IARMDH Chapter 20

 

 

 

First, Baron Brix’s daughter hates red roses.

 

Second, Zark tried to hide a cursed ring inside a candle made with red roses.

 

Third, the Baroness, who loves red roses, is pregnant.

 

This was turning into a very complicated situation.

 

With no way to figure out what was going on, Judith decided that a strategic retreat was the wisest choice. She abandoned her original plan to meet with the Baron and instead left the estate.

 

“Time is short, but I trust you’ll manage, Miss Harrington.”

 

“I’ll do my best.”

 

After being seen off at the door by the butler, Judith headed straight toward the market.

 

“Miss Harrington.”

 

She had barely walked a few steps when a voice she most certainly didn’t want to hear reached her ears, making her bite her lip.

 

“Ah, Mr. Zark, fancy meeting you here. Were you on your way to see the young lady?”

 

Judith forced a smile as she greeted Zark, pretending to be completely at ease.

 

“No, I’ve just come from seeing her.”

 

“Oh, so you’re heading back home then?”

 

“No, I was waiting for you, Miss Harrington.”

 

“Is this about the order you placed? It’s nearly finished.”

 

It wasn’t yet the agreed delivery date. Just as Judith was about to ask him to wait a little longer, Zark waved his hand dismissively.

 

“No, it’s not about that.”

 

He smiled as if it was no big deal and gestured toward a carriage parked diagonally across the street.

 

“The young lady would like to see you, Miss Harrington.”

 

Why didn’t they call her while she was still at the estate? Why summon her outside like this? A foreboding sense of unease prickled at the back of Judith’s neck, making her hesitant to reply.

 

“Come along.”

 

Zark stepped closer to Judith, his intent clear—he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Refusing outright might seem even more suspicious, so Judith reluctantly began to walk.

 

“What does the young lady want with me?”

 

“Who knows? You’ll have to ask her yourself.”

 

That only made her more nervous. The walk to the carriage was painfully short, leaving no opportunity to push Zark away and make a run for it.

 

As she repeated to herself the old saying from her previous life—Even when bitten by a tiger, stay calm and you’ll survive—a small stone rolled into her shoe.

 

What was that? Judith turned to look in the direction the stone had come from and froze.

 

“…….…!”

 

Sir Erne? Had he not left yet?

 

Blending naturally into the crowd, Erne had been watching her. When their eyes met, he quickly turned his head away.

 

“Please, get in.”

 

Zark opened the carriage door for her, acting as the coachman. Judith quickly climbed in, trying to keep Zark from looking in Erne’s direction.

 

Inside the carriage, Baron Brix’s daughter greeted Judith with a nod. Feeling awkward, Judith hesitated before sitting across from her.

 

“Welcome, Miss Harrington.”

 

The young lady’s voice, which usually sounded warm and friendly, struck Judith as unusually cold today. Was it just her imagination?

 

***

 

‘I don’t know why Sir Erne was still there, but I hope he’s following.’

 

Although the carriage wasn’t moving particularly fast, its windows were covered with curtains, leaving Judith with no way of knowing where they were headed.

 

“Miss Harrington, have you ever done something bad?”

 

The eyes of the young lady, which had previously seemed round and gentle, had grown cold and calculating.

 

“Pardon?”

 

Judith blinked in confusion at the sudden question.

 

“I just learned this recently—when someone does something bad, they become incredibly sensitive. Even the smallest things feel like a big deal, and they start suspecting everything and everyone.”

 

Why are you confessing your wrongdoings to me? I’m not a priest here to hear your sins.

 

Although they were merely sitting and talking, Judith couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being cornered.

 

“I wondered why Miss Harrington came to the estate today. When I asked the head maid, she told me that my mother hadn’t specifically called for you.”

 

“Oh, I wanted to show her a new candle I’d made.”

 

Forcing herself to act nonchalant, Judith pulled a small candle with a bluish tint out of her basket.

 

It was a small candle she’d brought along just in case she ran into Zark at the estate and needed a quick excuse.

 

“Couldn’t you have shown her that the next time you brought over an order?”

 

“I just couldn’t wait to show her.”

 

“Do you know something, Miss Harrington? You’ve never once come to our estate before just to show off a new candle.”

 

Judith, who was always busy with orders, would typically include a sample of a new candle as a free service when delivering products.

 

“So why now, of all times, after Mr. Zark placed his special order, did you act so differently?”

 

“Ha-ha, Mr. Zark said it was a surprise gift, but it seems you already knew.”

