Chapter 1 - Chapter 1

Translator: Nox

It was him. She couldn’t be certain since she’d only seen him from a distance, but in that fleeting moment, Vanessa was sure she had seen him. No matter how much he might be lost in a crowd, it was impossible for her not to recognize him.

“Vanessa.”

Just thinking of the man brought her suppressed memories rushing back, regaining their color and scent in an instant. A summer night, the sweltering air, the humid breath, a garden where roses bloomed in profusion, and that voice.

“I’ve been waiting for you to come.”

Her breath caught. Was this a hallucination chasing her from that night? Or had a cruel afterimage, one that haunted her so often, lost all sense of shame and come to find her even in the daylight? Regardless, it wasn’t reality. How could he possibly be here in the first place? They were in the middle of a war, and he was an officer of the enemy nation….

[Are you all right?]

Someone caught Vanessa’s shoulder as she staggered through the swirling memories. When she pulled away in surprise, she saw the worried face of a strange woman.

[You’re so pale, young lady, I thought you were going to faint. I work at the hospital over there.]

The woman, dressed in a nursing uniform, spoke in a crisp voice. Vanessa hurriedly pulled her hat down low. Even the people passing by were now casting suspicious glances their way.

[I’m fine. Thank you.]

[This won’t do. Wait here. Just for a moment….]

[No. I have to go.]

Was her accent perfect? It didn’t matter anymore. Vanessa hurried away from the shopping district with quick steps.

She wanted to return home as soon as possible. First, she had to send word to the Marquis of Winchester to see if passage out of Amiens had been arranged. If not, she would have to send the child to safety first….

“Ah.”

As always, misfortune arrived in succession. Failing to notice a protruding stone, Vanessa tripped and fell flat. The paper grocery bag she had been clutching crumpled, spilling food all over the dirty stone ground.

Potatoes, bread, and even a tin of powdered formula she’d barely managed to obtain by paying extra…. The rolling tin only stopped when it struck the boot of an officer walking toward her. That was the moment Vanessa stopped frantically gathering the bruised potatoes.

Why? The moment she saw the officer’s polished boots, the afterimages of the past began to bloom again. It was as if she had been transported back to the garden of that time, that season. Even though the scent of sandalwood he favored couldn’t possibly exist in this grimy back alley.

Vanessa kept her head bowed, not daring to look up. From the corner of her eye, she saw the man lean down gracefully to pick up the tin at his feet. For a brief moment, there was a terrible silence.

“Lady Vanessa.”

Then, like a dry laugh, he called her name. Ah. The moment a vague intuition became reality was always this dizzying. She managed to lift her gaze. In the gap between the old, dilapidated buildings, at the end of the road where the pale sunlight shattered into pieces, ‘he’ stood.

Theodore. Her usurper, her beautiful deceiver, and the man she had abandoned in that garden long ago.

“And here I thought… I’d finally gone mad and was seeing things.”

The man’s red lips curled into a crooked smile. His skin was slightly more tanned than she remembered, his sturdy frame fitted into a Navy Officer’s uniform, his eyes sharp, and his cheeks a bit leaner….

Yet he was still handsome enough to steal one’s breath, a man who possessed the power to shake her very soul with a single look.

“Tell me. Why are you here, in such a state?”

A lazy mockery eventually seeped into the man’s eyes, which were clouded with a tangle of emotions.

Vanessa closed her eyes, unable to meet his face. Why was she here, in such a state? To explain that, she had to go back much further into the past. To the very beginning….

It is difficult to recognize happiness clearly when it arrives, but everyone knows misfortune the moment it strikes. And misfortune never has the grace to arrive one at a time. Vanessa Siren Somerset learned this truth in the spring, just two weeks before her thirteenth birthday.

“Everything will be different from now on.”

The man, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke as the train was pulling into Bath Station. Vanessa, who had been staring out the window with a stiff posture, turned her head to look at the man who had introduced himself as ‘Mr. Wyatt’s lawyer.’

It was immediately after her parents’ funeral that Mr. Wyatt—her uncle, with whom the family had long ago lost contact—had sent someone.

“The title of Earl of Somerset will pass to your uncle, Mr. Wyatt. Therefore, Lady Vanessa, you cannot claim any rights to the estate or the family. From now on, Mr. Wyatt will bear all legal rights and obligations regarding you.”

“When you say all legal rights.”

“It means everything, from what you eat and wear to what you spend, depends entirely on him.”

“…….”

“And even your marriage, once you come of age.”

A pale shadow flickered across Vanessa’s fair face, framed by her black mourning clothes. The man looked at the child with a strange expression. He hadn’t expected a thirteen-year-old girl to understand everything in the first place.

However, the girl was unusually calm for her age, and his client, Mr. Wyatt, had demanded that every minor detail be explained to his niece. This was so he wouldn’t be bothered by unnecessary questions later.

