32. Guinevis's Tutor
South of the Carter Duchy, Guinevis, a warm island city along a long river, was a resort where wealthy nobles came to escape the cold winter. The small city, with its pastoral scenery overlooking both the sea and the river, was also famous for its wine production, and Sophie was the daughter of a large landowner who owned a famous vineyard in the area.
The little girl, who had been neglected from a young age because she had four younger brothers in a row, always tried to monopolize her parents' attention by causing trouble at home. Stella, the owner of the vineyard, was even more distracted because her last two sons were twins.
“If it weren’t for Claire, our Sophie might have left home and given birth to twins already.”
“Sophie is only ten years old...?”
“That's what I'm saying."
Stella kissed the embarrassed tutor on both cheeks and expressed her gratitude with her whole body. Stella, with her curly black hair, was a typical Carter Duchy woman known for her hot temper. She was passionate, honest, and kind, but when she had a fight with her husband, she transformed into a fiery personality that exploded with tremendous force.
“Claire, you know now how helpless the men of this country are. If there’s a woman they like, they’ll kiss her without any second thoughts. Seriously... Haa... If I hadn’t lost my way like an idiot when I was twenty, I wouldn’t have knocked on the door of that sweaty farm owner’s house...”
The tutor smiled calmly as he listened to Stella's steamy love story that followed.
“It’s a good thing that you had so many cute children, thanks to that.”
“Claire wants Sophie to stay here and not get married until she grows up. I know people might say I’m being too greedy.”
“I am the one who is grateful that you look upon me favorably.”
When she first saw her after seeing an ad in the newspaper, Stella was a bit skeptical. Her speech seemed unfamiliar, and she wasn't sure if she, who seemed so gentle, could handle the tomboyish Sophie well.
Although the tea was not very good, it was still bothersome that her legs looked a little uncomfortable. It had been a winter a year ago when she had handed over the contract in the hope of putting out an urgent fire after the tutor who had just started working ran out crying, and Stella now considered her a lifesaver.
The governess, who was thin-boned and looked like she would fall over if hit with one blow compared to the well-developed girls of the duchy, either used some kind of magic or lived a second life, and treated Sophie so well as if she could see into her reckless and curious mind.
“It’s going to get hotter again. Even though we experienced it once last year, summer is tough, right? It’s sweltering hot, and it rains heavily without warning several times a day.”
“Not at all.”
She shook her head and smiled at Stella. She was so pretty that it was no wonder that she was constantly being asked to arrange introductions through her husband. Seeing that she had never responded to a single indirect suggestion, Stella could only wonder if she had ever been deeply hurt by love.
“I like summer better than winter.”
“Is there any special reason?”
“...It just reminds me of when I was young.”
“Was the place Claire lived similar to this?”
Stella blinked, and her words trailed off ambiguously.
“That might have been the case.”
Seeing her reticence to talk about the past, Stella once again guessed that the pretty governess had some deep love scars.
Just then, a carriage to the church arrived. Sophie, who had been allowed to enter the church for some time, was already waiting, dressed in her most elegant attire, looking excited.
“Do you know, sir, why our little devil-like Sophie became so devout?”
“Well, maybe he was moved by the sight of Master Marimo praying.”
“Oh my? Sophie hates Marimo, calling him a cowardly crybaby.”
As Stella's eyes widened, the tutor lowered her voice and said, "Shhh."
“The world of children is more complex than adults can imagine.”
The carriage left the two-story mansion and raced along the country road. A breeze carrying the scent of flowers blew through the uncovered carriage carrying three women side by side.
“Oh, right. I heard that a new missionary has arrived at the church... They’re making a fuss about how great he is. I heard he’s a foreigner...”
Stella turned her head and closed her mouth as she told the story of the new missionaries from the neighboring country.
Claire, with her eyes closed and the wind blowing against her face in the rattling carriage, seemed like she was somewhere else. Her soft chestnut hair flowed down her shoulders. Stella hid her smile as she watched Sophie sitting next to her, her legs folded to one side like hers, and her eyes closed tightly as she looked in the same direction.
The surrounding women did not hide their worries and concerns about the fact that they were taking in a live-in tutor with no clear background or origin. Some said that she might be a thief, while others openly expressed concern that she might seduce Stella's husband, Ricardo.
But after watching her for a year, Stella came to only one conclusion. She must have contracted the best tutor in Guinevis. Claire was not only calm and sincere but also a versatile young lady. Her posture was upright and straight, as if she had been educated somewhere her whole life, and her personality of not showing off her knowledge was something she liked. She could not even imagine having affairs with her servants. Despite her appearance as a gentle baby deer, she was also perfect in the art of quietly and firmly rejecting the aggressive courtship of the duchy's men.
Although she was clearly a hired servant, there was something about Claire that made it impossible for her to treat her carelessly. If things continued this way, it seemed like she could raise Sophie into a well-mannered lady who wouldn't be strange enough to send her to the palace.
The sky, which had been clear since morning and showed no sign of rain, quickly became cloudy from the west and turned pitch black. As soon as she felt the raindrops falling, she covered the carriage, and immediately after she did, a shower poured down.
“It’s just beginning!”
Chloe smiled as Stella shouted. As she held Sophie's hand in the rattling carriage and listened to the rain pouring down on the canopy, a memory she wanted to forget suddenly came to her mind. The excitement of dancing in the summer rain.
But she wasn't in Swanton. Chloe was now at the southernmost tip of the Carter Islands, a fortnight's boat ride from Winsbury Harbor.
Thinking back on it made her realize how far she had run from him.
“Chloe. My love.”
Chloe squeezed her eyes shut as if she could hear his voice. More than a year had passed since the day she left, burning all her memories, but when she recalled his voice, the hairs on her skin stood on end.
It was on the very day that Damien crushed her and rejected her in his own way to ask for a divorce that Chloe decided to leave him for good.
In fact, the breakup may have been planned from the moment she discovered his secret that stormy night. However, Chloe endured because of the child in her stomach. She endured and endured even when Damien kissed her lips and told her he loved her as if nothing had happened.
Even if she was betrayed by her husband, she thought that she would be okay as long as she had a child. To be honest, Chloe was ready to devote her whole life to just one child. That was why she was able to endure all those painful times, but when she lost her child, she no longer had the strength to endure.
While recovering in bed, Chloe embroidered with her hands and planned in her head. She also kept in mind that Damien would not easily give in to the divorce. But there was still a glimmer of hope until the very end.
If Damien had any respect for her, he would have let her go at the moment of parting, apologizing and asking for her forgiveness.
Chloe's vain hopes were shattered. What filled Damien's blue eyes was not regret, but anger and desire. It was the arrogance that she could never reject him.
Chloe's patience ended at that moment. She immediately put into action everything she had been thinking about. She trembled, but it was not from fear but from anticipation. The first misguided desire in her life to bring complete despair to one person drove her.
Chloe eventually fled from Tisse with nothing but a suitcase. If Eliza had not sensed her plan and given her clothes and food in her suitcase, she would have starved and slumped for four days from Tisse to Winsbury.
Alice, I'll be waiting for you at the post office in Winsbury on your mother's anniversary.
When she arrived at the post office in Winsbury, covered in Eliza's black dress, it was not Alice who was waiting for her, but a stranger. The person who caught her as she tried to run away told her in a foreign accent that Alice was waiting for her. In disbelief, he showed her a letter written in Alice's own handwriting and Alice's lovely hair cut off with a ribbon.
She couldn't help but notice the hair that Chloe had brushed and stroked so many times. She held Alice's things tightly and followed the stranger onto the steamer. It was in the capital of the Carter principality that she met Alice again, whom she thought was living with a gypsy.
“...Sister.”
Alice's clothes were gorgeous as she held the child, and the place she lived in was even more so. The moment Chloe saw the adorable baby boy who had begun to walk, she let out a wet sigh.
Alice couldn't believe that Eddie, whom she loved, was not a gypsy but the hidden heir to the Carter Duchy, Erno de Carter, but what was even more surprising was that Alice had been living as Erno's secret woman for the past year, banned from entering his private villa. The man hadn't even broken off his engagement to his fiancée.
“Alice. Are you okay?”
“No. I want to kill him. I wish he would die every time.”
Alice's face, which had set out in search of happiness, was different from the past when she had been a curious and mischievous young lady. She was still beautiful, but her eyes had a complex darkness that she had never seen before. Chloe could not reprimand Alice because she knew she had no right to do so. She was just distressed because she could not understand why her sisters had to endure such misfortune.
Alice refused Chloe's offer to take the child and leave with her because she still loved the man. She hated him so much, she hated him so much, she wanted to kill him.
Chloe had been informed in advance and had hastily cleared out Swanton's house, and immediately wrote a letter to Mrs. Talbot, who was traveling the world with her father, who had left Verdier, asking her to wait abroad until everything had calmed down. Fortunately, thanks to Alice's man, who was no longer a gypsy, she was able to secretly send sufficient funds to Mrs. Talbot's account.
Although she had told her father not to be surprised by anything that happened, she briefly explained to him, who must have been flustered, about her and Alice's current situation. She was sincere in her words, apologizing and asking him to trust her children, even though the journey to find happiness would be a bit difficult.
And after refusing Alice's request to stay with her, she left her luxurious cottage hidden in the forest. Chloe had no desire to be cut off from her only sister, and she could not.
It was just that Alice, who had said that she hated the child's father, was anxiously 'waiting' for his visit, which was hard to bear. She saw herself in Alice. Hating and loving at the same time. It was natural for Chloe to run away because she couldn't bear that sense of disparity.
"Teacher?"
“Oh, sorry, Sophie.”
Sophie looked at her quietly, then pulled her hand back and held it tightly. Chloe blinked and tried to smile. When she first came to Guinevis, where there was no one, she felt lost, but fortunately, she met people who treated her like family, and she was able to live comfortably.
Although she was living under her deceased mother's name, she always felt that she should live with gratitude for the warmth of those who treated her sincerely. In addition, Sophie reminded her of Alice's tomboyish childhood from the moment she first met her, making her even more friendly.
“Teacher, what were you thinking?”
Sophie pulled her arm and whispered as if telling her a secret.
“I wasn’t thinking about anything. I was just listening to the sound of the rain.”
“I wish it didn’t rain.”
"Why?"
“When the teacher hears the sound of rain, you make a face like you're about to cry.”
Chloe looked at Sophie, who seemed more perceptive than last year, and tried to smile brightly instead of answering.
“People cry even when they are too happy.”
“Huh? Really?”
“When Sophie first met Robin on your birthday last year, you were so happy that you cried.”
Sophie finally nodded in agreement, remembering how she had cried the day Stella gave her the puppy.
Chloe braced herself in the shaking carriage. She was constantly checking Swanton's news, but there had been no special events in the royal family. When she read about her own funeral in the newspaper, Chloe felt a complex emotion that she couldn't explain in words. The fact that her existence had completely disappeared from the world Damien had created meant that she had succeeded, but now that she was dead in his world, she felt as if something inside her was slowly collapsing.
When she read in the newspaper that the young King, who had lost his Queen, was about to marry for the second time, she was able to keep herself calm. She tried not to be disappointed by the fact that Damien had accepted her death. He had always been a man who had defied all her expectations. She thought that she should not feel defeated by him, who was living well without her.
The sound of rain hitting the carriage cover grew louder.
“Dance on me, Chloe.”
Chloe shook her head, erasing every memory of the summer festival from her mind.
Her life could start over here. She would call her father, build a small house, and live peacefully like before. Chloe thought that was okay. She had come this far safely, despite many things that had happened, and her path from now on would be peaceful, if not adventurous.
But... why isn’t the carriage moving, and is it standing still?
“Sorry! The back wheels of the carriage are stuck in a puddle!”
Stella shook her head as the coachman raised his voice in embarrassment.
“Oh, Claire. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s a good thing I brought an umbrella in advance. Thanks, Sophie.”
Chloe rolled up her skirt without a care. The church was right in front of her and she couldn't walk there. This level of adventure was enjoyable enough. Sophie, who grabbed Chloe's hand as she got out of the carriage, jumped up and down in excitement.
"This..."
The problem was that there were more than one or two puddles formed by the torrential rain. The stream in front of the church overflowed to the road, creating a small river. Someone had hurriedly moved the rocks rolling on the embankment to make a stepping stone, but the rocks were not straight and looked dangerous.
“Claire, what should I do?
Those who had already arrived seemed to have passed the rock without much difficulty, but for Chloe, who had an inconvenient leg, it was a dangerous situation. Chloe smiled and reassured a worried Stella.
