CHAPTER 08
Seventh Street was located on the southeastern outskirts of the capital.
Most of the shops on Seventh Street had been family businesses passed down through generations, so the merchants shared close relationships. Whenever a new shop opened, what worried them most was the possibility that some troublesome neighbor would move in and disrupt their peaceful community.
So, when furniture began arriving at the newly renovated clock shop, the merchants gathered outside to see who the new owner was.
People had been coming and going from the building all summer, and now—nearly a year later—it finally looked ready to open.
The family who owned the bakery next door was especially curious.
Their daughter, Liv, took particular interest in the young woman who appeared to own the watch shop.
Standing a short distance away with her friends, Liv said,
“I heard she’s from the Crimson family.”
“No way. You don’t mean that woman, do you? The one who divorced the captain?”
It was common knowledge that the legitimate daughter of House Crimson, whose estate lay near Seventh Street, had divorced the captain of the Rubid. Not long ago, all of Salantier had been talking about Captain Dumpfelt confining his own mother to a psychiatric hospital.
Scarlett Crimson.
In the capital, she had become rather infamous for selling information about her husband before divorcing him.
But after nearly a year, with no new gossip to fuel the story, public interest had faded.
“Could it really be her?”
“How would we know? The newspapers never printed her picture.”
Pirates who regarded Victor Dumpfelt as their mortal enemy still lurked within the capital. Because of the danger of retaliation, photographs of his family were never published.
Since Liv was around the same age as the new shop owner, her parents and the neighboring merchants pushed her forward with a basket of bread to welcome the newcomer.
Entering the shop, Liv got her first proper look at the owner.
She’s unbelievably beautiful…
That was her first thought.
The woman who owned the clock shop possessed breathtaking beauty.
Her pale golden hair was braided and draped over one shoulder. Her warm, honey-colored eyes and gently closed lips were so beautiful that even another woman found herself momentarily breathless.
She stood with her hands folded neatly before her, wearing an expression that managed to be neither offensive nor overly familiar.
Perhaps it suited noble society.
But to ordinary townspeople, it made her seem somewhat aloof.
Liv approached her.
“Excuse me.”
The owner turned.
Liv held out the basket.
“I’m your neighbor. This is a welcome gift. My name’s Liv Arlick.”
“Oh…”
The woman hesitated.
“I’m Scarlett Dumpf… Crimson.”
“You’re really her? Captain Victor’s ex-wife?”
Liv asked in astonishment.
Scarlett nodded before accepting the bread basket.
Liv suddenly wondered whether giving such ordinary bread to someone who had once lived in the prestigious Dumpfelt household was appropriate.
Then Scarlett broke into a radiant smile.
“Thank you.”
Wow… she’s really beautiful.
Liv found herself stunned all over again.
She had never seen anyone so gorgeous.
Since Scarlett always wore wide-brimmed hats with veils like a proper noblewoman, hardly anyone had ever seen her face clearly before.
Liv was probably the first.
Scarlett gently ran her fingers along the basket’s handle, looking genuinely delighted.
It seemed she had been worrying about how to greet her new neighbors as well.
Liv asked,
“You’ve been coming here all summer, haven’t you? What were you doing?”
“How did you know?”
“Oh, this neighborhood’s tiny. News travels fast.”
“I see… Well, I was making watches. I’m from the Crimson family, after all.”
“Really? You can actually make watches?”
“Just call me Scarlett.”
Scarlett said in surprise.
“All right, Scarlett.”
Liv replied immediately.
Scarlett smiled shyly.
“I’d invite you for coffee, but everything’s still a mess right now. Soon… would you like to come over for coffee?”
“I’d love to. Once you’re done, just open your second-floor window and call me. My room is directly across from yours.”
“Really?”
Scarlett’s face lit up even brighter.
Liv had thought she looked cold at first, but she smiled far more often than expected.
After saying goodbye, Liv left the shop.
Outside, the merchants—including her parents—were all waiting anxiously.
“Liv! What was she like?”
“Is she nasty?”
“Did she accept the bread?”
Questions poured in.
Liv answered,
“First of all, it really is Scarlett Crimson—the woman who divorced Captain Dumpfelt.”
“What? Why would someone that famous move into our neighborhood…?”
Everyone looked puzzled.
“And she’s not some spoiled noble lady, either. She says she made all those watches herself. And she’s incredibly, unbelievably beautiful. The prettiest woman I’ve ever seen.”
The moment Liv finished speaking, the merchants’ curiosity finally got the better of them.
They all rushed into the watch shop.
Before long, every single one of them came back out smiling.
“My goodness, I’ve never seen such a beautiful young lady.”
“She seems very kind.”
“We worried all summer for nothing. If we’d known she was such a gentle girl, we’d have gone over to introduce ourselves ages ago.”
All the merchants who had feared getting a troublesome new neighbor finally relaxed.
Liv worried Scarlett might have been overwhelmed by everyone suddenly crowding into the shop.
As she glanced back, Scarlett carefully stepped outside.
Timidly, she raised a hand and waved to Liv.
Relieved, Liv waved back enthusiastically.
Scarlett smiled brightly.
Immersing herself in opening the watch shop, Scarlett barely noticed time passing.
Before she knew it, winter had arrived.
On a chilly Wednesday morning in December, she came downstairs wrapped in a thick wool cape.
