Spring in My Grasp - Chapter 18

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

(18) Why He Is Despised

“It has truly been an exhausting time, madam.”
Noticing the Butler’s pallid complexion, Rowan rose to brew him a cup of tea herself.
“Drink this. It will restore your vigor.”
“Only you look after me like this, madam.”
Flattery, how transparent. Yet Rowan suppressed an amused laugh at the irony. Was this not the same Butler who had strutted about so confidently when first banishing her to the East Annex? Now, however, he had grown addicted to his evenings in this East Annex—his bravado inevitably deflated.
“What has happened during all this time?”
At Rowan’s question, the Butler’s mouth drooped.
“Please, do not ask. I have labored without a moment’s rest.”
Indeed, he appeared noticeably thinner.
“To think this old body has been driven so mercilessly.”
“Who did this to you? The Countess?”
Rowan inquired. The Butler shook his head vigorously.
“It was Master Alexis.”
“What?”
Rowan startled at this unexpected answer.
“Wait—does he even oversee the Count’s Residence?”
Though her time in the Main Residence had been brief and she had scarcely glimpsed his face, what business could he suddenly have with such matters?
“What are you saying? If that were the case, I would not be in such a predicament!”
The Butler cried out with indignation.
“A man who ordinarily cares about nothing suddenly tells me I have too much free time and assigns me work—can you imagine?”
Indeed, it was the day after Alexis had finished his evening meal in the East Annex that he summoned the Butler. The Butler’s torment began from that very moment, bewildered by the summons.
Alexis had called upon the Butler to perform even tasks that belonged to the Attendants. Though the Butler could have delegated such work to them by virtue of his authority, he could not escape orders that Alexis himself had directly issued.
This was unmistakable harassment. Yet the Butler could not confront Alexis about it. His secret visits to the East Annex had been discovered—a grave miscalculation on his part.
“Today, he finally had business elsewhere and left, or I would still be suffering as we speak.”
Having heard the Butler’s entire lament, Rowan clicked her tongue inwardly. So that man’s heart is rather petty after all.
“Still, it is fortunate you have time today. I have prepared broth—I shall make chicken noodles with it later. Why not stay for dinner?”
“Oh, chicken noodles!”
The Butler’s eyes gleamed as he slouched in his chair. Noodles were, in truth, a commoner’s fare. A man of his station could ordinarily enjoy far more refined dishes.
Yet the food Rowan prepared was extraordinary. It never grew tiresome no matter how often one ate it—savory, warm, and comforting. The kind of taste that made one crave it again the moment one turned away.
And this was only natural. Rowan had once worked part-time at a tavern, after all. Her skill in preparing appetizers translated seamlessly into this unfamiliar world.
Indeed, Lea, the Butler, and even Alexis devoured everything she made. Craving pajeon, Rowan kneaded flour to recreate it as best she could in this place. As she finely chopped herbs and vegetables from the garden and mixed them into the dough, the Butler lingered nearby and spoke.
“Is there nothing I might help with?”
Feeling somewhat awkward watching Alexis’s Wife prepare food with her own hands, the Butler ventured the question. Rowan replied matter-of-factly.
“You can wash the dishes before you leave.”
“Of course!”
After being treated to a delicious meal, washing dishes was hardly a burden. The Butler chuckled and answered readily.
“Oh, and I’m curious about something.”
Rowan asked.
“Ask away, madam.”
The Butler, now in good spirits, replied cheerfully.
“When exactly did Alexis become so twisted?”
At Rowan’s sudden question, the Butler’s expression hardened.
“Well, it’s not like that.”
Rowan continued.
“Born into such a fine household with such a beautiful face, what could possibly dissatisfy him so much that he wanders like this? And the Countess….”
Rowan never referred to her as Mother.
“She doesn’t seem to get along well with her son.”
“Hmm….”
The Butler let out a sigh, his expression troubled. Rowan turned to look at him. It seemed he knew something more than Lea did.
“You’ll stay for dinner, won’t you?”
“Ah, of course. Of course, madam.”
At Rowan’s words, the Butler hastily nodded. Then Rowan smiled wickedly.
“Then you might as well tell me.”
“How could I!”
The Butler wore an expression of defeat. But soon enough, he surrendered. How many dinners had he enjoyed from Rowan by now? How could he hide this from her?
Besides, when he thought about it, Rowan was truly and legitimately Alexis’s Wife. What harm was there in her knowing the truth? Unable to resist, the Butler opened his mouth.
“It’s rather complicated.”
Rowan nodded as if to say he could speak freely.
“The young master wasn’t always like this. Above all, when he was young, he was docile and intelligent—quite beloved, I’m told.”
Rowan felt she could understand. Given his appearance now, the young Alexis must have been as lovely as an angel.
“Then why on earth would the Countess….”
Dislike her own son? A child who had been so lovely? As Rowan looked at the Butler with questioning eyes, he opened his mouth with resignation.
“I don’t know all the details myself, but from what I’ve heard from those who worked at the mansion long ago….”
The situation was this: Count Glister’s Wife had a sister who was extraordinarily beautiful. Her beauty was so renowned that even the King took notice. Wherever she passed, her terrifying beauty captivated everyone’s gaze, regardless of gender.
And the family raised such a beautiful daughter with great care. The attention lavished upon her left little for her younger sister, the current Countess Glister. In fact, it was this elder sister who had been betrothed to Count Glister.
Count Glister cherished his betrothed dearly. How could he not? The Kingdom’s greatest beauty was to become his wife.
But then a plague swept through. A terrible plague that ravaged even the Royal Palace, one from which neither nobility nor commoners could escape.
And it struck this elder sister. In an instant, with no remedy, she breathed her last. Count Glister’s despair at the time was beyond words.
Yet for the sake of the family’s alliances, the current Countess Glister had to marry him soon after. For a time, Count Glister could not bring himself to look upon his wife. Of course, it was not deliberate coldness. He simply could not bear the grief and longing that had not yet faded. But perhaps that humiliation from those days could never be washed away.
The Countess Glister felt a deep attachment to her eldest son, Francis, rather than her cold husband. And slowly, she established herself as the mistress of the Glister Estate. There may have been times when she thought living this way was not so bad.
But when she saw the second son born shortly after, she nearly fainted, it is said.
The baby with silver hair and violet-blue eyes was none other than the spitting image of her own sister.
“Good heavens.”
After hearing the entire story, Rowan could not hide her shock. So that extraordinary beauty had come from his aunt?
“But that’s not Alexis’s fault, is it?”
“Well, that’s true enough.”
The Butler exhaled deeply.
“But human hearts don’t operate purely on logic, do they? Besides, the Countess has always been prone to nervousness. Having been crushed under her sister’s shadow for so long, it’s only natural that darkness accumulated in her heart.”
“I understand that much, but still….”
Rowan murmured. How could she hate her own child—one she had carried and birthed herself—so intensely?
‘Then again, Alexis’s rebellious attitude isn’t entirely incomprehensible either.’
I reflected.
‘After all, he’s being discriminated against by his own mother for such an absurd reason.’
It’s complicated, so complicated. Being a concubine’s son might have been better. His own mother is the villain. There’s nothing to be done about blood ties like this.
Rowan shook her head and smoothed out the kneaded dough with her palms.
“Then his older brother should be more understanding. There’s no reason for the siblings to be at odds.”
Rowan continued. At that, the Butler drew in a breath.
“How could he possibly….”

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