My New Love That Isn’t Fated - Episode 24

Irma lived in a rented apartment not far from the Griez family’s townhouse.
Most of the servants working for the marquis’s household lived in apartments in the capital’s residential district, and Irma was no different. Her home was one unit in a three-story building.

Decades ago, servants used to live in the noble houses they worked for, with no freedom of their own.
But things had changed. Now, they could have their own homes and separate their personal lives from their jobs.

Even so, the working hours were long compared to most other jobs.
Serving nobility was considered an honorable profession, and the pay was good, so many people still wanted the job—but just as many ended up quitting.

Serving others was simply that hard.

Irma stepped into her apartment on the second floor and lit a lamp.
She took off her maid’s uniform, changed into loungewear, boiled water in the kitchen, made herself a cup of hot cocoa, and sat on the sofa.
A slightly overweight black cat, who had been keeping watch at home, hopped onto her lap.

Irma was the third daughter of a viscount’s family.
When Elad’s mother married into the Griez family, Irma had followed as her personal maid.
That was over twenty years ago. Irma never married and remained in service to the Griez household.
Part of it was that she never had much interest in marriage, and the right person never came along.

But more than anything, she couldn’t bring herself to leave Alyssa—Elad’s mother—because she felt sorry for her.
Alyssa was a quiet, gentlewoman. A daughter of an Earl, she had married into the Griez family as part of a political arrangement.
Her husband, the Marquis of Griez, was proud and self-centered, and life with him had been extremely difficult.

The Marquis demanded perfection from his wife.
She couldn’t go to bed before him. She couldn’t get up after him.
She always had to be beautifully dressed when she appeared before him.
She couldn’t gain weight. She had to stay young and vibrant. She wasn’t allowed to talk back.
His list of demands went on and on.

If she failed even once, he would explode in fury.
Because Alyssa was so quiet, she rarely angered him.
Even when the marquis poured money into his mistresses or spent extravagantly on art and luxury goods to feed his vanity, she said nothing and simply endured it.

But the stress must have taken a toll on her.
Maybe she pushed herself too hard while she was pregnant with Elad.
After giving birth, she began falling ill more often.

As a result, Elad grew up in a household where his father was never home and his mother was bedridden.
Irma loved him like her own son, trying her best to make sure he never felt lonely.

When he was little, Elad was a sweet boy who cared deeply for his mother.
He would pick flowers in the garden or draw pictures of Alyssa as gifts.
He was quiet, like Alyssa, and gentle in nature.

But the Marquis of Griez didn’t approve of such behavior.
He scolded Elad harshly for acting “like a girl,” and as Elad got older, he dragged him along to social events, keeping him away from Alyssa.

Irma worried not just for Alyssa, but for Elad too.
It hurt to see him change, to see him fall in with bad influences.
He wasn’t a bad kid—at least, that’s what Irma believed.
Maybe she only saw him that way because she’d come to care for him like a mother would.

Now, she regretted it.
Half a year ago, Elad married Lilia—a woman Irma thought was strong.
Lilia never complained about Elad’s behavior.
She quickly understood the Griez family’s financial problems and got to work repaying the debts and sorting out the household.
She was kind to the staff, even shortening their working hours. That alone meant a lot to them.

Alyssa had only endured in silence, but Lilia was different.
Selling goods with Lilia at the Sunday open-air market had become something the staff truly looked forward to.

Little by little, Elad began to change. Irma had believed things were going to work out.

But… maybe bl00d really does tell.

Rumor had it Elad had gotten involved with a theater actress.

He’s a fool, Irma thought.

The actress probably wasn’t only seeing Elad.
Women in the theater lived hard lives—most of them didn’t choose that path willingly, so Irma couldn’t judge them harshly.
But that’s exactly why they were always looking for someone to help them.
They would cling to any outstretched hand, no matter who it belonged to—desperately holding on like grabbing at a thin thread in the dark.

It would make more sense to think the actress was relying on several men.
She probably hoped at least one of them might help her escape her difficult life.

Elad was oddly pure in some ways. He probably hadn’t realized any of this.

Irma had hoped Lilia could help him become a better person.
But now, she was sure it was hopeless. She couldn’t stand seeing Lilia hurt any more.

It wasn’t just Irma.
Most of the people working in the Griez household liked Lilia.
Her intelligence, her strength, her kindness, her smile—everything about her brightened the house.

They all hoped she would stay.
They hoped she would remain Elad’s wife.

But, Irma thought, gently stroking the cat’s sleek fur—

Maybe staying would only bring Lilia more unhappiness.