WBWB | Chapter 28
by Quill‘If only a kind woman who recognizes his worth appears…’
“If this territory had a proper mistress, she could manage the affairs of this mansion and act as your representative, handling matters in your stead during your annual absences. Furthermore, she could also serve as a mother figure for Lady Ana. So, I…”
But as I spoke, I felt a sense of unease.
Visit Lily on the Valley to read full chapter without gibberish
“I hope Your Grace hasn’t given up on the possibility of finding an intelligent and kind woman as your wife.”
“What?”
Support us by visiting our official site at lilyonthevalley.com
“Because Your Grace is certainly worthy of being loved by such a woman.”
And as soon as I finished speaking, I realized I had poked a sleeping lion.
Visit Lily on the Valley to read full chapter without gibberish
“What…”
He looked as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.
For the best reading experience, visit lilyonthevalley.com
“What do you mean by that?”
Seeing his emerald eyes narrowing, I suddenly sobered up.
Support us by visiting our official site at lilyonthevalley.com
‘Gasp!’
I realized I had crossed a line. I had spoken out of turn, saying things that would be considered rude even between close acquaintances, and I had no right to say such things.
Support us by visiting our official site at lilyonthevalley.com
What did I know about family? I, who had never even had a family of my own.
“I apologize! I misspoke! Please forgive me!”
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
Horrified by my own impudence, I hastily begged for forgiveness, my hands trembling with fear. But it was too late to take back my words.
“What do you know?”
For the best reading experience, visit lilyonthevalley.com
He openly expressed his displeasure. Like alcohol touched by a flame, the remaining effects of the drink vanished from my body. The rest of the meal had become more dangerous than walking on thin ice.
For dessert, the dish I had been longing for appeared; crème brûlée. But I couldn’t taste the sweetness of the crackling sugar crust or the smooth custard beneath.
For the best reading experience, visit lilyonthevalley.com
“…”
He stood up without touching his dessert and left without a word. Back in my room, I collapsed onto the bed, still in my dress.
Visit Lily on the Valley to read full chapter without gibberish
‘What have I done?’
As if I were someone he could confide in.
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
He had simply been voicing his thoughts, and I had acted as if I knew everything.
‘Am I insane?’
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
Lying in bed, I regretted everything I had said, from beginning to end.
‘I can’t believe it. Why did I say those things?’
Visit Lily on the Valley to read full chapter without gibberish
I couldn’t sleep that night.
Not only were his narrowed green eyes seared into my mind, but I also felt like I had lost my chance to write to my family.
Support us by visiting our official site at lilyonthevalley.com
‘How dare I provoke the man who holds my life in his hands?’
* * *
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
Duke Baldr de Skadi was also having a sleepless night.
He stared at the ceiling, wide awake. Even with his eyes closed, he saw the woman with brown eyes in a cream-colored dress.
Support us by visiting our official site at lilyonthevalley.com
‘Why did she say those things to me?’
The woman imprinted on his eyes wore a dress that seemed to have been made for her, her gaze steady, neither smiling nor afraid.
For the best reading experience, visit lilyonthevalley.com
‘Why so suddenly?’
Honestly, Baldr had been bewildered from the moment she entered the dining hall. Jeanne was different, almost as if she had cast some sort of spell.
Read the complete chapter at Lily on the Valley without random text
Who would recognize her as the same woman who had arrived at the mansion near death?
Her cheeks and lips were unusually flushed, and her eyes sparkled. Her eyes shone like stars, forcing Baldr to avert his gaze first, as if he were the one who had wronged her.
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
It had been the same in his library yesterday. He found it difficult to meet her gaze directly. Yet, he couldn’t tear his eyes away. Baldr couldn’t understand his own feelings. Objectively, there were many women more beautiful than Jeanne de Toulouse.
He felt his mouth go dry and offered her a drink. And he drank as well.
