Ch#95
Chapter 95Edel was no longer the delicately nurtured flower in the greenhouse of House Canian.
The food she ate, the clothes she wore, the room she slept in—none of it belonged to House Canian anymore, and it had been a long time since the name Canian followed hers.
She recalled Laslo's words from not long ago.
"You couldn't be ruthless, that's why it turned out like this."
Chewing over those words, she clenched her fists tight.
"You're the one who made me ruthless, Father."
Having regained her composure, Edel pulled out the finest stationery and envelope from her drawer. She deliberately chose the best ones she owned.
Then, dipping the sharp nib in jet-black ink, she wrote without the slightest hesitation.
"My ties with House Canian were severed a year and a half ago. I repaid the grace of being raised by marrying into the Lancaster Duke family, and when I became a captive, House Canian renounced all rights to me, fulfilling our bond. So do not contact me again."
The letter contained not a single "Father."
Imagining her father flying into a rage upon receiving it made her hands stiffen with tension, but Edel shut her eyes tight and sealed the envelope.
Though the letter was curt and cold, demanding no further contact, Edel knew her father wasn't the type to back down so easily.
But she hadn't expected him to be this bold.
"So... Count Canian is currently visiting Count Criserus...?"
"Yes, Steward."
Daisy, who had come to deliver the news, kept glancing nervously at Edel. Even Daisy knew this was unwelcome news for her.
If Edel had received Count Canian, she would have chased him out before he even set foot in the estate, but he had arrived precisely when she was briefly out. Without any prior notice, brazenly insistent.
.
"Steward. Are you all right?"
As Daisy asked worriedly again, Edel finally snapped out of it.
Of course she wasn't. But what could she do about it right now?
"I'm fine. For now... we'll just have to wait until their conversation ends. Do you know how Count Criserus reacted when Count Canian arrived?"
"I didn't see the Count myself, but there were no raised voices or a hostile atmosphere."
"Got it. Thanks, Daisy."
Edel's smiling expression looked no different from usual, but inside, her heart teetered on the brink of being swallowed by waves of worry as vast as a house.
'What if Count Criserus misunderstands me? If I can't even stay here anymore...'
She had only just begun to breathe easy and find life worth living, and now her father had come to shatter that fragile peace. She resented him bitterly for it.
Someone might console her that Count Canian had come without malice, simply to check on her well-being. To outsiders, it might look that way.
But Count Canian had never once cared about his daughters' well-being. Not even on the day Rin died, when he'd only fretted over rumors outside.
Thinking of Rin hardened Edel's resolve a little.
'Yes, steel yourself. I'm not Edel Canian anymore. I don't have to be swayed by the family's name or honor.'
Edel clasped her sweaty hands tightly and took a deep breath.
And at that very moment, Dustin, seated with Laslo in the drawing room, sighed with a somber expression.
"So."
Laslo took a sip of tea, set down the cup, and finally spoke, his lips parting from their tight line.
"You couldn't even attempt to meet Edel all this time because of surrounding circumstances... Is that what you're saying?"
- 3 -
"That's right. Think about it. As Count yourself knows well, our family bore the false accusation of aiding the Lancaster Duke family's rebellion. What misunderstanding would we invite by immediately seeking out the daughter who was the duchess?"
"Hmm..."
A sly smile flitted across Laslo's lips.
Dustin leaned urgently toward the table, pleading in frustration.
"No parent in the world sleeps soundly knowing their child is in danger. All this time, my family and I haven't truly lived—we were barely surviving. My wife Rudmila even fell ill with worry."
"Is that so."
"I don't ask for much. Just let me exchange greetings with my daughter Edel, hold her hand once. I beg you."
Laslo thought Dustin's attitude was utterly self-centered.
As he said, no parent could rest easy with a child in mortal peril. Generally speaking.
That's why parents throw themselves into fire for their child without a thought for surroundings.
At least they wouldn't have so readily renounced all rights to their daughter.
Laslo still clearly remembered Dustin uttering "renounce" without hesitation before Dimarcus when asked about Edel. Dustin seemed to have forgotten that day entirely.
But Laslo decided to grant Dustin's wish.
*Need to gauge Edel's reaction anyway.
He didn't think Edel would betray him, but perfect trust was impossible for him.
"Well, it's not a difficult request. Father and daughter just seeing each other's faces—what's so grand about that."
"Thank you, Count!"
"However."
Dustin's face stiffened at the interrupting tone.
"You've been speaking rather informally since earlier?"
Laslo's icy gaze clearly looked down on Dustin.
.
Dustin disliked the look but, being the one in need, forced an embarrassed smile and made excuses.
"It's customary to use half-formal speech with inferiors. I hold Count Criserus in such high regard that..."
"Have I ever been close to Count Canian?"
"Th-that's..."
"I uncovered your ties to Lancaster and held House Canian accountable as accomplices, yet you treat me with such familiarity. How magnanimous of you."
Before the smiling Laslo, Dustin froze in an awkward expression, unable to laugh or get angry.
And to such a Dustin, Laslo drove in the final nail.
"But I'm not particularly magnanimous, so let's use formal speech to avoid discomfort."
"Y-yes, of course."
His head, which bowed smoothly before other nobles, creaked like unoiled scrap iron before Laslo.
To Dustin, Laslo was still just a "dirty mercenary," and using half-formal speech was already a huge concession on his part.
Laslo, who knew Dustin's inner thoughts well, didn't press further and instead called in Head Maid Margaret waiting outside.
"You called?"
"Where's Edel?"
"The steward just returned from her outing."
"Perfect. Bring her here."
"Yes, my lord."
As Margaret left, Laslo rose from his seat.
"I'll step out since my presence would make things awkward. Catch up with your daughter after so long, but regrettably, I have another engagement, so I can't give you much time."
"I understand. I did come without notice..."
"Glad you understand. I'll give you 30 minutes. That should be plenty to check on her well-being."
"Of course. Thank you, Count Criserus."
Laslo nodded lightly and left the room, immediately encountering Edel who had just arrived.
"Quick, aren't you."
"...I heard he was here. I figured you'd call for me soon."
"Your father missed you terribly, it seems. Begging to at least see his daughter's face—how could I refuse."
Though Laslo spoke playfully, Edel remained pale and stiff-faced, saying nothing.
"Come back after chatting comfortably."
Laslo patted her shoulder lightly and passed by.
Entering his study next to the drawing room, he groped the pillar on the wall adjoining it.
The wood-paneled column was a secret door disguised as such.
"Not that I have a habit of eavesdropping... but I need to check Count Canian's sincerity."
No, truthfully, he was more curious about Edel's true feelings.
How would she regard the father who hadn't spoken up for her? Would she resent him? Or still long for him as family?
Laslo slipped inside the secret door, peered through a small hole in the opposite wall into the drawing room, and held his breath.
Edel was already seated across from Dustin, and he gazed at her. Silence stretched between them for a while, but impatient Dustin spoke first.
"No greeting of 'long time no see'?"
For a father who had supposedly longed desperately for his daughter, it was a cold voice.
"We already exchanged letters not long ago. So rather than 'long time no see,' it feels more like... things are just as they always were."
Letters?
It was news to Laslo.
.
