CHAPTER 2
“…What do you mean, Mr. Shaffer?”
After Theo left, the night brought only despair. The gentle chirping of crickets was soothing, but the news from the apologetic Mr. Shaffer shattered Vivian.
“I’m sorry, Miss Aveline.”
“…”
“That man offered 1 million mori. The money Madame Aveline gave was only 700,000 mori. I couldn’t offer more, but a million mori is an absolutely outrageous amount…”
I’m truly sorry, Miss Aveline. I apologize for not being able to help.
Mr. Shaffer’s continued apologies did not reach Vivianne.
Stay strong, but don’t let worries weigh you down.
The words Theo said from her father were easily shattered.
“Miss Aveline, although the misfortune continues, there is some good news in it.”
Her voice caught in her throat as she clutched the hem of her only dress, holding back the tears that had welled up in her eyes.
“The person who won the bid is Duke Edwin Baytness, Miss Aveline. I assume you know the Duke?”
Vivianne thought for a moment, then shook her head. None of those who came to view the manor before the auction had the surname Baytness. This meant he had paid that enormous sum without ever seeing the residence he intended to live in.
“He’s a well-known figure in Neway for many reasons. He is one of the few nobles here who is free of unpleasant scandals, and he is also one of the few who enjoys great wealth without the slightest blemish. That’s why the people of Neway are so fond of him. I’ve made a brief acquaintance with him and asked for a favor.”
“A favor… What do you mean?”
“I asked him to allow you to stay here until Madame Aveline returns. If the person who won the bid for the manor had been someone else, I wouldn’t have asked such a favor. It was only possible because it’s the Duke of Baytness.”
Vivianne’s red lips pressed tightly together. If it was someone Mr. Shaffer trusted, then she wouldn’t be suspicious either. The trust she had in Mr. Shaffer since she was young naturally extended to the Duke of Baytness.
She became curious about what Edwin Baytness might have said in response to Mr. Shaffer’s request.
“So, did the Duke grant permission?”
“Well… he hasn’t given permission yet, but he said he’d like to talk with you tomorrow, Miss Aveline.”
“Tomorrow? Does that mean he’s coming here tomorrow?”
The thought of being forced out of the manor without any preparation stirred a deep fear in Vivianne. Her grip on the dress tightened until her knuckles ached.
“As the new owner of the manor, I suppose so. You’ll have to talk to him tomorrow, Miss Aveline.”
Then, a bag containing 700,000 mori was placed in front of Vivianne.
Mr. Shaffer, sharing the same concerns as Theo, asked again about the origin of the money. He listed several instances when, while working as the butler for the Marquis in Preston, he had been indebted to her father. Shaffer even suggested that if things were too difficult, she should come with him to the south.
He assured her that his family would understand, and she needn’t worry or feel like a burden. But Vivianne firmly refused. She said she couldn’t ask for more from Mr. Shaffer and that she would wait here for her mother.
Exhausted, Vivianne gave a vague response to Shaffer’s insistence on staying in touch, then bid him farewell.
Shaffer glanced back at Vivianne several times but, with a smile he had grown accustomed to—one meant to reassure others—he waved his hand.
With the unknown 700,000 mori, Vivianne returned to the manor. Now that the owner of the manor had changed, her life had become a bit more difficult.
“Mother…”
After closing the door, Vivianne collapsed to the floor, hugging her knees.
“Father, I miss you so much.”
She buried her face and cried silently. Even though her sobs echoed through the manor, no one came to check on her.
She was alone. The place where she should have been with her family was now filled with nothing but hollow echoes.
Somewhere along the long, dark corridor, a light seeped through.
The confident steps, which had been pushing through the hem of her voluminous dress, faltered as she approached the light pooling on the floor.
Charlotte, now standing before the door, turned toward the portrait hanging on the hallway wall behind her. Using the light leaking through the door crack, she straightened her hair and adjusted her clothes before turning back around.
