Obsession Beyond the Wall of Courtesy - Chapter 99

Of course, I was preparing for our wedding anniversary without telling him, but I thought he would at least remember the date.

Just in case, I looked at the back of the letter. Unlike the front, nothing was written there.

I stared blankly at the sharp handwriting.

‘Don’t tell me he forgot our wedding anniversary?’

Come to think of it, Cedric had been busy all this time, so he probably didn’t have time to think about other things. Even in the letter, I could tell how hard he was working despite everything.

‘Or maybe Cedric doesn’t really want to celebrate our wedding?’

But seeing how he always sends pink roses, it didn’t seem like he was denying our marriage. On top of that, Cedric seemed to care a lot about pink roses.

‘Or maybe, because he sends pink roses every day, he thinks that’s enough to celebrate our marriage…’

My thoughts kept going around and around. But since I didn’t know how Cedric really felt, my head just became more confused.

In the end, I carefully folded the letter and put it in the drawer of the nightstand. I placed it next to the notes he had sent with the pink roses. After closing the drawer and sitting down on the bed, I let out a deep sigh. It felt like I was the only one who remembered and was happy about our wedding anniversary.

‘But if I think back to before I gave birth to Vincent…’

It made sense that I should be the one to remember and celebrate it. Even after all that happened, Cedric’s feelings hadn’t changed. Of course, mine hadn’t either.

Besides, the Cedric in the letter was just as I had always imagined. I hadn’t even written my letters to him with that much longing. Now that I think about it, most of my letters had been more about Vincent than about my own feelings.

Maybe now was a good time to write Cedric a letter with my true feelings. After all, I did want to prepare for our wedding anniversary properly.

With that thought, I lay down on the bed.

As soon as the sun came up, Lady Durtin came to visit. She had a very bright personality and started talking excitedly as soon as she saw me.

“It’s truly an honor! I’ve always wanted to work with the Jedburgh family, and now you’ve called me! I’ll do my best so I don’t cause you any trouble.”

Lady Durtin then gave a look to the servant she had brought with her. Soon, the servants came in carrying several bags and placed them down quietly. As I watched them closely, Lady Durtin quickly explained.

“These are the flowers and table decorations for the event. The dining setting is the most important part of a wedding anniversary. If the meal isn’t good, it can ruin the whole mood.”

It sounded right, so I nodded. The taste of the food and how the table was decorated both played a big role in setting the mood.

Once the servants finished organizing everything, they bowed and left. I led Lady Durtin to a seat in the drawing room. She seemed honored by even that and placed her hand over her heart while blinking rapidly. It was a bit much, but not unpleasant. Actually, I found it kind of fun.

As soon as she sat down, Lady Durtin showed me various table decorations and floral designs she had drawn herself. She was famous for her work, and her designs were elegant without being over the top. I liked them all so much that I couldn’t decide which one to choose.

After thinking for a while, I was able to choose the wall decorations, but the table decorations were all so beautiful that I couldn’t decide.

Lady Durtin gave me a gentle suggestion.

“If you want to celebrate your marriage differently than before, how about using a table decoration that includes mistletoe, a symbol of rebirth?”

The table decoration she pointed to had already caught my eye. I stopped thinking and spoke.

“I’ll go with this one.”

“Great choice. Then for the flowers, we’ll use all pink roses and add a touch of apricot-colored roses, right?”

“That would be wonderful.”

Lady Durtin smiled brightly and said with energy,

“Now, what should we do about the food?”

So Lady Durtin and I spent almost the whole day in the drawing room discussing the wedding anniversary. She wasn’t pushy at all and listened to my opinions carefully, helping us reach good decisions together. By the time we finished everything and stood up, it was already evening.

I was surprised and looked out the window. The sun was already setting, painting the sky red. I quickly asked a maid,

“What’s Vincent doing right now?”

“He had dinner and is reading a book.”

“He didn’t ask for me?”

The maid glanced at me before answering.

“No, ma’am.”

Vincent usually only looked for me when he was sick. Even then, it was only once in a while. Since we came to this house, Vincent hadn’t really come looking for me often. And with all the books he liked, he must be busy reading.

Just then, Lady Durtin looked out the window and said,

“The sun is almost down, but we finished very quickly. It’s all thanks to you, ma’am, for being so thoughtful and making clear decisions.”

“Oh no, I should be the one thanking you. By the way, would you like to stay for dinner?”

As soon as I said that, Lady Durtin’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Really? May I?”

“You came all this way, I can’t just send you back. It would be nice to eat dinner while looking over the formal dining room.”

“Thank you, ma’am. I didn’t expect this at all…”

She looked truly surprised, as if she never imagined something like this would happen. I found it a bit unexpected too. Or maybe she was just pretending to be surprised. As we walked to the formal dining room, I said,

“I’m not sure if the food will suit your taste. It’s probably only the things I like…”

“Oh no! I’m not picky and I eat almost everything.”

Then she smiled like she was sharing a secret and whispered,

“Except insects.”

I wasn’t fond of insects either. Seeing my serious expression, Lady Durtin quickly changed the subject.

“And I’ve almost never been treated like this. Most people just talk and send me away, they don’t invite me to eat like this.”

When I looked at her with curiosity, Lady Durtin explained,

“I wasn’t born a noble. But you’re really kind, ma’am. If all my clients were like the Duchess of Jedburgh, I’d be so happy.”

Lady Durtin smiled warmly at me. I just answered with a smile.

“But things are getting a bit better these days. Especially since the Duke of Jedburgh is giving commoners positions in the council. He’s leading the change himself.”

That was the first time I’d heard about that. Cedric hadn’t told me, so I was even more surprised. When I looked at her in surprise, Lady Durtin blinked quickly.

“Did I say something wrong…?”

“No, I just didn’t know Cedric had changed the system like that. He didn’t tell me.”

As I trailed off at the end, Lady Durtin’s eyes lit up and she said,

“Ma’am, the Duke is truly amazing! That’s why so many people support him now. Even nobles who used to side with the Imperial Faction can’t ignore him anymore and are following him. Plus, the new nobles really admire the Duke of Jedburgh!”

When I didn’t say anything, Lady Durtin kept going excitedly.

“The new nobles have risen thanks to the Duke, so they’re even more loyal to him. I even heard that some of them offered up gold mines found in his territory. They said they gave them to him directly.”

It was all news to me. I read the papers, but I didn’t pay close attention, so I didn’t know much about current events. But to think they gave him gold mines—now that was surprising.

“Then that means Cedric helped them that much?”

“Yes. Thanks to the Duke of Jedburgh, the honor of their families has risen.”

Now that I thought about it, the social circles had changed a little lately. Letters from unfamiliar families were arriving almost every day. In the past, I’d rarely seen new names. It was always the same families that everyone knew.

It really did feel like the world around Cedric was changing as much as he was working hard.

Just then, we arrived at the door to the formal dining room. A servant kindly opened the door for us. As soon as she saw the room, Lady Durtin couldn’t stop admiring it.

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