11. The Day I Found Her
When I arrived at Anne Marieās front door, I was halted by the butler.
āDonāt even think about meeting my sister.ā
The one whom greeted me was, instead, Raymond.
āI know, but stillā¦!ā
āHow many times do I need to repeat myself!? Never again will you appear in front of her, didnāt you promised so yourself!? Itās over, already!ā Raymond, full of hatred, denied and shooed me away.
Yes, that is indeed what I had promisedā
āhowever, there was a slight change.
āI beg this of you, Raymond, pleaseā¦ā
āA promise is a promise.ā
āāwait.ā
From the inside of the mansion, a voice was heard.
āMarieā¦?ā
āBrother, I am the one who requested for his presence. Thereās something I would like to talk about with him.ā Anne Marie stared straight at her brother.
āAfternoon to you, Duke Westin. It truly has been a long time.ā
āā¦Indeed. I want to utter my gratitude for letting me see you.ā
āNo problem. After all, Iām the one who said I wanted to meet you again.ā
After she assured Raymond, she took me to the Countās garden.
ā¦Now, is it the season of roses?
Together, we sat under the awning surrounded by colorful roses.
āā¦Hey, did you know?ā The conversation was initiated by her. āWhen we were together, I always stayed behind you, following you around. I never dared to stand beside you.ā
Thatās my sin. Iām really sorry.
Why would she apologize, I wonder. Wasnāt she the victim, here?
Did she remember anything? Did she recall my sins?
Neverthelessā¦
Did she always hold such a powerful gaze?
I tried to recall those moments when we were still together.
I wasnāt sure she remembered meāhowever, she knew I had changed.
Slowly, I shook my head. āYou are mistaken. It was me who left you behind.ā
The one who refused to let her walk beside me, was myself.
Such a simple thingāI didnāt even grant her that much.
āSo we are both guilty, then. How neat.ā Anne Marie laughed. āWhich of us committed the mistake first, who can say? āOne thing for sure; if both of usāguilty as we wereāstayed together, we would surely fall on to the bottom of the abyss. Right now, I still feel unstable with myselfābut I can honestly say this: I canāt forgive you. Thatās why, I canāt take your hand.ā
Thatās what she said.
It was an utter rejection, yet, strangely, it touched my heart.
āāwho am I, Iām not sure. I thought I was Maria. Yet everyone said Iām Anne Marie. Or maybe, I am a completely different person from those two. What I used to like, what I used to doāI no longer know. Nevertheless, I remember being married to youāand during the whole time, I never felt happy. Thatās why I decidedā
āIām going to find myself. To visit various countries, to see lots of new things. Iām going to search for myself, and I wonāt be alone. Because thereās someone who promised to stay with me.ā
āā¦Is that āsomeoneā that man from before?ā
āāThat manā? Oh, I see you were watching. Indeed, his name is Luke.ā She laughed bashfully. āHe knows many kinds of things, a lot more than you, I think. He said that my noble knowledge is necessary for businessā association.ā
āThen, are you going to go on a journey with him?ā
āThat, I do not know yet. Iām too naĆÆve, sheltered, and at the same time, unstable. Iām still unaware of the ways of the world. Such a self, I want to leave it behind, already. But still, I want to love myself, I want to know more about myself. So, Iām going to stand on my own two feet. Luke gave me the chance to travel, but the destination? Thatās mine to decide. Hehe, after all, itās okay to be selfish sometimes.ā Her smile was cheerful.
At first, I wanted to change for her.
But she didnāt ask for that, did she?
My mind was mysteriously calm. Spica might be trueāI, myself, had changed.
āMarie, I have a request.ā
āWhat could it be?ā
āI hope that someday youāll return to this kingdom again. This time, I want to hear your storyātell me about the world youāve discovered. That is, if youāll allow me to see you again.ā
I nervously suggested so, fully expecting her rejectionāyet her eyes shone.
