When The Count’s Illegitimate Daughter Gets Married

Chapter 113

The dark night sky was as cold as the end of winter. Up until now, she had been overwhelmed by the people’s intense energy, but when Laritte asked about Butterfly’s whereabouts, it became cold again like a cold seeped into them.

Laritte asked Ian again.

“Didn’t you ask where Butterfly is?”

While the employees watched each other.

“That…”

Ian recalled after Laritte passed away at the villa.

“Now… It’s time to go back to the mansion, Laritte.”

He hugged Laritte’s dead body on the bed. There was no reason to stay in the villa where she had disappeared. Ian was out of his mind though he did his best and pretended to be calm and prepared to go straight back to the mansion.

…The problem was Butterfly.

Butterfly was not allowed anyone to come near Laritte except Ian since she got ill. Even though he didn’t know why, he thought it would be okay if he got on the carriage with Laritte.

However, the thought ended when Butterfly went mad and ran away from everyone.

Butterfly was a cat that did not know the meaning of death. When its former owner, the old woman, died, all it noticed was that the old woman was motionless. The cat thought that naughty people took the old woman when the villagers gave the old woman a funeral.

Butterfly realized that Laritte was not moving at all and, agitated by its old memories, began to run rampant. He couldn’t leave Butterfly alone in her cottage, so two knights armed with a woven net caught it…

Butterfly escaped as soon as they got to the Duke’s residence.

“…Butterfly escaped somewhere, and the knights are said to have denied every situation, holding only broken nets.”

Laritte listened to Ian’s explanation and walked behind the mansion alone.

If she went out along the side of the mansion and walked a little, she would find a lush grassy forest enclosed in a fence. While it was a field with grass that reached up to the calf, there was also grass that rose up to the knees, so it was thick.

“So now, Butterfly is somewhere in this grass.”

Ian opened the door of the fence and entered the grass first. The long grass that had been trampled on his shoes lay left and right.

“It was originally used as a place to let horses go for a walk. Be careful not to step on anything strange on the ground.”

Laritte grabbed Ian’s hand and followed him in, worried.

“Still, you should have brought Butterfly to the mansion somehow. It must be cold…”

In that regard, Ian had no excuse.

…How could he? After all, he locked himself in the northern room where Laritte was and watched only her the whole time. He didn’t care about Butterfly.

“I told you to take on the responsibility of being Butterfly’s Dad before I die.”

Even now, Laritte was still so worried about Butterfly. Nonetheless, if Ian confessed honestly, it seemed like he would be banned from approaching. He could only bow his head solemnly as if he had committed a mortal sin.

He also loved Butterfly.

However, the fact that there was still a loved one could not make Laritte’s death less mournful.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to worry too much. Butterfly was eating well and living well in this grass. This was because the knights hhadset up meals and sleeping places here and there. Laritte found two knights crawling through the grass.

Their bodies and faces were all dirty, and plant stems were stuck in their heads.

‘What were these people doing…?’

Ian noticed Laritte and explained.

“They’re searching for Butterfly’s traces.”

The knights were responsible for bringing Butterfly to the mansion, but they missed it. They were very guilty of their mistake and had been looking for the cat for several days. Butterfly was so elusive, so it was necessary to determine the safety of the cat from the traces it left behind.

So, in other words, they roam through the grass…

They were looking for ‘it,’ the treasures from Butterfly’s butt. At that moment, a knight found one small and precious thing and raised it with both hands.

“It’s poop! As expected, it’s Ravizenis von Alexand… What was after it… Butterfly’s poop!”

Butterfly’s healthy ‘it’ shone in the moonlight.

The other knight exclaimed with joy.

“Uwaaah! It’s hot poop!”

“My God… Thank you…”

They couldn’t let the cat die, especially the cat the Madam loved the most. It was obvious that they would be noticed by other employees though this way they could shake off their guilt. The moment they thought that they couldn’t let the dead Madam shed tears of blood…

These two knights lifted their heads among the grass, found Laritte approaching them, and slumped down.

“GASP.”

Someone took a deep breath.

Madam’s… It’s Madam’s ghost…!

Their misunderstanding was entirely valid.