“I’m fine, so you go first.”
“Teacher, I don’t have to go to church.”
Sophie, dressed in a pretty dress, took her hand. Chloe stroked the child's forehead and made eye contact.
“Sophie, if there’s a rock that’s shaking, can you tell me? I think I’ll be okay with it.”
"...Yes."
Sophie nodded with a firm face. Stella, holding onto the hem of her long dress, started off first, and Sophie followed behind her, hopping along. It was then that the man who had been moving stones from afar came closer.
It seemed to be he who had moved the heavy stones for the people. The man in the priest's habit continued his work, unconcerned by the pouring rain. Stella thanked the unfamiliar stranger as she stepped on the last stone he had placed.
“Ah. You’re a new missionary. Your clothes are all wet... Thank you.”
"It's okay."
He raised his head, wiping the raindrops that had splashed on his face with his arm. Stella looked at the young man whose skin seemed to be soaked up by the sun and exclaimed, “Oh my,” without realizing it. Indeed, he looked like the kind of man that would make all the women of Guinevis turn into faithful women.
“Be careful.”
The young man, whose eyes seemed more moist than the raindrops falling from his wet black hair, stepped aside and made way for her. Stella stopped admiring him belatedly and followed his guidance across the stepping stones. Sophie also did not forget to check on Chloe, who was following behind her, stepping on the stones diligently.
“Teacher, it’s done now!”
After Sophie crossed the last two stones, she waved at her.
“Teacher Claire! It’s okay!”
Sophie blinked as she watched her teacher standing still on a rock in the middle of the road, unable to move, even though she had checked everything.
“I guess it was too much, Sophie. Go and get the coachman.”
It was when Stella grabbed Sophie's shoulder that the young missionary standing beside her began to walk toward her. He walked toward her as if he would not hesitate to go deeper, even though his feet were sinking deep into the mud that had risen to his calves. The raindrops were now completely soaking him. And Chloe, who had stopped in the middle of the bridge, stood there as if her feet had stuck to a stone, just staring at him as he approached her.
“Teacher... are you crying?”
Sophie rubbed her eyes and looked at her. Chloe's brown eyes were wide and shaking.
"...Oh."
What surprised Stella even more was when the young missionary who had approached her as if possessed collapsed and fell to his knees in the mud. After she took her foot off, his body, which had been gripping the stone with her hand, was now completely soaked in mud and a mess. Stella tilted her head, wondering if it was the missionary who was crying. She could clearly see his broad shoulders, which were repelling the raindrops, and his arms, which were tightly holding onto the rock, trembling slightly.
He lowered his head and couldn't even open his mouth. An umbrella was quietly placed over him as he was bearing the brunt of the pouring rain.
“Can you please hold my hand?”
He slowly raised his head. The missionary's face, with his wet black hair tangled under his forehead, looked like a boy who had forgotten how to speak. Sophie's mouth fell open as she saw her tutor speak to someone for the first time.
“Please... hold my hand, missionary.”
Finally, he slowly stood up. Despite the mud on his legs, he was taller than Chloe, who was standing on the rock.
“I can’t do that because my hands are dirty.”
“...Not at all.”
Chloe smiled faintly at the man who was spitting out with reddened eyes and held out her hand. Just like when she first saw him a long time ago, he was completely soaking wet and covered in mud. But she knew that he had a warmer heart than anyone else. And that his hands, which were so small, had long since grown much larger than hers.
Gray. You're still you.
Gray's hand, with its distinct calluses, approached her tremblingly and took her hand carefully. Tap tap. Even among the falling raindrops, she felt the warm body temperature spread to her heart.
“Thank you, missionary.”
Chloe closed her tearful eyes and smiled even brighter. She thought that perhaps this was why she was feeling particularly sentimental today. God had given her a surprise gift.
It was a sunny weekend afternoon, as if it had not rained for several days.
“Are you sure?”
“That's what I said.”
Stella opened her eyes to see her husband reading the newspaper with a furrowed brow. She continued, picking up one of the twins who was struggling to get away from their nanny.
“I can’t tell you how much Claire, who used to treat men like stone, laughed out loud. It was as if... it was as if...”
"Like?"
Stella was about to say that it was like watching a child take his first steps, but then she shook her head, realizing that wasn't quite the right expression.
“Anyway, wouldn’t it be good for us if Claire and the missionary young man do well? It would be even better if they both settle down in Guinevis.”
As Stella imagined the future while recalling Claire's bright face as she went out to meet the missionary youth on her day off, Ricardo opened his mouth with a displeased expression.
“And if they suddenly have a child, what will happen to our Sophie?”
Stella glared at her husband, Ricardo, who was getting even more excited. Her hands, which were breaking the egg with a teaspoon, gained some strength. Of course, it was not that she did not understand her husband's worries. Sophie had wanted to go out with Claire, but when Stella threatened her, she got upset and didn't even eat lunch, and locked herself in her room. But that wasn't the problem.
“Do you think all men in the world are like the men here? Do you think they always try to get you to have a child on the first date?”
The boys sitting around the outdoor tables were busy playing with their food and hitting each other.
“That’s also a skill.”
Ricardo blurted out nonchalantly as he folded the newspaper. Stella, who had given up on talking to her shameless husband any longer, glanced at the headlines and opened her eyes wide. She quickly opened the newspaper.
“Oh my god.”
It was an article about the King, who was called the greatest scoundrel the duchy had ever produced, finally kicking out his fiancée and announcing his marriage to his mistress. King Erno, who was known to be so fiery that he was even considered crazy, had been so protective of his mistress that the people of the duchy didn't even know her face. Some even circulated rumors that the mistress in question was a lowly woman from the Swanton Kingdom, which currently had the worst diplomatic relations.
“Is it really the case that we have to make Swanton’s woman our Queen?”
“If a tutor doesn’t care where she comes from, why can’t she be a Queen?”
Claire didn't tell them about her past, but they were sure she was from Swanton. The war was over, but after the new King of Swanton ascended the throne, diplomatic relations between the two countries were not so good. The rumor that the Carter Principality helped the escape of the former King of Swanton, Johannes, who had been dethroned before even a season, could not be said to have hurt the relationship between the two countries.
“That’s a different story.”
Stella, whose head was complicated, glared at her husband once more and calmed the twins down. She couldn't understand Ricardo, who was making generalizations in strange places when personal matters and state affairs could not be the same.
“Didn’t I say at one point that it was clear that Claire had run away because she had fallen in love?”
Ricardo's words, which he had been glancing at the newspaper, were clear. He meant that the situation of the Swanton-born mistress, the King's woman, and the governess at home were not all that different. Stella opened her eyes, tightly grasping her husband's thigh, who was increasingly saying things she did not like.
“So, I guess I have to start a new love and overcome the past, right?”
“Heh heh.”
“Just wait and see. I will do whatever it takes to make her fall in love so happy that she won’t even remember the word ‘fail’ in ‘fail’ love.”
There was no one who did not know that Stella, who had married early, was a matchmaker. She was sure that she would find the perfect groom for her daughter Sophie, the governess who had showered her with love.
“By the way, Stella, about our lakeside cottage.”
“Why is that?”
“Can I borrow that from Lawrence Taylor, whom I mentioned earlier?”
“That... phonograph businessman from Swanton?”
Stella opened her eyes slightly.
"That's right."
“It’s a bit like being from Swanton...”
“You said that personal and state affairs cannot be the same. He seems like a romantic who is completely detached from politics, so don’t worry about that.”
Ricardo kissed Stella's pursed lips and moistened her throat with wine.
“He’s a nouveau riche who made a fortune in the gramophone business, so he seems to be dabbling in everything. He says that when trade becomes active, he wants to import a large quantity of our wine, so we’ll have to do our best.”
“What does a gramophone have to do with wine?”
Even though diplomatic relations had deteriorated and trade was severely restricted, Stella could not find any connection between his phonograph business and her vineyard.
“According to Taylor’s telegram, good music and good wine go together very well.”
Stella's black eyelashes blinked rapidly as she frowned. For a businessman, Lawrence Taylor seemed to have a somewhat off-kilter side.
"All right."
“He said he’ll be arriving in three days, so have someone tidy up the villa.”
“Yes. Instead, I think it would be better to charge double the rent for the house.”
Stella grinned, vowing to herself that she would take a beating from that idiot from Swanton. By the way, she wonders if Claire is having a good date.
The town square along the beach was bustling with people. On Saturdays, when the market was held twice a month, everyone who owned a small farm in Guinevis gathered under a tent and formed a long line. Hands were busy weighing fresh vegetables and fruits from the fields, and food carts that served customers and merchants passing by were lined with customers.
“Would you like one, young lady?”
A bearded merchant winked at Chloe as she stood in front of her ice cream cart, in a prime spot next to the fountain.
“Yes, please give me one of these.”
Chloe opened her wallet as a man placed a cone of ice cream with fresh fruit chunks in it. The vendor spoke to her in a friendly tone as he handed her the dessert.
“The weather is nice, so did you come out to play alone?”
Chloe smiled broadly as she took out a coin.
“It's a date.”
“Haha, don’t couples who go on dates usually only eat one ice cream?”
The man who couldn't see Chloe's cane because it was obscured by the ice cream cart said jokingly. Chloe smiled, now accustomed to the gentlemanly friendliness of the men here.
“I feel happy just watching him eat.”
“Oh, then I must send you off with tears in my eyes.”
Chloe burst out laughing and took the ice cream. The vendor glanced at her and lowered his voice.
“I think the young lady’s lover is coming over there.”
Chloe turned around and immediately saw Gray, who smiled brightly. Gray, who was approaching from around the fountain, was wearing a suit, and he was so handsome that he caught everyone's attention at first glance.
"Gray."
"... Miss."
A fountain sprayed water, creating a rainbow, as the owner of the ice cream cart watched them with a pleased smile.
“Have you been waiting long?”
“Yeah. I thought I got hit by the wind.”
"Sorry."
Gray, the only person Chloe could joke with, looked embarrassed like he had when he was a child, and stretched out his arms that had been behind his back.
“I can’t just come, but I have no idea what to give you...”
Chloe's eyes grew wide.
“Oh my, it's so pretty.”
What he held in his slightly trembling hands was a bouquet of wild flowers. They were not the kind sold in carts, but the kind of wild flowers he had picked one by one on the hill. They were beautiful, just like his heart for her.
“Are you giving this to me?”
"Yes."
Gray's face turned red as he answered briefly, almost in a whisper.
“What should I do? I don’t have hands.”
Chloe said playfully, holding a cane in one hand and an ice cream in the other. Gray, who didn't know what to do, finally accepted the ice cream when Chloe held it out to him, and carefully handed her the bouquet. Chloe brought her face close to the bouquet and took a deep breath. The fresh and pleasant scent filled her head with pleasant thoughts.
“Shall we take a walk?”
“Yes, Miss.”
Chloe and Gray began to walk slowly, as if they were looking around the crowded city streets. She had a mountain of things to say, and it was clear that Gray had the same. But Gray didn't ask her anything. If she didn't open her mouth, he didn't rush her, just like before.
“Gray, you’d better eat your ice cream before it melts. The sun here is as hot as Verdier.”
“But this is your job, young lady.”
“No. I bought it for you.”
"...Thank you."
Chloe watched him carefully eat his ice cream and chuckled. She wasn't lying when she said that just watching him eat made her feel good.
“If you stare at me like that... I’ll be too embarrassed to eat.”
Gray's face, slightly lowering his head and frowning, had a boyish shyness. Chloe suddenly felt her heart flutter at the fact that even though he had grown taller and his shoulders had broadened, his essence had not changed. It was like accidentally finding a treasure chest when she was young. It was a feeling of nostalgia, joy, and happiness mixed together.
“I heard that Mrs. Stella was very impressed by your sermon, but no one knows that you are so shy.”
As Chloe laughed teasingly at him, Gray opened his mouth as if talking to himself softly.
“There is no reason to be nervous in front of other people.”
Chloe suddenly stopped walking. She stared at Gray’s side profile, who was too nervous to even look at her, then quickly moved her feet again and opened her mouth naturally.
“This place isn’t it really different from where we used to live?”
A woman who had been haggling with a male customer in the market smiled brightly and kissed him on the cheek when she finished talking. People were hot-tempered, and the streets were filled with emotions. The lovers, who were in the midst of a passionate affair, shared a deep kiss in front of the fountain without being conscious of other people's gaze.
