Spring in My Grasp - Chapter 29

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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(29) An Inexplicable Emotion

Audrey continued speaking.
“And of all people, that wife happens to be the eldest daughter of the Hartwood Family. Do you know how much the social circles are whispering because of that woman? They call her the abandoned wife in the Annex, and everyone treats her as a laughingstock.”
The Countess slammed her fist against the table.
“That’s exactly the problem! This is… this is…!”
The Countess glared at the countless letters scattered across the table. They were congratulatory missives that had poured in the moment Alexis was announced as a Holy Knight, and among them lay a considerable stack hinting at marriage proposals. He hadn’t even divorced yet, and the moment word spread that he had become a Holy Knight, prominent families were already sending such discreet overtures.
‘We never received such marriage proposals for our Francis…!’
That thought meant only one thing—families far more powerful than Audrey’s had also sent letters.
“This is ridiculous.”
Francis trembled with rage, grinding his teeth. It was the complete opposite of the virtuous demeanor he had maintained until now.
“What have I done for this family all this time? Now I’m destined to live in the shadow of Alexis. As the older brother of a Holy Knight, no less.”
Audrey’s eyes gleamed with intensity.
“That won’t happen!”
She cried out.
“I won’t allow it.”
Audrey remained unaware of the marriage proposals accumulating for Alexis. A different scheme festered within her mind.
‘If I dispose of that abandoned thing in the Annex and force a divorce, I can make him look like trash who abandoned his first wife the moment he became a Holy Knight. She’s already as good as discarded anyway, confined to the Annex.’
The air in the Main Residence grew suffocatingly heavy. Though no one spoke it aloud, their hearts ground with jealousy and fury.
***
Unable to contain herself any longer, Audrey made her way to the East Annex without telling anyone.
“Still here, I see?”
Audrey’s sharp voice cut through the air as she reached the Annex.
Rowan stopped tending the Vegetable Garden and looked up. While Audrey was impeccably dressed as always, Rowan’s face was flushed and glistening with perspiration from working under the sun in her hat just moments before. With the faint scent of perfume, Audrey’s cold gaze swept over Rowan’s appearance.
“Welcome.”
Audrey’s lips twitched at Rowan’s greeting.
“How can you be so composed?”
Audrey let out a scornful laugh.
“Now that the Young Master has become a Holy Knight—and one proclaimed directly by the King and High Priest, no less—this is hardly a place for the daughter of Marquis Hartwood to remain.”
Even as she spoke, Audrey felt her chest constrict with jealousy. She gazed around at the Vegetable Garden that Rowan tended herself, looking down with contempt at the modest but meticulously maintained Annex.
“Besides, there are already rumors that the Hartwood Marquis Family has abandoned you. Surely you’re not foolish enough to dream of becoming a Holy Knight’s wife?”
Rowan calmly met Audrey’s gaze before lowering her eyes to the soil-covered spade in her hands. Her movements hesitated for just a moment, then resumed with serene steadiness.
“I see.”
A brief, understated reply. Audrey’s lips twitched again. Frustrated by the absence of the panic or anger she had anticipated, her irritation deepened.
“You’ll see soon enough who will stand beside the Holy Knight. It certainly won’t be you.”
She deliberately covered her lips with a handkerchief, as though the dirt-covered Rowan before her was beneath notice.
“The fact that I’ve come here myself to tell you this is because I hope you’ll have the sense to step aside. Otherwise, you may face far more humiliation.”
For a moment, Rowan’s lips trembled slightly. But she lowered her head and answered quietly.
“I understand.”
Satisfied by Rowan’s apparent acquiescence, Audrey smiled with contentment.
“At least you have some sense. It’s wise not to remain a foolish woman clinging to the Holy Knight’s ankles, but rather to know when to step back gracefully.”
She brushed off her dress as she spoke.
“Your role is finished now.”
….
“Unless the Young Master continues to live like a wastrel, this sort of match would only be a liability.”
Rowan offered no response. With only those words left behind, Audrey turned sharply on her heel and departed from the Annex.
‘She’s not entirely wrong, is she?’
