Chapter 78
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 78
“We will handle that ourselves.”
—...Very well. I trust you will handle it. Ah, look at the time. I must hang up now to prepare for my departure. While I am away, you are the head of the household, so take good care of your mother and Rosalyn.
“Yes, Father.”
Father. The word he had spoken so casually all his life now felt foreign on his tongue. It grated like gravel before lodging in his throat like a sharp thorn. Just as the call was about to end, Blair, who had already lowered the receiver halfway, gripped it tightly, unable to resist the sudden urge welling up inside him.
“Did you know? That we... are not your biological children.”
Why did a single sentence make cold sweat break out on his palms? His eyes burned, and the sheer tension made his ears ring.
It was a truth that shook the very foundation of his life. And what he had lost because of it... Blair cut the thought short and slowly exhaled a weary breath. Having lost everything, he had to gain at least one thing now.
His union with the Bronte family was the greatest respect he could show his 'father.' Since the Marquis had willingly taken them in and raised them as Winchesters despite not being his own blood, Blair was resolved to live the rest of his life solely for the family.
—Ha.
After a long, suffocating silence, a cold, mocking laugh escaped from the other end.
—Did Louise tell you that?
“...You already knew.”
—I told them countless times not to leave bottles within her reach. It seems the maids have been careless again. What, exactly, did Louise say to you?
Blair bit his dry lips. He spoke before too much time passed.
“She said she never wanted us.”
—...Becoming reckless when drunk is an old habit of Louise's. Doing whatever she pleases without taking responsibility, babbling whatever comes to mind, intoxicated by her own emotions. I suppose that is just like her.
A faint sense of incongruity pricked at him. His father used to be almost obsessively sensitive when it came to his mother. Yet, his tone was far too cynical for someone mentioning an 'unexpected accident' that had befallen his wife.
—Whatever you heard, do not dwell on it. Do not expect your mother, who is drunk for more than half the year, to be in her right mind.
“Father.”
Blair exhaled a heavy, stifled breath. An uneasy feeling that he was missing something enormous crept up his spine. His plea sounded agonizingly painful.
“I... just want to know the truth.”
The longest silence since the call began stretched between them. In the quiet, only the ticking of the clock's second hand hinted at the grueling conflict taking place on the other end.
His wife's reputation versus the despair of the child he had raised with his own hands. It was an irreconcilable dilemma. After much deliberation, the Marquis’s voice was heavy when he finally spoke.
* * *
Mary skillfully smoothed down her rumpled clothes and stood up. Her hand was cautious as she picked up the money left on the table. Three pounds and seven pins. It was far less than what she was supposed to receive, but she held her breath, desperate not to provoke Wyatt's temper.
The Count looked particularly fierce today. Even so, she could not just leave the room like this. If she did not ask him now, she had no idea when she would see him again. Over the past few weeks, Wyatt had been absent from the mansion at the slightest pretext.
“What is it?”
When the maid, who usually left the room immediately after finishing her duties, lingered, he clipped his cigar, put it to his lips, and gestured with his chin.
“Run along now. I won't be needing you anymore today.”
“My Lord.”
Mary clutched her skirt with a pale hand, wrinkling the fabric. She tried to speak with her usual stoic expression, but maintaining her composure was no easy task.
“Do you happen to remember... your promise to help find my father?”
“Ah, that.”
Wyatt looked as if she were bringing up something utterly trivial, but then nodded as if he remembered.
“Didn't you say he fled to the New Continent? What of it?”
“I don't think he actually left Ingram. When I accompanied Lady Vanessa to the departure ceremony... I saw him on board the ship with my own eyes. I followed him immediately, but I lost him.”
“……”
“If my father is still in Ingram, I must find him. He ran off with all my savings and everything of value in the house. Between the debts and my brother's hospital bills... I'm struggling to pay the rent. Since you have so many connections, My Lord, I was wondering if you could look into it for me one more time…”
“Mary.”
An exasperated sigh escaped him along with a puff of cigar smoke.
“Are you implying that I lied to you?”
