Chapter 42
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 42
“She almost wouldn’t have been able to return to St. Louis Boarding School. She wouldn’t have graduated or gone on her Grand Tour.”
That day, the Marchioness, who had stared at her for a long time in the Headmaster's office, stood up and left without a word. Vanessa had thought that perhaps Blair and Rosalyn would pretend not to know her starting next term.
How relieved she had been when the next term began and Rosalyn welcomed her with a warm embrace and a smile. But to think that Rosalyn had suffered such humiliation during the break because of her… Frozen in shock, Vanessa's gray eyes trembled.
“I had to accept the engagement to Sissy—to lift her house arrest, and to protect you. Mother had written a letter to the Headmaster demanding your expulsion.”
Vanessa stared at Blair, dazed. She knew his engagement to Sissy had been somewhat rushed, but she had never dreamed such circumstances lay behind it.
He was the same boy who had playfully begged her to marry him since they were young. He had said he would live alone forever if it wasn't with her, and that the three of them had to be together to be complete. She remembered every single moment, how his eyes, half-playful at first, had gradually shifted to complete sincerity. She also remembered secretly feeling relieved at the news that her friend had gotten engaged.
As long as Blair isn't obsessed with me, the Marchioness won't be so wary…
Just as Vanessa had expected, after Blair's engagement, the Marchioness left them alone, letting them associate as they pleased. On very rare occasions, she even sent Vanessa gifts.
As if only then, so belatedly, remembering that Vanessa was her friend's daughter.
“Blair, I…”
As she spoke, overcome with guilt, Blair tightened his grip on her wrist as if telling her to stay quiet. His distorted face, wearing a half-smile, felt utterly foreign.
“I originally intended to hide this from both Rosalyn and you until the day I died.”
“……”
“If only things hadn't turned out this way, Vanessa.”
He slowly buried his lips in the slender nape of her neck. At first, it felt damp, then painful, then stinging. Soon, his breath trembled against her skin. Looking down at Vanessa, whose face was on the verge of tears, he silently let her go and turned away.
His footsteps receded with a steady rhythm, followed by the sound of the door closing.
Leaning against the wall for support, Vanessa slowly slid to the floor. Then, everything went black.
* * *
“Who could have ever guessed?”
It was early dawn, before the sun had even risen. Dry soil showered from Blair's shoes with every step as he walked over the mounds of earth dug for new rose seedlings. His gaze was deliberately unhurried as he scanned the dim interior of the warehouse.
“That the Duke, whom the King of Ingram is so desperately searching for, would be huddling in such a… vulgar and cramped space.”
An open window with small flowerpots neatly arranged before it, a wooden table and chairs, a portable stove, and a kettle boiling on top of it.
It was a rather pastoral space, making his description of "vulgar and cramped" ring hollow. The air from the Summer Garden, where roses were beginning to bloom in profusion, was fresh, and the bed visible behind the wind-swayed screen looked comfortable. Which only made it more horrific. How filthily the two of them must have been coupling here all this time…
Recognizing the grass-stained ribbon on the side table next to the bed, Blair's eyes turned ice-cold for a moment before becoming perfectly composed again the instant he looked away.
“I had heard rumors of your eccentricities long ago.”
Sharp words poured from him, as if he couldn't bear a moment of silence or hide his intense wariness. Theodore looked at the uninvited guest with calm eyes. The polite young man whom Marquis Winchester had brought by the hand to greet him just a few seasons ago was nowhere to be found. Instead, the sight of him sneering, his eyes bloodshot like a beast whose territory had been invaded, was rather absurd.
Barking dogs seldom bite. If the boy had truly intended to bare his fangs, and if their positions were reversed, Theodore wouldn't be wasting time like this.
“And?”
Theodore glanced at his watch and placed a lit cigarette between his lips. He took a deep drag, hollowing his cheeks slightly, and narrowed his bright blue eyes. The smoke dispersed like a deep sigh.
“I doubt you came at this ungodly hour just to confirm my eccentricities.”
“…You’re hardly in a position to be so nonchalant.”
“Lord Winchester.”
“Wouldn't it be troublesome for you if word got out? Vanessa truly believes you are nothing but a mere navy man.”
At his words, the Duke burst into sudden laughter. Blair flinched, his shoulders tensing.
“Ah, my apologies.”
