Obsession Beyond the Wall of Courtesy - Chapter 100

“I’ve never seen such a fancy formal dining room. As expected from the Jedburgh family. Look at these delicately carved wall decorations.”

Lady Durtin especially looked closely at the walls. She stood for several minutes admiring them before calmly sitting down once the food was served.

While eating, they chatted about many things. Then suddenly, Lady Durtin asked,

“So you’re saying it might not work out on your actual wedding anniversary?”

“Yes. Because we don’t know exactly when Cedric will be back.”

“Then don’t worry. Even if you tell me just an hour before, I can get everything ready right away. As for the food, if we prepare the ingredients in advance, the chefs here won’t have any trouble making it.”

It was a relief that there was at least some solution. I felt more at ease and smiled naturally.

“Thank you for being so thoughtful.”

“Oh, not at all! I should be the one thanking you. I’ve always wanted to work with the Jedburgh family. Since you’ve given me this honorable opportunity, I should work even harder.”

Lady Durtin smiled brightly, proud just to be in the mansion. They chatted cheerfully for a while, and before they knew it, it had gotten quite late.

As Lady Durtin hurried to leave the mansion, she said,

“I’m sorry. I feel like I took up too much of your time.”

“No, not at all. I actually enjoyed it. It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a good talk.”

That was sincere. These days, I rarely talked to people because I didn’t go out to social gatherings, focusing on taking care of Vincent instead. I did go out when there was someone I wanted to meet, but those days were rare.

Lady Durtin still looked a bit apologetic as she blinked, then got into the carriage.

“Then please call me anytime. I want to make your anniversary perfect.”

I smiled and saw her off. Soon the carriage stirred up some dust as it rolled out onto the dirt road. I stared into the dark air for a moment, then turned my head.

A maid was standing there.

“Did any letters come?”

“No.”

The maid looked at me apologetically. I almost sighed, but I held it in. Cedric had already written that he might be late because he was busy… I walked weakly back into the mansion.

Before going to my room, I went to check on Vincent. He had already fallen asleep. I gently kissed his smooth forehead and quietly left the room.

Even after seeing Vincent, my steps toward my room were heavy. With each step, I could feel the disappointment growing.

When I opened the door, my eyes were drawn to the calendar on the table. The circled date showed that our wedding anniversary was tomorrow.

‘Am I really the only one who remembers?’

But Cedric always remembered, even when things weren’t good between us. And no matter how busy he was, he always made time for dinner on that day.

‘I thought things were better between us now, so I was quietly hoping…’

I stared blankly at the calendar, as if my soul had left my body. Then I remembered Cedric’s letter and started rummaging through the drawer to find it. It no longer had his scent, but the handwriting was unmistakably his.

I lay on the bed, staring at the letter for a long time. I read the part where he missed my hair color when looking at the trees, and where he thought of my eye color when seeing the green grass. At some point, I fell asleep.

It was in the middle of that deep sleep. Maybe because I missed Cedric so much, I could almost smell his scent in the air.

As soon as I woke up, I ran to the window. Because of the dream I had last night, I had a tiny bit of hope. Cedric had always made sure to celebrate our anniversary.

But unlike my hopes, I couldn’t see his carriage. Only the gardener was trimming the trees busily—nothing special.

Feeling down, I turned around. Just then, there was a neat knock on the door.

“Come in.”

As soon as I sat weakly on the bed, the maid came in. She looked brighter than usual, like something good had happened.

“My lady, where would you like to have breakfast?”

Since Cedric wasn’t here, I didn’t feel like eating in the formal dining room. I had been trying to convince myself that he was just busy, but truthfully, I wasn’t okay. This was our first anniversary since we had gotten closer again, and I had prepared for it.

But now that things had gone wrong, of course, I couldn’t be happy.

“My lady?”

The maid looked at me worriedly. I held in a sigh and lifted my gaze.

“Is Vincent awake?”

“Yes, the young master is now… um…”

She paused for a moment, then suddenly said with a bright face,

“My lady, why don’t you have breakfast in the formal dining room today?”

“Why?”

The maid hesitated briefly, then spoke cheerfully.

“Rather than eating alone in your room, I think starting the day in the big dining room would feel more refreshing.”

I couldn’t really agree with her.

“I’ll just eat in my room.”

Her face immediately stiffened. I looked at her, wondering what was going on, and she quickly said,

“Then how about a short walk before breakfast?”

A walk? After reading Cedric’s letter yesterday, I felt like seeing the black ground would remind me of his hair, and the blue sky would make me miss his eyes even more.

“No, I’ll just eat here.”

The maid blinked quickly, looking flustered. She smiled awkwardly and said,

“My lady, but the weather is really nice today. If you take a little walk before breakfast, it’ll brighten your mood and help you start the day off right. Are you sure you don’t want to?”

“Yes.”

“Please, just go for a short walk. Just once, okay?”

She kept going on and on. I stared at her quietly. When our eyes met, she became even more eager.

“And it’s rare to have a day without a single cloud in the sky. On days like this, a walk outside will make you feel good for the rest of the day too.”

Something didn’t add up. She was speaking with so much effort, like she was breathing life into dying words, but it was all the same message, and it wasn’t moving my heart. Her strangely persistent tone made me think something was up.

Most of all, the maid had looked cheerful from earlier. As if something good had happened.

‘Is there really something going on?’

Otherwise, she wouldn’t be this pushy. And all while saying strange things too.

I let out a sigh at the fact that Cedric still hadn’t come, but didn’t show it and got up. On a day like this, staying in my room wouldn’t help.

As I got off the bed, the maid smiled brightly.

“My lady, I’m glad you changed your mind. A walk on a day like this will be good for you.”

She kept urging me with shining eyes until I stepped outside the room. And the moment I opened the door without much thought, I smelled a sweet floral scent. The hallway walls were covered in pink roses.

I couldn’t speak.

The roses decorating the walls were just as beautiful and full as they had been on our wedding day. And the rich scent of fresh flowers wrapped around me.

I couldn’t hide the surprise on my face.

“I didn’t say to decorate all the way to this hallway.”

“I told them to.”

It was a low, familiar voice. I turned around immediately and saw Cedric smiling at me. In his arms was Vincent. As soon as Vincent saw me, he waved his hand.

My mind went blank. I looked at Vincent, then back at Cedric. Under his neatly styled black hair, his bright blue eyes were shining deeper than ever.

He looked completely different from the image I had in my head. It had only been a week, but I felt like I was seeing him for the first time. I froze in place, all my senses stunned.

Cedric walked up to me and kissed my cheek naturally.

“Have you been well?”

His familiar voice and the fresh scent of trees all came rushing into my head at once. Cedric smiled as he looked at me. It was a bright smile, like snow filling the whole night sky. A ray of light passed through my mind. Finally, I came to my senses and spoke.

“You said you couldn’t come by today. And this…”

The flowers on the wall were pink roses. I didn’t think Cedric didn’t know what that meant, so I couldn’t finish my sentence. Cedric smiled gently.

“Today is our wedding anniversary.”

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