Spring in My Grasp - Chapter 4

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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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(4) The People of the Glister Earl Family

“This is my wife, Audrey. If you have any questions during your stay, you may ask her.”
At that, the woman called Audrey pouted slightly and cast a sidelong glance at her husband.
‘Ah…’
In that moment, I could discern Audrey’s type well enough.
‘I saw plenty of women like her during my part-time work days.’
I suddenly found myself taking a trip down memory lane to those not-so-distant times.
When taking orders at the counter, there were often women who came with their boyfriends or husbands and never placed their own orders. While the man was ordering, if his explanation went on even slightly too long, they would pout and cast suspicious glances his way.
‘She certainly… guards her husband closely.’
I had internally grumbled about calling them “octopus guardians.”
Snapping quickly out of my reverie, I made sure not to linger my gaze on Francis for too long, lest I provoke Audrey’s ire. But my sharp radar had already taken in every detail of him.
‘The older brother… is not quite as striking as the younger one.’
Though such a thought might be rude, I mused to myself.
Francis had a gaunt complexion that would not have seemed out of place on someone suffering from illness. His frame bore an unusual frailty, and his drooping eyes and slack mouth gave him an air of exhaustion.
And his features bore a striking resemblance to Countess Glister.
‘He takes after her side of the family.’
I carefully lifted my eyes to regard Count Glister, who had not yet spoken a word.
‘Then what about…?’
But upon observing the Count, I could not hide my surprise.
‘How strange.’
Count Glister did have silver-streaked hair, but his features bore no particular resemblance to Alexis. None of the Countess’s family members possessed a face similar to Alexis’s.
‘What is this? Where on earth does such remarkable beauty come from?’
I found myself puzzled. I quietly picked up my utensils amid the heavy silence and diligently continued eating, my mind never ceasing its work.
‘Could he be the child of a mistress?’
It was a common trope found in novels and dramas. A beautiful young concubine brought into the household who bore such a son, yet he was unloved. Perhaps this young master’s story was something like that?
‘If that were the case, it would certainly explain why both families are so eager to have us marry.’
I resolved to observe the circumstances of this Glister Earl Family more carefully. Yet my determination proved futile as a significant incident soon befell us.
***
“What? The East Annex, all of a sudden?”
I had been lounging leisurely in the Garden that day as well, savoring refreshments.
I was whiling away the hours amid the gentle warmth of the sun and the fragrance of flowers that filled the Garden, contentedly lost in my own world. This morning, I had crossed paths with Countess Glister as she was heading out, and when I greeted her with a smile, she had spun around as though she’d seen something dreadful and hurried away.
‘For a Countess, her manners leave something to be desired.’
Yet such rudeness from others was of little concern to me—I had been tempered by countless part-time jobs. I was leisurely savoring an expensive tea whose name I didn’t even know. It was truly a rest and luxury I had never experienced before.
But then, news struck me like a bolt from the blue.
“Where is that?”
In truth, I didn’t regard it as shocking myself. The problem was that the faces of the maids attending me had gone deathly pale, as though they’d been struck by lightning.
The Butler approached me and my maids, and with a formal yet somewhat cold demeanor, informed us that my quarters had been designated as the East Annex, and that I should relocate there immediately.
“Why do you all look like that?”
Watching the Butler’s solemn attitude and the maids’ ashen expressions, I alone stood bewildered, understanding nothing.
“This cannot be! How long has the lady been married…!”
A maid protested. Observing her aggrieved expression, I slowly recalled her name. I believed it was Lea.
The name reminded me of my stepsister Layla, but unlike Layla, this maid named Lea seemed to be standing against the Butler on my behalf.
‘I don’t know the circumstances, but she appears to be taking my side.’
I resolved that if the opportunity arose, I should treat Lea more kindly.
“Married or not…!”
The Butler retorted with visible anger when the junior maid dared to protest.
“Master Alexis doesn’t even come home, and there’s no semblance of married life to speak of—what justification does she have to remain in the Main Residence? Lady or not, she spends all day idling around….”
The Butler, his face flushed with anger as he shouted at the maid, suddenly stopped mid-sentence and closed his mouth. He glanced cautiously at me, but I showed no particular sign of disturbance. I fixed him with a cold, sideways stare.
‘Anyone could guess what comes next.’
“Ahem, in any case.”
The Butler resumed his formal demeanor and continued.
“I have already had the servants move all your belongings to the East Annex, so once you finish your refreshments, you need only relocate there.”
“Wait, Butler! This is far too sudden!”
As the Butler turned to leave after his unilateral announcement, Lea followed after him.
“Master Alexis is away now, but when he returns, he will be furious! If you knew that his quarters are in the East Annex—”
“Who told you that Master Alexis’s quarters are in the East Annex?”
The Butler suddenly responded to Lea with a cold smile.
“Pardon?”
Lea, taken aback, repeated his words in confusion.
“Master Alexis’s quarters remain unchanged.”
The Butler spoke with a smile that was almost cruel.
“It is only the lady’s quarters that are being moved.”
***
The East Annex of the Glister Earl Estate.
What kind of place could it be that made the maid Lea tremble so violently?
“It’s over now. If the Countess is sent to the East Annex, then she will… and I will….”
Lea’s words trailed off as she wept bitterly. It was hardly befitting conduct for a maid attending a noblewoman, but Rowan, having come from another world, found herself questioning Lea’s words more than judging her tears.
“What exactly is the East Annex that it warrants such despair?”
“That place is… it is….”
Lea could not bring herself to continue. Only after I managed to calm her did I finally hear the truth.
The East Annex within the Glister Earl Estate was a place so desolate and damp it rivaled the Cold Palace of ancient Chinese imperial courts. From the family’s earliest ancestors onward, anyone abandoned by the Marquis or deemed a burden to the house was cast into this East Annex, where they withered away without hope of salvation.
“To think the Countess would be cast into such a place!”
Lea’s words dissolved into fresh sobs. Watching her, my own heart grew heavy with melancholy.
‘I thought I would finally be rewarded for my grueling life in that reality, only to be discarded like this.’
So the luxurious life was finished. Those days had been wonderful. Swallowing my regret, I moved toward the East Annex with the maid Lea.
‘Not that I could return even if I wanted to.’
The memory of Marquis Hartwood’s delighted expression when I announced my marriage surfaced, and I instinctively shook my head to dispel the thought.
‘Besides, they were never truly my family….’
My instincts told me they would never help me, no matter how desperately I asked.
‘There’s no choice then.’
I swallowed a sigh.
‘I’ll have to find work here as well.’
In the reality I came from, I had been desperately poor, and as a solitary orphan, there was scarcely a part-time job I hadn’t done, scraping by from the very bottom. Here too, if I was to survive, I would need to work.
Leaving behind those few months of dreamlike bliss, I hurried toward the East Annex, my mind already occupied with adapting to this world and securing employment.
“Here… is it?”
And when I finally arrived before the East Annex, I found myself at a loss for words. Lea, standing behind me, answered through her sniffles.
“Yes, my lady. And this place will now be….”
Our grave.
It was as though Lea whispered those words from within despair and darkness itself. Yet my expression as I gazed upon the East Annex was different.

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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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