Chapter 24
- Knowing Nothing
It was only natural that such a misunderstanding would arise.
The reason Yuan deliberately made close contact with him was that implying the act of sharing 'intimate warmth' was not just child's play but a prelude to something more was beneficial to her in many ways.
If his last memory was merely wiping moisture from the corner of her lips, how long would the sensitive Klaud continue to believe it?
"It seems the Young Marquess and Lancelot have arrived! They used to come often, but they've been visiting even more frequently lately."
Her thoughts were interrupted when the carriage stopped right in front of the mansion.
Seeing the two black horses that Lancelot always rode at the entrance, Yuan entered the mansion with a bit of tension.
As she made eye contact with the Lev brothers, who were conversing with the butler Gustav, Yuan awkwardly bent her knees in a brief curtsy.
"Ah, Madam."
Brushing back his caramel-colored brown hair, Lancelot greeted Yuan warmly.
They had always exchanged simple greetings, but this was the first time they were meeting so closely and conversing since she had decided to stay in this house.
Unlike Lancelot's affable greeting, Eddie Lev, the future Marquis Lev, with his long hair tied back, barely acknowledged her with a slight nod before passing her by.
Yuan, taken aback by Eddie's cold reaction, looked at Lancelot, who seemed equally at a loss.
Lancelot was a man with a bright demeanor, slightly drooping eyes like Yuan's, and a slender face.
He always dressed impeccably and occasionally gave her a playful smile, but Yuan didn't see him as frivolous.
The Lev Marquess family was a prestigious one, so it was perhaps natural for their scion to appear that way.
"Well, the details will be sent separately in writing from our family. Madam..."
Lancelot gave instructions to Gustav with familiarity, then approached Yuan with a slightly troubled expression, scratching the back of his head before clearing the way.
"It would be best if you went up to see Klaud."
"Is something the matter?"
Lancelot hesitated, contemplating whether to explain, then smiled.
"I believe the master of this house was looking for you earlier."
Lancelot, with just the right amount of courtesy, hurried out of the mansion.
"Madam."
Butler Gustav, who had become noticeably more polite after she handed over the ledger, offered something to Yuan.
It was a letter.
As soon as Gustav went out to supervise the servants unloading the water barrels, Yuan opened the envelope with stiff fingers.
[To the ungrateful niece, Yuan Pellieresse.
Did you think we would never meet again? You foolish and stupid...(omitted)
Only caring about yourself...(omitted) Even if you are in that mansion, there are plenty of ways to get you out...(omitted)]
Yuan threw the letter, filled with her uncle's scrawled handwriting, into the fireplace that warmed the air on the first floor.
Only after confirming the ashes had completely burned did Yuan hurriedly go up to the second floor.
Knocking on the bedroom door, which was slightly ajar, a sharp, sensitive voice snapped.
"Who is it?"
"It's, it's me."
It was a trivial answer, but for a moment, she felt uneasy about answering so casually without even giving her name.
There was no response from inside for a while.
Yuan hesitated whether to enter as she was, then cautiously stepped inside.
Contrary to her expectation that he would be lying in bed or lounging in the rocking chair, Klaud was standing by the window with his arms crossed, seemingly looking outside.
"Where have you been?"
His voice was somewhat irritated.
Yuan's eyes naturally went to the gold-leafed envelope sealed with purple wax on the table, but she answered first.
"I heard there's a small chapel nearby."
"Why?"
Yuan blinked her large eyes for a moment at the sharp reaction that came even before she finished her answer, then replied.
"...To pray."
She couldn't bring herself to say that she had gone to see Louise.
It was something the entire household was keeping quiet about, and Yuan herself had the desire to quickly become close to Klaud and ask about Louise, so she couldn't help but feel guilty.
Fortunately, Klaud was fixated on the strange reason rather than the reason for going to the chapel.
The handsome ends of his eyebrows sharply rose.
"With whose permission?"
"..."
Numerous excuses ran through her mind, but she ultimately decided against it.
In this house, Klaud Euphris was the law.
There was no need to feel wronged.
Klaud was a patient.
Those who had not tasted his pain might fight against such sensitivity, but seeing the pain that gnawed at his other half, she didn't want to do that.
After hearing that she could live in this mansion, Yuan had resolved to live with gratitude towards Klaud, at least outwardly.
To maintain a proper distance with gratitude. And if her sister's death was due to that man, she would not share his pain without hesitation.
"Don't wander around without permission."
She didn't know why he was acting like that when he didn't really care, but Yuan obediently nodded.
Even if she asked for permission from now on, it didn't seem like Klaud would particularly find fault and prevent her from going out.
Strangely, she had that feeling.
Even though she didn't know the man well yet.
"Please don't be too disappointed, Madam."
As soon as Yuan came out of Klaud's bedroom and relaxed a little, Butler Gustav quietly approached.
