Chapter 4
4
Even with a blueprint in her head, the equipment and Clockwork devices were new to her. Due to her lack of skill, by the time she reassembled the clock she had taken apart around lunchtime, it was dark outside.
"Wow, it's done."
Scarlett spoke in a happy voice for the first time in a while. From the outside, it just looked like she had opened it and closed it again. But after reassembling the clock, it regained its proper speed after being excessively slow. The noise from the clock had also disappeared.
Candice, who compared the clock to her own wristwatch after it was hung back on the wall, said,
"Oh my, you really fixed it..."
As they were marveling at it, the door burst open and Scarlett's father-in-law, Gregory Dampfelt, entered. The expression on Scarlett's face, which had been joyful just moments before, instantly darkened.
Gregory strode over and glared at her with the blue eyes he had passed down to his son, Viktor.
"I can't understand how you can be laughing right now."
Scarlett quickly stood up.
Gregory pointed angrily out the window.
"Do you know that the gas lamp at the front door is out?"
At those words, one of the maids who had been admiring the clock said in surprise.
"I-I'm sorry! I forgot..."
"Managing the maids is also the mistress's job. When my wife is lying ill with a mental illness, instead of feeling responsible, you block my son's future and laugh!"
The label of a man who had degraded a princess had followed Gregory throughout his youth. Gossip that he had seduced the refined Duchess Marina with all sorts of cunning tricks was in the newspapers every day.
Scarlett also suspected that Gregory was projecting his own inferiority complex onto her, making his attitude even more cruel. Once he started scolding, it would go on for hours, tiring not only Scarlett but also those around her.
Around that time, Palin returned after the late luncheon.
He was about to knock on the dressing room door when he heard Gregory's angry voice from inside.
"Not even an animal would turn around and forget what it had just done and laugh. Is she so dull that she doesn't understand what she did wrong?"
Scarlett, thinking that she was at fault, clasped her hands together and didn't lift her head once.
Gregory, who had been scolding Scarlett with a mix of belittlement, revealed his true intentions.
"So please, stop being stubborn and get a divorce."
In the end, the story always came back to this.
Scarlett replied calmly.
"I'm sorry."
"Why can't you get a divorce? You know from experience that Viktor finds you lacking. If you feel sorry for holding him back this time, shouldn't you open the way for Viktor to meet a daughter from a good family?"
"If you really want a divorce..."
Scarlett recalled Viktor's order not to let her attend the party and continued indifferently.
"Please give me some of the assets."
Gregory asked in disbelief.
"What did you just say?"
"My brother always needs a caregiver, so living expenses are high. So, even a little bit of property division..."
"How dare you mention property division when you came with nothing but your body without a dowry!"
"Then I cannot get a divorce either."
Even Palin frowned at Scarlett, whose intentions were clear despite her bowing head.
Gregory, as if he couldn't forgive her, raised his voice and continued.
"You can't be like this unless you're possessed by a demon. You're trying to ruin our Dumpelt Family! No, you must go to the Monastery immediately. Go and be forgiven for your sins."
Palin, startled by his humiliation, hurriedly opened the door.
"I'm sorry to interrupt. I came to tell you that the luncheon is over."
When Palin, the heir of the prestigious Redford Family, appeared, Gregory, who had been berating Scarlett in front of the servants, stopped scolding, though he was displeased.
Palin greeted Gregory and continued.
"Sending the Captain's wife to the Monastery?"
"She has damaged my son's honor, Sir Palin. In the past, this would have been a matter that would have been grounds for immediate expulsion."
"That doesn't mean that responding to the investigation is a crime."
Palin tried to dissuade him, but it only fueled Gregory's anger again.
Scarlett began to tremble as the story of the Monastery came up again. Gregory's wife, Viktor's Mother Marina Dumpelt, had been in and out of mental hospitals for nearly a decade and was now confined to a Monastery. She became anxious that she too would be stuck in the Monastery forever.
Palin hurriedly said.
"The Captain wouldn't want that either. I'll go and talk to him now."
As Palin said that and left, Gregory also left the place, displeased.
Scarlett was momentarily very anxious and breathed heavily, but she forced a smile when she noticed the maids watching her.
"Ah, if you have any broken clocks, let me know. I want to practice. My skills are terrible, so it's okay if I can't fix them."
At her words, everyone looked around, and Polly, the kitchen maid, cautiously raised her hand.
"I have a broken clock, Madam."
"Really?"
"The clock shop couldn't fix it either, so I just kept it. It is a Crimson Clock, though."
"Can I take a look?"
