My Sister’s Man

“Did she say that?”

“Yes, she agreed to divorce and wanted to return to the duke…”

Leandro frowned. He let out a sneer when he thought of the rumors floating around.

His headache came back again.

He didn’t care about the future of the woman he honestly loathed. However, hearing that she would proudly return to the duke’s residence after the divorce, he was very concerned. How could she return to a place where the Duke and Duchess, who adored her, had died, only those who didn’t even want to be her family remained?

A place where all contact had long since lost even though it had been quite a while since she had the accident. 

‘She’s really determined in her acting.’

Leandro again found himself being swayed by the  woman. He hated it terribly. He didn’t care about her. He didn’t want to care about her. He didn’t like how she always stuck out in his eyes.

“Do you have anything more to say? If not, get out. I want to be alone.”

At Leandro’s words, Carl hesitated and spoke again.

“The doctor said that the madam was born weak.”

“…her? Her body is weak?”

Leandro remembered the fallen woman had fainted again not long after she woke up. Her tired pale face, her weak breath as if she was about to stop breathing…

He would be lying if he said he wasn’t surprised by her appearance. But Leandro couldn’t trust the woman even at that moment. It was because he believed that pitiful appearance was a well-directed performance.

She had never left his side for a moment, occupying a seat next to him at every official event. What’s more, she even wanted to bed him every night. Even that was not enough, she held a banquet every week at his residence.

Such an active woman was weak? Leandro sneered.

“Are you saying that because she’s weak and pitiful I shouldn’t divorce her?”

Seeing Leandro speak sarcastically, Carl couldn’t control his expression. He knew very well why Leandro was particularly hated and angry with the madam. But now, he found it uncomfortable to see him sticking to a sharp-edged attitude towards someone who had been injured while trying to save him.

Leandro looked at Carl’s unhappy expression and said nothing more.

“All right. The divorce is inevitable. I don’t want to see her anymore.” 

“But in the eyes of the public, it won’t look good to divorce right away.”

Carl hesitated and spoke with conviction.

“I’m not saying I’m going to divorce her right away. When the woman’s body recovers, it’ll proceed in due course.”

Carl responded cautiously in the madam’s favor.

“…Madam really seems to have lost her memory.”

“I’ll divorce her when she’s well again.”

Leandro spat out as if he was tired and handed over the documents to Carl. The documents he  skimmed through contained information that the divorce process would proceed as soon as the madam’s health recovered.

After reading the document, Carl became confused.

It seemed that his master had taken pity on the poor woman besides his hatred for her. Perhaps that was better than full blown hatred.

As time passed, malicious rumors about the Marchioness never died down. On the contrary, it only grew bigger like a fire on dry firewood.

It was the night he went to persuade her to stop her depravity even if it was just for the sake of the Marquis’s appearance, as her attitude did not change easily after several attempts of persuasion.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

Seemingly drunk, Larne looked very shabby, unlike the world given title ‘evil woman’.

She was constantly apologizing, and her sad figure imprinted in his mind.

Her shoulders trembled miserably. It was only then that Carl noticed her appearance.

All she wore was a thin nightgown. Her lean body was exposed. How inappropriate she looked, but Carl could say nothing.

“I know I’m selfish…Just a little longer, a little longer, I want to stay by his side. I’ll do whatever he wants. Could he pretend not to know a little longer?”

What did she mean? There was no time to ask.

She was only whispering in a small voice, but it sounded clear in Carl’s ears.

“…I’m going to die soon.”

Before he knew it, Carl was standing in front of Larne’s room. The papers in his hand were slightly crumpled. Taking a deep breath, he opened the bedroom door. Perhaps she was waiting for Carl, Larne smiled brightly as soon as she saw him.

“The Marquis will proceed with the divorce after the madam’s health recovers.”

“He doesn’t have to wait, can we get a divorce right away?”

Wanting to go home immediately, Larne couldn’t hide her disappointment at the delay. It was comical how he pretended to care about her condition while treating her coldly, and she hated being in his favor which could be overturned at any moment.

“…that’s a little difficult. The reason why the madam collapsed.”

Carl stammered. It was very difficult to spit out his words as if there were thorns in his mouth. He hated being a messenger.

“The madam fainted while trying to save His Excellency… even though in the public eye the madam and His Excellency didn’t seem to be on good terms…”

Before Carl could finish his words, Larne’s ears rang loudly.

Pain took over her consciousness as if she didn’t want to hear it anymore. Larne clutched her head painfully at the sudden pain.

“Ah, turn it off.”

It felt like she was being stabbed all over  with a sharp awl.

“Call the doctor… !”

When Carl hurriedly called the doctor, Larne grabbed his arm. Seeing Larne struggling while shaking her head, Carl stood still on the spot as if he was being nailed shut.

