I’ve Decided to Let You Go - Chapter 27

First night.
The wedding night of a newlywed couple.

For Sieghart and Natasha, their first night as husband and wife was the grandest event held in the duchy. Countless servants had played a part in preparing for and celebrating the occasion.

Yet when the bride stepped into the lavishly decorated bedroom, her face showed no emotion. With empty, lifeless eyes, she scanned the room like someone staring through glass, then quietly sat on the edge of the bed without a trace of interest.

A short while later, footsteps echoed outside. The grace in their movement made it easy to guess who it was.

Without turning, Natasha spoke.

“You don’t need to pretend to be kind to me.”

Her voice trembled faintly, like someone pleading not to be approached.

“You don’t even like me.”

In truth, she had no desire to bring out his emotions. The weariness she felt toward him outweighed any feelings of disgust. At some point, even the urge to tear away his fake kindness had faded.

And in the world Sieghart had carefully built, Natasha was the powerless one. That fact stood no matter how deeply she hated him.

She thought silence would be enough. A man as proud as Sieghart would surely lose interest if she didn’t react the way he wanted.

But his false affection chipped away at her piece by piece. Watching him act so tender, so generous, made her wonder if everything she had once suffered was meaningless.

There was a time when she had cried quietly because he didn’t come to see her. A time when she had been ashamed after he refused to kiss her in public. Moments that once left her heart broken had all been rewritten simply because she hadn’t returned his feelings.

“Everything you’re doing for me—it’s all fake, isn’t it?”

“What makes you say that?”

His low, calm voice asked her to explain.

But she couldn’t.

She couldn’t tell him that she knew because of a life he no longer remembered.

She could have said he would never love a member of the Charlier royal family, not after helping to destroy them. But that truth was a secret known only to Kail Letius and Sieghart.

So she had no proof.

“There’s no real reason. I just don’t believe you would ever love someone like me. I’m just a woman you met for a day.”

Before she could finish, Sieghart had stepped in front of her.

His refined features seemed to crack. Tilting his head slightly, he muttered in a low voice.

“So it’s just a baseless assumption after all.”

His voice was smooth and polite, but the sharpness beneath it was hard to miss. Coming from Sieghart, it might as well have meant, “If you have no proof, then don’t speak.”

Not wanting to provoke him, Natasha fell silent. A moment later, he approached again and said,

“You look upset.”

“That’s just another baseless assumption.”

Her voice denied it, but her pouty expression remained. Sieghart gave her a faint smile.

“If that’s how you react to just an assumption, then even if I said you were wrong, it wouldn’t matter. You wouldn’t believe me.”

“Are you saying you don’t dislike me?”

“If there were a way to prove it, I would.”

This time, Natasha smiled too. A quiet, bitter smile.

“There’s nothing you can say that I’d believe.”

She couldn’t trust him. His words felt like a trap, a soft whisper meant to tie her down.

There was no proof he could offer. Nothing he did would shake her stubborn doubt.

“But I can tell you this. The usual tricks won’t work on me. Giving me flowers or jewelry, taking care of me when I’m sick, or showing up to save me in a moment of danger. Those kinds of gestures don’t mean anything.”

Even if he didn’t realize it, Natasha spoke while thinking of someone else. Someone who looked like him. Someone with the same voice and the same face, who had once been unbearably cruel.

And Sieghart looked like he understood exactly what she meant.

“I’ll try.”

His eyes stayed fixed on the air, as if deep in thought, but before the silence could stretch too long, Sieghart made a firm promise. His voice sounded unfamiliar, as if several emotions were tangled inside it.

Since their marriage wasn’t one of love, Natasha saw no reason to follow the typical expectations of a wedding night. She had refused the physical relationship that was traditionally expected.

Surprisingly, Sieghart didn’t argue. Instead, later that night, for the sake of appearances, he scattered animal blood across the white bedsheets.

Natasha lay with her back turned to her husband. As soon as the tension that had kept her upright all day began to fade, the exhaustion she had ignored rushed in like a tide.

She fell asleep to the faint ticking of the clock and the slow rhythm of her heartbeat, using them as her lullaby.

The next morning arrived.