Looking out the window, I watched the leaves of the Vegetable Garden sway in the breeze. The peaceful days I had spent in this small space flashed before my eyes. Yet now, Alexis’s name had grown far too large for me to sustain this life. I would continue to exist in this world, but I could no longer walk the path that Alexis walked.
‘I should prepare myself.’
Taking a deep breath to calm my heart, I quietly closed my eyes. The days ahead filled me with profound unease.
***
Since this was unprecedented in the Kingdom’s history, everything granted to him proceeded with remarkable swiftness. Not only did he receive a Castle and a separate Palace from the King, along with vast lands, but he was immediately appointed as a Holy Knight under the direct command of the High Priest, bypassing all intermediate steps.
“You want to stay here? Why?”
Alexis had returned from the Grand Cathedral and was the first to suggest to Rowan that they move into the Castle together. After all, now that he had become a Holy Knight, he possessed his own Castle. When he made this proposal, his shoulders had even shrugged with satisfaction.
He could now take her from this shabby Annex to the independent Castle he had acquired. Yet Rowan had refused. He could not understand her. From his perspective, moving to the Castle granted by the King made far more sense than remaining in this squalid Annex. But Rowan simply continued shaking her head.
“I’ve grown quite attached to this place….”
Yet her excuses were utterly unconvincing. Even Rowan recognized that she was speaking nonsense, but she had no other choice. At the very least, she could not bring herself to follow Alexis to his Castle.
Even when he had been called a scoundrel, there had been many troublesome external factors. Now that he had become a Holy Knight directly proclaimed by the Royal Palace, there would only be more vexing complications ahead.
She had already prepared her belongings and money, ready to flee at any moment. Once Alexis returned to his Castle, she planned to leave this Annex as quickly as possible.
“And I’m worried about the Vegetable Garden….”
Rowan continued muttering.
“I just… you know. I don’t think I’d be able to manage such a grand Castle….”
“What are you talking about?”
Alexis said.
“You’ll have a Butler and servants to command. You only need to give orders.”
Haha, Rowan laughed awkwardly.
“Well… anyway, you go first. I’ll… go once I’m mentally prepared.”
“….”
At those words, Alexis fixed Rowan with a steady gaze. Intimidated by that look, Rowan hunched her shoulders. After studying her for a long moment, Alexis suddenly seemed to lose his resolve and flopped onto her Bed, settling into a half-reclined position.
“What… what are you doing?”
Startled, Rowan asked the Alexis who had collapsed beside her. Alexis closed his eyes.
“How can I overcome your stubbornness? Fine, we’ll do as you say.”
Watching him accept her words so readily, Rowan too was taken aback.
“So… you’re listening to me?”
“Yes.”
Alexis answered with his eyes still closed.
“But I’m coming with you.”
“What?”
Rowan’s eyes widened in even greater surprise.
“What do you mean—”
“If you don’t go, I won’t go either.”
Alexis said.
“If you go, then I go too.”
“….”
Rowan could say nothing. She turned her gaze toward the window beside the Bed, looking out.
Beyond the window, the sun was setting. The crimson glow of dusk slowly painted the Western Sky, then spread gently to tint the window frames of the Annex in golden light. A soft breeze stirred, cooling the day’s heat as it gently rustled the grass in the Vegetable Garden. The whisper of leaves brushing against one another seeped subtly into the Room.
The distant murmur that had been audible gradually faded, replaced by the alternating chirps of birds. The air flowing through the window cracks was cool and clean, carrying faint notes of earth and grass that brushed against her nose.
Silence settled over the Room. While Alexis rested against the Bed with his eyes closed, Rowan gazed out the window for a long time. As the sun continued to set, the sky seemed to shimmer softly, as if offering solace for the day that had passed.
In that moment, an inexplicable emotion bloomed in Rowan’s chest. A feeling she had never experienced before. She herself could not understand what this emotion stirring within her was. Outside, the wind gently swayed the leaves, but within the Room, as if the world had been shut away, there existed only silence and the breath of Alexis and Rowan.

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