CHAPTER 3
Stay strong, but don’t let worries weigh you down. Even the words left by her Father, worries clouded her eyes.
Following the footsteps that first touched the ground, she looked up to see the face of a tall man. A young man with jet-black hair and blue eyes stood beside a middle-aged man, whose height only reached the tall man’s shoulders.
『 This must be the Duke of Baytness.』
Vivianne took a deep breath and greeted the middle-aged man with courtesy. Then, another member of the party emerged from the carriage behind them.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Vivianne Aveline,” Vivianne said, gathering all her strength to speak in the most polite and refined voice she could muster.
“Ah, you must be the Miss Aveline I’ve heard so much about.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you as well, Duke. Congratulations on becoming the owner of the manor,” Vivianne replied.
“Haha… there seems to be some misunderstanding.”
The man smiled awkwardly and glanced at the man standing beside him. Only then did Vivianne look at the other man’s face.
His pale blue eyes were the same color as Lake Lannoy—cool and serene, like the lake she used to swim in during summer nights, but the temperature of those eyes was as cold and piercing as winter.
Aside from those eyes, he was quite a striking man. His fine features were occasionally sharp, giving him a masculine appearance. His unusually tall height, broad shoulders, and long limbs drew attention.
The blue-eyed man stared at Vivianne as coldly as his eyes. It was getting uncomfortable as the lingering gaze in silence lengthened.
“It’s been a long time, Miss Aveline,” he said.
She had no choice but to meet the eyes she had tried to avoid.
A while? Have we met before? She wondered.
Vivianne carefully examined his striking features, but nothing came to mind. Interpreting his words as a polite gesture typical of Neway, she turned awkwardly toward the Duke of Baytness.
“Ah, so you are the Duke of Baytness. I apologize. You weren’t among those who came to see the manor before the auction, so I didn’t recognize you.”
“I’m sure many people came to see the manor,” the Duke replied.
“I don’t usually have a bad memory.”
“Well. We’ll see.”
Vivianne thought it was a polite remark, but she had misjudged it. Sensing the Duke of Baytness’ attitude, which hovered somewhere between hostility and courtesy, she figured it might have been due to Mr. Shaffer’s request, which might have been bothersome to him.
“I heard the last servant ran off with the remaining money,” the Duke of Baytness said, his eyes suddenly turning toward Theo.
Vivianne glanced at Theo, who was kindly holding up the umbrella for her, with an apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry, but this person is not a servant. He is my friend,” she replied.
At the word “friend,” Theo’s face showed a hint of surprise and perhaps a faint trace of excitement.
“He’s a tailor who owns a clothing shop in town. He’s helped me a lot since my family arrived in Neway. We’ve become best friends now.”
“It seems the rumors aren’t entirely false,” the Duke remarked.
“Pardon?” Vivian asked, confused.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to look around the manor.”
Before she could satisfy her curiosity about what rumors he was referring to, the Duke’s footsteps moved towards her. Instinctively, Vivianne stepped back and lowered her gaze, nodding her head.
She thought she had already answered his unspoken request, but the polished black shoes in her view didn’t move. Her eyes traveled from his neatly tailored trousers to his coat, and finally, they met his blue eyes.
“We have some things to discuss, don’t we?”
“D-Discuss?” Vivianne stammered awkwardly, holding her breath as the Duke of Baytness approached her. Her pure white cheeks flushed, but there was nowhere to hide it.
“I’m sure Miss Aveline knows what Mr. Shaffer requested of me.”
“Ah, that. Yes, I heard about it from Mr. Shaffer,” she replied.
“Then, after I’ve looked around the manor, shall we discuss it somewhere quiet, Miss Aveline?”
His voice was as clear and refreshing as a summer breeze. As Mr. Shaffer had mentioned, he was flawless, a noble whom the people of Neway adored. Yet, she remained unmoved by the subtle hostility he displayed.
“Then, Theo and I will wait in the room. Once you’ve finished your tour, please call for us…”
“No. Miss Aveline will assist me as a guide. None of us here knows much about this vast manor.”
“…If that’s what you wish, I will do so.”
Is this kindness? She wondered. If he held any hostility, this wouldn’t be an easy request to make.
“Yes, that’s what I want. So, will you do it?”
Instead of answering, Vivianne nodded. She silently wished the suffocating presence of the Duke of Baytness would pass by her quickly. When he finally stepped away, she felt relieved.
However, when he turned back toward her, an unexpected tension filled the air, causing her head to spin slightly.
“Oh, leave your tailor friend behind,” he said.
After finally sending the worried Theo away, Vivianne followed behind the Duke of Baytness, as he had instructed her to guide them around the manor.
