'How did you get here?'
Etienne staggered into the basement. She wanted to grab his hand and hug him right away. Just as Shioana was about to reach out her arm, she heard footsteps near the bars on the opposite side.
'...Eli is watching.'
She withdrew the hand she had extended toward Etienne and crossed her arms.
"This isn't a place just anyone can come and go."
- Etienne, I missed you so much.
"...This."
Etienne could not make a sound, perhaps because he was severely injured. Barely holding back the tears welling up at the sight, she gripped the handkerchief tightly. She had to say something, anything, to completely deceive Eli.
"You seem to be under the delusion that I hung out with you a little, but we have nothing to do with each other."
- I'm doing this on purpose because of my brother.
She spoke as coldly as she could, but her heart felt like it was breaking. Etienne looked so sad as he stood there listening to her. She felt like she would feel a little better if he just got angry instead.
However, he only listened to Shioana's words while suppressing his groans. In this place where the two of them had been together, words...
"I hope we never run into each other again."
- We will be together soon. So please trust me and wait for me.
"..."
The red eyes, almost hidden by the bangs, were asking if that was true.
'Idiot, there's no way he's serious.'
But now, she had to deceive both Etienne and Eli to survive.
'I can't do this anymore.'
It was hard to watch such an ugly side of her young self in Etienne's teary eyes.
“Get out of my way.”
Shioana, with her fists clenched, walked straight past him and exited through the door. After frantically climbing the stairs, she ran somewhere like a madwoman.
Although she had said and done those things for Etienne's sake, she couldn't bear the feeling that she had somehow hurt him.
'...Ah! Etienne! Etienne!'
Tears flowing down the cheeks scattered like rain, soaking Regbell's summer.
***
Misfortune never comes alone.
Eli Evgenia had never felt those words so real as he does these days.
'...Shit!'
Following her father's sudden death, a series of misfortunes occurred.
'If there is a God, He cannot do this to me!'
Success was just around the corner, but a storm suddenly raged in his life.
The money invested by Count Noah's aunt, Mrs. Veil, and the money his father borrowed during his lifetime all became debt.
He thought he had barely managed to cover the debt by borrowing money from Highbell, but now debt collectors were hounding him from elsewhere. He couldn't borrow any more money, and it felt like the creditors were about to storm in.
The most troublesome opponent among them was Victor, a moneylender. He was a very bad man, notorious for his exorbitant interest rates.
'Sir, the mercenaries under Victor's command...'
Eli's face turned pale at the news from someone he had paid to plant in the gambling den. He hadn't paid much attention when he borrowed the money, as he had assumed he would become the son-in-law of the Marquis Demory. However, things had gone awry, and now there was only one source of money left.
'Well, we are already like family, so let's have a frank conversation.'
Count Noah warmly welcomed Eli, who had come without making an appointment. He then listened quietly to what Eli had to say.
'To sum it up, my late father's business failed, and Regbell is buried in debt.'
The blunt expression was a bit off-putting, but it was true.
'So, I think we can easily resolve this problem if you can lend us just a little money.'
Eli, who had lived until this day solely on the back of his towering pride, could not easily speak. However, this very moment was also the sole reason he had spent so much time circling around Pierre Noah.
He waited for Count Noah's answer with expectant eyes, but he showed an unexpected reaction.
'Viscount Evgenia, this is a huge disappointment.'
'... Yes?'
'You see, I despise people who cannot distinguish between public and private matters the most.'
Count Noah was able to accumulate such wealth at a young age thanks to his meticulous and cold-hearted nature. Clearly, Count Noah wanted Shioana of the Evgenia family. However, that did not mean he intended to shoulder all of Regbell's problems.
'Aunt's money is also the property of the Noah family. I will handle that matter exactly as written in the documents, so keep that in mind.'
It was a clear rejection.
'...Of course.'
He couldn't bring up the topic of money any further given Count Noah's fierce demeanor. He simply distracted him with some useless talk and hailed a carriage.
"Shit!"
Eli sank deep into the carriage's backrest and tapped the roof with his cane. The coachman, ordered to increase speed, whipped the horse, and with the sound of flying gravel, the horse galloped vigorously.
Upon arrival, Dahlia, who had come out to greet him upon seeing the carriage, annoyingly followed him by the side.
"My Lord! You're here? The mistress is sleeping right now."
"Go and bring a big bag."
