Checking his wrist out of habit, Johann only realized his Patek was being repaired when he saw his bare wrist.
Just as he started to feel uncomfortable, the grandfather clock began to chime, signaling the hour.
It was time to go back.
‘Wait.’
Because Olivia might be waiting.
“Act with dignity.”
Marguerite Wellington’s sharp words woke Johann from his contemplation of his empty wrist.
“Isn’t it outrageous? They’ve only been divorced for so long, and yet they have no shame, in broad daylight… I will never allow a child like that back into my family.”
“I’ll handle it myself. Please, rest now.”
Judging that this was enough, Johann got up from his seat.
His heart was already in Winston. He was also desperate for a cigarette. Johann gave a brief nod and turned to leave.
“Johann.”
He heard his grandmother’s firm call from behind, but he strode straight through the guest room with wide steps. Just as he reached the door and was about to turn the doorknob, Marguerite’s voice stopped him in his tracks.
“Since you’re here, you should stay in Winston for a few days.”
Johann’s eyebrows slowly narrowed over his frozen hand. He turned around and looked directly at his grandmother with tired eyes.
“Is there a problem?”
The same piercing gaze he had when he stormed into his grandfather’s mistress’s house was now piercing Johann.
“Miss. Next time, next time. It’s too much right now.”
“It’s alright, Anne.”
Olivia gently shrugged off Anne’s dissuasion.
There was a slight fever, but it was not high, only noticeable when the breeze brushed against her forehead. It wouldn’t be an issue for traveling.
She was going to leave after the tennis tournament anyway, wasn’t she?
“Let’s go when you’ve fully recovered. Your foot hasn’t healed yet either.”
“I’m fine, really.”
Olivia said with a faint smile as she lifted the trunk onto the bed.
Now was the perfect time to leave, with Johann Leopold not being here.
Anne stared blankly at Olivia, who had started to focus on packing.
The golden sun had now turned into a transparent light, brightly illuminating the bedroom. The young lady’s thin shoulders, as she sat in that light calmly organizing her things, were drooping weakly.
What on earth had happened?
Anne had so many questions she wanted to ask, but she had held back.
However, she couldn’t just stand by and watch her young lady, who hadn’t fully recovered, prepare to leave. The doctor who had examined her had told her to get rest and stability for the time being.
“Don’t look at me like that, Anne. I won’t be a burden to you.”
Olivia wiggled her injured foot and smiled as Anne’s worried eyes wouldn’t leave her.
“No, Miss. If you don’t feel well, you have to tell me. Don’t hold back. Okay?”
“Alright, Anne. Let’s finish up quickly.”
At Olivia’s stubbornness, Anne took a step back. Click, the sound of the trunk buckle being undone echoed in the silence.
The two of them sorted the items into what they needed and what they didn’t, carefully packing only the necessary things.
“What should we do with this dress?”
Olivia, who was folding a blouse, turned her head.
The pale blue chiffon dress was in Anne’s hand. Even after being washed, the stains from the grass and mud by the Buchen River remained faintly.
It was right to throw away the clothes she could no longer wear. The blue satin headband that man had given her, too.
The travel bag, after being sorted, became as simple as it was when she left Great Hill.
She hoped she could leave quietly just like this.
“This time, I’m going really far, Anne.”
Anne’s hand, which was putting a beige hat on Olivia’s head, stopped while tying the ribbon.
“We might have to travel by boat for a month.”
Anne, who understood the meaning of her words, raised her head.
“…My mother still regrets not being able to follow Lady Elena. She says if she had been by her side, she wouldn’t have given birth on the cold street and died.”
“…”
“My mother is still living in that winter when Lady Elena, who was heavily pregnant, left the mansion.”
The short life of the lady, who was called the noble lily of the Blanchet family, ended in tragedy. Her mother, who couldn’t follow the lady because of young Anne, still suffered from that guilt.
“I don’t want to live my life in regret either, Miss.”
“…Thank you, Anne.”
“There, it’s done. The ribbon is tied so beautifully today. Let’s go, Miss.”
Olivia, her eyes reddened, nodded. The sky-blue ribbon gently swayed with her movement.
As Olivia wiped her eyes, there was a knock, knock, a polite knock.
The butler of the Winston Manor House came in.