“I didn't mean that at all, My Lord…”
“I'm busy enough with far more important matters. A few measly coins and your wretched father are the least of my concerns.”
A few measly coins. To someone who had sold her pride for those very coins, his words were devastating. Mary bit her trembling lip and cast her eyes down.
“What is Vanessa doing?”
“She should be resting in her room.”
“You haven't let her go out on any unnecessary outings, have you?”
“She went out briefly once to buy writing supplies. I accompanied her.”
“Who did she meet?”
“She didn't... meet anyone in particular.”
Wyatt let out a hum.
“Well, don't suffocate her anymore; just leave her be. Especially when she meets the Duke—do not interfere with whatever they do.”
“She hasn't even met the Duke yet.”
“That is rather strange.”
“……”
“Well, for now, it's best to leave things as they are rather than meddling. Her value has skyrocketed thanks to the scandal with the Duke, so there's no rush. The real problem is these troublesome matters right in front of me…”
Mary followed Wyatt's gaze to the mortgage documents scattered across the desk. Even to her untrained eye, it was clear that a significant portion of his property had been mortgaged.
Lately, the Count's spending had grown reckless. Whether he had found some reliable backing or it was a rebound from having recently restrained himself, he seemed to have lost what little caution he possessed, pushing himself to a dangerous brink. Wyatt swept the documents aside in irritation and blustered as if making an excuse.
“I lost quite a few of the shares I received as an investment, but there's still more than enough left to use as seed money. Once I hit the jackpot, I'll be sitting on a mountain of gold.”
The shares received as an investment. At those words, Mary, who had barely been maintaining her composure, paled with shock.
“Was that rumor about Lady Vanessa true, then? Just as the gossip magazines claimed?”
“If people believe it's true, then even a lie becomes the truth. That's the beauty of gossip magazines.”
“...Was it you who started that scandal, My Lord?”
“You naive girl. Of course it was. Some parasites have latched on after catching wind of it, but what gossip magazine would dare write about a noble without permission? Especially a story like this?”
“……”
“After going through all the trouble of making a contract, he told me not to proceed with Vanessa's marriage for the time being, claiming he wanted to add some minor condition. There must be something going on between them.”
“……”
“But then again, what does it matter? I just need to exploit this for all it's worth and squeeze more money out of them.”
Wyatt hummed a cheerful tune as he opened his safe and swept the documents inside, as if the maid's desperate pleading meant absolutely nothing. Mary stood there silently for a moment before slipping out of the room.
She walked down the corridors and stairs with steady steps. Passing through the clean, newly renovated East Wing and entering the West Wing, she was greeted by a bleak, desolate sight. Not a shred of hesitation showed in her hands as she flung open the double wooden doors at the end of the familiar hallway.
“My Lady.”
Mary raised her voice as she crossed the dim drawing room. Her lady, who would normally have acknowledged her, was unusually quiet. A sudden sense of foreboding washed over her.
“Lady Vanessa?”
Just as her panic began to deepen, Mary looked around and spotted Vanessa asleep, curled up in an armchair. She seemed to have fallen fast asleep while reading, a blanket draped over her lap. Only then did Mary let out a sigh of relief.
Mary slowly sank to her knees at Vanessa's feet. Vanessa's eyelids, heavy with sleep, looked incredibly delicate, yet so breathtakingly beautiful that she seemed untouchable. Like a sculpture from Vediche she had once seen in a magazine. That wonderful city she had always wanted to visit…
A girl with an easy life.
That had been her first impression. Even living in this miserable castle, she was still a lady. Mary had judged her, thinking that while she herself lived in constant misery, Vanessa lived a pampered life, treated like royalty by a good family.
A simpleton who craves affection.
Her next impression hadn't been much better. A spineless woman who, despite being avoided by the servants out of fear of Wyatt, never failed to bring back treats for them whenever she returned. And now...
Mary's hands tightened as she pulled the blanket, which had slipped down to Vanessa's feet, back over her knees. Just as she was about to rest her weary head against her lady's lap, Vanessa's eyes fluttered open.
“...Mary?”