Chapter 10
Translated by: ME
-Horizontal.jpg)
*****
「Um... thank you so very much.」
Rose bowed her head, using a cold compress to soothe her eyes, which were swollen from crying.
Alfred had been placed in the Kirkland brothers' carriage, while Rose found herself swaying in the same Goldsmith carriage she had arrived in. A young maid on standby worriedly rubbed her back.
「You did so well, Lady Rose. If it were me, I’d have kicked that piece-of-garbage husband of yours right through a wall,」 the maid said. She was young, but certainly possessed a spirited temperament.
「My apologies,」 Logan said with a wry smile, scratching his head. 「I’m sure you had plenty you wanted to say yourself, yet I went on that one-sided tirade.」
「No, it was refreshing. Being away from that house has finally allowed me to understand just how abnormal it was. What was it all for... my married life...?」 Rose tried to force a smile, but failed. 「It’s just so pathetic...」
As tears began to spill again, Logan instinctively pulled her into a supportive embrace.
「You made a monumental decision. For a noble lady to resolve to divorce is no small feat. And the real work starts now. We have to get the divorce papers accepted and reclaim your dowry as alimony. But even from our brief talk, it’s clear: you’d never find a moment of happiness tethered to a man like that. He lacks even a shred of empathy for others. Everyone has a period where they want to play around, but once you build a family, responsibility follows. A marriage starts between strangers, but by putting yourself in the other’s shoes and sensing their feelings, respect is born. That is the first step of a home.」
「Perhaps... perhaps he hated me because I was an insufferable woman...」
「No. He never once tried to stand where you were standing. That is why he acted the way he did. Raising a child alone is an immense task—especially when the servants in that house weren't lifting a finger to help. Even I, who share no blood with him, respect you for raising such a brilliant boy like Alfred, yet he feels nothing. Or rather, he simply can't understand it. He’s never even tried to imagine your situation. Rose, even with a cold husband, you tried time and again to understand him. That effort is worthy of praise.」
「But I didn't truly understand him. That’s why he screamed that I was a 'spiteful woman,' wasn't it?」
「He had no friends to teach him better, nor parents to advise him to accept how blessed he was. But above all, he had to realize it for himself. He should have been honestly delighted to have a lovely, intelligent wife and celebrated the growth of his clever son. Happiness will never come to a man who cannot do that.」
The words finally clicked into place for Rose. She had always blamed herself.
(If only I’d been born a more enchanting beauty, would he have loved me? I was hated because I accidentally let my education show. Should I have asked a more free-spirited friend for techniques to please a husband in bed?)
But that wasn't it. Because they were a couple, they should have stood in each other's shoes, imagining each other's lives together.
On that day when she had apologized one-sidedly, perhaps it would have been better if she hadn't been so subservient and instead said, 「I’m not looking down on you! I’ll help you, so let’s build up the Pendleton business together!」 Even if the Dowager Countess had scowled, if she had spoken to Siegfried as an equal, something might have changed.
But it had all happened. Because she was hated by the master and despised by the servants, an incident that never should have occurred to a Countess had taken place. The Kirklands were already involved; her brothers, her mother, and her friends all knew the truth of her situation.
Logan seemed to understand her wavering anxiety.
「It’s alright. I told you I’d help, didn't I? I’ve never been praised for my good looks, but I excel at handling these sorts of troublesome affairs. I am a strategist, after all,」 he said with a smile. 「Stay with your family for a few days and let your heart rest. After that, you’ll be studying hard at my estate for your employment. After all, you have to earn the funds to raise your child to adulthood, don't you?」
When they had begun this plan, Logan had suggested she take the civil service exam. Rose was well aware that her only real talent was her studies.
(That’s right. I’m taking my life back!)
Rose nodded firmly.
The spirited maid nodded back happily at the sight. 「Master~, how wonderful for you. To find a Mistress so pure-hearted she doesn't know how to doubt.」
Logan gave the maid a light glare while still holding Rose.
***
For the next few days at the Kirkland estate, the wives took diligent care of the two.
