Chapter 57
57
Wednesday.
As the day Viktor Dampfelt was supposed to take her to the vineyard villa arrived, Scarlett waited for him.
She knew that usually, after such an incident, the promise would be broken. However, she had heard from Evan Wright that the interrogation was over, and Andrei had revealed that she had nothing to do with the Royal Police. So, she came under the pretext of the vineyard. She had a lot to say.
After drinking tea in the drawing room, Viktor finally appeared after a long while.
Scarlett rose and said, "We were supposed to go to the vineyard. Did you forget?"
"I thought the promise was broken."
Viktor said, gesturing to Wilkins, the butler, to bring his teacup.
Scarlett's fingertips trembled with anger at his nonchalant attitude.
"I have nothing to do with the police. I didn't even know Andrei was a policeman. You know everything now, right?"
"I do."
"Then why aren't you apologizing?"
Viktor stared at Scarlett's face for a moment. He wore a somewhat complicated expression.
Viktor hadn't yet decided what to say when he looked at her.
You were right, and I was wrong.
That I betrayed you, not the other way around, and that the hardships you've endured were because you were caught up in my life, and made even harsher by my distrust.
He couldn't think of a way to convey those words gently, so that Scarlett wouldn't decide to never see him again.
After thinking for a moment, he opened his mouth.
"Yes, I've confirmed that you have nothing to do with the Royal Police. I apologize."
"I..."
"Did you ever love me in the first place?"
Scarlett felt a pang in her heart as she recalled Viktor asking that. She didn't even want to think about it anymore.
Scarlett said, "It's okay. Anyway, I got your apology, so I can leave."
"You came to go to the villa. Let's leave while you're here. If we leave now, we can take the night train and arrive tomorrow morning."
Viktor said calmly, extending his hand. Scarlett ignored it and stood up. Then, she noticed Viktor's blue tie pin. As she stared at it for a moment, Viktor leaned towards her and said, "I remembered you said you felt reassured when you sent me off with something blue. It's a token of apology."
Scarlett's anger faltered at the fact that he remembered her words.
In that gap, Viktor asked with his usual gentlemanly face, "Did you do your hair yourself?"
"...Why?"
"You did a good job."
Scarlett still frowned as she touched her hair. She thought he must feel sorry for not trusting her and getting angry. He was saying things he usually wouldn't.
Meanwhile, Viktor gestured to a servant to take Scarlett's bag. Scarlett clutched the top handle with both hands and stepped back.
"It's okay. There's something important inside."
"What is it? Do you have property to share with me too?"
"...No. I don't have anything."
Should she have given him something?
As Scarlett looked up at Viktor with concern, he chuckled and said, "Don't make that face. I'm just kidding."
"Okay..."
"Then, ladies first."
And as Viktor held the door open, Scarlett grabbed her bag and took the lead.
At night, when they arrived at the train station, it was 30 minutes before the last train departed.
The station attendant rang the bell.
"Last train! Last train!"
Viktor looked at Scarlett, who was standing next to him, holding a thick shawl with both hands. Discomfort did not leave Viktor's face.
Scarlett hid her white hands at his gaze and said, "I've gotten into the habit of not wearing gloves. It's hard to work with gloves on."
"Ah."
Viktor said without much emotion and took off his gloves. Then, he held them out to Scarlett.
Scarlett thought she saw a ring on his left hand, but she didn't look closely, and it wasn't very visible anyway because it was dark. She didn't think much of it and took the gloves with both hands, putting them on.
They were too big, making her wonder if they could even be called gloves, but the inside was warm with Viktor's body heat.
Scarlett murmured, "You're cold, but your hands are warm."
At those words, Viktor shifted his gaze to look at Scarlett. As he stood barehanded, the servants hurriedly opened the luggage and took out a glove box. When they opened the box and held it out, Viktor put on a spare pair of gloves.
Ten servants accompanied the two of them on their journey. Three maids to take care of Scarlett, six servants, and Blight, who always assisted Viktor by his side. Scarlett, who was used to traveling alone freely, found this large entourage uncomfortable.
It was an unnecessary number of people, but even for simple trips, royals traveled with far more people than this. Not to mention the King's direct line, even those outside the top 10 in the line of succession usually traveled with ten servants.
Viktor clicked his tongue and muttered, "Ten people and they can't even bring a pair of gloves."
"I'm a guest. Who brings gloves for a guest? Don't get angry."
As they were talking, the last train arrived.
Inside the empty train, the station attendant moved from compartment to compartment, turning on the lights, and the train windows sparkled in the darkness.
Scarlett muttered to herself at the sight, "Night trains are like magic."
