CHAPTER 24
Marian, who had been whispering in Charlotte’s ear, pursed her lips in an annoying pout as she walked away. Charlotte’s face hardened as she closed the book she was reading.
“Who met with whom?”
“Baron Zimmerman and Aveline. They were having a long conversation in the back garden.”
Marian lowered her voice and criticized Vivianne venomously.
“It must be a habit. She’s like a bat, flitting about everywhere. Just the thought of someone like her sharing the same space as you, my lady, gives me chills. And to make it worse, she’s talking to your fiancé…”
Marian faltered under Charlotte’s sharp glare, shrinking back and falling silent. After a brief moment of thought, Charlotte took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. A hollow laugh followed.
Contrary to Marian’s criticism, Charlotte could roughly imagine what had happened. The feeling she had now, however, was directed at Baron Zimmerman, unlike Marian’s.
The baron was a man who didn’t know when to give up.
If she had expressed her feelings clearly, he ought to have understood and stepped back from the marriage, as a gentleman would.
So, what could Vivianne have said to Baron Zimmerman? She wasn’t the type to do something shady in exchange for anything. Nor was Edwin someone who would fall for such cheap schemes.
However, there simply wasn’t enough reason to hurt Vivianne.
Charlotte didn’t have the slightest desire to apologize, but she was fully aware that what she had done was wrong.
That knowledge left an uncomfortable shard of emotion pricking her heart.
Unable to sit still, Charlotte left her room immediately. She needed a change of scenery, anything to distract her from dwelling on her own faults for criticizing Vivianne.
But, as if mocking her efforts, she crossed paths with Vivianne in the lobby as the latter entered from the westward corridor. Though Charlotte had just admitted to herself that it was wrong to insult Vivianne, meeting those innocent, wide eyes again left her with a lump in her throat, frustrated that she couldn’t lash out further.
She needed to walk past without saying a word. If she confronted Vivianne now, she was sure that unintended words would come out of her mouth.
“M-Miss Windler!”
Charlotte had intended to pass by, treating Vivianne as if she were invisible, but Vivianne somehow stopped her. Something inside Charlotte was boiling, ready to explode.
Why did she have to stop me? Why did Vivianne always make me the bad guy?
The arrows of blame were aimed squarely at Vivianne.
Charlotte didn’t turn back to look at her. She hoped Vivianne wouldn’t forgive such blatant disregard so easily.
“I have something to say. Actually, I was just with Baron Zimmerman. We were talking about Miss Windler’s marriage.”
Charlotte chewed the soft flesh inside her mouth, her gaze fixed on the manor’s ceiling as if counting the seconds.
“The baron is trying to win your heart, Miss Windler. Although today was the first time we spoke, I feel relieved knowing the Duke has found a good match for you.”
Vivianne Eveline was, somehow…
She had a talent for turning the other person into the villain. The more Vivianne proved herself to be a good person, the further Charlotte’s position sank—to the ground, to the mud, to the gutter.
It was not a pleasant feeling.
“I don’t know the reason, but how about considering it once more? I told the baron I would find out what you like, but rather than that, how about planting hope directly on the path you’re taking?”
Vivianne continued speaking stubbornly, addressing Charlotte’s back. Marian shot Vivianne a blatantly scornful glance, lifting her upper lip in displeasure. Though Charlotte noticed it clearly, she chose to ignore Marian’s overstepping behavior.
As the heavy silence continued, Vivianne became depressed at the unwelcome situation and was about to turn away.
“Don’t you have anything else to do?”
Charlotte, who seemed as though she would never look back, finally turned toward Vivianne.
“Was the claim about your debt a lie? Given the time you’ve spent meddling in others’ affairs, it seems the story about your debt must be a fabrication.”
“… That’s not it.”
“Then prove me wrong. At least pretend to be repaying your debt. Aren’t you going to do some embroidery? That’s the only thing you know how to do, so you should at least do that to pay off the debt and finally leave the Duke’s side, shouldn’t you?”
Charlotte smiled cruelly. It was the first time she felt resentment towards Charlotte, who was determined to drag her down to the very bottom, but clearing up the misunderstanding came first.
“I am making an effort. More than anything, I genuinely want to pay off my debt.”
Her determined voice and unwavering gray eyes only served to make Charlotte more angry. The urge to break Vivianne down surged within her, but she held back, wary of angering Edwin by crossing the line any further.
“You said you would ask about the things I like.”
Charlotte, who had suppressed her anger, looked straight at Vivianne with a calm yet sharp gaze.
“Fine. Then please relay this to the baron clearly. It seems he couldn’t understand my indirect hints, as I wasn’t straightforward enough.”
Charlotte’s tone, now lowered, offered no hope. Vivianne pictured Baron Zimmerman’s innocent face and felt a pang of guilt. He had been making every effort to win Charlotte’s heart and had placed all his hopes on Vivianne, yet if the message she had to deliver was one of heartbreaking rejection, it was clear the baron’s heart would be torn in two.
