Get out of the way.
Tatiana frowned at the Marquis reaching out his hand toward her. Surprised by the overwhelming anger that pushed him away without even touching him, Marquis Everton anxiously chewed the inside of his mouth. Even in that moment, his pride remained, and he trembled as he launched a counterattack.
“L-Lady, didn’t you lie to me too!”
“Lie?”
“You said you had no relationship with Duke Atlas at all.”
“…So?”
Tatiana, who was about to turn away without further dealings, turned her shoe tip back toward him. At her haughty glance as if daring him to continue, the Marquis distorted his face unsightly.
“You’re announcing your engagement to His Excellency the Duke at the palace banquet tomorrow, aren’t you? Do you have any idea how embarrassing it would be for me to sit next to you in such a place? How could someone who should know better hide such a thing?”
“If you thought I was deceiving you, why didn’t you come directly to ask instead of sending a letter?”
“Ah… Well, it’s just that you’re so hard to meet.”
“Ahh. I see.”
If her mother had turned this man’s eyes away, then as her daughter, she had the duty to put them back in place.
Tap.
The tip of Tatiana’s finger lightly pushed away the golden frame of the painting that the staff on the stairs were holding together.
“If I remove something like this, won’t I be seen better?”
“Uwaaah! My, my painting!”
“Let’s go, Anne.”
Crash!
Marquis Everton screamed in agony filled with pain as he watched the painting roll on the rain-soaked floor.
Tatiana turned away without batting an eye, wiping the raindrop from her finger. She might have frowned at the desperate wail rising from behind her, but in truth, her own heart wasn’t much different. She simply hadn’t forgotten the ‘duty of a lady who has learned enough.’
Believing that the other person would do the same was her mistake.
Exactly a few hours later, Tatiana had to abandon even the remaining hope and faith she had. That wasn’t all. Every time she faced the next prospective groom candidate, and the one after that, the facts she realized made her despair.
At least Marquis Everton was the least cowardly of them.
The second one she visited, Count Fergen, was hiding from her. True to being an opera enthusiast, he wasn’t satisfied with any box seat, and in the end, he personally proved that a broken box in front of the warehouse suited him best.
The third, Count Edmund, was so drunk that he didn’t even recognize Tatiana, and the fourth, Sir Aaron, had apparently fled abruptly from Lebron last night. And after that…
“Ah, my Lady. Sob.”
“It’s fine. Don’t say anything.”
In front of the house of the last candidate on the list of prospective grooms she had chosen, Tatiana quietly swallowed dryly. It was clearly raining, but she didn’t even feel the chill. Maybe she no longer had the mind to feel such trivial things as hot or cold.
“……”
It was different from the time she witnessed the Duke cheating. Back then, anger and disgust at the humiliation dominated, but now it just felt empty. The self-mockery toward herself for struggling to hold onto hope until the end bounced in all directions like the raindrops pouring down on her.
‘Was I too greedy?’
As much as she desperately needed help, she didn’t wish for him to love only her or look only at her. Even if it wasn’t necessarily the Duke’s matter, after living in this world for over 20 years, it was natural to see ‘things that must be given up.’ Men went out under the excuse of business after securing an heir, and women filled the empty space with other things.
Fame, jewels, social circles. What she wanted from them was at least minimal fidelity.
She no longer wanted to pretend not to know and endure, or to be taken advantage of. Even if it was a light encounter, since it could become a relationship that might form a family in the future, she only hoped for honesty and mutual respect.
“Ugh.”
“My Lady! Are you okay?”
As Tatiana covered her mouth against the surging nausea, Anne threw away the umbrella and wrapped her shoulders. She quickly picked up the umbrella again, but the torn end of the umbrella was as ragged as Tatiana’s heart.
“I’ll quickly call a carriage. Let’s go back, okay?”
“…To where?”
“Where else? Of course, you should go home.”
“Do I even have such a thing?”
Tatiana arduously lifted her trembling lips. In this situation where she could collapse at any moment, her straight back and posture that remained upright were just like her.
“My Lady, if you keep this up, something really bad will happen. For now, let’s go back and think about it. I’ll get the carriage, ah!”
“……”
Anne, feeling it wasn’t working, turned to the road and raised her arm, but then opened her mouth wide. It was grateful that a carriage came quickly in this bad weather, but upon seeing the large golden wing emblem embedded on the grand carriage that followed, she clutched her chest.
“H-How is Madame here!”
