Chapter 35
After dropping Renee off at Amelia’s, Roman found Raynan.
“How is Renee these days?”
“Chase’s presence is keeping people from approaching her easily.”
“That’s good.”
“Yes. She spends most of the day with him, so I don’t think you need to worry too much about her safety.”
Raynan shook his head at Roman’s words.
“I’d be happy if she’s safe with Chase alone, but… Schneider, you know how devious and relentless he is.”
“Still, it would be difficult to target Renee directly at the Duke’s residence, and besides, she is next to young master Edwin.”
“If only they hadn’t planted their people in Loerian.”
“Yes.”
“I wonder if there isn’t even one among all these servants.”
Roman kept his mouth shut at Raynan’s meaningful words. Roman was also unsure about that part.
“It seems like she goes horseback riding every day, but she hasn’t ridden a horse yet.”
“It’ll be okay because she has Chase, but she still needs to know how to ride a horse because you never know what might happen.”
“Yes. Amelia says the biggest challenge is getting rid of the fear of horses.”
“I’m surprised to hear the word challenge come out of Amelia’s mouth.”
“It seems like she’s probably afraid of the animals.”
“So?”
“It is said that she’s moving towards covering up with good memories, as she says that if we rush her for no reason, it can have the opposite effect.”
“It will take quite some time.”
“Yes.”
“Cover it with good memories…”
Raynan said Amelia’s words once again. He soon began tapping his fingers on the desk as if lost in his thoughts.
The steady sound stopped, and Raynan opened his mouth.
“Clear my time for tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“Anything else going on besides the horseback ride?”
“Uh, yeah. But can I ask you something else?”
“What is it?”
“As you said, Renee is the right person to divert attention in many ways.”
“So?”
“Is that really all?”
Roman, who was convinced that Raynan liked Renee, became less confident as the days passed.
I was pretty sure until I saw how shocked he was when he found out that Renee had tried to run away and that she thought he was trying to kill her.
However, he quickly regained his calm expression after that, and there was nothing particularly notable about his attitude towards Renee.
Looking at Renee’s situation in detail, I thought it was like that, but looking at his indifferent face like now, I thought it was something else.
At that time, an unexpected response came from Raynan.
I expected Raynan to give any answer without hesitation, but he remained silent for a while.
Raynan, who had been contemplating with uncommon caution, opened his mouth.
“I don’t know.”
“Yes? You don’t know?”
Roman asked back in bewilderment at the answer, which was completely different from the time and careful atmosphere he had spent.
“I’m just getting over the shock, so I’ll have to think about it.”
“You’re just getting over it…”
“It doesn’t look like it?”
“No. You’ve been your usual self.”
“Where on earth did it go wrong? It was clear that she liked me… What do you think?”
Raynan asked with a very calm and indifferent expression, just like before.
“I don’t know.”
“What on earth was it that she appeared in front of me so often and was so shy?”
‘Should I point out that it was wrong in the first place?’
While Roman was pondering, Raynan came to his own conclusion.
“Is she really shocked by my marriage?”
“I don’t think so.”
“But that doesn’t mean she’ll run away. Besides, she thought I was going to kill her…”
“Duke.”
“Yes.”
“It looks like you haven’t recovered from the shock yet, so it would be better to think about it a little more slowly.”
Roman wasn’t the only one who didn’t seem to be what he seemed, and if left alone, his delusion would only deepen.
Raynan nodded at Roman’s words.
“Right. I think I still need more time.”
“Yes. Renee is not leaving for the time being, so please take your time and think about it step by step.”
I heard things are going pretty smoothly these days. It seemed like it was because Raynan was in shock.
Should we consider this a great achievement since we have confirmed that troublesome situations can reappear at any time?
From my experience so far, I could only tell that it was impossible to know how Raynan would react to anything related to Renee.
I felt comfortable checking her before making any judgments about her.
Moreover, how many times have I unknowingly brought up the wrong story about Renee and hurt Raynan’s feelings?
The painful memories of trying to sort things out made Roman’s mind dizzy once again.
Roman decided not to ask about his feelings for Rene from now on.
“Okay. By the way, what are the reactions of those around her?”
“I’m sure they’ve changed the way they look at Renee, that’s for sure. It seems to have become more plausible that I’m against it.”
“Then I guess it’s okay to go a little further. Let them know that I’m seriously considering getting engaged. There is no good in many ways to maintain the current situation for a long time.”
“Will you two be able to make progress with your vicious mother-in-law holding on?”
“A vicious mother-in-law.”
Raynan seemed to understand at once who Roman was referring to and laughed as if it was fun.
“I didn’t know it was so fiercely opposed to it.”
“It’s a loyal subject.”
“The story is going around much more exaggerated than I let it know.”
“That’s because your personality and atmosphere played a big role. Besides, I heard everyone was surprised that you reacted normally, unlike before.”
“I guess it wasn’t normal at other times, right?”
“I see. It would be good to take this opportunity to reflect on yourself.”
Anyway, even if that image grew a little more, it didn’t hurt Roman at all.
“I have many days left to live, and as these bad rumors increase, my life will become more and more difficult.”
“I remember the salary increase was sufficient last time.”
“I am asking you to take this into consideration next time.”
