To Those Who Regretted After I Died - Chapter 73
“I’m glad you’ve accepted. I hear the marquis is a devoted family man… He will cherish Emily.”
“…”
Emily remained silent, her head lowered.
“Then… about the payment…”
“As promised, I will cover all the expenses, including the gifts Alec bought and the expenses owed to the Colbert family.”
“Th-thank you very much…”
Emily’s father smiled with relief.
“And Count Lemoir, about your employment…”
“Ah… I’ve been looking, but…”
“It’s understandable. The nobility loves to gossip. There are others like you, Count, whose families have been affected by the rumors…”
Emily flinched, unable to lift her head.
“I happen to know a family looking for a tutor. Would you be interested?”
“I would be grateful. Could you put me in touch with them?”
“Certainly… Emily, I’m glad you’re being filial… This doesn’t mean I condone your behavior at the Parlis estate. You’ve caused irreparable damage… You’ve ruined Alec’s life.”
“What…? But Alec… is married…”
“Alec will live a life unable to marry or have children…”
“Where is Alec now…?”
“That’s none of your concern. You won’t need any belongings. Everything will be provided at the estate. The marquis is a busy man, so the wedding date is uncertain.”
“What…?”
“I hear he rarely returns to the estate… He’ll be here tomorrow to fetch you.”
“What?!”
“T-tomorrow…? That’s rather sudden…”
“He wishes for you to acclimate to the estate and his wives as soon as possible… And staying here will only bring back painful memories for you.”
“…”
“Very well… Thank you.”
Emily’s father bowed his head. Emily, her heart filled with mixed emotions, was to become the concubine of a merchant from a neighboring country.
“And one more thing. I’d like to give you Sophia’s alimony payment.”
“Sophia’s?!”
Alec’s aunt handed an envelope to Emily’s father.
“Alec told me… to give his divorce settlement to her parents… It was Sophia’s final wish.”
-Sob…
Emily’s father fought back tears as he clutched the envelope.
He and Emily left Adelaide’s estate. Adelaide watched them go.
“It won’t be easy to return home, Emily… I hope this isn’t the last time you see your parents…”
━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━
Emily left to become the concubine of a merchant in a neighboring country.
Alec learned about Emily a month after she had left. He had become a servant and had just returned from his first visit to Sophia’s grave, using his first wages to buy flowers. He was riding in the carriage with his uncle, Richard, as a special exception, when his uncle told him about Emily.
“Is that so…?”
“I wasn’t sure if I should tell you…”
“Thank you… for letting me know…”
“…”
Alec, who no longer owned any formal attire, washed his soiled clothes and wore them to visit Sophia’s grave.
He wanted Sophia to see him as he was now.
━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━
“A bouquet of white flowers… Could it be from Master Alec…?”
The doctor was visiting Sophia’s grave.
“My Lady… No, Lady Sophia… So much has happened since your passing… I’m sure Master Alec has told you everything… He became a servant of the Parlis family, working in the stables… And Lady Emily married a man from a neighboring country who already has a wife and children… There’s been no news of how she’s doing… Her parents are worried and asked Lady Adelaide about her, but there’s been no word… Lady Adelaide told them she’d inquire about Emily at the next banquet… I pity Lady Emily… She stole your happiness, and now she’s suffering the consequences…”
The doctor spoke to Sophia about recent events, then clasped his hands in prayer.
━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━
Time passed. Alec, now working in the stables, received sad news from his uncle, Richard.
His aunt, Adelaide, had passed away. Alec was thirty years old when he received the news.
“My aunt…”
“The relatives objected… so I couldn’t let you see her… Her last words to me were, ‘Tell him I’m sorry,’ before she passed…”
“Aunt…”
Alec wept silently. He knew his aunt had been watching over him from afar after he became a commoner.
Misfortune continued… Sophia’s parents died in an accident… Alec received a letter from Emily saying she was being bullied by the other concubines and wanted to divorce and return home.
Her parents went to visit her in the neighboring country, but they died in a carriage accident on the way… Emily only learned about her parents’ death a year later when she received a letter from her relatives regarding land ownership… No one knows what became of Emily after that, whether she’s alive or dead.
“Cough… cough…”
Alec coughed as he stood before Sophia’s grave.
“Master Alec?!”
He turned around and saw the doctor, both of them showing the passage of time.
“Doctor…”
“Master Alec, it’s been a while… Ten… no, twenty years…? Since we last spoke… I’ve seen you around the estate, but I assumed you were busy, so I didn’t want to disturb you…”
“There’s no need to address me so formally…”
“But I’m still your physician… Even after all these years…”
“Heh… cough… cough…”
“Master Alec!”
Alec pulled away from the doctor, who was trying to support him.
“Cough… Don’t come near me… You’ll get infected…”
“Inf… Have you received treatment?”
“There’s no proper treatment for a commoner like me…”
“I’m here, aren’t I? Why didn’t you call for me? What was Master Richard doing?”
