I, Who Was Betrayed By The People I Loved Most - Chapter 12

I stared at Marie, struck speechless by the weight in her gaze.

“My lady… I never told you this before, but—the truth is, the Duke has always had a habit of making advances toward the maids.
Each time, I stepped in to take their place.
So that none of them would end up pregnant or begin harboring foolish hopes… I stopped it before it could get that far.
It was all to protect your happiness.”

“Why… why would you do something like that? Why didn’t you tell me?
All you did was hurt yourself!”

“It’s all right. If it’s for your sake, I’d lay down my life without hesitation.
That’s how important you are to me.
I always took tea with contraceptive properties, and I could keep my feelings under control.
But when that filth and Camille betrayed you… I couldn’t stay silent anymore.
That’s why… I wrote the letter.
I was the one who told you what the two of them were doing behind your back.”

I stood there frozen, completely unable to speak.

Marie, now with tears streaming silently down her cheeks, went on desperately.

“I came from nothing—a nameless, abandoned child who crawled her way up from the scullery.
It was the late Madam, your mother, and you, Lady Leticia, who gave me a name and a place in this world.
I swore to protect you, even if it cost me my life.
Camille is the traitor. You should remain here, my lady.
If need be, cast out the Duke as well—because you are the only one truly fit to be the Duchess of Rubert.”

“…Marie… but that letter…”

“Yes. I know you are a gentle soul, my lady.
That’s why I deliberately wrote the letter with a harsher tone, hoping you’d immediately investigate the matter and banish Camille.
I never imagined… you would choose to step down from your position as Duchess.”

My legs lost strength, and I sank quietly onto the edge of the sofa.

How pitiful. How sad. How bitterly frustrating.

Just what had I been looking at all these years, when I looked at my husband?

The man I thought was gentle, sincere—was nothing but an illusion.

And even Marie now felt like someone from a different world, just like Camille.

How could offering herself to Oswald in secret be her way of “protecting” me?

Logically, I understood her explanation.
By preemptively preventing problems with the maids, she had preserved a peaceful household.
Yes, perhaps I could have lived on, never knowing a thing.

But… can that really be called protection?

Hadn’t I simply been blindfolded to the truth?

I couldn’t accept it. My heart couldn’t catch up.

Even so, looking at Marie’s face, I could tell—this was no lie. It was her own, sincere form of loyalty.

I couldn’t agree with her.
But I felt I had to acknowledge the sentiment at least.

“Thank you, Marie.
I will never forget your devotion.
But… your loyalty was misguided.
If you truly cared for me, you should have told me what kind of man my husband truly was.
I’m not the kind of woman who clings to her status out of weakness.”

I rose to my feet, slowly.

Then turned toward Camille and Marie, and spoke my final words to them.

“Take responsibility for your actions.
Camille, you’re going to be a mother now.
Give birth, love, and raise your child.
No matter how painful it gets, don’t run from it. Face it.
And… Marie.
I want you to be the one who sees to it that child grows up safe and sound.
If your loyalty to me is real, then do this one thing for me.
Protect that child.
You can do that—can’t you?”

At my words, Marie wept and shook her head.

“No… please, my lady, let me stay with you!
I love you… from the bottom of my heart.
My love is real. I’ll do anything for you!”

But I didn’t look back.
I turned toward the door.

Because I knew—if I turned around, I’d start crying too.

What even is love?

I didn’t want to think anymore about what kind of love Marie’s was.

Betrayed by the ones I loved, my heart had been torn to shreds.

Ah… how foolish I had been.

To believe I was the happiest woman alive…

Just then, Julius gently took hold of my arm and, without a word, loaded my already-packed belongings into the carriage.

“Lady Leticia… where would you like to go? I’ll take you there.
And please… hold your head high.
Forgive me for saying this, but the Duke, Lady Camille, even that maid—they are not sane.
They’re the ones who are wrong. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

His words, spoken gently, sank quietly into my heart.

“Thank you… I’ll stay at the Oxley Trading Hall for now.
If I throw myself into work and keep busy, I’ll forget all of this soon enough.
I’ll be fine. I’m not that weak.”

The Oxley Trading Company headquarters stood proudly along the capital’s central avenue.
Until my divorce was finalized, it would be my home.

And so, I took the first step… toward my new life.