Love Doesn't Matter - Chapter 114
Translator and Editor: Hue and Tea
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Chapter 114 – Impeccably Crafted
Kallia sent Mitch and Charlotte to Hedel early the next morning. She used the excuse of finalizing the house cleaning for Mitch and getting Charlotte familiar with their new home, but she had a greater purpose in mind. She wanted some alone time with her daughter.
“Emilia, how about the two of us have a cup of tea after so long?”
Emilia had been waiting for this opportunity also, so she didn’t refuse.
“Sure, why not?”
Kallia led Emilia to the backyard.
In the middle of the yard, where the fireflies sang beautifully, a small fire pit was lit. They had set up a picnic mat, a small wooden table, a kettle, and tea cups for an outing.
“Do you remember? When your father was alive, we used to light a fire like this and have conversations from time to time.”
The two of them sat across from each other with the firewood crackling in the middle.
Crackle, they both stared intently at the burning firewood for a while.
“Emilia, do you remember when I got pregnant with Mitch?”
Kallia opened the conversation with a question.
“It was right around your age. When I found out, I… I just wanted to die.”
Emilia’s hand, reaching for her tea cup, froze in place.
“Manuel was a gambling friend of your father. He used to hang around our house every weekend and look at me with strange eyes. But I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know how to interpret it or how to deal with it. I grew up without a mother, just like you.”
“Mother…”
“One day, he suddenly burst into my room. Your father was completely drunk, so even if I screamed, it was useless. The child that resulted from that… was Mitch.”
Emilia was completely frozen, unable to make a sound. Kallia seemed lost in painful memories, as if nothing could be seen or heard.
“Your father was furious. Not at Manuel, but at me. How shamelessly had I behaved for such a thing to happen? He slapped me several times.”
Her hands were trembling. Emilia clasped them together to prevent the trembling from spreading through her body.
“My father dragged me to Manuel’s house. As soon as the door opened, he beat him mercilessly. He beat him until he was covered in blood, and then he threw me next to him. And he said this: ‘Now, Kallia, Manuel is your husband. Marry him out of love and obedience.’”
Emilia’s heart started pounding forcefully.
“Father didn’t care about what happened to me, as long as he got 300 crux from Manuel as compensation. He sold me for the price of a single word.”
“…”
“That’s how I ended up getting married overnight. To a man who had robbed me.”
A chilly wind blew. Emilia stared silently at the prominent blue veins on her stepmother’s exposed, vulnerable neck and gently wrapped her with a shawl.
“I tried, you know. I tried to accept him as my husband no matter what. But it wasn’t easy. It was impossible from the beginning.”
Kallia had been reflecting in the flickering flames and suddenly turned her eyes to Emilia.
“Yes, Emilia, I don’t want to make you experience the same pain.”
A different kind of shock hit Emilia, on top of the aching pain in her chest.
“For the sake of the child, there’s no need to go through an unwanted marriage. If you don’t want it, it doesn’t have to be a duke, even a king is unacceptable.”
“Mother…”
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I hope you meet someone ordinary and good, just like me. If… if you ever want to, there’s a way to disappear and escape to where the Duke Meyer can’t find you.”
It was only now that Emilia understood why her stepmother had rejected him, and why she had suddenly revealed her own past.
Hadius had been unkind to himself and was not one to make excuses. He would have admitted his own fault clearly, in a very matter-of-fact manner.
And Emilia’s stepmother saw her previous husband in the nobleman who raped her.
The moment she realized Hadius Meyer was being compared to a man who would whip a woman, her heart trembled as if it might vomit.
“No, Mother. It’s not like that.”
Emilia shook her head vehemently, tears welling in her eyes.
“The Duke is not like that. Absolutely not to that extent…”
“Yes, I understand. The Duke Meyer can’t be that evil. I can imagine that much. But, Emilia…”
Kalia held Emilia’s trembling hand gently.
