Chapter 25 ❖ ❖ ❖
Vivienne took a sip of the tea placed before her, trying to ignore the awkward atmosphere of the sitting room. After a long silence, it was her father who finally spoke.
“You suddenly took my daughter away during the engagement announcement banquet, and now, only now, do I get to see your face. You are Count Colt, is that correct?”
“I am pleased to make your formal acquaintance, sir,” Edmund replied.
Vivienne watched him anxiously as he spoke. What if he said something about wanting her body? She couldn’t show any reaction, so she kept sipping her tea as if nothing had happened. The marquis continued.
“As you know, the engagement between the Rex and Mergoville families has long been a matter of grave importance. But hearing from your cousin about my daughter, it seems the two of them are rather close. The Rex family is requesting a dissolution of the engagement on that basis.”
“By taking responsibility to protect her at your request, my feelings have grown stronger. We are still in the stage of getting to know each other, but if you were to permit the dissolution of the engagement, I would take responsibility for your daughter, Lady.”
Vivienne was stunned, unable to look away from Edmund’s profile. Unlike at the count’s residence, he now looked every bit the son of a respectable prime minister.
Since she already knew his face, it almost seemed like a disguise.
“I heard you are involved in business.”
Vivienne shifted her gaze to the place where she had just heard Ludvig’s voice. Seeing Edmund as he was now, compared to Ludvig’s antics, it was a completely different image.
Ludvig was leaning against the sofa armrest, smoking a cigarette. He continued,
“…There’s nothing notable to report. Considering that the marquis has hesitated to sign the engagement dissolution documents until now, don’t you think it would be wise to start with a discussion about money rather than words?”
“I see. If it’s business, I’m involved in a variety of ventures.”
Edmund answered while gently lifting Vivienne’s hand and showing it to Ludvig.
“I can even afford to buy a ring like this.”
“Does His Excellency the Prime Minister know the source of those funds?”
“My father would probably be more curious about the source of your funds than mine,” Edmund replied.
The atmosphere grew icy at his words. He continued:
“Moreover, in a venerable family like the Mergovilles, I would imagine dignity is also important. Seeing your side, however, I understand why the lady tried to elope.”
“……”
“I trust you will permit it.”
Vivienne felt a surge of happiness watching Edmund look at her father. There was no more proper way to get her out of the Mergoville house than this. As the footman refilled her teacup, she tried to hide her slightly flushed face from Edmund while sipping her tea.
Her happiness was interrupted by the marquis’s voice.
“I hear you studied in the New World. Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“Then I suppose free love is common there. But our nobles are different. What if you decide you no longer wish to court my daughter? Would you then request a dissolution and seek another woman?”
“I’ve heard that, as for your potential son-in-law, there are only two known women. So, as long as the engagement isn’t broken, is it acceptable to have a mistress?”
“Marriage is a contract that must be maintained regardless.”
The marquis’s answer was simple and clear.
“As you know, our families cannot be entangled. I understand your feelings, but I cannot permit it. That is why I wanted my daughter’s focus solely on you. Yet here you are, spouting things I do not wish to hear.”
“So, it really is a matter of money, then.”
Hearing that, Vivienne inwardly thought, Well done. Well done. She had always been frustrated at her family’s contradictions, maintaining appearances while failing to dissolve the engagement with the Rex family. Edmund directly called out that contradiction. She sipped her warm tea, stealing glances at him.
“Then you should have said so, father-in-law. If it’s money, I have plenty.”
Edmund’s voice tilted slightly as he continued.
“To Your Excellency, I am a groom not to be missed.”
“……”
“And unlike your future son-in-law, I am not someone who moves according to my father’s will; I can be quite useful.”
“Minds change. Words change, too.”
“In that case, you will witness that contracts can change at any time.”
“Reserve your youthful audacity; it will serve you well someday. If you wish to be seen favorably by me, you should leave here promptly.”
“……”
“Since you speak so plainly, I may speak without restraint. I do not particularly favor the Rex family’s temperament, yet this man would take care of my daughter even if she were compromised. For that, I am grateful.”
“So you will not give permission?”
“You understand well. Now, leave.”
“What would you have me do?”
Finally, Edmund turned to Vivienne. She opened her mouth to speak but instead looked at her mother. She also glanced at her brother, who had been silently watching.
Then she lowered her head. There was nothing untrue in her father’s words.
The duke would surely oppose her at his residence, too. Compared to that, the count had said he liked her. If Edmund abandoned her, there might be no turning back.
Yet perhaps true courage was required here.
So she said,
“I was never happy for a single moment while engaged to the Rex family.”
