There’s No Divorce For You

As soon as the Count finished his meal, he quickly rose from his seat. He left the dining room without even looking at Lisa, perhaps because he didn’t want to get into trouble. I also didn’t need to talk more, so I headed to the room at the same time. 

“Madam, should I prepare it for you to go out?”

“Yeah.”

Bell skillfully helped me. She was able to take care of my clothes skillfully by herself. Finally, I lifted my head and put my hat on.

In the meantime, I instructed Lisa to tie the laces of my boots. She couldn’t tie the knot right, so she kept untying it and retying the laces five times while Bell was getting ready. I felt like my stomach was going to explode.

I thought for a moment whether the Count had attached her to kill me with a vase, and then I shook my head. He wasn’t that smart. He would have gotten some poison and shoved it into Carla’s mouth if he had.

“So you can’t tie a string.”

I sighed, looking down at her round head. Lisa shook her shoulders slightly. Her appearance was cute and lovely. But I made up my mind and said more hurtful things to her.

“You’re not smart and slow to act. Is there anything you can do?” 

Eventually, Lisa shed tears. I decided not to say anything mean when she started crying lightly.

Instead, I slapped her hand and bent down to tie my shoelaces by myself. Then Bell was startled, and she stopped me. 

“Madam, your hair is messy.” 

She pushed Lisa and took her position in front of me. Once she was back on her feet, she skillfully tied my shoelaces.

“I’m so frustrated that you can’t even do this easy thing properly.”

Lisa sniffled her nose again. Maybe I was too mean, I thought about it for a while and opened my mouth. 

“Still, if you look for it, there must be something you can do.”

Lisa opened her eyes and looked up at me. Her face was pretty, even though she messed it up with her tears.

Her crying had made her cheeks red, and she looked like a crying baby deer. Her tears made her more pitiful, like the dew on a flower petal. 

“What are you doing? Get ready.”

“Yes, Madam!”

She smiled softly as if she had never cried. Then she got busy getting ready for her outing. She even hummed a song.

If it comes out that bright, the person who bothers will be vain. I lost all my energy. It was clear that the girl’s head was filled with bread dough instead of her brain. Bell crept up and whispered.

“Are you really planning on taking Lisa with you, Madam?”

She glanced at Lisa as if worried.

“I need that kid today.”

I lowered my voice so that Lisa didn’t notice and directed Bell. 

“Are you going to bring the earrings you bought recently?” 

Bell got the dangling earrings out of the drawer quickly. I put it on my ear, took a little bit of my side hair, and hid it. Earrings that hung like thin threads were easily hidden between the black hair. My heart pounded.

Even after getting in the carriage, my heart was pounding, and I couldn’t calm down. Then, as I kept looking at Lisa’s earlobe, Bell, who is quick-witted, pierced her side.

“Lisa , take off your earrings.”

“Why?”

“It stands out too much.”

Lisa put her earrings in her skirt pocket without any doubt. Pretending not to know it, I turned my eyes out of the window.

“Madam, we have arrived.”

Lisa first ran out of the carriage when the coachman opened the carriage door. I came down, holding the coachman’s hand.

Lisa began to chirp like a lark. I clicked my tongue so quietly that only Bell could hear it.

“Madam, there’s a lot of horse!” 

As her skirt swelled in the air, she dropped to the ground. And the green grass and the blue sky spread out like a picture. The bright smile was dazzling.

I was mesmerized by her beauty for a moment, then forced to look away. The ladies who were here in advance greeted me as soon as they saw me. 

“Carla! Sorry for sending the invitation so late.”

“No, I was excited and happy while waiting.”

After we exchanged light greetings, we chose a horse. The horse I chose was a white horse. As soon as she heard that it was a gentle and kind word, Lisa suddenly spoke to me. It was so instant that Bell couldn’t stop it.

“Madam, I want to ride a horse too.”

The pestering was very cute. She put her hands together and added ’please.’ I would have given her a ride if this weren’t a social gathering. 

“…Carla, this child….” 

The Lady who sent her invitation looked up and down at Lisa. Then, she glanced at me with an unhappy look on her face. It seemed like she didn’t like Lisa when she insisted on riding her horse as she wanted. 

“Lisa.” 

Bell poked Lisa in the ribs and gave her a hint as I called Lisa’s name as harshly as I could. Lisa bowed her head and took a step back when she realized what she was doing.

