The Letter I Never Received
A confusing letter? What on earth was she talking about? The only letter I’d received from her was the one inviting me to discuss the business venture over dinner. I couldn’t recall anything else.
Lady Floria added quickly, as if making an excuse, when she saw my puzzled expression. “Well, that… that makes sense, doesn’t it? It would be unthinkable to reply to another woman’s letter when you already have a fiancée. Of course.”
“No, that’s not… Please wait a moment. Aside from the dinner invitation, I have no memory of receiving any letter from you, my lady. There must have been some kind of mistake.”
“……Pardon?”
Lady Floria’s eyes widened at my words. It seemed we were both laboring under some misunderstanding.
“It’s not a lie. I truly never received any letter from you. It may have been lost during delivery. I’ll look into it once I return.”
“I… I see…”
For some reason, Lady Floria’s face clouded over slightly. It occurred to me that she might think I was offering a forced excuse. Her dejected demeanor made me feel unexpectedly guilty.
“I put my heart into writing more than ten of them…”
I pretended not to hear the small, gloomy murmur that followed from Lady Floria.
“Ahem! In that case, shall we discuss the purpose of my visit today?”
“Yes…”
When I deliberately changed the subject, Lady Floria gave a small, reluctant nod of agreement.
POV: Hannah
“Hannah. Have you finished preparing the young master’s outfit for tomorrow?”
At Butler Sebastian’s question, Hannah bowed her head respectfully and answered.
“Yes, Butler Sebastian. I’ve just finished and was about to return to my room.”
“Good. You’ve worked hard. Go rest well.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
She had just finished her report and was about to descend the stairs to the first floor when a voice called out from behind her.
“U-um…! Hannah!”
“……”
Hannah turned toward the sound just as she was about to head down the staircase. There, peeking nervously from around the hallway corner, was a silver-haired girl shifting anxiously in place. It was Aria Luna Grace, Leo’s fiancée, who had recently begun living in the mansion.
The way she waved her hands eagerly with such a flustered expression somehow made Hannah think of an adorable squirrel.
“No, it’s perfectly all right.”
The only conversation they had shared before was a simple request to bring a tea set to Leo’s room, so this felt rather sudden. Still, when the guest of the house’s master called, a maid could not refuse.
In truth, Hannah had a fairly good idea why Aria had ended up like this. It was probably because Leo had gone to dine with Lady Floria. At this rate, it was almost as if…
“Shall I prepare some tea for you?”
Hannah asked gently, seeing the utterly downcast girl radiating melancholy. Aria hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded.
Hannah rose and walked to the small kitchen in the corner of the room, setting the kettle on to boil. A short while later, she returned.
“Here’s your tea.”
“Ah, thank you.”
When Hannah poured the chamomile tea into the cup, Aria thanked her, lifted it to her lips, and took a small sip. After setting the cup down again, she spoke.
“It smells wonderful! Is this chamomile?”
“Yes. These are fresh leaves we received just the day before yesterday. I’m glad it suits your taste.”
“Oh, you should drink some too, Hannah! It feels wrong for me to drink it all by myself.”
“…Yes, then, if you insist.”
Hannah was not the uncooperative sort. She lifted the teapot and poured the steaming, clear brown liquid into her own cup.
“You know, Hannah… This might sound strange, but the truth is, I wanted to become friends with you from the very first moment I saw you.”
“…Pardon?”
Hannah’s expression turned puzzled at the abrupt statement. Servants were supposed to maintain a proper distance from their employers. The same rule applied to guests of equal standing to the master. Words like “I want to be friends” were simply not something one heard.
Yet it seemed such common sense did not apply to the beautiful silver-haired young lady before her.
“We’re the same age, aren’t we? And you seemed so nice from the first impression. I thought maybe we could get along well… Would that be all right…?”
“No, of course it would be all right. It’s only that…”
“…Is it because I’m a servant?”
“Yes…”
When Hannah showed a hint of awkwardness, Aria smiled brightly.
“That’s perfectly fine! I don’t care about such things at all.”
“…Is that so.”
As expected, this young lady was…
“Then, shall we become friends starting today?”
“……”
The atmosphere made it clear refusal was not an option. Still, it didn’t seem like a bad thing. The innocent demeanor that contrasted so sharply with her elegant appearance was simply too endearing. Before she knew it, a faint smile had formed on Hannah’s lips.
“Yes. I’ll gladly accept.”
POV: Leo
“Haa…”
After finishing dinner with Lady Floria and returning to the mansion, I loosened the brooch at my neck and let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the deal had been successfully concluded. Since I had attended essentially as my father’s representative, there hadn’t been much for me to do. Although Lady Floria’s attitude toward me had been slightly unsettling, it wasn’t enough to cause any real problems.
“……”
Yet the moment I reached my bedroom door, I stopped dead in my tracks. From beyond the door came the sound of women chatting pleasantly. Both voices sounded strangely familiar. What was this? Who would be in my room at this hour…?
-Creak.
The instant I opened the door in confusion, I froze.
There, sitting across from each other at the table inside the room, were Aria and my personal maid, Hannah. They had been conversing happily, but at the sound of the door they both turned to look at me.
“Ah, Lord Leo! You’re back earlier than I expected.”
“Welcome back, young master.”
Aria greeted me with a bright smile while Hannah, sitting opposite her, rose smoothly and offered a polite bow.
