Ch#104
Chapter 104On second thought, Barbara was right.
She wouldn't look after Laslo or House Criserus until the day she vanished from the world. She wouldn't care about the feelings of those left behind. She'd simply close her eyes after leaving one word: "Sorry."
After all, she'd only handled those matters and people with that much sense of responsibility from the start.
'On the contrary, if Barbara grew despondent over her disability and turned her back on the world, how would I feel?'
The moment she imagined it, a pain like her chest was being wrung out surged through her, making Edel groan softly.
'If Count Criserus returned wounded and simply gave up on life?'
Imagining Laslo closing his eyes after saying, 'I'm sorry to burden you,' made her mind go blank.
Just imagining the deaths of those two brought heat to her eyes, even though it was only in her mind.
"I-I'm... sorry, Barbara. I... I really thought wrong."
Edel bowed her head to Barbara.
"I didn't realize I was such a selfish person. Until now, I'd been so immersed in my own misfortunes... ignoring those who cared for me. I'm sorry."
Barbara's face gradually softened at Edel's tearful voice.
And her own eyes had grown moist before she knew it.
"How could I not know how hard it's been for you, Edel? Every time I heard news of you, my heart felt torn to shreds... I can't tell you how much I resented myself for being unable to do anything."
"Barbara..."
"That's why I'm pleading like this. Please, have some greed to be happy. I'll devote everything I have to help you, so please, Edel, have a little greed."
At Barbara's voice brimming with earnest feeling, Edel nodded frantically, tears dropping onto the table.
She wasn't left with nothing.
This 'peace she'd only just grasped' couldn't have existed without people like this around her.
.
Her failure to realize that until now was, as Barbara said, because she'd been drowning in self-pity.
"I'll definitely be happy. Someday, I'll look back on today with you and laugh. I'll definitely be happy. I'll try."
Edel rose from her seat and gently embraced Barbara.
Barbara smiled brightly, even with tears on her face. The vague anxiety she'd felt whenever thinking of Edel finally eased a bit.
After a long embrace, they wiped their tears and shared tea with somewhat awkward smiles.
Then, glancing at the diamond earrings still on the table, Barbara casually remarked,
"If you just don't close the door to your heart, opportunities will come from anywhere. Who knows? Count Criserus might even have feelings for you."
"B-Barbara! Don't say such things! If he overheard, I might get chased out of here."
"Hmph! Want to bet? Laslo Criserus couldn't chase you out no matter what you did. How would he manage the household without you?"
Barbara sneered like a villain.
Edel laughed along, but Barbara's sudden words stuck oddly in her chest, refusing to fade.
"Who knows? Count Criserus might even have feelings for you."
* * *
After meeting Edel, Barbara headed straight to the imperial palace. Without any prior notice, she alighted before the Imperial Guard building and asked the guarding knight to fetch Laslo.
"We weren't informed of any visitors. Do you have an appointment with Sir Criserus?"
"No. But could you at least go inform him?"
The Imperial Guard knight couldn't refuse the request from Barbara, who stood ramrod straight despite her limp, exuding an air of stern dignity.
And upon hearing she'd come, Laslo personally came out to meet her at the building entrance.
"Dowager Marchioness Celestine! What brings you here without word?"
"I won't hold a busy man long, so spare me just a moment."
"It's a sweaty den of men, but please come in."
- 3 -
After escorting her to his office, Laslo tried to at least pour some tea, but Barbara waved it off and cut straight to the point.
"You promised before that once Edel's name no longer comes up in high society, you'd send her to me."
Laslo stiffened unwittingly at the sudden topic of Edel's future. Especially since it was one he didn't wish to revisit.
However, he couldn't pretend the promise never happened.
"Yes. That's right."
"Could you move that up a bit?"
"Pardon?"
As far as Laslo knew, Barbara wasn't the impatient type.
"What happened?"
Sure enough, Barbara—who never showed even a hint of weakness before him—let out a long sigh.
"I want to restore her status before I become a powerless old woman."
"Did she ask for that?"
"Would I be this worried if she were the type?"
Laslo agreed with that.
"Edel is still young and beautiful. She has her whole life ahead. Yet she has no attachment to life."
Barbara sighed again.
"Today I even lost my temper to change her mind a little, but given her current status and situation, dreaming of a bright future is truly difficult."
Laslo nodded quietly, just listening to her.
Barbara never aired grievances first in negotiations, but right now, Laslo held Edel.
She leaned slightly toward him.
.
"In our brief exchanges, I've come to know you possess compassion and understanding. That's why, knowing it's an unreasonable request, I've brought it up."
"But how exactly do you plan to restore her?"
"By adopting her. Then Edel can take the Celestine Marquis family name and become a noble again."
Laslo had roughly guessed she'd think that way.
However, he knew there would be many obstacles.
"Do the Marquis of Celestine and his wife agree? What about the close collateral branches? Everyone knows you've built up the marquis family, but adding an heir isn't something you can decide alone. You know that."
"I've already set aside part of my own fortune to give to Edel."
"That's not the only issue. Without His Majesty's permission, adoption is impossible for Edel. Moreover, everyone knows she's the daughter of House Canian. It won't be without pain."
"I'll petition His Majesty. I can handle the family's opposition too."
"Setting aside whether that's possible, can you be certain Edel won't be hurt in the process?"
Barbara fell silent at that.
"When you first gave me the letter, I called Edel and asked if she knew you. She said she'd only occasionally shared tea with you, lest it harm you in any way. She's that concerned for your well-being."
From what he'd seen up close, Edel cherished Barbara to a degree that could inspire jealousy.
Such an Edel couldn't bear watching Barbara alone fend off the entire Celestine Marquis family's opposition.
"Moreover, she's an imperial gift, and it's only been a little over a year since receiving her—handing her over to another now is terribly timed. It's perfect fodder for those who hate me to latch onto."
"Ha... So there's no choice but to wait?"
Seeing the elderly lady show worry before him for the first time, Laslo realized the sturdy wall between them had crumbled a bit.
Thus, he could show a bit of sincerity too.
"I'm also pondering her restoration. I'm looking for a way, so for now, show the same face before Edel as always."
Surprise and hope flickered across Barbara's face at his words.
"It's unexpected that you think the same, Count. Has something happened?"
Barbara briefly recalled the diamond earrings Edel had received from him, but Laslo's answer was far grimmer.
"Not long ago, Count Canian visited and met with Edel."
"What? Even a leech knows limits—how dare that man seek Edel? Did you allow him to meet her, Count?"
"I wanted to know his intentions."
Laslo gritted his teeth again, recalling Edel enduring the assault without screaming.
"Thanks to that, I learned far more than expected. How Edel was raised in House Canian, what pains she's endured to survive until now..."
"They treated their daughters as mere tools. Even beasts cherish their young!"
"That's how it seemed. The man who so easily renounced rights when she became a captive clings now that she seems useful again."
Barbara's face twisted in pain.
Her failure to save Edel from the marriage to Duke Lancaster remained a sore memory.
Thus, she couldn't bear seeing it happen again.
.