Since they had been concentrating on searching for Butterfly all day, they had never heard of Laritte coming back to life. Besides, it was a very dark night. The only light was the moon and the small torches in their hands, making her look like a ghost even more.

It would be less misunderstood if Ian were behind Laritte…

However, it was not easy to find him in the dark because of Ian’s dark skin tone and black hair. Moreover, the knights could not take their eyes off Laritte. The thought of ‘a ghost witch has appeared’ dominated their head.

Two thoughts coexisted in their minds.

First of all, they were glad to see Madam anyway.

Second…

Why on earth did Madam’s ghost appear here? Maybe, the cat was dead…?

…So, she came to take revenge on them?!

‘It is like that!’

Laritte was more in a hurry to find Butterfly than the knights. Not seeing them cry out in guilt, she called out Butterfly’s name.

“Butterfly, it’s Mom. Where are you?”

At that voice, the knights banged their heads on the ground and trembled. Although ghosts were scary, they felt very sorry for her.

They mumbled quickly in a small voice.

“Madam… Huhuu… We didn’t mean to lose Butterfly…”

“You didn’t come when we cried saying we wanted to see you…! Even so, seeing this, I have no more regrets, please punish me…”

How low was the voice, Butterfly that was buried in the grass, stuck its head through the grass and ‘meow’-ed.

Laritte spread her arms to Butterfly.

“Ravizenis.”

Butterfly was very neat for the few days she had lived in the grass. The cat jumped up in an instant and settled into her arms.

At that moment, the knights raised their heads slightly from their prostrating position to see her and were more convinced that Laritte was a ghost. Otherwise… The cat they were looking for couldn’t come out so easily!

‘Since Madam’s ghost came to meet it, Butterfly’s ghost ran to her, obviously…!’

Butterfly went deep into Laritte’s arms with a weeping voice and continued to cry. Laritte thought that sooner or later, it would learn how to speak human language. She checked Butterfly very carefully for any injuries.

It clung to her with its front paws as if it would never separate from Laritte again. At that time, Laritte was relieved and saw the knights.

‘…Oh? Why are they lying down like that this time?’

She was afraid they would be cold.

“I’m sorry and thank you for your hard work. You can go back to the mansion.”

She wanted to thank them for how hard it was to feed Butterfly and take care of her bed, but one of the knights cried.

“Madam! Aahh, Madam…”

They thought that the dead Laritte would forgive them before leaving with the cat’s soul. Their misunderstanding ended only after Ian explained the situation after Laritte disappeared.

Within a few days, news of the resurrected Duchess Laritte Reinhardt spread throughout the Iasa Empire. All the citizens of the Duchy rejoiced and wept.

Laughter bloomed in the mansion.

Laritte was healthy, and Butterfly cleared its misunderstanding and roamed around the mansion again.

While Olivia was not in the mansion, she lived well. She said that she would help the Duchy, and she went to the Duchy’s company to learn arithmetic and accounting. She promised though, that she would come back to the mansion once in two weeks, and she would definitely see Laritte.

With the arrival of early spring, all the landscapes are starting to turn green. The employees worked vigorously, and the knights were also full of energy, thanks to Laritte coming back to life and going on their training.

So, the day when winter passes and spring came.

In the dazzling mansion of the Duke’s residence where Ian and Laritte lived, there was always an aura of happiness.

12. The Shadows of the Two Overlapped Under the Full Moon

Ian thought everything would be fine now. In a fairy tale book, it was the last page that ended with ‘and they lived happily ever after.’ on it. He thought he would only have fun days with Laritte…

As he was reviewing the papers in his room, Ian sobbed alone and buried his face in his hands.

“Sh*t…”

The warm spring sun at noon fell in the office, but it didn’t feel good at all. There was always only one reason he could be in so much pain.

Laritte.

Why was Ian having such a hard time?

…It was because he had never touched Laritte. He was depressed because there seemed to be nothing more and nothing less between friends.

Yes. They didn’t even kiss…!

The reason was because the intensity of their skinship that was going to be increased in line with the date they started dating had been fizzing after Laritte’s death. He should have set the mood back then, too.

He recalled the day Laritte was revived, and they slept.

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