Chapter 96
96
Scarlett stood in front of the Naval Residence, clenching her fists tightly to suppress her rage. Unable to hold back any longer, she finally shouted.
"Argh, I'm so pissed!"
The navy men turned in surprise, but knowing who she was, none dared to speak to her.
Still unable to vent, Scarlett picked up a stone from the ground and tried to throw it toward where Victor was, but it fell far short. She tried repeatedly, but her strength was lacking. Instead, her energy drained, and the stones barely flew at all.
Scarlett gave up there, but as if determined to unleash one final outburst, she glared toward the Naval Residence.
She thought the best way to infuriate that man—who valued honor over real people and wouldn't bend his pride even to grasp her if he just reached out—was this.
"You bastard! Rotten jerk! Viktor Dumpeldt! You!"
Was there a better way to torment him than making him hear curses screamed where others could listen?
He was the man who, to hide his mother's mania, had kept Marina Dumpeldt locked in a monastery without even telling his most trusted subordinate for a long time.
"Live like that forever! Die without ever knowing what you like or hate, you piece of trash! I'll live my way, and you live yours like the garbage you are!"
After screaming that, Scarlett's face flushed with heat, and she collapsed to the ground, feeling faint.
Panting as if her breath would give out, Scarlett forced herself to her feet even before her breathing had fully steadied.
She had once regretted wasting so much time on a man like that, but now she decided not even to waste time regretting.
She couldn't say she hadn't been happy during the time she loved him. She had felt happiness in every moment of loving Viktor Dumpeldt. Just as Andrey had once said, finding four-leaf clovers for him had been her joy, a process of learning the love she wanted to receive.
Now, she intended to break free from him.
*
Victor had known all along that if he just waited, she would lose her memory again and return to his arms. Especially in such high-stress situations, she lost her memory regularly.
As he predicted, Scarlett, under extreme stress, headed back to the Dumpeldt Mansion before even a full day had passed.
Since she had stormed out in anger, Victor could tell just from her expression upon return that she had forgotten the divorce.
He recalled how she had yelled at him.
"Too bad. Can't do whatever you want."
If he hadn't been certain she would return to him, he wouldn't have let her leave.
Scarlett returned home and slept all day, saying she was tired.
After sleeping for a long time to recover from the accumulated fatigue of her hectic life, Scarlett woke to find Victor reading beside her and sat up in surprise.
"What are you doing here?"
"Waiting. You've been sleeping too long."
"Me?"
Scarlett pulled the blanket toward her in surprise. Her face quickly reddened as she asked him,
"Is there something I need to do?"
Victor closed his book and said,
"Let's go on a date."
"......A date?"
As Scarlett blinked, Victor extended his hand to her. When she got out of bed, he continued,
"We're going sailing. Even though the weather's warmed, the sea is windy, so dress warmly."
"R-Right now?"
"Yes."
"Wait...... a date, right?"
"That's what I said."
At his response, Scarlett jumped up and dashed to the dressing room.
Candice, who had followed her in, gasped at the dressing room turned upside down in an instant and said,
"Miss...... No, ma'am! Calm down!"
"What should I wear? What do I do...... A date....... Sailing."
Scarlett was so excited she could barely speak, but Candice calmly pulled out a dress.
"This one."
"Did I have a dress like this?"
"What do you mean? You wore it for our second anniversary."
"Second anniversary?"
As Scarlett tilted her head, Candice hesitated before repeating,
"Your second wedding anniversary."
At her words, Scarlett awkwardly said,
"You mean the first anniversary, right?"
"......Pardon?"
Candice panicked but, seeing Scarlett confused, hurriedly said as if it were nothing,
"Yes, right. The first anniversary."
"Did I wear this dress for the first anniversary......?"
"It was a spare. You don't remember the spare one we made?"
"Hmm...... Now that you mention it, yeah."
Scarlett nodded.
She spent a long time preparing for the date but still looked unsatisfied. Finally dressed, Scarlett asked,
"Is it really okay?"
