CHAPTER 5
It’s raining again.
The day the Duke of Baytness came to Rodinia, it rained. After a few days of clear skies, it started raining again. Of all days, it had to rain on the day Vivianne decided to go out.
She was in despair because this wasn’t just a casual stroll but an important outing. Still, she consoled herself that the rain wasn’t too heavy.
“Are you going to do embroidery again today, my lady?”
Vivianne’s daily routine consisted entirely of embroidering, writing letters, or reading them. How bored Sophie must have been, staying by her side. Dusting the already spotless ornaments was the only relief from the dull day.
“No. I’m considering going down to the village for a bit today.”
Sophie straightened her posture, and her face brightened at the change in Vivianne’s routine.
“Really? Why the village? Especially in this rain. Ah, you said you like taking walks on rainy days, didn’t you?”
Sophie’s face showed that she was convinced that she would accompany Vivianne on the walk to the village. Vivianne gave a faintly apologetic smile as if to soften the blow.
“I’ve already finished the embroidery, so I need to sell it. I’ll be going alone today, could you take care of something else for me?”
“What? You’ll go alone? I’ll come with you. If I let you go alone, the Duke will…”
Vivianne, who had been proudly stroking her finished product, embroidered with colorful flowers, stopped.
There was no place for the Duke of Baytness in this conversation.
The sudden mention of his name made Vivianne flinch and Sophie felt awkward.
“It’s raining, and it’ll get dark soon. It’s dangerous, so I’ll accompany you.”
Since the incident at the first meal, being around him had become unbearably uncomfortable. That day, the Duke had only let go of her chin after hearing a submissive response. After finishing the meal and returning to her room, Vivianne had cried so much from the humiliation that Sophie broke out in a sweat trying to comfort her.
Mr. Shaffer lied to me. My belief that there was much to learn from him was wrong. How could the people of Neway love someone who insulted my family so recklessly and grabbed a lady’s face, forcing me to eat?
Since then, whenever it was mealtime, Vivianne often suffered from indigestion due to the pressure to eat, and if she neglected to move the cutlery, she had to endure the Duke’s oppressive gaze.
Vivianne was endlessly grateful to the Duke, but at the same time, she hated him deeply. He had an extraordinary ability to make her feel conflicting emotions at once.
“No. I have to walk to the village, so I’ll go alone.”
“What? Walk all the way to the village? Why?”
“Why? Because… I only have two legs to get there.”
“You can just take a carriage.”
“I don’t have a carriage. I’ve gotten used to walking to the village, so I’m fine.”
As Sophie pondered, Vivianne neatly folded the finished embroidery. After grabbing her shawl and the umbrella placed beside the fireplace, Sophie blocked her path.
“Are you going now?”
“Yes. If I leave now, I should be back before dinner. The Duke doesn’t like it when I skip meals.”
Since he grabbed my chin for nibbling at my food, if I don’t show up for dinner, maybe this time he’ll grab my hair.
Judging from the Duke’s attitude, which wavers between hostility and kindness, Vivianne considered that possibility as well.
“Oh, right! Then I’ll ask the Duke for a favor.”
“What?”
“I’ll ask the Duke to lend you a carriage. That way, you can come and go safely, and you won’t have to tire your legs.”
“No, no. It’s fine. I can just walk.”
“I’ll ask him, at least. Please wait for a moment.”
Sophie left before Vivianne could stop her. After just thinking about the possibility of the Duke grabbing her hair, she felt strangely uneasy.
Vivianne decided to leave the manor before Sophie returned. But as soon as she rushed through the lobby and stepped outside, she realized the world was not on her side.
“Miss Aveline said she’s going to the village. She’s heading down to sell her embroidery.”
Edwin was about to get into the carriage to leave Rodinia and stay in the capital for a while due to work. Sophie, out of breath, came rushing to him and detailed Vivianne’s plans.
Edwin looked up at the rainy sky. He doubted whether she was serious about going out in this weather. As he pondered, his eyes met Vivianne’s, who was tidying a few strands of her golden hair that were blowing in the wind. Her gray eyes wavered greatly as if she had been caught trying to escape.
“What? Miss, you’re already out?”
“… Yes.”
Vivianne’s voice was so soft that it was drowned out by the sound of the rain.
“I have something to do in the village, so I’ll be off now. I’ll see you at dinner, Your Grace.”
Unaware that Edwin would be away from the estate for a while, Vivianne made a bold and unknowing promise to have dinner. As she slightly bowed her head and was about to open her umbrella to walk past Edwin, Roarke blocked her path. Her clouded eyes quickly darted back to Edwin. He gave her a faint smile and gestured with his chin—a refined motion indicating she should get into the carriage. Just as she was about to decline, the memory from a few days ago flashed through her mind, and she closed her mouth.
