Chapter 19
Chapter 19
Vivian closed the last page of the diary.
The record, spanning a full seven years, ended with her coughing up blood and calling for a doctor.
'This must have been when I was diagnosed with Consumption. How futile would it be to struggle to escape the Duke's grasp, only to end in death?'
Vivian recalled the day she first possessed this body.
When she came to, she was sprawled on the floor. Beside her were a long rope and a fallen chair, and the maids were screaming and looking for someone.
She was so dumbfounded at the time that she couldn't even speak. But to think there was such a story behind it.
"My mouth tastes bitter."
Vivian closed the diary. It felt like she had glimpsed a secret she shouldn't have.
But she couldn't just put the diary back as it was. The Duke might find it.
She had a gut feeling that she shouldn't hand it over to him, at least.
"Oh, you haven't thrown that diary away yet?"
As Vivian pondered, the shrubs in the garden suddenly parted. Alex, who never appeared in an ordinary way, poked his head through the gap.
"I bought it for you the day I decided to study abroad at the academy. It's quite old."
"You remember all that?"
"Don't underestimate my memory."
Vivian draped a shawl over her shoulders and got up from the sofa. Alex had already settled on the bench.
Compelled by an unknown feeling, she handed the diary to Alex.
"Here, you take it, Brother."
"Huh? Why?"
"I was wondering who deserves to have this diary, and it seems like it can only be you."
"You used to hate showing it to me, even when I asked."
"I'm going to be a new person now. Someone different from before."
Aslan's business seemed to be taking longer than expected. Vivian rested her chin leisurely.
"I think I'll take it easy and live a little more comfortably. Just go with the flow."
"We siblings… we've been living too fiercely. So, is this the corpse left behind by the old Vivian?"
"I guess so."
"Then let's hold a funeral for it."
Alex gathered fallen branches nearby and immediately lit them. Vivian's eyes widened in surprise.
"Now, all of a sudden?"
"It's best to do things when you've made up your mind. Don't look back on the past. I always want my sister to be happy."
The old diary caught fire. Alex stretched with a somehow relieved expression.
"So, let's run away. Once we cross the border, Father won't be able to do anything to us."
"That's a bit sudden too."
"It won't do for you to marry a scoundrel like the Border Count. I won't allow it, even if dirt gets in this brother's eyes. Let's go and find a way to cure your Consumption too."
Vivian was inwardly touched. She felt a little sorry for having been prejudiced against his unusual vocabulary when they first met.
Besides, before being dragged out of the banquet hall, Alex had shouted:
'Vivian is my sister, whom I raised. So, if Vivian is at fault, it is right that I, who raised her poorly, should take responsibility!'
Vivian suddenly became curious.
"You said you would take responsibility to Father earlier. How were you planning to take responsibility?"
"Ah, that."
Alex shrugged nonchalantly.
"I was thinking of marrying the Border Count in your place. We're siblings, so we look alike, right? The Border Count must be getting presbyopic by now, so he would definitely be fooled."
"……."
Watching Alex laugh heartily, Vivian felt her emotion fading slightly.
'I should have just not asked.'
Regret is always too late, no matter how early.
Several days passed since then. Fortunately or unfortunately, none of the plans Alex had made were executed.
Duchess Eleonora, who was carrying out the Emperor's secret mission, accidentally lost her footing on a cliff and died.
The funeral was held quietly with only the direct family members present.
Alex unexpectedly inherited the title of Duke.
Fortunately, Aslan, who had extensive political experience, spared no effort in providing assistance, and the succession process proceeded smoothly.
Iris was formally registered in the family, and Vivian received an invitation from someone she had never dreamed of.
It was an invitation from the Emperor.
＊ ＊ ＊
The Grand Duke's residence was bustling from early morning. It was the day Aslan and Vivian were entering the palace by imperial order.
Vivian sat in front of the mirror in her negligee, having just woken up. Maids gathered to attend to her.
"I'll brush your hair. A massage will help you wake up."
"Yeah, I'm still sleepy."
The woman in the mirror was beautiful by anyone's standards.
Her features were delicately arranged on her slender face. Her fair, round forehead, doll-like large eyes, high nose, and rose-petal-red lips were lovely.
Amidst all that, her slowly blinking eyelashes were like the wings of a delicate butterfly.
The maids, who had been admiring Vivian's beauty, bowed their heads in unison.
Aslan, who had appeared unnoticed, leaned against the doorway, staring at Vivian as if possessed.
"……."
He took the brush from the maids and gestured for them all to leave. The servants retreated silently, leaving only the two of them in the spacious bedroom.
Unaware of this, Vivian was still struggling with the encroaching sleepiness, her eyes closed.
"Umm, why did you suddenly stop……."
"It's all your fault."
A low voice laced with laughter. Startled, Vivian opened her eyes wide.
Aslan, whose eyes met hers across the mirror, curved his lips as if amused.
"You're so beautiful that I can't take my eyes off you."
"When did you come?"
"Just now."
He gently pressed Vivian back down, who was trying to get up, and began to brush her hair. Fine platinum blonde hair slipped smoothly through the brush.
