Episode 6
“Why can’t you be even half as good as your sister?”
Her mother spoke irritably as she looked at the crying Eda.
Eda was hugging her bleeding knees as she cried.
Among Yudelin and Eda, the village boys only picked on Eda.
A silver-haired woman and her two daughters who had suddenly appeared in the village.
The village children instinctively sensed who the weaker one was. As a result, Eda was bullied everywhere she went.
“It’s because you’re stupid. You can’t do anything except cry.”
Her older sister, Yudelin, scolded her with a sullen expression. Eda weakly turned her head toward her sister.
A beautiful girl with radiant silver hair was glaring at her.
“If it weren’t for you, Mom and I wouldn’t be so annoyed all the time.”
Yudelin sighed as she spoke. Eda, afraid she might be abandoned, just let her tears fall silently.
“Yudelin, don’t say things like that.”
Their mother whispered softly. Then Yudellin replied,
“I know. I just got too angry.”
“…I understand how you feel.”
What was there to understand? That she was irritated because Eda existed? That was probably it. Their mother only ever sighed when she looked at Eda.
“Mom, don’t worry, I’ll deal with those boys. I’ll make sure they never touch her again.”
At Yudelin’s words, a smile appeared on their mother’s face.
“Ah, if there’s one blessing in my life, it’s that I gave birth to you.”
Their mother embraced her daughter and laughed. Eda, now nothing more than a complete outsider, simply watched the mother and daughter. What kind of bond did her mother and sister share?
Two daughters with different fathers. Born three years before Eda, they had spent more time together. A relationship built on leaning on each other as they bore the world’s burdens.
Their mother loved Yudelin and smiled at her without reservation.
But whenever she looked at Eda, her face would cloud over. Always with a deeply worried look, she’d gaze at her with a sigh.
Though she withered a little inside, Eda held no resentment toward her mother. It was only natural that her mother disliked her.
Compared to her shabby self, her sister was so beautiful. Even Eda found herself surprised at times.
They clearly looked alike, and yet, there was something about Yudelin that was different.
She was lively and charming. In every village they wandered through, people would fall hopelessly in love with Yudelin.
Especially when she played an instrument and sang, all the men in the village became her captives.
Lovely Yudelin. Always bright and beautiful Yudelin. Yudelin, who never had to worry about being abandoned by their mother.
Eda wanted to become her sister, Yudelin.
At that moment, Eda’s knee stung. It was a wound she’d gotten from falling while trying to run away. If she said she got hurt, she’d probably get scolded even more, wouldn’t she? Eda rubbed her scraped knee and thought to herself.
Yudelinn was better than her, who only cried and got in the way. If she became like her sister, wouldn’t their mother say she was happy to have given birth to her?
Wouldn’t she smile at her?
Of course, Eda’s wish never came true.
‘Survive, no matter what.’
They parted ways through death.
* * *
Eda opened her eyes. The first thing she felt was a throbbing pain in her lower back. When she sat up, she saw that her body was swollen.
The white sunlight pouring into the bedroom blinded her eyes.
As she rubbed them with her hands, she let out a startled gasp. Her wrists were covered in red and purple bruises.
“You’re awake?”
At the sound of the voice, Eda flinched and nodded. Realizing she was naked, she quickly pulled the blanket up to cover herself.
Seeing this, Astaldo frowned. His fierce expression frightened Eda even more. Whenever he furrowed his brows, he looked like he was about to kill someone.
It was terrifying.
“Now that we have slept together, our marriage will be recognized. Nothing will change.”
At Astaldo’s words, Eda understood. So, the reason they had slept together was to have their marriage recognized.
“Do you… have to inherit the wife to receive the title…?”
Eda asked in a hoarse voice. Was it the tone of her voice that offended him?
He furrowed his brows again and stared at her face.
“Yes.”
Eda nodded. There was no lingering bitterness.
She had once wandered from place to place, singing songs about youth and love, but she realized through this marriage that sleeping together out of love was something that only happened in fairy tales.
This man was no different.
So it was fine. It really was fine.
Even if he was the first man she had ever been with. Really.
Astaldo looked at her face and asked,
“What the hell happened to your voice?”
“It’s because of the poison…”
“Damn it.”
