Chapter 38
38
Scarlett, hurrying to catch the Tram, soon recalled Andrei's words and looked down at her skirt. It wasn't dirty by any means, but if she ran into Viktor at Dumpelt Mansion, she would surely hear an earful.
Perhaps because she had been sitting all day working, Scarlett felt dizzy in the rare sunlight. Still, the thought that Isaac might be able to feel this sunlight warmed her heart.
Arriving at the Dumpelt Family residence around two o'clock, intending to leave before Viktor returned from his official duties, Blight greeted her.
"You've come, Lady! I'm so grateful, even though the journey here must have been burdensome and difficult."
Scarlett wore an embarrassed expression, as if she wasn't here to do anything particularly important, but Blight was overly welcoming.
"Viktor wouldn't know if anything disappeared anyway..."
"Yes, I think so too. But I'm afraid of selling something he doesn't know about, even by accident, and getting into trouble."
"That's true. It would be a burden."
Scarlett nodded in understanding. Then, she headed to the dressing room in the detached residence she used to use.
The spaces Scarlett had used remained eerily unchanged each time she visited. It was as if time had stopped on the day she left, taking only a few cherished items with her.
The dressing room was no different, with the clothes Scarlett had left behind still hanging there. Dresses went out of fashion quickly, so the cost of alterations would be more than buying them at auction, which was why they hadn't been put up for sale. Scarlett spoke to Candice, who was following her with a pen and notepad.
"You should sell all these dresses. Why leave them as they are?"
"Y-yes, indeed."
Candice outwardly agreed, but inwardly she was concealing her worries.
It was Viktor who had ordered that her belongings not be touched. Scarlett probably didn't know how much effort it took to maintain the spaces she used to occupy.
Some of the servants called the room "the dead wife's room." Only the idea of a beloved wife dying and leaving an empty room could justify the act of preserving the room as if it were frozen in time.
Scarlett was very much alive, and the two had divorced because they had betrayed each other's hearts. Yet, many people wondered why so much effort was being put into keeping this room intact, but no one could ask.
Scarlett headed to the jewelry box inside the dressing room. The jewelry box was large enough to be used as a table. Opening all the doors of the jewelry box, which had multiple doors, Scarlett fell into thought.
"Hmm..."
The Dumpelt Family was the family of an ousted princess and the owner of abandoned land. It was a family hastily created to cast out Marina Iren, so it had no history or tradition. Therefore, the Dumpelt Family could not become a prestigious family.
To compensate for this weakness, Viktor steadily bought items with history and tradition at auctions. Even Scarlett's birthday and wedding anniversary became excuses for Viktor to buy such items.
The jewels and furniture Viktor gifted to Scarlett were all items used by famous figures in history. He believed that these jewels would create legitimacy for the Dumpelt Family. And perhaps, in reality, that was very likely to happen.
'Though it would take over a hundred years.'
In any case, such jewels were kept separately in a vault, so the jewelry box had little in it compared to its enormous size. Come to think of it, even this jewelry box had been used by a famous singer.
As Scarlett pondered seriously, Candice, who had been waiting behind her, spoke up.
"Can't you put out something from the vault?"
"Ah, well. The things in the vault all have history, so it's a bit difficult to put them out. Viktor would hate it."
Scarlett answered and stroked the jewelry box, saying,
"Sometimes I feel sorry for my husband. He's so obsessed with honor."
"You feel sorry for the young master? There are so many pitiful people in the world."
Scarlett laughed at Candice's retort.
"I guess so?"
She examined the jewelry box once more and said,
"But you know, I still have one family member in the world who truly, truly loves me."
"The young master had you, didn't he?"
Scarlett laughed at Candice's words.
"Hmm. Now that you mention it, yes. I loved him so much. He just... betrayed me a little. He couldn't forgive me for that little thing."
"Exactly. It's not like you slandered him that much. You didn't even make up lies."
Scarlett kept laughing as Candice took her side.
As she searched through the jewelry box, Scarlett finally found something suitable to donate to the charity event.
"Ah, this would be good."
Candice looked troubled when she saw what Scarlett had taken out.
"You're going to put that out?"
It was the tiara Scarlett had worn at her wedding. It was the only item she owned that had been newly made.
She wore the dress Marina had worn and the ring she had received, all in the name of creating tradition, but the tiara was newly made. The tiara worn by Marina Dumpelt, who had black hair, did not suit Scarlett, who had light blonde hair.
