Echoes from the Past
Chapter 76
Arina burst out of the party hall and sprinted down the palace corridor. Her pupils darted wildly, unable to focus. Cold sweat streamed down her face as it turned deathly pale, and long-buried memories of the past surged back into her mind, tormenting her without end.
"Mom! Don't go!"
As far as she could remember, that had been the first and last time she had ever clung to her parents while sobbing hysterically.
"Let go!"
But the woman only shook her off, glaring at the young child with a ferocity far too savage for a little girl to bear.
"Why should I throw my life away because of you?!"
She had married at the tender age of twenty. Her husband was Hughes Grant, the eldest son of the Grant Merchant Group, which was just beginning to rise in the Emulin Countship at the time. For a commoner, it had been a rare chance at a complete reversal of fortune. A woman who had lived as a poor lower-class citizen suddenly found herself enjoying the lifestyle of the upper class, nearly on par with provincial nobility.
Yet at the same time, the marriage she had entered far too young proved to be the worst experience of her life. Pregnant with a child at an age when she could barely take responsibility for her own life, resentment toward the life she had sacrificed for the child took root in her heart before any maternal love could. She poured all that stress onto her daughter.
"Why should you be the only one who's loved and allowed to live?!"
Then, at last, a ray of light appeared for her. The man was a noble—a viscount, but from a family with the potential to rise to central nobility within a few years. To her, however, that detail was secondary. What mattered was that he always whispered words of love to her. He held her warmly and filled the affection she had always lacked. Unlike Hughes Grant, who constantly pushed his family aside for work and only showed affection to their daughter, this man made her feel cherished.
"Having you was the worst choice of my life."
Her very existence had been denied by her parent. Was there any greater shock a child could suffer? Arina forgot even to clutch at the hem of the woman's skirt and simply sank to the floor in a daze, staring up at her. The woman paid her no mind. She picked up the luggage she had already packed and turned her back without a single moment of hesitation. She left Arina without so much as a perfunctory "take care."
"I'm sorry, Arina."
After the woman was gone, the one who comforted the hollow-eyed girl still sitting on the floor was Hughes Grant, who had rushed over after belatedly realizing what had happened.
"I'm so sorry."
He had believed he was devoting himself to his family. As a father and head of the household for the first time, everything had been unfamiliar. He thought that simply working hard would be enough. He tried to replace the time he should have spent with them with money instead. Trapped within the fence of his own sense of responsibility to protect them, he had ended up abandoning them. Because of that, his wife left, his daughter was abandoned by her mother, and their family fell apart.
Hughes Grant took all the blame upon himself.
"Daddy's sorry, Arina."
Humiliation from her mother. Self-reproach from her father. Even the parents themselves did not fully understand why their family had ended in such ruin, so the young Arina could not possibly comprehend the situation at the time. That memory remained as her trauma—the first trauma she experienced before the deaths of Kayen Grant and Hughes Grant.
"Ugh—"
Arina frantically covered her mouth with both hands, desperately swallowing the nausea rising in her throat. She had to endure. She couldn't make a sound. She couldn't let anyone find out she was here. Because they hated her. Because they never wanted to see her again.
"……I have to—"
She needed to get out of here right now. She shouldn't have come. It was fine. If she just went to Marily's room from now on and stayed inside……
"Arina!"
At that moment, someone grabbed her arm. The sudden pull jerked her upper body backward. Just as she was about to fall, the person who had seized her arm caught her by the shoulder and asked,
"Are you all right? You look quite pale."
The person standing there was someone she would never have expected to see—Jeon Raydel, the younger brother of the current Marquis Raydel. Dressed in a navy suit with his dark blue hair neatly combed back, he was looking at Arina with worried eyes.
"Uh, u-uh?"
Jeon's ice-blue eyes reflected her flustered face. Her first thought upon seeing him was, I'm sure I've seen that face somewhere before. It was only natural—she had never seen him with his bangs swept back, and they weren't particularly close. But the moment she realized the person holding her was Jeon, her eyes widened in shock.
"I-I'm sorry!"
At the same time, Arina startled and frantically struggled out of his arms. Why was Jeon here? Why had he grabbed her? And why was he looking at her with such a worried expression instead of his usual glare? Everything was confusion and questions. Yet perhaps because of the shock, the panic that had been on her face moments ago seemed to have completely vanished.
"Did something happen inside the party hall?"
Jeon's worried expression, however, showed no sign of fading. That was only natural. The moment he had entered the hall, Arina—the very reason he had attended this party—had run past him with a deathly pale face toward the corridor. Without thinking, he had immediately followed her.
How dare someone……!
At the same time, he was furious. Who on earth had terrified Arina to this extent? If he found them, he would never let them off easily. Along with that anger, hostility toward whoever had done this began to mix into the worry filling his gaze.
Ah, that's his usual look.
Seeing that fierce glare, Arina felt a strange sense of relief. It was finally starting to resemble the way he usually looked at her.
"No, nothing happened."
Arina forced a smile and shook her head. But her mind was in a different kind of panic now. Most of it stemmed from guilt toward Marily.
What should I do?
