One Day My Sister Died - chapter 17

Chapter 17: The World’s Worst Bastard

“Whew! Confirm the kill!”

“Get out!”

Claude dismissed the bewildered butler and collapsed into a chair.

His outstretched hands could barely support his head, unable to bear the sudden news.

“This makes no sense.”

“Everyone else says it’s true except you. Why are you denying it? What’s so embarrassing about it? This is just a natural course for a married couple.”

The chattering voices of the maids outside the window made his ears throb even more.

Disturbing rumors that made his troubled mind ache started to penetrate through the walls and torment him.

They said the lady’s agonized voice reached the first floor. On the other hand, they didn’t hear a peep from the master. How long has it been since the master slept so soundly this late? They said the lady looked pale. How intense must it have been…

***

Eddie Reve, who had been quietly observing Claude’s reaction, finally spoke up.

“You acted hastily, Claude Yufrees. It’s problematic to do something like this without consulting us. We left you to your own devices because you always handled things well, but now you’ve gone and certified the consummation of your marriage with the royal family. You have no idea how shocked we were when we heard the news this morning.”

“Eddie, Claude is a man too.”

Lancelot began to chime in as if taking Claude’s side.

“So what if he’s changed his wife eight times? He’s still a virgin. And his wife didn’t even run away after the wedding night, right? Isn’t that a perfect match?”

“One person with a head full of flowers is enough, Lancelot.”

Eddie rebuked, as Lancelot nonchalantly scratched his ear and added.

“The whole estate is buzzing about how famous your night skills have become. There’s no way my cousin and friend, Claude Yufrees, is a block of wood in bed.”

The more blatant Lancelot’s remarks became, the darker Claude’s face turned.

The strangely excited atmosphere of the mansion.

The gossiping maids and the shy voice of that woman amidst them.

Seeing how casually she’s walking around despite Claude’s worsening condition at night, it’s clear that without the premise of a consummate wedding night, this wouldn’t be possible.

They’re laughing and talking like that because they feel secure…

“But I’m not lying; your face really does look better. Take a look. Eddie, you too.”

Lancelot approached with a smirk, holding up a small hand mirror. Claude had no idea why a guy like him would have a hand mirror, but he reluctantly glanced at his reflection.

As Lancelot had said, the revolting half of his face remained unchanged, but the other side had a strange, lively glow.

“Surprised? The dark shadows under your eyes from fatigue have faded a bit. What did I tell you? You’re tired because you don’t have a woman.”

“Get out.”

“Me? Not Eddie, but me?”

Lancelot made a mock-pouting sound, pointing at himself. That disgustingly smug expression only made Claude angrier.

“I’m telling you, I’m right. Now that you’ve found your true match, your face looks much better. This happens when you meet someone who really suits you. It’s rare, but it happens. And you haven’t mentioned nightmares either, right? You didn’t have any, did you? See, a person needs proper physical activity, day or night, to—”

“Ridiculous.”

“The power of love is incredible—”

“Love?”

Claude let out a bitter laugh, his lips curling up on one side.

Lancelot realized he’d made a mistake and stepped back.

Claude’s eyes, which had been filled with irritation, suddenly became distant, like an endless abyss.

“I don’t love anyone. You know that.”

Lancelot stared at Claude’s gloomy smile, then sighed deeply, acknowledging his mistake.

Claude watched Lancelot’s retreating figure with a glare, as if he were looking at his ninth bride.

Eddie closed the bedroom door with a heavy sigh.

***

Evening came quickly.

Claude, after gathering his thoughts, decided it was better to confront the source of the ridiculous rumors directly rather than letting them take hold of his mind.

He had just heard from the butler that the unwelcome guest had started to roam around the mansion in earnest today.

Since the snow had stopped, Claude guessed that the guest might be in the garden, just as before. His guess was correct.

As Claude waited by the window, the moment he saw Yuan appear in the garden, without a maid in tow, he roughly threw the window open.

The woman was standing there, staring blankly at the trees, wearing nothing but a thin shawl in the freezing winter.

He couldn’t understand why she would be looking at a place with no flowers blooming, especially one that was so poorly maintained. But there was a more pressing issue on Claude’s mind.

“Hey.”

It began with extreme rudeness.

But there was no reason for him to show any courtesy to a woman who had forced something like a consummation proof on him, especially after he had kept her alive even when she had stubbornly lingered outside his door.

As his headache began to worsen, he knew he needed to end this quickly.

The small figure, startled by his harsh “Hey,” slowly turned to face him.

She looked terrified.

But Claude was now certain that her frightened expression wasn’t because of his grotesque half-face.

After seeing his disfigured appearance twice and still wandering around so calmly, there could only be two explanations.

Either the woman was blind, or she had an extraordinarily strong stomach.

“You have something to say to me, don’t you?”

