Chapter 17

While she thought her mother couldn’t have done such a thing, when she thought about it again, she was exactly that kind of person. Cecilia had treated Leana like useless baggage.

Perhaps under the pretext of giving expensive medicine to Leana, she had been siphoning off the money Elena brought home all this time.

There were times when things that weren’t there before would appear. A newly made shawl, silk slippers, expensive tablecloths. Things that Cecilia could never afford with her circumstances.

Elena laughed through her tears.

“How… How could she do that to her daughter…”

She buried her face in her palms and hiccupped. Her heart hurt as if she might lose her mind. It felt like her heart would split in half.

“She’s still her own daughter… How could a mother… What possessed her…”

Her tears filled the carriage. Did the carriage driver understand her heart? The carriage’s speed gradually slowed. She could see all the scenery outside the slowly moving carriage.

Cecilia, Cecilia.

Had it been like this in the past too? She could no longer remember her mother’s face when Father was alive. Without realizing it, she had bitten the inside of her mouth until it bled, but she didn’t even have time to notice such things. The despair that things she thought would get better if she endured and persevered only got worse made her struggle.

When would her misfortune ever end?

Just as she barely managed to swallow her tears, the carriage stopped. She opened the door with her swollen face. Standing there wasn’t the driver… it was Maxim.

“Maxim?”

“…Get out.”

He said in a voice mixed with sighs and helped her down from the carriage. She staggered while leaning on his arm. She hadn’t expected to encounter him like this.

She looked at him with surprised eyes. The driver watched this scene with a very proud face. As expected, our master has a heart like silk.

“…Does the world flood just because you cry like that?”

He said bluntly and pressed a handkerchief into her hand.

“Nothing changes.”

“I know.”

She said while sniffling.

“But what can I do when tears come anyway.”

He took the handkerchief back and wiped her tears.

“I gave you the handkerchief to wipe your tears, not to hold it.”

“Maxim…”

He pressed the handkerchief back into her hand and said, “If it’s too hard and painful, think about something else.”

“Something else…?”

“You said it seems like she embezzled the medicine money.”

He bit his tongue tip. There was no need to worry about other people’s affairs like this. Unlike his usual life principles, why did Elena keep catching his eye? It was probably because he saw himself in her.

The appearance of being surrounded by misfortune and not knowing what to do.

He knew where the end of that anxiety and impatience was. He smiled coldly.

“Get revenge. If you focus on one thing, you forget everything else.”

“…How do you know such things?”

“Because I needed an escape too.”

There was a time when he struggled to live. After that incident, he couldn’t eat or sleep. Just putting food in his mouth made him vomit, and it was hard to look at anyone.

Especially when women with strong perfume scents stood nearby, his stomach still churned. Though not to the extent of vomiting in front of people.

How long it had taken to get to this point. For a while, there was a time when no one in the mansion, including Empress Riana, Hazel, or Mrs. Greta, could use perfume.

What was better about Elena was that she didn’t smell of any perfume. She had a faint grass scent.

That fragrance he had noticed when he put her in the carriage at Cress Bridge, and when they danced at the ball.

She swallowed hot saliva.

“…Revenge, how do you do it?”

Her voice wavered with moisture. She was a mother who abandoned her daughter. Conversely, what would be wrong if she, the daughter, abandoned that mother? She gritted her teeth.

“I want to try it too. If I can forget everything.”

He chuckled. Despite appearances, she didn’t seem to be such a weak woman. He dropped his hand on her head. A faint smile hung on his lips.

“What do you want to do first?”

“…I want to get the money back.”

She trembled.

“Then we should start from there. Do you prefer legal or illegal methods?”

“Which is faster?”

“Illegal.”

He answered matter-of-factly.

“Then illegal. Please get money from the doctor too.”

“Of course. He has to pay the price.”

She nodded. Her strange blue eyes, holding back tears, wavered. He let out a faint laugh.

---

“Sister…”

Leana blinked her eyes. After giving her the newly prepared medicine and exactly three more hours had passed.

She hadn’t slept a wink, but she couldn’t sleep until Leana woke up, so she had endured until now, and it was worth it. Leana had drowsily opened her eyes.

She gripped Elena’s hand tightly.

“Sister…”

“You were scared.”

She stroked her head.

“Yeah. I thought I wouldn’t see you again.”

She whined and spread her arms. Elena pulled back the bed covers and went inside to embrace her. Tenderly, so the child could feel her body warmth.

She burrowed into her embrace. Elena stroked her head.

“Why wouldn’t you see me? Why say such things, silly. Sister promised she’d definitely save Leana.”

“Yeah. I know. Leana is just a coward.”

“…Sleep again. You’ll be fine because you took medicine. When you wake up again, I’ll do your princess hair.”

“Princess hair?”

“Yeah. The hair Leana likes most. Let’s do that hair and eat candy and take a walk in the garden.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

She hooked her finger with the small one. She quickly wiped away the falling tears to hide them. Her hot breath, swallowing a sigh, scattered over Leana’s head. She burrowed into her embrace.

“Then I’ll sleep quickly. When I sleep and wake up, Leana will become strong too. I don’t think it’ll hurt at all.”

“Right. When you wake up in the morning, I’ll make the stew Leana likes.”

“Yeah!”

Her breathing gradually slowed. She rubbed her face against the pillow. Only then were her tears hidden.

She slowly exhaled. And gradually fell asleep.

---

“Hand over the money? That was our contract money! It’s my legitimate money!”

“Idiot. Elena ran away. That girl disappeared. We need money to go find our source of income, don’t we? You’re a doctor, is what I’m saying too difficult?”

Cecilia pushed Derek’s shoulder. He frowned with humiliation. Derek glared at her.

“Thanks to whom were you able to embezzle that money, and you say such things? Do you think you would have gained anything if you were alone? Do you think that smart girl would have shared the money?”

Translation work was better paying than expected. The amount that would take more than a week of sewing work to receive, that girl brought home in just three days. Once the translation work picked up speed, they could touch quite a bit of money.

However, Cecilia’s greed wasn’t satisfied with that.

She thought of dozens of ways to make money with that money. Among them was gambling. Didn’t they say life was all about one big hit? She couldn’t give up the dream of returning to the past with just one opportunity.

So she joined hands with Derek.

“Anyway, we need that girl! I’m telling you I’ll bring her back! I need money to buy a train ticket.”

Cecilia left out the story about Baron Benjamin. There was no need to mention that. That was payment for selling her daughter. It was profit she could obtain even without Derek.

She cleared her throat while hiding her true intentions.

“It seems like she ran away following some man.”

“…Takes after her mother.”

“What?”

“Whoa. I meant she’s pretty because she looks just like you.”

Derek said that and patted her bottom. It was quite a crude act, but Cecilia accepted it as if it were nothing.

He chuckled and asked, “Are you staying the night?”

“…I have to catch the night train.”

“Sounds like there’s time until then.”

She sighed. Then spread her arms. Embracing Derek, she bit his ear and said, “Give me the money first. At this rate, we’ll all starve to death.”

“Alright, alright. Where did you spend all the money you took? They say gambling addiction can’t be cured even in death.”

“Hmph. Don’t regret it when I hit it big.”

He stuffed money into her pocket. It was enough to buy a train ticket and more. Derek pulled her onto his bed.