He thought it was a good opportunity to raise his salary once more, but Raynan was clearly seeing Roman’s inner thoughts.
Roman smiled as if he had never thought of such a thing and left a promise for the next time.
*****
It was the very next day. She was on her way out to go horseback riding, as always, when Marvin called Chase.
“Hey, Chase.”
It was rare. Ever since Chase started staying with me, Marvin has been avoiding me.
“Why?”
“Can we talk for a moment?”
“Sure. I’ll do it when I get back.”
“No, why don’t we do it now?”
“Now?”
Chase’s eyes turned to me and he immediately rejected it.
“It’s difficult now. Let’s do it later.”
“There is something I would like to discuss about young master Edwin. I have to do it now.”
“About young master Edwin?”
It was I who reacted to Marvin’s words. If it was about Edwin, I had to hear it too.
But when I got closer, Marvin waved his hand in confusion.
“No, it’s nothing to worry about Renee. Chase spent a lot of time with Edwin in the garden, and they’ve been drawing pictures together lately…”
“Does it really have to be now?”
Chase asked, crossing his arms. The tone of voice seemed to somehow push Marvin away.
Marvin flinched as if he had similar thoughts, but still did not back down.
“Yes. I think it needs to be resolved quickly. Renee has horseback riding lessons, so go quickly.”
“Okay, then.”
I was about to leave the room first, but Chase caught me.
“He said it will only take a moment, so just wait.”
I couldn’t tell what they’re going to talk about, but it seemed like Marvin didn’t want me to hear it.
I thought it would be better to avoid the place, but Chase seemed reluctant to let me go alone.
“These days, people don’t approach me very often, and even if they do again, it’s okay for a day because I felt comfortable thanks to you for a while.”
Besides, how much trouble would I have suffered on the way to see Amelia?
I whispered softly to Chase, but it still did not erase his dissatisfied expression.
“It’s really okay. Like I said, it will only take a little while, so I’ll be going slowly.”
Chase, who was staring at Marvin, nodded slowly.
“I’ll follow you right away.”
“Okay.”
Contrary to what Chase had feared, I had not been particularly bothered by people since leaving Edwin’s bedroom.
There were very few people I ran into, and those who happened to pass by just stared at me intently, whispering something from afar.
“Is Chase surprisingly anxious?”
Well, despite his appearance, he has a meticulous personality.
During our time together, I was surprised by Chase’s consideration more than once.
I don’t think he was watching properly, but he handed me the things I needed, and when I needed help, he would sneak up on me and help me without saying a word.
“It seems like the story is longer than I thought. Was it an important story?”
I walked slowly, but Chase didn’t follow even when I was just a short distance away from the stables.
It was then. It felt like someone’s voice was added to my self-talk.
“… You heard it, right?”
I felt creepy for no reason and was about to speed up my walk, but this time I heard a voice clearly calling me.
“Renee….”
I looked around in surprise, but although I could hear a woman’s voice sobbing, I couldn’t see anyone.
“Ghost?”
Have you ever heard of a ghost coming out of the mansion? And on such a bright day?
The thin voice continued as if it would break.
Just as I was about to cover my ears and run, a white hand came out from the corner and grabbed me.
“Ahh!”
“Shh!”
I screamed without realizing it, but a hand suddenly appeared, covered my mouth, and dragged me to a corner.
“Erin?”
The reason I wasn’t sure about the voice calling me was because it was different from what I remembered.
The pale and thin face was such that it would not be surprising to say that it was a ghost.
The somewhat dark and gloomy atmosphere was completely different from her usual mood.
As I looked at her changed appearance, I realized that it had been a long time since I had seen Erin.
“Er-Erin? you look tired. What happened?”
Not knowing what words would be appropriate, I chose them and greeted her in a cautious voice. Erin’s face hardened as she smiled awkwardly and looked at me. At first glance, it seemed like she was glaring at me.
“Ah, Renee….”
There was no time to check whether the sharp gaze was directed at me. It was because Erin called me in tears.
“Why, what’s wrong? What’s going on?”
I was surprised to see Erin holding me with a face that looked like she was going to cry at any moment, so I patted her arm and asked.
Instead of answering my question, Erin shed tears.
I asked her several times what happened, but she just shed tears for a while without saying anything.
“What’s the matter? Why is your face like that?”
Fortunately, her silence didn’t last long. Erin looked around for a moment and opened her mouth, still unable to stop crying.
“I… I feel like I’m deeply hated by someone.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know, suddenly my work place a
are changing, and I’m being asked to do things that I shouldn’t be doing alone…”
As she spoke, she covered her face with both hands as if she was overcome with sadness.
“If this continues, I might really die.”
I can’t believe she’s dying. Is it that difficult?
Erin, who was making incomprehensible noises, eventually collapsed on the spot.
“Erin, who on earth is bothering you?”
“I don’t know. That makes me even more scared.”
I couldn’t understand what Erin was saying, but I knew for sure that something was going on with her.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but just calm down… Tell me step by step from the beginning.”
“What do you know! Step by step….”
Erin screamed in annoyance, as if she was deeply offended by something I said.
However, she soon looked around with a worried face and quickly lowered her voice.
“Renee, please help me.
