Chapter 19: The Mystery of Lady Anna

"Why do I feel like I've been cast out from the main residence?"

Hera's body immediately stiffened, and Zeldryn noticed the subtle change in her expression.

"You said my mother is at the main residence. My father lives there too, and most of my siblings are probably there as well." He pointed toward the floor with one finger. "So why am I living here alone?"

Hera lowered her gaze without answering. Silence filled the room for several seconds, broken only by the faint crackling of the candle flames and the night wind slipping through the window.

Zeldryn narrowed his eyes.

"Hera?"

"Forgive me, Lord," Hera answered carefully. "I don't know the exact reason."

Zeldryn continued staring at her, but before he could ask another question, Hera continued.

"From what I've heard from some of the older servants, you've been living in this mansion since you were still a baby."

"Since I was a baby?"

"Yes, Lord."

Zeldryn frowned even deeper. At first, he had assumed that he had only been sent to this remote mansion after he started causing trouble. The old Zeldryn was known for being violent, getting drunk, and doing whatever he wanted, so it would have made sense if Zorin had eventually grown tired of his behavior and sent him away.

According to Hera, however, he had been living here since infancy. That meant his isolation had begun long before Zeldryn was capable of doing any of those terrible things, before he could even walk or speak.

"And during all that time, I rarely met my family?"

Hera slowly nodded.

"As far as I know, yes."

Zeldryn studied her face. Something still bothered him. Hera might genuinely not know the reason, but there was also a chance she was hiding something because she was afraid of speaking badly about the Giorry family.

"Hera," Zeldryn said, his voice growing colder. "You still remember what I told you earlier, don't you?"

Hera immediately straightened her posture as her face slowly turned pale.

"Lying to me has consequences."

Her hands clasped together even tighter.

"O-of course, Lord. I won't lie to you."

Zeldryn said nothing and continued watching her face.

"I swear, Lord," Hera continued as she lowered her head again. "I truly don't know why you were placed in this mansion. I'm only telling you what I've heard from servants who have worked here longer than I have. I wouldn't dare hide anything from you."

Her breathing had started to become uneven. Her face was pale, her shoulders trembled slightly, and her hands nearly crushed the fabric of her uniform.

From what Zeldryn could tell, that did not look like the reaction of someone desperately trying to invent a lie.

'Looks like she really doesn't know,' Zeldryn thought.

He finally looked away.

"All right. I believe you."

Hera's body relaxed slightly after hearing those words, but Zeldryn sank even deeper into thought. If he had only been sent away after causing trouble, everything would have been easy to explain. But a baby could not do anything wrong. A newborn could not embarrass the family, rebel against his father, or create political problems through his own actions.

That meant the reason for his isolation probably had nothing to do with Zeldryn himself.

Most likely, the problem was connected to his mother.

'What was wrong with Anna?' Zeldryn wondered.

Perhaps Anna's original family had some kind of conflict with Zorin, or maybe their marriage had been opposed by members of the Giorry family. It was also possible that Anna's status was much lower than that of the other three wives. Unfortunately, all Zeldryn knew was his mother's name and the fact that she currently lived at the main residence.

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That was nowhere near enough information to reach a conclusion.

He looked at Hera again.

"Has my mother never come here?"

The question made Hera think for a moment.

"She has, Lord."

"How often?"

Hera hesitated slightly before answering.

"I started working as your personal maid when I was fifteen."

"So that's been four years."

"Yes, Lord." Hera nodded. "During the four years I've worked at this mansion, I've only seen Lady Anna visit twice."

Zeldryn went silent.

"Twice? In four years?"

Hera nodded again.

Zeldryn stared at her seriously. That was far less than he had expected. Even if traveling from the main residence to this mansion took a long time, two visits in four years still felt far too rare for a mother visiting her own son.

"Did my mother speak to me when she came here?"

"Yes, Lord."

"But I don't know what you and Lady Anna talked about," Hera added.

"Why?"

"Every time you spoke with Lady Anna, everyone nearby was ordered to leave the room." Hera lowered her gaze. "The servants and guards weren't allowed to stay near you, so during her visits, Lady Anna always spoke with you alone."

Zeldryn slowly rubbed his forehead.

'Why does everything feel like it's being hidden?' Zeldryn thought.

His mother had only visited twice in four years, and every time they spoke, everyone around them was immediately ordered away. No one knew what they talked about, and even Hera, his personal maid, had never been allowed to remain nearby.

