One Day My Sister Died - chapter 44

**Chapter 44. The Lady Who Never Returned**

There was no way these noble ladies would ever get the chance to see the exiled prince.

Instead of knowing the truth about his perfectly beautiful half-hidden face, Regina excitedly spun imaginative tales about the concealed side of the exiled prince’s face.

She began to imagine that every few hours, a strange pus wound oozed out, causing him to always hold something under his chin, and that up close, the pus was thick and black like sewage.

Of course, it gave off a terrible stench, and her poor cousin had to endure that smell and even change the container holding the pus from time to time—an exaggeration.

The story, embellished with the symptoms of the noble patients seeking treatment from Felice, quickly captured people’s attention.

The more disgustingly Regina described the exiled prince, the more explosive reactions she received, which she leisurely savored.

These young ladies weren’t really concerned about how hideous the exiled prince was.

“My poor cousin, do you think she’s ever done anything so harsh? The hardest thing she’s ever done was embroider a handkerchief for my father in this beautiful mansion.”

“Surely she isn’t the one taking care of the sick? What are the maids doing, then?”

“The black mansion is so big, and even ignorant commoners would hesitate to work there. The servants’ uniforms were shabby, and there weren’t many of them. Who knows if there’s anyone to care for him? Given his notorious temper, who could handle it?”

“But you know,”

Just as Lady Celetina was making a sorrowful face, imagining the terrible caretaking her cousin had to endure, another young lady, known for her gossiping, slyly began to speak.

“I heard from my father that there’s a rumor that the two of them are quite close. It was the first time the exiled prince consummated his marriage, and even at the private anniversary party, where only his close aides were invited, the two of them…”

Regina twisted her eyebrows and lips at the same time, forcing fake sympathy onto her face.

“Oh dear, how pitiful. Is being close really a good thing?”

Some of the young ladies’ faces showed deep disgust. Regina, raising her eyebrows in an exaggerated show of concern, laughed softly as if she pitied them.

Poor, ill-fated Yuan Felice.

On the other hand, Regina Felice, the only legitimate daughter of the current Count Felice, basked in the attention of Bolonico’s First Prince.

It was obvious which side the young ladies of the future high society would sympathize with and feel superior to, and whom they would want to bring into their circle.

Even if Yuan Felice would never appear in society.

***

“Why does she keep spouting useless nonsense?”

“Regina is handling it well. Don’t interfere unnecessarily.”

“Can’t she stop after one go? Saying things like that makes it seem like Yuan was sold off.”

“She *was* sold off. We sent two of our family’s children to the black mansion as proof of our loyalty to the imperial family, without gaining anything in return.”

Sold off? Absolutely not.

The Count, who had sent two nieces, family assets, to the black mansion without even receiving a dowry, did not agree with his wife.

Priscilla didn’t care what her husband thought; she smiled contentedly, watching the chattering girls through a crack in the drawing-room door.

“Stop worrying about that girl Yuan. Now, focus on watching our daughter, who will become the cornerstone of this household. Look at her! Even among those well-born daughters, she isn’t the least bit intimidated. And she’s the prettiest of them all!”

“Please, mind your language. You’re the Countess, so act like it. If you talk like that in front of others, they’ll call you a merchant’s daughter again…”

“You take care of yourself. I’m going to make amends with my family this time, no matter what. What’s the point of being noble without money? Hmph. If Regina plays her cards right, we’ll have nothing to worry about in terms of our business.”

Leaving Priscilla, who was moved by how smoothly her daughter conversed with the noble-born girls, Count Felice glanced at his trusted aide standing at a distance.

The aide quietly shook his head.

The Count had already placed a spy in the northwestern region, where the black mansion was located.

For now, the name of Bolonico’s First Prince had put out the immediate fires, but they were spending all their emergency funds.

‘I cannot give up on Yuan.’

Although he was using Regina to manage the immediate crisis, he had no faith that she could capture the heart of Bolonico, who hadn’t even been swayed by the grand duchess Ariesta.

***
Now, the closeness between the exiled prince and his wife was no longer even a topic of gossip at the black mansion.

Yuan, who had mingled among the servants fetching water since morning, had been pushing herself hard, absorbing Claude’s pain. She desperately needed a space where she could release it alone.

The chapel cemetery was perfect for this.

The maids who normally stayed close to her would return to help with chores by the well when Yuan said she was going to pray at the chapel. It was her only time to be alone.

Lancelot, who had arrived early at the black mansion, spoke to Claude, who was watching the procession of servants through the window, including Yuan.

“I always notice how casually Madam interacts with the servants. What kind of noblewoman follows a water-fetching procession, riding on a cart like that?”

“She shouldn’t.”

Though Lancelot’s comment had been half a joke, Claude’s response was icy, his displeasure obvious.

To lighten the mood, Lancelot playfully tapped Claude’s arm. But Claude, leaning against the window, stared at the fading procession with irritation in his eyes.