“I have a lot of meetings these days, right? I decided to use another maid because one was not enough. Thank you for your concern. I have a lot to teach her.”

“Ah, I see.” 

Lisa pouted her lips, but she became quiet as if she couldn’t talk back. I got on a horse and pulled out my earrings. Then, I requested so that the other Ladies around me could hear it.

“It’s my favorite item, so keep it safe so you don’t lose it.”

Lisa still pouted her lips, but she put my earrings into her pocket without question.

After making sure she was taking care of my earrings, I rode my horse. The people who said greeting had already gone their separate ways. 

The horse was very gentle. Because of this, I didn’t really have to hold on to the reins. Instead, I deliberately looked at the maids in the distance to avoid looking at the forest. Unlike the modest Bell, Lisa stood out from head to toe.

She leaned her body against the wooden fence and watched the horse.

I saw Belle scolding her not to climb the fence next to her each time. But she immediately climbed the fence again and watched the horse. She used to play with a red flower near the fence and put it in her ear. She was innocent and lovely.

“Poor thing…” 

I mumbled something she couldn’t hear. It struck on me that she was pathetic to the extent that she was. But she shouldn’t have done it with a married man.

She wasn’t very smart, but she was pretty and lovely, so she could have found a good man who wasn’t Carla’s husband.

Love was not magic. It doesn’t solve all the problems.

I turned my head the other way and saw a man in a neat uniform riding a horse. He kept looking around as if looking for someone.

‘Was it him back then?’

It was reflected in the sunlight, so it was not clear whether the hair was brown or blonde. I wanted to get close and check his face, but I didn’t want to run into him again then. A handsome face had the power to disturb a person’s mind. 

That was then. At first glance, the man and I looked at each other silently. It was as if time had stopped. Even the wind that blew felt like it was brushing away the two of us. It didn’t feel real like watching a movie.

‘I think he is that person.’

From a distance, I could see the man smiling. My cheeks lit up at that bright smile. But my instincts tell me that now is not the right time.

‘For now, I’d better leave this place.’

I hurriedly pulled the reins and turned.  He didn’t follow me or call me out loud. With a sidelong glance, he stood there and watched me. 

After a while, I couldn’t see him anymore, and my heart seemed to calm down a bit. 

After much time passed, the people who had disappeared into a distant place began gathering one by one. The Ladies, who were riding leisurely, mixed with each other and chatted casually. 

In the meantime, we exchanged words in moderation. It was a story of catching up on personal matters, such as whether the weather was good or the grapes of a certain region had matured well. 

“Oh my, Carla, what about the earrings?”

One Lady who left first pointed out my empty earlobes. She didn’t seem to know I left my earrings with Lisa.

“I left it to the maid. I’m afraid I’ll drop it while riding horse.”

I glanced at Lisa behind my back. And added quickly.

“Thank you for taking care of me. I’ve always indebted to you.”

“It’s nothing. We have a friendship. Oh, come to think of it, your earlobes are a little swollen.” 

At her words, I touched my earlobe. The earlobes were thickly swollen. It also felt a little hurt. 

Ah, it seems that Carla has an allergy. 

I wonder if the Count know that Carla have an allergy. Because it was the perfect answer to Carla’s having only two old pearl earrings.

I smiled at the Lady who looked at me with worried eyes. After that, there was no further conversation.  We carefully turned the horse’s head. Bell started coming towards this side with Lisa hanging from the fence. 

“You’re here, Madam.”

Lisa came up to me, straightened her clothes, and then started talking to me. It made me question whether she knew that I was the wife of her lover.

“Madam, I was so bored that I counted how many horses there were here, and I saw more than 30 of them!”

“Lisa!”

Bell was startled and stopped Lisa. Even if it’s a little rude, they can deal with it in the mansion, but if she does it outside, it will hurt the Master’s dignity.

“Really?”

Even though Bell stopped her, I naturally answered back. Lisa’s words had the rhythm of a chirping, as if it were a song. It was a nice voice to hear. 

She got excited and started chattering more when I said back. 

“And there are ten white horses. Three striped horses, and—”

The eyes of the people around were focused on Lisa. I reached out my hand before her words got longer.

“Give me back the earrings.”

Lisa rummaged through her pockets. My earring came out of her hand. I took it in, then glanced back and forth— then returned it to Lisa.

“This is not mine.”

I spat out the first line of the scenario that I had repeated countless times in my head. It felt like my heart was going to explode.