“Yes. It’s different.”
“When I look at the people here, I get the feeling that they really live each day to the fullest. Rather than worrying about the future, they just do their best to live each day happily.”
“Are you happy here, young lady?”
Gray asked, looking at her. Chloe faced him, facing the wind blowing from the river. Chloe's hair was blowing wildly in the river wind, so Gray couldn't clearly see her expression, which was just a small smile instead of an answer.
“I died and came back to life, so I should be happy. Then.”
After Chloe tied her hair with a ribbon, she looked at Gray and smiled faintly. Gray nodded, biting his lip.
“Yes then.”
“You’re still a crybaby, Gray.”
“I’m not crying.”
Chloe grabbed Gray's arm, who was looking at her with red eyes, and led him toward the harbor where the sea was visible. The good thing about this place was that you could always see the wide sea up close. Chloe and Gray both had come here from a world beyond the sea.
“Shall we sit down?
They finally sat side by side on a rock overlooking the horizon. Chloe was the first to speak.
“You said you were in a monastery but never studied theology. How did you become a missionary?”
“I wanted to know about the reason for suffering. Why do humans have to suffer?”
Chloe blinked slowly as Gray answered in a low voice.
“What could have caused you so much pain?”
“..I was unable to do anything after hearing the news about you, young lady.”
Chloe could easily imagine the shock Gray would feel at her death. Gray swallowed hard with a pained expression before continuing.
“At that time, I couldn’t stand the guilt I felt about myself for not being able to hold the girl’s hand and run away even if I had to force her to do so.”
“But I’m alive, Gray. So that’s okay.”
Gray looked at her and smiled faintly.
“Actually, even now, this all seems like a dream. I can’t believe it.”
He couldn't tell how time had passed since last Sunday, when he first met Chloe. He hadn't expected to meet someone he knew in a strange land, and it was Chloe, whom he thought was dead. At first, he doubted his eyes, and then he fell to his knees in front of her and broke down. Until today, when he promised to meet her again, Gray hadn't slept properly.
“I’m sorry, Miss.”
Chloe asked back, looking at Gray, apologizing with a face full of guilt.
“Huh? What?”
“I just now realized what you meant when you last said that.”
“...I was always a chatterbox in front of you. I talked so much that I can’t remember what I said.”
He lowered his gaze in front of her, who was trying to embrace Gray affectionately.
“No matter what happens, it is something you chose by your own free will.”
Chloe stared at him silently. Gray was talking about their last meeting at the cabin. It was the day Chloe disappeared from this world.
“You promised me that you would be happy. You taught me everything, and yet I never doubted your death.”
Chloe shook her head calmly as she watched Gray whispering softly as if he was making a confession.
“No. I wanted you to do that.”
“Are you saying that you wanted me to think... that Young Lady was dead?”
"Yes."
Gray's clasped hands trembled at the soft but firm answer.
“Why?”
“If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t have given up until the end. You would have definitely tried to save me, even if it meant sacrificing yourself. The Gray I know is someone who would do that and more.”
Chloe continued speaking affectionately, looking at Gray's eyes that were turning red again.
“I didn’t want anyone I loved to get hurt.”
Gray's wet eyes stared at her silently. His heart was pounding along with the sound of the waves, something he could not stop with willpower.
“That’s how it ended up. I ended up meeting you, who became such a wonderful person. I ended up being a... boring tutor.”
Gray realized what she meant only after Chloe shrugged her shoulders shyly. He had also heard that she worked as a tutor for the daughter of a wealthy farm owner. Chloe, who had become a servant, was wearing a much more modest dress than she had worn when the Verdiers were poor. It was a clear difference from Chloe, who always stood before the servants in neat and tidy clothes, even though she lived without anything.
“It’s not boring, miss.”
Gray shook his head with a firm expression. The sunlight sparkled and broke against the waves. His black eyes were full of sincerity. Even if he had become a pastor who was respected by all, there was only one person in Gray's heart who would be respected forever.
“I have never once felt bored with you, young lady. I will never, ever.”
Chloe's lips, hugging her knees, turned upwards in a pretty curve. She whispered with a smile, casting her gaze towards the distant end of the sea.
“That’s because you always look at me in a positive light.”
Is it possible to look at her in a negative light? Gray didn't ask again, but simply kept his mouth shut. He wanted to remember this moment forever.
They are in a strange city, in a world across the sea that no one knows about.
It was a life thrown into a state where he couldn't see even an inch ahead. It seemed that he would never fully understand God's will, even if he spent his entire life with Him, but at least for this moment, when he saw the girl alive and well, he wanted to thank God.
The bouquet of flowers in Chloe's hand fluttered in the strong wind. The small blue petals were blown by the wind and settled gently on the crashing waves. Chloe's gaze, quietly watching the scene, suddenly caught a faint light.
“What are you thinking about, Miss?”
“I just thought the flowers you gave me were really pretty.”
“...They’re just wild flowers I picked from the riverside.”
Chloe, who had been smiling silently, blinked quickly and looked up at the sky. Gray couldn't say anything as he looked at the young lady who was still affectionate and kind, but who looked lonely somewhere.
Most of the guests at the onboard restaurant that opens after the sun sets are couples.
“Hold on to me, Miss.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Chloe slowly stepped forward, linking her arms with Gray's. Since the place was floating on water, she had to be especially careful not to fall.
“Should we go somewhere else right now?”
Chloe let out a small laugh at Gray's cautious suggestion.
“This is the place I made a reservation for, Gray. I wanted to show you.”
“Is this a place you come often?”
“No. This is my first time.”
Chloe looked at him with a questioning look on his face and lowered her voice as if telling him a secret.
“I just wanted to come with someone I wouldn’t feel embarrassed with even if I fell over.”
Gray silently lowered his gaze and stroked the bridge of his nose, which had become slightly thicker. A faint smile spread across Chloe’s face, knowing that it was a habit that came out when he was embarrassed. Chloe, who was always self-restrained, couldn’t help but feel excited after such a long time. She was glad to be with the only person who knew her existence in an unfamiliar city, and it also felt like going back to the past. Back in a long time ago, when Chloe still lived in the Verdier Castle and Alice was like that too.
“If I think about it, it’s always been like that.”
After the meal, moistening her lips with wine, Chloe opened her mouth.
“...What is it?”
Gray asked her cautiously. Chloe looked at him and continued with a smile.
“Even when I have a headache, or when I’m feeling anxious, I always feel at ease when I see you.”
To Chloe, who had grown up with him since childhood, Gray was like a comfortable home. He was a person who made her feel comfortable and secure when she was with him, and he was like a friend who was also family.
“Isn’t that the blanket you gave me when I ran away from Birch Castle? The one you gave me when the Marchioness was murdered?”
"...Ah."
Gray's face darkened slightly as he recalled the unpleasant past. Chloe tried to brighten the mood and continued speaking in a cheerful voice.
“Yeah. I poured flour on my head to make it white, stole some clothes to send to the workhouse, put them on, wrapped myself in your blanket, and went to the train station.”
“It really helped that I used old stuff.”
"No."
Chloe shook her head firmly as she looked at Gray, who was looking bitter.
“I did it to find peace of mind. Like a talisman.”
“...”
“Is it disrespectful to say such things to someone who worships God?”
Chloe added playfully, and Gray finally smiled faintly. It was a soft, moonlit night. He still couldn't believe that he was with her in a place floating on the river, rippling, rippling, slowly.
“It’s like a dream.”
It was a word he said quietly, as if he were talking to himself. Chloe blinked for a moment, tilted the glass of water, and moistened her lips slightly. Gray, who had been quietly watching her, finally blinked in confusion when Chloe flicked the water off with her fingers. Chloe, who was rather flustered, quickly grabbed a napkin as she watched Gray not even think about wiping the water droplets that had splashed on his light tea-colored skin.
“I was just trying to tell you that it wasn’t a dream, so how come you’re not surprised?”
Gray would have done the same even if she had pushed him into the water, when he felt Chloe's hands wiping his face and lowering his dark eyelashes.
“I will give fortune telling to lovers in a good mood.”
The one who appeared with a jingle, jingle, was an old gypsy woman wearing a lot of old jewelry. Chloe smiled at her with an embarrassed expression.
“I’m sorry. I’m fine, but my companion is a believer...”
The shabby woman pretended not to hear Chloe and grabbed her hand. Chloe glanced at Gray, thinking that she probably wouldn’t be able to get away easily. The gypsies’ meager financial situation was not much different from that of foreign countries. Gray nodded with a faint smile, reading her mind that she couldn’t easily refuse.
“Yes. Then just look at me.”
The gypsy woman closed her eyes and caressed Chloe's hand with her rough hands.
“You are a warm-hearted girl. Just like a spring that never dries, you are someone who moistens people’s hearts. Depending on the bottle you put it in, its form changes, but its source never changes. That is why it is all the stronger.”
Chloe met Gray’s eyes and smiled silently, holding his hand as the woman who had been praising her as if she had been waiting for her. The gypsy woman furrowed her brows and focused even more as she continued to speak.
“You are strong. You look weak, but you are strong enough to be worthy of a high position. You really deserve to be in a very high position.”
Gray's face couldn't help but hardened slightly. Chloe noticed his confusion and whispered softly.
“You only say nice things like our father, don’t you?”
It was natural for them to only say nice things since they were people who lived day to day by receiving lottery tickets from customers, but it seemed to have awakened Gray to reality. The true situation of Chloe who had left her high position.
“I feel a little embarrassed to only hear compliments. But thank you.”
As Chloe was about to finish with a friendly smile, the hand that was holding her tightened a little. When Chloe stopped in surprise, the gypsy woman opened her wrinkled eyes and looked at Chloe.
“Such a strong young lady is afraid of love.”
Chloe's small lips trembled slightly. She unconsciously pursed her lips.
“You are terribly afraid of falling in love, my beautiful lady.”
Chloe's brown eyes blinked a couple of times. As she smiled awkwardly with her shaking eyes, at a loss for words, the gypsy woman continued.
“There is no need to be afraid. Love will make you stronger.”
As the gypsy woman let go, Chloe belatedly woke up from her reverie. Only after seeing the gypsy woman, who was still holding on, smiling brightly while showing her dirty hands, did she realize that she had to play the lottery and quickly opened her wallet.
“I wish you both good luck.”
After the gypsy woman accepted the coin, she turned around and gently kissed Gray on both cheeks.
“The same goes for those who serve God.”
“I'm fine.”
The woman didn't bother to hold Gray's hand as he declined the offer. Her eyes held a warm feeling.
“Your god cannot help but spare you. You are a lovely person.”
The gypsy woman who had left behind her cryptic words soon disappeared to another table. Chloe and Gray stared at each other for a moment in awkward silence. Chloe, who had been staring at Gray, finally opened her lips, and her hazel eyes sparkled.
“Please don’t say anything, Miss.”
Gray quickly shook his head, instinctively guessing her intentions from the playful expression on her face, but Chloe was faster.
“Is our Gray popular with all women, regardless of age and nationality?”
“Please, Miss.”
Gray's tea-colored face darkened even further as he pressed his temples and wrinkled his forehead.
“...Do you know that whenever you tease me, I think of Miss Alice?”
“You’re kidding me. That kid is a master at making things up, and I’m just telling the truth.”
“That’s scarier.”
A bashful smile appeared on Gray’s face as he spat it out. The two ended up facing each other, shaking their shoulders and bursting into laughter.
Stella narrowed her eyes at Chloe, who had a slightly bewildered expression.
“Do you think it is low-level to consider the financial ability of a potential marriage partner?”
“No, of course not.”
What made Chloe flustered was the word 'marriage'. She tried hard to hide her awkward expression.
Marrying Gray?
Her hands holding the teacup trembled slightly.
“Of course, Ms. Claire has us. I sincerely wish you happiness. You can’t live alone forever on a meager salary.”
Chloe knew Stella's sincerity well, even though her speech was a bit direct. She had left without any luggage on purpose in order not to have any regrets about the past, so it was not easy for her to settle down in a new city in a strange country. However, she was lucky enough to meet warm people and was able to live without much inconvenience.
In fact, Alice, whose marriage to Erno had been confirmed, had recently sent a secret letter to Chloe. She asked her again if she had any intention of returning to the palace, but Chloe could not do so. This was especially true when she thought of her past as having the surname of Tisse. With Alice’s position in the palace uncertain, she did not want to be a burden to her, let alone help her.
But what if it's Gray?