“Is the carriage ready?”
Olivia asked.
“The maintenance is not yet finished. I apologize. And the Master ordered me to deliver this to you.”
What was respectfully offered on a silver tray was a letter.
“For me?”
“Yes.”
‘Wait.’
The man’s low voice appeared like a lingering image. At the same time, the hot, foreign sensation that forcefully entered between her lips.
Olivia couldn’t bring herself to pick up the letter and just stared at it blankly.
In the white sunlight pouring onto the silver tray, a flawless handwriting was clearly etched in her eyes.
To Olivia.
It was a moment that reminded her of that man’s unfriendly reply.
“To Olivia
From now on, state your identity”
Dating was easy.
It was as easy as getting bored quickly, and Edgar’s way was to end it without lingering regrets once he got bored.
The beginning with Olivia Blanchet was the same.
There was nothing particularly special about it. It was a light attraction born out of curiosity for Johann’s woman, just that much. That was enough.
Olivia.
Edgar slowly rolled that name, which had become so distant, in his mouth.
‘Let’s… never see each other again.’
‘Do you think… you can live without seeing me?’
The first experience of anything is powerful.
That was no exception for Edgar.
First love.
It might have been her second, but for Edgar, Olivia was his first. For that reason, he didn’t know how to end it.
Edgar laughed a little forlornly and filled his glass again.
The surface of the brandy shimmered in the ridiculously bright sunlight pouring in through the window.
It was like the Buchen River on a night when stars were pouring down. A night he wished would never end. A night he wanted to delve deeper into.
Edgar emptied the glass in one go due to an unbearable thirst.
‘Let’s never see each other again.’
The knock on the door that came just in time was a hallucination or real, he couldn’t tell, just like her voice that echoed in his ears.
Seeing Gerard come in, it seemed to be reality.
“It’s me.”
Gerard’s face crumpled.
“I know.”
Edgar let out a foolish laugh.
Gerard, who was coughing from the thick cigarette smoke, scrambled around the room, opening every single window. The empty liquor bottles at his feet tumbled and clattered as he moved. The brown bottles sparkled in the light rays pouring in.
Edgar, frowning, closed his eyes and placed a hand over them.
What a noisy farewell.
Who would have thought this day would come? He couldn’t even imagine that Edgar, who had always coldly cut off women who cried and clung to him, would be repaid in this way.
Because he was a man of unrivaled excellence.
Who knows, maybe God, impressed by the faith of the women he had wronged, was punishing him.
Gerard’s eyes became filled with pity.
“How about canceling the press conference even now-.”
“No.”
Edgar slowly rose from the sofa he was buried in.
“Oh! Be careful, Young Master!”
Gerard barely managed to catch Edgar, who was about to collapse on the floor.
“Just cancel it and rest. You didn’t even sleep a wink yesterday.”
“I’m fine.”
His casual smile was tinged with drunkenness.
“Wouldn’t it be more difficult to clean up if you don’t show up at the press conference? Just say your foot injury worsened and postpone the schedule.”
The press conference date, which Olivia had promised, was today, the day of the Dumblyn Championship final.
“She’ll come. …Yes. She’ll come. Olivia will.”
It was a ridiculous belief. The crazy belief, devoid of rational judgment, was close to a denial of reality.
Gerard sighed so heavily that the ground could have cracked in frustration.
The thought of the newspaper articles he would face tomorrow morning made him feel completely lost.
“I’ll get ready, you can go. Please inform them that it might be delayed by about an hour.”
Edgar slowly unbuttoned his shirt from the top and headed for the bathroom. His staggering steps were precarious.
She’s coming.
Plink, a button came undone.
She’s not coming.
Again, he unbuttoned another one.
She’s coming.
And.
She’s not coming.
His slender fingertips fumbled over the thin fabric, searching for the next button.
“…”
His footsteps came to a halt.
Pfft, a laugh escaped him. With a rustling sound, Edgar’s smooth shirt slipped off his shoulder. He threw off the shirt and said indifferently.
“This is pathetic.”
Before entering the bathroom, Edgar glanced at the clock on the wall.
12 o’clock.
Two hours until the press conference.
Edgar’s eyes, staring into space, darkened.
Before I come to get you,
You come to me. Olivia.