Vivienne met the eyes of each family member as she spoke.
Although she would normally be unable to speak so freely, having Edmund beside her gave her courage as if she had taken a calming draught.
She was not wrong.
It was not a mistake.
There were others who thought like Edmund—she had just never known, trapped in this narrow world.
“If you care for me, I wish you would let me go. I do not think love should extend to continuing the moments that devour even my brother’s life.”
Her gaze fixed on her mother as she spoke.
“I wanted to say this when leaving home, Mother.”
The tense atmosphere of the meeting finally eased after that. Vivienne walked with her mother out through the main gate of the estate and along the wide path in the front yard.
When she last left this place—the day of the engagement announcement banquet—everything had felt different.
Flowers bloomed sparsely in the long, divided flowerbeds of the front yard.
It was a small change, but Vivienne liked it.
Who did this?
She recalled two weeks before the engagement announcement, when she had met Ludvig alone in her room. His voice echoed clearly in her mind.
“Your tearful eyes are still beautiful.”
“……”
“I love you, Vivienne Mergoville.”
She remembered the view from the estate’s side window that day. Though the trees were bare for the season, the front garden she now walked through seemed lively. Vivienne glanced at her mother walking beside her.
The neatly pinned, faded hair caught her eye first. Her careful gaze completed the impression of a stern woman.
Vivienne had admired her mother’s perfect noble bearing but sometimes wished to hold her hand, which was often hidden behind the preparations for lavish banquets.
Yet noble blood, like proverbial ice, was cold and unyielding.
Her mother, silent until they stepped outside, finally spoke.
“It’s been a long time since we walked together like this, just the two of us.”
“…Yes, Mother.”
Vivienne kept her eyes forward, maintaining her composure as she walked. Her overworked thigh muscles screamed with each step, but she hid it. Walking in sync with her mother, she appeared serene, like a swan gliding over water while paddling furiously beneath.
Glancing back, Vivienne saw her mother speak.
“Let the men talk among themselves. Your father said he would discuss things with Count Colt and think it over, so you must follow that decision. By now, your father has conceded quite a bit.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“I thought this would be a good time to talk. And indeed it is, given what you said in the sitting room.”
Vivienne looked at her mother in surprise. Her mother had never said such a thing before. Perhaps she had finally taken her words seriously. Vivienne, warmed by her mother’s rare kindness today, responded in a gentler voice than before.
“Yes.”
“Yes, arranged marriages are not easy. Especially when we are in such a difficult situation. Though you may not believe it, sending you off has not been without worry.”
“……”
“But a noble must know how to conceal emotions. Mixing sentiment with duties can cause it to grow uncontrollably, eventually allowing decisions to be swayed by feelings. Self-restraint is our most vital virtue.”
Though her mother’s voice remained cold, Vivienne felt moved knowing she had been thought of all this time.
The warmth she felt wasn’t solely from the tea she had drunk earlier.
“I will remember, Mother.”
“Your father is not easily swayed, but Count Colt is so determined that he must consider alternatives beyond the Rex family. If it benefits the family, he may even take your opinion into account.”
Could that be true?
Vivienne had always viewed her father as a tyrant of the household. She could hardly imagine such a scenario. Yet she wanted to trust Count Colt. He would maintain his stance and bring her out of here.
“Yes. I hope everything resolves in the best way for everyone.”
Wanting to continue speaking with her mother, Vivienne moved closer.
“The flowers are truly beautiful. Who decided to tend the garden?”
Staring at the white roses, she secretly hoped it was Edmund. Yet she dismissed the hope—her parents had refused even his banquet invitation.
“Lady Dainchester visited,” her mother said.
Madison’s parents had worked as lawyers for the Dainchester family. Vivienne recalled something Madison once said.
“You live in a really nice place. My mother works next door, but it’s not nearly this grand.”
That was when a model glider had flown into her room while she was watching a boy named Daniel lose his plane.
Her mother’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
“The adopted son of that household came as well. He suggested sharing some of the Dainchester estate’s flowers, which are particularly lovely this year. At first, your father was reluctant, but he warmed to the idea. And so…”
Her mother’s voice grew fainter. Vivienne nodded as she walked, attributing her slowing pace to fatigue.
She remembered nodding off in the Langston limousine earlier. Feeling herself wobble, Vivienne’s mother glanced back at her. She smiled faintly to ease the tension, but her legs gave out, and she collapsed.
She tried to stand, but drowsiness overcame her, and she could not move.
“It seems the tea is finally taking effect,” her mother’s voice said from above.
“It’s only sleep. No need to worry.”
With those words, Vivienne lost consciousness. The estate staff quietly carried her away.