Knock, knock. She took a deep breath to gather her courage. When she entered, Edwin’s blue eyes landed on her indifferently. Though he knew no one would visit him this late, his gaze showed no surprise.
“What is it?”
He didn’t even put down the documents he was holding.
Standing there awkwardly, she felt as if she were less important than the papers in his hands. She cast a resentful glance at Edwin, but it never reached him.
“You came home late today. I don’t think I had a chance to greet you properly.”
“It’s too late for that, Charlotte.”
“… There’s something I’m curious about.”
“You don’t need to ask. The search for your future husband is progressing smoothly.”
He was a man who knew all too well how to grasp a fragile heart with those beautiful hands. Charlotte smiled awkwardly and sat down, looking directly at Edwin.
Dark shadows formed beneath his lowered eyes. His sleek, elongated gaze seemed even colder and more piercing in the dim light. When he finally raised his eyes after the prolonged silence, his cool blue eyes met hers.
“Do you have anything else to say?”
“I was just curious. I’ve been by your side since I was very young, but you seem like a different person these days. And you’ve suddenly spent a lot of money.”
“Is reporting on my spending part of my duties as a guardian?”
There was no malice in his smile, but there may have been a touch of resentment in his use of the word “guardian”—a word he’d always wanted to discard, one that seemed intended to wound her feelings.
“No…”
Charlotte looked down sadly.
“Then, is there anything else you want to say?”
“B-by the way, I haven’t seen Mr. Roarke today. Didn’t he come back with you from the auction house?”
Unable to get the response she wanted, Charlotte hurriedly changed the subject. As she inquired about his attendant, Edwin’s lips curved into a deeper smile. With a shrug, he avoided revealing Mr. Roarke’s whereabouts and motioned for her to leave.
Feeling dejected, Charlotte said nothing more and left the study with a curt farewell.
As silence fell, Edwin put down the papers, tilted his head back, and closed his eyes. The soft light that touched his eyelids brought the events of the day to mind with clarity.
“I’m not sure if you’ve heard the rumors, but the only daughter of the Avelines lives there. And now, she has nowhere else to go.”
Anthony Shaffer had stopped Edwin on his way out of the auction house, just as he was holding the title deed to Rodinia Castle—or rather, Aveline Manor. With a desperate plea, Shaffer was earnestly persistent, almost to the point of suspicion.
“Madame Aveline will be back soon. Until then, could you let Miss Aveline stay at the manor? I know this is our first meeting, but I’m begging you. You may not fully understand the situation, but if the young lady is forced to leave the manor, she could face all kinds of humiliation.”
Is it too harsh to find it pitiful when looking into his pleading eyes? But the fact that Shaffer’s request made Edwin happy was even more cruel to them.
“Please show some leniency, Your Grace. Please take in Miss Aveline. Her stay won’t be long.”
Shaffer, bowing deeply, should have realized that his request was utterly in vain. Why would he assume Edwin didn’t want the only daughter of the Aveline family, especially when her name was already on the tongues of so many men?
In Edwin’s estimation, if one were to make a request, one should have considered that even the most refined lips could cruelly devour a delicate lamb.
As he covered his forehead with his arm, the light that had flickered before his eyes was consumed by darkness.
“Vivianne… Aveline… Aveline… Vivianne.”
The name of Vivianne Aveline rolled off his lips like a playful die. Depending on which name he grasped, the woman’s fate was bound to change.
“Aveline…”
Edwin lowered his arm and walked towards the window. Staring intently at his reflection in the glass, he retrieved memories he had kept hidden.
Everyone had questions. Why did Edwin Baytness buy that manor? If someone had the courage to ask, he would have answered without hesitation.
“If you don’t kill me here and let me live, you’ll regret it. Because I’ll definitely kill you someday.”
It was to keep the promise he made 14 years ago. And because he had received a promise in return.
“I will regret it. So come back alive and kill me. I’ll be waiting for you, so you must live. Please live.”