Beside the Duke, who walked ahead, the lawyer and the executive director were constantly chattering about company matters. The Duke responded appropriately and sometimes even offered opinions. They noted down everything he said. It was hard to believe they were touring the manor, given how focused they were on business discussions.
At the same time, the Duke’s ability to memorize the layout of the manor didn’t go unnoticed by Vivianne, impressing her.
Moreover, every movement of his exuded elegance and grace. To Vivianne, who had encountered and dealt with numerous nobles, the demeanor of the Duke of Baytness was refreshingly perfect and captivating.
『 Mr. Shaffer praised him so much, and he was right. He does seem like someone one could learn a lot from.』
In the short time she had observed him, her assessment was generous. He was probably used to receiving such praise.
Whenever a new path appeared, the Duke would glance back at Vivianne. When their eyes met, she would step forward to explain where the path led or what rooms were there. Once the explanation was over, she would step back to the rear of the group again. At one point, she accidentally made eye contact with a woman in the group.
Is she the Duchess of Baytness? Vivianne wondered.
She looked young, but it seemed unlikely that she was his daughter. The Duke didn’t seem old enough to have a grown daughter, so the idea that she was his wife seemed more plausible.
The woman’s persistent gaze following her throughout the tour made Vivianne uncomfortable. She didn’t avoid it, but eventually, unable to bear it, she pretended to look elsewhere and feigned indifference.
Only after a long while did Vivianne look back and finally feel relieved that the woman’s gaze had disappeared, and then she looked forward. It was then that she noticed the couple standing affectionately together.
The woman warmly held onto the Duke’s arm, and he kindly let her do so.
『 Ah, she is indeed his wife.』
Her heart ached slightly, not because of jealousy, but because this manor, which had once guided a beloved family toward ruin, would now become a warm and loving home for someone else.
Vivianne guided Edwin to the study that Lawrence Aveline once used. Lawrence’s love for his only daughter was conveyed in the large portrait of Vivianne Aveline hanging on the wall.
“I’ll take down the portrait.”
As Edwin stared up at Vivianne’s portrait for quite a while, she felt her face heat up in embarrassment. He let out a quiet chuckle and then took the seat that belonged to Lawrence Aveline.
Vivianne’s expression momentarily tense as she saw someone else sitting in the place her father once occupied.
“Sit down.”
When Edwin gestured with his chin, she silently took a seat, revealing her shadowy gray eyes. The Vivianne Aveline before him had grown quite differently from the girl she had been 14 years ago.
The plump baby fat had disappeared, and she looked emaciated. Her golden hair had lost its luster, and her features were a little more defined, but that was all.
“Say what you have to say,” The Duke said.
“What? Ah, yes. Yes…”
Her neck seemed longer, and her collarbone deeper.
However, no matter how hard he searched for the plump, voluptuous figure of a lady, he could not find it.
Did the beasts of the auction house harbor crude desires even upon seeing her in this state?
A pure curiosity arose within him.
“My mother is supposed to return. She went to Preston, but we’ve had no word from her, so I’m really sorry to ask, but could I possibly stay here until she comes back?”
Vivianne’s words quickened with urgency as she leaned deeply in Edwin’s direction. Realizing her behavior during the brief silence, she cleared her throat and straightened her posture.
“If you could just let me stay in one of the servants’ rooms, I’ll pay for everything when I leave. I won’t trouble you or your family. I don’t need meals; all I need is a place to lay my head.”
Vivianne persisted. Her attempt to relax was in vain, as her shoulders, barely more than skin and bone, were tensely hunched.
“You don’t need meals? All you need is a place to lay your head?” Edwin asked.
“Yes. If you could grant me that…”
“So you’re not planning on eating anymore?”
Vivianne hesitated, stammering as she tried to respond.
“Uh, um, I’ll only sleep here at night. During the day, I can go down to the village and take care of my meals there.”
“The village?”
“I’m sorry, but I think I can manage by relying on my friend a little. I’ve been making embroidery and selling it to him, so if I sell it for a bit less, I can cover my meals.”
“That friend from earlier?”
“Yes, that’s right,” Vivianne replied.
“What’s the name of that male friend?”
“It’s Theo Evans.”
Theo Evans. Edwin muttered the name softly and stared at Vivianne, whose eyes were red.
Was she about to cry because she felt pitiful about having to beg? Or was it the uncertainty of her future that made her want to cry?
Whatever the reason, Edwin wanted her to cry. What he wanted most right now was to make Vivianne Aveline, who was desperately holding back her tears, cry. He wanted her to cry so hard that her eyes wouldn’t open the next day. And Edwin never put off what he had set his mind to.
