them to chat over tea? Sabina was uncomfortable with her marriage. No, more than being uncomfortable, she was hating and resenting him.
As Sabina bit the delicate flesh in her mouth, she recalled the presumptuous advice the prince had left. Did he say there was such a thing as a trick in this world?? It was truly ridiculous. Why else would he act like a tongue in her mouth for a family that was not even like this family? Yes, there may have been some truth to the prince’s advice. Depending on how one accepts ‘loving attention’, many different interpretations were possible. Sabina looked back at the unfamiliar look in his eyes that she had noticed the last time she had gone to look for Simon. It was a feeling that could only be described as longing.
Sabina only thought that she hated herself for being born as Simon and Benjamin because of her father’s mistake.
‘I never dreamed that they would miss their father who didn’t make mistakes’ through me. But what is that?’
Now she knew that Simon’s feelings for her were not just contempt. However, it didn’t make much of a difference to Sabina whether the behavior was truly bullying or it was just his overprotection. Even if there was something vaguely affectionate in the way he looked at her, what would it be of any use? Even the only way to express this was by whipping,
“You came so unexpectedly. My maid has just left her place, so it will take her quite a while to get ready.”
What Sabina issued was a clear order to congratulate the guests. Sabina guessed that her grandfather would soon leave a reprimand for the poor hospitality. The fact that he clicked his tongue and left this place because she was offended was the result of Sabina’s calculations. However, rather than getting up from his seat, he approached Sabina in a strange manner and asked to talk to her.
“Well, now that we’ve finished tea, let’s talk.”
As they talked, Simon was always telling her to do this, to do that, and he never once asked Sabina for her opinion. Although his unfamiliar suggestion was somewhat surprising, Sabina remained silent and waited for him to bring up his business. He must have had a good reason for walking to a place he had never been to before. After a moment of hesitation, Simon leaned his elbows on his thighs and clasped his hands together. Finally, he opened his mouth in an unusually cautious manner.
“…The tea you served me last time. Did you give it to me because you heard about it from your father?”
For some reason, he couldn’t get the words out and hesitated, so it must have been about that kind of business. Simon had always been reluctant to talk about his eldest son. It must have been difficult for him to mention Liam in front of his granddaughter, who refused to even attend the memorial service. Nevertheless, the reason he couldn’t resist and came here was probably because Sabina’s last time recreating her grandmother’s recipe remained in her mind. And Simon’s hypothesis was actually quite close to the truth.
After all, it was through her father’s diary that Sabina found out her recipe.
“No.”
At Sabina’s simple reply, her maid sighed, not knowing whether she was relieved or disappointed. Simon, who was wiping the corner of his mouth, explained in a shy manner.
“…Okay, I guess I asked something pointless. Actually, that recipe was when your grandmother was alive…”
“Do you know that Dorothy often served chamomile tea with honey?”
Sabina cut him off and asked back. At that, Simon’s eyebrows furrowed in righteous indignation. His voice was slightly upset.
“Didn’t you say you didn’t hear this from your father?”
“I didn’t hear it from my father. Although it’s the recipe he gave me.”
“What is that…”
“I saw it in my father’s diary.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the chair Simon was sitting on began to rattle loudly. The reaction was stronger than expected. His eyes were shaking with confusion as he discovered traces of his dead son. It seemed that even Simon, who was called a nobleman without blood or tears, could not completely abandon his estranged child. He suddenly got up and asked with an urgent attitude that she had never seen before.
“Liam’s diary? Where is it? Did you leave it back home? Or…”
“It was my father’s keepsake.”
Simon took a deep breath as if he were hearing the news of Liam’s death for the first time. Sabina looked into Simon’s eyes and calmly continued her explanation.
“After my father’s funeral, I gathered the things he used on a daily basis and burned them in front of the grave to send them to him.”
“Okay.”
“So, no more.”
Sabina did not obediently reveal the existence of the diary because she wanted to give him some memories of her. On the contrary, she never wanted it to be taken away from her. She herself would never share her father’s memories with her grandfather. He had already lost that title when he coldly dismissed her granddaughter, who had visited him on the anniversary of his son’s death, in her first year at the Charlotte household. Losing his precious son was ultimately the result of his wrong choices.
“Yes, I see…”
Simon, who had been blinking blankly for a while, mumbled and sat back down in his place. Although he had calmed down his excitement, Simon still looked distraught. He looked down at the floor and busily picked up his horse and served it.
“Do you remember anything? I wonder if there was a story about me in it.”
He was curious about how he was recorded in his son’s diary. Although the actual diary was written during his father’s boyhood, Simon would have understood that it was written after he became a monk due to the circ*mstances. Sabina understood his feelings, but she also did not forget that he was being too shameless. If Sabina’s words were true, she would not have been questioned more inconsiderately than this. How could he not know that the sorrow of a young child who lost his father would be as deep as his own wounds?
It was true that he was prepared to be treated badly by Sabina, but Sabina could not have even imagined that a person could go this far and kill someone. While he did not even look into Sabina’s inner circ*mstances, he was unusually obsessed with her behavior and culture. His censorship and evaluation continued mechanically, and his warm gaze or words of comfort were restrained, as if they were not worth giving. They were slowly suffocating Sabina.
She couldn’t make any voice and she just stayed quietly.
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Translator Note:
I’m baaaaaaaaaaack with this story, did you miss me? Hehe
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
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