To Those Who Regretted After I Died - Chapter 40
Alec had something he wanted to tell his aunt, who was in tears.
He wanted to confess that before Sophia died, he had finally faced her and realized his own regret.
“After hearing what you said, I was wondering… Did she keep coming to your place? She even stayed over on trips, didn’t she? Didn’t her parents say anything about that?”
“…”
“Why are you silent? Is there something else you’re hiding?”
Some of the relatives, overhearing Alec’s conversation, began whispering, “Is he hiding something again?”
“… She… She lived with us…”
“What!?”
“Huh?”
“What!?”
The relatives were shocked, some too stunned to even speak.
“What do you mean she lived with you!?”
“… She… said she wanted to stay, so she ended up living with us…”
Some of the relatives sighed or shook their heads in disbelief.
“Did Sophia say nothing about her sister staying with you for so long?”
“…”
“I believe Lady Sophia must have tried to speak about it. But with all the days where you and she were out of sync, it seems she couldn’t even get a word in…”
The doctor, who had been listening quietly, joined the conversation and spoke about Sophia’s feelings.
“… Lady Sophia waited for you… Even though your heart was already with her sister, Lady Emily, Sophia waited for you until the very end…”
It was painful for the doctor to speak about how Sophia had loved Alec until her last moments.
“Now I see why you didn’t want to call us to the house, with her staying there.”
“Alec, when I heard she had moved in, some things made sense to me. Over the past six months, large sums of money have been withdrawn from your accounts… What was that for? I was going to ask you during the family meeting.”
The Parlis family had a tradition of holding family meetings once a year, where relatives would gather.
“… Th-that was…”
“Alec, stop hiding things. You need to tell us everything… You’ll have to talk about it eventually, right? I don’t want to see you suffering because of the secrets you’re keeping.”
“A-Aunt…”
Alec looked at his aunt and confessed everything.
He had spent on things Emily had asked for, on travel, accommodations, dining out, rugs and curtains for the mansion… One expense after another for Emily, and the relatives were stunned as Alec kept listing them.
“We should make the Lemoir family pay for all of this.”
“Alec shares some blame in this, too. Both families will have to discuss it later.”
“Hah… You must’ve felt pretty good spoiling your mistress, didn’t you? Buying her all these things and having a great time, huh? What do you say, Alec?”
“…”
Alec was now physically and emotionally drained, enduring the cold stares of his relatives.
“Hey, what about the most important matter?”
“The most important matter?”
From a distance, a heavily made-up woman who had been sitting alone in a chair spoke up.
“She’s pregnant, isn’t she? What are you going to do about the child?”
The relatives, hearing from the heavily made-up woman, began to clamor about what to do with Emily’s child.
“She’s carrying Alec’s child, right? What’s the plan?”
“I’m against it, but if that girl marries in, won’t the Parlis family go bankrupt?”
“Hahaha, that’s going a bit far, isn’t it?”
“Can she work? Or is she just good at attracting customers?”
“Even if she doesn’t speak the language, if she cozies up to the clients, she’d be good for business, wouldn’t she?”
“Hey, you all—Alec’s right here.”
“Oh, sorry about that. We weren’t trying to bad-mouth her. But if she’s going to marry into your family, she’ll need to learn the business.”
“…”
Alec stayed silent, enduring their sarcastic remarks.
“… I’m feeling unwell… I’ll go home now…”
“Aunt…”
Alec’s aunt couldn’t bear to see him being blamed any longer and said she would leave.
“I’ll visit Lady Sophia before I go… I haven’t seen her once since the wedding. During the wedding greetings, Lady Sophia asked me, ‘Will you be the godmother when our child is born?’… Sophia made that request of me…”
“… My wife asked that of you?”
“I was so happy… To think I’d be able to name the child you two would have… I was eagerly awaiting the day…”
“…”
His aunt wiped her tears and turned to Alec, who sat silently in a formal kneeling position, looking down.
“I had already chosen names… for a boy and a girl…”
“W-what…”
Alec raised his head, looking at his aunt’s tear-streaked face, her eyes red.
“But I won’t tell you… I’ll take those names with me to the grave…”
“…A…”
“I don’t approve of your marriage to Emily… You’re not the only heir to the Parlis family…”
“!!”
Alec trembled, his face pale.
Hearing the aunt’s words, the relatives began to talk.
“What does that mean?”
“In short, it sounds like Alec’s being stripped of his marquess title, and one of us will take over, doesn’t it?”
“Is she telling Alec to stay single for the rest of his life?”
“It’s harsh, but what Alec did to Lady Sophia was too cruel… I imagine this will be discussed at the next family meeting.”
Some relatives were already speaking about whether the marquessate, inherited from Alec’s father, would come to an end within a few years.
“You two should discuss this and decide for yourselves…”
“…”
Alec clenched his fists, pressing them to the floor, and his aunt, seeing him like that, stood up silently from the sofa. The doctor helped support her as she stood.
“… Shall we go now… Alan, could you accompany me to Lady Sophia’s resting place?”
“Of course…”
“A-Aunt, please wait… I… I have caused my wife… Sophia so much sorrow that I can’t even begin to atone for it… Before she died, she scolded me… She asked me about the way I spent money, and how I handled my work… She told me to value the servants as well… But back then, I… just did whatever her sister told me to…”
Some relatives tilted their heads at Alec’s confession.
“What do you mean you just did whatever she told you?”
“… After she started living at my mansion, I accepted all her whims… I deeply regret having to let go of the servants who didn’t deserve it…”
“It’s true, the number of servants quitting at your place was unusually high, but what was the reason?”
“… She told me to fire any servant she didn’t like… and I followed her demands, letting them all go…”
!?
The relatives looked over at Emily, who was with the Lemoir family, in shock.
“What!? What’s going on with you people? You’re just firing the servants for such petty reasons? You’re letting that girl walk all over you because you lack the backbone to stand up for yourself!”
“I-I’m terribly sorry…”
“She probably feels like she’s already the marchioness, doesn’t she?”
“She’s nothing like Lady Sophia… I bet she had a tough time even at home… And then after getting married, she chased after her sister, even taking her sister’s husband for herself… What a wicked woman…”
“Haha… That Emily girl is something else, isn’t she?”
“I won’t approve of your marriage!”
“Sigh… One thing after another with you two… You’ve brought shame to this family… To think you, of all people, would fall this far… Make sure you atone and thank the late Lady Sophia.”
“… Thank her?”
“She loved you until the very end. She supported you in your role as head of the family… Without her, not only the servants but also the estate would have all disappeared…”
“… Ugh… Uuh…”
Alec’s tears dripped onto the floor, and he thought that if he hadn’t discussed divorce, if Emily hadn’t gotten pregnant, perhaps his wife would still be with him. He wept, yearning to see Sophia, who had gone somewhere far beyond his reach.