His face showed he was not sorry at all. The Duke's hand holding the cigarette trembled slightly as he suppressed a faint chuckle. Blair blinked, then grit his teeth. He could hardly believe the famous Duke was, in reality, such a shameless man.
Their first meeting a few seasons ago had been better than this. Back then, the Duke had seemed the very epitome of a proud noble, an upright soldier, and a figure who inspired awe in other men.
“Is that all you came to say?”
Even with his weakness exposed, the Duke seemed entirely at ease. Here, where he had cast aside his honor, his family, and even his social status… In an extreme scenario, even if Blair killed the Duke right now, no one would know for at least a month. Even if the body were discovered, claiming he had mistaken him for an intruder and “killed him by accident” would make a special pardon easy to obtain…
Startled by his own thoughts, Blair cleared his throat.
“Are you aware of how many people are suffering due to Your Grace's eccentric behavior? If you were, you wouldn't be standing there so shamelessly.”
“Lord Winchester.”
“To dare delay the marriage proposed by the royal family in such an insulting manner. Thanks to you, the Princess's honor has been dragged through the mud, and the King has become a laughingstock both at home and abroad.”
“Your concern for the royal family is admirable. Then why not offer yourself in my stead?”
“Your Grace. You do not seem to understand what I am saying. The only reason I have tolerated you until now is…”
“Winchester, shall I give you a piece of advice?”
Blair snapped his head up at the sudden use of his family name. Stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray, the Duke warned him in a calm tone.
“You would do well to watch every single word that leaves your mouth. We will be facing each other in the Privy Council for decades to come, much to our mutual exhaustion.”
Blair swallowed hard. His instincts warned him that provoking the man any further would be dangerous, but his overheated mind ignored the warning. Moreover, this man was a rival who had stolen the childhood friend he had cherished his entire life. How could he possibly bow his head?
“I want only one thing. Pack up and leave within a few days. If you do that, I will not make an issue of any of this.”
“By what right does Lord Winchester command me?”
“The only reason I have kept my mouth shut until now is for Lady Vanessa's honor. If you continue to act this way, I will— Why are you laughing?”
“That lady seemed to wish for me to ruin her honor completely.”
As Theodore, who had been leaning against the doorway, straightened up, Blair flinched and took a step back, as if he would be crushed by the man's imposing physique if they stood side by side.
“And Winchester, I know you secretly wished for that outcome as well.”
“W-what…”
“Did you think I wouldn't notice those eyes of yours, peeping through the window like a voyeur?”
His face, flushing red in an instant as the blow hit home, was quite a sight. Unable to find any excuse, Blair's lips trembled.
“When you thought I was just a commoner in the Navy, you probably figured she would fall into your hands. You calculated that if she ruined her life by getting pregnant, she might easily roll into your bed. That was it, wasn't it?”
“…You are slandering me.”
“But of all things, the one she grasped with those innocent hands of hers had to be a Battenberg.”
“You aren't even serious about her. Your Grace, please! To me, she is more precious than anything…”
“She is merely a woman with no right of succession to a title. A woman foolishly infatuated with a poor navy man.”
Theodore leisurely picked up his bag. It was almost time for the car he had called to arrive at the castle's main gate. To catch the direct train to Linden, he had to leave within five minutes.
“But I don't dislike that foolishness. If she wants Gloucester, I can simply hand it to her. Why bring sincerity into such a simple calculation?”
“She won't like it. Not if she hasn't earned it with her own strength.”
Vanessa's face, contorted over a few simple pieces of clothing, suddenly flashed through Theodore's mind. Freezing in place, he slowly swallowed a dry laugh. Only then did the greenhorn in front of him truly begin to annoy him.
From that tongue of his, babbling carelessly as if he knew Vanessa so well, to that clean-cut face that must have been by her side throughout her childhood.
Theodore slowly turned to meet Blair's deep green eyes, which were distorted with jealousy.
“Perhaps you only believe that because you have nothing to give her, Lord Winchester?”
“That is absurd! I only mean that Your Grace interfering in Vanessa's life to such an extent is highly dangerous for her…”
“Then tell me. What exactly can you do for Vanessa's benefit?”
The smile playing on Theodore's elegant lips was cruel.
“When you'll spend your entire life just scrambling to hide her from your precious mother.”