Her duty to obey. If she was told to eat, she ate; If he told her to get on, she had to get on. These were such insignificant things that she was asked to obey.
Stay strong, but don’t let worries weigh you down. After taking her father’s advice to heart, Vivianne got into the carriage as if she were being pushed. Roarke snatched away her slightly wet umbrella.
As the carriage door closed, the sound of rain faded away. Unlike Vivianne, who was nervous, Edwin’s blue eyes stared at her openly.
Feeling embarrassed, Vivianne awkwardly turned her head to look out the window. At that moment, Edwin extended his arm and pulled the tie-back, closing the curtains. She had found comfort in watching the rainy scenery, but with even that taken away, she had no choice but to look directly at him.
“… Who is the gentleman who always follows Your Grace?”
She asked with a dignified smile as if she had forgotten what had happened a few days ago. It would only take 15 minutes at most to reach the village, but she couldn’t bear to sit in silence. She had to break the awkward atmosphere with conversation.
“Does Roarke appear noble enough to be considered a gentleman in Miss Aveline’s eyes?”
“Well, I suppose…”
“Be careful. That ‘gentleman’ you find so noble is actually very skilled with guns and swords.”
“…”
“And many other things as well.”
Vivianne nervously took a deep breath and lowered her gaze before attempting to look out the window again.
However, realizing that the curtain blocked her view, her gaze inevitably returned to Edwin.
“Oh, right. The 700,000 mori… did you check?”
Vivianne, uncomfortable with the silence, kept talking. On the night she had shed tears in front of him at the table, Vivianne had brought a trunk containing 700,000 more.
Should I say that I found it?
When Edwin opened the door to the sound of knocking, no one was there, just a lone trunk sitting in front of his room. It wasn’t until he confirmed it contained 700,000 mori that he realized who had knocked.
“Who knows?”
His short reply made Vivianne’s eyes widen.
“I visited you a while ago. I left the money and… went back…”
“I never saw it. Not you. Not the money.”
The sound of her heart sinking could almost be heard in the air. Her plump lips, one of the few features worth noting in her otherwise shabby state, trembled slightly.
Her upright posture was just as it had been 14 years ago. In that sense, it could be said that she still resembled a princess both then and now.
“Are… Are you sure you didn’t see it? I left the money right in front of your door. I put 700,000 mori in a brown trunk.”
“Are you lying?”
“No! There’s no way. I definitely left the trunk with the money there.”
Her tearful eyes glistened. Imagining the dreadful possibility that she had lost the borrowed money must have made her feel like she couldn’t hold back her tears, yet she was surprisingly holding it together.
Why bother trying so hard? Just cry.
He quietly observed her, as if waiting for her to break down, but in the end, no tears fell.
“Did you really not see it? Oh, I should have checked. But it was so late, and I didn’t want to disturb Your Grace…”
“Why did you come so late at night?”
“Well…”
She had been crying in her room since dinnertime, so she had forgotten about it. She looked like she would rather die than admit that.
Vivianne clasped her hands together, unable to keep them still. It was so distracting that Edwin decided to end the prank here.
“I got it.”
“What?”
“I received the money.”
“… Are you joking?”
“Does it look like a joke?”
Vivianne hesitated for a moment, avoiding eye contact as she shook her head. There was no resentment on her face, only relief that it had been a joke. The fact that Vivianne couldn’t even think of feeling resentment spoke volumes about what the money meant to her.
The rain continued to pour. The air inside the carriage was thick and damp, carrying a faint scent of flowers from the woman.
The carriage. The rain. And Vivianne Aveline.
This moment was no different from 14 years ago. The only difference was that instead of the plump little girl with baby fat, there now stood a skinny, scrawny young lady.
“… Anyway, I’m grateful in many ways. For lending my mother money, for forgiving the interest, and for not reporting her.”
Edwin’s legs grew closer. Vivianne, noticing his shoes approaching, quickly pulled her dirty shoes inward to avoid bumping into his polished ones.
“And I’m thankful for the maid you placed next to my room.”
Vivianne, who had many things to be grateful for, glanced down again to make sure she wouldn’t bump into Edwin. She even subtly shifted her seat to give him more room to stretch his legs comfortably.
“It’ll take some time, but I’ll definitely repay the debt. If my mother returns early, I can pay it off quickly, but until then, I’ll continue to repay it little by little.”
“How? By selling those measly embroideries?”
Edwin’s soft voice carried the sharpness of a knife. Taken aback, Vivianne’s eyes widened before she composed herself.
“Still, Theo is good at selling my embroideries. Actually, I was planning to stop by the boutique today to buy a gift for Miss Windler. I should probably get something for the Duke as well… is there anything you need?”