「You’ve suffered so much. I truly can’t believe you endured a man like that for so long.」
「Honestly... look at your hands, they’re so rough. But from today on, you can just relax here. Al-kun is already being welcomed by our children.」
At the children’s table, the sisters were making a huge fuss, insisting Alfred eat the cookies they had baked and praise them. Alfred could only offer a wry smile, surrounded by the girls.
The brothers’ wives treated Rose, their sister-in-law, with the utmost hospitality. Their fury over her plight led to nightly complaints to their husbands, but seeing Rose safe in their home was their greatest joy. Alfred, too, spent his days being fussed over by the precocious sisters, looking a bit tickled by the constant questions about his well-being.
The divorce petition, drafted by the lawyer, was delivered to the Pendleton estate that evening. Rumor had it that the former Count and the Dowager Countess were also home, and the delivery caused an uproar as if a beehive had been poked.
The lawyer later told them with a look of disbelief, 「It seems they didn't think for a moment that leaving the house meant an actual divorce.」
The Kirkland family viewed the treatment of both Rose and Alfred as nothing less than abuse. To them, it was a miracle the two had returned safely from such an accident. They were determined to ensure she never suffered again. When the Pendletons tried to visit in a panic, they were naturally barred from crossing the gate. The Kirklands maintained a firm stance that all discussions would proceed through the lawyer.
The lawyer declared, 「This is a trial that will test whether the law truly protects noblewomen. It is a case to properly recognize the status of wives who have been saddled with all the responsibility simply because they are aristocrats.」
The Pendleton family, fearing scandal, desperately begged to settle things privately, but the Kirklands and the Goldsmiths would not allow it.
The first success was a court order for the mistress, Catherine, to pay emotional damages. It was proven that she had carried on an affair with a married man and had repeatedly disparaged Lady Rose in social circles, spreading malicious rumors. While the legally mandated amount wasn't as high as they hoped, even a woman as poor as she could pay it in full by selling all the accessories she had been gifted. In the legal bureau room where the discussion took place, she reportedly wailed pathetically while being screamed at by the Dowager Countess of Pendleton.
Now, the talk of the social season was whether a divorce petition involving the custody of the heir would pass. Rose had become the woman of the hour. Practically speaking, because Rose had no funds of her own, Alfred might not be able to graduate from the academy without relying on child support from the Pendletons.
Rose, who had initially been thought of as a plain, unremarkable, and gloomy wife, had undergone a complete transformation. In court, she unleashed one logical argument after another. Using her own diaries to denounce the Pendleton household, she won over the men who had initially mocked her case as a losing battle.
The women of society, who secretly suffered from their own husbands' infidelities, had initially only watched from the sidelines, but now they were eagerly anticipating her every victory.
『My husband isn't as atrocious as the Pendleton man, at least,』 noblewomen had told themselves to endure their own burdens. But as the trial progressed, their opinions shifted. 『Why is the burden always placed on the wife who tries so hard to protect the home? Is a man superior just because he earns money? Does that mean we must tolerate his womanizing? No. No one can replicate the work we do to protect the home so that men can go to work. If you neglect that, you will regret it.』
The statement of a certain Duchess bolstered Rose's case, and to everyone's surprise, the Queen herself expressed her agreement. In reality, if a Duchess stopped managing the household, her husband couldn't host a single evening party. He might stand tall as the host and give a loud speech, but only the wife knew exactly who to invite and how. Not even the servants could decide on a single dish or a single flower without her.
The trial, like a small stone thrown by Rose—a girl from a mere Viscount’s house—was slowly creating massive ripples.
***
Dorothea, the former Countess of Pendleton, lost the will to attend the trial halfway through. She had been left unable to recover from Rose’s words.
「I married into this house intending to devote my life to it. I was grateful to the in-laws who gave birth to my husband, and I didn't mind at all if money was spent to make us—the 'couple'—happy. Unfortunately, the money generated from that was poured solely into his lover. Perhaps it was my fault for lacking charm. However, it is a fact that the heir, Alfred, is now suffering because of his father's actions, mocked even by strangers as the 'unloved son.' For my son's sake, I must take him and leave. I want us to live as a family with love for one another.」
(I have never once, as a grandmother, considered Alfred’s individual happiness...)
