I Became the Wife of the Hero Who Killed Me - Chapter 15

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#Episode 15

‘Edwin? What are you doing standing there blankly in our yard?’

‘There’s a cat here…’

It was not long after my parents had passed away, on a day when rain was pouring down like a deluge.

Worried that the grave might be damaged, I had ventured outside the house for the first time in a while, when I discovered Edwin standing in one corner of the yard with a troubled expression.

At his feet, a kitten that looked like it had just opened its eyes was squirming about.

It looked shabby, as if it had been abandoned by its mother for several days.

‘This won’t do if we leave it like this. We need to dry its wet fur first. Will you help me?’

‘The inside of the house is a mess…’

‘But the baby cat is shivering.’

Having lost my parents and been betrayed even by relatives I trusted, I was not in my usual state.

Even though I shouldn’t have let the young lord of Lombard do menial work, I just sat blankly in a corner with the door open, watching what he was doing.

Edwin stirred the brazier to kindle the embers and found a towel to dry the kitten’s wet fur.

Once its body warmed up, the cat brazenly rolled over on its back as if it had never been shivering and fell asleep just like that.

It was such a shameless little thing that I wondered how such a creature could exist.

I let out an involuntary chuckle, and Edwin, who had been stroking the kitten, suddenly looked back at me.

‘We should give it a name. Do you have any good ideas?’

‘You’re asking me something like that…’

Feeling awkward for a moment, I suggested Nero without much thought.

Then Edwin asked back.

‘Nero?’

‘Just, because its fur is black. It means night in the ancient language.’

‘Good.’

‘Uh… what’s suddenly good?’

‘It seems to suit him well. Nero.’

I wondered if such a hastily chosen name would be okay, but Edwin seemed truly satisfied.

Only then did I notice the surrounding situation.

The sound of burning firewood and the warmth of human presence had returned to a house that had only been filled with silence and cold air.

The floor, which had become a mess from relatives rummaging through anything of value, was also neatly organized.

‘…I’m embarrassed.’

Suddenly feeling sorry, I carefully sat beside Edwin and extended my finger to the kitten.

It was an action I did without much thought.

But Nero let out a small whimper in his sleep, then began desperately sucking on my hand like it was his mother’s milk.

In that moment, I was seized by a certain emotion.

Since it hadn’t been long since I lost my parents in a carriage accident, the sight of the cat clinging desperately as if begging not to be left alone struck my heart anew.

Edwin watched me quietly, then made a suggestion. Would I like to try raising Nero?

That’s how he became family.

Awakening from the memory, I blinked blankly.

‘How is Nero here?’

No, how wasn’t what was important right now.

I lowered my body as much as possible and extended the back of my hand to reassure Nero, who was cornered.

Then he carefully lifted his head and slowly began rubbing his cheek against the back of my hand.

The pitiful sight made my heart ache sharply.

“Do you people have no blood or tears?! How could you think of hitting such a small ball of fur!”

“We’re sorry, but my lady, we’re the ones who got hit…”

A servant whose appearance was a complete mess, as if he’d been through a war, carefully interjected.

Of course, I scoffed.

“You got hit by a cat? Say something that makes sense.”

“It’s hard to believe, but it’s true! That damn cat just grabbed me by the collar and slapped me repeatedly with its front paws!”

“Stop it! You should be ashamed as a human being. This poor thing is so gentle, how frightened it must have been?”

“It, it’s the truth! I saw it with my own two eyes!”

Did that guy’s way of speaking become a bit strange?

Anyway, since those who usually couldn’t even make proper eye contact with me were all acting like this together, I glanced down just in case.

“Meow…”

But Nero was still just trembling with fear, tears welling up in his eyes.

Of course, those damn liars. Such ridiculous slander against a speechless animal!

“I will raise this cat from now on. His name will be Nero.”

“M-my lady!!”

“What on earth is all this commotion about?”

Just as the shocked servants all jumped up in unison, clear footsteps echoed from the lower floor.

Lady Olden, who appeared next, surveyed the chaotic corridor with a stern expression.

‘Sigh, is it starting again…’

Actually, the lady had a tendency to be somewhat obsessive about me.

I had felt this from the moment I first opened my eyes in this body.

Lady Olden meticulously inspected and interfered with every robe I wore, every piece of food that entered my mouth, and even every place I walked, to an excessive degree.

