Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: All Lies
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He had already said he would invite her. Soon, to the house. The Marquis had kept his promise to Lena.
The sight of her father extending a hand as if he had never put her in such a bind struck her as newly ridiculous. Propping her chin, Lena smiled faintly.
The carriage carrying Lena glided forward as quietly as a boat skimming across calm waters. There wasn't even the clop of hooves; she could have forgotten she was riding in one. This was a luxury reserved for the nobility.
A road paved flawlessly with marble and white sand. A golden carriage that didn't creak even slightly. A streetscape so beautiful it seemed painted.
As a child first arriving in the capital, Lena had thrilled at all of it. The girl used to bumpy country roads had imagined spending time with her family in this glittering city, her eyes shining with joy.
But the child's hopes had been shattered cruelly, and now Lena—no longer a child—viewed it all with cold indifference.
It had been six years. Lena Rubel was returning home after another six.
. . .
An hour before the Marquis house sent a carriage for Lena.
"Um, miss."
Uni, brushing Lena's hair, broached the subject unusually cautiously.
"Have you given any thought to seeing your little brother?"
It was because the conversation she was about to have concerned Enji.
The Marquis had invited Lena to dinner, and she had accepted. Would that boy attend as well? Uni pondered, then concluded no. It seemed unlikely the oblivious son would be invited. The letter had only said he and his wife would be waiting—no mention of his son. Enji appeared excluded again, and it nagged at Uni, who still had Enji's bookmark.
"Enji Rubel has been wondering about you, miss."
"Has he?"
Uni had mustered her courage, but Lena's response was tepid. Recalling a similar letdown before, Uni pouted in mild dissatisfaction.
Lena, watching Uni through the mirror, relented with feigned helplessness.
". . . Truth be told, I'm torn. About whether it's okay to meet him."
"Why?"
"Because I might do to him what Father did to me."
"What do you mean?"
Stunned by the unexpected words, Uni gasped.
Lena smiled bitterly. It hurt to voice a truth she scarcely wanted to acknowledge.
"Now that I'm here, his life will change one way or another."
Father was right. The mere existence of Lena Rubel brought crisis to House Rubel.
The daughter used in shady dealings was a threat not just to the Marquis, but to his wife the Marchioness, and their son Enji Rubel.
For their sake, Lena Rubel had a duty as the family's eldest daughter to vanish quietly. In that trite saying, "The living must live," Lena was the dead one who should step aside for the living.
But Lena had forsaken the scapegoat's duty and rebelled against everyone's happiness. She declared her existence more important than their comfort and wealth, challenging the settled peace head-on.
She moved quietly beneath the surface now, but soon she would expose it for all to see. And assert her own existence, so futilely erased.
That was why she had returned from the grave. And also why she could not approach her once-close little brother.
"He might lose everything because of me. All the inheritance he was meant to enjoy as the Marquis's heir. It's just like what Father did to me—I lost my rightful place as the viscount's daughter because of him."
"That's . . ."
Impossible, Uni nearly retorted, then stopped. Lena's words seemed absurd yet convinced her.
Reading even that expression in the mirror, Lena added lightly.
"It's funny, isn't it? That people have things they're entitled to by right, and that those rights differ for each person."
Some children were orphans from birth. Some were born daughters of a viscount but cast aside without reason. And some rose to higher status unknowingly, on the back of their sister's ransom.
As that angel-faced man had said, it was each person's fate. Those who had it took it for granted; those who didn't thrashed against their lot.
"So I can't bring myself to meet Enji."
That was it. Soon, Enji Rubel would lose what he took for granted.
Just as Lena Rubel had lost everything she once deemed hers.
As a child, Lena hadn't questioned the source of her comfort, assuming it natural. So when Father took it all, she thought him the thief.
What would Enji Rubel think? When House Rubel—built on Lena Rubel's sacrifice—crumbled, and his noble life vanished like foam, who would he blame for the theft?
Lena smiled faintly at the obvious answer, then concluded calmly.
"Unfortunately."
. . .
Lena mulled over her talk with Uni as she gazed out the window. The already familiar road grew more so—House Rubel's estate was nearing.
She watched the scenery impassively, then suddenly startled and glanced back at the alley they'd just passed.
'Lin?'
Her eyes met a man standing in the narrow lane. Tall, cloaked in black. He looked just like Lin when they first met.
She whipped around hastily, but he was already out of sight, blocked by buildings.
Disappointed despite herself, Lena shook her head and forced her thoughts away.
'I must have seen wrong.'
Lin had said he was off inspecting Eastern affairs. He'd be meeting Eastern officials in the capital—no way he'd wander alone like that.