 

“Of course I knew. By now, you must have figured it out too.”

 

“I’m not sure what you mean…”

 

“You’re being overly ignorant, Miss Harrington.”

 

The young lady’s previously calm and smiling face had hardened into something cold.

 

Just as the young lady had said, there was no longer any room for Judith to feign ignorance. Damn it. Judith bit the inside of her cheek.

 

“We’re rather unlucky, aren’t we, Miss Harrington?”

 

“We?”

 

“I thought you came to tell me about the ring. When a man about to get married hides a cursed ring inside a candle and gives it as a gift, it’s natural to suspect a love affair gone wrong, isn’t it?”

 

Judith nodded, although she omitted the part about her original plan to inform the baron.

 

“But instead, you went to my mother’s room.”

 

“That’s only because the head maid took me there.”

 

“I know. That’s what makes this so unfortunate. You overheard that my mother is pregnant. And then, instead of coming to me, you left the estate entirely.”

 

Once again, Judith didn’t mention that the original target wasn’t them, but the Baron. But there was no point in saying it— it would only make things worse.

 

“At that point, I figured you must have realized something. Am I right?”

 

This time, Judith nodded without hesitation.

 

“It would have been better if you’d come to me first, Miss Harrington.”

 

“And what difference would that have made?”

 

“At the very least, I wouldn’t have to deal with you.”

 

The carriage jolted suddenly. Through the swaying curtains, Judith caught a brief glimpse of the outside: a desolate, unfamiliar area. She bit her lip.

 

“It’s a shame. I really liked the candles you made, Miss Harrington.”

 

“Are you going to kill me?”

 

“I have no choice, do I? You’ve figured out everything I was planning to do.”

 

Young lady Brix scanned Judith up and down. Her eyes, filled with contemplation over how to deal with her, sent a chill down Judith’s spine.

 

“Dealing with someone like Miss Harrington is nothing to me.”

 

I know that. Despite both being Barons’ daughters, the ruined Harrington family, whose name held no weight, and the thriving Brix family, who lived lavishly in the capital, were worlds apart.

 

Killing someone like Judith and covering it up would be nothing for the Brix family.

 

The carriage had been traveling for some time now, and it would be difficult for Erne to catch up with it in silence.

 

Even if he were following, by the time he arrived, something would have already happened to Judith.

 

There was no longer any point in waiting for Erne. Judith swallowed hard.

 

“Seems you don’t want a sibling, young lady.”

 

“That’s right. I must seem like a bad person to you, Miss Harrington.”

 

Lila Brix.

 

Born as the only child of Baron Brix, she had been raised as the family’s sole heir and successor.

 

She hadn’t been particularly fond of her excessively young stepmother, but over the past ten years, Lila had gotten along with her well enough. She had even developed some affection for her.

 

If it hadn’t been for that incident six months ago, she might have been able to celebrate her pregnancy.

 

“Six months ago, I received a letter from my mother—not my current mother, but the one who gave birth to me.”

 

Lila’s memories of her mother were of a woman always lying in bed. She had believed her father’s story that her mother had died of illness. But the letter told a different tale.

 

“After witnessing my father’s affair, her condition worsened.”

 

The affair itself was bad enough, but the identity of the other woman made it even worse.

 

“The woman was someone my mother had sponsored. She was so poor that she couldn’t afford to attend her debutante ball, so my mother became her chaperone.”

 

Lila’s mother had paid for the woman’s debut and even gone to great lengths to help her find a husband—all while being unaware of her relationship with her own spouse.

 

It wasn’t until much later that Lila’s mother learned of the affair. The shock caused her to collapse. Already suffering from a chronic illness, she realized her time was limited.

 

“That woman came to see my mother and said this: ‘Don’t worry. Once I become the Baroness, I’ll do a better job than you ever could. You can rest easy and close your eyes.’”

 

Looking at the shameless woman who spoke without a hint of guilt, Lila’s mother worried about leaving her daughter behind. That worry drove her to write a letter containing the truth.

 

She entrusted the letter to an old friend, instructing them to deliver it to Lila once she was old enough to handle the truth.

 

“That person decided the time was right after hearing about my engagement. They thought it was the right moment to reveal everything.”

 

The betrayal Lila felt upon seeing the name of the woman in that letter was immeasurable.

 

“I’m sure you’ve already guessed who that ungrateful woman is.”

 

When Judith nodded, Lila continued her explanation.

 

“I intended to get married and then take my revenge.”

 

But then, her stepmother unexpectedly became pregnant. After ten years of being childless, a child was now on the way.