The enemy who took Cecile’s home and family was none other than Marquis Hildegarde, and all the while, there had been a spy placed by the Marquis around Cecile.
The Information Guild had noticed the spy and those behind him, which is why they decided not to make any deals with Cecile.
Moreover, the only surviving member of Cecile’s family who escaped the fire set by Marquis Hildegarde was Sion.
And the place where Sion was…
After reading all the documents, Cecile immediately went to Count Kaiter.
“I want to receive the down payment, Count.”
“Rian.”
“…Rian.”
“Miss Cecile is now my wife, the Countess of Kaiter. Whatever the Countess can do, so can Miss Cecile. No matter what it is.”
Cecile’s eyes wavered. It was almost as if she could guess what the Count was implying.
Noticing her confusion, Count Kaiter spoke more directly.
“Go to the Marquisate and bring your family back. Personally. The Countess of Kaiter can easily manage that.”
“….”
“Well, since we’re on the subject, let’s add this to the contract as well. While you are my wife, act like it.”
Cecile was reflected in the Count’s eyes. She stared at the woman reflected in a black, bead-like object surrounded by a sky-blue hue.”
That woman was Cecile. Orphaned Cecile. A Cecile with nothing—no, with only one family member left.
“Do you understand what I mean?”
Cecile didn’t answer. Instead, she adjusted her posture, standing a little straighter, shoulders squared, and chin lifted.
She met the Count’s gaze. He slightly curled his lips into a smile.
Unexpectedly, the count’s smiling face didn’t seem so cold.
“Yes, Rian.”
Cecile replied. Count Kaiter’s smile grew even clearer.
She thought to herself.
This person… smiles like this, too.
And then she realized.
She would never forget the face she was seeing right now, not until the day she died.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
The wind blew. It was rather cold, but only to bare skin.
Cecile had dressed quite warmly. She lightly adjusted the shawl snugly draped over her shoulders out of habit, then turned her head.
The presence she sensed wasn’t an illusion.
Looking at Sion, who had appeared in the garden, Cecile spoke.
“Where’s Laila?”
“She’s asleep.”
“Just to avoid any misunderstandings, I didn’t make her drink a lot. Laila drank on her own.”
“…I didn’t come out here to argue.”
Cecile let out a small hum while looking up at Sion, who had come closer. Not here to argue, he said. It was an odd choice of words.
“Did you know I was in the garden?”
“Something like that.”
“So, you knew someone was here even before you came? And you figured it was likely me?”
A silence followed. Cecile took that silence as a yes.
She turned her head back to the front. As her eyes scanned the dark garden, she spoke again.
“Isn’t it interesting?”
“….”
“Neither you nor I could have imagined we would end up like this when we were younger.”
“While it’s true we didn’t know… I don’t really understand what you mean by ‘interesting.'”
“It was similar to being curious.”
“….”
“They say the most arrogant thing humans do is try to foresee their own lives.”
With that, Cecile suddenly laughed. It was a soft chuckle, like the sound of air escaping from a pocket.
“That’s a quote from a book you read, right?”
“…Yes.”
“I never read that passage myself. You read it and told me about it.”
“….”
“Were you eight years old then?”
“Seven.”
After a brief pause, as if considering, Sion added,
“…though it was just before my eighth birthday.”
“I see. You have a good memory. Well, I don’t think my memory is worse than most people’s either.”
Cecile blinked slowly. Soon, she spoke again.
“If you didn’t come out to argue or anything, then what did you plan to do when you saw me?”
“I didn’t have any particular plans.”
“Then?”
“If you were really in the garden, I just wanted to see your face.”
“Ah, so you simply wanted to see me? I get it. Our Sion is still at the age where he misses his family from time to time.”
“Think what you want.”
“But the important thing is that there’s not much of an age gap between us. So, I miss my family too…”
“….”
“But that’s all.”
Cecile and Sion’s eyes met again.
“You came all the way here because you were worried about me, right? Because I came out to the garden alone at this hour. Want me to tell you what I was doing in the garden? I was thinking about the things that happened after we parted ways.”
“Cecile.”
“If you want to comfort me, hold on. I’m not done talking yet.”
Cutting Sion off, Cecile continued her story.
“Up until a few years ago, thinking about the past didn’t just make me miss my family; it was incredibly painful. There were times I wished I were dead… quite a few times.”
“….”
“I hated feeling that way so much that I pretended as if I’d forgotten everything. Of course, truly forgetting was impossible. How could I forget? Maybe even if I died, my memories would remain. You probably feel the same way.”
“….”
“Anyway, those memories, which resurfaced on their own every now and then, always tormented me. But… at some point, I started to feel okay. Only the longing remained, and the pain disappeared. Really, at some point.”
Sion’s eyes widened slightly. Cecile, after looking into them, lowered her gaze.
No longer looking at Sion or the garden, but rather at some point near her feet, she continued to speak.
“At first, I thought it was because I found you. But then I realized I didn’t start feeling better until much later.”
“….”
“So I thought of Laila. Maybe it was because Laila destroyed Hildegarde in my place, and thanks to that, I was able to feel okay? Maybe the pain was gone because revenge had been taken?”
“….”
“But then again, I started feeling better even before Hildegarde was charged with treason. I had no idea why. Why was I okay?”
“….”
“And whether it was even okay for me to feel this way.”
Sion instinctively parted his lips to speak but quickly closed them again.
He could tell that Cecile hadn’t yet reached her conclusion.
Sion waited silently. After taking a breath, Cecile finally began to speak.
“I figured out why I started feeling better. Or rather, I had a good guess.”
“….”
“It was because of people.”
“People?”
“Good people… people.”
The realization came to her suddenly. Cecile remembered, all at once, that before she started “feeling better,” she had met many good people.
Those good people might not have been considered good by everyone. Some might have known their flaws and pointed fingers at them.
But regardless, to Cecile, they were good people.
Not long ago, Cecile attended Dorothy’s wedding.
Dorothy, who had married a man who was not a noble but the son of a wealthy man, became visibly flustered when she saw Cecile at the reception after the ceremony.
At first, Cecile thought Dorothy was simply intimidated by the “Countess of Kaiter,” but she quickly realized that wasn’t the case.
Dorothy was ashamed of her past actions. Specifically, the things she had done to Cecile during their more immature days.
Cecile was surprised by Dorothy’s remorse. It didn’t seem like it was just because Cecile’s status had changed.
That day, Cecile ended up talking with Dorothy more than she had expected, and as she left the estate, she thought to herself:
I really have met many good people.
Even now…
I am surrounded by good people.
“It’s funny, isn’t it? I was thrown into hell because of people, but it was also people who pulled me out of it.”
“….”
“Oh, right, I should also mention this. I used to feel guilty about no longer being in hell, about feeling okay. I wondered if I deserved it.”
“….”
“But when I thought about it again… who would say I’m not allowed to feel okay?”
“….”
“Who would oppose me leaving hell? My mom, dad? Cassion? My siblings?”
“….”
“Or Sion, would you?”
“Of course not.”
“Right. Of course not. In the end, it was only me. I was the only one who was against my own happiness and peace.”
“….”
“And now, I’ve allowed it. Not just to feel okay, but to be happy.”
At last, she had said what she wanted to say. It had been a long story, and as Cecile briefly reflected on that, she added a question at the end.
“And you?”
The wind, which had briefly stilled, blew once again.
“What about you, Sion? …Are you okay?”
“….”
“Where do you think you are right now?”