Chloe tried to picture herself with Gray. She could picture herself standing next to him as he ran his ministry, surprisingly easily. She could see the full moon through the large windows.
She remember talking with Gray often at Verdier during the summer nights. Their lives would be no different than before. Gray would respect her, if not cherish her, and Chloe was confident that she would cherish and respect Gray as well. Gray was a person who was worthy of respect just for his character and efforts.
“What are you thinking so hard about? Was my question that difficult?”
Stella's words woke Chloe from her reverie.
“There are several things... that are on my mind.”
Chloe had planned to invite her father to live here in the near future. She said she would pay him a modest salary, but in fact, the tuition fees paid by the wealthy Stella for Sophie were above average, and thanks to her aunt Mrs. Talbot, who was quick to calculate, her father's fortune was steadily invested and kept growing.
The outgoing Mrs. Talbot seemed intent on settling down in the neighboring country where she was currently staying, so all she had to do was bring her father along... but she had practical concerns about whether her father would be able to accept her being with Gray, her former servant.
“Can I just say one thing since I care about Claire?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Stella looked at Chloe and opened her mouth in a clear tone.
“You don’t have to overthink this and that. Just think about one thing.”
“...What is it?”
“If your heart races and reacts when you're with that person, what else matters? Life isn’t something that other people live for you. It’s also nonsense to live your life for someone else.”
Chloe smiled slightly as she watched Stella speak as if it were obvious. Her heart did feel warm when she was with Gray. The problem was that it was different from how she said her heart would beat quickly and react. Still, it was true that she felt comfortable, like at home.
“I'll keep that in mind.”
Stella nodded, assuming that Chloe understood what she meant, and then she revealed her special plan.
“There’s a charity bazaar at the church next week. Then, you’ll dress up as pretty as I can and go and make that missionary’s eyes... so that he can be tempted by the devil. So that he can propose to Claire right away. What do you think?”
Chloe laughed, and Stella blinked with her eyes wide open.
“Huh? Got it?”
“If he fails the devil’s test, he will lose his qualification as a pastor.”
“Oh, that’s what they say. Since you’re so serious and naive, I wonder if I should be the one teaching you everything about the first night between a man and a woman.”
The smile disappeared from Chloe's face, which had been smiling comfortably, and her expression hardened slightly. When she looked down and avoided eye contact, Stella suddenly felt the awkward atmosphere and got up from her seat, coughing.
“Well then, good night, teacher. Sweet dreams.”
After Stella, who had kissed her cheek as a night greeting, disappeared like a storm, Chloe sat still for a while. Then, as the heaviness in her legs grew worse, she lifted her skirt and carefully removed the brace. It was a brace made by the most experienced carpenter in Guinevis, but it was definitely a little more uncomfortable than the one she had used in Tisse, perhaps because her explanation was insufficient.
Chloe covered her face with both hands and bit her lips once. The memories of the past that inevitably came to mind may have become blurred as time passed, but they were still vivid. Still, there was no need to take seriously the story that Stella had told as a joke.
"Ha..."
She leaned back on the bed. She closed her eyes so as not to think, but there was no way to push away the memories that came flooding in automatically. The first night. The feeling of being stared at with eyes that seemed as if they would never escape once they were trapped. Just thinking about the feeling of large, hot hands gripping her soft skin and the feel of the bed sheets crumpling beneath her body sent goosebumps up her skin.
“Can you feel me on the verge of going crazy?”
Chloe sat up abruptly. The moment she remembered him whispering in her ear with a voice full of desire, her heart started beating anxiously as if it were going to burst, as if she had gone back in time.
Let's not be stupid.
Chloe moistened her dry lips and repeated to herself. She was supposed to be dead in Swanton, and there was no way for Damien to find her. So it was unnecessary to feel scared and anxious.
Chloe hurriedly started to get ready for bed. Even though she put on her pajamas and combed her hair, her mood didn't calm down easily.
Sometime after midnight, she got out of bed and opened the window. A warm breeze blew across her closed, dry face.
“Chloe.”
As his voice came to mind again, she unconsciously tightened her grip on the window frame. Just like that night when he had left scars all over her chest and back.
“I apologize in advance.”
“Your Majesty, I, I...!”
That night, she spent the whole night wondering why the arrogant man had no choice but to apologize.
Chloe shut her eyes tightly, reddened by the dizzy feeling. Did she catch a summer cold? Even though she moistened her dry lips with her tongue, she still felt thirsty. It would be nice if a shower came down like this. Her whole body was hot, and she couldn't stand it.
The charity bazaar sponsored by the church was held at the mansion of the wealthiest old lady in Guineves. Held twice a year, on a summer night and a winter night, the bazaar was like one big party, attended by all the city's leading figures.
“They’re all here, teacher.”
Chloe followed Sophie, who had jumped out of the carriage, and carefully got out. The two-story mansion, with its brightly lit windows, seemed to already be in a bazaar. Stella, who had to open a booth, had to come early in the morning to prepare.
Stella's family originally planned to sell only the wine from the farm. However, Ricardo's guests who were visiting Guineves on business heard about the charity bazaar in advance and filled more than ten suitcases with goods, which greatly expanded the booth's inventory. Stella complained that the booth was cluttered even though she was not a peddler, and Chloe consoled her by saying that it was good because it was used for a good cause.
Chloe also wanted to come early and help, but Stella told her that it would be even more chaotic if Sophie came too, so she decided to just take care of the baby.
“Yes. Should we go in now?”
"Yes!!!"
Chloe held Sophie's hand and entered the mansion with the door wide open. The first thing she saw was Gray, standing next to the pastor, exchanging greetings with local influential figures. When Chloe looked at him, Gray turned his head as he felt her gaze.
When their eyes met, Gray smiled faintly. Chloe smiled happily at him, thinking that the neat suit suited him very well. Everyone seemed to know that the atmosphere would be more lively if he took over the ministry of Guinevis.
'See you later.'
As Chloe moved her lips widely, Gray nodded in understanding. Chloe felt a strange excitement and started walking around the booth with Sophie, who was pulling at her arm. As Stella had asked, she bought Sophie as many toys as she wanted.
“I wish there were a bazaar every day.”
Sophie laughed, holding her dolls in her hands. The bazaar that helped war orphans and the poor had a reputation for increasing the amount of money spent, so on this day, people opened their wallets without holding back. After patting Sophie’s bright face, Chloe walked towards Stella’s booth.
“Hey! There’s Mom over there!”
Stella, with her thick black hair elegantly tied up, waved through the crowd as she spotted Chloe holding the child's hand. Chloe barely made her way through the crowded space and stood in front of Stella.
“Oh, Claire. You came at a good time.”
Stella looked at her with a life-like expression. Up close, she could see beads of sweat forming on her face.
“But where did you put the dress I lent you?”
“It’s a little awkward.”
Stella sighed briefly as she looked at Chloe, who had appeared in her plain going-out clothes. Then she glanced in the direction where Gray was standing and lowered her voice secretly.
“Well... I guess it might be better to dress up and show up like a Queen from some neighboring country, since that would definitely emphasize with your whole body that you're conscious of the other person.”
"Ah..."
“You know the party starts after the bazaar ends, right? Just wait and see. The missionary will probably be the first to ask Claire to dance.”
Chloe decided to quickly change the subject before her embarrassing love lesson got any longer.
“Were sales any good?”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. The items are from overseas, so they are very popular. There are even people who bought every single item. I’m sure we’ll be on the list of the biggest donors.”
Stella's words, as she held the donation box full of money tightly like a treasure chest, did not seem to be a lie.
“Ha... I was so busy that I didn’t even have time to say hello to the people at the other booths, and I couldn’t even see my husband...”
Chloe smiled at Stella, who was hesitating whether to gossip or not, watching her expression.
“Would you like to take a breather with Sophie? I’ll take care of the booth in the meantime.”
“I would really appreciate it if you did that.”
Stella was visibly delighted and handed her the box of money. Sophie said she wouldn't go with her mother and stayed with Chloe.
“Yes, then let’s organize things.”
Chloe asked Sophie, looking her in the eye. Sophie nodded happily. Chloe began to organize the messy shelves. She arranged the ribboned wines in an inverted triangle shape, and arranged the ornaments in a zigzag pattern so that each one stood out. As Stella had said, there were many pretty ornaments, most of which were craft items that could not be found here.
“Teacher, look at this.”
Sophie cheered as she looked at the glass paperweight. Inside the round paperweight, the tiny blue petals looked as if they were frozen in ice. Upon closer inspection, she saw that the snowflakes were actually dandelion seeds. Chloe’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the intricate work of art.
“It’s so pretty, isn’t it?”
The miniature castles, with their elaborately detailed snow globes, ornate jewelry boxes, and pointed spires housed inside large seashells, were reminiscent of works of art.
“Huh? What is this?”
Sophie opened the lid of the ribboned box. Inside was a beautiful carriage pulled by four horses. The horses and carriage were so elaborately depicted that it was amazing. Chloe's hands stopped because of the trees surrounding the carriage on both sides. The birch trees, which had no leaves at all, were shining brilliantly in the light of the chandelier.
"Wow..."
It was clear that the things embedded in the gray-brown wood were tiny jewels. There was a reason why Stella had written down the highest price and carefully placed them in a box to keep them safe.
“Teacher, I think this is a music box.”
Sophie wound the mainspring behind the carriage instead of Chloe, who couldn't take her eyes off the beautiful decorations. As the mainspring slowly unwound, a melody began to flow, and the carriage wheels began to move. Unlike Sophie, who was exclaiming in admiration at the beautiful and elegant melody, the smile slowly disappeared from Chloe's face.
South of the Carter Duchy, Guinevis, a warm island city along a long river, was a resort where wealthy nobles came to escape the cold winter. The small city, with its pastoral scenery overlooking both the sea and the river, was also famous for its wine production, and Sophie was the daughter of a large landowner who owned a famous vineyard in the area.
The little girl, who had been neglected from a young age because she had four younger brothers in a row, always tried to monopolize her parents' attention by causing trouble at home. Stella, the owner of the vineyard, was even more distracted because her last two sons were twins.
“If it weren’t for Claire, our Sophie might have left home and given birth to twins already.”
“Sophie is only ten years old...?”
“That's what I'm saying."
Stella kissed the embarrassed tutor on both cheeks and expressed her gratitude with her whole body. Stella, with her curly black hair, was a typical Carter Duchy woman known for her hot temper. She was passionate, honest, and kind, but when she had a fight with her husband, she transformed into a fiery personality that exploded with tremendous force.
“Claire, you know now how helpless the men of this country are. If there’s a woman they like, they’ll kiss her without any second thoughts. Seriously... Haa... If I hadn’t lost my way like an idiot when I was twenty, I wouldn’t have knocked on the door of that sweaty farm owner’s house...”
The tutor smiled calmly as he listened to Stella's steamy love story that followed.
“It’s a good thing that you had so many cute children, thanks to that.”
“Claire wants Sophie to stay here and not get married until she grows up. I know people might say I’m being too greedy.”
“I am the one who is grateful that you look upon me favorably.”
When she first saw her after seeing an ad in the newspaper, Stella was a bit skeptical. Her speech seemed unfamiliar, and she wasn't sure if she, who seemed so gentle, could handle the tomboyish Sophie well.
Although the tea was not very good, it was still bothersome that her legs looked a little uncomfortable. It had been a winter a year ago when she had handed over the contract in the hope of putting out an urgent fire after the tutor who had just started working ran out crying, and Stella now considered her a lifesaver.
The governess, who was thin-boned and looked like she would fall over if hit with one blow compared to the well-developed girls of the duchy, either used some kind of magic or lived a second life, and treated Sophie so well as if she could see into her reckless and curious mind.
“It’s going to get hotter again. Even though we experienced it once last year, summer is tough, right? It’s sweltering hot, and it rains heavily without warning several times a day.”
“Not at all.”
She shook her head and smiled at Stella. She was so pretty that it was no wonder that she was constantly being asked to arrange introductions through her husband. Seeing that she had never responded to a single indirect suggestion, Stella could only wonder if she had ever been deeply hurt by love.
“I like summer better than winter.”
“Is there any special reason?”
“...It just reminds me of when I was young.”
“Was the place Claire lived similar to this?”
Stella blinked, and her words trailed off ambiguously.
“That might have been the case.”
Seeing her reticence to talk about the past, Stella once again guessed that the pretty governess had some deep love scars.
Just then, a carriage to the church arrived. Sophie, who had been allowed to enter the church for some time, was already waiting, dressed in her most elegant attire, looking excited.