The rapidly growing weeds tickled her ankles. The boxwood maze, so tall that sunlight barely reached it, was lush with such weeds. Vivianne had always loved mazes since she was young, so her father had made her one in Preston. Even after they moved to Neway, nothing changed.
Whenever she solved all the puzzles, her father would sometimes change the layout of the maze. As she grew older, she told him it wasn’t necessary anymore, but he persisted in presenting her with new challenges.
But now, the puzzle remains the same, without any changes. No matter how many times she walked the same paths, she was trapped in a maze where only the weeds grew.
Since her father’s disappearance, she had deliberately wandered through the maze, which had become monotonous. It became a habit for her to come here to escape whenever her mind was troubled and her thoughts grew deep and troubling.
Duke Edwin Baytness was coming today.
He was the one who made Vivian immerse herself in this disorganized puzzle.
“Oh, it’s raining…”
As she walked toward the path her feet took her, a cold sensation fell on her forehead, causing her to look up. The sky, which had been clear since early morning, was now covered with dark, ash-colored clouds. Thin raindrops began to fall on Vivianne’s pale cheeks.
“I think I should go back now,” Vivianne muttered in regret as she turned around.
When she reached the entrance, Theo, who was holding an umbrella, noticed her and hurried over.
“How did you know I was here, Theo?”
“I figured you might be.”
“What?”
Vivianne, now sheltered from the light rain under the umbrella, widened her eyes in confusion, their color resembling the stormy clouds above.
“I knew you’d probably be wandering the maze without an umbrella.”
“Why?”
“I read the paper.”
Theo suddenly held out a newspaper in front of her. Though she always held a faint hope of seeing news about her father, the headline on the front page pushed her back into a pit of disappointment.
『 The Duke of Baytness of Neway cruelly devours the fallen nobility, House Aveline of Preston. 』
This was how the public viewed Aveline Manor, now in the hands of Edwin Baytness.
“…Yeah. So this how it turned out.”
Though it wasn’t really a smile, Vivianne tried hard to make it seem like one. She wanted to show that she wasn’t deeply hurt and didn’t need to be comforted.
She thought Theo would understand her intention.
“Let’s go inside quickly. It’s raining, and it’s getting cold. You’ll catch a cold at this rate.”
“What? Wait.”
As Theo, with the newspaper tucked under his arm, turned to walk away, Vivianne grabbed his arm and stopped him.
He was momentarily surprised by her pale, delicate fingers. Vivianne took the newspaper back and began reading something.
“What’s wrong?”
“He’s dead…”
“What? Who?”
Theo’s heart sank at the detached tone in her voice. If it was someone related to the Aveline family, he would have known. As relief started to wash over him, Vivianne spoke.
“Harwood… He’s dead.”
“Harwood? Do you mean Caspian Harwood? That rich man who once proposed to you?”
“Yes…”
Dead…? The man who left looking like trampled mud after hurling insults at my lady…?
Theo hid his true feelings and leaned closer to the newspaper that Vivianne was reading, following along with her.
“Caspian Harwood, who was involved in a mysterious accident on his way back from yesterday’s auction, died instantly at the scene. The exact cause is unknown, but authorities are investigating…”
As Vivianne and Theo read about Caspian Harwood’s death, they both looked up simultaneously at the sound of approaching hoofbeats.
Someone had just passed through the manor’s front gate. Theo moved the umbrella over Vivianne’s golden hair as she stepped outside its shelter. He didn’t mind that his jacket was getting soaked in the rain; he only cared about keeping Vivianne safe and dry.
The uninvited guest had already passed the fountain and was now right in front of them. Two carriages pulled up. Startled by the sound of a horse snorting, Vivianne clutched her chest, and Theo took a step closer to her.
Don’t be afraid. I’m right here beside you.
Theo hoped Vivianne would understand this unspoken reassurance.
The door of one of the carriages opened, and a pair of polished, flawless shoes stepped onto the ground. Even at that moment, Theo’s eyes were fixed on Vivianne. The bones of her small hand, gripping her dress tightly, stood out prominently.
TRANSLATOR NOTE
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