"I've become so jealous lately that it's a big problem."
"Jealous? You get jealous too?"
"I'm jealous of everyone around you. I can't stand even the touch of the maids' hands."
"You're joking……."
Aslan had started making strange jokes often lately. At first, she pretended to laugh a few times, but even that had its limits now.
'He's been hanging out with Alex and is starting to resemble him in this way.'
Of course, there was a difference in that Alex was serious, not joking.
"How is it, refreshing?"
"It's good."
"Then I'll do it every morning."
"Wouldn't it be a bother?"
"A bother? It's for you."
Vivian thought 'it won't last three days' in her mind, but she didn't show it outwardly. Aslan's grip was better than the maids', so it was definitely refreshing.
But there was a side effect. Because the massage was so excellent, sleepiness began to creep in again.
Vivian, who was about to fall asleep without realizing it, quickly splashed water on her face.
"Ugh, you have to get ready to go out too. Is it okay for you to waste time on me?"
"I'm not a sleepyhead like someone here."
"Sleepyhead? Could you just say I'm someone who likes to sleep in a little?"
"Hehe, why don't you open your eyes first."
She was already trying to open them. There was a limit to treating someone like a hibernating bear!
Vivian opened her eyes wide.
"……?"
And she was a little embarrassed by the long silence that followed.
Aslan had diligently dressed in his formal attire from early in the morning. He had styled his bangs stiffly, and his cravat and handkerchief were perfectly angled.
'Ugh, I can't do that, I'd feel suffocated.'
Aslan was staring at Vivian with an expectant look. On closer inspection, he looked like a cat waiting for praise from the butler.
After much deliberation, Vivian came up with a suitable greeting.
"You're very diligent. I'll admit it even if you persecute me for being a sleepyhead."
"What?"
"You've already finished dressing, but I'm only wearing a negligee and a robe. And yet, instead of hurrying, you were leisurely brushing my hair. I regret it."
"……Why isn't she falling for it."
Aslan stroked his chin as if contemplating a major issue.
Meanwhile, the head maid Emma knocked and placed a bowl of medicine down. She also placed a sweet chocolate with it for Vivian, who hated bitter things.
"I'll bring breakfast soon."
"Okay, you can go."
Emma retreated, and Vivian reluctantly approached the bowl of medicine.
It wasn't a medicine to cure the disease, but just to alleviate the symptoms a little. Knowing that a cure would come out in the near future, it was a real ordeal to take it several times a day.
As Vivian kept averting her gaze from the medicine, Aslan suggested.
"I'll give you a present if you take it well."
"It's just chocolate, isn't it?"
"We'll see about that."
He really only learned strange things from Alex. Next time she met her brother, she would firmly warn him not to corrupt innocent people.
"Ugh, it's bitter!"
"That's right."
Aslan's finger slipped into Vivian's lips. He pushed the chocolate in and smiled contentedly, caressing her soft lips.
"You take it well."
"Hmph, thanks for the chocolate."
"I'll tease you more and you'll get sulky. I really have to give you a present now."
Aslan led Vivian to the full-length mirror.
He stood her, small enough to fit snugly in his arms, in front of him and took out a box from his inner pocket. It was a wide, flat box covered in blue velvet.
Aslan then opened the box.
It was a gorgeous necklace with large teardrop diamonds dangling like grapes.
Vivian was roughly stunned by the insane size, which couldn't even be priced. Aslan's eyes curved pleasantly.
"Do you like it?"
"What is this……."
"Come to think of it, I haven't given you a proper engagement gift."
Vivian recalled the clothes and accessories filling the dressing room, the luxurious furniture filling the bedroom, the custom-made carriage, and the three swords made for her.
Unaware that Vivian was inwardly lamenting his memory, Aslan whispered.
"I'll put it on for you myself."
Fine platinum blonde hair fell softly over one shoulder. Her fair, slender neck and the prominent collarbone were fully revealed.
Aslan's hand, holding the necklace, slowly reached out.
"Hoo, I can't take my eyes off you."
Perhaps because the necklace was unexpectedly difficult to put on, Aslan hesitated for a long time before finally letting go.
Vivian turned this way and that, looking at her reflection in the mirror.
When she just looked at it, it was honestly so flashy and sparkling that it was burdensome, but when she actually wore it, it suited Vivian's face very well.
Aslan seemed to have had a similar thought, as he clapped a couple of times.
"It suits you as well as I thought. What do you think?"
"Aslan, you're surprisingly good at judging things? It was very burdensome when I first saw it……."
"There's nothing I don't know about you."
"I like it. Thank you."
The expression that had been subtly distorted when she praised him for being diligent earlier relaxed again.
"But I can't wear it today. It can't be more gorgeous than Her Majesty the Empress."
It looked expensive enough to make your eyes roll back at a glance. Wearing something like this would be perfect for being criticized for disrespecting the Empress.
She immediately took off the necklace that Aslan had painstakingly put on.
"……Is this also a failure."
Aslan's expression drooped subtly. Of course, the miracle of Vivian noticing it did not happen.