"I wonder if people will dislike it because it's an item from a broken marriage..."
As Scarlett was talking to herself, looking at the tiara, Viktor entered the room.
Scarlett was startled and looked at the clock, realizing that more time had passed than she thought, as she had been struggling to find a suitable item. She quickly closed the jewelry box and stood up.
"Sorry. I was here a bit longer than I thought because there weren't many items to put out."
Scarlett held up the tiara and continued.
"I was thinking of putting this out."
"Do so. It looks good."
"You don't remember jewelry very well, do you?"
"Not at all."
Scarlett put down the tiara as Viktor honestly admitted it.
"I wore this at our wedding. Since our marriage fell apart, I was worried people might dislike it if I put it out."
"Isn't there anything else? You have a lot of jewelry."
"They're all important, so I can't sell them. How can I put Richard Camelli's ring that he gave to his wife or Natalia Iren's necklace up for auction?"
Richard Camelli was a captain of the royal guard in history, and Natalia Iren was one of the royal women a hundred years ago and was recorded as the most beautiful person in history.
Whenever Scarlett heard episodes about Natalia Iren's appearance, she thought that Viktor's appearance was living proof of that story.
Viktor had no interest in jewelry at all, so he just answered appropriately.
"That's true. Then put out my things. Almost all of them are new."
He said, nodding towards the door as if suggesting they go out together. Scarlett nodded and stood up.
She soon went to Viktor's room and looked through the things he had.
In contrast to what Scarlett had, Viktor's things were all new. Each item had been carefully selected and personally wrapped by her.
Scarlett realized anew that her things were all old, and his were all new.
Throughout their married life, the couple had been giving each other the opposite of what they wanted. To him, who wanted to elevate the family name and needed old things, she gave new things; to herself, who had not received new things since she was twelve and longed for new things, she gave old things.
In the early days of their marriage, Scarlett had been overjoyed that Viktor had prepared gifts. However, she gradually realized that they were just materials to create history for the Dumpelt Family, disguised as her gifts.
To such a man, she always bought things that were displayed in the most visible places in department stores. Perhaps he also felt the slight bitterness and disappointment that she felt when she received gifts. Scarlett had recently been thinking that her efforts had been forced.
She asked Viktor with a deliberately calm face.
"They're holding a charity event in 7th Avenue too. Do you have any blankets you don't use?"
At her words, Viktor tilted his head and looked at Scarlett.
"What charity event?"
"Just, well, the people in 7th Avenue are holding a charity event too. They're raising donations and putting out blankets and long-lasting pickles for the winter. Right. It would be good if there was firewood too..."
Scarlett, who was working hard to persuade Viktor, stopped talking.
Viktor was leaning against the dresser, his hand resting on it, looking at her.
Ordinary people interact not only with language but also with facial expressions and gestures, but it was difficult to do that with Viktor. He never made affirmative remarks in the middle of a conversation and only looked at the other person with arrogant eyes that showed no great interest in anything in the world. It was impossible to tell if he was listening or if he was even slightly interested in what the other person was saying.
Scarlett's mouth was somewhat stiff as she continued.
"Let's stop if you're not interested. Put these cufflinks up for auction. They don't suit you."
"I never said I wasn't interested."
"You're not interested."
She lifted her chin slightly and looked up at Viktor as she said.
Viktor looked at her for a moment and then leaned towards her. Scarlett's shoulders flinched at the approaching coolness.
Viktor tilted his head and said,
"So, donations, blankets, pickles, and firewood. And what else?"
Scarlett's lips parted slightly at his question from close range, and she stopped there.
When she didn't say anything, Viktor spoke again.
"And?"
"...Things made of wool. They say if you collect old ones, you can unravel them all and knit new clothes. I had some thick shawls, you know, unravel those."
Even after saying that, Viktor was still looking at her, so Scarlett added unnecessarily out of discomfort.
"That's all."
She finished as if she had to report to him like that, and Viktor turned his head to one side and chuckled.
He didn't laugh often, so it must have been quite absurd. Scarlett's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but she held her head high as if nothing was wrong.
A moment later, Viktor rang the bell to call Blight and said,
"Send any unused blankets, pickles, and firewood to 7th Avenue."
"For a charity event? Yes, I understand."
"Ah, and anything made of wool that can be used to reuse the yarn."
"Yes."
"That's all."
"Yes?"
Blight blinked, puzzled by Viktor's words, which he had never said before, and Scarlett's eyes widened in bewilderment.
