Kainel had nothing more to say or hear and rose from his seat. The red tea in the delicate teacup on the table sloshed from the motion. A bitter sneer rose at the consistency of his prospective mother-in-law, who wouldn’t even sip the tea she’d poured herself if it meant sharing with someone like him.
“It seems I don’t love your daughter enough to pull her out of the pit alone.”
“Kainel Townsent.”
“Who knows. She has a more innocent side than she appears.”
Of course, you would know better, Madame.
Kainel gave a crisp bow and turned away without lingering. Rumors of their meeting must have already spread, as reporters swarmed just beyond the window he’d glimpsed. Every journalist with palace access had gathered, it seemed.
Just as Kainel reached for the door, Viscountess Cartien chased after him, seizing his wrist and spitting out her hostility.
“…Don’t think this is the end. I have dozens of ways to overturn that fancy training ground of yours.”
“Be my guest. If you can set foot on my land.”
“What do you….”
“I received approval from His Highness the Crown Prince today. Instead of a title no one recognizes, I asked for autonomy over my territory.”
His downcast face was as serene as the night sky.
Well then.
The moment Kainel shoved the door open, the reporters who’d been stamping their feet collectively held their breath.
“Gasp.”
No scoop was worth their lives. They backed away step by step, yielding the path as he advanced, silencing even their breaths. Only after his figure receded did they swarm Viscountess Cartien.
“It’s the Viscountess! The Viscountess has come out!”
“Viscountess Cartien! Please say something!”
“What did the two of you discuss? Where is Lady Tatiana now?”
“…….”
The pens sketching her standing before the annex scratched like winter wind. As Viscountess Cartien extended her hand backward, a cigarette was placed between her fingers.
“Fuu.”
The smoke rising from its end blurred dreamily, bitter as poison. In that untouchable moment, the reporters fell silent for a different reason than with Kainel. Having trailed her for over twenty years, they instinctively knew a massive scoop would leak once the white haze fully dissipated.
“…Fine. Time to toss them a bone.”
Like a well-trained dog, or its master.
Larissa Lauren de Cartien muttered to herself and raised her free hand. The last of three lawyers approached hesitantly, offering documents. The cigarette’s tip set the paper ablaze.
‘…I hoped I’d never have to use this one.’
In an instant, the documents burned to ash. That afternoon, as gray flakes scattered like snow, every front page in Lebron was buried in extras and exclusives.
| Official Announcement! Lady Tatiana Excommunicated from the Cartien Family! |
△▲△▲△
It’s the first proper outing since the raucous banquet at the imperial palace. She had visited the training ground to see Kainel not long ago, but that place was within the private property connected to the Townsent mansion. She only truly realized today, as she stepped beyond his domain, how much broader that man’s land was than she had imagined.
“My Lady, how about this one? The veil will cascade down so prettily!”
“…Anne.”
Inside the hat shop in the bustling commercial district, as Anne fitted a hat on her head and fussed excitedly, Tatiana gave a faint smile. In truth, Tatiana had planned to stay home today too, but Anne had dragged her out by force. Anne had thrown a fit, insisting she needed to get into the mood since it was the last day before the wedding, but her real motive was surely to make Tatiana smile.
“What’s the point? The butler said he’s prepared the dress and everything.”
“Is that something to say?”
Anne, who had been holding up the long veil attached to the hat with both hands, shot back immediately. She hadn’t said it, or rather, hadn’t been able to, but the words had piled up to the tip of her tongue.
“You saw it too, my Lady. How awful everything was. How could they give a lady of the Cartien family such a dress.…”
“It can’t be helped. I’m not in a position to prepare it myself anyway.”
“Still!”
No matter what, this was too much.
Anne, more upset than Tatiana herself, fiddled sadly with the edge of the veil. The dress and accessories the butler had presented that morning as ‘the finest’ were dismal even in her eyes. She could only imagine how they looked to her lady, who had always been dressed in the world’s best—watching made her chest ache.
“A hat can be flashy at least. But this stuff… ugh, what a spectacle.”
“Stop it.”
As Anne grumbled irritably at the crowd peeking in from the front of the shop, Tatiana gently took her arm to soothe her. For Tatiana, born into the Cartien family, others’ stares were as commonplace as breathing, but today they were excessive.
‘As expected. It was too soon after all.’
Tatiana, gazing at the ornate feathered hat, swallowed a wry smile. She had thought public interest in her would have died down after a few days, but no such luck. If the gazes she’d received until now were merely annoying, today’s blatant and malicious ones stung her cheeks.
As Tatiana moved to tidy up and head home, she suddenly locked eyes with someone outside the window and froze.
“…Aileen?”