“Do you know, sir, why our little devil-like Sophie became so devout?”
“Well, maybe he was moved by the sight of Master Marimo praying.”
“Oh my? Sophie hates Marimo, calling him a cowardly crybaby.”
As Stella's eyes widened, the tutor lowered her voice and said, "Shhh."
“The world of children is more complex than adults can imagine.”
The carriage left the two-story mansion and raced along the country road. A breeze carrying the scent of flowers blew through the uncovered carriage carrying three women side by side.
“Oh, right. I heard that a new missionary has arrived at the church... They’re making a fuss about how great he is. I heard he’s a foreigner...”
Stella turned her head and closed her mouth as she told the story of the new missionaries from the neighboring country.
Claire, with her eyes closed and the wind blowing against her face in the rattling carriage, seemed like she was somewhere else. Her soft chestnut hair flowed down her shoulders. Stella hid her smile as she watched Sophie sitting next to her, her legs folded to one side like hers, and her eyes closed tightly as she looked in the same direction.
The surrounding women did not hide their worries and concerns about the fact that they were taking in a live-in tutor with no clear background or origin. Some said that she might be a thief, while others openly expressed concern that she might seduce Stella's husband, Ricardo.
But after watching her for a year, Stella came to only one conclusion. She must have contracted the best tutor in Guinevis. Claire was not only calm and sincere but also a versatile young lady. Her posture was upright and straight, as if she had been educated somewhere her whole life, and her personality of not showing off her knowledge was something she liked. She could not even imagine having affairs with her servants. Despite her appearance as a gentle baby deer, she was also perfect in the art of quietly and firmly rejecting the aggressive courtship of the duchy's men.
Although she was clearly a hired servant, there was something about Claire that made it impossible for her to treat her carelessly. If things continued this way, it seemed like she could raise Sophie into a well-mannered lady who wouldn't be strange enough to send her to the palace.
***
The sky, which had been clear since morning and showed no sign of rain, quickly became cloudy from the west and turned pitch black. As soon as she felt the raindrops falling, she covered the carriage, and immediately after she did, a shower poured down.
“It’s just beginning!”
Chloe smiled as Stella shouted. As she held Sophie's hand in the rattling carriage and listened to the rain pouring down on the canopy, a memory she wanted to forget suddenly came to her mind. The excitement of dancing in the summer rain.
But she wasn't in Swanton. Chloe was now at the southernmost tip of the Carter Islands, a fortnight's boat ride from Winsbury Harbor.
Thinking back on it made her realize how far she had run from him.
“Chloe. My love.”
Chloe squeezed her eyes shut as if she could hear his voice. More than a year had passed since the day she left, burning all her memories, but when she recalled his voice, the hairs on her skin stood on end.
It was on the very day that Damien crushed her and rejected her in his own way to ask for a divorce that Chloe decided to leave him for good.
In fact, the breakup may have been planned from the moment she discovered his secret that stormy night. However, Chloe endured because of the child in her stomach. She endured and endured even when Damien kissed her lips and told her he loved her as if nothing had happened.
Even if she was betrayed by her husband, she thought that she would be okay as long as she had a child. To be honest, Chloe was ready to devote her whole life to just one child. That was why she was able to endure all those painful times, but when she lost her child, she no longer had the strength to endure.
While recovering in bed, Chloe embroidered with her hands and planned in her head. She also kept in mind that Damien would not easily give in to the divorce. But there was still a glimmer of hope until the very end.
If Damien had any respect for her, he would have let her go at the moment of parting, apologizing and asking for her forgiveness.
Chloe's vain hopes were shattered. What filled Damien's blue eyes was not regret, but anger and desire. It was the arrogance that she could never reject him.
Chloe's patience ended at that moment. She immediately put into action everything she had been thinking about. She trembled, but it was not from fear but from anticipation. The first misguided desire in her life to bring complete despair to one person drove her.
Chloe eventually fled from Tisse with nothing but a suitcase. If Eliza had not sensed her plan and given her clothes and food in her suitcase, she would have starved and slumped for four days from Tisse to Winsbury.
Alice, I'll be waiting for you at the post office in Winsbury on your mother's anniversary.
When she arrived at the post office in Winsbury, covered in Eliza's black dress, it was not Alice who was waiting for her, but a stranger. The person who caught her as she tried to run away told her in a foreign accent that Alice was waiting for her. In disbelief, he showed her a letter written in Alice's own handwriting and Alice's lovely hair cut off with a ribbon.
She couldn't help but notice the hair that Chloe had brushed and stroked so many times. She held Alice's things tightly and followed the stranger onto the steamer. It was in the capital of the Carter principality that she met Alice again, whom she thought was living with a gypsy.
“...Sister.”
Alice's clothes were gorgeous as she held the child, and the place she lived in was even more so. The moment Chloe saw the adorable baby boy who had begun to walk, she let out a wet sigh.
Alice couldn't believe that Eddie, whom she loved, was not a gypsy but the hidden heir to the Carter Duchy, Erno de Carter, but what was even more surprising was that Alice had been living as Erno's secret woman for the past year, banned from entering his private villa. The man hadn't even broken off his engagement to his fiancée.
“Alice. Are you okay?”
“No. I want to kill him. I wish he would die every time.”
Alice's face, which had set out in search of happiness, was different from the past when she had been a curious and mischievous young lady. She was still beautiful, but her eyes had a complex darkness that she had never seen before. Chloe could not reprimand Alice because she knew she had no right to do so. She was just distressed because she could not understand why her sisters had to endure such misfortune.
Alice refused Chloe's offer to take the child and leave with her because she still loved the man. She hated him so much, she hated him so much, she wanted to kill him.
Chloe had been informed in advance and had hastily cleared out Swanton's house, and immediately wrote a letter to Mrs. Talbot, who was traveling the world with her father, who had left Verdier, asking her to wait abroad until everything had calmed down. Fortunately, thanks to Alice's man, who was no longer a gypsy, she was able to secretly send sufficient funds to Mrs. Talbot's account.
Although she had told her father not to be surprised by anything that happened, she briefly explained to him, who must have been flustered, about her and Alice's current situation. She was sincere in her words, apologizing and asking him to trust her children, even though the journey to find happiness would be a bit difficult.
And after refusing Alice's request to stay with her, she left her luxurious cottage hidden in the forest. Chloe had no desire to be cut off from her only sister, and she could not.
It was just that Alice, who had said that she hated the child's father, was anxiously 'waiting' for his visit, which was hard to bear. She saw herself in Alice. Hating and loving at the same time. It was natural for Chloe to run away because she couldn't bear that sense of disparity.
"Teacher?"
“Oh, sorry, Sophie.”
Sophie looked at her quietly, then pulled her hand back and held it tightly. Chloe blinked and tried to smile. When she first came to Guinevis, where there was no one, she felt lost, but fortunately, she met people who treated her like family, and she was able to live comfortably.
Although she was living under her deceased mother's name, she always felt that she should live with gratitude for the warmth of those who treated her sincerely. In addition, Sophie reminded her of Alice's tomboyish childhood from the moment she first met her, making her even more friendly.
“Teacher, what were you thinking?”
Sophie pulled her arm and whispered as if telling her a secret.
“I wasn’t thinking about anything. I was just listening to the sound of the rain.”
“I wish it didn’t rain.”
"Why?"
“When the teacher hears the sound of rain, you make a face like you're about to cry.”
Chloe looked at Sophie, who seemed more perceptive than last year, and tried to smile brightly instead of answering.
“People cry even when they are too happy.”
“Huh? Really?”
“When Sophie first met Robin on your birthday last year, you were so happy that you cried.”
Sophie finally nodded in agreement, remembering how she had cried the day Stella gave her the puppy.
Chloe braced herself in the shaking carriage. She was constantly checking Swanton's news, but there had been no special events in the royal family. When she read about her own funeral in the newspaper, Chloe felt a complex emotion that she couldn't explain in words. The fact that her existence had completely disappeared from the world Damien had created meant that she had succeeded, but now that she was dead in his world, she felt as if something inside her was slowly collapsing.
When she read in the newspaper that the young King, who had lost his Queen, was about to marry for the second time, she was able to keep herself calm. She tried not to be disappointed by the fact that Damien had accepted her death. He had always been a man who had defied all her expectations. She thought that she should not feel defeated by him, who was living well without her.
The sound of rain hitting the carriage cover grew louder.
“Dance on me, Chloe.”
Chloe shook her head, erasing every memory of the summer festival from her mind.
Her life could start over here. She would call her father, build a small house, and live peacefully like before. Chloe thought that was okay. She had come this far safely, despite many things that had happened, and her path from now on would be peaceful, if not adventurous.
But... why isn’t the carriage moving, and is it standing still?
“Sorry! The back wheels of the carriage are stuck in a puddle!”
Stella shook her head as the coachman raised his voice in embarrassment.
“Oh, Claire. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s a good thing I brought an umbrella in advance. Thanks, Sophie.”
Chloe rolled up her skirt without a care. The church was right in front of her and she couldn't walk there. This level of adventure was enjoyable enough. Sophie, who grabbed Chloe's hand as she got out of the carriage, jumped up and down in excitement.
"This..."
The problem was that there were more than one or two puddles formed by the torrential rain. The stream in front of the church overflowed to the road, creating a small river. Someone had hurriedly moved the rocks rolling on the embankment to make a stepping stone, but the rocks were not straight and looked dangerous.
“Claire, what should I do?
Those who had already arrived seemed to have passed the rock without much difficulty, but for Chloe, who had an inconvenient leg, it was a dangerous situation. Chloe smiled and reassured a worried Stella.
“I’m fine, so you go first.”
“Teacher, I don’t have to go to church.”
Sophie, dressed in a pretty dress, took her hand. Chloe stroked the child's forehead and made eye contact.
“Sophie, if there’s a rock that’s shaking, can you tell me? I think I’ll be okay with it.”
"...Yes."
Sophie nodded with a firm face. Stella, holding onto the hem of her long dress, started off first, and Sophie followed behind her, hopping along. It was then that the man who had been moving stones from afar came closer.
It seemed to be he who had moved the heavy stones for the people. The man in the priest's habit continued his work, unconcerned by the pouring rain. Stella thanked the unfamiliar stranger as she stepped on the last stone he had placed.
“Ah. You’re a new missionary. Your clothes are all wet... Thank you.”
"It's okay."
He raised his head, wiping the raindrops that had splashed on his face with his arm. Stella looked at the young man whose skin seemed to be soaked up by the sun and exclaimed, “Oh my,” without realizing it. Indeed, he looked like the kind of man that would make all the women of Guinevis turn into faithful women.
“Be careful.”
The young man, whose eyes seemed more moist than the raindrops falling from his wet black hair, stepped aside and made way for her. Stella stopped admiring him belatedly and followed his guidance across the stepping stones. Sophie also did not forget to check on Chloe, who was following behind her, stepping on the stones diligently.
“Teacher, it’s done now!”
After Sophie crossed the last two stones, she waved at her.
“Teacher Claire! It’s okay!”
Sophie blinked as she watched her teacher standing still on a rock in the middle of the road, unable to move, even though she had checked everything.
“I guess it was too much, Sophie. Go and get the coachman.”
It was when Stella grabbed Sophie's shoulder that the young missionary standing beside her began to walk toward her. He walked toward her as if he would not hesitate to go deeper, even though his feet were sinking deep into the mud that had risen to his calves. The raindrops were now completely soaking him. And Chloe, who had stopped in the middle of the bridge, stood there as if her feet had stuck to a stone, just staring at him as he approached her.
“Teacher... are you crying?”
Sophie rubbed her eyes and looked at her. Chloe's brown eyes were wide and shaking.
"...Oh."
What surprised Stella even more was when the young missionary who had approached her as if possessed collapsed and fell to his knees in the mud. After she took her foot off, his body, which had been gripping the stone with her hand, was now completely soaked in mud and a mess. Stella tilted her head, wondering if it was the missionary who was crying. She could clearly see his broad shoulders, which were repelling the raindrops, and his arms, which were tightly holding onto the rock, trembling slightly.
He lowered his head and couldn't even open his mouth. An umbrella was quietly placed over him as he was bearing the brunt of the pouring rain.
“Can you please hold my hand?”
He slowly raised his head. The missionary's face, with his wet black hair tangled under his forehead, looked like a boy who had forgotten how to speak. Sophie's mouth fell open as she saw her tutor speak to someone for the first time.