“You used to be like that too, Claude. Every time we came here, we’d brawl like commoners. That was fun back then.”

“Did you come here just to reminisce?”

“Why are you so touchy? You weren’t like this for a while. Did you two fight?”

At the mention of fighting, Claude smirked.

There wasn’t even a reason to fight.

Every time he heard rumors about how good their marital relationship was, he felt utterly pathetic. How could he fight with a wife who, oblivious to his misery, only said she didn’t care, as long as she was content?

But what he despised even more was himself. How he’d grown accustomed to these quiet nights, no longer questioning anything, made him feel disgusted and disappointed in himself.

Claude irritably ruffled his hair.

“Fight? No.”

“Of course you fought. No matter how much I told you to treat her well, I knew you wouldn’t listen. Isn’t your paranoia enough with Eddie? You don’t need to watch her every time she goes to the chapel. She’s just visiting the family graves, nothing suspicious.”

After Lancelot’s scolding words, the room fell into an oppressive silence.

“What?”

The look on Claude’s face was as if he’d been slapped, and Lancelot immediately realized he’d made a mistake.

***

“You called for me, Master?”

“Where is Louise Felice?”

“!”

“Do you need me to be more specific? My eighth wife—the one I never even got to see before she died.”

Claude stared at Gustav’s face reflected in the closed window.

The butler, pale and dazed, stared blankly at Claude’s back.

“Am I truly your master? Should I just let this go?”

“That, that’s—”

‘I heard you’ve been doing some work recently, so I naturally assumed you knew.’

‘While I’ve been wandering this desolate area in your stead, I’ve been visiting the chapel often, and I noticed there are two graves I’ve never seen before.’

‘One is Louise Felice, your eighth wife and the sister of your current wife.’

‘And beside her, Oliver. They’ve been buried together.’

The more Gustav stammered, the lower Claude’s mood sank.

“How could you hide something like this?”

‘So you didn’t know.’

When Claude first heard about it, he wasn’t angry—he was shocked.

‘It must have been difficult for her to tell you.’

‘Everyone knows how much you detest associating this mansion with anything related to death.’

What was she feeling when she hid the truth from him and visited her sister’s grave?

***
The next day.

Yuan, who had joined the usual procession, was utterly shocked by the unexpected news.

“What did you just say?”

“I was just as surprised! Apparently, two trainee priests happened to be on duty yesterday at the chapel, praying, when some important people arrived. They said they would move the remains to a more suitable location.”

“But how…?”

The night before, someone had exhumed Louise’s grave and relocated her remains elsewhere.

Yuan was so stunned that she stood there in a daze, staring blankly at Louise’s lonely memorial plaque among the other spirit tablets.

“I’ll ask the priest again once he’s available. It’s really… But if the family did come to claim her, isn’t it fortunate? After all, you were the one who kindly took in the unidentified body and looked after it.”

When Gustav had arranged for Louise to be placed in the chapel and a small, informal funeral had been held, Yuan had explained that she found the body after moving into the mansion. She said the person had died of natural causes upon arrival.

In truth, she was terrified that if she revealed Louise’s identity as her sister, the Marchioness of Companni might come and burn her remains.

The head priest, unaware of Yuan’s situation, smiled kindly.

“Do you know where… or in which direction they took her?”

“They said north, but…”

“Please let me know immediately once that trainee priest is awake.”

“Madam, is something wrong?”

Yuan told Monica, who had come to fetch her, that she wished to pray longer and insisted that she could return later by hiring a carriage from a nearby village.

Determined, Yuan followed the priest’s testimony and began searching for her sister. She was half out of her mind.

***

The lady of the house did not return.

That one statement sent shockwaves through the household.

As sunset approached and Yuan still hadn’t returned, the servants began anxiously seeking out Gustav, the head butler.

“Do you really think Madam would have hired a carriage on her own?”

“She’s never even gone down to the village before!”

“The priests must be busy too, and Madam isn’t the type to make such a request.”

One by one, more servants gathered at the entrance, their faces all showing signs of deep concern.

As darkness approached, the surrounding area would become pitch black. Without the brightly colored bricks that adorned other mansions, if they didn’t light the area, even the most skilled coachman would struggle to find the mansion.

“There, Mazarin is back!”

“Why is he always so slow!”

Unable to suppress his anxiety any longer, the head chef Ralph rushed out to the gate, followed closely by a few hesitant servants, knowing that one night fully set in, everyone would have to retreat to their rooms in accordance with the mansion’s strict rules.

Mazarin, who had driven out in search of Yuan, returned with a grim expression.

“Madam rented a carriage,” he reported.

“Did she get lost? Should we all grab torches and go search for her?” Ralph rambled anxiously, looking around as if ready to grab a torch from the guards himself. ‘’

“The carriage didn’t head towards the mansion.”

At Mazarin’s words, the gathered servants’ faces froze in shock.