Translator: Nox

Chapter 168

“Understood.”

Ian quickly left the office.

Noel stared at the door Ian had closed. Then, he put down the quill he was holding and stared blankly into space.

Remembering a woman from the distant past, with whom he had clinked wine glasses to celebrate their anniversary.

* * *

‘What could it be?’

That was the first thought that came to Laura’s mind when she opened her eyes on her wedding anniversary morning.

Still drowsy from sleep, Laura traced the checkered pattern of the canopy roof with her eyes before glancing at the empty space beside her. Her husband’s spot was empty. As always.

Ian woke up every morning before dawn, when the morning chill hadn't yet dissipated. Quietly leaving so as not to wake Laura, Ian would wash, dress, and head to the greenhouse with a few servants. It was to pick flowers to decorate Laura’s study.

Laura gently stroked Ian’s empty spot with her hand.

‘Just what could it be?’

For a week, Laura had been preoccupied with this one thought.

Ever since she had asked Ian for a wonderful wedding anniversary, her husband had become so busy that it was hard to even see his face. He would often leave early in the morning in a carriage and return late at night, and on days when he was home, he would spend a long time in the kitchen with Philip, saying he had something to discuss.

She had even found her husband whispering with Lemsick in Lemsick's office when she went there on business.

Whenever she asked what he was doing, Ian would only smile. She asked Philip and Lemsick the same question, but they both looked away, as if Ian had strictly told them to keep it a secret.

Laura stroked Ian’s pillow. Because he was so busy, her husband hadn’t been able to take walks or have meals with her lately. He came home too late at night to even have time for love.

“Just what kind of cute scheme are you plotting, Ian?”

The pillow didn’t answer. Laura sat up, hugged the pillow tightly, and swayed her body from side to side.

“I’m starting to regret it. Because you’re so busy, we don’t have any time together.”

She rubbed her face against the soft pillow before giving it a quick kiss.

“I want to kiss you like this.”

“Then do it now.”

Laura turned her head sharply at the sudden voice. Ian was standing at the bedroom entrance, smiling.

Immediately, Laura’s face turned bright red.

“H-Honey, this is……”

Ian strode towards the bed. He tossed the pillow she was hugging aside and pounced on Laura. Ian’s body, dressed in a suit, overlapped perfectly with her body in a thin nightgown. And so did his lips.

Her husband’s body, chilled by the morning breeze, was cold. But the breath flowing between their lips was like the spring sunshine. And…

“Mmm.”

His tongue and saliva were like the midday sun in summer.

After kissing Laura deeply for a while, Ian pulled his face away slightly.

“I’ve been too much, haven’t I? My Laura can’t stand being lonely without her husband.”

Laura, panting softly, avoided his gaze in embarrassment.

“It was just a soliloquy.”

“Isn’t a soliloquy the most honest feeling?”

He showered kisses on Laura’s cheeks.

“Ian, the maid will be here soon to do my hair.”

“So?”

“It’s not night now……”

Ian chuckled.

“Who said anything about going all the way?”

Ian gently stroked Laura’s cheek as if he were about to pinch it.

“Honestly, I’m dying to, but we have to save something for this evening.”

“Evening?”

“Our wedding anniversary party.”

Laura smiled slightly.

“It’s this evening.”

“I’ll pick you up around five.”

“Okay. I’ll dress up and wait.”

“Dress moderately. If you get any prettier, my heart will drop.”

Laura playfully slapped Ian’s chest. Ian gave Laura one last kiss on the forehead, as if stamping it with a seal, and got out of bed.

After breakfast, Laura checked the household accounts in her study and interviewed new servants, handling the tasks that a mistress should do, as usual. Around lunchtime, she took a short walk, had lunch, and went into her study to focus on translation. It was the same routine as always.

But her heart was more excited than usual.

‘What could it be?’

Laura, who was translating the last chapter of New-Heloise, put down her fountain pen for a moment, clasped her hands together, and rested her chin on them.

‘Is he going to take me for a drive to the coast? Is he going to take me to the city center to show me something fun?’

A smile spread across Laura’s face. Anything would be fine. As long as it was time spent alone with Ian.

‘Actually, I’m ready to be moved by a dinner on the mansion terrace and a waltz.’

A dark terrace lit by moonlight. The faint sound of waltz music. Ian and her matching steps, looking at each other.

‘Just like at the last Ball I attended as Laura Pendleton.’

