CHAPTER 4
The sky was blue and warm, the sun gently caressing the earth as it welcomed its new owner. As she opened the window to let the first rays of spring into the room, she spotted a carriage in the distance, bearing the coat of arms of House Baytness.
“The good news is, you can stay here until you pay off that debt. The bad news is, you can’t leave until you pay it off.”
A few days ago, Vivianne discovered the source of the 700,000 mori that worried everyone. What was meant to be a request to stay until her mother returned had turned into a situation where she was forced to beg pitifully.
But Vivianne didn’t regret it. If it was to protect her mother, that kind of humiliation didn’t even count as humiliation.
“At least it won’t add to my debt,” Vivianne thought with relief, but her mind was full of questions.
How did my mother know the Duke of Baytness? And why would he lend her such a huge amount of money, despite her lack of credit? What is the true purpose of the Duke’s generosity toward me?
Somewhere between hostility and kindness… Or perhaps, a gaze leaned more toward hostility.
A look that was close to hostility and yet close to kindness—those blue… eyes?
Suddenly, familiar memories intertwined and tangled. Squinting, Vivianne tried to sort through the fleeting memories, but they faded like mist as if they had never existed.
The carriages, which had been approaching in a line, stopped in front of the manor. As the sound of the horses’ snorting pulled her back to reality, Vivianne grabbed the trunk she had prepared in advance and left the room.
Looking down from the second floor, she saw the manor bustling for the first time in a while. The servants, busy carrying things, ignored Vivianne without so much as a greeting, but she didn’t mind.
All Vivianne felt was a sense of excitement amid the familiarity. It almost felt as if she shouted “Mother, Father,” a response would come immediately.
“Place this luggage in the Duke’s chamber. Be careful not to break anything. Everything must be arranged exactly as before. He’s quite a sensitive person. And this…”
Charlotte, who was giving instructions to the butler, noticed Vivianne standing on the staircase. Vivianne quickly descended to the first floor and faced Charlotte for the first time. The hat adorned with feathers suited her well, briefly catching Vivianne’s attention.
“I’m Vivianne Aveline,” she said, snapping back to her senses and greeting Lady Baytness with respect and courtesy.
However, there was no response in return. Embarrassed by the blatant stare, Vivianne realized the other woman did not welcome her. Growing anxious, she quickly added.
“As you may have heard, the Duke has allowed me to stay here for a while. I will make sure not to be a burden to either of you. If you could designate a room for me, I’ll stay there.”
“Miss Aveline, you can use your usual room,” Charlotte replied with a sigh. She withdrew her irritated gaze and wiggled her fingers, signaling a timid maid to hurry over.
“My usual room? But that room…”
“From now on, this maid will assist you, Miss Aveline. If there’s anything you find inconvenient, you can speak to her.”
“What?”
He lends money to my mother, forgives the interest, lets me use my old room, and even assigns me a maid?
Were those eyes not hostile, but rather filled with kindness? I had never interpreted them that way before, yet the Duke and Duchess seemed to be showing me kindness. However, judging by the expression on the Duchess’s face, none of these decisions appear to be hers.
So, why is the Duke being excessively kind to me?
As expected, doubt breeds shapeless fears.
“No, Madam. A small room is enough for me. The room I used before is meant for the owners, and besides, I don’t need a maid. I appreciate the gesture, but it’s unnecessary.”
“I’ll speak to the Duke about it, but I doubt he’ll change his mind. That’s just how he is.”
As one would expect from a married couple, she spoke with confidence, knowing everything about Edwin Baytness.
“I’m Charlotte Windler. I hope to get along with you.”
Charlotte… Windler?
The surname “Windler,” which poured cold water on Vivianne’s assumption that she was the Duchess of Baytness, left her dumbfounded.
Stunned and speechless, Vivianne stood there, filled with both embarrassment and confusion. Charlotte, after making a polite gesture to Vivianne, immediately turned and left.
Why on earth? For what reason?
Charlotte’s shoes clacked nervously against the floor. She knew it was unbecoming, but if she didn’t let out her frustration this way, her anger would undoubtedly be misdirected.
『 I won’t be at the manor for a while due to company business. So take charge and finish up the manor work.』
That’s what Edwin had suddenly told her earlier that evening. She had thought it was a good thing, as she had wanted to ask him to delay the wedding anyway.
『 And from now on, Vivianne Aveline will be staying at the manor.』
If it hadn’t been for Edwin’s shocking statement that followed, Charlotte might have already been begging to postpone the wedding.
『 Let Miss Aveline keep using the room she used. And assign her a capable maid.』
The most important thing for Charlotte now was delaying the wedding. However, Edwin’s sudden interest in someone else was alarming enough to make her anxious.
