Chapter 30

Translator: Yonnee

 
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—You… Don’t tell me, were you expecting it? That I’d kiss you.

The moment he heard that bitter ridicule, Carlisle realized.

Adeline had been right. Without realizing it, he had expected something… and then had been disappointed entirely on his own. At last, he understood what had been lurking at the root of the hostility he had felt toward the one who had left those marks.

A green-eyed monster called jealousy.

When the distance between them closed, he had caught the scent of magnolia from Adeline.

Having just finished her bath, the scent was even stronger. Intoxicating.

The skin that had been perfumed, the hair he had just dried, the almond-shaped eyes that curved gently, the lips that had come so close to his own.

All of it had been a temptation to Carlisle.

In that moment, he had wanted, madly, to pull Adeline in and kiss her. The only reason he didn’t was because—unfortunately—he was still in his right mind. The last shred of rationality clamped down on his heart. An impulse he had never felt toward anyone else was now swelling within him. And of all people, it was directed at Adeline.

Thus, the seed of betrayal had taken root in Carlisle’s heart.

In the fog of guilt clouding his mind, a memory rose to the surface.

—Carlisle, say hello. This is Lady Adeline.

A memory of being led by his parents to look into a cradle.

Back then, Carlisle had to climb onto a chair just to see inside.

There, a newborn lay.

Even to young Carlisle’s eyes, the baby had looked small. So unexpectedly small.

His mother, Lady Devay, placed a hand on his shoulder as she looked down at the cradle with a smile.

—Do you remember, Carlisle? What I’ve told you before.

I told you, you were born for a reason.

—From now on, you must stay by Young Lady Adeline’s side for the rest of your life, Carlisle. That is why you were born. It’s your duty. Do you understand what I’m saying?
—…Yes.

The truth was, he didn’t.

For a boy barely five years old, words like ‘reason for being born’ and ‘duty to the family’ were far too heavy, too difficult.

At the time, Carlisle hadn’t fully grasped his parents’ words, nor felt any particular sense of responsibility.

He simply lived, fulfilling the duties he’d been trained to perform for House Zeller.

But at some point.

—Milady, if you run like that, you’ll fall.
—I won’t fall, I won’t! You worry too much, Carlisle!

Watching Adeline, an indistinct warmth had slowly grown inside him.

Seeing her smile made him happy, being by her side gave him joy. He’d thought he had lived a life without smiles, yet somehow, before he realized it, he had begun to smile for Adeline. It was only after his mind matured that Carlisle truly understood what his parents had meant. He had been born, without a doubt, for Adeline.

For her sake, he felt as if he could do anything.

Yes. So it had been…

“….”

Carlisle furrowed his brows and stood up. For a brief moment, his reflection appeared in a hallway mirror.

His face lacked its usual composure, and his shirt collar was crumpled.

The once-neat shirt had been wrinkled by Adeline’s hand.

A shirt could be ironed, but how could one undo a realization of betrayal?

A cracked mirror can never return to its original form.

And human relationships are even more irreversible than that.

In the end, Carlisle turned his gaze away from the sinner in the mirror. A night that didn’t allow even his own shadow to hide him.

It was the first night he had truly felt the weight of sin.

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ཐི༏ཋྀ ໒꒱ ˚₊ ୧‿︵

Three days since that night.

Carlisle had begun avoiding Adeline at all costs.

“Milady, you have an outing scheduled today, so I will instruct that your wardrobe be prepared this afternoon. I have matters to attend to, so if anything urgent comes up, please inform Nadia.”

Nadia was Adeline’s personal maid.

In short, what Carlisle was saying was this.

Even if you need something done, don’t call me.