Chapter 76
“Regarding the stock purchase, I believe it would be wise to consult with experts. The opinion that the investment is excessively bold has been gaining traction since last week. I’ve organized the agenda regarding the charitable foundation below that. And…”
The elderly butler’s voice trailed off as he smoothly delivered his report.
“And? It sounds like that’s the main point.”
“…May I ask how long you intend to stay at the hotel?”
Theodore picked up the glass sitting by his right hand and slowly savored the whisky. For a butler who never questioned his master’s actions, the remark was excessively blunt. Since Norman wasn't the type to overstep his bounds, the Dowager Duchess Norma Battenberg’s influence was undoubtedly behind the question.
“…….”
Theodore brushed away his brief annoyance with a single sigh. Ultimately, this unfortunate employee was merely caught in the middle of a discord between two masters. He lowered his gaze and picked up the next proposal for review.
“I have no intention of returning for the time being. If the Dowager Duchess asks, you may tell her that.”
“…The Dowager Duchess is worried, but I am concerned for you as well, Grace. No matter how well the hotel staff behaves, they cannot look after you as meticulously as the servants at the estate.”
“That problem would be solved if the Dowager Duchess stepped away from family affairs and appointed a proxy. Then she could enjoy the rest of her days at that villa in Liège she likes so much.”
He muttered it like a joke, but more than half of it was sincere. Whether it was the castle or the townhouses, every single thing was managed by the Dowager Duchess from start to finish.
Having his daily life shared in such detail was an unpleasant experience in itself, but most of the buildings owned by the family were entangled with rather tedious memories. They followed the long, arduous love story of his parents, right up until they died in an ‘unexpected accident.’
At the worst of times, he had been dragged like a trophy by one parent or the other every other week, wandering through every piece of land and building the Battenbergs owned. He didn't think he had any particular complaints about it then. It was just that, at some point, his desire for a space of his own had simply vanished.
“Why not purchase a separate townhouse instead? I will handle it quietly so the Dowager Duchess does not find out…”
“There’s no need for that.”
That was part of the reason he had applied for the Navy as soon as he became an adult and stayed in hotels instead of the family estates whenever he was on leave. At some point, it all began to feel like an extension of a pointless game of ‘playing house.’ Values that were once desperate were bound to fade with time.
“Settling down in one place is just… tedious.”
He replied dryly and signed the document. Marriage or settling down—even the thought of it felt somewhat dreadful. Especially since ‘their’ goal was for him to obediently father a child to carry on the line and remain anchored wherever that child was.
If he were forced to marry and take a wife, a relationship without much affection for one another would be the healthiest. A woman who would dryly look after her own interests, treating whoever the other met as a mere personal matter. A woman who would never, ever cling to him emotionally.
“I will do anything. As long as Your Grace passes Battenberg down to Edgar’s child—the child I will bear.”
The brazen voice of that Morton woman now sounded like a perfectly appropriate and desirable way to behave. Feeling a sudden surge of fatigue, Theodore loosened the collar of his shirt that felt as if it were choking him. It was around then that the telephone rang in the room, which had been silent save for the scratching of his pen.
Norman quietly picked up the receiver, but his face soon filled with bewilderment, and he hurriedly covered the mouthpiece with his hand. Theodore’s brow furrowed at the rare display of fuss.
“They say a woman has come to the hotel where you stayed previously. She is looking for a man, and the staff contacted us to check, as they are certain she is describing Your Grace.”
“…A woman?”
“They say Lady Vanessa is looking for Mr. River Ross.”
***
Vanessa clasped her trembling hands together. Her request to find ‘River Ross’ seemed to have been relayed to the Duke immediately. While waiting for news, Vanessa desperately hoped that this was all just a misunderstanding on her part.
Even if it was a hollow expectation, at least hope wouldn't be entirely gone…
She bit her dry lips. It had only been two days since she discovered the Duke’s signature in her uncle’s safe. To say she had cleared away all her remaining feelings would be a lie. She hadn't even had the time for that.
Nevertheless, she couldn't wait any longer and had to act. According to the books, signs of pregnancy became clear from the twelfth week. She had already wasted half of her ‘safe’ window.
“I am sorry, but the person you are looking for is not staying at this hotel at the moment.”
“…I see.”
“However, they said they would send someone to collect the lady looking for River Ross. A car will arrive shortly to take you there.”
‘The lady looking for River Ross.’ The words, which felt like they were testing her reaction, made a hollow laugh escape her lips. As if asking how much she knew, or how much she was willing to pretend not to know. Like actors on a stage coordinating their roles…
Vanessa caught her quickened breath, trying to suppress her sensitive nerves. It was an overreaction. There was no way a hotel clerk could represent the Duke’s intentions in any capacity.
The car sent by the Duke took her to another luxury hotel nearby. The building, as massive and elegant as The Ritz, felt intimidating just to look at. Just like the name Battenberg.
“Please wait a moment. I will escort you upstairs shortly.”
“By upstairs… do you mean a guest room?”
“That is correct.”
“I saw a coffee house on the first floor. May I wait there?”
The employee looked troubled, but after checking something over the transmitter, he nodded. She was immediately guided to a window seat. Her heart pounded rapidly with a strange mix of exhilaration and anxiety at finally having come this far.
“What would you like to drink?”
“Water will be enough. Thank you.”
Water was served with a level of hospitality she had never experienced before. She kept checking her watch anxiously. She couldn't get used to this unfamiliar situation of waiting for a man on the first floor of a hotel.
Nor could she get used to the way he treated and made people wait when they wanted to see him.
She felt she knew him even without facing him. The Duke was aristocratic, authoritative, and arrogant all at once. The idea that he was the same person as ‘River Ross’ was a preposterous assumption.
That ‘River Ross,’ who casually wore commoners' shirts and humbly pruned rose bushes in the garden, was the same person as the ‘Duke of Battenberg’? Vanessa swallowed a dry laugh. She didn't want to judge prematurely, but if it were true, the man she thought she knew was already nowhere to be found.
‘Maybe it really was a mistake. River Ross might have received those luxury goods as gifts from his superior, the Duke.’
Her heart whispered a convenient escape. To leave this place now and pretend she didn't know. To trust the man she had resolved to love. The more she thought about it, the better that seemed. Was there really a need to tear this entire relationship apart with her own hands?
She bit her lip until it nearly bled. Perhaps she had been anxious all along. What if River Ross—the real you—actually appears in response to my message to the Duke…
“Vanessa.”
It was the moment she squeezed her eyes shut at the sound of approaching footsteps. A soft voice reached her. It sounded both utterly foreign and yet familiar—smooth as satin, yet deep as a dark blue wave…
She snapped her eyes open, her gaze shimmering with faint moisture. And like a lie, she faced him with a clear smile.
“River Ross.”
The man’s eyes widened for a moment at those words, then sparkled with the color of the deep sea. Just as splendidly as the day they first met.
A demon does not exist with black wings and horns; he comes disguised as every moment you ever desired. If so, the man before her was the most dangerous and wicked being in the world.