“My uncle is busy… He has to raise his heir… Things have finally returned to normal… Because of me, my uncle and aunt had to struggle to keep the shop afloat for years…”
Alec looked at Sophia’s grave and made a request to the doctor.
“Could you ask my uncle… if it’s alright… for me to be buried beside my parents… when I die…?”
“Don’t say such things, Master Alec… You promised… to atone for Lady Sophia…”
“You’re right…”
“Wait here. I’ll get my bag.”
The doctor told Alec to stay put and returned to the church to retrieve his bag.
Alec watched the doctor leave and looked at Sophia’s grave.
“You… probably haven’t forgiven me yet…”
Alec closed his eyes and collapsed beside Sophia’s grave.
“Master Alec?!”
The doctor returned and found Alec still breathing. He treated him, and Alec survived. When he regained consciousness, he said,
“It seems my atonement isn’t over yet…”
“Master Alec.”
━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━
Alec recovered and returned to his usual work, cleaning the stables.
“Alec…”
“Oh… Master…”
Richard approached Alec and told him about Doctor Alan’s death.
“Who… passed away…?”
Alec asked his uncle, Richard, wondering if he had misheard.
“We received news this morning… Doctor Alan has passed… He had a high fever and passed away peacefully in his sleep…”
Alec sank to his knees, stunned.
“N-no… that’s not possible… He can’t be gone before me… I just saw him recently, and he was treating me…”
Alec’s shoulders slumped as he wept, believing he had passed his illness onto the doctor.
“He was like a brother to me… When he struck me, I couldn’t stop crying… Even after I became a commoner, he continued to care for me…”
“He was a good doctor…”
“ugh…” -sob
Alec believed Sophia had come for the doctor… Another person he cherished was gone… Alan, the doctor, passed away peacefully on a sunny day at the age of sixty.
One by one, the people Alec knew were leaving him.
Richard, the butler who had served the Parlis family for many years, passed away. The head maid left the estate and passed away a few years later.
Richard, Alec’s uncle, who had supported him as the head of the Parlis family, also passed away at the age of eighty… He had cared for and supported Alec even after he became a commoner.
Watching the people around him leave, one after another, Alec felt his spirit breaking. He wept before Sophia’s grave, wondering how much longer he had to live.
Alec had witnessed the changing generations of the Parlis family. He was now over seventy.
His legs and back were weakening, making it difficult for him to work in the stables. Three young men had been helping him with his work.
Alec continued to teach them, ensuring they could manage the work even after he was gone.
A few years later, Alec collapsed while working. As his consciousness faded, he wasn’t afraid of death… He smiled, believing Sophia had forgiven him.
When he regained consciousness, he found himself not in the servants’ quarters, but in a familiar, nostalgic room.
“This room… Why am I in the main house…?”
Even though he hadn’t seen the inside of the mansion in decades, Alec recognized the room.
“Why am I in my father’s room…?”
Something warm and soft touched his hand.
“Are you okay?”
“…”
A little girl was touching his hand.
“I’m fine… What’s your name?”
“Margaret.”
“Margaret… That’s a lovely name…”
Alec, looking at the little girl with golden hair and golden eyes just like his, thought of Sophia… If he hadn’t been tempted by her sister, Emily, if he had cherished Sophia from the moment they met at their wedding, he could have been a father, living a happy life.
“You’re awake, Uncle.”
“Uncle…?”
A nobleman entered the room.
“I am Richard’s son. My father asked me to look after you.”
“My uncle did…?”
“I heard about your misfortune, about how you became a commoner… and how you worked in the stables for decades… He said, ‘He’s atoned enough. Let him rest,’ and that you, being the conscientious man you are, probably wouldn’t enter the mansion on your own.
One of the servants found you collapsed and informed us. I’m so glad you’re awake…”
“I apologize…”
“There’s no need to apologize. From today onwards, you’ll be living in the main house… You no longer have to work in the stables.”
Alec’s eyes filled with tears as Richard’s son spoke to him with a smile.
“Thank you…”
“Are you sad?”
The little girl looked at Alec intently.
“No, I’m happy… This child…”
“She’s my daughter. I have three sons… She’s our precious daughter.”
“I envy you…”
Alec stroked Margaret’s head.
“I’ll call for the doctor.”
Richard’s son left the room.
“I never thought… I’d be able to live in the mansion again…”
Alec closed his eyes in his father’s room, the familiar scent filling his senses. He felt the warmth of a small hand as his consciousness drifted away.
“My love…”
Alec heard a familiar, bittersweet voice and shed a tear. He never woke up.
“I’ve brought the doctor… Uncle?”
Alec passed away peacefully, as if holding Margaret’s hand… He was seventy-six years old.
Alec was buried beside his parents in the Parlis family cemetery… So that the tragic love story that unfolded in the Parlis family would never be repeated, the woman locked Sophia’s room.
“Margaret.”
“Yes, Mother.”
—END—
Thank you all for reading this with me.
I have no words… It’s been a long journey over the past few months.
Please support me on another translation I’ve done.
With love – Silverriver