Why The Maid Inherited The Duke's Legacy- Chapter 5

<5> It’s All Because of You

He was the old gardener who had once lived in the detached residence where Ivnia and Ranelli now stayed.

The gardener’s face was still deeply wrinkled, his skin darkened and weathered by the sun.

His hairstyle and worn-out clothes were exactly the same as they had been seven years ago. The only thing that had changed was his hair, which had once been streaked with gray but was now completely white.

He barked at the kitchen assistant.

“If there’s not enough bread, go bake more! Are you trying to starve an old man to death?”

“What are you talking about? You just finished eating!”

“What am I supposed to do if it’s not enough?”

The kitchen assistant, intimidated by the gardener’s gruff demeanor, grumbled as he set down the basket of bread. The old gardener then turned his sharp gaze to Ivnia, who had been standing by, watching nervously.

“Are you going to stand there all day? You used to be faster than this. What, have you turned into a slug?”

Ivnia, flustered, quickly picked up the bread, almost pushed by the old man. Without giving her a moment to hesitate, he kept urging her forward.

“Can’t you move faster before this old man loses his temper? Tsk.”

Under his pressure, Ivnia didn’t even have time to glance at the kitchen assistant as she filled the tray. Cheese, sausages, thinly sliced ham, roasted quail, cooked artichokes, and peas were neatly arranged on the platter.

The kitchen assistant glared at the scene with displeasure. But he couldn’t interfere with the gardener, who had been working at the estate longer than anyone else.

“Thank you,” Ivnia whispered to the gardener.

The old man simply grunted, busily wrapping the bread and ham in a napkin and stuffing it into his pocket.

Ivnia bowed slightly behind his back, expressing her gratitude even though he couldn’t see her, and then left the kitchen.

As she walked back to her quarters, she silently wiped away the tears streaming down her face. She was terrified and exhausted. Her hands were still trembling.

The painful memories of the past, which she had tried to forget, came flooding back like a nightmare.

Seven years ago, she had endured similar torment before finally seeking help from the former duke.

But he hadn’t helped her.

The funds Ivnia had received were in exchange for assisting his research. To reveal the truth, she would have had to expose the illness of his son, which had been kept secret.

Perhaps he had been afraid of that, Ivnia tried to convince herself.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t fully understand.

Couldn’t he have come up with some excuse to clear her name without revealing the truth? If he had wanted to, who would have dared to question him?

Even though it was all in the past, she couldn’t help but resent the former duke. Why had he allowed the rumors to spread? If it hadn’t been for that, she wouldn’t have been treated with such contempt.

It was heartbreaking and frustrating. She felt so wronged.

But the hardest part of it all wasn’t the former duke’s attitude or the servants’ bullying.

-“Listen to me, Arad! Please….”

-“No, don’t say anything, Ivnia.”

The resentful look in the eyes of the man she had loved.

-“I don’t want to hear it.”

His retreating figure.

The moment her love crumbled had been the most painful.

‘I believed my love was different. How naive of me.’

As Ivnia recalled the past, her face grew pale. The tears that had flowed so freely moments ago dried up astonishingly quickly.

Unlike just a moment ago, when she had let everything out and cried, she now pushed the rising pain deep down. It was too painful to face, so she chose to turn away.

In its place, self-reproach filled the void.

‘I was foolish. I was naive. I was blinded by love.’

Ranelli was a precious and beloved child, but she was also the price Ivnia had to pay for her foolishness.

As Ivnia walked, her weary footsteps left a long trail behind her.

By the time she reached the courtyard of the detached residence, her expression was blank. But as she opened the door, she smiled brightly, as if nothing had happened.

“Ranelli.”

“Mommy!”

Ranelli, who had been playing with a scrap of cloth she’d found somewhere, greeted her with a sweet smile. Ivnia forced a cheerful tone as she showed Ranelli the tray of food.

“Look at all this delicious food!”

“Wow! It smells so good!”

“Shall we put it on the table and eat?”

“Yes!”

Ivnia smiled softly.

“My little angel. You’re the best gift Mommy could ever have.”

“Mommy is the best gift for Ranelli too!”

“Thank you for saying that.”

“Hehe.”

***

Arad welcomed the morning after a sleepless night. His chest felt heavy, and he was exhausted but couldn’t feel the fatigue. He had no appetite, so he came down to the dining room only to idly poke at his food with a fork.

‘Ivnia.’

Her elegant, violet eyes lingered in his mind all night.

He had thought that perhaps his memories of seven years ago had been distorted, that the emotions he had felt back then might have been exaggerated in his mind.

Her gentle smile that had always made him feel at ease. Her laughter that had lifted his spirits just by hearing it. The scent that had always calmed him.

‘I thought all of that might have been an exaggerated memory.’

But when he saw her again yesterday, Arad realized that his memories hadn’t been exaggerated—if anything, they had faded.

