The Divorced Duchess

Chapter 15: STRAY CAT’S SECRET

“SIMONE, how’s His Grace?” Klarine asked Simone as soon as he stepped out of Noxton’s chamber. She had been waiting for the butler for a while; her reason for not entering his room was that she was afraid to see Noxton’s state.

With serious composure, Simone replied. “His Grace is now stable, Miss. We just need to monitor his health, and if you want to visit him, you can go inside now.”

Even Klarine was hesitating to enter the chamber, yet she still pulled herself off. She walked with anxiousness and trembled upon seeing Noxton’s situation. He was lying on the bed peacefully resting, but his appearance was taken away by distress. How many days have passed since the accident in front of the mansion? Yet, Klarine admittedly blamed herself for forcing the pregnancy news despite the chaos. She placed her hands on her abdomen, despite thinking of their child’s uncertain future in the Duchy, Klarine would do all her best to give her child a pleasant future.

“Hmmm…. Thalia, please don’t leave me! Please, please my life…”

Klarine couldn’t believe what she was hearing at the moment. Seeing Noxton looking for Thalia even in his dream was torture for her.

Her greed and envy were growing and growing inside her. What else should she do to make Noxton forget her?

“Even in your state, you’re still dreaming about her! You’re forgetting that I am now your woman and the mother of your child!”

She couldn’t help but be furious towards the man she loved.

Klarine lost her patience and left the chamber. She hurriedly went back to her mansion, messing around and throwing all the expensive things inside her chamber. The maids didn’t bother entering the chamber because they didn’t want to witness how the mistress was throwing all the things she didn’t even own. However, Klarine’s arrogance didn’t leave a single ear as the whole Duchy mansion started gossiping about her name.

As Klarine got tired from her hysterical action, she lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Fortunately, she remembered her encounter with the Duchess in the Prime Manor.

“Why do you need to ruin my marriage with the Duke?”

She was taken aback by the Duchess' bold question. In her defense, she didn’t ruin or steal someone’s husband. It wasn’t her fault that he was attracted to the duke, even knowing that he was married. Isn’t some noble acknowledged mistress and infidelity? Klarine only tried to love the forbidden man she had ever met.

“With all due respect, sister,” she smirked, knowing the Duchess might be annoyed by calling her sister. “Klarine didn’t know that the man of her life would be the Duke. I am afraid to tell you that I love him and him alone. I can’t live without him, and everything he will offer to Klarine has to be cherished.”

She knew at the moment that the Duchess was crumbling inside, but the classy arrogance was visible in Thalia’s face.

“Coveting someone’s person is against the divine law of Goddess Enah.”

Klarine tilted her head to the left side. Playing an innocent look, she retaliated.

“Goddess Enah?”

“Yes,” Thalia answered. "The divine punishment for those who disobey her eternal commandment is written in her divine scriptures."

Klarine's mouth twisted into a sardonic smile and later shifted into her unusual self.

“Tell me, Your Grace. Do you believe in a goddess? Enah?”

The Duchess Thalia didn’t comment. Instead, her eyebrows drew together and offered a small smile that gave discomfort to Klarine.

She hated that feeling. Thalia's kindness and delicate demeanor didn't sit with her. Every time Thalia moved, it only emphasized that she was under the Duchess' nose. That she couldn't have the same power as Thalia, and that made her vulnerable.

Unannounced, she dropped to her knees.

“Stop showing empathy to me! I don’t need your pity or your kindness because we are not equal regarding the Duke’s love,” Klarine resentfully said. “And the Goddess was long gone, for she had forgotten the child who was begging for hope, day and night.” She continued.

****

“Thalia…. Please forgive me, my beloved dear. I have greatly caused you sadness, and it’s my entire fault.”

Noxton was uttering those words repeatedly. He has been wandering in the wilderness of uncertainty with only a locket in his hand. Lost and alone, he continues his journey into an unending cycle where his surroundings are the mirrors of his memories, and his guilt haunts him.

“I am tired.” He muttered.

“You are tired?” A voice from afar echoed around this confined place.

“Yes,” Noxton answered, not knowing where the voice came from.

“If you are tired and lost, why did you choose to make the same mistake over and over again?”

“I don’t know? Yet I regret everything I did, especially to the person I promised to dedicate my life to. She doesn’t deserve me, but I need her.”

As tears rolled down his face, Noxton raised his head.

“I may not see you, but tell me, how can I ask for forgiveness from her? What punishment should I have to free myself from this torment?”

“You alone can answer your question, but now, you have to go back and figure everything out.”

“Wai−

He woke up with a pounding heart, sweating with fear and regret.

“His Grace has gained his consciousness!”

In a daze, Noxton seemed to hear Simone's voice. Looking at the people around him, his aides had been waiting for him to be awakened. Simone instantly went to him and checked his vitals.

“How are you, Your Grace?”

“Where is she?” Instead of answering his butler, his eyes were searching for the only woman he wanted to see at the moment.

Simone began to get rather confused. “Do you mean, Miss Klarine?”

Then, Simone asked one of the servants to inform Klarine, yet Noxton stopped them.

“Not her,” he paused. “Summon Thalia now.”

“…B-but Sir, the Duchess left this mansion not too long ago. Everything she has in the Duchy has been disposed of.”

Upon hearing the news from Simone, Noxton forcefully got up from the bed. As quickly as he could, he left the chamber and rushed to the Duchess's room.

He dropped to his knees as he found out that Simone was telling the truth. Everything that Thalia owned in the chamber was gone; only an empty room and old furniture were left. Then, Noxton remembered the incident where everything became chaotic. The day her beloved Duchess left and found out that he had impregnated Klarine.

Everything is messed up....

He lost his Duchess....

He lost the person he loved because of his stupidity....

“Your Grace,” Simone helped him to stand up and let him sit on the Duchess’s bed.

“Where is she?”

Without beating around the bush, Simone told Noxton the Duchess’s whereabouts.

"Simone, prepare the carriage because I need to fix this mess as soon as possible," Noxton said. He determinedly stood up and went out of the Duchess's room. He then went to the annex where Klarine was residing.

Noxton uttered a sigh and silently pushed open the door. He walked in and began looking for Klarine, yet a couple of voices were heard on the balcony. Noxton hid behind the thick walls, not far away from the balcony. Trying his best to listen to the conversation.

"Rine, the Pontiff is validating if you are bearing the Duke's heir." The stranger's voice said.

"Yes," clearly it was Klarine's voice. "Tell me, how is my foster family?" Her sweet voice was absent, replaced by a frigid tone that made Noxton raise a suspicion towards her.

"They are living in the abbey with the other families, but don't trouble yourself. The Pontiff will assure you that they are in safe hands in return for his kindness. You have to follow his orders."

Noxton was intently listening to them when a stray cat caught him off guard.

'Not now!'

'He still needs to listen to them. To their plans.'

He tried to hush the cat, but it started grunting, which made the two people on the balcony aware of the trespassers' presence. Noxton, on the other hand, swiftly exited the room before they could find out that he had been listening to them. Forthwith, he left the annex building without trying to investigate the man on the balcony and Klarine's connection with the abbey, specifically the Pontiff.