She couldn't think of any way to fix this. She had been the one who begged to attend the party. Because of her, Marily was the only one who ended up suffering. That fact weighed heavily on her heart, casting a dark shadow across her face.
Nothing happened, my foot.
That only deepened Jeon's misunderstanding. How could she claim nothing had happened while wearing an expression that looked ready to burst into tears at any moment? No one in the world would fall for such an obvious lie.
I can't force her to talk, either.
But if she was trying so hard to hide it, he couldn't keep pressing her. He didn't want to do anything that might be rude to Arina.
"……!"
As he thought that far, Jeon suddenly realized something. This was the first time he had ever had a natural conversation with Arina. The moment that realization hit him, his body stiffened like ice. He stared fixedly at the top of her head as she worried about what would happen next, his own body rigid as stone.
She's beautiful.
It wasn't the right time to be thinking this, but Arina was always beautiful no matter when he looked at her. Come to think of it, he had unconsciously hugged her earlier. She probably hated it. She had immediately pushed him away while apologizing. That wasn't the reaction of someone toward a person they liked. Well, of course. What woman would like a man who glared at her fiercely every single day? Thinking that, the shadowed expression on her face now seemed as though she was afraid of him. Feeling dejected by that thought, Jeon's shoulders slumped weakly.
"Arina!"
The silence that had formed while they each wrestled with their own thoughts was broken by Marily, who had come running out of the party hall after Arina. Arina's shoulders trembled slightly at the voice. Just as she was about to lift her head toward Marily with an awkward laugh, Marily rushed forward and pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Are you okay? Did something happen? Your face looked terrible earlier."
Without giving Arina a chance to respond, Marily grabbed her cheeks with both hands and began examining her face from every angle. There was not a trace of reproach in her eyes—only worry for her friend.
"……Hic."
That fact only made the emotions well up more. Transparent tears gathered in Arina's eyes. At the same time, she buried herself in Marily's arms and burst into loud sobs that echoed through the palace corridor.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Marily. Because of me……"
"It's fine. It's all right."
Marily smiled faintly at Arina's appearance and gently patted her back. She had come running because she was worried, but fortunately, Arina seemed to be okay now. She knew why Arina was apologizing, but Marily didn't care about that at all. As long as nothing had happened to Arina, that was enough.
It looks like it'll take a bit more time to hear the full story.
Watching Arina, who showed no sign of stopping her tears, Marily could only continue patting her back helplessly.
Hmm, I was wondering what to do, but it seems I don't need to step in after all.
Meanwhile, from behind the wall on the opposite side of the corridor, Jealousy—disguised as a maid—leaned against the wall and chuckled as he watched them. When the young lady had suddenly run out of the party hall, even he had been quite flustered. He had been debating whether to chase after her immediately. Fortunately, the Raydel boy had calmed her down, so this incident could end as nothing more than a minor mishap.
I'll let it slide this time.
How dare he hug the young lady? Under normal circumstances, it would have been a grave sin worthy of mobilizing the entire underworld force to wipe out the Raydel territory. But since it had helped calm the young lady down, he would make a special exception this once. Jealousy nodded to himself.
Besides, a mere Raydel brat isn't important right now.
How dare someone make the young lady cry? Who the hell was it? Jealousy's eyes gleamed with cold killing intent. He had already confirmed the person's face. He would investigate them thoroughly. With that thought, he glanced once more at Arina crying in Princess Marily's arms before turning and walking in the opposite direction.
"……Tch."
But at the same time, he spotted someone approaching from the front and swallowed a groan, furrowing his brow.
I knew someone was coming, but of all people, it had to be him.
This was bad. The man was Enoch Sevranthis, the chief steward responsible for everything in this palace.
"So your name is Mary?"
"Yes, Chief Steward."
Jealousy hurriedly composed his expression and bowed his head toward Enoch, who was approaching while calling out the name of the maid he was disguised as.
"What are you doing here?"
The voice was soft and gentle, but it carried a subtle thorn. That was only natural—he had deliberately disguised himself as a maid who would have almost no reason to come to this area.
"I was on my way to the party hall to run an errand for Lady Nell."
He had already prepared an excuse for this as well.
"Is that so?"
Enoch nodded as if convinced. Please just let this go.I can't exactly kill you and run here. He had even chosen this particular maid disguise specifically to avoid killing anyone.
"Then who are you, really?"
"Damn it."
It wasn't a probe. What lay behind those words was clear certainty.
"You've analyzed Mary's habits and speech patterns quite well. I almost fell for it myself."
Just pretend to be fooled, won't you? But from the moment he stood before Enoch, Jealousy had already assumed he would be discovered. This man was responsible for everything in the royal palace. If anyone in the palace knew a person's characteristics more perfectly than the person themselves, it was him.
"Damn it all."
As expected, he hadn't had enough preparation time to fool this guy. The moment he made that judgment, Jealousy swiftly leaped to the side. He jumped through a window and escaped outside. Watching him go, Enoch calmly raised his smartphone.
"Intruder detected. Currently disguised as maid Mary and fleeing through the third window in Corridor B on the way to the party hall. Appears to be at least expert-level or higher in skill. Please exercise caution for your safety."
As Enoch quickly relayed the situation to the mages stationed nearby, the pursuit through the moonlit night began.