TDKB 25

Chapter 25

“…Would that even count as repayment?”

Scarlett avoided his gaze as she continued.

“People were saying that the reason you haven’t divorced me is because I’m good to you in bed. But you, in reality…”

“Who the hell said that?”

“I heard it at a party.”

“So who?”

At Viktor’s low voice, Scarlett genuinely thought about it before answering.

“Duke Thebes, I think.”

“Ah. Sounds exactly like the kind of trashy thing a man like him would say.”

“Isn’t he your cousin?”

“He is. But he’s worse than a stranger.”

Viktor replied, then calmly looked down at her.

“So, did you believe him?”

The scent of his cologne was incredibly pleasant up close.

She couldn’t understand it. He was such a heavy smoker, so how on earth did he still smell like this?

Scarlett pushed both hands against his chest to stop him from coming any closer.

“It was better than hearing that you were only staying with me because you couldn’t be bothered to go through the trouble of finding someone else.”

Viktor frowned at her words.

“And who said that?”

“The others.”

Viktor let out a disbelieving little scoff.

Scarlett continued.

“I liked hearing those things.”

“What?”

Scarlett lowered her head and murmured,

“I thought it would be nice if there were at least some reason. It was nice to think you were staying because finding someone else was too much trouble, and even better to think you were staying because you liked sleeping with me.”

“……”

“At least that meant there was something you needed from me.”

Scarlett raised her head.

“So? Was either of those true? Was there at least one reason you kept our marriage going?”

“Both.”

“Both…?”

“It was troublesome to find someone else, and I liked sleeping with you.”

“……”

“And having you love me was convenient.”

Scarlett stared up at Viktor, speechless at the sheer audacity of his answer. Then she clenched her fists and struck his shoulder as hard as she could.

She hit him with enough force that she could barely keep herself upright, but Viktor didn’t even flinch. He only moved enough to avoid being hit in the face. He simply let her hit the rest of him and didn’t even step back.

After roughly two minutes of hitting him with all her strength, Scarlett gradually ran out of energy. She could barely remain standing and began to stagger.

She leaned her back against the glass door, gasping for breath. Viktor stood in front of her and calmly straightened his crooked tie.

“Enough?”

“……”

When Scarlett glared at him, the corner of Viktor’s mouth lifted.

“You really are awful.”

Scarlett muttered in an exhausted voice.

Then Viktor’s hand reached toward her.

Startled, Scarlett squeezed her eyes shut. His long fingers slipped gently through her fine hair.

The Scarlett Viktor knew used to tremble whenever he stroked her scalp and ran his fingers through her hair, pressing herself even closer into his arms.

But now, Scarlett looked as though she couldn’t stand his touch.

Viktor quietly watched her.

He bent down and kissed the back of the hand Scarlett had drawn up against her chest.

Scarlett squeezed her eyes shut again.

When she opened them, Viktor had tilted his head slightly and was looking directly into her eyes.

“Stop and go to sleep. If that wasn’t enough, I’ll let you hit me again next time.”

With that, he easily lifted Scarlett into his arms.

He laid her trembling body gently on the bed, then leisurely left the room.

Once she was alone, Scarlett rubbed the back of her hand harshly against her pajama skirt until it turned red. Then she rubbed her lips with the same hand.

She was terrified that Viktor Dumfelt might have left some trace of himself anywhere on her body.

Scarlett hadn’t wanted to fall asleep in this house, but she didn’t even have enough strength left to leave the room, so she ended up sleeping there.

It was already late morning, and the sun had been up for quite some time.

Still lacking the strength to move, she rang the bell, and shortly afterward, Candice, the maid who had always served her, entered.

“Yes, my lady. Shall I bring you breakfast?”

“Where’s Viktor?”

“He went to work.”

“Then I’ll eat.”

Candice gave her a faint smile.

A little while later, she returned with breakfast on a silver tray.

There were croissants in a basket, Scarlett’s favorite lemon buttercream, cherry Danish pastries, and finally, fresh milk.

As Scarlett stared at the silver tray, she remembered herself during the early days of her marriage.

The cherry Danish she had eaten here had been so delicious that she used to secretly save some because she wanted to bring it to her older brother.

As Viktor Dumfelt’s wife, most of Scarlett’s obligations consisted of social events such as parties. Aside from those, shopping was practically the only thing she had to do.