“I have someone I love.”
Vivianne had never expected Charlotte, small and doll-like with charming freckles, to speak of love—a word so distant and unreachable. Having never harbored anyone in her heart in such a way, Vivianne quietly pressed down the shock she felt.
“It’s not because Baron Zimmerman is bad or because I don’t think he’s a good man that I won’t marry him. It’s because I have someone I love. That’s why I can’t marry him. Is that enough of an answer?”
Who could it be? Who does she love?
Whoever it is, to claim love for someone else while on the verge of marrying a man she doesn’t love suggests either Edwin’s opposition or an unwelcome relationship.
“I hope you’ll convey this to him.”
A heaviness settled over Vivianne’s heart, stacking up like the countless bookshelves in the library.
“So that Baron Zimmerman can give up on this marriage as soon as possible.”
Tonight, the lake was once again illuminated by moonlight. Vivianne, leisurely swimming in the water, was lost in deep thought, her mind circling the massive crater Charlotte’s revelation had left behind.
She has someone she loves?
For Vivianne, who had never experienced love, it was impossible to fathom what it might feel like. In Preston, the men who approached her were all after her inheritance, and they always spoke of love.
To Vivianne, love was nothing more than a tool to entrap others. After the incident with King Mayr, she abandoned the idea of true love and marriage altogether.
Things had gotten a little better when she came to Neway but given how precarious everything had been, her own marriage was pushed far down her list of priorities.
Love and marriage were both dream-like words that never truly existed in Vivianne Aveline’s life. Once she repaid her debts, she was destined to die at the hands of the duke, and no man would ever love a woman fated to end up on the dinner table.
Even if, by some miracle, she met a man she loved, he would most likely fall prey to the duke’s wrath. The Duke of Baytness, who held her family and friends hostage, would never allow the man she loved to live in peace.
Vivianne shut her eyes tightly and dove below the surface.
To fall deeply in love with someone, to form a family, and have children. Even with wrinkles on her face, to hold the hand of the one she loved and promised tomorrow under the warm sunlight. It was utterly selfish yet so warm. Just imagining it was enough.
If she allowed herself to be swept away by such thoughts, she would be left with regrets. Regrets would take hold of her will, erode her resolve, and ultimately turn her firmly set heart away.
That’s why she buried, not her body, but those warm, personal fantasies beneath the surface.
Love, family, children—Vivianne buried them deep under the water and placed a heavy stone over them so that they would never rise again. What floated up with her body in their place was debt, death, and guilt.
Vivianne let out a breath that had risen to the tip of her chin and rubbed her wet face. As she heaved deep breaths, shallow ripples spread across the surface. Though they seemed like the desperate struggles of what lay submerged, she cruelly ignored them.
Reality was too ashen for dreams, and the only refuge for her was Lake Lannoy.
Now, I have to make money. I must.
Only then could she relieve the burden on her loved ones and escape her suffocating helplessness.
Vivianne felt her heart grow stronger as she made up her mind. She was confident that she could do anything—until a rustling sound from somewhere made her look around the darkened surroundings with frightened eyes.
Her momentum was completely broken, and she made her way across the deserted lake and up onto the dock. After drying herself and getting dressed, Vivianne headed straight for the manor.
Baron Zimmermann left the manor in the morning, and by the afternoon, a series of meetings with directors from the capital followed.
The significant losses from the shipwreck were partially compensated after a trial with the insurance company, and Erelem boldly signed the contract sent by the firm, thus providing justification to overwork the munitions factory.
However, what remained unresolved was how to counter the Royal Family’s scheme to turn the company into a state-owned enterprise. The Royal Family argued that Baytness Corporation’s aggressive development of new weapons, the sale of excessively lethal arms, and its acquisition of railway construction rights in both the West and East heightened the threat of war. Additionally, they criticized the company’s unprecedented expansion into the financial sector, monitoring it closely for any opportunity to intervene.
The directors debated intensely throughout the afternoon to address the pressing issues. In the end, no solution was found, and the sun began to set in the west. The red sunset poured through the window, sharply stinging the eyes, signaling the end of the long meeting.
The directors returned to their respective rooms, leaving Edwin alone in the study.
Had it not been for the knock at that moment, Edwin might have leaned back deeply in his chair and briefly closed his eyes, shielding them from the dazzling sunlight. Instead, he exhaled a long, exhausted breath and allowed the knocker to enter.
When he saw that the person at the door was Sophie, her face pale, the fatigue that had set in with the sunset vanished instantly. A feeling of unease quickly took its place.
“Excuse me, Y-Your Grace. W-What… what should I do?”
Despite Sophie’s restless fidgeting, Edwin’s expression remained calm. Without bothering to speak, he gestured with his chin, silently asking the reason for her distress.
“Miss Aveline has disappeared.”
Sophie’s voice, unable to conceal her nervousness, trembled intensely and was unusually loud.
“I’ve searched the entire manor thoroughly since the afternoon, but I haven’t found her anywhere. Looks like she’s gone!”
