Chapter 25
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 25
Her vision went white for a moment before clearing. She felt as though she had briefly blacked out. Her body, still languishing in the afterglow of her climax, grew wet again at the slightest touch. Vanessa forced her trembling eyelids open.
"I want to get out."
"Just a moment."
"Liar… You're a fraud."
River Ross chuckled softly at her sharp accusation, even as she lay completely limp. Vanessa rested her exhausted head against the edge of the tub. No matter how she looked at it, his damned face was to blame. It was infuriating that even after everything he’d done to her, her anger could melt away the instant she saw it.
"Stay still, Vanessa. Don't move."
"Why are you being… so gentle?"
"Anyone would, when you look half-dead."
Answering readily, he gently rubbed her limp shoulders and arms with a sponge. It felt good, but she was embarrassed. At the same time, a part of her wished they could just stay like this forever…
Just as her swirling emotions—a tangled mess with no beginning or end—began to sharpen, Vanessa felt a faint, instinctive sense of danger. On impulse, she reached out and grabbed River Ross's wrist.
"I'll do it myself."
"Why? You don't like it?"
"No. It’s just… I’m fine now, so give it to me."
"Alright, then."
River Ross replied nonchalantly and stood up without hesitation. He deftly arranged the sponge and towel within her reach and wiped the water from his hands.
"Finish washing up and come out."
Before he turned completely, the screen was pulled shut again. Through the swaying fabric, she watched his boots recede. With every step he took, her sense of reality returned. The inside of the long-abandoned garden shed; the worn floorboards and a ceiling that looked ready to collapse at any moment; the wooden tub; the dusty boots and shovel handle; the pruning shears and watering can.
The sense of victory that had eclipsed everything else vanished, leaving only a strange feeling of transgression—the stark realization of what she had done. And…
Vanessa let out a long sigh and leaned her head back against the tub. Her empty stomach clenched with a slight sting.
"Then, want to make a bet?"
A past conversation drifted into her exhausted mind like an auditory hallucination. That voice, that laugh, even the very air of that day came rushing back. How had her confident self responded to that provocation back then? It wasn't even that long ago. But now…
Vanessa touched her wet lips with trembling fingertips. Her heart hammered at the lingering scent River Ross had left behind.
* * *
"So, cousin."
Theodore, who had been staring out the window of the stationary carriage, shifted his gaze. Edgar, sitting opposite him, crossed and uncrossed his legs before letting out a sudden, deep sigh.
"Do you really find it comfortable staying in a place like this?"
"It's decent enough."
"I truly don't understand you."
Edgar shook his head, sighing once more. From his flushed, unusually content face, the rumors about his satisfying relationship with the opera singer he’d recently taken up with seemed to be true. As, it seemed, was the rumor that his infuriated aunt had thrown a paperweight at him.
His cousin grimaced, his eyes—still bearing the faint traces of a bruise—narrowing as if the very air of Bath were foul.
"Everywhere you look, it's shabby, small, and dirty. Compared to Linden, that is."
Theodore shrugged, letting his cousin's harsh criticism go in one ear and out the other. Compared to the brilliant capital, what city wouldn't feel like a backwater? Still, the motive behind his exaggeration of Somerset as some primitive world cut off from civilization was obvious. He was likely an emissary from the Dowager Duchess of Battenberg, sent with some hint or secret mission.
Theodore regarded his cousin as one would his grandmother's prized lackey. In truth, even setting that aside, Edgar's face was a constant eyesore. Being related by blood to this irritating man was one of the few misfortunes in his life.
"No matter how I think about it, it makes no sense. I can understand why your grandmother is absolutely furious."
"Edgar."
"Do you even know what you just rejected? To trade that for this backwater is insane."
"If it's such a great honor, you should take it."
"If the marriage proposal had been for me, our dear Lady Marlborough would have gift-wrapped me and dropped me on the Princess's doorstep long ago."
"And you would have gladly accepted."
"Of course. It's an immense honor. And the Princess… well, her face is decent enough."
His behavior was entirely predictable—praising her face while crudely gesturing to describe a woman's body. Theodore stared intently at Edgar, making no effort to hide his disdain.
"I'd understand if you had a hidden child, like the rumors say. But are you really going to keep running around like this every time you come ashore? Just wait until the royal family, tired of the embarrassment, withdraws the proposal?"
"I hadn't considered it, but… it's a decent plan."
"The King will want you dead."
"It's only a good deal on the surface. A marriage to the Princess offers me no real benefit."
"So, you're really doing all this without even a woman tucked away somewhere?"
"Must I listen to any more of this nonsense?"
Theodore replied coldly, pressing his temple with his long, straight fingers. Far from being intimidated by his chilly demeanor, Edgar shamelessly narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing him. Soon, he leaned back against his seat and stroked his chin.
"It's just so strange."
His brown head, slicked back with pomade, tilted to the side.
"Your entire demeanor has… changed a bit since I last saw you, Your Grace."
"Cut the nonsense and hand over the documents. Before I write a letter to Uncle detailing every last one of your charming lovers."
"What could it be?"
"My Lord."
Only then did Edgar raise both hands in surrender, pulling a thick checkbook and documents from the bag beside him. Theodore meticulously reviewed the papers, signed each one, and handed them back.
With that, the tedious matters regarding real estate, railways, and shipping that had dragged on for weeks were finally settled. Since he had arranged for them to run on their own for the time being, he could spend the rest of his vacation in peace.
Receiving the documents, Edgar scanned them with an unusually serious expression before neatly packing them back into his bag. Considering his usual frivolous behavior, it was an unexpectedly serious side of him. It almost seemed as though he acted the fool on purpose to lower others' guard…
"I'll organize these and deliver them to Marquis Winchester within the week. But really, won't you tell me where you're staying?"
"I will not. It would obviously lead to trouble."
As he tapped on the partition to the driver's seat, the carriage began to roll slowly. It was a piece of junk compared to an automobile, but it had the distinct advantage of not drawing attention.
"It's quite impressive that not a single rumor has spread in this small corner of the Southern Region. The reporters are in a frenzy, determined to get a photograph of you this time. Where on earth are you staying…?"
"If I tell you, will you barge in with a pack of them next time?"
"Would I really sell you out?"
"I can picture it all too clearly."
Edgar chuckled like a villain at his words, though his eyes weren't laughing at all. Sometimes, it felt as though he deliberately acted frivolous just to provoke him. Like a hyena searching for a weakness, never realizing it was an utterly useless effort.
The slowly moving carriage came to a stop again in front of the train station. A woman was standing next to a magnificent automobile bearing the Marlborough crest. The fair, elegant line of her neck, visible beneath her neatly pinned-up hair, reminded him of Vanessa.
"Do you want to meet her?"
His gaze had lingered for just a moment as he thought of her.
"…What?"
"She's Hailey Morton of the Marquisate of Morton. I know how deep your mistrust of people runs, but I thought Lady Hailey might make you change your mind. She's a decent, good woman."