Translator: Nox

14 - Chapter 14

Ryan, leaving the mansion, shielded his eyes from the pouring sunlight. The sun had already passed its zenith. It was probably around one in the afternoon.

'So that's why I didn't see anyone else.'

Not just Mr. Palmer, the butler, but also Mrs. Parker and Warren and his son, and the other temporary employees.

Everyone working at Blissbury was diligent and hardworking.

They started their day early and rarely stayed in one place, moving around to do their work until dinnertime.

Thanks to them, even though the owner wasn't staying at the mansion, there wasn't a speck of dust on the furniture, and the house always smelled pleasantly of dried herbs.

Just that showed how meticulously Mr. Serverton had chosen the people working at this mansion.

The fact that everyone was diligently doing their jobs from morning, while he was still struggling to wake up from a nightmare until this hour, made him feel even more pathetic.

Leaving the mansion, he headed straight for the river flowing beside it. Then, without even taking off his clothes, he jumped right in.

Splash!

The cold water wrapped around him, and his dizzy mind snapped awake.

He repeatedly went in and out of the water several times before climbing back onto the Embankment and lying down in the shade.

Wiping the water flowing down his face with his hand, he recalled the end of his dream.

The man who had most fiercely criticized him at the Disciplinary Committee. Count Willus.

He had vehemently criticized Ryan, to the point where the other nobles and councilors sitting next to him told him he was being too harsh.

Ryan, unable to even offer a bitter smile at his criticism, simply stared at him.

Anyone else would have thought of him as just a country bumpkin who got lucky and made some achievements, making the noble lord jealous.

But Count Willus was...

"...To think that kind of man is my father."

His voice, filled with emptiness, was carried away by the wind.

Ryan first saw Count Willus when he was ten years old.

He was returning home from the train station with his friends from the same street, after finishing their work carrying coal, when he saw a strange man standing inside his house.

At first glance, he looked no different from the gentlemen on the street, but a closer look revealed the differences.

Smooth fabric without a single wrinkle, sleeves and elbows without a trace of wear. And clothes that were clearly made by a craftsman, not roughly sewn by street tailors.

But even more than his clothes, what told him that he was no ordinary person was the look in his eyes as he looked at Ryan.

That look, as if he were looking at the dirtiest bug in the world.

Ryan could immediately tell from that arrogant gaze that he was a noble.

"Is this it?"

He gestured at Ryan with his chin, calling him 'it.'

"Yes, that's right. Now, Ryan. You should greet him. This is Count Willus..."

Slap!

Before his mother could finish speaking, the Count's hand struck her cheek.

While a surprised Ryan was holding onto his staggering mother, the man who had slapped her nonchalantly took out a handkerchief and wiped his hand as if he had touched something dirty.

"Who dared to say my name?"

"I, I'm sorry."

It was his mother who had been hit, but she was the one apologizing.

Ryan, holding onto his mother, glared at the man as if he would kill him.

Although he was just a young boy, Ryan was known in the neighborhood for his toughness. Count Willus flinched and took a step back at his sharp gaze.

But soon, ashamed that he had felt intimidated by the boy, he raised the cane he was holding and struck Ryan's shoulder.

But Ryan didn't just stand there.

He was someone who not only fought with the kids in his neighborhood but also often fought and won against boys from the next street who were a head taller than him.

He couldn't be docile enough to endure unprovoked violence, no matter how noble the other person was.

Ryan grabbed the end of the cane that was about to strike him.

"Eek... you commoner!"

The flustered Count Willus tried to pull out the cane he was holding, but Ryan didn't let go, glaring at him.

"Who are you?"

"Who am I! You insolent thing! How could you have been raised so badly that you dare...!"

"Please forgive him! I, I will teach him well! Ryan, stop it! This is..."

Ryan's mother, who had stepped between Ryan and the Count, hesitated, unable to finish her sentence. She glanced at the Count.

That alone was enough for Ryan to realize who this man was.

The father he thought was already dead was this man.

Realizing that, he could see the annoyingly similar features.

Dark black hair and blue eyes. A stubborn mouth. And even the look in his eyes that his friends often said seemed unpleasantly arrogant.

The Count also looked at Ryan. Unlike the surprised Ryan, he had a more composed expression.

"As I was told. He does resemble me."

