Chapter 6

I barely managed to suppress the urge to scream at Nigel’s choice of words, which showed absolutely no consideration for basic courtesy toward others. I had just experienced his reckless personality firsthand, but the more I learned about him, the more he exceeded my expectations.

“Do you really think a wife would simply let it slide if she had an affair with her husband’s younger brother? Even if he forgave her, he’d probably lose all affection for her.”

I kept my mouth shut as much as possible and listened to Nigel ramble on.

“But what has already happened can’t simply be undone.”

“It was just a momentary mistake.”

“You don’t call a relationship that’s lasted several months a mistake.”

At those words, I was stunned.

Several months?

Apparently, I didn’t possess all of Rowina’s memories. In the memories I had, Rowina had always treated Nigel with a detached indifference.

I clenched the hem of my dress with my sweaty hands.

“If this gets discovered—”

“It hasn’t been discovered yet, has it? By anyone.”

“You never know.”

As far as I could tell, no one else knew about this.

“If you were going to threaten me like this, why did you obediently accept it when I told you to stop last time?”

When I had gone to meet Howard upon his return, I had told Nigel that something like this should never happen again. Nigel hadn’t argued with me then.

“Threaten you? Rowina, I simply wanted to talk to you one last time.”

“Then—”

“From the moment we leave this study, I’ll treat you properly as my sister-in-law. So don’t worry.”

“Nigel.”

“At least until I decide otherwise.”

While I stood there frozen in disbelief, Nigel rose to his feet.

I hated the sight of myself naturally kneeling demurely in front of him. I quickly straightened my legs and hurried toward the study door.

I checked my appearance in the mirror beside the door.

Thankfully, nothing was noticeably disheveled.

Looking at my reflection, I realized something.

On Nigel’s fingertips—the same fingers that had pinned me down and persistently caressed me—there were traces of Howard that I hadn’t managed to conceal.

While I stood there frozen, Nigel spoke quietly.

“Rowina. Do you really think my brother left the house because of work?”

“If Howard said that’s why, then I suppose that’s the reason.”

I steadied my trembling heart, left the mansion, and instructed the coachman to take me to Mr. Ron’s shop.

By the time I had sorted through my confused thoughts, the carriage had already reached its destination.

I was shown into a private room and waited there until an employee brought out several samples.

“This line is designed primarily in blue, with flowers engraved in the center and around the edges of the plates. Here, you can see the blue roses inspired by Queen Anne.”

The employee seemed incredibly tense as he spoke.

By now, I wasn’t particularly surprised by people’s attitudes toward me.

I tried to erase what had happened earlier from my mind and listened carefully to the employee’s explanation.

To be honest, I didn’t know much about tableware or furniture.

Everything looks pretty to me.

Besides, most of it would be covered by food anyway. Did the paintings on the dishes really matter that much?

I didn’t think Kristine expected all that much from me, either.

The employee’s complexion gradually grew paler as he continued explaining.

“Perhaps… you don’t like blue?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Th-then I’ll show you some of our other lines!”

The employee looked ready to spring into action, so I stopped him.

“No, it’s fine. But are all of these samples ready-made products?”

“Yes, they are. Would you perhaps prefer a custom-made item?”

“Would it be impossible to have one made within two days?”

The employee answered with an embarrassed expression.

“Yes, I’m afraid so…”

“Custom-made products aren’t mass-produced. We have to commission an artisan individually. Coordinating the details and producing the item would take at least a week—”

“I see.”

“I’m sorry.”

The employee lowered his eyes, clearly watching my reaction.

Perhaps it was because of the Blackwood name.

Or perhaps it was because of Rowina’s cold appearance.

“It’s fine. I’ll go with this one. Please come to Sidecliff Manor tomorrow.”

I left the shop.

As I walked away, I heard the employee who had dealt with me muttering to the others.

“I thought my heart was going to stop…”

I glanced back at my reflection in a shop window as I walked through the shopping district.

“Am I really that intimidating?”

I could understand why the servants of the mansion were intimidated by Rowina.

A woman who strictly punished anyone who crossed the line and was stingy with praise and smiles.

