Chapter 37
Chapter 37
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: The Boy Begins to Suspect
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In the dark of night, Enji hurried past the mansion's entrance.
"No, Young Master. Without any notice..."
"Is Mother asleep?"
"She's still awake."
The young butler of House Rubel rushed to greet the young master who had returned without warning. Enji handed him his overcoat and headed straight for his mother's room.
"Mother, it's me."
"Enji?"
He knocked, and a woman's clear voice replied from behind the door. A woman in a nightgown draped with a shawl appeared. She was the elegant noblewoman, the Marchioness Rubel.
"You just got here?"
"Yes."
"At this hour... Nothing's happened, has it?"
The marchioness caressed her son's cheek as she asked. House Rubel's roots were in the North, but they also had a mansion in the capital. It was a venerable estate polished since their viscount days. Only half an hour by carriage from the imperial palace, the marquis and Enji would stay at the palace but drop by home now and then. At his mother's concern, Enji hesitated before speaking.
"Mother, have you seen the Proxy of the South Duke by any chance?"
It wasn't a question but a confirmation. At the Founding Day celebration, the opening and victory rites, the Proxy of the South Duke had been in the most prominent seats. So she must have seen him. That person named Lena Rubel. At Enji's question, the marchioness widened her eyes in surprise.
"That person's name is Lena Rubel. And she looks a lot like Sis."
"Sis..."
"You saw her too, right? Yeah?"
"Enji, that matter..."
"Don't talk about it in the hallway. Come in."
At that moment, a deep voice overshadowed the marchioness's. Startled by the unexpected tone, Enji jumped. Over his mother's shoulder, he saw a man rising from the bed. It was the Marquis Rubel.
"You'll start coughing again if you do."
The marquis spoke with concern, and the rigid marchioness belatedly stepped aside from the door. It meant to come in. Though natural, Enji hesitated unwittingly.
"I thought you were at the palace."
"I came to rest for a bit. You can go now."
The marquis replied calmly and dismissed the butler still behind Enji. The butler, who had been eavesdropping while hiding his expression, hurriedly withdrew at his master's command. Enji lingered before entering the room. For a moment, he thought he should ask after his father's health, but he didn't want to right now. So he kept his mouth shut, and the marquis spoke first.
"I heard the news. You did well at the ducal conference. Good job."
Enji's chest tightened at his father's praise. Even while resting at home, his father was so well-informed. Yet he said nothing about the Proxy of the South Duke, Lena Rubel. Thinking it was just as well, Enji spoke up.
"I saw the Proxy of the South Duke up close today."
"I see."
"Why is that person's name Lena Rubel? Do you know anything about her?"
"How would I know the South's affairs?"
"She looks just like Sis."
Enji said it almost accusingly without realizing. He was confused. But it wasn't just because of the Proxy of the South Duke's appearance. That was merely the trigger; Enji harbored a deep-rooted doubt. The year his sister died, Enji was eight. Old enough to not know everything but to observe and remember it all. To him, his sister Lena Rubel was a congenital rival—petty, refusing to play, ditching him at every chance—but still his constant companion through growth, the one he spent the most time with. Then one morning, he heard she had fallen ill. Shocked, he tried to go to her, but the servants blocked him. They said the illness was contagious, so the young master mustn't go near. Enji believed them. So he wandered the garden, staring only at her window. He thought she'd be up tomorrow. But four days after hearing she was sick, she died. At the butler's cautious news, Enji ran to his mother, asking if it was true. He begged to see her, sobbing. But Enji never saw his sister. Desperate, he asked why not, but the adults just turned away with sad faces. The servants gave excuses that sounded odd even to a child. Enji ended up letting her go without accepting anything. And he was stifled by the strange atmosphere tabooing the name Lena Rubel.
"Is it really true that Sis died of illness?"
Then, the locked-away feelings finally found momentum and burst forth.
"Now that I think about it, everything was so strange. No one said what illness, no doctor ever came, and they never let me see her."
"Enji..."
"Wait, Mother. I want to hear it from Father directly. What exactly happened? Who the hell is the Proxy of the South Duke? Her name, age, face—all identical to Sis's, and you really don't know?"
Enji asked pointedly, chin raised sharply. It sounded quite clever. Indeed, he often heard he was smart. Weak in body but sharp-minded, with promising potential.
*Yet so naive.*
The marquis looked at his son with amusement. Why couldn't he think to shut his mouth if he suspected something about his sister's fate? If he'd formed such a hypothesis, he should prioritize his own safety.
*Pushing ahead without any countermeasures—what good is that?*
The marquis smiled faintly at his clueless son. Spoiled as an only child, it seemed. Grown without a wrinkle, unable to distinguish heaven from earth. This reckless boldness was possible only because he blindly trusted that his father and those around him would never harm him. Gazing at his son's youthful face, the marquis feigned defeat.
"Yes, it's your sister."
"Really..."
"And if it is, what then?"
"Huh?"
"If I say yes, what will you do?"
Enji, who had raised his brows at the marquis's question, faltered and blinked.
"Waking your mother in the middle of the night and doubting your injured father—for something so trivial?"
The marquis's voice was as calm as ever. But it carried thick disappointment. Enji stammered in shock.
"I just wanted to confirm... because it's too strange..."
"Strange, so you need an explanation?"