“Yes, you’re an ungrateful Anne.”
“……”
Viscountess Cartien’s carriage stopped in front of them, and the velvet curtain covering the window was lifted. Whether she was coming from somewhere, or going out, or had been following them from the beginning, the Viscountess, elegantly resting her chin on the window frame, showed no surprise at seeing her youngest daughter in the rain.
“Tiara, who are you waiting for here?”
“…Mother.”
“Or do you have more places to go?”
Viscountess Cartien tilted her head slightly and let out a smirk. It was a bright smile that didn’t suit this time and weather, but since it was genuine and not pretense, she looked quite pleased.
“I don’t think so. As far as I know.”
“As expected, it was you, Mother.”
Tatiana approached the carriage. Even in the midst of that, the loyal Anne held the torn umbrella to protect her my Lady from the rain.
It had been days since she last faced her mother, but her pupils were hardened. At the sight of her youngest daughter who didn’t easily waver, Viscountess Cartien unwittingly frowned, but that was only for a very short moment.
“Yes. It’s me. Who else would it be if not me?”
She didn’t bother to deny it. The bright smile of Viscountess Cartien, confident in her victory, stood out even more against the backdrop of the wide and luxurious carriage.
“Your attempt was good, Tatiana.”
“……”
“Yes. New prospective grooms, it’s okay. The candidates were decent enough, but didn’t this mother tell you repeatedly?”
“Mother.”
“The world is power and money, dear.”
This is absolutely not a joke.
The smile slowly faded from Viscountess Cartien’s lips. The Viscountess, drawing close to her youngest daughter’s face, brushed away Tatiana’s fallen bangs.
“Whether Marquis or Count or whatever, when I told them not to meet you, they didn’t even question it. Isn’t it interesting?”
“So you bribed them with money?”
“Money is just the beginning.”
“……”
“Even the innocent-looking men who seem lacking in some way all know. What it means to cross me in this place where we must live.”
It’s regrettable that my smart daughter doesn’t know that.
The fingers of Viscountess Cartien, who had brushed back Tatiana’s hair, slowly trailed down her cheek. Following the gentle gesture of wiping away the raindrops, the light of the large diamond shimmered.
“In fact, I didn’t intend to tell you specifically. You’re not in a situation where you need to steel yourself by knowing that fact like your sisters, and you’re my most cherished treasure.”
“…Ma, Madame. The Lady is shocked, so for now, into the carriage,”
“Be quiet, Anne.”
Anne, who had been stamping her feet anxiously at Tatiana’s pale face, froze on the spot.
I haven’t finished speaking yet.
Viscountess Cartien’s violet eyes, colder than the rainwater, easily dismissed the maid and turned back to her daughter.
“It’s about time you realized, who gets hurt the more you act like this.”
“……”
“Your ungrateful maid will probably be her last day today too.”
“I hired Anne.”
“But I paid the money.”
Let’s keep the accounts straight.
The Viscountess withdrew her hand from Tatiana. Seeing that her youngest daughter’s cheek was still rigid, it seemed she hadn’t fully accepted reality yet. But it’s only a matter of time.
“Of course, if you show up at the palace tomorrow wearing the engagement ring, that won’t happen.”
“Mother.”
“It’s not coercion. You know I detest such barbaric things.”
Viscountess Cartien slowly pulled back her body that she had leaned out the window. It wouldn’t be difficult to just pick up her youngest daughter and put her in the carriage right now, but she truly had no interest in such methods.
Anything forced is bound to break; her greatest pleasure is to sit in a comfortable and cozy place and tightly embrace the daughter who bends and submits on her own.
“It’s raining a lot.”
“……”
“Come back anytime, Tiara.”
The wheels, larger than those of other carriages, rolled smoothly over the rainy road. Rattle, the pooled rainwater left long traces even on the hem of Tatiana’s dress, who hadn’t stepped back a single step from the road.
“…Hic. My Lady.”
“……”
“W-what do we do now.”
Even though she knew it was futile, Anne, who was brushing off Tatiana’s skirt hem, suddenly burst into tears. The madam who made her spine chill was one thing, but the my Lady who stood motionless like a statue carved from ice was even more frightening.
“We, we should have gotten in the carriage. Madame is right.”
“…Do you really think so?”
“Hic. You saw how those gentlemen acted. Who in Lebron could defy Madame and stand by your side? S-so…”
“Yes. Mother is probably right.”
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