Translator: Nox

Chapter 18

“Isn’t that Miss Stanley?”

At Rosalyn’s hushed voice, Vanessa finally turned around with a start. Just as she had said, the woman entering the coffee house was the third daughter of the Marquis of Stanley. Surprisingly, she was arm-in-arm with a young man in an army officer’s uniform. Perhaps conscious of the gaze of others, they took a seat at a table in the furthest corner.

Rosalyn carefully reached out and pulled the partition between the tables a little closer.

“That man with her. Do you recognize him?”

“I’m not sure. He looks like he might be from the Beauforts or the Seymours. He has that look.”

“But Miss Stanley’s fiancé is Eden Harley. Didn’t they say he’s currently serving as an army officer?”

“It’s certainly not Eden. He’s in Decen right now.”

Rosalyn replied coldly, arching an eyebrow. Vanessa looked back at her, somewhat surprised. She had thought Rosalyn had cut off all contact with Eden Harley since his engagement. Noticing her gaze, Rosalyn added with a blush, as if making an excuse.

“We exchange letters occasionally.”

At Blair’s snort, Miss Stanley, who had been looking at the menu, suddenly snapped her head up. Vanessa, nearly making eye contact, hurriedly raised her bag and pretended to look for something to hide her face.

Sensing something suspicious, Miss Stanley and her companion canceled their tea order and promptly left the shop. Only after they had vanished in their carriage did the three of them finally straighten their backs. Blair rotated his stiff shoulders and spoke nonchalantly.

“I didn’t expect Miss Stanley to be like that. I thought she was a quiet, demure woman.”

“I knew she was like that all along.”

“Rosalyn.”

Vanessa gently took hold of Rosalyn’s hand, where the white of her knuckles stood out.

“I understand how you feel, but don’t get involved in their business for nothing. And don’t be hasty in telling Eden.”

“Of course… I don’t intend to. Eden wouldn’t believe it until he saw it with his own eyes anyway. He’d surely think I was just slandering her.”

As Rosalyn replied gloomily, Blair shrugged.

“Well, there’s no law saying a woman can’t enjoy a brief romance before marriage. I’m sure neither Miss Stanley nor that man are serious. Judging by his attire, he didn’t even look like a nobleman.”

“Even so, to associate with a commoner.”

Rosalyn replied haughtily, biting her trembling lip before she finally couldn’t hold it back any longer.

“It’s disgusting.”

“Well, if she ends up pregnant, poor Miss Stanley will be the only one whose life is ruined,” Blair said dismissively, prompting a cold laugh from Rosalyn.

“Blair. No matter how much you dislike that woman, let’s not cast such curses.”

“There was a huge scandal about that a few years ago, wasn’t there? Back then, he was at least her fiancé, and it was lucky the man hurried the wedding along. The ceremony almost took place with the bride’s belly showing.”

Vanessa bit her lip hard. Even though she knew they weren’t talking about her, all those words felt like warnings falling over her head.

Just then, a waiter arrived and placed a glass bowl of lemon sherbet on the table. Relieved that the distressing topic had paused even for a moment, Vanessa quickly gripped her spoon.

“By the way, Vanessa.”

Vanessa’s gaze jumped up.

“This applies to you as well. If you’ve really made a plan like that, discard it immediately.”

“…What?”

“Stay out of it and keep your mouth shut, Blair.”

Rosalyn cut Blair off as if he were a nuisance and continued quickly.

“Rather than a plan like that, it’s better to just run away. Whether you frame it as becoming a victim of a crime or whatever. You write mystery novels, so you must know plenty of ways.”

Biting her lip, Vanessa shook her head slightly.

“Have you forgotten how persistent the Ingram police are? Even if I ran away like that, I’d have to live in hiding for the rest of my life to stay safe. I… I don’t want to do that. I can’t.”

“Because of your parents’ graves?”

“…That too, but I don’t want to enter a marriage my parents would have found horrific.”

Rosalyn swallowed a quiet sigh. Vanessa’s obsession with her family was an old habit—perhaps more of a ritual by now. Having no one to pour her affection into, she clung to the memories of the dead and couldn’t let go.

Living as if she were dead herself, with a heart no different from a nun who had vowed to guard an altar for a lifetime. Rosalyn had known for a long time that her parents’ deaths had left a deep scar on Vanessa’s heart. Still, she hadn’t realized she was held so blindly captive by it.

Perhaps it was a heart she might never truly understand, but if she imagined Blair were dead, she could vaguely grasp that yearning.

“Anyway, there’s still time, so consider other directions. Like I said before, there’s always the option of keeping a lover.”

“I agree, Vanessa. Maybe marriage won’t be all that bad.”

Blair chimed in as if he had already guessed everything despite having heard nothing. Taking an elegant sip of the coffee before him, he lifted his chin like a mature man.

“You just have to fulfill your given duties to the bare minimum. Isn’t that right?”

Vanessa sat expressionless for a moment before her lips curled into a slight smile.

“Rosalyn, did you hear Blair? The future heir of Winchester has quite a lot to say.”

“Not about trivial family matters. I’m talking about our matters, Vanessa.”

“Ours?”

Vanessa laughed weakly, using her thumb to smear the condensation on the glass bowl. Everything felt lukewarm, heated by the sweltering air. Blair reached out and traced her wet finger.

