Can’t Come Back

our hole.”

“Aang! Ha……! Ugh!”

“What kind of man would be satisfied with such a woman? Huh? I, ugh…! Somehow, I shouldn’t have married a woman like that……!”

It wasn’t just that.
Her husband’s shocking confession echoed in Berlia’s ears.
Tears flowed from Berlia’s eyes.
Fearing that her sobbing would leak out, she pressed her mouth harder with her two hands.

For fear that she might be found out by her husband and her maid, she took a breath and escaped.
She rushed into her room and then took off her hands that had covered her mouth, so she could burst out crying.

“Sob….hu hu hu.”

Tears flowed without stopping.
It was true that they did not get along well.
But she never thought that her husband would have an affair with another woman.
Besides, the woman is the closest maid who always takes care of her.
Betrayed at the same time by two people she trusted, Berlia couldn’t contain her overflowing resentment and sadness.

And what was sadder than the betrayal of the two was that she was weak and powerless despite knowing all these things.

Her husband was a Duke, a great noble.
In contrast, Berlia was an unstable Duchess who had not even given birth to a successor.
Her family was powerless, so even if they found out that Berlia’s husband was having an affair, there was nothing they could do for her.
It was so sad that she couldn’t even pretend to not know this.
Berlia couldn’t stop crying all night long.

The tearful Berlia didn’t have time to realize that the door wasn’t completely closed.
And there was no way of knowing that Cain was watching her cry through the gap in the open door.

***

A week has passed like that.
Berlia had been a little skinny in the meantime.

“Wife, are you not feeling well?”

When he saw Berlia putting down the spoon after eating a little, Dean asked her if she was not feeling well.
No matter who looked at it, Berlia looked unwell.
She couldn’t eat properly for a few days.
Dean had heard of all these facts from her maid, Rayleigh, but he showed no concern.

“I think it’s because I don’t have an appetite these days……”

“Oh, my.
But make sure you eat soup.
I’ll tell the maid.”

“……yes.”

The reason he said that was simple.
Because it was annoying.

He didn’t have the energy to pour affection into his wife.
It was enough to pretend to be a little worried on the outside.

For Dean, Berlia was like a pretty accessory.
Dean enjoyed the envious gazes of the noblemen in the banquet hall, which were directed at Dean as Berlia stood beside him.

If he had a child from Berlia, that child would also have a good-looking or beautiful appearance like her.
So he was fine with having his successor in her.
For Dean, Berlia was just that.

Berlia is still young and beautiful.
So it’s okay not to have a child now.
But when she was old and still had no child, he didn’t know what to do then.

“Are you done eating?”

“I have no appetite today.”

Berlia finished her meal and wiped her lips with a napkin.
The reason Berlia had been so skinny in the past few days was because she had witnessed Dean’s affair a week ago.
Dean, on the other hand, didn’t know even in his dream that Berlia had seen his affair.

Besides, today was the day Dean departed for Cairndale, a local estate.
It takes only two full days to get to the estate.
He had to ride a carriage for a long time.
Upon arrival, he had to settle his business in Cairndale for about three months and return to the Hildayden estate after that.

“If I head to Cairndale today, I will be back in about three months.”

“Please take care of yourself.”

In a place where a couple dines face to face, there was no warm air between them.
After this time, the two had to be apart for more than three months.

But there was not even the slightest affection between them.

“Since Cain has been entrusted with most of the work related to the Hildayden estate, there is no need for my wife to worry too much.”

“Yes, I see.”

Berlia answered in a dry voice.
Silence fell between the two again.
Then, as if Dean suddenly remembered, he broke the silence and opened his mouth,

“Oh, did Rayleigh tell you?”

At his question, Berlia’s hand, which was laying down the napkin, stopped.
Rayleigh is Berlia’s maid who mixed her body with Dean that night.
She was also the maid Dean had appointed to accompany him on the trip to Cairndale.
How shameless.
He mixed his body with his wife’s maid, not any other maid.
What was Rayleigh thinking while helping Berlia bathe?

‘She must have laughed at me for not satisfying the Duke.’

The shame of being ridiculed by her maid gave strength to her hand, which could not put down the napkin.
Berlia struggled to turn her distorted expression back into a blank expression.