Spring in My Grasp - Chapter 52

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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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(52) The Real Rowan

The three of them sought a more secluded corner to avoid the gazes of others. The name of the man the real Rowan had loved and spent years with as her Childhood Friend was Lucien.
The real Rowan had no one to lean on but Lucien, so she depended on him deeply. Then when they told her to marry some profligate, Rowan wept and raged—it was inevitable. To such a Rowan, he coaxed her to run away together, but in the end, that scoundrel stole every piece of jewelry her mother had entrusted to her and fled. That man now sat before Rowan.
“Because of you! Because of you!”
And Rowan beat Lucien mercilessly, hidden from the eyes of passersby.
“Because of you, Rowan… no, I suffered so much! Do you understand?”
“I’m… I’m sorry….”
Lucien begged while taking blow after blow from Rowan.
“Because of you, she… no, I wanted to die!”
And the real Rowan had indeed died. Hit by a truck in her previous life, she had now entered this empty body.
“You murderer—what gives you the right to show your face here?! Are you even human?!”
Watching this, Layla was utterly dumbfounded, her breath catching in her throat. To rage as though dead while standing perfectly alive was beyond absurdity.
“You’re alive and well—what are you talking about?”
At those words, Rowan’s head snapped around.
“What do you know?!”
The real Rowan had departed with such sorrow and melancholy in her heart. For a time, that emotional residue lingered in the body, leaving the current Rowan somewhat downcast as well.
“This bastard deserves to be beaten to death!”
Turning back to Lucien, Rowan struck him wildly as she cried out.
“You killed someone! Do you understand? Yet how dare you show yourself here?! You betrayed someone struggling… no, you betrayed me who was struggling, right until the very end?!”
“I’m… I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Rowan.”
After venting her fury on Lucien, Rowan drew a deep breath and planted her hands on her hips.
“Fine. So what is all this? Layla, why did you bring this man here? What did you accomplish by following along?”
As she spoke, Rowan’s anger flared again, and she kicked Lucien hard. He yelped and curled into himself.
“Rowan… it seems you’ve grown much stronger since I last saw you….”
Lucien rubbed the spot where Rowan had kicked him as he spoke.
‘How could you have ever thought of running away with a man like this, Rowan.’
Rowan’s expression darkened with complicated emotion as she regarded Lucien.
“Isn’t it strange that you’re not happy to see him? Your sister loved him enough to run away with him.”
Layla spoke. Only then did Rowan grasp her intention, and she exhaled a heavy sigh. People truly never change.
“I’m a married woman. What’s your purpose in dragging my ex-lover in front of me?”
Layla let out a scoff at Rowan’s words, as though the situation were preposterous.
“You can’t be so confident, can you? Does your impressive brother-in-law know about this?”
Ah, right. Alexis. Rowan’s mind raced. But wait—could there be anything to fault her for regarding something that happened before the marriage?
“I don’t know. You know as well as I do how we ended up married.”
“Aren’t you worried about how your brother-in-law will react if he finds out?”
“Why would I be worried?”
Rowan’s composed face made Layla cross her arms, her lips curling in a sneer of contempt.
“If High Society learned that the wife of that so-called great Holy Knight tried to elope with another man before marriage, it would be quite the spectacle—not just for your husband, but for your social standing too.”
High Society. As if I cared. Not a flicker of fear crossed Rowan’s features. Yet thinking of Alexis stirred an unease within me. What if her actions tarnished his reputation further?
‘Why did he have to become a Holy Knight of all things!’
She had been content in the Annex, tending her Vegetable Garden in blessed obscurity, and now this woman was unraveling everything. It was giving me a headache.
“So what do you want?”
Now she was my enemy. Once things had escalated this far, there was no returning to sisterhood—not that there was much to return to in the first place. Watching Rowan’s unguarded gaze, Layla spoke.
“You and your husband need to visit the Baron’s Estate.”