Edwin was paying attention to Miss Aveline. Whether negatively or positively, Edwin, who had never shown much interest in anything outside of his company’s affairs, now had an unexpected interest.
Charlotte stopped in her tracks and glanced back. Amid the bustling servants, Miss Aveline appeared, holding a trunk.
Their eyes met again. The woman who had lost everything was smiling like a fool. With forced politeness, Charlotte returned a stiff smile and turned away again, unable to control the heat of anger rising within her.
The road to Rodinia after finishing business in Farrington was filled with dark clouds. Just when he thought it would rain soon, the sound of heavy raindrops hitting the carriage echoed inside.
A carriage. And rain.
Then, naturally, a memory—one that could never be erased—came rushing back vividly.
“I’m not a bad person. I’m being chased right now. Please save me. I have to get to the harbor. I have to get on a ship to Neway.”
A 14-year-old boy begged for his life from a 9-year-old girl, hiding in the little girl’s carriage in a desperate plea for safety.
A ragged boy, having escaped Preston’s soldiers and rolled in the mud, had crossed paths with a noble, princess-like girl. He thought the stark contrast between them likely stirred genuine sympathy in the young girl.
“What’s your name?”
“Sayer…”
“Sayer?”
“Sayer Raven.”
The dynasty in Preston had changed again. The Marquis of Aveline, seeking to restore the Mayr Dynasty, had overthrown the Duke of Raven, who had defended King Bannister, and sent his entire family to the execution block.
Now, anyone with the surname Raven in Preston was being hunted by the Avelines. Despite knowing this reality, the boy had recklessly revealed his name to the little girl.
“I am… Vivianne Aveline.”
He saw guilt flash in the little girl’s eyes, and only then did he realize that the carriage he had boarded to save his life belonged to his mortal enemy.
The shame of begging for his life from an enemy overwhelmed him. His resolve to live like a dog and take revenge on the Avelines crumbled entirely at the sound of the name Vivianne Aveline.
As Edwin pulled out the promissory note with Vivianne’s signature, he recalled the moment he had carefully signed his name beneath hers. A woman who had unknowingly written her surname “Aveline” on a document, not realizing how that very piece of paper might one day lead to her ruin.
The fact that he had survived at the hands of such a woman and made it this far felt like someone else’s story.
Fourteen years ago, in the eyes of the young Vivianne Aveline, Sayer Raven must have seemed powerless—a worthless traitor and survivor. A poor boy doomed to die soon, even if she spared him. Kind-hearted Miss Aveline must have decided to show mercy. Unlike him.
The boy who had survived by that little girl’s mercy now planned to take the life of the pitiful and delicate Miss Aveline, at the right time and the perfect moment.
The carriage arrived at the Duke’s estate in Rodinia. Standing under the butler’s umbrella, Edwin slowly scanned the line of servants gathered in front of the manor. Through the crowd, Charlotte came running through the rain, her smile bright enough to dispel the dark clouds.
“Your Grace!”
Even in the rain, he was simply Edwin to her. Charlotte would have gone through fire for him without hesitation.
“You must be tired from the long journey. Would you like to have a meal first? Oh, it’s been a while, Mr. Roarke,” she added, not forgetting to greet Roarke, who had quietly appeared behind Edwin.
“You’re getting wet. You’ll catch a cold.”
Edwin was unusually calm. Taking the umbrella from the butler, he handed it to Charlotte, making her freckled cheeks flush red.
“Thank you, Your Grace. Or, since it’s still early, would you like to take a bath first?”
Despite her kind question, Edwin didn’t respond. His eyes were fixed elsewhere, searching for someone among the servants.
The woman with blonde hair, who should have been there, was missing.
Edwin looked up at the second floor, trying to find someone who might be looking down at him from the window, but there wasn’t even a single strand of golden hair reflecting the sunlight to be seen.
“…Miss Aveline has been embroidering for days. I heard from Sophie earlier that she had just gone for a walk.”
“Oh, right. Miss Evelyne said that the room was too much for her and that she didn’t need a maid. I told her I’d pass the message along, but I also told her not to expect anything. What should we do?”
Edwin burst out laughing. The ill-mannered Aveline, who hadn’t even bothered to show her face, had sent someone else to deliver the message on her behalf.
“Leave her be.”
Just as he was about to walk away, his steps halted. His gaze had inadvertently caught the sight of a blonde woman in the distance.
Her gray eyes were also looking in his direction. Despite making eye contact, Vivianne gave no reaction, so he turned towards her. Startled, Vivianne suddenly took off for no apparent reason. As she vanished into the distance, she eventually disappeared from sight.