Support us by visiting our official site at lilyonthevalley.com
It was winter, and the alcohol served with meals was stronger than in other seasons to ward off the cold. Drinking strong alcohol in winter was as natural as breathing in Skadi, so Baldr hadn’t anticipated that she wouldn’t be able to handle it. And the alcohol had not only made her eyes sparkle even brighter but had also led to a serious blunder on her part.
‘Marriage could be a solution for you, not a problem.’
Visit Lily on the Valley to read full chapter without gibberish
So, what happened? Baldr was captivated by Jeanne’s words.
‘Your Grace seems to think that all princesses are like your mother, but just as not all men are the same, not all women are the same either.’
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
Baldr replayed her words in his mind, over and over, until he was sick of them. But they wouldn’t go down, remaining in his stomach like a lump, tormenting him.
‘There might be someone out there who would appreciate Your Grace and this territory. Wouldn’t it be a shame to give up on marriage too early?’
Read the complete chapter at Lily on the Valley without random text
If anyone else had made such a remark, Baldr would have simply shrugged it off in amusement.
‘I hope Your Grace hasn’t given up on the possibility of finding an intelligent and kind woman as your wife.’
Visit Lily on the Valley to read full chapter without gibberish
But because it was Jeanne who had spoken those words, they held a strange power. Like magic.
Baldr was so flustered that he lost his composure and fled the dining hall without finishing his meal. Naturally, he hadn’t been able to ask Jeanne how she liked the crème brûlée.
Support us by visiting our official site at lilyonthevalley.com
‘What do you know?’
Baldr, who had never known fear, had run away like a hunted animal.
Support us by visiting our official site at lilyonthevalley.com
‘What was she thinking when she said those things?’
The woman who had spoken those words was probably sleeping soundly right now, while he was tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
‘Not all women are like my mother? What does she know about my mother?’
He kept overthinking her words, which had clearly crossed a line.
For the best reading experience, visit lilyonthevalley.com
‘And besides, wouldn’t she herself leave this place without hesitation the moment she was free?’
Like many exiles before her, and like his mother, a princess of Lances, she probably couldn’t wait to leave.
Visit Lily on the Valley to read full chapter without gibberish
His mother had hated his father all her life. It had been a foregone conclusion that a princess would come to this land and marry the Duke, but she hadn’t imagined it would be her. His father had chosen his mother out of five sisters, and his mother had suffered for that choice throughout her short life.
If you hadn’t chosen me among the five sisters, if you had chosen another, if I hadn’t caught your eye…
Read the complete chapter at Lily on the Valley without random text
His mother’s resentment grew stronger with time. Perhaps it was exacerbated by the fact that one of her sisters had remained unmarried, becoming a central figure in court life, with numerous lovers and scandals.
He and his brother had grown up watching their mother’s constant resentment towards their father.
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
To him, it seemed as if his mother never tired of her anger.
What if she had shown some affection towards her sons?
Read the complete chapter at Lily on the Valley without random text
But his mother, like other noblewomen, had delegated breastfeeding to a wet nurse, playing to a nanny, and teaching to a tutor. He had no complaints as they were all professionals. But perhaps because they were all chosen by his mother, they never crossed the line.
Baldr had grown up deprived of love.
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
How could he not have felt it? A thirsty person could smell water from afar.
As a child, Baldr had wished his parents would divorce. Their marriage was like a union of fire and ice, a mutually destructive relationship. The more his mother raged, the more his father retreated into his work, his wars, and his books. And then his mother would sneer at him and his brother.
Read the complete chapter at Lily on the Valley without random text
‘I thought I married a Duke, but it turns out he’s a scholar.’
His mother died when he was twelve. The cause of death was given as consumption and a cold, attributed to wearing too thin clothes in the middle of winter, but the servants whispered that the Duchess had taken her own life.
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
He hadn’t been surprised or saddened. Although she was his mother, she had been a distant and unfamiliar figure, both emotionally and physically.
For the best reading experience, visit lilyonthevalley.com