The Ball held at the Lance estate. The waltz with Ian, who came to her after her breakup with Mr. Price. That one dance remained a poignant memory for Laura. Although it was less than five minutes, the sadness that her separation from him was imminent and the joy that he was worried about her overwhelmed her at the same time, creating a complex emotion.

‘I’ll only feel joy now.’

Laura vowed to dance a waltz, no matter what plans he had. Even if the only music was the sound of an owl hooting on a hawthorn branch, she would.

The grandfather clock in the hall announced that it was three o’clock with a lovely chime. Laura climbed the stairs more slowly than usual, lest her trembling heart be discovered.

She meticulously washed her body in the bathroom and went to the dressing room. Two maids were waiting. When Laura sat in front of the vanity, they carefully brushed her glossy sunset-colored hair, which reached her hips.

Since today was a special day, she decided to try a different hairstyle than usual. She twisted her hair, which she always fixed in a hairnet, high up and secured it with a silver pin with sapphires. Her elegant neckline was accentuated, and it suited her slender face shape well.

Next was the dress. Since the destination was uncertain, she chose a dress that would be suitable for any location. A green dress with black stripes. It was a modest design with three-quarter sleeves and a collar that covered her neck.

Just as she was about to put a crepe shawl over her shoulders, a servant in uniform came to the dressing room. He bowed deeply.

“Madam, the carriage is waiting.”

“Wait there.”

Laura looked in the mirror one last time. When she turned her head, the small pearls hanging from the silver filigree swayed along. Laura checked her appearance one last time and went downstairs.

Outside the front door, a carriage with its door wide open was waiting. There was no one inside the carriage.

“Where’s Ian?”

“He is waiting there.”

Laura took the servant’s hand and slowly got into the carriage. The carriage quickly passed through the garden and sped along the forest path of Whitefield.

Laura looked out the window. The sun, gently tilted towards the west, was emitting a strange light like light reflected off minerals between the white birch trees.

Laura leaned her arm on the windowsill and stared at the scenery outside as if possessed. The birch forest of Whitefield had a magical power that still made her feel dazed, even though it was a road she had traveled at least hundreds of times since her marriage. It was as if each tree was imbued with the mystery of love that made her heart flutter.

The fact that this was her home was newly sweet. She could proudly call Whitefield her home, her land, in front of anyone. Because she was another master in the world of Whitefield that Ian had invited her to.

‘I’ve taken root here. Like those trees.’

The carriage turned onto a small path next to a wide dirt road. Laura, who had been staring out the window in a daze, suddenly felt strange.

‘This isn’t the way to go to the city center.’

The carriage was heading deep into the forest. She wondered if they had taken the wrong way. But there was no way the coachman, who knew all the geography of Whitefield, wouldn’t be able to distinguish between the road to the city center and the road to the forest.

The carriage stopped. It was in the middle of a field where sprouts were beginning to bud, in front of a clear lake where water striders were playing.

The coachman lowered the footrest. Laura gently stepped onto the ground and looked around. It was a familiar place.

‘I remember. It’s the place in the landscape Father painted. The background of the painting of young Ian sitting in the meadow looking at the sky was here.’

Laura chuckled, thinking of her husband’s cute childhood in her father’s painting.

Laura looked around and recalled memories from before her marriage. After learning that Whitefield was the place where her father had spent the last years of his life, she always carried her father’s sketchbook and roamed Whitefield. To trace her father’s footsteps.

Ian always accompanied her. He would tell her the places she was looking for, joke around when she was bored, and step back and wait when she was admiring the scenery.

‘How considerate a companion he was.’

As Laura was looking at the lake, lost in emotion, the coachman handed her something. It was a letter. Laura recognized that it was from Ian through the wax seal on the letter.

She opened the letter and took out the contents. A map came out.

‘The place I’m standing now is the starting point. Hmm… a path divided by a fence, two small springs, and a chestnut forest……’

The destination was inside the chestnut forest. Laura handed the map to the coachman.

“Can you take me here?”

The coachman bowed apologetically.

“I was instructed to guide you only this far.”

“By whom?”

“By the master……”

‘Does he want me to find it myself?’

Laura tilted her head. Was he suggesting a treasure hunt on their wedding anniversary?

‘Well, he must have an intention.’

Laura told the coachman to go back. The coachman bowed once more and turned back the way he had come.

Laura followed the map onto the path. But the path was very different from what she remembered. It used to be a narrow, dusty dirt road, but the road that was now in front of Laura was a solid new road paved with bricks.

The road was so clean that it was not at all uncomfortable to walk, even though she was wearing a long dress that covered her ankles and shoes with heels.

‘This is where he and I ran to avoid the rain.’