‘You heartless woman.’

She had betrayed him. Even though he knew that, he had still wanted her by his side. But she had disappeared without a word and built a life with another man in a place he didn’t know.

It was infuriating, and yet, like a fool, he was glad to see her again.

Arad tried to regain his composure.

‘What’s there to be happy about? She left without a word and came back shamelessly, acting like she’d forgotten all about me.’

He tried to summon anger toward her, but it wasn’t easy.

Lost in thought, he hadn’t touched his food, instead shredding it into unrecognizable pieces. Finally, unable to sit still any longer, he abruptly stood up.

“Where are you going, sir?”

Hampton, the butler, followed him.

“I need a chair.”

“A chair?”

Hampton looked around. Chairs were everywhere—what more did he need?

“If you tell me what you need it for, I’ll find one for you.”

Arad ignored him and walked away.

“There should be some usable ones in the detached residence. I’ll go see for myself. No need to follow.”

***

‘It’s too far.’

Arad grumbled to himself as he walked to the detached residence where Ivnia was staying.

But when he finally arrived, he slowed his steps and reconsidered.

‘It’s too close.’

He still didn’t know what expression to wear when he saw Ivnia again, and yet here he was.

Arad lingered outside the courtyard of the detached residence for a long time.

The building was much more dilapidated and worn than he had imagined. He was inwardly surprised—he hadn’t realized it was in such poor condition.

‘And yet she never came to me.’

Stubborn woman.

He approached the door with a touch of irritation.

Just as he was about to knock, he heard the cheerful voice of a child and Ivnia’s soft laughter from inside. His hand froze mid-air, and he found himself unconsciously listening to the sounds from within.

“Ranelli, didn’t Mommy say not to be picky?”

“Hmph. But peas are yucky… They say if you eat too many peas, your face turns green.”

“Who told you that?”

“Hans did! He said his sister turned green and had to wash her face ten times!”

“Really? That’s not what Mommy heard.”

“It’s not?”

“Nope. Mommy ate lots of peas, and that’s why she grew so tall.”

“Whoa! I wanna be tall like Mommy too!”

Arad unclenched his fist and pressed his fingertips against the door. The warmth seeping through it seemed to seep into his body. But deep inside, he felt a chill he hadn’t noticed before.

An indescribable sense of discomfort welled up within him.

Irritated, he knocked loudly on the door.

“Open the door, Ivnia.”

There was a flurry of footsteps inside, and soon Ivnia opened the door cautiously, her face filled with surprise.

“Duke…?”

Arad pushed past her into the room. He looked around at the cluttered interior, where junk was piled up to the ceiling, and frowned.

“You’ve been living in a place like this?”

Ivnia lowered her eyes and spoke calmly.

“Thanks to your concern, Duke…”

“Concern? Are you treating me like trash?”

“Huh?”

“If you’d told me it was this bad, I would’ve known.”

If she had come to him and explained the situation, he wouldn’t have let her and the child live in such a place. Arad felt his blood boil. Why was he the one feeling so anxious?

Arad clenched his teeth as he watched Ivnia carefully choose her words before giving up and closing her mouth. He wanted to make her talk. He wanted her to chatter freely in front of him like she used to. Only then would he feel at ease.

“You have something to say, don’t you?”

“…I’m sorry.”

But when she finally spoke, her apology only made him feel more frustrated, not relieved.

He felt overwhelmed by his own emotions, which he couldn’t quite understand, and took it out on Ivnia.

“You’re just as frustrating as ever.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying you’re sorry.”

“I’m ashamed.”

“Ha.”

He looked down at the top of Ivnia’s bowed head. All night, his heart had felt like it might burst just knowing she was nearby, but now it felt like it might burst from an inexplicable anger.

He wanted to say something sharp, but he held back, aware of Ranelli hiding in the corner, watching nervously.

“…I’ll tell the butler to clean this place up. Be ready for that.”

With that, he fled the scene.

Once he was alone outside the detached residence, he finally understood his own feelings.

He had been furious seeing Ivnia happy with Ranelli.

It was a pathetic anger at her happiness in a place where he didn’t exist.

While he had been consumed with thoughts of her, it seemed she had truly erased him from her life.

He recalled the sound of Ivnia’s voice as she chatted familiarly with the child. The years he hadn’t been a part of now made her feel strangely distant.

She was Ivnia, but not the Ivnia he had known.

His heart was in turmoil.

She felt like an illusion he couldn’t grasp, no matter how hard he reached.

He returned to the mansion and irritably berated Hampton.

“The detached residence is full of junk. Why didn’t you tell me it was in such a state?”

Wasn’t it the butler’s job to report even the smallest details?

But Hampton, sensing Arad’s foul mood, simply bowed his head.

“I apologize.”

“I don’t want to see this mess. Get rid of all the trash and clean it up properly.”

***

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