As she looked down at her dress, Candice raised her voice,
"You look beautiful!"
"Really?"
"Good grief, you're already pretty—how much more praise do you want? Go out already."
"It doesn't feel great though......"
"Are you going to keep this up?"
Scarlett, lacking confidence in her appearance, looked in the mirror.
Her parents had treated her as the most lovable being in the world when she was young, but after age twelve, she had grown up amid constant blows to her self-esteem.
Going to the sea with Victor was a first. No, this was her first private outing with him at all. Scarlett mustered her courage and opened the door only after finally getting ready. She didn't want to mess up their first date.
She descended the stairs lightly. Victor, waiting in the lobby, turned to her and smiled.
"You're dazzling."
"Is it okay?"
Scarlett wore a dress a shade bluer than Victor's navy uniform, adorned with countless sparkling crystals.
Victor spoke,
"Those crystals are from Madame Paradi's shop, I heard."
"Huh? Madame Paradi?"
Scarlett tilted her head. The Scarlett before the divorce didn't know who Paradi was.
Realizing that, Victor pushed aside the thought that all her pressing matters were being sidelined by her stay here even one more day, keeping her from her dreams and plans. He extended his hand to her.
Holding his hand and stepping forward, Scarlett asked,
"Going to see the sea?"
"Yes, let's go sailing."
Scarlett boarded the carriage holding Victor's hand.
The carriage climbed to the top of the hill and stopped in front of the cedar forest she had been curious about. Standing at the forest entrance, she said excitedly,
"I've wanted to come here. I heard it was too dark and dangerous."
Victor smiled at her words, recalling their last visit to the cedar forest when she had pretended to lose her memory.
Victor took her hand and led her forward.
Inside the cedar forest, there was a surprisingly small path. Victor put Scarlett on the horse, mounted behind her, and passed through the forest.
After about fifteen minutes like that, they exited the west side of the forest, and the sea came into view. There was a tiny harbor with a sloop and a smaller brigantine tied up. A few navy men from the coastal outpost came out to greet them.
Victor gestured for them to go back in and took Scarlett aboard. She asked worriedly,
"Isn't this ship navy property?"
"The sloop over there is navy-owned. This one belongs to the Dumpeldt family."
"Oh?"
"Father bought it for dates."
At that, Scarlett frowned slightly. Victor continued,
"He never got to sail it. Don't worry."
Scarlett boarded while voicing her concerns.
The teak-finished small brigantine gave a warm, comfortable feel, with its beautiful mast adding a romantic atmosphere.
"It's so pretty......"
"Because it's Father's date ship?"
"......Don't ruin the mood."
As Scarlett shot him a look, Victor laughed. Seeing him laugh made her awkward, so she said,
"Why are you like this today? You're smiling too much—it's weird."
"Because I like being with you."
"......Liar."
Scarlett grumbled but turned toward the sea, her lips twitching with joy.
Victor unfurled the sails with expert ease, and the ship left the harbor for the open sea. He nodded toward the deck.
"Open that there."
Scarlett opened the hatch in the floor to find it stocked with fine wine and cheese.
Pulling out the wine, she said,
"Looks like Lord Gregory prepared this for his dates."
She, who had told him not to ruin the mood, brought up dates herself, and a smile spread across Victor's face again.
The sea was calm. Victor didn't sail far before dropping anchor.
As the ship stopped, Victor pulled out a fishing rod and handed it to Scarlett.
"Fishing on a date?"
Scarlett took the rod in surprise, and Victor asked,
"Not a fan of fishing on a date?"
"No, I've never even been on a date before."
"Because you dated worthless guys."
He joked just like when her memory was intact. This time, Scarlett burst out laughing. She gripped the rod with a face full of happiness, as if she might float away.
"Sounds fun. Wonder what we can catch here?"
"Lots of cod. Flatfish too."
"Wow, I want to catch some. Feels like I can."
"Breakfast tomorrow is sorted then."
At Victor's teasing, Scarlett laughed and confidently gripped the rod.