The warm morning sunlight filled the cozy watch shop, and a broad smile spread across her face as she looked around.
The very first thing she did was light the fireplace for Andrei, who hated the cold.
As the fire crackled to life, the clocks she had made began reflecting its warm glow.
Large grandfather clocks lined the walls.
Glass display cases showcased elegant wristwatches.
The purple silk covering the square watch cushions had been chosen personally by Andrei.
The two of them had sewn each cushion by hand.
Just as Andrei insisted, they had become the trademark of Scarlett Crimson’s Watch Shop.
She swept the floor, shook the dust from the broom outside, and finally laid the welcome mat in front of the entrance.
Her morning work was finished.
Exactly at ten o’clock, her only employee, Andrei, arrived.
He handed Scarlett his bag while he pulled down the awning—something mounted too high for her to reach.
Meanwhile, Scarlett placed his bag behind the display counter before immediately climbing onto her bicycle.
“I’m off.”
“Come back early and get to work.”
Knowing Wednesdays were reserved for visiting Isaac Crimson, Andrei repeated exactly what he’d said the previous Wednesday before heading inside to prepare coffee for customers.
As she pedaled away, Scarlett found herself wondering, as always, whether it was acceptable for an employee to have greater ambitions than the owner.
As she rode through Seventh Street, the shopkeepers she had come to know waved at her.
She smiled and waved back with one hand.
Following the tram tracks beyond Seventh Street brought her to the Crimson estate.
After getting off her bicycle, Scarlett picked up her small handbag and entered the mansion grounds.
On the porch she spotted her cousins, Marilyn and Arnold, enjoying a leisurely lunch with several friends.
Marilyn remarked sarcastically,
“If I’d been the one who married into the Dumpfelt family in the first place, I wouldn’t have ended up back here like this.”
Pretending not to hear, Scarlett continued walking.
A piece of bread suddenly flew through the air and struck her head.
She stopped.
Arnold stepped in front of her, blocking the doorway.
Annoyed that Scarlett hadn’t even looked at him, he sneered,
“I don’t understand this world anymore. A divorced woman wandering around wherever she pleases.”
Used to Arnold picking fights for no reason, Scarlett tried to walk past him without responding.
Instead, he grabbed her by the headscarf, seizing her hair underneath and yanking her backward.
“Where do you think you’re going? Ignoring people now?”
“Stop.”
“Stop? Stop what? What are you going to do about it?”
He laughed incredulously as he shook her by the hair.
“Am I wrong? If you abandoned your own brother, the least you could’ve done was keep your husband happy.”
Afraid Isaac might hear, Scarlett squeezed her eyes shut without even daring to scream.
Then she heard slow footsteps.
Isaac was descending the central staircase, leaning heavily on both the railing and his cane.
Arnold glanced toward him.
Isaac’s eyes were covered by the clean linen cloth his caretaker changed every day.
Snorting, Arnold released Scarlett.
“I’m only letting you go because I feel sorry for that idiot. Even seeing what they’re doing to his little sister, he can’t do a damn thing.”
Isaac’s face was so pale from rarely leaving the house that it almost looked translucent.
He smiled warmly.
Turning toward Scarlett’s voice, he said,
“Scarlett, let’s go upstairs.”
She hurried over, picking up the fallen headscarf.
“Why did you come downstairs? I was coming up.”
“I came to meet you.”
Unable to see what had happened, Isaac simply smiled.
Supporting him carefully, Scarlett escorted him up to the attic room where he lived.
“So cold…”
she muttered.
Setting down her handbag, she lit the brazier.
Isaac lay back on the bed, quietly turning his head toward the sound of her voice.
Ever since the carriage accident that had taken his eyesight, Isaac had depended on the care of his younger sister.
Even after she married, that never changed.
Scarlett locked the door.
From her handbag she carefully took out a bottle of medicine she had purchased using more than half the money Gregory had given her.
The day she regained consciousness after the interrogation, this medicine had been waiting in her hotel room.
Inside her wallet had also been instructions explaining how to obtain it.
Risking everything, Scarlett had bought it on the black market where stolen pirate goods were secretly traded.
Isaac lay still while she dripped the medicine onto the cloth covering his eyes.
“Do you think it’ll really work?”
Only after she spoke did Isaac smile.
“I hope so. Otherwise, you wasted all that money.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
For the same amount, she could have opened another watch shop—or bought another bicycle.
It had cost a fortune.
Although most pirates had already been wiped out, entering the pirate island to obtain medicine made through forbidden arts was still so dangerous that no one would do it for less.
Yet Scarlett never once regretted spending the money.
Legally, Isaac—not their uncle—was still the head of House Crimson and the Count of Crimson.
However, when he was young, his uncle Evil Crimson claimed guardianship because Isaac was a minor.
Now he claimed guardianship because Isaac was blind.
As long as Isaac remained unable to see, his uncle controlled every bit of the family’s wealth.
If Isaac regained his eyesight, Evil would lose any excuse to remain his guardian.
That was their hope.
But there was no guarantee this medicine could actually restore Isaac’s vision.
They had spent six months obtaining it.
Now they had spent another six months administering it.
There was still no sign that Isaac’s eyesight was returning.
Perhaps they had been deceived.
Both of them thought so.
Yet neither ever voiced that fear aloud, unwilling to deepen the other’s pain.
