Angela 31

Getting Mary out of the prison turned out to be easier than expected.

“My mother asked me to bring Mary.”

One simple lie was enough. The guard who had been silently staring at Beatrice in front of the cell soon said,

“Please wait a moment.”

And shortly after, he returned with Mary.

Mary looked at her escort with curious eyes, but Beatrice had no mental space to worry about that. Her heart was pounding like crazy from telling a lie she wasn’t used to. Afraid of being found out even for a second, Beatrice quickly gathered Mary and turned to leave.

“Uh…”

At that moment, the guard stopped Beatrice.

Had she been found out? Beatrice looked back at the guard with a nervous gaze. Her heartbeat was so loud it felt like it might be heard outside.

“Wh-What?”

Beatrice asked, clearly suspicious in tone. She knew she sounded strange, but couldn’t think of how to act naturally. Her mind was a blank slate.

However—

“…It’s nothing.”

The guard, who had raised the tension, simply shook his head.

“Go ahead and take her.”

With that, he allowed them to leave without resistance. His expression didn’t look too good, but Beatrice was too anxious to try and read into it.

Gripping Mary’s hand tightly, Beatrice hurried away as if fleeing, afraid she’d be stopped again.

Even now, her heart had yet to return to a normal rhythm. She couldn’t believe she had pulled off something so bold. Still…

“That didn’t take long.”

Seeing Angela’s relieved face made even her first act of rebellion against her mother feel meaningful. Beatrice responded softly, “Yes.”

“My dear…!”

“Shh.”

Angela sternly quieted Mary, who was running toward her. Mary clamped her mouth shut and came up to Angela with a silent smile. She seemed simply happy to meet Angela while being free again.

But Angela had no time to enjoy the emotions of their reunion. She didn’t know when Yvonne would find out Mary had escaped the prison. It could be hours later—or if luck was bad, it could be today.

That’s why Mary had to be out of the mansion before dawn. This was also why Angela had chosen the mansion’s rear garden—where the secret passage was located—as their meeting point.

“Mary.”

Angela, who had been walking along the high wall, came to a stop at one spot and quietly called Mary. Mary, not understanding why, nodded eagerly as she followed Angela. It meant she was listening closely.

Angela handed Mary a letter she had written herself.

Sensing its importance, Mary gripped it tightly in her hands. She seemed to think it was a special mission assigned to her.

And in a way, it was. It was a mission, and an extremely important one at that. So Angela didn’t explain it in detail.

She pulled aside a bundle of fake bushes that had been bunched together and pointed with her chin toward a small hidden exit inside.

“There will be a carriage waiting once you exit. Get on that carriage. When it stops, just tell them you came to deliver this. Simple, right?”

“Yes, Miss.”

With that reply, Angela opened the door to the secret passage. Then she gently fixed Mary’s messy curls, tucking them behind her ears.

Though still dusty and disheveled, Mary looked a bit more presentable now. Only after that did Angela motion for her to go.

“I’ll deliver it quickly and be right back, Miss.”

Mary looked up at Angela with a sense of responsibility in her eyes. She didn’t even ask where she was being sent after just getting out of prison. If Angela told her to do it, she’d follow no matter what. She was a maid more loyal than any in the world.

Angela watched steadily until Mary completely disappeared through the small exit. Knowing it would be difficult to see her again for a long time, she gave her own private farewell.

It was then—when Angela turned back from the night’s farewell—that she saw Beatrice looking at her. Beatrice flinched and quickly lowered her gaze.

“Thank you.”

“……”

“You helped me.”

Her eyes, which had always darted away out of habit, flickered toward Angela. Angela knew how much resolve that simple action must have taken for Beatrice.

“D-Don’t think of it as… h-helping.”

Saying such things wasn’t easy either.

Angela let out a baffled, breathy laugh at how much Beatrice was stammering. But perhaps it gave her courage? Beatrice, shrinking into herself, squeezed her eyes shut and opened her mouth.

“W-We’re f-family. S-Sister… right?”

Her ears were flushed bright red.

‘Did you just call me sister? Why would you think we’re family?’

It was as if she was bracing for a thunderous slap. The redness had even crept up her neck.

But Angela’s thoughts were surprisingly simple. So… she’s finally said it. That was all she thought.

When Angela had wanted to be called “sister,” Beatrice had been too young to speak. And when Beatrice could finally speak, Angela had refused to let her say it.

The misaligned timing had finally clicked into place.

Still… that was all.

As long as Yvonne existed between the two of them, nothing about their relationship would change. Angela brushed past Beatrice without a word.

Behind her, a soft sob escaped.

Angela didn’t want to know what those tears meant.

—

At the same time.
Finally, Kalian began to write his words down on a fine sheet of paper. It came after a long hesitation, spent searching for better phrasing.
However, the handwriting itself was a mess. The composure that Angela had emphasized when teaching him how to write was nowhere to be found, no matter how hard one looked.
Even so, Kalian didn’t crumple the paper and start over. The agitated and impatient heart imbued in the writing reflected his true feelings.