He decided to give her one last chance—a final opportunity for her to confess and leave on her own.

But aside from a slight flinch, the woman stood her ground, looking straight up at him.

No matter how scared she was, it was clear she intended to say what she needed to.

She didn’t even realize that her cheeks were trembling slightly under his gaze.

“You said I could stay as long as I’m useful to this household.”

The woman was quick to understand.

From her response, it was clear she had inferred that his question implied she should leave the estate.

“Don’t you remember that you slept well last night thanks to me?”

Claude quickly scanned the woman’s weary face.

The absurd notion was starting to feel like a disturbing reality, sending a shiver down his spine once more.

The maids’ and Lancelot’s gossip about a “wild wedding night” swirled chaotically in his mind.

He couldn’t remember anything, which only made his imagination run wild with terrible thoughts.

“…Don’t play games with me. There’s no way I would do that.”

“Should I help you remember?”

As he shook his head in denial, the woman responded immediately.

Her face looked genuinely hurt, and her large, dark eyes were filled with a sense of injustice.

In that moment, Claude felt like he had suddenly become the worst bastard in the world.

***
The Felice estate, after Yuan Felice’s departure, appeared no different from usual on the outside.

The mansion, now adorned with glittering and beautiful decorations, was much more extravagant than during the frugal days of the previous Earl and Countess. The estate was always well-maintained, with a large staff for a house of its size.

However, the situation beneath the surface was different.

“Do you think I would have come all the way here if it weren’t urgent? My father refuses to take any medicine unless it’s from Felice now. What am I supposed to do? And I tried to understand when I heard you were unwell, but look at the Earl’s face! He looks perfectly healthy—are you really sick?”

“That’s what I’m saying. As of yesterday, the regular weekly medicine deliveries have completely stopped. What’s going on here? And you’ve driven away all the servants we sent. I had to ride here myself, Earl. Do you realize how much gold our family has poured into Felice?”

“How about the gold we’ve invested? My son had a serious riding accident recently, needing eight stitches on his face, and the Earl kept his mansion doors tightly shut. What were you doing? After receiving all that gold, you should at least deliver on what’s expected.”

The Earl of Felice, who had nearly every day entertained guests in the side room of his laboratory, had only locked his doors for a few days, and now he watched as the nobles who had once begged to schedule even a brief appointment with him suddenly turned on him.

Because he had been greedy and ranked guests according to their investment amounts, those who had paid the most couldn’t tolerate even a short closure and rushed to this remote Felice estate.

“Now, now, let’s all calm down. Haven’t I overextended myself all this time? I’m only one person, and with the academy constantly summoning me for symposiums and the royal family demanding I develop affordable medicine for the people—how could I not get sick? I barely have time to eat these days.”

Though it wasn’t a sentiment one would expect from someone as rotund as him, the Earl sighed pitifully, his eyebrows drooping as the nobles’ angry breathing slowly subsided.

“Creating medicine isn’t a simple task. Do you think we can use the same ingredients in the medicine we take as those used by commoners? The medicinal herbs we gather, often from distant lands, are handled with extreme care to avoid even the slightest damage. No matter how much gold you throw at it, do you know how much the transportation costs alone are? You understand, don’t you?”

“Hmm, even so—”

“There are precious medicinal herbs in the north, but the monsters make it impossible to gather them. The west is just desert, so we can only rely on the east and south, but the tolls are outrageous. The inspections are stricter than ever, too. And how can I openly advertise that these rare herbs are brought to the capital just for a few esteemed individuals? If word gets out that Felice provides special treatments to special people, do you think the royal family will just stand by? Will the wealthy commoners stay silent? I have my own share of worries.”

“We’re not blaming you, Earl; we’re just saying it’s difficult for us when the supply is suddenly cut off like this.”

The Earl of Felice, with a smooth, oily tongue, played the part of the aggrieved party as he skillfully pacified the disgruntled nobles who had barged in.

He spent the entire morning doing so, and by the time they left, he was completely drained, collapsing in exhaustion. Yet, even lying down, the thought of the gold he had missed out on haunted him, driving him mad.

If it weren’t for the unexpected visitors, he would have been lying there the whole time, overwhelmed by a creeping sense of unease and lethargy as more than a week had passed since Yuan had cut off all contact.

He had tried to make some urgent medicine alone in his lab, but it was always in vain.

Even when he followed the prescriptions perfectly, there was that final, subtle touch that Yuan added, a difference that entirely changed the quality of the medicine.

‘If I had known it would come to this, I would have made sure to remember a few things myself.’

He had assumed he could keep his niece close for a few more years under the guise of treating Louise without any worries.

He never imagined she would seize an opportunity and disappear without a trace, not even leaving a word behind.

Seething with frustration and resentment, he clutched his head in despair.

‘How could she do this to me?’