As he was told?

'Come to think of it, the kids did say that a stranger had been wandering around the neighborhood lately.'

He had dismissed those words at the time, but now, hearing the Count's words, it seemed that someone he had sent had been wandering around.

Ryan became even more puzzled.

'Why is he looking into me now?'

Since he was born and could distinguish objects, there had been no such thing as a father.

Because a wandering man had claimed to be the child's father, his mother had been forced to leave the village and come to the city. Because there were many women like his mother there.

But their lives were by no means better than in the countryside.

The looks of contempt were still there, and since there was no land to cultivate in the city, they had to go to factories and earn wages to survive day by day.

To somehow improve from such a life, they had no choice but to marry a man who was even slightly better off.

So his mother married an old gravedigger. He had obtained the surname Wilgrave thanks to him.

The gravedigger was neither a good person nor a bad person.

He gave Ryan his surname but didn't send him to school even though he had money left over. Still, Ryan didn't have any particular complaints. Just the fact that he had taken them in allowed his mother and Ryan to escape the life of constantly struggling for food.

So, he was living a relatively stable life, and he didn't know why his biological father had suddenly appeared.

Count Willus said to Ryan.

"You have something to do in place of my son."

His voice clearly drew a line.

A line that Ryan was absolutely not his son.

"Haa..."

Ryan, recalling unpleasant memories, sighed and looked up at the sky.

He was lying under a huge tree that five adults couldn't fully encircle with their arms.

The dense leaves, so thick that the sky was barely visible, cast a wide shadow over him.

Since it was still spring, he felt a chill lying in the shade with his wet body. If so, he could just move a little further to the side and go out to a sunny spot where the bright sunlight was shining.

"..."

He only turned his head to look at the place where the sunlight was pouring down, but he didn't move.

His mind was awake, and there was nothing wrong with his body, but he had no motivation to do anything.

The military doctor in the capital said that it was a problem caused by his unstable mental state.

'So that's why I came to recuperate.'

He had been looking at this quiet rural scenery, which was supposed to bring him stability, for over a week, but he felt nothing.

No, rather, because he had nothing to do and it was quiet, he kept getting lost in thought.

All that came to mind was the war. It was only natural.

Since the age of ten, when the Count had come to find him again, had there been any room for anything other than the military in his life?

So, all the past he could recall was only about those things.

After lying down for a long time, Ryan suddenly wondered how many meals he had skipped.

'One day, or is it two?'

Mrs. Parker was worried and didn't know what to do, so he pretended to eat to reassure her and secretly threw it away. If he didn't, she would have immediately called a doctor in Cambon.

That was the day before yesterday, so he hadn't eaten anything for more than two days now, but he didn't feel hungry.

He knew it wasn't normal, but he didn't feel like he had to fix it.

He didn't know what to do, and there was no way he could meet a great doctor who could solve his problem in this countryside.

As he was lying there blankly with his wet body, he heard the sound of a carriage approaching from above.

'Is someone coming to Blissbury?'

Since he had come to Blissbury, troublesome visits had been continuing.

They said they had just stopped by to rest on their way, but he couldn't possibly not know that they had come with the purpose of meeting him from the start.

This visitor must also be someone who had come to see him.

Since he was in a state where it was difficult to show his face to others anyway, and it would only be annoying to meet them, he was going to quietly hide as he was.

At that moment, the approaching carriage stopped nearby. Then, the person who had driven the carriage let out a sigh, as if lamenting, and the words reached his ears.

"Sergeant Thornton, I really don't want to meet that person..."

At that voice, Ryan slowly got up.

Unlike his thoughts, someone who was sincerely saying that they didn't want to see him.

Ryan turned his head and looked at the place where the voice had come from.

In the place where the sunlight was pouring down, he saw a woman with light brown hair tied up neatly.

Perhaps because of the sunlight, her appearance seemed dazzling, and Ryan blinked a few times.

While he was blankly looking at Eloise, she suddenly got out of the carriage. Then, rummaging through a basket under the seat, he heard her talking to herself.

"Mother told me to bring it, but... how can I give this perfectly made apple pie to that person? I should just eat it all and leave."

Ryan was dumbfounded by the muttering voice.

So, is this woman secretly going to eat the apple pie that was supposed to come to him here?