Love Doesn't Matter - Chapter 113
Translator and Editor: Hue and Tea
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Chapter 113 – Not Alone
“What? You mean you haven’t even checked near the house?”
“Yes.”
William’s face began to contort with anger.
“Now… You’re saying you couldn’t even investigate some insignificant woman?”
“I apologize.”
“Harrel’s workers have lost their edge… It seems the rumors were true. I’m truly disappointed.”
Tsk tsk, the errand-runner lowered his head before William, who was clicking his tongue disapprovingly. However, when he raised his head again, his eyes were filled not with remorse but with a more sinister intent.
“Instead, I have something interesting to report.”
William was lighting his cigarette when he asked, “Interesting?”
“Yes, I encountered very peculiar individuals in the forest.”
William gestured for the person to continue, and Harrel’s errand-runner launched into the tale.
“I was pretending to be a pastor. People tend to be more lenient toward a lost pastor, especially women. My plan was to approach the widow and get her permission to stay at her house for a few days. However, as soon as I entered the thicket, those men appeared.”
“Men?”
“Yes, at first, I thought they were just farmers since they looked like ordinary laborers. But they stared at me up and down and suddenly came closer, bombarding me with questions about my name and destination.”
William put down his cigarette and straightened in his seat. Realizing that his intimidating demeanor had sparked curiosity in his interlocutor, the errand-runner hurriedly continued.
“Of course, I admit I might have looked suspicious. Anyone would be cautious when encountering a stranger in such a secluded forest. But they went too far.”
“What do you mean by ‘too far’?”
“They pulled guns out of nowhere!”
“Guns?”
“Yes, even when I showed them the cross and the Bible, it was useless. They insisted they were workers from a nearby farm and claimed there were bandits in the forest, so I’d better leave.”
“Hmm….”
William tapped his chin thoughtfully with his hand. He was cautious and prudent by nature. Before him stood merely a bottom-rung criminal, and he wasn’t one to easily succumb to their words.
“It is indeed suspicious as you say. However, on the other hand, there’s not much to be suspicious about. Perhaps your story is just a fabrication to excuse your failure in the mission.”
Facing William’s sharp gaze, Harrel’s errand-runner seemed momentarily flustered. But soon enough, he collected himself and spoke again.
“I assure you, sir, it’s no fabrication. I couldn’t get near the woman’s house as you advised, but there’s definitely more to uncover. If you entrust me with this task, I will succeed fully next time.”
“Hmm….”
“I swear it.”
“Alright, then leave for now.”
After seeing the errand-runner off, William lit his cigarette again and settled into his rocking chair.
Emilia Bern.
He hadn’t gone after her with any great expectations.
He simply felt curious, driven by Bianca’s oddly intense emotions after encountering the woman. The story he just heard was also not decisive enough to make a decision. However, as the errand-runner said, there was plenty of room for further investigation.
“What should I do?”
As he sucked on his cigarette, he started to reorganize his thoughts from the beginning. The chair swayed back and forth for a while, and he realized he was wasting too much time on trivial matters. Regardless of the truth, there was only one way to resolve it.
“Yes, no need to overthink it. If something seems a bit suspicious about that woman….”
His green eyes flickered with a chilling light as he raised his hand up and down in the air.
The brave howl echoed through the dry forest for a long time, and Emilia finally arrived at her house.
The oak forest had fully embraced winter in the past few days. Seeing the pile of fallen leaves on both sides of the dirt path, Emilia thought, “Mitch must have had a tough time.” Just then, the front door opened, and Kallia appeared.
“Emilia…”
Kallia approached her daughter with quick steps.
“Mother…”
The two stopped within arm’s reach of each other.
Worry, concern, self-blame, and regret…
Her eyes, filled with complex emotions, scanned Emilia up and down before stopping at her lower belly.
In the past few days, Emilia had thought that she had accepted the sudden and tremendous changes quite well. But now, standing in front of her mother, she felt somewhat embarrassed and uneasy. Her trembling hands unconsciously covered her belly.
“Well… Mother… I…”
Seeing her daughter like that, Kallia quickly forced a smile. She had made up her mind in her own way. Whatever else might happen, she could never let her pregnant daughter feel shame or guilt.
“It’s okay, Emilia. You don’t need to say anything.”
Her wrinkled hand reached out and gently held Emilia’s quivering hand.
“My poor daughter, how much suffering have you endured…?”
Tears welled up in Kallia’s wrinkled eyes as her overflowing emotions sought an outlet.
“Mother…”
“No, don’t say anything. The child is a gift from God. Let’s focus on that.”
Feeling her own eyes moistening, Emilia reached out and held her mother’s hand. Their hands trembled, but they brought warmth to each other.
Just then, the front door opened again, and Charlotte peeked outside.
“Sister…”
“Charlotte!”
Emilia called out, and Charlotte swiftly found her way into her sister’s arms.
The moment Emilia felt her little sister’s small and soft body against her chest, her heart swelled with emotion.
