Canna, the birthplace of Duke Rufus’ mother, was a more lovely place than Ellie anticipated. The vista she saw from the carriage window with the Luton Hotel personnel who received her at the railway station was more breathtaking than any landscape painting.
After spending a considerable amount of time appreciating the view, she arrived at the Luton Hotel and was once again impressed by the hotel’s exquisite facade and spacious balconies in each room.
Of fact, the inside of the hotel was more surprising than the façade. Because it was a hotel constructed with the most advanced magic engineering technology, there was an elevator that could reach the seventh story with ease.
Ellie had previously seen a manual elevator that produced a tremendous noise, but the elevator powered by the Magic Stone gilded softly and quietly.
Ellie unloaded her belongings in the room provided to her before proceeding to the balcony. A refreshing sea air stroked her face.
Under the balcony, another magnificent panorama of Canna unfurled. Over the white sand beach, she could see the green water gleaming in the sunshine.
Today was the first time Ellie had ever seen the ocean. She never traveled outside her typical cocoon, so maybe this is typical.
The train journey lasted a remarkable five hours, yet none of that time was wasted. If she could view this kind of landscape, Ellie believed she could suffer for much longer. Then she heard the balcony door next door open.
Afterwards, Duke Rufus stepped out onto the balcony and drew her attention. He remained silent as he saw the scene developing in front of his eyes.
‘Is he remembering his late mother?’
Ellie thought that it would be better if the one with him right now was the lady who visits him every night, not Ellie Miller.
If she did, she would be able to converse with him while admiring the breathtaking environment.
Ellie left her sorrows behind and turned around in silence. She did not want to bother him as he took in the view.
“It is quite gorgeous here.”
At that time, Duke Rufus addressed her.
“Yes. It is a lovely place.”
Ellie responded calmly as she regarded the water once again.
“Stay if you are entering because you are uncomfortable seeing me. I shall enter.”
Ellie waved her hand rapidly in response to his surprising comments.
“That’s not the case. I was only attempting to enter out of concern that I would impede the Duke.”
“Has it been a year now? That you’re working for me?”
Ellie responded hesitantly to his unexpected inquiry by nodding slowly.
“You’re really consistent, so I admire it.”
“I appreciate the compliment.”
He glanced at the ocean once again without speaking. Ellie once again focused her attention to the ocean. Now that he had addressed her first, the stillness was no longer awkward.
* * *
When Ellie returned to my hotel after the opening ceremony, it was after 10 p.m. After bathing, Ellie changed into comfortable attire and regarded the perfumed candles with concern.
She lost the opportunity to give it. Ellie shook her head as she deliberated whether to bring it now. He seems hesitant to disclose that he suffered from sleeplessness.
After working for him for nearly a year, Ellie was unaware that he suffered from sleeplessness. If she had not consumed the fairy’s potion, she would never have learned about it.
Giving something as a present may raise suspicions. Ellie climbed into bed after placing incense candles on the table above the couch.
When the lights turned out, she could hear the sound of the waves. With the sound of the waves as her companion, she fell asleep gradually.
“Oh?”
Ellie was initially taken aback when she awoke in a shadowy room as a fairy. It wasn’t the room she regularly visits. When she heard the sound of the waves outside his window, she understood she had arrived at his hotel room.
However, something seemed odd.
The room’s lights were off, and he was nowhere to be seen. Ellie attempted to switch on the light by touching the stand, but for some reason, the stand would not turn on.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw Duke Rufus huddled in a corner of the chamber, trembling.
“Duke?”
As she neared, his body continued to tremble.
“I… I was wrong. Mother please remove that—”
He was murmuring strange words in a low voice.
“Duke, it’s me.”
“Please… Please remove it. It’s too dark here.”
He clasped his hands together and beseeched her. The darkness seemed to induce terror in him. She ran to the wall and pushed the light switch, but the light remained off.
There may be an issue with the power supply. Ellie shook her head as she ran to the next room and considered waking herself awake.
He would never want his secretary to see this aspect of his character. After unlocking the balcony door, she approached the balcony of the next room with caution.
When she opened the door to the room, she saw herself sleeping on the bed. It seemed odd to observe oneself sleeping, but that was irrelevant at the moment.
