To Those Who Regretted After I Died - Chapter 39
The Lemoir family relatives waited for news from Sophia’s parents regarding what to do about the wedding with the Colbert family, and then they all left.
Sophia’s father slumped into a chair, and Emily, supported by her mother, sat down beside him.
“…Emily, were you going to the marquess’s mansion every day?”
“Huh?!”
(Again, with that question? Haven’t we had enough of this?)
Emily, with a sullen expression, avoided looking at her uncle.
“Emily, why aren’t you answering?”
“Well… everyone already knows, so I didn’t think there was any need to talk about it anymore…”
“Emily!!”
“Eek! I-I’m sorry…”
Hearing the uncle’s angry shout, Alec’s remaining relatives turned their attention toward Emily and the others.
“It seems the Lemoir family next door left at some point.”
“I heard shouting earlier. It sounded like that man was angry at Alec’s mistress—his sister.”
Two men from the Palris family, who had been watching Emily get scolded, continued their conversation.
“It’s no wonder he’s angry. She had an affair with Alec, knowing he was married. And to her own sister’s husband, no less. Poor Sophia, having such a troublesome sister… What on earth did Alec see in that sister?”
“Her face is cute, I’ll give her that, but living with her would be another story.”
“I couldn’t agree more. No offense to Alec, but I could never approve of a marriage to that girl.”
“Indeed… I imagine everyone gathered here feels the same. If Alec insists on being with her, it might be better for him to leave the Palris family. One of us could take over the shop’s management.”
Some of the relatives believed it would be difficult to approve a marriage between Alec and Emily.
“Yes… that might be best for both Alec and for us.”
“……”
Alec, sitting beside his still-unconscious aunt on the sofa, overheard the conversation among his relatives.
“…Alec…”
“Aunt!”
Alec’s aunt, who had been lying on the sofa, finally regained consciousness.
“Aunt, are you all right?”
“…Can you help me sit up?”
“Take it slow…”
The doctor and Alec helped support his aunt as she slowly sat up on the sofa.
“…Aunt… I’m sor—”
Slap!
“…Huh?”
Alec’s aunt slapped him across the face, leaving Alec stunned in disbelief.
The other relatives were also shocked by the aunt’s action.
“…A-Aunt…”
“Do you know why I slapped you?”
“…!”
The slap hadn’t been very hard, but for Alec, his aunt was like a mother to him—someone who had always cared for him. The realization that he had caused her pain crushed his heart, and he couldn’t bring himself to look at her tear-filled eyes.
Alec understood why his aunt had slapped him.
“Why didn’t you treat Sophia properly? You were the one who proposed to her… You said you were happy to become her husband… You promised to tell me first if you had children. All those things you told me… were they all lies?”
With tears streaming down her face, Alec’s aunt covered her mouth, unable to believe that her beloved nephew had deceived her.
“…Aunt…”
Alec lowered his head, unable to say anything in response.
“You’ve been going out a lot these past six months. Where were you going?”
One of the relatives was curious about Alec’s frequent trips.
“I-I was going to visit suppliers…”
Alec stammered as he explained to the male relative.
“I received some documents from you, but… you don’t need to go to suppliers two or three times a month, do you? With the time you spent staying overnight, it seems you were gone for nearly an entire month!”
“……”
The relatives began murmuring among themselves.
“We were just talking about that… Alec, I heard you always took a woman with you when you visited the suppliers. Was it your wife?”
“…Well…”
Alec hesitated. If he said it was Sophia who accompanied him, would it quiet down the relatives? Or would they realize he was lying and accuse him of worse things? Alec was torn.
“Judging by your hesitation, I see it was that girl from the Lemoir family, wasn’t it?”
“……”
“What a scoundrel! You left the estate unattended for a whole month?!”
“Ah… but while I was gone, my wife was taking care of things at the estate…”
“Wife? You left everything to Sophia and spent your time enjoying yourself with that girl?!”
“…Ah… but I was still working during my trips to the suppliers… I wasn’t just…”
Alec fumbled to explain that he was still doing his job.
“Even so, you left your wife alone in the mansion while you were with your mistress! I’ve heard the shop’s recent success is largely thanks to Sophia’s hard work. She’s been seen frequently at the shop. What were you doing during that time?”
“…I-I was organizing documents at the estate…”
“I’ve been reviewing the monthly documents, and lately, I’ve noticed the handwriting keeps changing. Who’s been doing the work in your place?”
“What?!”
Alec had often handed off his work to Sophia when Emily came to distract him, which explained the change in handwriting.
“M-my wife did it for me…”
“What?! It’s happening far too often! Why does the handwriting change so frequently during your work?”
“Well, that’s because…”
“What? Is there something you can’t say? Even if you don’t tell us, I could ask the butler or the head maid and find out.”
Cornered by the threat of questioning the staff, Alec explained.
“…It’s because… Emily would often interrupt me during work, and I left the work to my wife.”
Alec knelt on the floor, sitting formally in front of his relatives as he confessed.
The room buzzed with reactions—some relatives looked at Alec in disbelief, while others glanced at Emily, who was being scolded by her uncle at the Lemoir house.
“Sigh… I’m shocked… I didn’t realize you were such a pathetic man.”
A female relative sighed and stared at Alec.
“Oh boy, sneaking off during work to visit your mistress… Where were you going when your wife was right there in front of you?”
A male relative grinned as he asked Alec.
“…For a… walk… I was going to the garden…”
“And where else?”
“What?!”
“You didn’t just go to the garden, did you? What else did she invite you to do?”
“…We also went shopping…”
“And then?”
“What?!”
“You dumped your work on your wife while spending the afternoons with your mistress, didn’t you?”
“……”
Alec had no response to the man’s questions.
“…How could you do this? I thought you and Sophia were building a happy home, supporting each other as husband and wife…”
“……”
Alec couldn’t bring himself to look at his aunt, who was now crying. He could only keep apologizing.