āThatās a great idea! āhere, how about this: I will find new things in the world while you find new things in this kingdom! If two people share their perspectives to each otherādonāt you think something wonderful will be found?ā
āYes. Surely it will.ā
Her smileāit was truly dazzlingā¦
My heart throbbed while I was mesmerized.
Ah, so that was the reasonā¦
That was the reason why my tears wouldnāt stop, and instead fell beside my feet.
Shortly after that, with the help of her father, Anne Marie joined the Zeitz Company.
Each letter she sent me hailed from a different country. Each was magnificent in its ownāsince they carried the air of countries I did not know.
āYo~ Gilbert! I heard youāve grown a lot!ā
Spica inspected me from top to bottom, chuckling.
āā¦āGrownā? Me?ā
āMhm. Finally, finally you learned to prioritize others over yourself!!!ā
āThatās because I remember my position.ā
āGood, isnāt it~? Because there are differences between someone who plans and someone who actually took a step to realize said plan. Next year, I will return to see how much youāve develop.ā
After that, the witch resumed her travel to another kingdom.
I wondered, how many seasons had passed since then.
My brother and Maria had children.
The Knight Captain was replaced.
Because I was busy taking charge of my territory, my relationship with my brother had become somewhat estranged. Still, the former Knight Captain sometimes visited me while Spica returned every year.
But Anne Marie never returned.
The only link between me and the girl that was now in a faraway land were the letters that came per season.
Marie
The snow has begun to melt.
Are you in a tropical land without snow? Or are you still in the snowy land where spring is still far away?
I have something to tell you.
I decided to start a school.
Be it noble or commoner, they can attend. Itās a place where everyone can gain knowledge. The funding comes from my research. The amount Iāve earned throughout my years of researching made it seems like Iām only in it for the moneyāsad to say, I have a bad reputation.
Spica, who heard of my circumstances, jeered at me. I had become too humane, she said.
I realize how blessed I am.
I effortlessly received the research environment to accommodate my passion.
There are many talented individuals in the world, yet some were forced to bury itāeither because their surroundings donāt recognize them, or due to poverty. Some wanted to develop their talents, yet they were unable to do so.
I want to seek such rivals.
I wholeheartedly awaits the story about the world youāve seen. Someday, I hope I can listen to it.
Gilbert Westin.
Thus, I sent the letter.
One round of seasons passedāthen two rounds, three rounds, and I never received a single reply from her.
Thus, the spring arrived again.
This spring, the school would finally open.
āMaster, are you going for some sightseeing around the school?ā
āThatās rightā¦ā
Students would attend next week. To confirm the situation around the school would be a good idea.
When I was ready and stepped outside, a carriage stopped right in front of the house.
The carriage bore the crest of Brent. From the carriage, a woman alighted.
ā¦Is she?
āno wayā¦
Seeing the woman, my lips unconsciously formed a smile. She noticed me.
āIām home.ā
All this timeāhow I had longed for that exact word, that exact smileā¦
āWelcome back, Anne Marie.ā
āI hope that someday youāll return to this kingdom again.
āThis time, I want to hear your storyā¦
āIāve returned, to share with you the world Iāve seen!ā
~fin~
***T/N: And thus, Anne Marie and Gilbert story + my first project comes to a close. I wholeheartedly thank all of you for supporting me by reading until this point!
****T/N : WHOOPSIES. after much confusion and research, i realize i did a translation mistake. Danna could also means master. Turns out he didnt get remarried. Blame my inexperience!!! Im so sorry everyone.
This isn’t the end of the journey, tho. I hope you will check out my other stories as well;
The fluffy story about a witch and a kind hearted knight (he beats Gilbert 999 times)
The tragic story about a villainess who keep reincarnating and has to stay away from her beloved
And a mature one.