“Sis…”
Following behind Charlotte, Mitch appeared. His reaction was quite different from Charlotte’s. He seemed to avoid meeting his sister’s eyes, scratching his back and looking elsewhere.
“That…”
Mitch’s stuttering lips could not form any more words, and he let out a long sigh.
Emilia understood her brother’s feelings well.
His sister had suddenly taken away a nobleman’s child. Even if it had been Mitch instead of her, he would have had the same reaction.
“Mitch Bern, I know what you’re thinking, but I am not unhappy at all. And I would be grateful if our entire family could welcome me like this.”
“That’s right, dear,” Kallia nodded, speaking on behalf of Emilia.
“Whatever your sister has been through, whatever decisions she makes, you must always stand by her. We are one family, after all.”
“Yeah, I will always be on my sister’s side.”
Charlotte’s arms tightened around her sister, and Emilia could feel the strength in her embrace.
Watching the three, all so deeply emotional, Emilia sighed once again. Then she approached them slowly.
“Sister, are you really… okay? Truly?”
“Yes. I’ll be much better if you stop looking at me like that.”
A small chuckle escaped from Mitch’s lips. The child wrapped his arms around the trio as if he had been waiting for this moment. Just like the bare trees reaching their branches toward each other, the four family members embraced each other. Emilia forced a smile, trying to hold back the tears welling up inside her.
Suddenly, their tender atmosphere was interrupted by a sneeze from behind them. It was Beppy, who had caught a cold. Laughter erupted from the mouths of the watching family members without anyone needing to say a word.
“It’s getting cold. Let’s go inside.”
“Yes, let’s go inside and talk.”
“Uncle, come inside, too.”
They held hands affectionately and stepped into the house where smoke was billowing.
That evening, the entire family gathered around the dining table, enjoying a meal and finally opening up to each other. The conversation revolved entirely around the child.
“I wonder if it’s a boy or a girl, I’m dying to know.”
“Does the baby even have ears right now? Surely, it’s not listening to our stories, right?”
“But how does it eat in the womb? And how does it breathe?”
If Emilia hadn’t gone to Ricardi Palace, she wouldn’t have been able to answer Charlotte’s continuous flow of questions. But there, she met doctors, read books, and received guidance from Her Majesty the Queen, who had given birth to three children.
Emilia calmly explained everything she knew to Charlotte.
Kallia, who had been watching them closely all along, noticed that Emilia seemed particularly tired and spoke up.
“Don’t worry, Charlotte. The baby is perfectly protected inside its mother’s womb. The ones we really need to care for and be concerned about are both of you. You should take care of Emilia and not cause her any stress. Understand?”
“Yes.”
The younger siblings nodded gently, like docile lambs.
After dinner, Mitch, who had been quietly gazing at his sister’s belly, suddenly perked up.
“Wait, so I’ll be an ‘uncle’ now?”
Before Emilia could respond, Charlotte interjected.
“If Mitch’s an uncle, what does that make me? Will I be an aunt?”
“Yes. An uncle and an aunt.”
“Goodness, an aunt! I’m going to be an aunt!”
When Charlotte shouted with excitement, Kallia chimed in.
“Then I’ll be a grandmother.”
“I’m an uncle, Charlotte’s an aunt, Mom’s a grandmother. So, what will Dad be?”
The three sets of eyes turned simultaneously toward Beppy. Beppy blinked slowly and then spoke.
“Beppy will be a servant. A good servant.”
Laughter erupted again from the family members.
Leaving the warm atmosphere behind, Emilia walked toward the window, her trembling hand resting on her lower belly.
‘My child.’
It was different from the palace. Thanks to the family members who carried the child throughout the day, Emilia felt the fact that she was carrying a child much more deeply.
Looking at the moon, hanging alone in the dark sky, it filled her entire field of vision.
‘My baby.’
For the first time, Emilia called out to the child.
‘I feel like I’ve truly changed.’
Her dewy eyes gazed at the night sky.
‘Why do I miss him so much? It hasn’t even been a day since we parted.’
Emilia tightened her grip on the ship’s railing. Although it was unlikely, it felt as if her heart was twisting and beating with strength.
‘Could it be that you miss him, too? Your father?’
As if that whispered voice echoed through the moonlight and reached out, he, too, stared out a window, remembering his beloved woman.
Finally, he had captured everyone from his mother’s followers to the bottom feeders who had been up to all sorts of dirty deeds.
All the plans he had made long ago were coming to an end as he rushed toward the finish line.
Impatience made his heart pound.
The face of the woman who had looked at him from the carriage just before they parted came to mind. The strange emotions that had been boiling in his heart for the past few days resurfaced.
Strange, Emilia.
Hadius opened the window and gazed at the sky tinged with a hint of blue.
‘Is it because you’re not by my side? Everything feels trivial and childish, like a capricious child.
To seek love… What’s so important about that kind of thing?’
The sigh mixed with melancholy dispersed into the air.
‘You are still alive, still beautiful, still close. That’s enough.’
The pale moon shone unusually bright, gently embracing the cool man’s body.
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