From my perspective, having lived almost my entire life alone, it was suffocating to the point of madness.

But I knew nothing about the relationship between royalty and servants, and I had heard in my previous life that the lady was like a foster mother to Elisia, who had lost both parents.

So at first, I tried to accommodate Lady Olden’s obsessiveness as much as possible.

Of course, at some point I just got better at avoiding it.

After a moment of silence, the lady spoke.

“My lady, do you truly intend to take in that beast?”

“Is there some problem?”

“Isn’t it too dirty and lowly to keep by your side? Why don’t you get a different cat instead? If you really want one, I’ll find a suitable one.”

“Watch your words. Dirty and lowly, you say.”

All balls of fur in the world are equally lovable. There could be no high or low in this fluffy world.

I demonstratively scratched Nero’s chin gently.

“Look how gentle and well-behaved he is.”

“Meow―”

Nero’s eyes sparkled brightly.

He was cute enough to make my heart clench involuntarily, but Lady Olden’s expression remained firm.

“My lady.”

“…”

For a moment, I felt something strange that was hard to describe in words.

Lady Olden stood in a flawlessly elegant and aristocratic posture, but her expression was full of annoyance and fatigue.

Moreover, her gaze was like that of someone scolding a disobedient child.

This was the first time I’d seen such a face.

‘Is this even possible?’

No matter how close a retainer she was, having been with me since childhood, I still couldn’t believe that a servant would show such an attitude toward her master.

So at first I thought it might be my imagination, but the strange feeling I had was definitely not wrong.

Lady Olden was trying to control me.

And she was already accustomed to it.

I held Nero and slowly stood up to face Lady Olden.

“Don’t you think your interference is a bit excessive?”

“I have served my lady longer than anyone else. That means I am the only person who dares to speak frankly when my lady makes the wrong choice.”

“Speak properly. What you just did wasn’t frank counsel, but overstepping your authority. Do I, the Duchess of Lombard, look like someone who needs anyone’s permission?”

“….”

Lady Olden’s gaze as she looked at me was terrifying.

‘What was Elisia thinking, keeping such a woman by her side?’

I couldn’t understand why she had trusted such an arrogant maid as her closest confidant, even entrusting her with all the duchess’s authority.

Just as I was caught up in this indescribable, subtle feeling, Lady Olden stepped back.

“It would be best if you had your meal first. I’ll bring up that matter again later.”

“…Fine.”

Come to think of it, I had skipped breakfast.

I had been leisurely lounging alone in bed, so I hadn’t even noticed I was hungry.

I was starting to feel hungry belatedly, and since I wanted to avoid behavior that seemed different from the original Elisia, I decided to play along appropriately.

Just as I was about to go back into the bedroom.

Head Butler Bertol approached, crossing the chaotic corridor.

“I pay my respects to my lady.”

“What brings you here?”

Bertol continued speaking while deliberately pretending not to see the disheveled servants.

“His Grace urgently requests an audience with my lady.”

“Duke Lombard wants to see me?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

My eyes naturally narrowed.

Why would the Duke want to see me? What good could come from two people who look at each other like strangers meeting face to face?

Surely the construction of the Confinement Tower wasn’t completed already?

Perhaps my suspicion showed, as Bertol quickly added.

“Please come with me to the Reception Room. There are guests.”

* * *

I headed to the Reception Room holding Nero.

Normally I would have left him in the bedroom to rest comfortably, but I was anxious about leaving him alone with Lady Olden when she clearly disapproved of Nero.

She might secretly chase him away and then make up some story about him running away.

The other servants were also Lady Olden’s people, so I couldn’t feel at ease.

It was the first time I realized I needed ‘my own people’ who weren’t under Lady Olden’s influence—something I hadn’t particularly felt until now.

Bertol stopped in front of the Reception Room.

“Announce that my lady has arrived.”

“Yes.”

The Lombard Knight guarding the door nodded.

Meanwhile, in the opposite corridor, knights wearing unfamiliar armor were lined up. However, their insignia was familiar to me.

A chalice surrounded by radiance and two crossed swords.

‘Why is the Holy Knight Order here….’

I couldn’t help but be surprised.

The presence of the Holy Knight Order, which was directly under the Pope, meant that the guest in the Reception Room had come bearing a Papal Decree.

This had never happened before.

‘What could this be about?’

As if answering my curiosity, the door opened just then.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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