When a curse finally left his mouth, Eda flinched in surprise. Seeing her try to hide and pull the blanket over herself again, he spoke.
“I’m sorry.”
Sorry? What? Was it because he now realized that the hoarseness in her voice wasn’t just from a cold? Was he going to cast her aside now?
But Eda couldn’t voice such questions. Even if she were wrong, it was an unattractive thing to ask. And if she were right, she’d surely be thrown out on the spot.
“You were already poisoned, and I still went and left you in this state.”
“……”
Eda realized that his gaze was directed at her body. And she realized, too, that he was referring to their lovemaking last night.
“It’s something that happened long ago.”
It was true. To apologize for having slept with her, even though her current weakened state wasn’t due to the poisoning, his apology was completely unnecessary.
“Besides, this is my duty.”
I don’t want you to feel burdened. Eda desperately wanted to say that.
I’m not someone worthy of your precious apology.
“You didn’t do anything… no, never mind.”
Astaldo helped Eda sit on the edge of the bed, then sat before her and carefully began to wipe her body clean.
Eda didn’t know how to react to such kindness.
As he slowly and gently wiped her body for a while, he suddenly rested his chin on her thigh and looked up at her face.
It reminded her of a wild beast she had once tamed long ago, and she became flustered.
A fierce gaze that looked as if it would pierce right through Eda’s face.
Brows drawn in anger, a straight nose, and a skin like it had been scorched.
This frightening man spoke with an indifferent expression.
“Eda.”
“Yes?”
“Eda.”
“Yes.”
“Eda.”
The voice that kept calling her name was unexpectedly soft.
Why is he being so gentle? Have we met somewhere before? Well, yes, they had exchanged greetings once at the Grand Duchy, but still…
Eda was afraid of this unfamiliar man.
“Rest a little more.”
Still, for the morning after her first time, it wasn’t bad at all.
As if those words were magic, Eda lay back down again.
Eda hadn’t even realized that a bandage had been wrapped around her knee, or that the stinging pain because of the wound was now completely gone.
* * *
By the time Eda finally came to her senses and got up, a delicious meal had been set out, waiting for her.
Eda ate with a little appetite. She thought she should eat more, just in case she ended up being sent away, but her stomach churned.
“Is it not to your taste?”
The maid next to Eda was a woman she had never seen before. She had bright red-orange hair that reminded Eda of carrots and freckles that stood out.
When Eda quietly nodded, the maid cleared the food away.
“You must not have much of an appetite.”
When Eda nodded again, the maid returned a smile. Eda was taken aback by this kind of kindness, which was new to her.
“Who are you?”
In response to Eda’s question, the maid answered gently,
“My name is Claudel. Lord Astaldo, or rather, His Grace the Grand Duke, is my brother’s master.”
“Ah…”
“I came here this time following my brother. Do I… perhaps make you uncomfortable?”
“N-no, not at all.”
“That’s a relief! If I had, I might’ve been kicked out.”
At Eda’s words, the maid smiled brightly. She seemed to be an outgoing and talkative woman. The kind of person who usually ended up disliking Eda quickly…
“Where is His Highness the Grand Duke?”
“He seems to be busy preparing for the title succession ceremony.”
Eda felt a dull ache in her chest. Preparing the attire for the succession ceremony was supposed to be the wife’s role, meaning her. As expected, it seemed he had no intention of treating her as his wife.
Eda swallowed her feelings and spoke,
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Pardon? What do you mean, my lady?”
“There must be something I should be doing.”
She knew Ingrid used to take care of such things. Managing the household, the supplies, and planning events, banquets and festivals held at the Grand Duchy.
She had even accompanied Ivar to the capital and fulfilled her role as Grand Duchess well.
On the other hand, Eda did nothing but merely nibbled on meals that were nothing more than the amount of bird feed and stood quietly next to Ivar, massaging his shoulders.
Or she became Ivar’s plaything, or Ingrid’s punching bag when she needed someone to take her anger out on. Well, things like that.
She was prepared for that.
SoundlessWind21’s Notes:
If there are any errors, whether it be grammatical, spelling, translation, or website-related issues, feel free to let me know. (´◡`) Anyway, thank you for reading!