She took one step, then two, toward the window. The light brown curls were as emblematic of the Hamilton Barony as could be. Moreover, she wore the pink dress Tatiana had gifted her before and even the recent hat gift—it had to be Aileen.
“Ah….”
But the Aileen she knew had no reason to turn and flee at the sight of her. Tatiana stared blankly at the hurriedly retreating figure, then found herself opening the door and chasing after her without thinking.
“Aileen? It’s Aileen, right?”
“…Uh, y, yeah.”
Only after they had turned into a sparsely populated alley did Aileen reluctantly turn around. Seeing Aileen check for onlookers even with Tatiana right in front of her, Tatiana realized.
‘She’s been avoiding me.’
How obvious. A hollow laugh escaped her. She thought she’d grown somewhat accustomed to people’s cold shoulders, but she never imagined Aileen would do this too. They’d known each other for over ten years, the first name that came to mind when hearing ‘same-sex friend.’
“…T, Ta, Tatiana. Out shopping, huh.”
“Yeah.”
“I see.”
An awkward silence as barren as the alley flowed between them. Tatiana quietly curved her lips as Aileen’s eyes darted past her shoulder.
“Aileen, you have an appointment, don’t you.”
“Y, Yeah, something like that.”
“…….”
“Um, so anyway, I’m busy and need to go. See you….”
“Is that all you have to say?”
Tatiana approached with a hollow smile. Aileen, missing the chance to back away and now meeting her eyes, squeezed her eyes shut then open, as if trying to sort her jumbled thoughts.
“No, I mean…. I heard you’re getting married, Tiara. To…. that guy.”
“Then why not just ask if it’s true.”
“That’s—”
“Or is it because you’re afraid I’ll invite you?”
Tatiana took a slow breath, forcing strength into her twitching lips. No response came, confirming she’d hit the mark. Turning away as if to cool her flushed cheeks, she spotted Rebecca’s group approaching from the far end of the main street.
“Don’t tell me the person you’re meeting today is Rebecca?”
“…….”
“Aileen. You know as well as I do that Rebecca is too—”
“Don’t pretend to care!”
Aileen, who had been fidgeting anxiously the whole time, raised her voice for the first time. Even as Tatiana’s eyes widened in surprise, Aileen poured out roughly.
“Tatiana, this isn’t the time for you to be worrying about others.”
“Aileen.”
“Who would not know your situation?”
“…My situation?”
“In your eyes, someone like you might see it as pathetic that I hang around with Rebecca, who torments me whenever she lays eyes on me, but not everyone can be like you!”
Aileen’s chest heaved with ragged breaths. Her light brown eyes shook aimlessly.
“How would a girl like you, surrounded by dresses and jewels with no worries at all, understand feelings like mine? You think tossing me a dress or a hat out of pity now and then is sufficient!”
“What are you…. You think I did that out of pity for you?”
“Then what? As aomeone who has everything, everything must have been easy for you. So you could whimsically throw it all away and recklessly marry the Red-Eyed Wolf! Though probably only until your fickle moods boil over again!”
Haa. Aileen clutched the hem of her dress, her eyes crinkled fiercely, her face on the verge of bursting into tears. The smooth, silky texture was utterly pleasing, yet under Tatiana’s calm gaze looking down at her, it only ignited her resentment.
“…A, Anyway, don’t arbitrarily judge me just because you find it pathetic. Without even Rebecca, no one in this social circle would accept me. I’m not in a position like yours, where I can pick and choose friends.”
“Yeah, then.”
“Ah….”
She had expected anger.
At Tatiana’s composed voice, Aileen was struck speechless. In the meantime, Rebecca’s group drew steadily closer.
“I, I have to go now. I’m sorry to you, but—”
“No need to apologize. If that’s how you saw me, Aileen, then so be it.”
“…Tatiana, I—”
“But thanks to you, I know for certain now. That my reckless choice, which you can’t comprehend, was the right one.”
Tatiana quietly lifted the corner of her mouth, gripped her dress hem, and turned away. As Rebecca’s laughter grew louder, Aileen paced uncertainly, clenching and unclenching her fists. Tatiana glanced obliquely back at her and cast a cold gaze downward.
“Pretending not to know you and leaving, this might be the last act of pity I can offer you, Aileen.”
“That’s—”
“Lower your voice. What if someone hears?”
Shh, flashing a faint smile, Tatiana promptly stepped out of the alley. Rebecca, approaching from the opposite side, recognized her and widened her eyes in surprise, but Tatiana offered not a single glance, remaining utterly indifferent. She might spew insults loud enough to be heard on purpose, but Tatiana paid it no mind.
No, she couldn’t hear it.
“…….”
Just how far had it gone, really?
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