“Please... hold my hand, missionary.”
Finally, he slowly stood up. Despite the mud on his legs, he was taller than Chloe, who was standing on the rock.
“I can’t do that because my hands are dirty.”
“...Not at all.”
Chloe smiled faintly at the man who was spitting out with reddened eyes and held out her hand. Just like when she first saw him a long time ago, he was completely soaking wet and covered in mud. But she knew that he had a warmer heart than anyone else. And that his hands, which were so small, had long since grown much larger than hers.
Gray. You're still you.
Gray's hand, with its distinct calluses, approached her tremblingly and took her hand carefully. Tap tap. Even among the falling raindrops, she felt the warm body temperature spread to her heart.
“Thank you, missionary.”
Chloe closed her tearful eyes and smiled even brighter. She thought that perhaps this was why she was feeling particularly sentimental today. God had given her a surprise gift.
***
It was a sunny weekend afternoon, as if it had not rained for several days.
“Are you sure?”
“That's what I said.”
Stella opened her eyes to see her husband reading the newspaper with a furrowed brow. She continued, picking up one of the twins who was struggling to get away from their nanny.
“I can’t tell you how much Claire, who used to treat men like stone, laughed out loud. It was as if... it was as if...”
"Like?"
Stella was about to say that it was like watching a child take his first steps, but then she shook her head, realizing that wasn't quite the right expression.
“Anyway, wouldn’t it be good for us if Claire and the missionary young man do well? It would be even better if they both settle down in Guinevis.”
As Stella imagined the future while recalling Claire's bright face as she went out to meet the missionary youth on her day off, Ricardo opened his mouth with a displeased expression.
“And if they suddenly have a child, what will happen to our Sophie?”
Stella glared at her husband, Ricardo, who was getting even more excited. Her hands, which were breaking the egg with a teaspoon, gained some strength. Of course, it was not that she did not understand her husband's worries. Sophie had wanted to go out with Claire, but when Stella threatened her, she got upset and didn't even eat lunch, and locked herself in her room. But that wasn't the problem.
“Do you think all men in the world are like the men here? Do you think they always try to get you to have a child on the first date?”
The boys sitting around the outdoor tables were busy playing with their food and hitting each other.
“That’s also a skill.”
Ricardo blurted out nonchalantly as he folded the newspaper. Stella, who had given up on talking to her shameless husband any longer, glanced at the headlines and opened her eyes wide. She quickly opened the newspaper.
“Oh my god.”
It was an article about the King, who was called the greatest scoundrel the duchy had ever produced, finally kicking out his fiancée and announcing his marriage to his mistress. King Erno, who was known to be so fiery that he was even considered crazy, had been so protective of his mistress that the people of the duchy didn't even know her face. Some even circulated rumors that the mistress in question was a lowly woman from the Swanton Kingdom, which currently had the worst diplomatic relations.
“Is it really the case that we have to make Swanton’s woman our Queen?”
“If a tutor doesn’t care where she comes from, why can’t she be a Queen?”
Claire didn't tell them about her past, but they were sure she was from Swanton. The war was over, but after the new King of Swanton ascended the throne, diplomatic relations between the two countries were not so good. The rumor that the Carter Principality helped the escape of the former King of Swanton, Johannes, who had been dethroned before even a season, could not be said to have hurt the relationship between the two countries.
“That’s a different story.”
Stella, whose head was complicated, glared at her husband once more and calmed the twins down. She couldn't understand Ricardo, who was making generalizations in strange places when personal matters and state affairs could not be the same.
“Didn’t I say at one point that it was clear that Claire had run away because she had fallen in love?”
Ricardo's words, which he had been glancing at the newspaper, were clear. He meant that the situation of the Swanton-born mistress, the King's woman, and the governess at home were not all that different. Stella opened her eyes, tightly grasping her husband's thigh, who was increasingly saying things she did not like.
“So, I guess I have to start a new love and overcome the past, right?”
“Heh heh.”
“Just wait and see. I will do whatever it takes to make her fall in love so happy that she won’t even remember the word ‘fail’ in ‘fail’ love.”
There was no one who did not know that Stella, who had married early, was a matchmaker. She was sure that she would find the perfect groom for her daughter Sophie, the governess who had showered her with love.
“By the way, Stella, about our lakeside cottage.”
“Why is that?”
“Can I borrow that from Lawrence Taylor, whom I mentioned earlier?”
“That... phonograph businessman from Swanton?”
Stella opened her eyes slightly.
"That's right."
“It’s a bit like being from Swanton...”
“You said that personal and state affairs cannot be the same. He seems like a romantic who is completely detached from politics, so don’t worry about that.”
Ricardo kissed Stella's pursed lips and moistened her throat with wine.
“He’s a nouveau riche who made a fortune in the gramophone business, so he seems to be dabbling in everything. He says that when trade becomes active, he wants to import a large quantity of our wine, so we’ll have to do our best.”
“What does a gramophone have to do with wine?”
Even though diplomatic relations had deteriorated and trade was severely restricted, Stella could not find any connection between his phonograph business and her vineyard.
“According to Taylor’s telegram, good music and good wine go together very well.”
Stella's black eyelashes blinked rapidly as she frowned. For a businessman, Lawrence Taylor seemed to have a somewhat off-kilter side.
"All right."
“He said he’ll be arriving in three days, so have someone tidy up the villa.”
“Yes. Instead, I think it would be better to charge double the rent for the house.”
Stella grinned, vowing to herself that she would take a beating from that idiot from Swanton. By the way, she wonders if Claire is having a good date.
***
The town square along the beach was bustling with people. On Saturdays, when the market was held twice a month, everyone who owned a small farm in Guinevis gathered under a tent and formed a long line. Hands were busy weighing fresh vegetables and fruits from the fields, and food carts that served customers and merchants passing by were lined with customers.
“Would you like one, young lady?”
A bearded merchant winked at Chloe as she stood in front of her ice cream cart, in a prime spot next to the fountain.
“Yes, please give me one of these.”
Chloe opened her wallet as a man placed a cone of ice cream with fresh fruit chunks in it. The vendor spoke to her in a friendly tone as he handed her the dessert.
“The weather is nice, so did you come out to play alone?”
Chloe smiled broadly as she took out a coin.
“It's a date.”
“Haha, don’t couples who go on dates usually only eat one ice cream?”
The man who couldn't see Chloe's cane because it was obscured by the ice cream cart said jokingly. Chloe smiled, now accustomed to the gentlemanly friendliness of the men here.
“I feel happy just watching him eat.”
“Oh, then I must send you off with tears in my eyes.”
Chloe burst out laughing and took the ice cream. The vendor glanced at her and lowered his voice.
“I think the young lady’s lover is coming over there.”
Chloe turned around and immediately saw Gray, who smiled brightly. Gray, who was approaching from around the fountain, was wearing a suit, and he was so handsome that he caught everyone's attention at first glance.
"Gray."
"... Miss."
A fountain sprayed water, creating a rainbow, as the owner of the ice cream cart watched them with a pleased smile.
“Have you been waiting long?”
“Yeah. I thought I got hit by the wind.”
"Sorry."
Gray, the only person Chloe could joke with, looked embarrassed like he had when he was a child, and stretched out his arms that had been behind his back.
“I can’t just come, but I have no idea what to give you...”
Chloe's eyes grew wide.
“Oh my, it's so pretty.”
What he held in his slightly trembling hands was a bouquet of wild flowers. They were not the kind sold in carts, but the kind of wild flowers he had picked one by one on the hill. They were beautiful, just like his heart for her.
“Are you giving this to me?”
"Yes."
Gray's face turned red as he answered briefly, almost in a whisper.
“What should I do? I don’t have hands.”
Chloe said playfully, holding a cane in one hand and an ice cream in the other. Gray, who didn't know what to do, finally accepted the ice cream when Chloe held it out to him, and carefully handed her the bouquet. Chloe brought her face close to the bouquet and took a deep breath. The fresh and pleasant scent filled her head with pleasant thoughts.
“Shall we take a walk?”
“Yes, Miss.”
Chloe and Gray began to walk slowly, as if they were looking around the crowded city streets. She had a mountain of things to say, and it was clear that Gray had the same. But Gray didn't ask her anything. If she didn't open her mouth, he didn't rush her, just like before.
“Gray, you’d better eat your ice cream before it melts. The sun here is as hot as Verdier.”
“But this is your job, young lady.”
“No. I bought it for you.”
"...Thank you."
Chloe watched him carefully eat his ice cream and chuckled. She wasn't lying when she said that just watching him eat made her feel good.
“If you stare at me like that... I’ll be too embarrassed to eat.”
Gray's face, slightly lowering his head and frowning, had a boyish shyness. Chloe suddenly felt her heart flutter at the fact that even though he had grown taller and his shoulders had broadened, his essence had not changed. It was like accidentally finding a treasure chest when she was young. It was a feeling of nostalgia, joy, and happiness mixed together.
“I heard that Mrs. Stella was very impressed by your sermon, but no one knows that you are so shy.”
As Chloe laughed teasingly at him, Gray opened his mouth as if talking to himself softly.
“There is no reason to be nervous in front of other people.”
Chloe suddenly stopped walking. She stared at Gray’s side profile, who was too nervous to even look at her, then quickly moved her feet again and opened her mouth naturally.
“This place isn’t it really different from where we used to live?”
A woman who had been haggling with a male customer in the market smiled brightly and kissed him on the cheek when she finished talking. People were hot-tempered, and the streets were filled with emotions. The lovers, who were in the midst of a passionate affair, shared a deep kiss in front of the fountain without being conscious of other people's gaze.
“Yes. It’s different.”
“When I look at the people here, I get the feeling that they really live each day to the fullest. Rather than worrying about the future, they just do their best to live each day happily.”
“Are you happy here, young lady?”
Gray asked, looking at her. Chloe faced him, facing the wind blowing from the river. Chloe's hair was blowing wildly in the river wind, so Gray couldn't clearly see her expression, which was just a small smile instead of an answer.
“I died and came back to life, so I should be happy. Then.”
After Chloe tied her hair with a ribbon, she looked at Gray and smiled faintly. Gray nodded, biting his lip.
“Yes then.”
“You’re still a crybaby, Gray.”
“I’m not crying.”
Chloe grabbed Gray's arm, who was looking at her with red eyes, and led him toward the harbor where the sea was visible. The good thing about this place was that you could always see the wide sea up close. Chloe and Gray both had come here from a world beyond the sea.
“Shall we sit down?
They finally sat side by side on a rock overlooking the horizon. Chloe was the first to speak.
“You said you were in a monastery but never studied theology. How did you become a missionary?”
“I wanted to know about the reason for suffering. Why do humans have to suffer?”
Chloe blinked slowly as Gray answered in a low voice.
“What could have caused you so much pain?”
“..I was unable to do anything after hearing the news about you, young lady.”
Chloe could easily imagine the shock Gray would feel at her death. Gray swallowed hard with a pained expression before continuing.
“At that time, I couldn’t stand the guilt I felt about myself for not being able to hold the girl’s hand and run away even if I had to force her to do so.”
“But I’m alive, Gray. So that’s okay.”
Gray looked at her and smiled faintly.
“Actually, even now, this all seems like a dream. I can’t believe it.”
He couldn't tell how time had passed since last Sunday, when he first met Chloe. He hadn't expected to meet someone he knew in a strange land, and it was Chloe, whom he thought was dead. At first, he doubted his eyes, and then he fell to his knees in front of her and broke down. Until today, when he promised to meet her again, Gray hadn't slept properly.
“I’m sorry, Miss.”
Chloe asked back, looking at Gray, apologizing with a face full of guilt.
“Huh? What?”
“I just now realized what you meant when you last said that.”
“...I was always a chatterbox in front of you. I talked so much that I can’t remember what I said.”
He lowered his gaze in front of her, who was trying to embrace Gray affectionately.
“No matter what happens, it is something you chose by your own free will.”
Chloe stared at him silently. Gray was talking about their last meeting at the cabin. It was the day Chloe disappeared from this world.
“You promised me that you would be happy. You taught me everything, and yet I never doubted your death.”
Chloe shook her head calmly as she watched Gray whispering softly as if he was making a confession.
“No. I wanted you to do that.”
“Are you saying that you wanted me to think... that Young Lady was dead?”
"Yes."
Gray's clasped hands trembled at the soft but firm answer.
“Why?”
“If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t have given up until the end. You would have definitely tried to save me, even if it meant sacrificing yourself. The Gray I know is someone who would do that and more.”