“I am not telling you to hate Duke Meyer so much. When I ran away, pregnant and desperate, I thought my life was over. As you know, the world is not kind to women who are pregnant alone. But you know what happened? I met your father. Just when I was about to fall off a cliff, hope miraculously appeared.”
Emilia looked into her mother’s eyes. A hazy mist mixed with ashes rose between them and drifted into the night sky.
“Life is not so simple. It’s filled with countless crossroads, just like these branches. So, Emilia…”
“No, Mother.”
Emilia cut her mother off firmly.
“I have no desire to meet another man or to run away.”
Through her own blurred vision, she saw her mother’s reddened eyes.
“But, Emilia, can you really bear it? You know as well as I do… marriage is completely different… and it’s the Duke’s family…”
Fear was all that appeared on Kallia’s face. It was a perfect match for the emotions that had always blocked Emilia whenever she thought of Hadius.
“You were so adamant about rejecting the Duke, weren’t you? You said you were afraid your child would hear the word ‘bastard’ in the Duke’s world, didn’t you? Other than the child, nothing has changed much. Can you really bear it?”
Emilia discovered that she couldn’t answer easily.
“Whether you love the Duke irrevocably or not, your heart comes first. I’ll say it again, Emilia. Me, Mitch, and Charlotte are ready in our hearts. We’re on your side, no matter what.”
Kallia continued to speak seriously. But Emilia couldn’t hear any more.
“But, Emilia, can you really bear it? You know as well as I do…”
The words echoed like a refrain.
Yes.
She had hated him.
She had burned herself with all kinds of evil emotions. She had completely burned every emotion that oscillated between extremes – excitement and hatred, desire and loathing, shame and desire.
What was left?
A suddenly conceived child, the desire to see him several times a day, and…
“…I’d like to gouge out your eyeballs and rip out your guts,” Hessen muttered, spitting out a glob of saliva.
“Of course, I can’t. You’re just the tail; the real body is separate.”
Across from him, Jetson, gagged and hooded, writhed and twisted in vain.
It was all in vain, of course. His arms and legs were perfectly bound to the chair as if they were one.
“Shall I tell you some unfortunate news? All the people who helped you have been captured. They’re trapped somewhere, and just like you, bound.”
“…!”
Jetson’s body jerked as he struggled.
“Do you know what this means? Your master is finished, completely. And so are you. So it’s best to give up quickly and cooperate with me.”
Groans, like those of a wounded beast, flowed through the dirty cloth that covered his face. Hessen sneered at Jetson.
“Soon your master, Caitlyn Meyer, will be implicated as the mastermind behind the stagecoach robbery.”
Jetson remained motionless, his body straining with effort.
“Of course, I know. Your master won’t break so easily, will she? In this damned world, she won’t be accused of a simple murder like the killing of a lowly woman and child.”
Hessen chuckled coldly as he sharpened a blade.
“But you know what’s lucky? My master is much wiser and more spotless than yours.”
“….”
“The charge of actually overthrowing your master is not as trivial as that of a mere murderer. The Duchess will be put on trial for the consistent poisoning of the 11th Duke Meyer. Over the past few months, while the Duchess has been in a state of disarray due to various events, we’ve already planted enough evidence.”
Jetson’s slumped body twitched for a moment.
“So, cooperate willingly. I won’t hesitate to use such things.”
Hessen approached the table. A thick cloth covered it. When Hessen lifted the cloth and pulled out something, Grozhang felt a fear that made his hair stand on end. His trembling legs took an involuntary step back.
Holding something he never wanted to know the purpose of, Hessen approached Jetson.
“…!”
Horrified, Grozhang turned and ran out. Gasping for breath, he slowly raised his head.
Outside the firing range, a completely different world unfolded.
Blue sky and clear air.
Winter trees, bathed in early frost, sparkled in the sunlight, covering everything in a silvery hue. The mansion, now in the depths of winter, was quiet and peaceful.
“Oh, Mr. Grozhang, you’re here. The young master is looking for you.”