[Kalian Florence]

Having written his name at the bottom, Kalian folded the paper neatly and placed it in a clean envelope. He sealed the envelope with the family crest, thus completing the proposal letter.
All that remained was for Angela to review it, write her name next to Kalian’s, and send it back—then the two would be officially engaged.
Typically, it was customary to consult the elders of the family before signing a marriage proposal, but in Kalian’s case, Angela would likely sign and return it without even taking a breath.
By the time Kalian returned from his reconnaissance mission to the western region, the proposal signed by Angela would probably have arrived.
After that, he would formally visit the Duke of Bilton’s family with the marriage documents. Soon, Dominic would finish his current mission and return to the Bilton estate, so the timing was quite fitting.
They would then review the documents and coordinate the written terms. But Kalian intended to accommodate everything to the wishes of the Bilton family. That was the usual way men showed affection for the women they hoped to marry.
Since it was customary to hold the wedding within the following year after exchanging proposal letters, Angela and Kalian would be married by next year.
Now, Yvonne would also come to clearly understand Kalian’s intentions. Breaking off the engagement with Angela? Marrying Beatrice? Neither made any sense.
Though he had no choice, the smile he forced turned into a bitter contemplation. Just then—

“It’s Viego.”

A voice requesting an audience came from outside the door.

“Come in.”

When Kalian granted entry, Viego stepped skillfully over piles of documents and approached him. Skipping formalities, Viego got straight to the point.

“A maid named Mary has left the Bilton estate.”

Kalian’s gaze turned peculiar.
Mary was one of the issues he had wanted to resolve before leaving for the western region. He didn’t want Angela to feel anxious in his absence. He couldn’t literally break her out of the Bilton mansion’s prison, but he was determined to get her out of there by any means before the day ended.
So he had first placed a guard influenced by his authority at the watch post. But had Angela made a move first?

“It seems the second young lady of the household took her and escorted her to Lady Bilton.”
A surprising combination.

“I clearly saw the second young lady heading to the back garden with the maid, but only the two young ladies returned. There must be a secret passage there.”

The two of them weren’t exactly the type to collaborate on anything…
Still, there was no reason to fabricate such a story. After a brief moment of thought, Kalian gave Viego permission to leave. Regardless, if the problem had been resolved, that was a relief.
Then suddenly, Kalian realized that he no longer had a bluebird to bring him news of Angela.

“Viego.”

Kalian quickly stopped him. Viego turned around at once.

“Yes?”
“Assign a knight to stand guard around the Bilton estate.”
“Yes, understo… Wait, what? If we get caught, it’ll be a huge issue.”

Viego stammered in shock. Guarding, in name—it was surveillance and spying in practice.

“Then don’t get caught.”

Kalian responded flatly, as if it were obvious.
Viego rubbed the back of his neck. Others might not know, but when it came to matters involving his fiancée, this man always lost all sense of restraint.

—

Having called a servant to deliver the proposal letter, Kalian watched until he left the estate before finally preparing for his departure to the western region.
His hands tidying up his attire were, as always, precise. Yet internally, he felt far from calm. If he could, he would’ve liked to take Angela with him on his horse.
Even though he knew he couldn’t, the weight of intangible emotion pressed down on his shoulders. It wasn’t the first or second time he’d had to leave Angela behind, yet his heart felt unusually heavy.

“You should go now.”

At that moment, Viego reported that the preparations for departure were complete. Kalian answered with a short nod. It was time to set aside the emotions clinging to him like shackles.
Even though he tried to discipline himself, Kalian remained unsettled all the way out of the estate with the knights selected for reconnaissance. He felt like someone who had forgotten something important. His hand holding the reins constantly resisted, wanting to turn back.
But Kalian knew—there was only one solution: to return quickly.
Until then, stay well.
He left behind a farewell that would never reach its recipient.

—

[To Lady Angela Bilton – Personal]

Despite the inscription on the envelope, the proposal letter sent by Kalian was handed over to a servant at the Bilton estate and presented directly to Yvonne.
Every letter addressed to Angela had to go through her, as per Yvonne’s standing order, and this one was no exception.
The servants, knowing which way the wind was blowing, simply did as they were told.
Besides, they believed Yvonne must have her reasons for being so adamant. Though she called it an order, she had actually gone around pleading, “Please, I’m begging you,” clasping each servant’s hand one by one.
“She must really be desperate,” they thought. “The young lady Angela must’ve done something again.” With that in mind, they all obeyed Yvonne’s instructions.

Yvonne unfolded the letter delivered by the servant.

[The time has come to keep our promise.
Kalian Florence humbly asks for the hand of Angela Bilton.
Please grant me the chance to meet the future together with you.]

That was as far as she read before her expression darkened as if engulfed by a moonless night.
It was the first time she had truly resented Kalian—for rejecting her plea so firmly in this way.
He, more than anyone, knew how Beatrice had suffered at Angela’s hands. And yet he intended to become Angela’s unwavering support? She couldn’t bear it.

Yvonne crumpled the proposal in her hands and tossed it into the roaring fireplace.
The words that Kalian had poured his heart into vanished into flames.
Crackling, it turned to black ash in an instant.

Yvonne stared blankly at the fireplace that had consumed Kalian’s sincerity.
She couldn’t tell whether the flames were rising from the hearth—or from within her own chest.

Moments later, unable to contain her burning emotions, Yvonne burst through the door and ran out.

 

 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ───

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