Boutique. Tailor. Friend. Theo Evans.
At the end of his narrowing train of thought, he remembered the word “friend” that the red lips in front of him had so freely uttered.
“A gift?”
Edwin chuckled, making Vivianne’s cheeks flush brightly. A low silence fell between them, broken only by the heavy raindrops.
A sudden desire to make this woman, whose pale cheeks had turned red, cry came over him. Perhaps it was because the rain had grown a little louder.
It was because she had made a careless promise without even considering the situation she was in.
“You want to give me a gift?”
“I did, but if you don’t need anything…”
“Before you ask, you should at least have a good idea of what I want most, Miss Aveline.”
Vivianne’s wandering eyes reluctantly settled on Edwin.
“Then finding the gift would have been easy.”
“I’m sorry. I haven’t seen Your Grace many times, so I don’t really know.”
“No. You know.”
“What?”
“You know what I want most, Miss Aveline. You just haven’t realized it yet. It’s part of our promise.”
Vivianne recalled her time with Edwin. Despite having had a few conversations with him, they were clear in her memory, but apart from signing the promissory note, there was no promise she remembered making.
“You have a good memory, Miss Aveline. So, think carefully about what promise we made.”
The stone Edwin threw made a big ripple. The familiarity she felt upon seeing him wasn’t wrong after all.
Edwin Baytness.
But no matter how much she thought, it was a name she was hearing for the first time. As far as she knew, his family had no connection to hers.
“It was raining that day too, and we were alone in the carriage.”
Rain. Carriage. Alone.
Her gray eyes followed the clues he gave, tracing her memories back.
“All the way to the harbor, you were watching me, and I never took my eyes off you either. Why?”
Finally, when her gaze met his, a sharp memory flashed across her mind.
“I had to engrave Miss Aveline’s face in my eyes, in my bones, in my heart.”
The blue eyes that had wandered through her memories, teasing, and tickling, were becoming clearer. The eyes, hovering somewhere between hostility and kindness, that had been tormenting her, were now becoming more real.
“You said you would regret it. You promised, Vivianne.”
As the memories sharpened, the once-blurry recollection—everything except those blue eyes—became vivid, and Vivianne’s plump lips parted slightly.
One rainy spring day, a boy had rushed into the carriage along with the cold air. He was so covered in mud that she couldn’t see his face. And he begged. Pleaded for his life.
『 Beg for your life. Plead.』
That was the only condition for allowing her to sign the promissory note—so simple.
“Could it be that you’re… that boy from back then?”
Sayer Raven.
The faces of that boy and the man before her overlapped.
Only then could she explain the true identity of the man she was facing, and the reason for his strange hostility.
“That boy from back then?”
Vivianne’s face turned pale. It took a long time for her lips to utter that difficult name.
“Sayer… Raven, is it you? The Sayer who snuck into the carriage 14 years ago… is it really you?”
“Why that face? You told me to live, but now you look like you wish I had died.”
The faint smile on his face sent a cold shiver down her spine.
If the man in front of her wasn’t Edwin Baytness, but Sayer Raven—the boy she had once taken to the harbor—then all the puzzling pieces would finally fall into place.
If the process that led to this moment had been part of the Duke’s calculated plan. He had deliberately approached them, lent a large sum of money to her creditless mother, and then taken over the manor. If it wasn’t out of generosity, but a trap. When she had nowhere else to go, he used her mother’s promissory note to threaten her, forcing her to stay and repay the debt, binding her to the manor.
“… You knew everything, didn’t you? You knew, and you approached my family anyway? Lending my mother money, buying the manor… even making me sign a promissory note?”
“When someone goes through that much trouble, you should have wondered whether you did something wrong, Miss Aveline.”
“Why would you do something like this…?”
“Why? Are you really asking why now, Miss Aveline?”
Even as he spoke of events from 14 years ago, his dignity and composure remained unshaken. His voice was measured and controlled, without the slightest flaw.
It was impossible to gauge what emotions he hid behind that cynical expression, making it hard to predict what he might do next, exactly where the fear stemmed from.
However, Vivianne, who was accustomed to imagining the worst, instinctively tried to distance herself from him. But they were inside a moving carriage.
She was trapped within arm’s reach, inside the circle of his threat.
“We made another promise, didn’t we?”
With no other choice, Vivianne threw herself toward the carriage door, desperate to escape him. The only thought on her mind was to get away from this man.
But before she could reach the door, a large hand swiftly grabbed her by the neck, pulling her back, and yanking her to the floor.
“Ugh!”
In stark contrast to the rough grip on her throat, his blue eyes looked calmly at her. They were cold, merciless eyes, devoid of any compassion.
“Maybe that promise was meant for today, Miss Aveline.”