"Of course!"
Polly's face lit up as Scarlett showed enthusiasm.
After all the servants had left, Scarlett couldn't move for a while because the shame hadn't disappeared. Then, at the sound of the clock, she slowly turned her head to the wall clock.
"But I didn't waste today."
She muttered to herself and stood there staring at the clock for a long time. She had been so frustrated and upset, but seeing the clock she had fixed with her own hands made her feel a little better. It felt like her parents were comforting her in her sorrow.
*
The title of Duke Dumpelt was a title that Marina Iren, who had been a princess, received when she was expelled from the royal family, and it was also the name of a wasteland at the end of the capital owned by the royal family that had been abandoned.
The Dumpelt Family, located on a wasteland hill, leveled the land with the vast wealth that Marina Dumpelt had brought and repaired the mansion. On top of that, Viktor's accumulated wealth, which was acquired from pirates, was added, as the law stated that what was confiscated from pirates belonged to the Captain, except for taxes.
On the hill overlooking the sea, the navy was in full training in the Dumpelt Family's forest. While others practiced with rifles, Viktor focused on getting used to the pistol made of silver and diamonds that the royal family had given him along with a medal.
Viktor muttered, wiping his face with his left hand.
"It's just for decoration."
Viktor had always achieved overwhelming results in all subjects and training, thanks to his natural talent and effort.
Evan, the first mate, laughed cheerfully at his rare troubled appearance.
"Just for decoration? Still, it's a sacred object with history and tradition."
It was an object that was both a sacred object and just for decoration.
Viktor was about to lift the pistol again to try to concentrate when he spotted Palin approaching from afar.
Viktor raised the pistol again with his right hand and looked at the target. Despite dismissing it as a decoration, his bullets were relentlessly piercing the center of the target.
Palin, who had approached, said.
"Captain, Sir Gregory is sending your wife to the Monastery!"
Gregory was the second son, so he did not inherit a title, and it was an unapproved marriage, so he did not receive a title. The usage was different, but people used the title of respect for Gregory that was used when calling military officers or police officers.
Viktor, who heard Palin's somewhat excited story, calmly reloaded the pistol and said.
"The Monastery isn't a prison."
"Still, that's not right, is it?"
"Why? Are you afraid I'll lock her up for life like my Mother?"
"...I didn't say that."
"It sounded like you did, in your head."
Even as he spoke, Viktor casually hit the target, and then his pistol aimed behind the target.
After he fired two shots in a row, a deer fell there. Palin, who couldn't bear to see animals die even though he could watch people die, turned his head in distress.
Viktor continued.
"That won't happen. My wife betrayed me, but she's not crazy."
Viktor fired the last shot at the target again, and then the gamekeeper shouldered the deer.
Seeing the pouring blood, Palin completely closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, Viktor was gone, and he heard Evan's scolding as he pulled at the back of his neck.
"Don't interfere in family matters. It's unnecessary meddling."
"I know that, but isn't it true that the Captain won't take Duchess Marina out of the Monastery?"
"Well, there must be a good reason."
"But she's his Mother."
Palin sighed deeply and ruffled his red hair wildly. He thought it was unnecessary meddling, but he was still worried.
*
At dinner that evening, Scarlett stared at Viktor, who was sitting across from her, for a while. He was dressed in a suit, just like on their wedding day.
In the early days of their marriage, she would stare blankly at him as he ate with an elegant demeanor.
He had maintained the same appearance for two years. On days when Scarlett was happy and laughing, and on days when she was sad and sitting across from him, shedding tears, he continued to eat indifferently. Now, Scarlett, who had come to maintain a stern face during meals just like him, opened her mouth.
"Viktor, did you hear about the Monastery from Sir Palin?"
"Go."
At his indifferent words, Scarlett accidentally dropped her spoon on the plate.
She left the spoon as it was and asked Viktor.
"...How long will I be there?"
"I don't know."
"It can't be too long. I might miss you so much that I run away."
Scarlett said and laughed out loud.
Viktor didn't react, but she still curved her eyes and continued.
"Is a month too short?"
"Do as you please."
"It can't be any longer. Come pick me up, in a month."
"Okay."
"Viktor."
Scarlett called his name and waited for him to look at her.
When Viktor shifted his gaze to her, she said kindly.
"I love you."
"I do too."
Except when Viktor needed something, Scarlett was usually the one who said "I love you" first, and Viktor would sometimes add that he loved her too, and other times he would always give an affirmative answer.
After receiving that confirmation, Scarlett always felt a slight sadness along with joy.