Thank you so much for the effort of translating this novel. I am glad that the ending is not your usual cliche that the ML and MC always ends up with each other. It’s also great that anne marie is courageous enough to go out in the outside world to finally look for her “real self” and confident enough to go back and face the person who made her lose herself before.
I started this story with the expectation of getting triggered to be hateful. But to my surprise the story just kept me at the very edge of that emotion
This is a really great story! I don’t know exactly what I was expecting at the beginning, but I think it took the premise a lot more seriously than many would and the result was fantastic, something that really looked into the issue of identity in a far more realistic manner. I love that she couldn’t forgive him, but that it didn’t stop them from continuing on with their lives and even corresponding after. That she got to become herself through experience, in the most real way possible! Bringing up that forcing a dichotomy between “Maria” and “Anne Marie” when it came to identity was ridiculous from the start! Everyone grew a lot, and many of the angsty tropes from the beginning were so thoroughly deconstructed, it was very satisfying. What a perfect ending, where everyone ended up better off and more fulfilled
Thank you so much for translating! <3
This is one of my all time favorites <3 From the angsty start to the heart warming redemption of the 2 main characters. sighs I love it
This was the most satisfying ending because they’re both standing on their own and they can face each other and be happy for each other without needing one another. This was such a good read ?
Thank for the story ^^
Well it’s a good read, as it’s an open end I have my wish fulfill end in my heart, thank you ^^
Iām glad Gilbert became a seemingly better person however I still donāt like him. Iām glad they didnt end up together.
Kinda annoyed they remained in communication. He emotionally manipulated her for years.. continuing the correspondence was probably not a healthy choice for her.
Iām glad she got to travel and truly see the world. It seems she always found peace.
It has been a few years since i have been moved by a story, this has inspired me to continue and has given me more to work on. The bittersweet nature of this story and how deep but also how simply it concisely cuts to the main points strikes at the heart and soul. Thank you for translating.
I cant hate Gilbert, I feel like he was a broken person who didnt know what he wanted nor was he ever told what he did wrong. i.e until Anne entered his life. If what happened to her didnt happen, I bet no one, not even Gilbert, would have realised what he did wrong. The brother says he did it in hopes to control Gilbert but thats just an excuse for him to ignore the clear problems his brother has mentally. In most cases people like ML would never change even if they went through the same thing ML did. The fact that it took a MC to go mental for people to take action shows what a situation he lived in.
i loved this so muchhhļ½”ļ¾(ļ¾Ā“Šļ½ļ¾)ļ¾ļ½”
i still hate that nasty rat gilbert tho! i kinda wished that heād be stomped on and thrown off a cliff (ŹčØŹā¬)
thank you so much for translating (Ā“āļ½)
I hope she came back happily married to Luke so Gilbert can bite his handkerchief
Hmm ? i want to know what across the cliff
Thank you so mcuh for translating this work! And thank you to the author. I love that this ends on a fairly good note, they didn’t unreasonably get together again nor are there any truly bad relationships left. Nice and clean way to cut it off. :))) Anne Marie is so loveable though.
Me gustĆ³ el final.
Creo que si lo hubiĆ©ramos visto desde el punto de Marie estarĆamos muy enojados todos.
Pero podemos ver quĆ© el ML se arrepiente verdaderamente pero aĆŗn asĆ no puedo querer que terminen juntos porque creo que ML sigue siendo alguien que seguramente volverĆ” a lastimarla sin darse cuenta y eso es lo que mĆ”s me duele.
Me gustarĆa que Marie se quisiera mĆ”s y se quedarĆ” con otro hombre.
Creo que su enfoque de arrepentimiento y reinventarse en la historia lo trabajo muy bien el autor. Porque no lo terminas odiando al ML sino que simplemente aceptas sus error pero en mĆ caso no lo quiero con ella.