Viktor usually wore whatever Blight prepared for him and wasn’t particularly picky or difficult. So even when Scarlett busily went shopping and picked out flashy suits according to her own taste, he would put them on and go out without complaint.

Looking back, if she hadn’t loved him very much and therefore hadn’t expected anything from him, it would have been the kind of life many people would envy.

Scarlett tore off a large piece of her favorite Danish and popped it into her mouth.

Watching her, Candice cautiously spoke.

“Do you remember Polly, my lady?”

“Of course. I even fixed her watch. And the cherry Danish is the best.”

Candice smiled fondly.

“Polly baked all the bread today, too. Her specialty is cherry Danish, and since the young master doesn’t eat Danish, she’s always disappointed.”

“Why doesn’t he? It’s so good.”

“We don’t understand it either. Whenever you told us to bake lots of Danish, my lady, we would make mountains of it and everyone would eat together. Polly’s Danish is the best.”

“That’s definitely true. And it was really fun eating it together.”

“Exactly. Those were such fun times…”

Once Candice started talking, she began telling Scarlett about everything that had happened among the servants while she had been away.

At that moment, Polly, who had been peeking her face around the door, hurried inside.

She had apparently been worried that Scarlett might not remember her because she was only a kitchen maid, and had asked Candice to ask Scarlett about her first.

Polly spoke with a confident smile.

“My lady, the pastries turned out well today, didn’t they?”

“They did. They’re even more amazing since I haven’t had them in so long. Oh, let’s eat together.”

“Oh, what are you saying?”

“Candice’s stories are too interesting. Since I’m back after so long, tell me everything fun that happened.”

As she spoke, Scarlett deliberately pulled the Danish toward herself and pretended to push the croissants toward them.

Everyone burst into laughter.

At first, they hadn’t been particularly fond of Scarlett because she came from an insignificant family and was an orphan. But at some point, they came to realize that there was hardly a better employer than Scarlett, who understood the feelings of the people working for her.

Like a group of old friends getting together, Scarlett, whom they hadn’t seen for nearly a year, the five maids who had served her, and Polly, the kitchen maid, all gathered and began catching up.

They chatted and laughed about this and that without a moment of silence.

Then the door opened cautiously.

When Scarlett turned around, she was surprised to see Andre standing there.

“Andre?”

All the maids recognized him and looked delighted to see him. Though only briefly, he had also been one of the servants of the Dumfelt family.

Scarlett sat up and asked,

“What brings you here?”

“Why are you asking? You know why I came.”

“To work?”

“Tell me if you can’t come. I’ll keep the doors closed. But you seem to have recovered quite a bit.”

“I’ll go, I’ll go.”

Scarlett hurriedly got up before Andre could start nagging her.

When she staggered, Andre held out his arm. Scarlett grabbed it and began walking.

“I told you to rest at home, at least. You need to succeed.”

“That’s why I said, I’m not really planning to become—”

“You shouldn’t think like that. A person needs ambition.”

“I told you to give up.”

“Just wait and see. Before you know it, you’ll be the owner of a huge business.”

What an exhausting employee to have around.

Scarlett herself had no idea why, of all people, she had asked Andre to come with her. At the time, it had simply felt like the right thing to do.

As Scarlett prepared to leave the Dumfelt estate with Andre, the maids said worriedly,

“Why don’t you go say goodbye to the young master?”

“He’s not the kind of person who would care about something like that.”

Scarlett said this as she grabbed the handle of the large cowhide suitcase the maids had packed for her.

However, she couldn’t even lift it off the ground.

In the end, Andre picked it up with one hand.

“I told you, you should’ve just given it to me from the beginning.”

“I had to at least try.”

“You’re wasting time.”

“Hmm. I don’t think the time spent trying is a waste.”

“……Well, that’s one of the reasons I’m willing to work for you as my boss.”

When Andre actually admitted it for once, Scarlett laughed happily.

Scarlett had grown up surrounded by blacksmiths and sailors, so she wasn’t particularly surprised that Andre could casually lift with one hand a weight that wouldn’t budge no matter how hard she tried.

But as they watched the two of them leave, the maids turned to Candice.

“Is Andre always that strong?”

“Apparently. The other servants need two people to carry that…”

“How can he lift it with one hand?”

The suitcase had been deliberately packed so that Scarlett wouldn’t be able to carry it herself, even if Andre came along. The butler had done it because he knew Viktor would obviously be displeased if Scarlett left first.

But Andre easily picked it up and headed toward the tram station.