chapter 14
I should have left it uncovered.
Elizabeth groaned inwardly, lamenting her own foolishness for forcing down the curiosity she had felt that day.
She had thought, If I just bury it, it’ll be fine. But she hadn’t realized how rotten things would become—how mold would grow and a foul stench would spread over what she had tried to hide.
And all the while, she had laughed beside Kieren and comforted him, completely unaware. How disgustingly ignorant she had been.
Her legs gave way under the ugly truth, and Elizabeth collapsed onto the floor. Through the tears welling in her eyes, Stella’s dazed expression swelled and shrank like a distorted mirage.
That day—Stella had been with the Duke. And the Duchess must have seen it and fainted from the shock.
As Elizabeth sat there, utterly shattered, Stella spoke.
“Ellie… I couldn’t help it either. The Duke suddenly— I…”
Stella’s trembling hand tightened around hers.
Elizabeth looked down at the hand that held hers so weakly.
Stella’s tears dripped onto the back of her hand, one drop after another. Elizabeth was barely holding hers back, while Stella cried without restraint.
“It was all for you. He said that if I stayed by his side, he’d arrange a good marriage for you, and raise you with the best things your whole life.”
She should have known. She should have dug everything up that day, taken her mother out of this castle, and left—anywhere at all.
“You know, don’t you? I can’t even take care of myself properly. If I left this castle, I wouldn’t last a month. I just… I didn’t want you to live like me.”
If that was true, then she wouldn’t have to face Kieren with such shame.
“It’s true. Believe me, Ellie.”
Now that she knew everything, she didn’t even have the right to cry. She understood well enough that crying didn’t solve anything—that only happened in fairy tales.
Elizabeth wiped away her tears and, gripping Stella’s hand as she sobbed, said,
“Let’s leave.”
“What?”
“Let’s get out of this castle. When did I ever ask you to take responsibility for my life?”
At her sharp voice, Stella flinched.
Even as she had just resolved that she had no right to cry, tears gathered again in Elizabeth’s eyes. She hated how helpless she was, unable to stop them.
She knew her mother’s vanity well. And that vanity had been funded entirely by the salary she earned from working in the ducal household.
If she hadn’t worked here, her mother could never have lived so extravagantly. That was why she had once thought this was the best place for her.
But now that she thought of her mother’s “price” being mixed into that money, she felt nauseated.
She had never truly tried to understand what her mother’s growing extravagance meant. No—she had refused to understand.
She had simply turned a blind eye, like a daughter dealing with an immature mother.
To be honest, she had already been overwhelmed just living her own life. She hadn’t wanted to take responsibility for her mother’s as well.
And this was the result. Her mother had helped destroy the family of the Duchess—the very woman who had once been her savior.
The man who had lost his mother forever had broken apart… and Elizabeth herself was in love with that broken man. Shamelessly.
It horrified her that she had only realized this after confessing her feelings.
If she had known, she would never have confessed.
She would have buried these feelings deep inside and lived on.
No—if she had known, she wouldn’t have lived here smiling with her mother as if nothing were wrong.
But all of that was only hypothetical. In the end, everything felt like her own fault.
Because she had looked away, both her mother and Kieren had ended up living in hell.
This place was hell. What she had thought was heaven was nothing more than a burning inferno.
Now that the illusion had been stripped away, it felt as though molten sulfur awaited beneath. The heat choked her breath.
“Let’s leave. With the money I’ve saved, we can buy a small house in another kingdom. We can start over there…”
As she spoke tearfully, Elizabeth suddenly pulled Stella into a tight embrace. She was about to say it wasn’t too late—that they could start over together.
“No!”
Stella shoved her away and shouted. The sharp, angry voice startled her.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Mom?”
“You think you can buy a house even half as good as this castle with your money?”
“W-what?”
“What are two women with nothing supposed to do? What, live sewing scraps just to survive?”