Realizing this made Dorothea dizzy.
The truth was, a marriage partner for Siegfried had been impossible to find. Once a woman entered society, she understood her own value. No matter how handsome her son was, a debt-ridden Earl’s house with a dropout son didn't get many favorable looks.
But for the sake of the house, she couldn't give up. She searched for a bride who was clever, wealthy, and from a lower rank than their own. Someone flashy wouldn't do. It had to be a girl still in the academy—someone "untainted." That was when she met Rose.
Knowing her husband—who was poor yet possessed a pride so high it was almost a disability—wouldn't get a positive response if he went, Dorothea went herself to bow her head and plead. Viscount Kirkland was a good-natured man and allowed himself to be swayed.
When the bridal chest arrived, the blood had rushed to Dorothea’s head. That day, a single dresser and wardrobe were moved in. That one dresser, tailored by a furniture maker for the Royal Family, was so expensive that even adding up all of Dorothea’s own bridal goods wouldn't reach its price.
Because of that one piece of furniture, her impression of the gentle, quiet Rose shifted to that of an 「arrogant, insufferable woman.」 Even Rose’s obedient 「Yes, Mother」 responses began to look like she was playing the victim. Before she knew it, she was glaring at the daughter of the very family that was supporting the Pendletons.
『We must all admonish her so she doesn't get too full of herself.』
Even Dorothea was surprised by the words that left her mouth, but she tried to believe it was a necessary opinion for the Dowager Countess.
「I was grateful to the in-laws who gave birth to my husband, and I didn't mind at all if money was spent to make us—the 'couple'—happy.」
There had been no lie in Rose’s eyes. Every year, Rose had managed the living expenses and given the retired couple a gift on every anniversary, however small. While Rose herself wore mended, outdated dresses, she had gifted Dorothea a cape from a high-end boutique and delivered a pipe from a neighboring country to her tobacco-loving husband.
The money Siegfried provided had increased compared to the past, but when it was applied to the elderly couple’s increasingly lavish social expenses, gifts for Alfred were always pushed to the back.
When a young Alfred showed her a wooden toy soldier, saying, 「My Kirkland cousin gave it to me,」 Dorothea had snapped. 「It’s embarrassing for a child of an Earl to show off something received from the child of a Viscount!」 She had been angry because she felt she was being blamed for not bringing a present herself. Even though she hadn't bought him a single thing...
If she wasn't going to buy anything, she should have at least shared in his joy, saying, 「How wonderful for you!」 Seeing Dorothea’s attitude, her son began to despise Rose, and the servants followed suit. Ultimately, the son betrayed his family, and the servants bullied the two relentlessly.
(It started with me...)
She realized it now, but there was no way she could say it to Siegfried. She was too ashamed to tell her son that at her age, she had lacked the heart to care for another. Why couldn't she have cherished her new daughter?
Siegfried was still struggling desperately to avoid losing the trial, but public opinion had swung completely toward Rose. The Pendleton house would surely pay a massive sum and lose the heir.
Five months had passed since the trial began. The final judgment would be next week.
When she saw Alfred in the courtroom, he was taller and broader in the shoulders than she had realized. Seeing him in a well-fitted jacket, sitting with dignity as he watched over his mother, brought tears to her eyes. To such a gallant grandson, she had casually handed over Siegfried’s hand-me-down shirts with the sleeves rolled up. She had made him wear baggy shirts that didn't fit his thin frame and gave solemn lectures like 「Take good care of your things.」°
If there were hand-me-downs that actually fit, she should have given him those, but Siegfried’s childhood clothes were all in poor condition from secondhand shops; she had been too ashamed to pass them on. She had that much pride, at least. She couldn't bring herself to say, It’s thanks to your mother that we’ve rebuilt our lives.
Now, he wouldn't even meet her eyes.
She realized that was only natural.
*****
Thank you for reading. If you want to help my hobby please download and install LDP9 with my link down below. Just Click the small yellow LDPlayer Banner.
OR
Subscribe to my YouTube Channel
-Horizontal.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment