To Those Who Regretted After I Died - Chapter 64
Thump!
Alec, with a bloodless face, abruptly sat up in bed, looking around the room and catching his breath.
“A dream… hah… what a dream…”
Alec had dreamt of being pursued by multiple women.
'Any woman is fine with you, isn't she?''Let's meet secretly, so your wife doesn't find out.'
'I want to hear your impressions of meeting secretly while your wife was still alive.'
He brushed off the women who sought him with smiles, and as he ran, he tried to reach out to a familiar figure from behind…
'So…'
The one who turned around was not his wife Sophia, but Emily.
'Emi…!'
'Are you going to abandon me after my sister?'
'!!…'
'Hey, you'll make amends to me too, right? You still love me, don't you? You and I are similar, aren't we!? You betrayed my sister, and I betrayed Paul… Hey, let's be together again, Alec.'
Emily smiled at Alec and grasped his hand tightly, at which point Alec woke up.
"……"
Since Sophia’s death, Alec had been unable to sleep properly.
“Morning already…”
Alec was having breakfast in the large dining room.
“Prepare the carriage. I’m heading to my aunt’s mansion.”
“Understood. I heard there’s a meeting today, and it’s at Lady Adelaide’s mansion, is that correct?”
“That’s right… Head Maid, tell the maids to clean Emily’s room… and also, sell all of Emily’s belongings and turn them into cash…”
The Head Maid looked surprised but obeyed Alec’s instructions.
“Understood…”
━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━
After a while, the doctor arrived at the mansion and was to accompany Alec to his aunt’s mansion. Alec and the doctor got into the carriage and left the Parris estate.
“Lord Alec, have you heard anything about Miss Emily’s condition from the Lemoire family’s doctor?”
“No, I haven’t heard anything… I suppose no news is good news.”
“I see…”
The doctor noticed the dark circles under Alec’s eyes as he gave a detached reply.
“Lord Alec, how is your sleep…?”
“I think I’m sleeping better than when I was absorbed in work… but I didn’t have good dreams today…”
“I’ll prescribe some medicine for you…”
“That would be helpful…”
The carriage carrying Alec and the doctor arrived at Emily’s mansion.
“Is Miss Emily coming with us?”
“No, I decided to only have her father come… It’s better for Emily not to be at the meeting.”
“I believe that is for the best.”
“Doctor, I’m sorry, but could you go and pick him up for me?… I’ve decided not to see Emily…”
The doctor nodded, seeing that Alec was not looking at the mansion.
“Understood. Please wait here for a while.”
“I’m sorry…”
Alec, watching the doctor walk with Emily’s father, felt relieved that Emily was not with him.
“Marquis, I apologize for the wait…”
“No, thank you for coming despite your busy schedule… How is Miss Emily’s health…?”
“Ah… she seems to be feeling better… however, she is saying that she wants to see you…”
“I think it’s better if we don’t meet…”
“I see…”
The father, looking at Alec, realized that the talk of breaking up with Emily was true. After looking at the doctor sitting next to Alec, he hesitated before speaking to Alec.
“Marquis… after the meeting, I would like to talk with you privately…”
“Understood…”
They arrived at Alec’s aunt’s mansion without any conversation in the carriage. Seeing many carriages parked there, the father’s face turned pale.
“I know what they will be talking about… but I wonder why our family was even called…”
“……”
Click.
“Lord Alec, we have been waiting for you. Everyone is waiting.”
The butler opened the carriage door and informed them that the relatives were waiting.
Alec, thinking that this would be the last Parlis family meeting, headed towards the room where his aunts were waiting.
Alec, the doctor, and Emily’s father walked towards the room where the Parlis family and their relatives were gathered.
“This mansion is the Marquis’s… I heard Lady Adelaide is unmarried… does she live here alone?”
“This mansion is a separate residence… I heard it was built for my unmarried aunt to live comfortably… My aunt became unable to have children due to an illness in her youth… I heard that instead of marrying, she dedicated her life to work… She built and established a business with my father, and when he passed away, I inherited it… My aunt apparently told me that she wanted me to marry quickly and have grandchildren… I betrayed my aunt, who was looking forward to it, and made her sad…”
“……”
“……”
Alec walked through the familiar mansion, clenching his hands.
“I believe my status will be decided at this meeting…”
“Status?”
“Regarding the Marquis and commoner status…”
“What!? Co…Commoner?… Why do you think so? You are the heir of the Parlis family! Stripping you of your title and reducing you to commoner status seems like an extreme reaction, don’t you think?
The father, surprised, stopped walking and called out to Alec.
“I have angered my aunt… Although she is usually kind, the fact that I caused my wife… Sophia’s death has angered her and caused her to lose trust in me… I am prepared for it…”
As the sound of a door opening was heard, Alec visibly stiffened as he saw his aunt emerge from the room. He looked down at his aunt, who did not show a smile.
“I heard voices… Thank you for coming, Lord Lemoire, despite your busy schedule.”
“No, my wife and daughter Emily are not with me…”
“I know about Emily’s situation… I will meet with Emily later.”
“Understood…”
(She seems to know that Emily had a miscarriage… but there was no word of concern…)
“Thank you for coming as well doctor…”
“It was a promise.”
His aunt smiled at the doctor and then turned to Alec.
“Let’s go into the room.”
His aunt called out to Alec, and the three entered the room. Relatives were sitting at a long table. The relatives who had been conversing stopped talking abruptly when they saw Alec.
“Please take a seat at any of the empty seats.”
Alec, the doctor, and the father, feeling the gazes upon them, took their seats at the back.
“Lord Alan, I didn’t expect you to be here as well… and it seems Earl Lemoire is alone. To have someone who is not a relative attend the meeting…”
One of the relatives turned to Emily’s father and spoke.
“Ah… thank you for attending my daughter… Sophia’s funeral the other day… I have been asked to attend today’s meeting.”
The father greeted the relatives hesitantly.
“Your wife and Emily are not with you?”
“I am alone today…”
“She couldn’t possibly come, she has lost a child.”
The relatives began to whisper, and some showed a relieved smile.
“……”
Emily’s father clenched his hands… Even though his daughter was selfish, she was still his beloved only daughter.
He had no choice but to endure the people of the Marquis family who showed a relieved smile to his grieving daughter who had lost her child, saying “It’s good that she wasn’t born.”
“Wouldn’t it be alright not to have a meeting today?”
“I think so too. We haven’t had a gathering of relatives in a while. How about some casual conversation?”
“That’s a good idea.”
Among the relatives who were laughing, Alec’s aunt, who was staring intently at Alec, did not smile.
“Everyone, we have an important matter to discuss today. Let’s save the casual conversation for later.”
At his aunt’s words, the noisy relatives became quiet.
(…They became quiet at her voice… I feel like I understand how she has supported the Marquis from behind. It is probably thanks to Aunt Adelaide that the business has continued until now…)
Emily’s father looked at the relatives and then at Alec’s aunt.