The commotion in the manor made her heart flutter. Vivianne felt that if she turned her head, it would seem as though the people she loved, and those who loved her, would be right where they belonged.
Ironically, her family crest and her parents’ traces were disappearing from this seized manor, yet more than ever, the presence of her family and her parents seemed more alive.
As this feeling grew, so did the clarity of the obstacles before her: a missing father, a mother who had left behind a huge debt and never returned, and even the cake offered by the Duke of Baytness, which could be filled with sweet cream or deadly poison.
A baseless sense of foreboding drove Vivianne to hide in the woods. She wanted to temporarily escape the harsh reality and quell this looming crisis.
“Does it not suit your taste, Miss Aveline?”
Startled by the question, Vivianne tightened her grip on the fork she had been holding loosely. When she looked up, she saw the Duke and Miss Windler.
Throughout the past few days when the Duke was away, Charlotte had invited Vivianne to join her at the table.
Even though it seemed like she didn’t want to, she always ate with her.
“I’m sorry for the misunderstanding earlier. I thought you were married to the Duke.”
In an attempt to break the awkward atmosphere, Vivianne spoke up, as Charlotte never initiated a conversation.
“The Duke is my guardian. We’ve been like family since he was adopted into the Baytness family.”
It was only then that Vivianne learned that the two were guardian and ward and that Edwin had been adopted into the Baytness family.
“No, it’s delicious.”
“Then eat. Staring at the food won’t make it enter your mouth.”
“Yes…”
That short conversation ended there. Charlotte chattered away like a beautiful bird singing, recounting the events of the past few days when Edwin had been absent. Edwin responded appropriately to keep her talking.
As Charlotte said, they were family. Feeling the distance between herself and them, Vivianne realized that she had no one left for her.
When she hid in the woods, Vivianne heard the sound of the Duke’s carriage. She hadn’t been waiting for him, but she ran. Escaping reality, Vivianne harbored the foolish delusion that it was her father in the carriage, not the Duke.
Even though she knew it wasn’t her father, she denied it. Even though she knew her mother wasn’t waiting for her, she refused to believe it. She held onto a foolish hope that if she ran fast enough, even God would be moved and return her life to her. Vivianne harbored this absurd belief.
The hem of her dress was ruined by mud from the haste of her running, and her shoe got caught and slipped off. She shoved her wet foot back into the shoe and ran again.
The price of escaping reality left her with a large scar that cannot be erased.
Surrounded by the servants and the impatient horses eager to head back, with Edwin and Charlotte looking so harmonious, Vivianne realized there was no place for her in that peaceful picture she had once so desperately wanted to return to.
“Miss Aveline.”
Just as she was about to burst into tears at the thought of her parents, the deep voice of the Duke resonated.
“Don’t you know how to use a knife?”
Vivianne silently shook her head.
“Or is the Aveline family so low that even table manners need to be taught?”
Only then did she suddenly raise her head and look at him defiantly with reddened eyes.
“Why would you say that? Even though my family owes you a great debt, such insults are unpleasant.”
She was firm, but the smile he showed was an arrogant one that did not acknowledge his mistake.
When Edwin rang the bell, a servant came over.
“Miss Aveline said that her food was not enough. Serve her more food.”
Vivianne looked down at her plate and immediately declined.
“I’m fine. I still have food.”
“But I’m not fine with it.”
With an unwavering, upright posture, his ambiguous smile—whether hostile or kind—made her shiver.
“Eat if you don’t want to be insulted, Miss Aveline.”
“But I’m…”
Edwin got up from his seat. As the sound of his heavy footsteps grew closer, Vivianne lowered her head deeply. Before she could fully grasp the presence of his shoes next to her, a rough hand gripped the back of her chair and turned it forcefully.
Her body, which had been facing the table, was now turned toward Edwin. Before she could even lift her head in surprise, his cold fingers gripped her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes.
“It seems you don’t understand what the document you signed that day truly means.”
It was the second time she was shocked by the unsophisticated behavior of a man who should have been a gentleman. The oppressive air overwhelmed her, leaving her unable to push him away or say what she wanted.
“What kind of attitude should you have toward my goodwill?”
His voice was soft as if there had never been any hostility, to begin with.
“You are obligated to follow all of my decisions and obey my will. That is what it means to accept my goodwill, Miss Aveline.”
The blue eyes in front of her made her heart ache, especially when she missed her parents so much.
“Even if you don’t want to eat, eat. Even when I’m not watching, if food is served, you eat it. Don’t leave anything behind.”
The tears she had tried to hold back ran down her reddened cheeks, but his cruel eyes persisted, waiting relentlessly for her response.
