Do you like Fionn?
“Do you like Fionn?”
“Who told you that?”
Did Anton know my feelings? I was disturbed. Anton than spoke nostalgically.
“Weren’t you together with Fionn back when you were a kid?”
“How do you…?”
Anton seemed aware that we were childhood friends.
“I have seen you guys together in those days. You played together in the forest, right? You two were always together. That’s why you stood out.”
“You were also in the forest?”
“No, I only watched from afar. I saw how my Father enjoyed eating with other children.”
“…!”
I was reminded of something with those words. The mansion that Fii and the others were living in at the time was the mansion where Anton’s late mother was resting, and it was Fii and his mother, who had been offered the mansion by General Garland as a hiding place.
No wonder Anton had been sneaking in to visit them for some reason or another. He had witnessed his father leaving with Fii’s nanny to bring the stew that she cooked for the children.
Hearing that, I felt that I somehow understood why Anton wasn’t amused by Fii.
“Did you perhaps agree to marry me just to spite Fii, no Fionn?”
“No. I did not realize you were the girl from that time when we met again. You have become much more beautiful since that time, after all.”
“I’m happy to hear that. I was wondering what I would do if you married me because of something like that.”
“I’m not that interested in him.”
“Won’t you leave us alone then? You have abandoned us. Why does it matter to you how we live? Return me back to Noah.”
“Noah isn’t even your real child, why are you so attached to him?”
“Why are you talking as if he was another person’s problem? Do you know how lonely Noah was just because he couldn’t see you?”
“That’s only natural for the nobility. There are many children whose parents don’t come home often.”
Aristocratic marriages are built on the connections of each other’s families, so there are many couples that don’t have any love in them. I had a happy family because my parents were so close. I wanted to marry into a family where I could, if possible, have a family that cared for each other like my parents did.
From what Anton said, it seems he didn’t want it that way. It seems that all my effort was futile. I guess that’s why our marriage fell apart.
“Noah is my son. I won’t hand him over to you.”
“……”
“Could you please leave the room?”
Anton looked at me and quietly left the room. When he turned away, I noticed a silver pendant that fell on the floor. It was not mine. From the looks of it, it must have been Anton who dropped it, so I called out to him.
“Anton, you have dropped something. This is…!”
“Give it back.”
The pendant I picked up was a locket pendant with a lid that had been opened. It contained a portrait of a familiar woman. I don’t think this is my first time seeing this pendant before. As I searched my memory for it, wondering where I’d seen it before, Anton snatched it from me as if he was robbing me. This may be the first time I’ve seen him in a panic. Feeling uneasy, he told me only, “Don’t talk about it,” and left.