As the marquis muttered incredulously, Enji was at a loss for words. He felt punished in an instant. As Enji shrank, the marquis admonished him lowly.
"You're our only child. If it were necessary or helpful, we'd have told you. Have I ever done you wrong?"
"No..."
"I understand being startled by the Proxy of the South Duke. Same name, similar looks. But what do you gain by barging in and grilling your father?"
The marquis's lecture piled on guilt. Naturally, Enji's head bowed lower and lower, and around then, his watching mother whispered.
"Apologize to Father quickly."
"...I'm sorry. For coming at night."
Enji eventually mumbled with downcast eyes. His bold questioning ended pathetically. The marquis inwardly found his son pitiful. Could this child ever measure up to half of Lena? Recalling Lena from the grave, the marquis observed Enji. Unlike Lena, who stood blade-sharp, Enji was like a stuffed doll. Fourteen already, yet only peach fuzz on his face, build small as any girl's. Soft personality, softer body. Clever but not cunning—diminished in value for not knowing it. An inadequate son.
*Should have been more cautious.*
Watching Enji, the marquis belatedly regretted Lena. If he'd known his son would turn out like this, he'd have raised his daughter to the end. Gazing at his unsatisfactory son, the marquis said lowly.
"Go to your room."
"Yes, Father."
Enji turned with a dejected face. The marquis eyed his son retreating without gain, displeased. Enji kept that aggrieved expression until he reached the hallway. But the moment the door closed, the boy's face changed. Enji narrowed his eyes and bit his lip. Far from yielding easily.
***
Early morning, Uni briskly drew back the sagging curtains and drapes with deft hands. With a rustle, sunlight poured through the window, shining on Lena's sleeping face. Feeling the glare, Lena slyly burrowed under her pillow. A silent plea to sleep more, but her maid was merciless.
"Young Lady, get up!"
"Ah..."
"Hurry! Lots to do today!"
"Eek..."
"No crying! Up you get!"
At the prodding hands on her shoulders, Lena reluctantly rose. Her sleep-filled face and tousled hair were quite a sight. But Uni, already accustomed, brought a basin of cool water. Then she flicked droplets at Lena's drooping face.
"Someone else should see you like this."
"Nooo..."
Uni grumbled at her barely conscious mistress, and Lena groaned in a drowsy voice. Usual Lena had no gaps, but morning Lena was all gaps. Waking and grooming her into a proper person was Uni's daily morning task.
"There, there. Wash up quick. Three appointments today."
"What...?"
"Here. The errand boys brought them at dawn."
Lena forced her hazy eyes open and took the cards Uni offered. All three summoned her, from different senders. Flipping through them one by one, Lena suddenly furrowed her brow.
"What's wrong?"
"An unwelcome invitation."
"The Old Man?"
"No, someone else."
Lena stared at the card with an expression hard to read as smile or grimace. Then she let it drop and stretched vigorously. The unwelcome invite had chased away her sleep, it seemed.
"Oh, right."
Now alert, Lena said as if it just occurred to her.
"I'm engaged."
Uni’s mouth formed a triangle at Lena's abrupt confession. Rolling her eyes cat-like, she soon asked gravely.
"Baby on the way too?"
"...That's jumping the gun."
"Taught to see the world with an open mind."
Lena forced a smile at Uni's excessive precociousness. But Uni was brazen. And quick on the uptake.
"Mr. Lin?"
"Yes."
"So you're dating Mr. Lin?"
"No way."
Lena affirmed and denied the rapid questions in turn. Especially to "dating," she drew a firm line.
"You know it's not the time for that."
"Marriage or dating—what's the difference?"
"Becoming someone's one-and-only is the same either way."
Lena shook her head at Uni's small protest. Then added self-mockingly.
"Better not start what you can't commit to."
Uni pouted at Lena's firm words. She had more to say but held back. Reading her face, Lena continued lightly.
"And actually, it's an alliance. The engagement is just for show."
"Either way, the Old Man will clutch his neck."
Uni chuckled wickedly. Then, face brightening oddly, she asked back.
"If it's public, you gotta act lovey-dovey publicly—then what if Mr. Lin really falls for you?"
"No way."
"You never know with people."
"True, but not this time."
Lena waved off Uni's troubling hypothesis. So Uni eyed her dubiously, as if demanding how she could be sure.
"Really. Mr. Lin says he has no plans to meet anyone."
"That fine specimen? Why?"
"Personal reasons, I guess."
Lena played ignorant about Lin's secret. Then, before Uni could pry, she got up.
"Busy day ahead."
"You're obviously changing the subject."
Uni was sharp as ever. But lenient with Lena, so she obediently rose too. As said, a packed day. To finish the schedule, they had to hurry now.
...
Uni fussed over Lena for her outing. Once the Young Lady safely departed, Uni bustled to the basement laundry. Unlike her dawdling mistress, Uni finished tasks first.
*Change the bedsheets quick and play!*
Thrilled at rolling on the fluffy bed, Uni quickened her steps. But an unfamiliar boy blocked her excited path.
"Hi?"
He wore white priestly robes— a stranger, yet oddly familiar. Uni scanned him top to bottom and replied curtly.
"Who're you?"
"Uh... well. You're Lena Rubel's maid, right?"
The boy, Enji Rubel, said with a bright smile. Uni, quick-witted, had no choice but to realize. The identity of this boy who looked just like her Young Lady.