Chloe continued speaking affectionately, looking at Gray's eyes that were turning red again.
“I didn’t want anyone I loved to get hurt.”
Gray's wet eyes stared at her silently. His heart was pounding along with the sound of the waves, something he could not stop with willpower.
“That’s how it ended up. I ended up meeting you, who became such a wonderful person. I ended up being a... boring tutor.”
Gray realized what she meant only after Chloe shrugged her shoulders shyly. He had also heard that she worked as a tutor for the daughter of a wealthy farm owner. Chloe, who had become a servant, was wearing a much more modest dress than she had worn when the Verdiers were poor. It was a clear difference from Chloe, who always stood before the servants in neat and tidy clothes, even though she lived without anything.
“It’s not boring, miss.”
Gray shook his head with a firm expression. The sunlight sparkled and broke against the waves. His black eyes were full of sincerity. Even if he had become a pastor who was respected by all, there was only one person in Gray's heart who would be respected forever.
“I have never once felt bored with you, young lady. I will never, ever.”
Chloe's lips, hugging her knees, turned upwards in a pretty curve. She whispered with a smile, casting her gaze towards the distant end of the sea.
“That’s because you always look at me in a positive light.”
Is it possible to look at her in a negative light? Gray didn't ask again, but simply kept his mouth shut. He wanted to remember this moment forever.
They are in a strange city, in a world across the sea that no one knows about.
It was a life thrown into a state where he couldn't see even an inch ahead. It seemed that he would never fully understand God's will, even if he spent his entire life with Him, but at least for this moment, when he saw the girl alive and well, he wanted to thank God.
The bouquet of flowers in Chloe's hand fluttered in the strong wind. The small blue petals were blown by the wind and settled gently on the crashing waves. Chloe's gaze, quietly watching the scene, suddenly caught a faint light.
“What are you thinking about, Miss?”
“I just thought the flowers you gave me were really pretty.”
“...They’re just wild flowers I picked from the riverside.”
Chloe, who had been smiling silently, blinked quickly and looked up at the sky. Gray couldn't say anything as he looked at the young lady who was still affectionate and kind, but who looked lonely somewhere.
***
Most of the guests at the onboard restaurant that opens after the sun sets are couples.
“Hold on to me, Miss.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Chloe slowly stepped forward, linking her arms with Gray's. Since the place was floating on water, she had to be especially careful not to fall.
“Should we go somewhere else right now?”
Chloe let out a small laugh at Gray's cautious suggestion.
“This is the place I made a reservation for, Gray. I wanted to show you.”
“Is this a place you come often?”
“No. This is my first time.”
Chloe looked at him with a questioning look on his face and lowered her voice as if telling him a secret.
“I just wanted to come with someone I wouldn’t feel embarrassed with even if I fell over.”
Gray silently lowered his gaze and stroked the bridge of his nose, which had become slightly thicker. A faint smile spread across Chloe’s face, knowing that it was a habit that came out when he was embarrassed. Chloe, who was always self-restrained, couldn’t help but feel excited after such a long time. She was glad to be with the only person who knew her existence in an unfamiliar city, and it also felt like going back to the past. Back in a long time ago, when Chloe still lived in the Verdier Castle and Alice was like that too.
“If I think about it, it’s always been like that.”
After the meal, moistening her lips with wine, Chloe opened her mouth.
“...What is it?”
Gray asked her cautiously. Chloe looked at him and continued with a smile.
“Even when I have a headache, or when I’m feeling anxious, I always feel at ease when I see you.”
To Chloe, who had grown up with him since childhood, Gray was like a comfortable home. He was a person who made her feel comfortable and secure when she was with him, and he was like a friend who was also family.
“Isn’t that the blanket you gave me when I ran away from Birch Castle? The one you gave me when the Marchioness was murdered?”
"...Ah."
Gray's face darkened slightly as he recalled the unpleasant past. Chloe tried to brighten the mood and continued speaking in a cheerful voice.
“Yeah. I poured flour on my head to make it white, stole some clothes to send to the workhouse, put them on, wrapped myself in your blanket, and went to the train station.”
“It really helped that I used old stuff.”
"No."
Chloe shook her head firmly as she looked at Gray, who was looking bitter.
“I did it to find peace of mind. Like a talisman.”
“...”
“Is it disrespectful to say such things to someone who worships God?”
Chloe added playfully, and Gray finally smiled faintly. It was a soft, moonlit night. He still couldn't believe that he was with her in a place floating on the river, rippling, rippling, slowly.
“It’s like a dream.”
It was a word he said quietly, as if he were talking to himself. Chloe blinked for a moment, tilted the glass of water, and moistened her lips slightly. Gray, who had been quietly watching her, finally blinked in confusion when Chloe flicked the water off with her fingers. Chloe, who was rather flustered, quickly grabbed a napkin as she watched Gray not even think about wiping the water droplets that had splashed on his light tea-colored skin.
“I was just trying to tell you that it wasn’t a dream, so how come you’re not surprised?”
Gray would have done the same even if she had pushed him into the water, when he felt Chloe's hands wiping his face and lowering his dark eyelashes.
“I will give fortune telling to lovers in a good mood.”
The one who appeared with a jingle, jingle, was an old gypsy woman wearing a lot of old jewelry. Chloe smiled at her with an embarrassed expression.
“I’m sorry. I’m fine, but my companion is a believer...”
The shabby woman pretended not to hear Chloe and grabbed her hand. Chloe glanced at Gray, thinking that she probably wouldn’t be able to get away easily. The gypsies’ meager financial situation was not much different from that of foreign countries. Gray nodded with a faint smile, reading her mind that she couldn’t easily refuse.
“Yes. Then just look at me.”
The gypsy woman closed her eyes and caressed Chloe's hand with her rough hands.
“You are a warm-hearted girl. Just like a spring that never dries, you are someone who moistens people’s hearts. Depending on the bottle you put it in, its form changes, but its source never changes. That is why it is all the stronger.”
Chloe met Gray’s eyes and smiled silently, holding his hand as the woman who had been praising her as if she had been waiting for her. The gypsy woman furrowed her brows and focused even more as she continued to speak.
“You are strong. You look weak, but you are strong enough to be worthy of a high position. You really deserve to be in a very high position.”
Gray's face couldn't help but hardened slightly. Chloe noticed his confusion and whispered softly.
“You only say nice things like our father, don’t you?”
It was natural for them to only say nice things since they were people who lived day to day by receiving lottery tickets from customers, but it seemed to have awakened Gray to reality. The true situation of Chloe who had left her high position.
“I feel a little embarrassed to only hear compliments. But thank you.”
As Chloe was about to finish with a friendly smile, the hand that was holding her tightened a little. When Chloe stopped in surprise, the gypsy woman opened her wrinkled eyes and looked at Chloe.
“Such a strong young lady is afraid of love.”
Chloe's small lips trembled slightly. She unconsciously pursed her lips.
“You are terribly afraid of falling in love, my beautiful lady.”
Chloe's brown eyes blinked a couple of times. As she smiled awkwardly with her shaking eyes, at a loss for words, the gypsy woman continued.
“There is no need to be afraid. Love will make you stronger.”
As the gypsy woman let go, Chloe belatedly woke up from her reverie. Only after seeing the gypsy woman, who was still holding on, smiling brightly while showing her dirty hands, did she realize that she had to play the lottery and quickly opened her wallet.
“I wish you both good luck.”
After the gypsy woman accepted the coin, she turned around and gently kissed Gray on both cheeks.
“The same goes for those who serve God.”
“I'm fine.”
The woman didn't bother to hold Gray's hand as he declined the offer. Her eyes held a warm feeling.
“Your god cannot help but spare you. You are a lovely person.”
The gypsy woman who had left behind her cryptic words soon disappeared to another table. Chloe and Gray stared at each other for a moment in awkward silence. Chloe, who had been staring at Gray, finally opened her lips, and her hazel eyes sparkled.
“Please don’t say anything, Miss.”
Gray quickly shook his head, instinctively guessing her intentions from the playful expression on her face, but Chloe was faster.
“Is our Gray popular with all women, regardless of age and nationality?”
“Please, Miss.”
Gray's tea-colored face darkened even further as he pressed his temples and wrinkled his forehead.
“...Do you know that whenever you tease me, I think of Miss Alice?”
“You’re kidding me. That kid is a master at making things up, and I’m just telling the truth.”
“That’s scarier.”
A bashful smile appeared on Gray’s face as he spat it out. The two ended up facing each other, shaking their shoulders and bursting into laughter.
Clink, bling. The river, shattered by the subtle moonlight, shook.
Back at the mansion, Chloe found a small vase and placed the bouquet Gray had given her in her hands. A smile came to her face as she thought of him searching the fields for each of her favorite flowers. Her legs were heavy from walking around the city with him all day, but it was nothing compared to the joy of seeing Gray again.
She so glad.
Gray walked her to the front of the mansion, and after a long hesitation, he carefully opened his mouth. If he could help her, he would be honored to ask her for anything, and his warm heart was sincere as he bowed his head, saying that he now had the ability to do so.
When Chloe thought that he was no longer struggling financially, but was now in a position where he was studying the doctrines of God and was respected by people, she felt so proud. She felt so happy that her heart swelled up like a baked bread.
Knock knock.
When Chloe raised her head at the sound of knocking and the sound of voices, she saw Stella's face. At times like that, she couldn't help but laugh at the thought that it was obvious who Sophie resembled.
“Come in, Mrs. Stella.”
“The kids are all asleep, so I finally have a chance to catch my breath, but my husband is giving me this sinister look like he hasn’t eaten for ten days, so I ran away here.”
Chloe smiled and sat her down in her room.
“Can I have some tea?”
“I already told you on the way here.”
As soon as Stella winked, the kitchen maid brought in tea. As the warm scent of tea filled the room, Stella handed Chloe a cookie and subtly revealed the real reason she had come to this room.
“Did your date go well today?”
Chloe smiled faintly and took a sip of her tea.
“Ah... It might be a bit grand to call it a date, but it was fun.”
“Hey, I bet the handsome missionary fell in love with Claire at first sight.”
Stella, who didn't know the details, assumed that Gray, who had not even made eye contact with Chloe, must have fallen in love with her at first sight. That's why she had been looking expectant since last week. She secretly watched Chloe's reaction as she told her that a new missionary might take up the pastorate at the only church in town.
Gray's sermons, which were given in place of the old and inconvenient pastor, were soft and concise. His quiet and hard-working nature was not lost, and good news about him, who sought out troublesome tasks in the village rather than preaching, quickly spread.
“Come on, just be honest with me, Claire.”
"What...?"
“Claire, if you have feelings for him, you need to come up with a plan and move quickly. If you think that only the men of the Carter Duchy are reckless in love, you’re making a big mistake. The women are also quite capable of execution.”
Stella looked frustrated as she watched Chloe just smiling silently.
“Hmm... Claire was the first person I had a private meeting with since I came to this house, so I decided to help you out, but if I’m wrong, please let me know in advance.”
Chloe took a deep breath as she nibbled on the cookie. In fact, Stella wasn't completely wrong about Gray. Gray had enough 'good' feelings for her.
Her last memory of Gray came to mind. Her heart ached a little as she recalled Gray sobbing for her to run away with him.
“The missionary... is a really good person.”
“That's what I'm saying."
Stella smiled brightly as if she knew this would happen.
“A pastor has a secure future, so what could be better as a marriage partner?”
"Ah..."
***
Back at the mansion, Chloe found a small vase and placed the bouquet Gray had given her in her hands. A smile came to her face as she thought of him searching the fields for each of her favorite flowers. Her legs were heavy from walking around the city with him all day, but it was nothing compared to the joy of seeing Gray again.
She so glad.
Gray walked her to the front of the mansion, and after a long hesitation, he carefully opened his mouth. If he could help her, he would be honored to ask her for anything, and his warm heart was sincere as he bowed his head, saying that he now had the ability to do so.
When Chloe thought that he was no longer struggling financially, but was now in a position where he was studying the doctrines of God and was respected by people, she felt so proud. She felt so happy that her heart swelled up like a baked bread.
Knock knock.
When Chloe raised her head at the sound of knocking and the sound of voices, she saw Stella's face. At times like that, she couldn't help but laugh at the thought that it was obvious who Sophie resembled.
“Come in, Mrs. Stella.”
“The kids are all asleep, so I finally have a chance to catch my breath, but my husband is giving me this sinister look like he hasn’t eaten for ten days, so I ran away here.”