Realizing her mistake, Lena smiled weakly. Self-mockery.
Jumping at the sight of anyone similar, like some lovestruck novel heroine. Pitiful, she laughed, then pitied the Marquis instead.
He was unlucky too. Even summoned in peaceful times, she'd be hard to please. And he didn't even know his daughter thought herself jilted, inviting her like this.
Thanks to him, Lena had freshly realized in detail what he'd done—and the upcoming dinner excited her more.
. . .
The carriage arrived at the Marquis house.
Lena stepped down, mood sinking like into a swamp.
Yet she feigned surprise at the sight before her. The house she returned to after six years was unchanged.
Even the servants lined from the main gate to the entrance were arrayed just as when child Lena first arrived.
And at the end stood the Marquis couple, as before. Everything was the same.
"Lena . . ."
Only one thing had changed.
"You're really alive."
Her mother rushed forward, embracing her. Trembling, sobbing—unlike that day.
Lena stared in shock, and the Marchioness whispered.
"Please, don't say a word."
Her voice quaked with fear.
Caught like a child handed an unwanted gift, Lena soon smiled mercifully.
The absurd farce began.
***
The power to dominate and command obedience is called authority.
Those with authority do not fight. Their foes submit of their own accord.
Those with authority need not strive. Others anticipate their needs first.
Thus, those with authority are at ease. Mercy toward those who grovel on their own suffices.
In that sense, Lena Rubel was now undeniably a true authority.
"Thank you for accepting the invitation."
The Marquis spoke mildly from the end of the lavish table.
But Lena, at the opposite end, offered no pleasantries—just a smile.
No "Thank you for inviting me," no "It's like a dream to dine with family again." Not a word the child Lena would have chirped cutely.
"I hope the food suits you. I had them prepare it carefully, but . . ."
Still, the Marquis kept up the effort, conversing amiably to maintain the mood.
"If there'd been more time, it could have been better. You must be busy."
He didn't even chide her for forcing the schedule forward.
Right now, the Marquis only wanted to impress Lena. Admirable effort, yet Lena cruelly held her silence.
Sensing it futile, the Marquis glanced at his wife beside him.
She flinched, then spoke in a voice thick with tension.
". . . Have you been well?"
Better left unsaid.
"How you've . . . grown."
The Marchioness failed her husband's expectations.
Her tension was palpable even to the attending servants. Her forced cheer made Lena feel like an intruder.
The Marquis, who had tried using his wife to soothe Lena, soon sensed the odd flow.
Something was wrong.
By his knowledge, wife and daughter had been very close. Like friends, he recalled.
He'd expected emotional reunion, but reality diverged sharply.
Lena regarded her mother with her usual elegant chill. The wife seemed almost afraid of her daughter.
'Why?'
When handing Lena to Clavis, his wife hadn't been involved. Lena might not know that, but the wife had no reason to tense like this.
As the Marquis puzzled over his wife's agitation.
"I think I get it now."
Lena, who had watched silently with a smile, finally spoke.
Before he could rejoice, she added.
"Why Father was always so quiet. With everyone chattering around him, he could just smile comfortably."
Her voice was soft, but the content biting.
The dinner atmosphere chilled further.
But the Marquis didn't falter, and Lena, as if expecting that, continued casually.
"I'd love to enjoy this more, but I'm curious about the purpose. Why did you call me?"
"I have important matters to discuss with you."
"In this atmosphere?"
Lena nodded toward her mother.
The Marchioness averted her eyes, trapped. The Marquis explained.
"Since you came home, I wanted you to see her. You two were always close."
"True enough."
"If there's any misunderstanding, let me clear it. Your mother had nothing to do with that matter."
"I know."
Then why? The Marquis couldn't grasp the situation or mood, and Lena pitied her clueless father.
He was the one misunderstanding now.
Lena knew. That Father had acted alone in selling her off, that Mother knew nothing—she'd known from the start.
Because they'd been together.
That day, one week before her birthday. The night Father summoned her in the dead of night.
Lena had been with her mother.
The sleepless viscountess drank tea in her parlor every night, and young Lena wanted to show off her newly finished embroidery.
So she'd gone to Mother's parlor late at night—a routine occurrence. The butler knew the young lady wasn't in her room and directed her there.
Mother had been surprised by Father's sudden summons too.
To bewildered Lena, Mother had reminded her next week was her birthday.
Guessing Father had a birthday gift, she'd encouraged her. Escorted her to Father's study.
Told her to go ahead, she'd wait.
That day, Mother had been there. Outside the study door, as Lena was sold off.
Yet Lena received no help that day.
And Father, you still don't know.