Es un sabor amargo y saldo
Even though i hate tragic kind of stories,This is the first story i felt I was fine even if the MCs part and live with other ppl
Good story!! However Iām still left hanging on what advice was the witch going to say before she got sidetracked by seeing Anne Marie. She said something that Gilbert has to listen carefully bec sheās only going to say it once on how can he truly change as a person. Tell me, did she actually said the advice and I just missed it? Or it truly wasnāt added in the story bec she got sidetracked??? I canāt sit still huhu itās the last paragraph in the previous chapter. Please tell me. Thank you. ??
it’s “secret of life” stuff.
in other word, empty mystery box.
Thanks for the translation. Glad my āpassionā for Gilbert kinda died down by the end. Totally not a story I imagine it to be with the 3 short chapters. XD thanks again
Ah god I was expecting a very short story when I clicked on that 3 chapter long oneshot. Boy was that a pretty long short story.
Loved the translation since its very clean unlike some (most other tbh). Also loved the story so much urhgghggh. First 3 chaps made me cry man and although the resolution was quite vague, I believe thay Anne Marie had finally found herself at the end.
Iād like to also commend the side comments after chapters as they made me laugh
Geez started this at 9pm hoping to finish a short 3 chap story and then finish the (what I expected as a very short) afterstory
Anne Marie wa shinjiteiru!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for translating this and bringing me to tears. It was a good few hours I had reading and crying and having fun while reading your comments too.
Thank you for reading ^_^
aww thank you for your translation! this novel is quite different from the ones ive been reading and i love how they didn’t get back together in the end, kinda like an open ending..also im glad gilbert didnt end up with spica..but hopefully somewhere, anne ends up with luke hehe
Thank you for reading my translation ^^ do read my other stories too, i try my utmost to find story that is unlike the other
What a ride of storyā¦
I was reading your translation for āA Thousand Years of Separationā and found the ācompleted translationā on menu.
And somehow the title makes me curious.. Iām kinda bored so I decided to read and Iām not disappointed at all! ;w;
thanks for translating!
Aww… Im glad you liked my first translation ever
Thank you for the chapter~
Thank you sonmuchh for the chapter. This is very touch story. But Iām confuse who said āMy dear Husband? Is Gilbert re married?
Yes
Huuuuuh sorry if i sound stupid (i skipped there and there) but with the sentence āDear husbandā, does that mean MC/Gilbert got a wife or something ? What about Anne Marie ? Will he get 2 wives or something ? Or does that mean Gilbert and Anne Marie wonāt ever be together again and just stay friends ?
= in short the āDear husbandā is confusing me.
So theyāll remarry right ??!! Emm ā¦ I wanted them to separate for good . But i can forgive him now since he waited years for her return (cute āŗļø)
Thanks for the hard work ??!!
Hehe the thing about ending like this is that its open for interpretation
Gilbert and anne marie divorced rmb?
Gilbert remarried ?
But was it detailed in the chapters that i skipped or it’s just hidden and we only got the “Dear husband” to show us that he remarried ?
Also i don’t really think it’s a happy ending if MC can’t get together again with FL. Staying friends is kinda disappointing.
It was an error in translation! Sorry for the confusion!
And thanks for sharing your opinion š
I also love the kind of ending where every character matures and life goes on. I also think that this ending is suitable because some mistake are really that dire + there are some lines you should never cross. Gilbert learns it the hard way and grows to be the current person he was.
Its the way servants call him, in japanases is danna sama i think
@evelynguz God. I hope that’s the case. I had so much trouble getting my WordPress username and password that when I refreshed the page I saw your comment.
My original comment was:
“Wish it had a, ‘no happy ending’ tag or something as I definitely prefer those. Having a proper ending also would have been good. It should have stopped after his letter. Instead it just adds unnecessary drama.”
It being a translation interpretation error makes the ending much better as well as making more sense.
It was an error in translation! Sorry for the confusion!
Haha. Anne marie coming back signifies she forgives him, i think?
Did the author gave any remark on that part just curious?
It was an error in translation! Sorry for the confusion!