His face, showing concern at Yuan's somewhat dejected expression, was extremely cautious.
"Is something the matter?"
"The Imperial Family will be visiting soon."
"What?"
Yuan's eyes widened at the unexpected answer.
Come to think of it, the servants who were carrying water had all disappeared somewhere, and the first floor was deserted.
It was clear that the few servants had all gone to clean the annex hall for the guests.
"His Imperial Majesty the Emperor will be arriving in three days."
This time, she was so surprised that she had to cover her mouth with both hands.
The Emperor was 'that' Igor Euphris.
A ruthless tyrant who valued human lives like flies and was more interested in hunting than state affairs.
And according to rumors, he was the one who made Klaud like this, and after the deaths of the late Emperor and Empress, he seized Klaud's position and usurped the throne...
"Even if His Highness is in a bad mood and more sensitive than usual, please understand."
So that gold-leafed envelope was from the Imperial Family after all.
He had become more sensitive after hearing that news.
It wasn't just because he was sick and tired that he was so sharp.
Yuan, who had just shoved her uncle's letter into the fireplace, could fully understand him.
"I understand."
Gustav stretched his lips into a long smile, seemingly relieved, and went out to the bustling outside.
Yuan also thought that she should see if there was anything she could do as the mistress of the house and quickened her pace.
That night.
Yuan, accustomed to Henna and the maids fussing over her, dressed in light clothing and headed to Klaud's bedroom.
She knocked and, receiving no answer, entered to find Klaud sprawled in the creaking rocking chair.
Whether Klaud himself realized it or not, the pain that had started to come and change his body as it began to get dark was now slowing down little by little compared to before.
Yuan quietly approached Klaud, who was still maintaining his reason.
She had clearly made her presence known, but only the sound of the creaking rocking chair filled the bedroom.
Yuan glanced at the letter envelope that had not yet been cleaned up or discarded and quietly stood beside him.
She wanted to offer him a word of comfort, as he seemed particularly down today.
Not all uncles and aunts in the world were like that.
Yuan probably understood his hatred for the Emperor the best in the entire country.
Just as Yuan, who shared his pain, was the one who understood his pain the best.
If they were going to continue living together like this anyway, wouldn't it be possible for them to live as a comfort to each other, even just a little?
Just as Louise and Yuan, who had been awkward as sisters meeting after 10 years, had comforted each other and become closer because they had a common enemy in their uncle and cousins.
"There are so many people in the world who aren't like family."
Creak. Creak.
"Whatever I say, it may not be a great comfort to you, but..."
Creak. Creak.
"You are no longer in the palace. You have a new family, you've even built a family..."
Yuan hesitated a little as she brought up the words 'new family' but soon mustered her courage.
"It might be better to forget about them, even just a little."
Along with the still creaking rocking chair, transparent glass-like eyes appeared in the darkness.
But his expression was still not good.
Yuan hurriedly added.
"Wouldn't it be easier to think that you and that person are not family...?"
"What do you know."
A silence fell where not even the creaking sound could be heard.
"What do you know? Don't pretend to know when you know nothing, and just do your job."
"..."
"And don't wander around alone."
Understanding and communication were different.
Yuan stood frozen, as if she had been hit head-on by a large wave.
'This is nothing.'
Let's do what I have to do.
She felt miserable that the heart that had reached out had been pushed away.
Yuan repeated the spell she always recited and made him medicinal tea.
Klaud stared at the ceiling for a long time before drinking it all down when the tea no longer sent up white steam.
His twitching eyebrows made it clear that the pain had come.
Yuan reached out her slender hand and swept away the droplets of tea flowing down his neck with her index finger.
Whether it was because of the pain or something else, Klaud flinched, lowered his gaze from the ceiling, and stared at her pale hand.
Just as she was thinking how beautiful the moonlight caught on his long eyelashes was.
Yuan slowly lowered her head and kissed not his cheek but the corner of his lips.
The moist tea droplets and the rough, bark-like skin deeply touched Yuan's soft lips.
Klaud's eyelashes, which seemed to be trembling, stopped moving.
Yuan opened her closed eyes and gazed at his beautiful face, shining under the moonlight, for a long time.
It was a silence where only his and her breathing passed without the sound of creaking, but it was much less tense than before.
Klaud Euphris's perfect face, fallen into sleep, was like an angel fallen from the sky.
"Your face is pretty, but why do you keep saying such mean things?"
The pain that clamored for her to let him out began to kick in Yuan's heart.
Watching the moonlight caress his long eyelashes and towering nose, Yuan endured the sound of her heart beating in her ears.
Her stomach felt a little queasy.
She felt strange.
"Do you hate me trying to get along that much?"
Yuan pressed down on his brow, which was frowning from time to time due to the pain remaining in his body.
As the subtly wrinkled brow straightened, Yuan's brow furrowed slightly.
"You don't even know who you're sleeping well thanks to. You're the one who knows nothing."