Ellie gathered the incense candles and matches off the table. She retrieved it and returned to the balcony that led to Duke Rufus’s chamber.
This was achievable due to the low height of the barrier separating the balconies. Ellie rushed into Duke Rufus’s chambers, sighed, and lighted an incense candle.
Incense candles barely illuminated the poorly-lit chamber.
“Duke.”
As she approached Duke Rufus with an incense candle, his tremor lessened gradually.
“Are you alright?”
She inquired attentively, verifying that his eyes, which had temporarily lost focus, were gradually recovering.
“It’s you.”
Ellie nodded while gazing at the soft, blue eyes that seemed to be damp.
“Yes, it is me.”
He extended his squatting body and reached out to her. A huge hand that was slightly shaking grasped her hand.
“The truth is… I was abused when I was a child.”
Her eyes flitted furiously in response to his surprise comments.
“My stepmom.”
She was unaware he had a stepmother. She had never heard of his stepmother anywhere.
“She wanted to rid me. Because she wanted everything for her unborn child.”
After briefly regaining his breath, he cautiously opened his lips.
“I was six years old. My stepmother was wedded to my father. It was the choice of a parent who believed his kid needed a mother’s touch.”
He started speaking with a raspy voice. Ellie listened attentively as he sought to confide in her.
“My stepmother was quite lovely to me throughout the first year of their relationship. Like all of my peers, I was thrilled to have a mother. And after that, she gradually started to show her real colors.”
The conclusion of his voice shook, as it was still excruciating to consider it.
“At that time, my father was likewise preoccupied with his new venture. He left the residence regularly, and the duchess’s place began to fill it with my stepmother’s relatives. My stepmother was still courteous to me in front of my father, but she did not conceal her nasty character when we were alone.”
A cruel grin appeared on his face.
“I believed that it was my fault. I believed my stepmother was treating me this way because I was not pleasant, not intelligent, and not beautiful. I tried all I could to restore my stepmother’s former beauty. It was disdain and loathing that always returned.”
In her thoughts, an image of the youthful Duke Rufus appeared. Her heart ached just imagining his expectation, disappointment, and wounds.
After that, an unbelievable tale unfolded. According to him, the pregnant stepmother was ready to get rid of him with all deliberateness.
On the day his father left for a lengthy business trip to another country, he was confined to a small basement. He was unable to do anything except wail and plead for help as he was confined in a dark, wet, and silent basement.
The sound of his stepmother discussing the afterlife with a guy worried him even more.
Fortunately, his father, who had been away on business, arrived home moments before he passed away. As soon as he saw his father’s face, he passed out, and when he awoke, everything was in order.
It was actually Carlo’s child. Carlo addressed the duke’s stepmother with the goal of extorting the duke’s inheritance.
The employees at home were their people, but a servant who could not stand by and see such a dreadful event accompanied his father on a business trip and told him the truth, saving him.
He said that the servant’s name was Dyuk and that he now serves as the duke’s butler.
Even though his stepmother and Carlo were executed, he said that he still bears the profound scars of traumatic recollections.
“When the lights go out, the horror of that period is constantly reawakened. Since then, I have been unable to sleep with the lights off. And I sometimes had nightmares.”
Even though he was speaking in a monotone about his former recollections, the hand that was holding her was still shaking.
‘My heart hurts so much. I was unaware that he had such a severe wound.’
It seems that the former Duke Rufus remained silent in order to avoid this damaging rumor from reaching his son.
A few years ago, his father succumbed to an illness. After then, it was unfortunate that he had to cope with these unpleasant memories on his own.
As if he were imprisoned in a basement, he sat in a squat stance. Ellie’s eyes were filled with tears as she glanced at him.
“Why are you crying?”
With her face resting on his crouched knees, he questioned her while looking at her.
“Because the Duke does not shed tears.”
Her voice shook as she responded. I couldn’t fathom the magnitude of the anguish, which caused my heart to pound.
His hand trembled as it approached her face. He opened his lips and carefully wiped away her tears with his palm.
“This is the very first time. Telling someone else this story.”
He quietly exhaled.
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