Even the servant who approached with a smile made Grozhang feel as if the events below the shooting range were just a dream. The uneasiness made him blink again and again.
“Where… is he?”
“He’s in his room, sir.”
Grozhang wiped his face with his dry hand and hurried away.
When he entered the room after knocking, the host was preparing to leave with the help of his butler.
Dressed in a black tuxedo with a white bow tie, he was an impeccable gentleman. He looked like the kind of person who could have a secret underground bunker and authorize torture, but you would never suspect it.
“Did you say ‘Villeneuve’?”
Realizing that this sudden question was directed at himself, the host snapped out of his daze.
“Yes.”
“Who was invited?”
The host quickly pulled out a notebook and recited the list while Hadius personally adjusted his cufflinks.
“What’s the plan after that?”
“I’ve left it open in case the meeting goes on for a while.”
As soon as the host replied, Tobias, who was tying his shoelaces, stood up. He put on his jacket and then handed the host a stick.
Normally Hadius didn’t like cumbersome things, so he didn’t carry a cane. But tonight was a special social gathering, and the cane was a symbol of the man who walked the corridors of the club. Holding a small, sparkling cane with a crystal handle, Hadius entered the carriage with his host.
“Young master,”
As the carriage turned onto the main road, the host couldn’t help but speak.
“I’m beginning to worry about this fool. What if he can’t control his anger and decides to kill him?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Hadius replied without taking his eyes off the paper.
“We made a deal with him. I won’t get involved in a personal vendetta. We’ve successfully nipped him in the bud; we have enough to use against him. He’s worthless now.”
The host felt he couldn’t breathe in front of his owner who spoke so casually.
A few minutes later, the carriage stopped in front of the newly established “Villeneuve” club. As soon as they entered, the thick smoke of tobacco obscured their view.
“Ha! Who do we have here? The young Meyer has finally returned!”
“Welcome, Hero of Eringer.”
“No, no. I’ve graduated from Elfort, so you should call me Meyer now. Even though I didn’t attend the initiation ceremony.”
Hadius smiled charmingly and shook hands with each of them.
Light-hearted conversations about the latest bets and gambling followed.
Hadius was not the type to take the lead or step forward in conversation. He generally preferred to listen quietly from the back, but eventually he became the center of attention. This became even more pronounced as the conversation turned to heavier topics such as business, politics, and diplomacy.
He was one of the youngest aristocrats of his generation and was inheriting the family business faster than anyone else, so in a way, it was only natural.
As the conversation dragged on, the glasses were quickly emptied.
It had been a long time since the heir to the House of Meyer had appeared at a social gathering, and the noble youths urged him to drink excessively.
Within a few hours, dozens of empty whiskey bottles lay on the floor. One of the servants, as requested, quickly found the butler while cleaning up.
As soon as he heard that an entire bottle of whiskey had apparently gone down the young Lord Meyer’s throat, the butler hurried over.
“Young master,”
Hadius raised his hand in reassurance before the butler’s worried gaze. There was no hint of intoxication in his expression, tone, or posture.
The butler had no choice but to step back.
“Since it’s been a while, how about a round?”
The host of the gathering instructed a servant to open the gambling room.
Alcohol, cigarettes, card games, and more alcohol.
In less than two hours, more than half of the attendees were completely incapacitated. The butler continued to watch Hadius, who showed no change in his complexion.
It was the butler’s job to step forward when the master was ready to leave the table. As he approached Hadius, he silently recited the excuses he had prepared in his mind.
“Oh, did I mention it? Nathan Malvin, remember that name.”
At the sudden mention of a familiar name, he couldn’t help but hesitate.
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Rate the novel on Novel Updates.
Join our discord to receive the latest updates as soon as possible!
Comments for chapter "Chapter 114"
MANGA DISCUSSION
What Are Pilot Novels?
Pilot novels are novels that will only have a few chapters released from our group. We hope that someone else can continue these novels for the enjoyment of everyone!