Chloe smiled and sat her down in her room.
“Can I have some tea?”
“I already told you on the way here.”
As soon as Stella winked, the kitchen maid brought in tea. As the warm scent of tea filled the room, Stella handed Chloe a cookie and subtly revealed the real reason she had come to this room.
“Did your date go well today?”
Chloe smiled faintly and took a sip of her tea.
“Ah... It might be a bit grand to call it a date, but it was fun.”
“Hey, I bet the handsome missionary fell in love with Claire at first sight.”
Stella, who didn't know the details, assumed that Gray, who had not even made eye contact with Chloe, must have fallen in love with her at first sight. That's why she had been looking expectant since last week. She secretly watched Chloe's reaction as she told her that a new missionary might take up the pastorate at the only church in town.
Gray's sermons, which were given in place of the old and inconvenient pastor, were soft and concise. His quiet and hard-working nature was not lost, and good news about him, who sought out troublesome tasks in the village rather than preaching, quickly spread.
“Come on, just be honest with me, Claire.”
"What...?"
“Claire, if you have feelings for him, you need to come up with a plan and move quickly. If you think that only the men of the Carter Duchy are reckless in love, you’re making a big mistake. The women are also quite capable of execution.”
Stella looked frustrated as she watched Chloe just smiling silently.
“Hmm... Claire was the first person I had a private meeting with since I came to this house, so I decided to help you out, but if I’m wrong, please let me know in advance.”
Chloe took a deep breath as she nibbled on the cookie. In fact, Stella wasn't completely wrong about Gray. Gray had enough 'good' feelings for her.
Her last memory of Gray came to mind. Her heart ached a little as she recalled Gray sobbing for her to run away with him.
“The missionary... is a really good person.”
“That's what I'm saying."
Stella smiled brightly as if she knew this would happen.
“A pastor has a secure future, so what could be better as a marriage partner?”
"Ah..."
Stella narrowed her eyes at Chloe, who had a slightly bewildered expression.
“Do you think it is low-level to consider the financial ability of a potential marriage partner?”
“No, of course not.”
What made Chloe flustered was the word 'marriage'. She tried hard to hide her awkward expression.
Marrying Gray?
Her hands holding the teacup trembled slightly.
“Of course, Ms. Claire has us. I sincerely wish you happiness. You can’t live alone forever on a meager salary.”
Chloe knew Stella's sincerity well, even though her speech was a bit direct. She had left without any luggage on purpose in order not to have any regrets about the past, so it was not easy for her to settle down in a new city in a strange country. However, she was lucky enough to meet warm people and was able to live without much inconvenience.
In fact, Alice, whose marriage to Erno had been confirmed, had recently sent a secret letter to Chloe. She asked her again if she had any intention of returning to the palace, but Chloe could not do so. This was especially true when she thought of her past as having the surname of Tisse. With Alice’s position in the palace uncertain, she did not want to be a burden to her, let alone help her.
But what if it's Gray?
Chloe tried to picture herself with Gray. She could picture herself standing next to him as he ran his ministry, surprisingly easily. She could see the full moon through the large windows.
She remember talking with Gray often at Verdier during the summer nights. Their lives would be no different than before. Gray would respect her, if not cherish her, and Chloe was confident that she would cherish and respect Gray as well. Gray was a person who was worthy of respect just for his character and efforts.
“What are you thinking so hard about? Was my question that difficult?”
Stella's words woke Chloe from her reverie.
“There are several things... that are on my mind.”
Chloe had planned to invite her father to live here in the near future. She said she would pay him a modest salary, but in fact, the tuition fees paid by the wealthy Stella for Sophie were above average, and thanks to her aunt Mrs. Talbot, who was quick to calculate, her father's fortune was steadily invested and kept growing.
The outgoing Mrs. Talbot seemed intent on settling down in the neighboring country where she was currently staying, so all she had to do was bring her father along... but she had practical concerns about whether her father would be able to accept her being with Gray, her former servant.
“Can I just say one thing since I care about Claire?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Stella looked at Chloe and opened her mouth in a clear tone.
“You don’t have to overthink this and that. Just think about one thing.”
“...What is it?”
“If your heart races and reacts when you're with that person, what else matters? Life isn’t something that other people live for you. It’s also nonsense to live your life for someone else.”
Chloe smiled slightly as she watched Stella speak as if it were obvious. Her heart did feel warm when she was with Gray. The problem was that it was different from how she said her heart would beat quickly and react. Still, it was true that she felt comfortable, like at home.
“I'll keep that in mind.”
Stella nodded, assuming that Chloe understood what she meant, and then she revealed her special plan.
“There’s a charity bazaar at the church next week. Then, you’ll dress up as pretty as I can and go and make that missionary’s eyes... so that he can be tempted by the devil. So that he can propose to Claire right away. What do you think?”
Chloe laughed, and Stella blinked with her eyes wide open.
“Huh? Got it?”
“If he fails the devil’s test, he will lose his qualification as a pastor.”
“Oh, that’s what they say. Since you’re so serious and naive, I wonder if I should be the one teaching you everything about the first night between a man and a woman.”
The smile disappeared from Chloe's face, which had been smiling comfortably, and her expression hardened slightly. When she looked down and avoided eye contact, Stella suddenly felt the awkward atmosphere and got up from her seat, coughing.
“Well then, good night, teacher. Sweet dreams.”
After Stella, who had kissed her cheek as a night greeting, disappeared like a storm, Chloe sat still for a while. Then, as the heaviness in her legs grew worse, she lifted her skirt and carefully removed the brace. It was a brace made by the most experienced carpenter in Guinevis, but it was definitely a little more uncomfortable than the one she had used in Tisse, perhaps because her explanation was insufficient.
Chloe covered her face with both hands and bit her lips once. The memories of the past that inevitably came to mind may have become blurred as time passed, but they were still vivid. Still, there was no need to take seriously the story that Stella had told as a joke.
"Ha..."
She leaned back on the bed. She closed her eyes so as not to think, but there was no way to push away the memories that came flooding in automatically. The first night. The feeling of being stared at with eyes that seemed as if they would never escape once they were trapped. Just thinking about the feeling of large, hot hands gripping her soft skin and the feel of the bed sheets crumpling beneath her body sent goosebumps up her skin.
“Can you feel me on the verge of going crazy?”
Chloe sat up abruptly. The moment she remembered him whispering in her ear with a voice full of desire, her heart started beating anxiously as if it were going to burst, as if she had gone back in time.
Let's not be stupid.
Chloe moistened her dry lips and repeated to herself. She was supposed to be dead in Swanton, and there was no way for Damien to find her. So it was unnecessary to feel scared and anxious.
Chloe hurriedly started to get ready for bed. Even though she put on her pajamas and combed her hair, her mood didn't calm down easily.
Sometime after midnight, she got out of bed and opened the window. A warm breeze blew across her closed, dry face.
“Chloe.”
As his voice came to mind again, she unconsciously tightened her grip on the window frame. Just like that night when he had left scars all over her chest and back.
“I apologize in advance.”
“Your Majesty, I, I...!”
That night, she spent the whole night wondering why the arrogant man had no choice but to apologize.
Chloe shut her eyes tightly, reddened by the dizzy feeling. Did she catch a summer cold? Even though she moistened her dry lips with her tongue, she still felt thirsty. It would be nice if a shower came down like this. Her whole body was hot, and she couldn't stand it.
***
The charity bazaar sponsored by the church was held at the mansion of the wealthiest old lady in Guineves. Held twice a year, on a summer night and a winter night, the bazaar was like one big party, attended by all the city's leading figures.
“They’re all here, teacher.”
Chloe followed Sophie, who had jumped out of the carriage, and carefully got out. The two-story mansion, with its brightly lit windows, seemed to already be in a bazaar. Stella, who had to open a booth, had to come early in the morning to prepare.
Stella's family originally planned to sell only the wine from the farm. However, Ricardo's guests who were visiting Guineves on business heard about the charity bazaar in advance and filled more than ten suitcases with goods, which greatly expanded the booth's inventory. Stella complained that the booth was cluttered even though she was not a peddler, and Chloe consoled her by saying that it was good because it was used for a good cause.
Chloe also wanted to come early and help, but Stella told her that it would be even more chaotic if Sophie came too, so she decided to just take care of the baby.
“Yes. Should we go in now?”
"Yes!!!"
Chloe held Sophie's hand and entered the mansion with the door wide open. The first thing she saw was Gray, standing next to the pastor, exchanging greetings with local influential figures. When Chloe looked at him, Gray turned his head as he felt her gaze.
When their eyes met, Gray smiled faintly. Chloe smiled happily at him, thinking that the neat suit suited him very well. Everyone seemed to know that the atmosphere would be more lively if he took over the ministry of Guinevis.
'See you later.'
As Chloe moved her lips widely, Gray nodded in understanding. Chloe felt a strange excitement and started walking around the booth with Sophie, who was pulling at her arm. As Stella had asked, she bought Sophie as many toys as she wanted.
“I wish there were a bazaar every day.”
Sophie laughed, holding her dolls in her hands. The bazaar that helped war orphans and the poor had a reputation for increasing the amount of money spent, so on this day, people opened their wallets without holding back. After patting Sophie’s bright face, Chloe walked towards Stella’s booth.
“Hey! There’s Mom over there!”
Stella, with her thick black hair elegantly tied up, waved through the crowd as she spotted Chloe holding the child's hand. Chloe barely made her way through the crowded space and stood in front of Stella.
“Oh, Claire. You came at a good time.”
Stella looked at her with a life-like expression. Up close, she could see beads of sweat forming on her face.
“But where did you put the dress I lent you?”
“It’s a little awkward.”
Stella sighed briefly as she looked at Chloe, who had appeared in her plain going-out clothes. Then she glanced in the direction where Gray was standing and lowered her voice secretly.
“Well... I guess it might be better to dress up and show up like a Queen from some neighboring country, since that would definitely emphasize with your whole body that you're conscious of the other person.”
"Ah..."
“You know the party starts after the bazaar ends, right? Just wait and see. The missionary will probably be the first to ask Claire to dance.”
Chloe decided to quickly change the subject before her embarrassing love lesson got any longer.
“Were sales any good?”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. The items are from overseas, so they are very popular. There are even people who bought every single item. I’m sure we’ll be on the list of the biggest donors.”
Stella's words, as she held the donation box full of money tightly like a treasure chest, did not seem to be a lie.
“Ha... I was so busy that I didn’t even have time to say hello to the people at the other booths, and I couldn’t even see my husband...”
Chloe smiled at Stella, who was hesitating whether to gossip or not, watching her expression.
“Would you like to take a breather with Sophie? I’ll take care of the booth in the meantime.”
“I would really appreciate it if you did that.”
Stella was visibly delighted and handed her the box of money. Sophie said she wouldn't go with her mother and stayed with Chloe.
“Yes, then let’s organize things.”
Chloe asked Sophie, looking her in the eye. Sophie nodded happily. Chloe began to organize the messy shelves. She arranged the ribboned wines in an inverted triangle shape, and arranged the ornaments in a zigzag pattern so that each one stood out. As Stella had said, there were many pretty ornaments, most of which were craft items that could not be found here.
“Teacher, look at this.”
Sophie cheered as she looked at the glass paperweight. Inside the round paperweight, the tiny blue petals looked as if they were frozen in ice. Upon closer inspection, she saw that the snowflakes were actually dandelion seeds. Chloe’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the intricate work of art.
“It’s so pretty, isn’t it?”
The miniature castles, with their elaborately detailed snow globes, ornate jewelry boxes, and pointed spires housed inside large seashells, were reminiscent of works of art.
“Huh? What is this?”
Sophie opened the lid of the ribboned box. Inside was a beautiful carriage pulled by four horses. The horses and carriage were so elaborately depicted that it was amazing. Chloe's hands stopped because of the trees surrounding the carriage on both sides. The birch trees, which had no leaves at all, were shining brilliantly in the light of the chandelier.
"Wow..."
It was clear that the things embedded in the gray-brown wood were tiny jewels. There was a reason why Stella had written down the highest price and carefully placed them in a box to keep them safe.
“Teacher, I think this is a music box.”
Sophie wound the mainspring behind the carriage instead of Chloe, who couldn't take her eyes off the beautiful decorations. As the mainspring slowly unwound, a melody began to flow, and the carriage wheels began to move. Unlike Sophie, who was exclaiming in admiration at the beautiful and elegant melody, the smile slowly disappeared from Chloe's face.
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