Artasha Bland
Artasha Bland.
The Bland Barony.
From the very beginning, she had held no particular interest in the Bland Barony. Her arranged marriage partner, decided from the moment of her birth, simply happened to be the heir of the Bland family. Even when he succeeded to the baron’s seat and she became the baron’s wife, she felt not the slightest stir of emotion.
Her life had been little different from that of livestock. She had entered a loveless marriage. The dream of becoming a perfumer she had once cradled in her heart was set aside, and she resigned herself to the predetermined fate of performing the duties expected of a household’s mistress.
When word reached her that Baron Bland was having affairs, when she learned he was keeping company with the basest sort of nobles, still no feeling arose in her.
She had known what kind of man he was from the start, and so not even curiosity stirred. She suspected that if he vanished one day without a trace, she would not feel the least sorrow.
The Bland Barony.
This place was nothing more than the livestock pen in which she was obliged to live out her days—neither more nor less.
Yes. That was certainly what she had believed.
Until she met Tina.
"Waaah!!"
"Ah…"
It was wondrous.
The tiny palm could barely wrap around her finger, and the little body looked as though it might shatter at the slightest bump. Whatever grief had seized her, tears streamed endlessly from eyes screwed tightly shut.
She was so fragile.
And yet, at the same time, so beautiful.
Those eyes, a shade of blue just a little softer than her own, outshone every jewel in the world.
When the tiny life stretched out her adorable arms, Artasha found herself thrusting her hands forward in a rush to catch the precious creature. The moment she enfolded the child in both arms, a rich emotion she had never known painted her entire world in brilliant color.
Her heart hammered so violently it would not have been strange if it burst. Her hands trembled like a poplar in a gale.
"Tina… Your name is Tina."
Tina.
My beloved daughter.
She vowed then that no matter what happened, she would make this child happy.
From that day her life was utterly transformed. Light seeped into the existence she had thought no better than a beast’s. Each day became so abundant she dared to call it happiness.
Perhaps it was a small mercy, but even the baron who squandered his life like a wastrel outside the family restrained his drinking and smoking in front of his daughter. Even a scoundrel, it seemed, wished to show his better face before his own child.
Time passed, and at five years old Tina was truly as beautiful as a single perfect blossom. Her pure white hair seemed to reflect the angelic heart within. Her eyes and nose were so impossibly cute that simply restraining the urge to scoop her up and nibble her was a daily trial.
"Mama!"
"Tina."
The tiny fairy came running, radiating pure loveliness, and threw herself into Artasha’s arms. Her body still felt light as down, yet the happiness it carried was heavier than anything else in the world.
She was happy.
So happy she wondered whether she was allowed to feel this much. Tina had completely rewritten her life. In her heart she was certain they would go on living happily together just like this, forever.
But that certainty did not last long.
For the news arrived that Boni Bland had died in a drunken fit of bravado, and with it the Bland family collapsed.
It was a gloomy day of overcast skies and falling rain. Inside the carriage returning from Boni Bland’s funeral.
"I resent you enough to want you dead."
The resentment in Tina’s eyes was aimed squarely at her. Merely meeting that gaze sent a heart-rending pain flooding through her entire body.
"T-Tina… Mama—"
"You could have stopped Father. You knew, and you still let him die!"
She could not deny it.
Tina was right; she had known everything. Word that the baron still consorted with the basest nobles had reached her countless times through society. Lately she had even heard he had taken up gambling.
Because he had been living on liquor, the daily decline of his health had been plain to see as well.
She had known, and still she had not stopped him. The time she might have spent caring about him, she had preferred to pour another handful of affection onto Tina.
She had never wanted to waste breath scolding a man for whom she felt nothing but loathing. Deep down there had even been moments when she felt glad at the thought that if he left, she and Tina could live alone together.
"Why didn’t you stop Father? Don’t tell me… you wanted his position for yourself?"
"Of course not!"
Head of the Bland family? The woman she had once been would have refused such a seat even if it were offered. Yet against that very feeling, she had been forced to succeed as head of the Bland Barony.
A few distant relatives had appeared from the provinces claiming the right to the headship. Every one of them, however, was a black-hearted beast no different from wild animals. How could she stand by? For Tina’s sake, if nothing else, she had to step forward herself.
"I knew it… Father’s position…"
From that moment the look in Tina’s eyes shifted from resentment to contempt. Even now she could not forget the loathing that had filled those clear pupils.
"…I hate you enough to want you dead."
A voice utterly devoid of warmth.
Their conversation ended there.
Tina never called her Mother again, and never again showed her that sunshine smile. Afterward Artasha tried endlessly to approach her first, yet every attempt was met only with cold curses and hatred.
In the end they became less than strangers, a relationship without a shred of love or affection. Stripped of the color called Tina, her life once more became no different from that of livestock.
No—she ought to correct that. At least, unlike livestock, she still had a goal.
The sole remaining driving force in her lightless life was to leave Tina enough wealth that the girl could forge her own path. To give Tina everything and then meet death—that was the peaceful rest she now sought.
But it was not easy.
Traces of the gambling the previous head had scattered everywhere still remained in countless places. She had never heard he had even taken out private loans; truly, to the very end, he was a man who only got in the way.
Simply dealing with the debts that mounted day by day was already overwhelming. There was nowhere to turn for help. Thanks to the former head, the family’s reputation lay in ruins, and every connection she herself had built in society had cut ties with the Bland Barony.
…Should I throw myself back into society more actively?
People would surely heap every kind of scorn and insult upon her. She could endure any amount of that. What she truly could not bear was the thought of Tina hearing the same insults.
Day and night she worked to gather the family’s assets. Anything that might help even a little, she swept up without hesitation. She ran herself ragged without sparing her health, all to erase those damned debts.
And so the days passed. Fortunately her competence in many areas meant the debts gradually shrank, yet the private loans still remaining towered like a mountain.
"My lady…! Your nose is bleeding!!"
"…Ah."
Days free of exhaustion were rare, and she bled from the nose almost every day. Her appetite faded little by little; as her body grew more worn, even her mind began to turn savage.
Because of that she had often been sharp with Tina. Once she had even struck the girl, unable to hold back a surge of anger.
Tina left the house every day and planted herself in the Imperial Library like a ghost that refused to leave. On days the library was closed she shut herself in her room and showed no sign of coming out.
Artasha had urged her at least to take etiquette lessons, yet every time she was met only with icy indifference.
…I’m so tired.
Day after day of meaningless struggle. The finances were clearly improving, yet she no longer felt certain she could hold out until every last debt was paid.
She did not want to admit it, but after five years even her once-unshakable resolve began to waver. She no longer clearly understood why she had to sacrifice herself to this extent.
…Still, I have to do it.
Whenever such thoughts arose she straightened her pen. She drew back the curtains and let sunlight into the gloomy room. She steeled her heart again, telling herself that if she did not give up, someday the light would come.
Someday.
Believing that someday she would surely reach the light.
And that light,
at last, came to her.
Peck—
Tina’s lips, softer than a plum and sweeter than a peach, brushed against her cheek. It might have been exaggeration, yet it felt as though life itself were flowing back into a dead body. Color seemed to return to the cheek those lips had touched, and vitality and vigor surged into her slowly withering frame.
She would stake her life on it: no pleasure in this world could be sweeter than Tina’s lips. Her emotions rose so high that merely holding back tears in front of the girl was almost more than she could manage.
"I’m always cheering for you. Please keep going, Mother."
That single sentence became the reward for all the years. For a moment she wondered whether she was dreaming, yet when she pinched her own cheek the only sensation was exquisite pain.
"My lady."
Just a little more.
She wanted to be just a little greedier.
"Dinner is ready."
"…Lanihel."
"Yes, my lady."
She looked out the window. Gazing at the sunlight as bright as Tina’s eyes, a smile rose unbidden to her lips.
"Call Tina to dinner. I want to eat with my daughter."
Meals she had been forced to take alone in loneliness had long since become unbearable.