“Ah… yes. I’m back.”
I returned the greeting first, then immediately voiced the question that had sprung to mind.
“But why is Hannah in my room with Lady Aria…?”
Hannah straightened her posture and answered calmly.
“Lady Aria mentioned she was feeling bored, so I took the liberty of keeping her company.”
At that, Aria jumped in a fluster and denied it.
“N-no, that’s not it! It’s not that I was lonely because Lord Leo wasn’t here and thought of Hannah as a substitute or anything like that…”
“Ah… I see.”
What was this woman even saying? I lightly brushed off Aria’s frantic excuse and removed my outer coat. Hannah naturally approached and took it from me, carrying it toward the wardrobe.
“……”
Aria was staring at the scene with a complicated expression. Was this villainess jealous of Hannah too? She really was a troublesome woman. I sighed inwardly and spoke to her.
“My lady. Have you had dinner?”
“Ah, yes. I ate earlier.”
“I see. Did the meal suit your taste?”
“It was perfect. Everything was truly delicious.”
“…Is that so. In that case, since it’s getting late, wouldn’t it be best if you returned to your room and rested? I need to prepare for bed soon as well.”
“……”
Aria pressed her lips tightly together at my subtle suggestion that she leave. At this rate, she might as well be planning to move into my room permanently. The terrifying thought sent a chill down my spine. Sharing a room with this woman was an absolutely unacceptable situation.
Just as I was about to say something more to the still-silent Aria, she spoke.
“L-Lord Leo! If it’s not too much trouble… could you tell me what kind of conversation took place during the dinner with the Floria family today?”
“…Pardon? Why are you suddenly asking about that?”
“The reason I came to this house was to share and learn about each other’s work, wasn’t it? So I thought the exchange between families that you attended would fall under that category as well.”
“……”
She really did have a way with words. In the end, I had no choice but to sit across from Aria and recount everything that had happened during the dinner.
“Hannah. Could I speak with you for a moment?”
While talking with Aria, I had stepped out of the room briefly and called out to Hannah as she passed through the hallway.
“What is it, young master?”
Hannah responded in her usual businesslike manner. Facing her, I spoke with some difficulty.
“It’s… a bit awkward to say this, but don’t get too close to Lady Aria.”
“Did something happen with the young lady?”
“No… it’s not that. There are just circumstances. Anyway, don’t get too close. I plan to break off the engagement with her in a year anyway.”
I knew it wasn’t proper to casually reveal such messy matters to a servant. But Hannah had served me faithfully and silently for three years. For some reason, I felt she needed to know in advance. I didn’t want her to get hurt later when Aria revealed her true nature.
However, Hannah’s reaction was somewhat unexpected.
“Breaking the engagement… Are you truly serious?”
She wore an expression as if she had heard something that should never happen. Seeing her face made me feel strangely like I had done something wrong. But there was no helping it. I had no choice but to tell her the harsh truth.
Taking a deep breath, I looked at Hannah and spoke.
“Listen carefully. The truth is, Lady Aria is the villainess who dated me five years ago, then suddenly and coldly abandoned me without any warning. Yet now she’s returned and is acting as my fiancée again. I don’t know the reason, but that’s the current situation. So when we got engaged, I set a condition. For the sake of both our reputations, we would act as fiancés for one year, then break it off afterward.”
“……”
Hannah remained silent for a moment, thinking, before replying carefully.
“Still… couldn’t there have been unavoidable circumstances behind what happened five years ago? She doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would do such a thing…”
“Circumstances or not, she never gave me any explanation. How am I supposed to know…?”
“Have you ever spoken with her about that matter?”
“No… I never had the chance, and even now I have no desire to.”
“Then perhaps you should have a proper conversation with her? There may have been a misunderstanding between you.”
“……”
For some reason, it felt like Hannah was taking Aria’s side. Had that woman already brainwashed her in such a short time? The thought crossed my mind that the witch might have used some kind of mental magic. At this rate, everyone in the mansion might end up completely enchanted by her.
“…All right. I’ll try to speak with her soon.”
“Yes. I hope it goes well. I’m certain there was a misunderstanding.”
“…Right.”
Hannah’s final comment defending Aria made my head throb.
“Haa…”
Since Aria was undoubtedly still occupying my room, I had come to the first-floor lounge to catch my breath and organize my thoughts. The reason I couldn’t bring up what happened that day with Aria was simple. I was afraid. Afraid of being rejected again. Afraid of getting hurt. Afraid of facing the cruel truth. Because it terrified me so much, I had kept it all bottled up inside.
I feared that the worst-case scenario I had imagined might become reality. The anxiety that Aria truly felt nothing for me, that I had merely been a substitute. The emotions I had suppressed and suppressed until they had rotted away had now reached a point where I could no longer endure them. Instinctively, I was rejecting any conversation with her.
If Aria had truly lost all feelings for me and everything she was showing now was merely an act, I didn’t think I could bear that sense of loss.
What was throwing my heart into chaos was a single phrase Aria had whispered to me just days ago, when I had pretended to be asleep.
I love you, Leo…
If she had grown to hate me and left, what could those shy words possibly mean? From the situation, it didn’t seem like she had known I was awake and said them on purpose. What was it? Why did she have to say something like that and make me even more confused? Damn it all.