And after a while, the bell rang to signal that boarding was allowed.
"Please board."
With that announcement, people began to board the train one by one. A servant with a gas lamp first turned the handle to open the door, and Scarlett boarded the train first.
Thanks to the locomotive's steam, the cabin was quite warm. Having come in from the outdoors where the temperature had dropped below freezing, it even felt hot.
Scarlett took off her gloves first and then unwrapped the shawl she had been wearing. A servant took the shawl, and the maids took out a blanket, covered Scarlett with it, and then left. In the train compartment where the two sat facing each other, there was a small stove, making their feet warm.
After a while, the train departed, and it began to snow outside the window.
The train traveled slowly until it left the capital. As the lights shining from the small alleys and houses disappeared, Scarlett knew that the train had emerged into the plains.
Scarlett's frozen body melted, and as it was past her usual bedtime, she began to blink and doze off. Viktor knocked on the door and said, "Prepare the bed."
"Yes, young master."
Soon the door opened, and the maids began to arrange the long seats to make a bed. Scarlett hesitated and said to Viktor, "Then you go to another compartment."
"I'm going to sleep too."
"How can you sleep in a place like this?"
At Scarlett's question, Viktor's expression rarely frowned.
"Sailors can sleep even if they only have a net to hang on."
Ah, that's right.
Scarlett belatedly nodded.
Viktor Dampfelt was such an urban person that she often forgot that he had spent half of his twenties on a ship.
The last time, the Air Force residence was at least spacious, but here, it was a place where you could reach out and touch something if you fell. Half of her wanted to avoid sleeping in the same train compartment as her divorced husband, and the other half thought that if she had to sleep on the train, there would be no safer partner than him. He was strong, a gentleman, and even her ex-husband.
In the end, Scarlett couldn't resist the drowsiness and lay down on the bedding that the maids had laid out, covered herself with a blanket, and tried to sleep. Viktor dimmed the gas lamp, and soon only the light coming in from the hallway faintly seeped into the train compartment.
Scarlett tried to fall asleep, but she was curious about what Viktor was doing, so she perked up her ears. And after a while, she heard the sound of Viktor lying down. So she opened her eyes for a moment, then closed them again in surprise.
Viktor was lying with his head turned towards her, looking at Scarlett.
"...Look somewhere else and sleep."
"This is comfortable."
At Viktor's words, Scarlett tried to turn over but said sullenly.
"This is comfortable for me too. I lay down like this first, so you look somewhere else and sleep."
She said it first, then regretted it, thinking it was too childish. Scarlett covered herself with the blanket up to the top of her head and tried to sleep. And at some point, she fell asleep.
When she woke up, it seemed like quite some time had passed. Scarlett checked her wristwatch and saw that it was already four in the morning, six hours later. She was flustered as she looked at the watch.
Viktor, who said he could sleep anywhere, hadn't fallen asleep. He had adjusted the gas lamp, pulling it close, and was reading a book under it. Scarlett stared at his perfect face, which she had loved, for a moment.
Before she knew it, the train had arrived at the station.
Viktor unlocked the latch from the inside and got up. And as he held out his hand to Scarlett, she took Viktor's hand and stood up.
It was an ambiguous time, but there were quite a few people getting off the last train than she thought. Carriages were waiting in front of the train station, timed to coincide with the train's arrival.
One of the maids quickly walked out and called a carriage with a whistle. Soon a carriage was caught, and Viktor and Scarlett got into the carriage. Blight closed the carriage door and sat next to the coachman.
Even though they had come quite far south, the dawn was cold. It was even colder after waking up from sleep, and it was raining. As Scarlett shivered, Viktor took off his coat and covered her with it.
Viktor said, "When you get the vineyard, why don't you sell it and buy a coat first?"
"No. I've already thought of where to use it."
"What are you going to use it for?"
"I'm going to lease it to Salantie University."
She tapped the bag she was holding dear.
"I've already made all the plans here."
"I see."
Viktor agreed, and after a while, the carriage arrived at the vineyard.
The vineyard villa was already ready to welcome its owners. The inside of the one-story wooden building was warm.
Viktor held out his hand, Scarlett handed him her coat, and Viktor handed it back to a servant. Scarlett wrapped herself in the blanket again and sat on the rug in front of the fireplace. She was only going to warm up for a moment, but she became sleepy again, and as she dozed off, she was suddenly lifted up.
Scarlett opened her eyes in surprise.
"Keep sleeping."
Viktor said, took her to the bedroom, laid her on the bed, and covered her with a blanket. The bedroom also had a fireplace, so it wasn't very cold. Moreover, she felt like she was melting into the highest quality bedding.