Eli, having given orders without even exchanging greetings, first took out the money and documents hidden in the guest room on the second floor. As Dahlia dragged in a leather trunk, Eli leaned against the window and spoke.
"Put all of that away."
"... Yes, Lord Eli."
Dahlia, having roughly finished the task assigned to her, said that Elizabeth was not feeling well.
"I think we will have to see a doctor in the capital. The Madam is in such a weak state, so she cannot have a baby..."
"Dahlia, I thought you were pretty perceptive."
Eli irritably ran his hand through his hair and spoke roughly as he closed the trunk. Right now, neither Elizabeth nor the child was on his mind. The mercenaries hired by Victor were known for being ruthless.
They said that if he did not repay the debt, they would drag him away and bury him alive in the mountains or sell him as a slave in a foreign country.
'I can't possibly let myself end up like that.'
"My Lord, what on earth are you trying to do?"
It was obvious at a glance that he was preparing to go somewhere far away.
"Dahlia, I don't think I'll be entrusting anything to you for the time being. You understand what that means, right?"
"...Are you saying you are leaving like this?"
Up until now, she had done whatever Eli told her to do, but this was the only thing she could not understand. He had approached Elizabeth with a plan, but regardless, the two were now a married couple recognized by the Empire. Moreover, his blood was growing inside Elizabeth.
"The mistress keeps repeating the same thing every day: vomiting and fainting."
"So what do you want me to do?"
"...What?"
She couldn't guess at all what was going on inside Eli's head as she asked back.
"My Lord..."
Dahlia wore a look of utter devastation at the sound of Eli's footsteps as he packed his bags and went down the stairs.
"...Ha."
As she wiped away the pouring tears with the back of her hand, she kept laughing. She had believed that they had used Elizabeth, but she realized that in fact, she, too, was just a pawn in the palm of his hand.
***
A procession of circus wagons stopped in Regbell, a place never visited by strangers. Those plowing the fields gazed at the splendid exterior of the carriages but soon lost interest.
"Only the rich of Highbell go on spectacles like that."
He had neither the money to pay the entrance fee nor any particular interest.
At the same time, Etienne lay collapsed in the basement of the Evgenia family's annex. He was breathing slowly, clutching tightly in his hand the handkerchief Shioana had dropped.
'Shioana abandoned me.'
He wondered if he would ever experience something like this again in his life, but life was this cruel. After taking away his beloved family, it did not even allow him his first and last love.
'...Did you deceive me with my sincerity?'
He couldn't laugh or cry.
Shioana's blue eyes, denying him, became ice spikes that gouged Etienne's heart. Shioana's words hurt more than Eli, who had whipped, kicked, and spat on him.
Even though she kissed Count Noah, went on affectionate dates, and talked about marriage, Etienne did not suspect her.
'No. Was it just my greed, not wanting to lose it?'
In fact, didn't he know better than anyone from the beginning that the two of them weren't a good match?
Resignation, anger, and resentment mingled together, and his whole body burned with fever. Just like when his younger sibling died, he completely lost the will to live.
Just then, there was a thumping sound, and a large man carried Etienne on his back.
***
"Miss! Miss!"
Unable to sleep, Shioana sat leaning against the headboard of her bed when she opened her eyes at Martha's shout.
"Why? What is it!"
"You need to come out immediately."
At Martha's urgent voice, Shioana hurriedly put on a thick robe and stepped outside. Joseph and a few nearby residents were bustling about, and behind them, blazing flames were visible.
"Martha. Over there..."
The building, already more than half burned and on the verge of collapse, was clearly the barn where Etienne had been staying.
"No!"
Letting out a sharp scream, Shioana ran into the flames that had gaped open in a crimson maw as the roof collapsed.
In her desperation, she fell several times, but she got back up again. Shaking off the hand of Martha, who had come belatedly to catch her, she searched for the place where Etienne had stayed.
However, the flames were so fierce that she could not see anything inside, and entry was impossible.
"Miss, this is an act of suicide. You must not do this."
"Martha, Martha, I have to save him."
"He certainly won't be safe. Wasn't he a gentleman whose body wasn't even in good condition?"
As Shioana covered her face with both hands and began to cry, Martha held her in her arms.
"The heavens are truly heartless. How could something like this happen?"
It was only today that she managed to get in touch with Highbell's coachman and even set a date, but then this unfortunate incident occurred. Martha swallowed her tears.
"No. This must be a dream."
Shioana just let tears fall as she gazed at the barn that had completely collapsed.
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment