Bitter Truth
Canna rose from her seat. She no longer wanted to share the same space as Sylvien.
“I’ll prepare the documents at home. If you have anything more to say, send a messenger.”
She flung the door open and immediately came face to face with a maid carrying tea.
Canna gave a crooked, mocking smile.
“So you brought tea. For His Grace the Duke, I assume?”
“……”
“I hope you didn’t tamper with his.”
With that, she strode past without a backward glance.
“T-tea has been served, Your Grace.”
The maid, reading the room, set the teacup on the table. She bowed deeply and slipped out.
The sound of Canna’s footsteps faded into the distance. Then came the click of the maid closing the door behind her. And then—nothing.
Silence settled over the room.
Sylvien sat motionless, staring straight ahead. His gaze remained fixed on the seat opposite him, the place where she—Canna—had been only moments before.
Within that heavy, submerged quiet, the faint scent of tears lingered.
Sylvien did not move for a long time. He remained as steady as a breakwater enduring wave after crashing wave.
Then, at last, he reached out. He bypassed his own cup and lifted Canna’s. He took a single sip.
After the tea slid down his throat, Sylvien set the cup back down.
His lips twisted.
It was bitter. So bitterly, viciously bitter.
“You dare walk into this place…”
While walking briskly, Canna ran into Josephine. She didn’t even slow down, simply brushing past her.
“Canna! An adult is speaking to you—!”
A hand clamped down hard on her shoulder. Canna frowned and spun around.
“Do not put your hands on my body.”
Josephine snorted in disbelief.
“If that’s how you feel, you shouldn’t have crawled into my mansion in the first place. Do you even understand where you are?”
Josephine had been waiting for this day. The day she would finally confront Canna.
Just remembering the humiliation that girl had inflicted on her still made rage boil in her chest.
To humiliate her in front of the princess, to turn the entire household upside down, and then have the audacity to step foot here again!
“I threw away every last one of your things. So don’t you dare show your face around here ever again!”
Ah, that’s right. Canna let out a dry laugh. Now that she thought about it, there had been a few items here that belonged to her.
“Who gave you permission to throw them away?”
They might have been trivial, but they were still hers—Juhwa’s belongings.
That woman had swept them away like garbage.
“What?”
“They are my possessions. Yet you discarded them without even asking my opinion.”
“Your possessions? You had anything of yours here?”
Josephine burst into shrill laughter.
“Everything was bought with Valentino money! And you think any of it belongs to you? No, it is all the property of the Valentino family!”
“Which is exactly why it’s mine, Countess Elster.”
What? Josephine’s face darkened.
What had Canna just said…?
“As the mistress of the Valentino ducal house, the items I purchased with the family’s funds naturally belong to me. Moreover.”
Canna took one step forward. She looked straight into Josephine’s completely flustered eyes and smiled.
“All the money I’ve spent here was covered by the dowry the Addis family provided when I married in, as I understand it.”
“……”
“How dare you dispose of my things at your own discretion? With what authority?”
“Y-you insolent little—!”
“Insolent? Who exactly is calling whom insolent?”
Canna’s words lashed out like a whip.
Perhaps it was the lingering fury she had unleashed on Sylvien, or maybe it was the accumulation of every hardship Juhwa had suffered. Either way, she felt like she was losing her mind with rage.
She no longer had any desire to speak elegantly or wrap her words in polite veneer.
“The insolent one is you. What was your maiden family name again? I can’t even recall. The fact that it’s not in my memory must mean it was some insignificant, shabby little house.”
“You—!”
“So I can understand why you’re flailing so desperately. No husband, a stepson who couldn’t care less, a pathetic maternal family… You’ve been relegated to the back room to sit alone and embroider for the rest of your days, haven’t you?”
“Shut your mouth this instant!”
Josephine’s lips quivered violently. She raised her hand high.
Canna caught the descending wrist in a brutal grip and twisted it hard.
“Aaaagh!”
“I’m sorry, but I won’t be meekly taking your hits anymore.”
“Let go! What are you all standing there for? Grab her right now!”
Josephine thrashed and screamed at the servants nearby.
“Seize Canna immediately!”
“B-but, madam…”
“Now! If you don’t obey, I’ll throw every last one of you out!”
At the threatening command, the servants rushed forward and seized Canna’s arms. Her grip on Josephine finally broke. A burning pain flared across her overheated wrist.
How dare this worthless girl!
Slap! Josephine struck Canna across the face.
“You insolent wretch. Say that again if you dare!”
Slap! She backhanded the other cheek. Still unsatisfied, she shrieked.
“Get out of my sight! Never return to this mansion!”
Canna let out a hollow laugh. Then she twisted her body violently, ripping her captured arms free.
The servants, unable to hold her by force, reluctantly let go.
And in that instant, Canna slapped Josephine across the face.
Slap! Josephine’s head snapped to the side.
The air froze.
Everyone around them was visibly stunned. But Canna didn’t stop. She struck the other cheek as well.
Slap!
A silence like death descended.
The servants, even Josephine herself, were too shocked to speak. Josephine touched her cheek, staring at Canna in disbelief. She couldn’t comprehend what had just happened.
“You… you’ve gone mad.”
Josephine’s voice trembled. Blood trickled from her split lip.
“Yes. That’s correct. With people like you crawling all over my life, how could I possibly still be sane?”
“After doing something like this… do you really think you’ll get away with it?!”
“Whether I get away with it or not remains to be seen. But one thing is certain.”
Canna took another step closer. Josephine stumbled backward.
Goosebumps prickled across Josephine’s spine. The way Canna approached with that bright, cheerful smile—she truly looked insane.
“If you lay a hand on my body one more time, it won’t end with just this.”
“……!”
“How far do you think I’m willing to go? If you’re curious, hit me again. I don’t have much left to lose anyway.”
At that moment, Canna’s gaze shifted past Josephine.
Sylvien was descending the stairs toward them. The servants tensed visibly at his arrival.
“……”
Sylvien stared with an expressionless face at Canna’s swollen, reddened cheeks. Since she no longer wished to remain, Canna turned on her heel and walked away.
“S-Sylvien!”
Josephine clutched her chest as though deeply wronged.
“Did you see that? Canna raised her hand against me!”
“Yes. I saw.”
Sylvien’s reply was ice-cold. Josephine’s tears began to fall freely.
“How could she commit such a immoral, unfilial act? She’s looking down on me because I no longer have a husband! If your father were still alive…”
“Well.”
Sylvien cut her off sharply. His voice was utterly devoid of warmth.
“It seems she’s simply reaping what you’ve sown all these years.”
“……What?”
Was he actually taking Canna’s side?
An ominous feeling gripped her, but Josephine quickly denied it. That was impossible. After all the years he had ignored the girl, there was no way he would defend her now.
“You didn’t hear what she said to me! Do you know what kind of vile abuse she hurled at me?”
“I heard it.”
“……What?”
“Every word was true.”
Josephine stared up at Sylvien in blank shock. Then she froze completely.
Those cold blue eyes held nothing but contempt, disdain, and the faintest trace of fury.
“Was there anything incorrect in what she said?”
“S-Sylvien?”
“It seems age has made it difficult for you to distinguish right from wrong. It would be best if you recuperated somewhere with clean air.”
Josephine’s mouth fell open.
No. It couldn’t be…
“Sylvien, are you… are you really trying to drive me out…?”
“There is a villa in Cletin. It’s a scenic location. You should have no discomfort spending the remainder of your life there.”
“Sylvien!”
Josephine clung desperately to his arm.
Cletin—that barren northern wasteland. Famous for its brutal cold, a remote countryside where almost no one lived. And he meant to cast her away there?
“Why are you doing this, Sylvien! Is it because I disciplined that girl Canna?”
But Sylvien no longer paid her any attention. At his slight nod, the servants stepped forward and pried Josephine off him.
“The journey is long, so you should prepare at once. Depart as soon as you are ready.”
It was not a suggestion. It was an order.
“Attend to the Countess.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Josephine was dragged away by the servants. Nothing could override a direct command from the Duke.
“Sylvien! Sylvien!”
Her voice chased after him from behind.
It grated on his ears so severely that he feared what he might do if he heard any more. Sylvien quickened his pace and returned to his bedroom.
It was difficult to breathe. Feeling suffocated, he yanked at the cravat that was strangling his neck.
It didn’t help.
A laugh escaped him.
But it vanished as quickly as it came. The corners of his mouth felt parched and dry.
Sylvien could not laugh.
The words he had spoken to Josephine had been sincere. Canna had not uttered a single false statement.
Not one.