“Oh, it’s okay…”

Fragments of memories were regenerated against her will, taking her to the past.

The chandelier was shaking wildly, and the man stood beneath it, unaware.

Even though it looked dangerous, people just conversed with each other without paying attention. Larne ran towards the man without hesitation. The gazes were fixed on her, as if they found something interesting to see. As she recalled those gazes, she again became short of breath and her head pounded painfully.

Larne ran under the chandelier, as it looked like it was about to fall. The banquet hall was in chaos with the chandelier making an eerie clicking sound and people screaming deafeningly. Larne pushed the man out of harm’s way with all her strength.

She honestly thought it didn’t matter if she died. But the man’s hand pulled her from under the falling chandelier’s shadow as it was about to crash down on her.

Bang! Along with the crashing sound, the loud ringing and screaming subsided. All she could hear was the thump, thump of the man’s heart. She was glad of that.

“Have you gone crazy?” (Leandro)

“Why did you save me? You hate me.” (Larne)

Leandro’s lips parted slowly. Larne fainted as soon as she heard the reply.

“Madam, are you all right?”

“ah.”

Emotions of unknown origin filled her heart. Larne was very confused.

Why? Why was her heart beating like this? Why did she think it didn’t matter if she died? 

She couldn’t understand it.

The last words the man had spoken at the time were so blurry that she couldn’t even remember.

“Are you okay now?”

“Yes, yes… I’m sorry for worrying you.”

When Larne smiled lightly, Carl held out the documents he had been holding in his hand.

“What is this?”

“…This is, in case the madam will change her mind later.”

Larne smiled bitterly and accepted the papers. And she signed without hesitation. Her hand habitually wrote Atrice on her elegantly written name, suddenly stopped. She erased the Atrice family name and traced the letters next to the man’s name.

[Larne Cartel.]

The name she wrote down with her own hand was strangely unfamiliar. 

“Haven’t you heard from my family?”

Carl’s body stiffened slightly at her question. She didn’t even ask a difficult question, but no answer was given. Feeling strange, Larne raised her head, and Carl stood there with a dark expression on his face.

“What happened in the last four years? What’s wrong with your expression?”

“No, no.”

Carl took the documents from Larne and left the room as if he were running away.

****

It wasn’t long before Larne learned about her family.

The maids were not kind to her, and they had no intention of hiding that fact.

Their owner, Leandro, hated Larne.

The servants also tended to act according to their master’s feelings. Furthermore, they didn’t have to be careful with their words, as Larne was not the type to punish her servants.

However, that was before Larne lost her memory.

Seventeen-year-old Larne couldn’t turn a blind eye to this kind of act.

“Wasn’t she abandoned by her family too? If she’s divorced and abandoned by master, what would she do?”

“There’s nowhere for her to go back to.”

Larne called out to the gossiping maids, catching them in the act.

“Are you talking about me?”

“No…”

“No? Are you talking to yourself?”

Larne raised her hand and struck the maid on the face.

The maid was perplexed at the violent act. The blow didn’t hurt much, she was just surprised because Larne had never responded to gossip, contempt, ridicule, and disregard. This was the first time she had acted like this.

“Now….”

The maid tried to speak but the pain in her cheek stopped her.

Despite her rapid breathing, Larne didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping.

The story of Larne beating her maid soon reached Leandro’s ears.

“Have you finally gone crazy?”

“….?”

“You even bullied the servants now? Surely it’s not because you can’t hold a banquet?”

Leandro attacked as soon as he visited Larne in her bedroom.

He seemed unwilling to listen to Larne’s version of the story. It was unfair, but she did not want to argue with Leandro.

“There was a reason for that.”

“Really?”

When Leandro looked around, the maids did not respond. It was what was expected in the first place. Of course they would only disrespect Larne in their Master’s absence.

“No matter what I say, you won’t believe me. If you disregard me like this, wouldn’t it be natural for the attendants to follow their master’s way?” (Larne)

The atmosphere was tense as if walking on thin ice.

The servants quietly left the bedroom under the guidance of the butler.

“Isn’t the treatment familiar to you?” (Leandro)

“…what?”

“Isn’t it obvious just by looking at the color of your hair?”

It was something Larne had doubts about. She didn’t know it would be resolved this way.

“Isn’t it a sign of the Marchioness committing sins? I thought you would be used to being treated like this because you’re a pretentious noble lady, but I guess that’s not the case.”

At Leandro’s sarcasm, Larne felt her head pounding once more. She didn’t want to hear it, but her heart thumped at the information he kept feeding her.

“I made it clear when we got married. Don’t expect humane treatment from me. There is no courtesy for a person who stole her sister’s man.”