Episode 171. Confirmation (7)

Tok-

The bottle landed softly on the bed. Winnie didn’t know what was inside, and when she asked Monica, only a cold reply came back.

“You said you’d do anything to be forgiven by me, right? Isn’t that so?”

“U-Ung, th-that’s right…”

“Monica. That is…”

“You stay quiet.”

Gulp.

What’s inside this? Why did she give this to me? What does it mean? All sorts of thoughts swirled in her head. Why would she suddenly come and throw this unidentified bottle at her without saying anything?

She glanced at Edward, wondering if he might know, but Monica frowned at her so fiercely that she immediately looked away. In the first place, he was just bowing his head, so he probably didn’t even notice her gaze.

If it were Winnie’s usual personality… Surely she wouldn’t eat it and die, right? There’s no way Monica would give her something like that. If it were poison… she’d just think, ‘I must have done something wrong enough to die,’ and drink it. But because of the other life inside her, she hesitated to just gulp it down.

Her child, who had taken up a large part of her life. It wouldn’t matter if only she was affected. She was afraid that if she ate something strange, it would have a bad effect on the baby… She was afraid to eat it carelessly. Of course, Monica might be aiming for that, forcing her into this situation now… But Winnie wanted to believe that wasn’t the case, no matter what.

“Why? Don’t want to drink it?”

“It’s not that… I just want to know what it is before I drink it…”

“Ha?”

Winnie flinched.

In front of Monica, who retorted as if she was dumbfounded, Winnie reflexively lowered her gaze. It was hard to meet her eyes with the fierce momentum that seemed like she would jam the medicine bottle into her mouth.

“I was originally going to kick you out of the castle the day it happened, but I waited to let you see that man’s face one last time.”

He looked clearly exhausted, probably because he had just returned from the battlefield and hadn’t been able to rest. It was hard to lift her head out of guilt, thinking about how he must have been suffering because of the trouble Winnie had caused, even though he was already having a hard time.

“But the more I thought about it, I didn’t think it was right to just kick you out, so I decided to give you a chance.”

That chance is this medicine bottle? Among the many medicines she had given Monica, there was nothing in a bottle like this. It would be nice if she could know what color the medicine was, or even smell it… Just in case, just in case, something kept coming up from the depths of her memory. The medicine she had boiled in a pot, which Edward had thrown away, came to mind, but she barely managed to suppress her uneasy feelings.

“A friend I’ve been with since I was born… According to you, a half-sister too. We’ve been together for almost twenty years, there’s a lot of affection. It’s too heartless, isn’t it?”

“Mo, Monica…”

Talking about the affection of the past years, Monica’s appearance, which was more indifferent than heartless, pricked her conscience even more. After learning that the Melbourne Count Family had been receiving the Yulstein Family’s seed for generations. She felt a little better because Monica had understood and even consoled her, saying she knew what the situation was… But today, her friend’s appearance seemed cold and detached, as if she had completely closed her heart, contrary to the words coming out of her mouth.

“And there are more than one or two things that are inconvenient without you, Winnie. Medicine, work, you’re such an important person. …I don’t know if you believed in that or not.”

I never thought of that. It was fortunate that the work she had done so far had helped Monica evaluate her positively in this situation, but this situation, where she was being evaluated for her usefulness by her closest friend, was so sad.

“So, just drink this. If you drink this, I won’t kick you out. The Count title stays the same. I’ll forgive everything and let you live here like before.”

“Yeobo.”

“I told you to stay quiet. And don’t call me Yeobo.”

Edward tried to say something, but Monica stopped him. First of all, seeing that she could stay in Yulstein Castle after drinking it, it didn’t seem like the kind of medicine that would endanger her life. Surely she wouldn’t say something like her corpse would remain…

Looking at the conditions alone, Monica had conceded a lot. Forgiving everything and being able to go back to the way things were. If she just drank that medicine. And that was the most important part.

“So, what kind of medicine is this…?”

“I’m not going to tell you that. But… can’t you roughly guess?”

…Really?

Really?

She looked at Monica again, unable to believe it. But there was no change in Monica’s stiff face.

The one she cherished the most, the medicine she thought would never be that, right?

“Monica. Oth, other things…”

“I said just eat that, right? Well, I think it would be hard to stand seeing you stick with Edward in front of my eyes… You can just meet secretly, avoiding me, right?”

“Heuk… Heueuk…”

Tears blurred her vision at the sharp words that pierced her heart. Monica’s words hurt her, but the fact that it was a situation where such words had to come out. The fact that she had brought about that situation made her cry.

“If you do that, you might have another child. Maybe even before me.”

And the fear of losing her child suffocated her. The price for loving a man she shouldn’t have loved was too harsh. Her child, or everything else except her child. No matter which option she chose, the fact that she couldn’t have both was too harsh. And the child was already growing inside her enough to make her worry.

“If you don’t like that, get out of this castle right now.”

“No, no…”

“If you’re not going to eat it, I’ll take it.”

Tak.

She couldn’t live outside that castle with nothing. Thinking that she would really be kicked out, she reflexively grabbed Monica. She stopped Monica by clinging to her arms with both arms as she tried to take the medicine back from her.

“Ha…”

If she doesn’t eat this? It’s over. The Melbourne mansion, all the people she had relationships with. She loses everything she has lived and experienced so far. The knowledge in her head will remain, but it was not something that a woman with a child could use in that harsh outside world without any ties.

Outside the territory, without seeing Monica or Edward. Alone until she dies of old age… No, living to old age might be a luxury.

But if she takes the medicine? She doesn’t know if it will be as she says. At least Monica promised to treat her like before. She can stay here and see the people she likes. Especially Edward’s face. But. But…

If her child disappears. Her child with Edward. Even without this child, will Edward love her? Winnie still remembered. The day Edward hugged her, saying he would take responsibility for her when she was confused about having a child. At that time, it was really like a light of salvation. She liked it because it was like a prince in a fairy tale…

That could also be interpreted as him not taking responsibility for her if there was no child. If the child disappears and Edward loses interest in her? What’s the point of staying…?

Of course, the Yulstein Castle and the Melbourne mansion meant a lot to her even without the child and Edward, but Edward, especially Edward, meant much more to her. But. No matter which choice she makes…

“Heueuk… Monicaa…”

“…Have you decided?”

Nod, nod.

Ppong-

The sealed bottle cap is opened. She was prepared, but she didn’t have the courage to look at it. If she looked at it. And if she kept being conscious of it, she thought she would regret the decision she had just made. No, she was already regretting it. And through that opened mouth. Jjoreureuk. A stream of medicine flowed in.

As far as she remembered, the medicine had a very strong bitter taste. She braced herself for the intense bitterness that would cover her tongue, but… what covered her tongue was a cool sweetness. This very familiar taste is. The one she made for Monica every day…

“…Tonic?”

“Heung.”

Monica, who made an unknown sound, left the room she was in without looking back. The tension was completely relieved at the thought that she had been forgiven. Winnie completely collapsed on the bed and cried out loud.

“Heuk, I’m sorry… I’m sorry… Euheoeong…”

“Wi, Winnie. What’s wrong…”

Edward, who was wondering who to follow. He worried about Winnie’s condition and looked after her. Winnie pushed this clueless man away, telling him to go to Monica quickly.