The more information Zeldryn learned, the more complicated his family situation seemed to become.

"Was there anything strange or unusual whenever my mother visited?" he asked.

Hera looked confused.

"Strange, Lord?"

"Her behavior, her expression, or the way she spoke to me. Did you or any of the other servants ever notice anything unusual about my mother while she was here?"

Hera lowered her head and tried to remember the two visits from Anna that she had witnessed. Her brow furrowed slightly as she searched through her memories, and after thinking for quite some time, she finally spoke.

"I don't know whether this information is accurate or not, Lord."

"Just tell me."

"Some of the senior servants used to talk about Lady Anna," Hera said, pausing briefly before continuing. "They said that whenever Lady Anna came to visit you, she always looked very sad."

"Sad?"

"Yes, Lord." Hera slowly nodded. "She looked like someone who was helpless against something. But whenever she was near you, Lady Anna always tried to smile, almost as if she didn't want you to notice how sad she was."

Zeldryn fell silent again.

'Helpless, huh?' he thought as he stared at the candle flame swaying on the table.

Anna was the official wife of a marquis, yet from Hera's description, she sounded like someone who had very little control over her own life.

'Could Anna's influence within the family be extremely weak?' Zeldryn wondered.

He quickly stopped himself from taking that thought any further. He knew nothing about Anna's position within the main residence, had no idea what kind of relationship she shared with Zorin, and still did not understand why he and Anna had been separated since he was a baby.

There were too many possibilities and far too little information. For all he knew, something far more complicated than simple family influence could be involved.

Zeldryn pressed his fingers against his temple.

'Damn it. The more I think about this, the more my head hurts,' he thought.

He decided to put those suspicions aside for now and focus on information Hera could actually provide.

"Hera."

"Yes, Lord?"

"How long did my mother usually stay here when she visited?"

Hera thought for a moment.

"If I remember correctly, Lady Anna stayed for around six or seven days during her first visit."

"Six or seven days?"

"Yes, Lord."

Zeldryn gave a small nod. At least during the first visit, Anna had spent nearly a week at the mansion.

"And the second visit?"

"During her second visit, Lady Anna only stayed for three days."

"Three days?"

"Yes, Lord."

"Why was it so much shorter?"

Hera was about to say that she did not know, but before she could answer, her expression suddenly changed as if she had remembered something. Her mouth opened slightly, yet no words came out.

Zeldryn immediately noticed.

"What is it?"

"Forgive me, Lord." Hera raised her face. "I just remembered something that happened during her second visit."

Zeldryn straightened his posture.

"Tell me."

"On the third day, a carriage from the main residence suddenly arrived at this mansion," Hera explained slowly as she recalled the incident. "The carriage came with several guards. They said that Lady Anna had to return to the main residence immediately."

"She had to return immediately?"

Hera nodded.

"There was no letter or notice beforehand, Lord. A carriage from the main residence suddenly arrived without warning that same day. Lady Anna hadn't even had time to prepare."

Zeldryn's gaze grew serious.

"And then?"

"As soon as the carriage arrived, the people from the main residence told Lady Anna that she had to return right away." Hera clasped her hands together. "They even immediately ordered the servants to pack Lady Anna's belongings."

"Without her permission?"

"I don't know for certain, Lord," Hera replied hesitantly. "But at the time, Lady Anna didn't look like she wanted to leave."

The room fell silent again.

"Once her belongings were ready, Lady Anna was immediately taken to the carriage."

Zeldryn stared at Hera without blinking.

"So my mother was forced to go back?"

"I wouldn't dare say that she was truly forced, Lord." Hera lowered her head even further. "But everything happened very quickly. The carriage from the main residence arrived suddenly, and then Lady Anna was taken away that same day. The incident confused everyone in the mansion because none of the servants or guards knew what was happening."

"No one tried to ask?"

Hera shook her head.

"We didn't dare, Lord. The people from the main residence looked extremely serious, and no one in this mansion dared interfere with their affairs."

Zeldryn turned his gaze toward the candle flame on the table as he processed what Hera had told him.

Anna had come intending to stay for several days, yet only three days into her visit, a carriage from the main residence had suddenly followed her here. She had received no warning, her belongings had been packed immediately, and she had been taken back despite clearly appearing unwilling to leave.

That did not sound like someone who was free to make her own decisions.

Zeldryn frowned deeply as the implications settled in his mind.

"They forced her to go back?"