Chapter 50

I began to talk about myself from there.

My life on the ranch in the Kingdom of Randall, and my life in the fishing village.

Jeffrey listened silently, nodding and patting my back or head from time to time.

When I finished talking and sighed, Jeffrey seemed to be deep in thought.

"What's wrong? Did something in the story bother you?"

"No. Actually, I have a secret too. Since I intend to live with you for the rest of my life, I think I should tell you now."

I was puzzled, thinking he was going to talk about his fiancée's suicide.

"It's not about my fiancée. It's a secret only my brother and I share. The environment we grew up in was a bit unusual, which is why my brother is so worried about me."

"It's okay. I don't think I need to know everything about your past."

"No, there will come a day when you'll wonder why my brother is so worried about me."

The story Jeffrey told from there was one that made my heart ache every time I remembered it.

"Our father has been living with another family as far back as I can remember. It's not uncommon for nobles to have mistresses. However, around the time the mistress had a child, he started to beat us. I was beaten from a very young age, when I could barely speak."

Jeffrey's mother had a mental breakdown early on and would drift between reality and delusion.

His father would come home once or twice a week and beat the family. He would beat them for trivial reasons, and the triggers were different each time. We never knew what would set him off. For a while, Lord Edward would protect his mother and young Jeffrey, taking the beatings himself.

"I think my brother chose the path of a civil servant because he has scars all over his back from being whipped with a riding crop. The scars are so severe that they can't be hidden, especially since knights change clothes together after training. We couldn't run away because of our mother, who had lost her mind. My brother, who was a low-ranking civil servant at the time, must have given up on running away with us because our mother was in such a bad state."

I recalled something I learned in my training. People who are beaten repeatedly often lose the ability to fight back or even run away. They become mentally dominated by the violence. Wasn't that the case with the brothers and their mother?

To escape the harsh reality, Lord Edward threw himself into his studies, and Jeffrey became obsessed with swordsmanship. Years passed, and one day, young Jeffrey thought he might be able to beat his father.

When his father, as usual, tried to punch his brother and whip him while he was half-naked, Jeffrey lunged at him.

"A person who fights to the death and a person who only wants to torment have different levels of determination. I was already quite tall by then. I quickly beat my father to the ground, grabbed a nearby candlestick, and said to my shocked brother, 'Brother, I'm the second son. I'll kill him. After that, please remove me from the family. Thank you for everything you've done for me.'"

"Jeff..."

Jeffrey spoke as if he were looking far away.

"The resentment from being beaten, thinking 'today might be the day I die,' burst out. I was serious. Then my brother stopped me and told my father to leave in a very calm voice. 'I will take over as the head of the Asher family as of today. I will send you and your other family enough money to live without shame. You can either give up the headship or be killed by us here. Do you think I was just letting you beat me without a plan? I already have a doctor who will write 'heart failure' no matter how you die.'"

This happened when Lord Edward was twenty and Jeffrey was twelve.

"After my father left, my brother cried, saying, 'I'm sorry for putting you and Mother through this because I lacked the resolve. I should have done this sooner. Please forgive my cowardice.' Since then, my brother has protected Mother and me as a guardian. It's a bit of a problem that he still can't shake the habit, but my brother and I have protected each other from being killed. The violence was so severe that we could have been killed at any moment."

I hugged Jeffrey.

Jeffrey was so tall that I couldn't hug him properly, but I hugged him with all my strength.

"I only knew the warmth of a family for eight years, but you never had that, did you?"

During my time as an agent, I realized that happy families are all similar. Whether they are poor or rich doesn't matter much. Happy families are where the family members get along well.

The life Lord Edward and Jeffrey lived was a hell called a family.

"Jeff. I will protect you and Nonna with my life. Let's create a happy family."

Then Jeffrey smiled gently and said,

"That's usually my line. Let me have my moment too."

He knelt in front of me and said,

"Anna, will you marry me?"

He proposed in the simplest way possible.