“Thanks to our mothers’ friendship, the three of us have been together since the cradle. All your firsts were mine, and all my firsts were yours.”

The hand Blair held felt stinging and uncomfortable with the moisture. It felt as thin as the promise that had now vanished, as fragile as the mothers’ friendship that had scattered with death. The promise to marry their daughter and son when they grew up had been treated as less than a worn-out rag ever since the name of Somerset was dragged through the mud.

The Marchioness of Winchester often cast displeased looks even at the three of them associating together. As if wondering what a young girl could have learned and grown up with under such a profligate uncle. As if looking at a woman who would surely corrupt her son.

“I want us to keep living like this. Maybe go on vacations together sometimes.”

As she stood dazed with her hand held, Blair playfully bit the tip of her finger. A warm breath spread over the very spot where River Ross’s lips had touched before.

Startled by a strange sense of dissonance, she pulled her hand away, and he let out a small laugh. As if that innocent reaction was exactly what he had been hoping for.

Rosalyn knitted her brows as if she couldn’t stand her sibling’s behavior, but quickly smoothed her expression back to poise.

“Whatever it is, you don’t need to decide right now. Just take the exam for Alltempose University as planned and pay the tuition first. That will buy you time. You can delay the married life as much as you want while you continue your studies.”

The problem was whether Lord Roden would even tolerate his wife attending university in the first place. Of course, there was a more realistic problem.

“That… seems difficult for now. I have to raise the tuition money.”

“Tuition? You’re joking.”

“Surprisingly, I’m serious, Blair Winchester.”

“Are you really going to give up university because of money?”

“I didn’t say I was giving up. I’ll definitely go later, someday….”

“If you need money, why not look for a proper job instead? Like a governess, a clerk, a secretary, or something like that. It’s more stable than serializing novels.”

Rosalyn, who had been listening quietly to their conversation, cut in with a snort.

“Blair. Those things are for the truly poor working class. It’s a different case for Vanessa.”

Vanessa fell silent at Rosalyn’s prim remark. Rosalyn’s view on labor was in line with that of the general Ingram nobility. Even for a member of a completely ruined family, working to ‘earn money’ rather than as a hobby was a shameful thing.

Nobles were those who held the duty to create jobs by hiring people. Not those who were hired by someone else to be ordered around for a monthly wage.

“Vanessa just wants to gain some social experience while earning her own tuition. How can you treat her the same as people who work to survive?”

Rosalyn, who had been looking somewhat contemptuously at the waiters busily carrying trays here and there, turned her head elegantly toward Vanessa.

“Isn’t that right, Vanessa?”

She was wrong. In truth, Vanessa was desperate for even the opportunities they had. Her situation was one that would likely never be understood by anyone. To the nobles, she was an eccentric; to the commoners, a hypocrite. Vanessa resigned herself as usual and forced a smile.

“Of course.”

At her answer, Rosalyn smiled satisfactorily and took a large spoonful of sherbet. Vanessa, taking a spoonful of sherbet herself, touched her stiff lips. It was strange. The taste of the sherbet, which had been nothing but sweet just a moment ago, could no longer be felt at all.

---

As the season deepened, rain showers became frequent. It was the time just before the full-scale heat began, when small flower buds and mountain berries started to sprout, flaunting their vitality. A new change had also come to the gardens of Gloucester Castle.

In the Linus Woods, which connected to the back garden, wild strawberries, apricots, and tiny wild peaches were bearing fruit everywhere. Plum and persimmon blossoms, along with the pale green buds of crabapples, added vigor to the fresh season. The servants of Gloucester Castle threw open the windows they had kept shut all through spring and fully welcomed the beautiful season.

It was an unusually sunny day, like midsummer. The exterior construction that had been ongoing since morning was eventually suspended, unable to withstand the sultry noon heat. The servants, including the laborers, resolved to go fishing or swimming in the river, and the maids ran to Vanessa in excitement to ask if they could postpone the afternoon work for three or four hours.

“Would that be alright, My Lady?”

This lapse occurred only half a day after the Earl of Somerset had departed for the capital with the butler. Rosalyn was appalled by the behavior of treating her as ‘My Lady’ only when they had something to be responsible for, but Vanessa readily gave her permission.

“I understand. Just be careful not to be too late.”

“What will you do for lunch? We’re thinking of having simple sandwiches.”

“Just pack whatever you’re eating into a basket and bring it up. Enough for two or three people.”

“Why don’t you come out and have a proper lunch with me instead? Don’t think about making that last until dinner.”

Rosalyn, who had been tilting her head this way and that in front of the mirror while trying on a newly tailored hat, turned around with a frown. Vanessa shrugged.

“Cissy came to see you and Blair. She’ll be uncomfortable if I go.”

“She really is dedicated. Coming all the way down here just to see us.”

“She likes you both so much.”

“She’s far too good for Blair…. So you’re really not going?”

“Have fun and just tell me about it when you get back.”

Rosalyn’s preparations for going out ended in an instant as soon as she chose a hat to match her dress. After seeing Rosalyn off into the car as she rattled off all sorts of warnings like nagged advice, silence descended. In fact, the entire castle was quiet. It seemed everyone from the young footmen to the kitchen maids had excitedly run off to the river.

Her eyes, looking down the empty corridor, slowly moved toward the guards patrolling the outskirts of the castle. Her face, not knowing even what it desired, watched the faces ripening in the scorching sun for a while.