Chapter 35
As Herman started walking, people moved aside like parting water.
Everyone stared at us with disgust and shock.
I looked at Herman walking ahead with his head held high.
He was holding my hand tightly, as if he would never let go, no matter what.
Then, I suddenly felt a sharp sting on my forehead, like an arrow had hit it.
I instinctively turned toward the angry gaze I felt.
…Father.
There he was, his face red with anger. His usually well-groomed mustache was trembling.
He hadn’t been there earlier, and the Seymour family’s seat was on the opposite side.
The chaos must have reached him.
His eyes weren’t just scolding—they were full of disgust.
It was the first time in my life I’d ever been looked at that way, and I quietly swallowed my shaking breath.
Still, I couldn’t look away from him.
Was what I did wrong? Wrong enough for you to glare at me like you want to kill me?
Tears suddenly welled up the moment our eyes met.
I bit my lip hard, trying to keep them from falling.
I knew this anger was directed at Gloria, not me.
But I couldn’t help wondering:
If I’d done the same thing as Marieanne, would he have reacted differently?
Probably not.
He’s not the type to understand something like this.
Still, I didn’t regret it.
I pretended to be crazy, just like the rumors said, but thanks to that, I was finally able to say everything I wanted to.
No—I even thought it was the best thing I’d ever done.
And maybe that’s why my father glaring at me only made me resent him more.
If only you had recognized me back then, none of this would’ve happened.
Maybe this was all his fault.
If you’d known who I was back then...
Then I would’ve lived the way you wanted me to.
I would’ve been a good daughter, a quiet wife—someone who lived for the family name, not for herself.
“Gloria.”
Just then, as I was blaming everything on my father, I heard a voice.
“Only look at me.”
Herman gently turned his head and whispered.
“Don’t look anywhere else.”
He’d told a servant to prepare the carriage, and then walked over to where I was standing.
“…”
I slightly turned my head, feeling overwhelmed by everyone’s stares.
But Herman suddenly reached out and turned my face back toward him.
“Why are you the one crying?”
“…”
“Who do you think wants to cry?”
Before I could answer, he gently wiped the tears from my eyes with his fingers.
His words sounded scolding, but his actions were full of concern.
I quietly lowered his hand.
Herman didn’t say anything and looked toward the arriving carriage.
“Go ahead and get in. I still have something to report to His Majesty about the business.”
“…Why aren’t you asking me anything?”
Herman hadn’t asked a single thing—why I did it, or whether the rumors were true.
That made me even more uncomfortable.
“What would I ask?”
He shrugged slightly.
“Like whether you hugged Cedric Drake, or whether you went to the old mansion to leave me. Things like that.”
Then he smiled lightly.
“There’s no need to ask. I already know you didn’t.”
He reached out and touched the space between my brows, rubbing gently.
That’s when I realized I’d been frowning without knowing it.
“A woman who can’t even look at that man during the parade, who makes a face just hearing his name—why would she hug him unless she was forced?”
“Herman…”
“Don’t explain. I don’t want to hear it, and it doesn’t change anything.
And you don’t have to act that way with me.”
His support was so unwavering, it almost hurt.
So I started confessing all the reasons why my actions had been inappropriate.
“But I wasn’t being noble. I disgraced the Ernst name. No matter the reason, it was wrong.”
“I thought you were good at calculations,” he said, brushing it off.
“During the parade, I made the Ernst name shine.
Even if you bring it down a bit at the banquet, it balances out.”
“…”
“It adds up to zero. No harm done.”
He was ridiculously calm.
I turned away and looked somewhere into the vast palace.
“You’re not like this. Weren’t you always someone who cared about the family name above all?”
“Family names exist for people. It’s just a tool to protect what I care about.”
He paused, then continued.
“And after seeing things with my own eyes today, my thoughts changed.”
I turned back to him, curious.
“I realized some of the rumors about you might be wrong.
And I think you might be hiding something from me.”
“…I’m not hiding anything.”
“Sure. Let’s go with that.”
I didn’t understand why Herman trusted me so much.
What did he see in me to believe like this?
Not even my father or husband had ever done that.
“Let’s get divorced.”
Suddenly, fear overwhelmed me.
I was afraid of what I’d feel if I admitted my emotions.
“You should have abandoned me today. That would’ve been the best thing you could do.”
I couldn’t stay by his side. I didn’t deserve to.
“I’ll be your best option. So you be mine, too.”
That sentence echoed in my head.
I felt like even now, I was ruining his kindness.
“Are you sure that abandoning you is what’s best for me? Because it sounds more like it’s best for you.”
Herman’s face stiffened a little.
“From what you’re saying, it sounds like the only thing you want is a divorce.”
“You saw it yourself. The rumors, the scandal. The way I acted.”
“I saw it, yeah.”
His confident reply left me speechless.
“And I decided it’s something I can handle.”
“…What?”
The conversation made no sense.
What kind of mindset does this man even have?
What kind of life has he lived to think he can handle this mess?
“Gloria, you don’t love that Drake guy.
What kind of woman would stomp on a man’s foot like that if she loved him?”
“That’s not the point. You gain nothing by keeping me around.”
“Yeah, I’ve lost some reputation. Probably can’t remarry now. So you owe me.”
He never gave in. No matter what I said, Herman always had a comeback.
Just then, the carriage pulled up in front of the banquet hall.
As always, Herman held out his large hand to me.
I was too tired to argue anymore, so I took it and climbed in.
“….”
Herman didn’t close the door right away. He just looked at me for a moment.
“Get some rest. I’ll come back early.”
And with that, he shut the door.
The carriage started moving, and I looked out the window one last time.
Herman Ernst was still standing there.
“Why…”
Why isn’t he leaving?
My heart was in turmoil.
The guilt I felt toward him had taken deep root.
No matter how much I tried to pull it out, it only clung more tightly.
But maybe even this guilt doesn’t belong to me.
Should it be Gloria’s burden? Or Marieanne’s?
The man who only ever saw my perfect side had abandoned me cruelly.
But this man, who’d only seen my worst, refused to let me go.
I just don’t understand why.
Herman Ernst.
Whatever feelings I had for him didn’t matter.
Because I had to cut them off before they grew any further.