Stella turned away as if she had never been crying and sat back at her vanity, fixing her makeup. The sight of her calmly applying rouge over tear-stained eyes was grotesque.
Elizabeth felt as though she had been punched in the face.
Stella didn’t look sad at all. Unlike before, when she had seemed forced into the Duke’s arms, she now looked composed—almost proud.
“This already happened. I’m just receiving what I deserve.”
“What are you talking about? How is that what you deserve?”
“As long as the Duke is infatuated with me, I can enjoy all of this forever. Why would I leave? You’re so foolish.”
“……”
“You just keep living as you are. It’s all already settled anyway—the Duke keeps delaying his promise to make me Duchess. It’s obvious.”
“What?”
The thought that she had not only committed adultery but also aimed for the position of Duchess made Elizabeth’s breath catch.
How could her mother even desire such a thing?
Shaking with disbelief, Elizabeth listened as Stella continued.
“For now, we just keep living like this and figure something out later. That’s our only way to survive.”
Stella’s insane words made Elizabeth shout in disbelief. Fear crept in—this didn’t feel like the mother she knew.
“Mom, what nonsense are you talking about?”
Stella looked at her reflection in the mirror and let out a small laugh.
“You think it’s nonsense?”
It felt like she wasn’t her mother at all anymore. The kind, smiling woman praised by everyone now looked cold and cruel.
Stunned and unable to speak, Elizabeth froze as Stella scoffed.
“You’re hopeless. Instead of standing there, try seducing Kieren. He looks like he’d fall easily with just a little push.”
“Why are you bringing Kieren into this?”
At the sudden mention of his name, Elizabeth frowned. Her mother shouldn’t be speaking of him like that.
None of Stella’s words made sense anymore.
It felt like looking at a room’s scenery during a storm outside—distorted, eerie, unreal.
Maybe… she had never truly known her mother at all.
Just then, Stella turned to face her with a smile.
“Oh my. You didn’t know? He likes you.”
“……”
“I’ve known for a while. Honestly, you’re too naive for your own good. But since you’ve caught a big fish, you’re luckier than I am.”
Smiling faintly, Stella brushed a makeup brush against Elizabeth’s lips.
When Elizabeth remained frozen, Stella continued,
“He may act like he’s resisting, but he’s still a man. He resembles the Duchess—soft-hearted and upright. If you persuade him a little, he’ll agree to marry you.”
“Mom, what are you—”
“Shh. Don’t talk when I’m putting on lipstick. It’ll smudge.”
Stella spoke casually, as if discussing everyday matters, completely unfazed by Elizabeth’s disgust or shock.
“You really do resemble me a lot. You’re already this pretty—just imagine how you’ll be later.”
At that moment, Elizabeth suddenly hated her own face.
Because whenever Kieren looked at her, he must have seen Stella—the woman who had driven the Duchess to despair.
Why are you treating me so badly?
Because I want to.
Kieren’s words echoed in her mind.
Perhaps, every time he looked at Elizabeth, he had seen Stella.
And that was why, even while treating her kindly as a friend, he had sometimes grown cold and cruel toward her.
She had called him a rude young lord without understanding, sulked when he forbade her from using his name.
Worse, she had shaken him—an engaged man—with a face so similar to Stella’s.
Elizabeth hated herself for that more than anything.
Now she understood why Kieren had crushed her heart so mercilessly.
No matter how kind someone was, no one would accept the daughter of their enemy.
He must have kissed her in a moment of weakness, then quickly come back to reality.
He must have realized they could never be together.
So Stella was mistaken. Kieren did not love her.
Even if he had felt something before, he didn’t now.
The man who had collapsed in front of the Duchess’s death had lost his heart.
There was no place in a broken man’s heart for the daughter of his enemy.
How pathetic—to confess such feelings without shame.
“Fulfill your mother’s dream for me. Become the Duchess. The mistress of this castle. Then everything here will be yours.”
Even now, Stella was lost in delusion.
And unable to bear it, Elizabeth coldly shoved her hand away.