“Do you know what I was thinking when I signed the deed for this manor?”
He reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a paper envelope, and placed it in front of Vivianne. The envelope was already open. It was bait for her to take, but Vivianne hesitated to bite.
“Vivianne Aveline will beg in front of me,” Edwin said.
Edwin gestured to the envelope in front of her. Since she wasn’t taking the bait, he practically spoon-fed it to her, leaving her no choice but to open it.
“You’ll be begging me for your life.”
As Vivianne read through the document, her face grew paler by the second.
“Then I thought I might show some generosity. That’s why I smiled when I signed the deed.”
The content of the document that her gray eyes scanned was fairly simple. It was a promissory note listing the borrowed amount, the interest, and the repayment deadline. At the bottom of the document, the debtor’s name was Monica Aveline, and the creditor was Edwin Baytness.
As she saw her mother’s name and familiar signature on the document, the huge sum of money—700,000 mori—that had been used in the auction flashed through her mind.
She also remembered the concerns of those who questioned the source of the money her mother had borrowed. The form might have been different, but the essence was much the same.
“I plan to report Monica Aveline to the authorities.”
The word “report” sent shockwaves through her. Vivianne struggled to piece together words in her frozen mind.
“You’re reporting my mother? All of a sudden? That’s…”
“You’ve read it.”
“…” Vivianne couldn’t answer.
“The repayment deadline has passed, and Madame Aveline couldn’t even pay the interest she was supposed to in full. Then she disappeared.”
“N-no, that’s not true. She hasn’t disappeared. M-my mother will come back. She’s not someone who would run away.”
“That’s what you think.”
His long fingers cruelly pointed at Vivianne, and the smooth touch of his nails made her eyes burn with anger. It was a mocking pity directed at her powerlessness.
From the moment she arrived in Neway, everything began to fall apart and eventually led to ruin.
Her father went missing, and her mother didn’t return. Pretending not to understand what that meant was her way of clinging to hope in life.
“I—I have the principal amount. It’s in my room right now. I’ll return it to you. I’ll pay the interest that hasn’t been paid. So please don’t report my mother. Forget about my request to stay here. I’ll find a way to repay all the debt to Your Grace, so please, my mother…”
“Yeah, I know. Since you lost the auction, unless Mr. Shaffer ran off with the money, you should have the principal amount on hand.”
Even now, she didn’t want to lose hope. She believed her mother would return to her, that she would come back to this place and embrace her, saying she had been through so much. And before that, she couldn’t let her mother be sent to prison.
Her bony chest heaved with sobs. The pale skin below her neck became blotchy and red, and thick tears fell onto the promissory note.
Despite this, the Duke remained composed. He even seemed to take some pleasure in the situation, but Vivianne chose to dismiss it as a misunderstanding.
A new promissory note was presented before her, filled with yet another set of numbers.
“This is a promissory note stating that you will pay the interest on the principal that Madame Aveline borrowed. If you sign it, I’ll only calculate the interest up to today, excluding the principal.”
Vivianne’s tear-filled eyes, dark like storm clouds, were filled with doubt at this unexpected leniency.
“The deal I had with Madame Aveline will disappear with your one signature. Then I’ll have no reason to report her, right?”
It was a tempting, bold proposal, but she couldn’t discern what was hidden within the sweet cake.
Doubt breeds fear.
The Duke of Baytness’s flawless smile concealed his true intentions.
“So, beg me,” the Duke said, his smile fading.
The cold, icy gleam in his eyes became even more piercing.
“Beg for your life. Plead. Then I might show you mercy. I’ll let you sign this promissory note.”
There was no time to ponder what was inside the cake. Whether she ate it or not, the result would be the same. If eating it could buy her a little more time before death, she was willing to swallow it.
“… Please spare me. I beg you. I’ll plead with you. So please spare me. Don’t report my mother, Your Grace.”
Tears, which she thought had stopped, flowed down once more. The tears carried an indescribable, earnest sincerity. The expression of the person silently watching her confused her about the outcome. His face showed that a decision had been made, yet it also appeared as if he was still contemplating.
Without understanding his true feelings, all she could do was cry, pitiful in her helpless state. Like livestock awaiting its fate, she trembled and anxiously waited for his answer.
“Yes. Well done. Keep doing that, Miss Aveline,” he finally responded.
And what Edwin pulled out from his jacket pocket was a fountain pen. When Vivianne raised her head, his long eyes curved into a beautiful smile that greeted her.
“Sign it.”
His simple and clear response dismissed everything that had driven Vivianne to the edge as if it had never happened. In that fleeting moment, afraid his mind might change, she immediately opened the fountain pen.