“The train is about to stop. I’ll get your luggage down for you.”

Glancing out the window, the man stood up from his seat, folding his newspaper. The child’s luggage in the overhead rack consisted of a single small handbag. When he handed it to her, the girl took it with both hands and placed it neatly on her lap.

“When you get off the train, someone will be there to take you to Gloucester Castle. You are to follow them.”

“Aren’t you coming with me?”

“I’m getting off at the next station. I have a mountain of work from other clients besides this matter.”

The man answered in a slightly softer tone, checking his pocket watch. It took a full nine hours by train from the capital to Bath. Even for an adult, it was a grueling schedule, yet this young girl had remained composed throughout. She hadn’t whimpered, lost her posture, or shown any sign of grumbling or irritation.

Considering it had been less than a month since she lost her parents, it was a commendable attitude.

“What kind of person is my uncle?”

Having been lost in thought for a moment, he snapped back at Vanessa’s question. The man’s eyes, which had narrowed as if weighing something, straightened.

“I’m not sure what you mean by that.”

“I heard you’ve been in business with him for a long time. Abroad.”

“Well… he is not a gentle man. Still, you are his only flesh and blood, so he won’t be heartless toward you.”

“…….”

“And once you reach adulthood in seven years, many things will change again.”

Vanessa blinked her eyes wide in wonder. Her golden eyelashes, which densely fringed her pale gray eyes, fluttered like butterfly wings.

“What will change?”

“You will likely get married. Then, you will inherit the pension that was paid to the former Countess. It should be about thirty thousand pounds a year.”

“Must I get married to inherit the pension?”

“Either that, or you must have a child, Lady Vanessa. Under Imperial law, the right to inherit a pension is granted once one has a family to support. Until then, Mr. Wyatt—rather, the new Earl of Somerset—will manage your assets excellently.”

The child nodded gracefully, maintaining her upright posture. Even though she was told she wouldn’t have a single gold coin of her own to use until she reached adulthood, there wasn’t a hint of agitation. He wondered if she even understood what he was saying….

Then again, it was only natural for a girl her age to have no interest in such tedious matters as pensions and inheritance. The train soon came to a slow halt at the platform, billowing gray smoke.

“North Somerset, Bath Station in North Somerset! Passengers disembarking, please do not forget your luggage! The train will depart after a ten-minute stop!”

At the conductor’s crisp cry, passengers scrambled into the corridor. Vanessa stood up abruptly, clutching her bag with a tense, stiff face. But before she could take more than a few steps, she stumbled and swayed.

“Good heavens.”

The man caught Vanessa’s arm in alarm. He hadn’t realized it because she’d been sitting so properly, but the child’s body was burning like a furnace.

“You’ll need to call a doctor once you reach the castle.”

“Thank you for your concern, but it’s not that serious.”

“You have a high fever.”

“Are you going to tell my uncle?”

“That goes without saying.”

“I’m not seriously ill. It’s probably just… because I’m looking forward to what’s ahead.”

“Looking forward?”

“Every time I spent the summer at Gloucester Castle, I made wonderful memories. I’m very sad right now, but if I stay here, I’ll be happy again someday, won’t I?”

Touching her hot cheek with the back of her hand, Vanessa added with a characteristically honest smile.

“So please, keep it a secret from my uncle. I don’t want to cause him unnecessary worry.”

The man fell silent for a moment, at a loss for words. Even he, who could accomplish any task he was commissioned for, felt a sense of shame before this innocent young lady. Yet, the only words he could manage were these:

“I wish you the best of luck in your future, Lady Vanessa.”

“Thank you. You are very kind.”

“You should be going now. The train is about to depart.”

After getting off the train, the child turned back and waved at him. The man watched the girl as she walked away bravely, suppressing a belated sense of guilt.

Things might be difficult for her right now, but Lady Vanessa’s future seemed more promising than anyone’s. Looking at her rounded forehead, her straight nose, her elegant eyes, and her angelic smile, it was clear she would grow into a great beauty who would take high society by storm.

After all, a woman’s happiness and success were ultimately determined by how valuable a marriage she could secure. No matter how much of a swindler and a schemer Wyatt might be, he wouldn’t be such a fool as to let go of the jewel in his hand for a low price. And with such looks and character, she would easily capture a husband’s heart.

‘Perhaps I’m worrying for nothing. It seems certain that in a few years, she’ll have the whole country talking with news of her marriage to a man from a fine family.’

The man tried to soothe his uneasy mind as he unfolded his newspaper again. He was very tired and wanted to reach his hotel and rest in a soft bed before the sun went down.

And exactly seven years later. Just as the man had predicted—or rather, as everyone who knew Lady Vanessa had predicted—that girl set the whole country talking.

Not with news of a marriage, but with a scandal.