Episode 68
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. Once again, the answer came back that she does not wish to meet.”
“Again?!”
“Yes… I’m ashamed.”
Isaac bowed deeply. But this wasn’t his fault. Cedric dismissed him with a nod and sank into his chair.
It had been days since Lillian left the mansion. Every day, he faced pressure to apologize to Lillian. No, it was more than pressure—it was an ultimatum. There was only one person in the mansion with enough backbone to do such a thing.
—”Miss left the mansion?”
Mary happened to be absent when Lillian left the mansion.
As soon as Mary returned and heard what had happened, she practically stormed over to Cedric.
—”You were wrong about this matter.”
—”I know.”
—”Even if Miss made a mistake, this is still her home! And you’re her father! You should have stood by her no matter what happened. How could you treat her like this? Especially when Miss is already so hurt…! You’re not unaware of that, are you?”
Mary was someone who knew a little about Lillian’s sadness. The reason was simple. Cedric always consulted Mary about childcare.
So Mary knew about Lillian hugging Swan’s diary and crying, and she knew about Lillian staring endlessly at Agnes’s portrait. She was also the one who occasionally ordered not to search for Lillian when she disappeared unnoticed.
She thought about how Lillian must be feeling and pounded her chest while crying.
—”I’m truly upset, Your Highness. I’m very upset… Treating Miss like this, and saying she’s no different from your own daughters?”
—”…That’s not it.”
—”Then go to her as soon as dawn breaks and apologize. If you don’t truly intend to send Miss away.”
Even without Mary’s words, Cedric was planning to go straight to find Lillian.
However, Lillian was not at Maryfield Orphanage. They said she never came there in the first place.
After belatedly asking the servants who were in the garden, Cedric could hear that Damian had been there around that time.
And that Lillian had gone with Damian in his carriage.
So Cedric went to the mansion where Damian stayed.
—”I’m sorry, Your Highness. The guest isn’t feeling well, so it might be difficult to meet her right now.”
—”I am her father. Would it still be difficult?”
—”If the guest does not permit, then it would be difficult.”
Cedric conflicted. Whether to push in forcefully and see Lillian, or to go back.
After much consideration, Cedric chose the latter. He thought that if the child was still angry, waiting until her heart softened would also be part of atonement.
So Lillian hadn’t shown her face for several days now.
‘Something’s not right.’
He even sent other people to see her, thinking that maybe she didn’t want to see his face.
Even though Isaac, Mary, Nisha, and others were sent, Lillian never showed up. Even though Mary begged her to just show her face.
Even if Lillian was angry with him, Cedric couldn’t treat Mary so casually.
‘What could be wrong?’
The family Lillian was staying with, Portier, was not particularly remarkable. They were wealthy but had no particular political prowess, although they were skilled in various business areas. And Damian himself had a good reputation and was a longtime friend of Lillian. Cedric had seen Damian a few times before.
‘He was a very upright boy.’
So he never thought that Damian would interfere with Lillian’s relationship with him, and he thought that Lillian was avoiding contact with Maynard for some reason.
And the reason was probably related to Odile.
‘Come to think of it, Lillian said she was going to meet Odile at Lady Keines’ charity party.’
She said she was taking Damian as her partner, and since she was staying at Damian’s house now, there shouldn’t be any difficulty attending the party.
Cedric immediately went downstairs. Fortunately, Isaac was talking to Stephen on the first floor. It was lucky that the people he was looking for were nearby.
“Stephen, send an invitation to Kenis’ estate.”
“What should I write on it?”
“We’re attending Lady Kenis’ charity party. Lillian will probably be there.”
“Oh, I see. I’ll do as you say.”
Stephen quickly left to send the invitation, and Cedric also gave orders to Isaac.
“Isaac, go and bring Theo.”
“Theo? Do you mean Sir Theo of the Knights?”
“Yes.”
Cedric turned towards the armory as he spoke.
“Theo will also accompany us to the charity party.”
* * *
Lady Kenis’ charity party.
Odile was enjoying the party amidst the pouring attention.
Of course, since it was a charity event, it was not as grand or luxurious as Odile had hoped, but just the fact that everyone saw her as the “future Lady Maynard” was enough to satisfy her.
“I heard that Lillian left home?”
If that were true, then the position would be hers to take. In fact, Odile didn’t particularly care whether Lillian was at home or not. Whether Lillian was there or not, people would still see her as the real Lady Maynard.
‘I didn’t like it from the beginning.’
Whether it was that girl or herself, weren’t they both fakes?
She vaguely heard stories about Lillian. She heard that she was pretending to be something she wasn’t by bringing her friend’s belongings.
In that case, wasn’t she worse off? She was no different from Odile herself, yet she didn’t like the idea of being outdone and turned a blind eye to it.
‘I wonder if she ever saw my real face.’
Actually, that was a bit unsettling. But now that everything was in Damian’s hands, she could rest easy.
Odile approached where people were gathered, smiling brightly. And then people recognized her and made room for her.
“Oh, Miss Odile.”
“We were just talking about you.”
“Oh, really? What about?”
When Odile widened her eyes, one of the ladies smiled and nodded.
“Lord Maynard has just arrived.”
“Everyone was surprised by how much you and Lord Maynard resemble each other.”
“We couldn’t attend ‘that party’, so we didn’t think you two would be so alike.”
As they spoke, everyone glanced beyond the fan.
At Lillian.
Lillian was standing quietly next to Damian, looking down with a gaze that seemed lost in thought. She almost looked like a doll, as if her soul had been stolen away.
When there was no response from Lillian, the tone of the conversation among the people became a bit more overt.
“Can we expect good news from Miss Odile soon?”
“If Miss Odile joins the nobility, what will happen to the lady? …”
“Even if the Marquis sends Lillian away from the nobility, I don’t think he’ll abandon her.”
At someone’s words, Damian, who had remained silent all along, smiled gently and spoke.
“Your words are a bit too much. Do you realize that they are disrespectful to both the Marquis and the lady?”
But his voice was as sharp as ever. With the oppressive air emanating from Damian, the lady who had spoken was taken aback and quickly waved her fan.
“Oh my, I was just worried …”
“Even if the Marquis sends Lillian away, both I and Portier will protect her, so wouldn’t it be better for the lady to worry about herself a little more? I heard your husband has quite a bit of debt.”
“Oh, my! What an impertinent thing to say! It’s a misunderstanding!”
“Is that so? Then I’m relieved.”
Damian smiled slyly. But everyone in the room knew that it wasn’t a misunderstanding.
As all this commotion unfolded, Lillian showed no reaction at all.