A thin beam of sunlight broke through the gap in the curtains and pierced her closed eyelids. Even through the lashes of her shut eyes, the sharp brightness made her beautiful face twist in discomfort.

With a soft groan, she sat up in bed and looked around. The clock told her she hadn’t woken up late.

Sieghart?

Though it was still early, the space beside her was already empty. The bed was neatly made, as if he hadn’t returned after leaving.

He must have gone out.

As she glanced around, her eyes landed on the teacup sitting on the side table. A warm aroma drifted from it. This must have been the source of the scent she’d faintly noticed earlier.

Beside the cup, a small folded note rested on the table. After a few sips of the soothing tea, Natasha reached out and picked up the note.

“Good morning, my lady.”

The handwriting was Sieghart’s.

She ignored the awkwardness of the greeting and continued reading.

The letter explained that today he would be leading training for the Aschart knights at dawn and wouldn’t return until lunch. He added that all her attendants had been assigned and were ready to assist her if she needed anything.

Once she finished reading, she crumpled the note and tossed it into the trash. The rest of the tea was placed back on the saucer, untouched.

She walked over to the vanity prepared for her and began brushing her hair. After a quick bit of grooming, Natasha pulled the cord to call for a servant.

They were already waiting by the door. As soon as the bell rang, one of them knocked and politely asked for permission to enter.

Among the group who stepped inside, she recognized a familiar face. The woman, noticing Natasha’s gaze, stepped forward and greeted her.

“Good morning, my lady. I am Anna Criot, the head maid of the duchy. I oversee the staff of House Aschart.”

It was only natural for the head maid to personally greet the new duchess on her first official day. Still, even this ordinary courtesy had never been extended to her in the past. Clearly, things were different now, thanks to Sieghart’s involvement.

Anna then introduced the three personal maids who would be serving Natasha directly.

She explained that the role of assisting the lady of the Aschart family couldn’t be entrusted to just anyone, so these women had been carefully selected from well-respected households.

“The Duke will be in training until the midday meal, so until then, please feel free to stay with your maids. We will assist you with anything you need.”

After the introduction, most of the servants left the room, leaving behind the three maids and a few attendants to help with her hair and dressing.

“Good morning, my lady.”

Standing respectfully with hands folded over their waists, the three women introduced themselves one by one: from right to left, Charlotte Tristana, Meliana Reon, and Vanessa Wilts.

As the handmaid helped with Natasha’s hair and clothing, the maids stepped into the adjoining dressing room and brought out outfits for her to choose from.

While Charlotte fastened a decorative piece to the side of her hair, Natasha spoke gently.

“Lady Tristana, may I ask you something?”

Charlotte was the only one among them who had already been working at the duchy prior to Natasha’s arrival.

“Of course, my lady. Please ask anything.”

“There’s a girl named Kayeina Ten who should be working here. Do you know her?”

After Natasha added a description of Kayeina’s appearance, Charlotte gave a small nod, showing she recognized the name.

“I haven’t seen her around, so I wondered if she had left her position. Do you happen to know where she is?”

“Oh, Kayeina returned to her hometown for a while. One of her family members is ill, and she needed to help care for them. She’s expected to be back in about ten days.”

“She’s on leave. Thank you.”

No wonder Kayeina hadn’t been around. Natasha now remembered that the last time they reunited, it had also been right after Kayeina returned from a long trip home. That time, she had been gone for over a month.

“Breakfast will be ready in about an hour. Would you like to rest until then? We’ll return to escort you when the meal is prepared.”

“All right. I’ll see you then.”

With a graceful farewell, the three maids stepped out of the room.

Maybe I’ll visit the library.

As she wondered how to spend her time, Natasha decided to bring back a few books from the library.

Since she would need a maid’s help to go, it would be easier to leave quickly. She threw on the shawl draped over the chair and reached for the doorknob.

That’s when she heard it.

“She asked us about Kayeina Ten? That’s interesting.”

The voices behind the door were soft but unmistakably clear. The maids hadn’t gone far.

“You’d think she’d be ashamed of someone with such low birth, but apparently not. Then again, Lady Ten works here without an ounce of shame, so maybe it’s just in their blood.”

Their words were unmistakably aimed at someone not present, and filled with thinly veiled scorn.

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