And she emphasized one more thing.
“Officially.”
The intent was transparent to anyone. She wanted to leverage Alexis’s prestige to elevate the Baron’s Estate’s standing. And once he set foot there officially, Alexis would inevitably become entangled in whatever schemes unfolded within those walls.
“Is that all?”
Rowan asked.
“Come visit me often. We’re still sisters, after all.”
….
Sisters. Rowan thought bitterly.
‘You’re my enemy now. What’s the difference between you and Audrey?’
Rowan pretended to deliberate for a moment, then nodded.
“I need to think about this, so let’s end this conversation for today. I can’t give you an answer right now.”
“You should think carefully.”
Layla said mockingly.
“After all, you’re now the wife of a Holy Knight. Consider how your conduct might affect his reputation.”
She hesitated briefly, then twisted her lips.
“It wouldn’t be good for your marriage to suffer either, would it?”
Something peculiar—a hint of jealousy and resentment—lingered in those final words, and Rowan’s eyebrow arched.
‘Could she possibly…’
No, stop. Don’t think about that. It’ll only make my headache worse. The sudden thought made Rowan shake her head vigorously. Before leaving, she glanced back at Lucien once more. His cold blue eyes held no emotion, and he flinched at her gaze.
“Rowan….”
“Tell me one thing.”
Rowan asked Lucien, who was looking at her hesitantly.
“Why did you do it?”
At Rowan’s question, Lucien hung his head. His fingers trembled slightly before he finally spoke in a crawling voice.
“I… needed money.”
“Enough to steal and sell Mother’s jewelry?”
“I… that is….”
Lucien faltered.
“I was gambling with a friend over drinks… and I got caught by a bad crowd. If I didn’t settle it quickly, they would have come after our parents….”
Good grief. Rowan pressed her temples.
“Was your affection for me genuine?”
“That… was genuine.”
Rowan refrained from throwing another punch at Lucien, who couldn’t even meet her eyes properly as he answered, as if questioning whether he possessed even a shred of shame.
‘For Rowan’s sake… I hope at least that much was sincere.’
But what could not be forgiven remained unchanged.
“The fact that you followed my sister this far makes you worthless.”
Rowan’s voice rang out coldly.
“We likely won’t see each other again in our lifetime, but remember this: you’re the man who sold the woman you loved for gambling debts. Live with that knowledge.”
With those words, Rowan turned and left the cafe. Lucien, abandoned in the cafe, turned to look at Layla with a vacant expression.
“Something’s wrong….”
“What is?”
Layla found him equally pathetic. The way he had shamefully followed along to meet Rowan for mere money couldn’t have made a worse impression on her either. At her curt response, Lucien spoke.
“She doesn’t seem like Rowan.”
“Why? Did you think she’d like you again just because you reunited after so long?”
“No, that’s not it. I wasn’t expecting that….”
Lucien’s lips trembled.
“Really, she doesn’t seem like Rowan.”
***
The journey back to the Castle left my body feeling cold and uneasy, despite the warm weather. My heart had frozen over.
‘Poor Rowan….’
Each time I recalled the true master of this body, my heart grew heavy with pity. Upon entering my bedroom, I collapsed onto the bed the moment I changed clothes. It seemed I had caught an illness.
“Miss Rowan, did something happen?”
Lea, sensing the shift in my mood, tried to stay by my side. I closed my eyes, overwhelmed by exhaustion.
“No. I’m just tired.”
“I’ll call the Physician.”
“No, please don’t. It’s too much trouble. I’ll be fine after some rest.”
Watching me wave my hand dismissively as if everything in the world was a nuisance, Lea shifted anxiously on her feet.
“Something definitely happened.”
Lea spoke to the Butler.
“I should have gone with her even with my cold. That sister Layla is no ordinary woman.”
“We need to have her in better spirits before Alexis arrives.”
The Butler shared her concern, and both were troubled. My condition was their greatest preoccupation. But behind their worry, I had already fallen into deep sleep.
How long had I slept? In my dream, I could see a young girl. A face so familiar.
‘This is… this is….’
I approached the girl. She looked at me and smiled softly.
‘This is… me!’

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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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