In fact, because of Kristine’s mistreatment of her and her ban on social activities, Rowina could easily have been ignored by everyone in the mansion.

The reason that hadn’t happened was because Kristine would never tolerate anyone crossing the line with her employer’s family, and because Rowina herself never let excessively disrespectful behavior slide.

“Hmm.”

Maybe having a face like this really does make everything more convincing…

She looked somewhat softer when she smiled, but a face that revealed absolutely no emotion naturally made people feel intimidated.

“Howard has been discharged from the military, so why haven’t we even seen his face?”

“Exactly.”

I stopped walking at the familiar name.

Two men were sitting at a table outside a café, drinking coffee and chatting.

“He must be busy spending some private time with his wife.”

“Hey, no. I heard they’re separated right now.”

“Why?”

One of the men shrugged.

“How would I know? He doesn’t talk about his wife much.”

“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her since the wedding either. I think I’ve almost forgotten what she looks like.”

“Seriously? She’s not exactly someone you can easily forget.”

“That’s just a figure of speech, you idiot.”

I moved to a blind spot where the two men couldn’t see me, but where I could still hear them clearly.

“She was certainly beautiful. Though she looked like she had quite a temper. Did Howard marry her just because of her face?”

“Maybe. The rumors about her are pretty crazy.”

“What rumors?”

“You said you just got back from an overseas business trip, so you don’t know anything, huh?”

“I’ve got some maids I’m friendly with. From what I’ve heard from them, it’s pretty serious.”

I held my breath.

“Apparently, she got into a huge fight with the Madam after talking back to her, and she’s been staying shut up in the mansion ever since, saying she won’t participate in any social activities until she receives an apology.”

The first rumor was probably based on the things I’d said to Kristine at the funeral and elsewhere.

The second seemed to be a distorted version of the truth, since Kristine hadn’t revealed that she had actually ordered Rowina to remain in seclusion.

“One of the maids I know says she’s been like that for more than two years. Apparently, she doesn’t throw hysterical fits or anything, but there’s something about her that really makes people uncomfortable.”

“Howard must be uncomfortable, too. It’s one thing to attend a few couples’ gatherings without your wife, but he can’t keep doing that forever.”

“In the end, Miss Rowina Blackwood is basically a piece of furniture in Sidecliff Manor and a burden on the Blackwood family.”

Ah. So that’s how it happened.

I climbed into the carriage, mulling over the things the men who seemed to be Howard’s friends had said.

A piece of furniture in Sidecliff Manor.

A burden on the Blackwood family.

A woman who makes people’s blood run cold.

None of those descriptions were entirely wrong.

From what I’d heard, Rowina had developed quite a reputation for having a terrible personality.

This isn’t good.

It wasn’t as though I was emotionally wounded by what people who weren’t even close to me said behind my back.

It was simply an obstacle to the successful divorce I needed.

Thinking about my plans for the future, I arrived back at the mansion.

The place was in an uproar.

A red-haired woman who looked about my age was standing in the hallway near the entrance.

Kristine stood before her, visibly furious.

The butler and the other servants had gathered around Kristine, but none of them dared to intervene.

“What did you just say?”

“I left a brooch behind when I was having a ‘conversation’ with Tom in Madam’s room before. I’ve come back to retrieve it.”

At the woman’s words, the youngest maid couldn’t hold herself back.

“That crazy woman!”

I quietly entered the mansion and watched the scene unfold.

The woman with long, flowing red hair was Julia Clearwater.

She had been Tom Blackwood’s mistress for five years, right up until Kristine’s husband, Tom Blackwood, died.

Naturally, she and his legal wife, Kristine, had an absolutely terrible relationship.

If Kristine were asked to choose between Rowina and Julia as the person she would have to live with for the rest of her life, she would choose Rowina without a moment’s hesitation.

“Tom has been dead for two years. And you’re only coming now?”

“I was considering your feelings, Madam. I wanted to give you time to grieve.”

With that, everything was confirmed.

The future was unfolding exactly as it had in the book I’d read.

Rowina didn’t know it, but the past that I knew was also real.