Chapter 4 – Part 6

“My Lord.”

Baccara, who was in charge of managing the summer villa, quickly followed Eli as she took on the responsibility.

“Have you completed the inspection?”

“Yes. I did as you instructed, My Lord.”

Everything was in order for Ruby to have a tea party, a nice place to have a cup of tea, a parlor, a study, and a library, all ready for her use whenever she needed it. There were all her favorite books, as well as a variety of books she might want to read.

“Whenever Ruby needs anything, whatever it may be, just take care of it. If she wants to redecorate the mansion, do it exactly as Ruby wishes. That’s the reason you were hired.”

“Yes.”

He didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable while she was here.

He wasn’t completely thrilled with the changes he had to make in such a short period, but it was a lot better. He didn’t know if it was good enough for Ruby since she would change it to suit her as she lived here.

He was disappointed that he wouldn’t get to see Ruby’s personalized touches, but this was as good as it was going to get.

“I’ll give you a brief tour.”

Eli held out his hand to Ruby for what might be his last escort. Ruby stared at the hand, then gingerly took it.

***

“You can fish in the lake here. Time will pass quickly if you do it when you’re bored.”

On one side of the lake was the boat they had used for the date.

“Did you bring it from the capital?”

“I had it made. Ride it whenever you want to take a trip. By the way, it’s the sturdiest boat in the world.”

Eli whispered as if revealing a secret. It was true, but he said it playfully. The specially made sturdy carriage, except for one left behind for her safety, had all been moved here. These small things alleviated some of Eli’s worries that he couldn’t express to Ruby.

Eli guided Ruby through the mansion and various parts of the garden, explaining prepared games just in case. He hoped Ruby would have a pleasant time during her stay.

While listening to Eli’s kind and simple explanations, Ruby occasionally glanced at his face. During this period, Eli had been busy, rarely spending time in Deven, so she found it strange that he knew the mansion so well.

“Eli.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you sure…… the reason you haven’t been in the mansion is because you’ve been redecorating?”

As they walked around the mansion together, she couldn’t help but notice the newness of the place.

“Not really. I didn’t have time for that. I just had it cleaned because it hasn’t been used for a long time.”

He said it like it was no big deal.

Indeed, by his standards, it was only a cleaning. For the other nobles, it was refreshing to get rid of old furniture and supplies, buy new ones, and plant a new garden. But Ruby’s standards were different from those of the common aristocracy, and he didn’t explain the details.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to do it. I said it back then, right? I wanted to give it to you in a beautiful and good condition.”

“Then let’s have a delicious meal in the evening. Dominic, can you come over for a minute?”

Ruby quickly suggested, feeling sorry for Eli.

Ruby ordered Dominic, who was following her and Eli, to prepare Eli’s favorite dish, grilled lamb chops and scallops. After watching Dominic take the order, Ruby turned to Eli.

“You like meat, don’t you?”

“You remember.”

He felt secretly pleased.

“Ruby. We need to get going if we want to get to town before it’s too late.”

“…Are you going already?”

He smiled and nodded.

“But… it’s too troublesome for you. You can take a break for a day and leave tomorrow. I won’t kick you out.”

Ruby imitated his humor in a way that wouldn’t make her seem regretful. It was a chosen method not to appear as if she had lingering feelings.

“It’s okay, now that I saw you arrived safely.”

Eli took Ruby’s hand. Very carefully.

“I hope you will be happy here. Eat delicious food, do what you want, and live comfortably. I hope you smile at ease.”

“…”

“I mean it sincerely.”

His last farewell, spoken heavily, seemed to contain a lot of meaning.

So Ruby couldn’t take her eyes off him.

“I’ve regretted all these years that I didn’t get to say …… those last words.”

He didn’t realize it until after she died.

The last words did not come out of Eli’s throat.

Yet, Ruby felt as if she had heard the unspoken words from him.

“…Live as you want, happily, without any concern for the Marquisate of Grit , now or in the future.”

Ruby knew in her mind that she should say something to him, but her lips remained sealed, unable to utter a single word.

“I’ll be going.”

He carefully let go of her hand, and without waiting for Ruby to say anything, he got onto the carriage that was nearby. The carriage swiftly moved away as soon as he boarded.

Ruby didn’t even have time to step back. She stood still, watching the carriage move away until Dominic returned and found her.

“My Lady! What happened? Where is the master?”

Dominic quickly took out a handkerchief he had and handed it to her. It was only then that Ruby realized she was crying.

Elii didn’t look back at Ruby from the returning carriage. Perhaps he was afraid that if their eyes met, he would want to turn the carriage around. Instead, he looked at the painting of Ruby smiling and decided to think only of the happy Ruby leaving Marquis of Grit.

It was a goodbye indeed.

***

“Marquis”

It was Leton who knocked on Elii’s door in the resting village.

“Come in.”

As Leton entered, Eli, running a hand through his hair, was getting up from the bed. Empty bottles from yesterday’s drinks were clearly placed on the table in the room. Eli, with a tired face that rarely showed, had no intention of buttoning his shirt, and his disheveled appearance seemed careless.

Just seeing that, Leton could guess Elii’s feelings.

“As you said, the mansion is ready.”

“Good.”

“Are you planning to leave separately?”

Perhaps there were too many memories for Marchioness in the place where she stayed. It was Leton’s solitary conjecture.

“Maybe. That wouldn’t be bad either.”

His expression, which seemed indifferent, actually conveyed a different message than his words.

“I think it would be good to send some of Marquis Grit’s employees to that mansion. Choose only those who have worked for a long time.”

“Yes, understood.”

However, the following command from him seemed to favor Leton’s words as if he liked what Leton said.

“There’s a famous painter in the outskirts of the capital, I heard.”

“I heard people are looking for him.”

“Should we stop by on the way?”

Eli said, staring out the window. It was a completely unexpected statement, and Leton couldn’t help but ask, “Really?” in response.

“You mean the painter?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you serious?”

“Does it sound like a lie?”

Eli lightly laughed. Leton, on the other hand, didn’t respond and just stared at him.

“Would it seem improper for the Marquis to immediately seek out a painter on the way back, leaving his wife at the Deven?”

Eli mumbled, not looking at Leton as if he didn’t expect a reply.

Even though his voice seemed to be mixed with laughter, there was no joy in his appearance, and while talking about himself, he seemed to refer to someone else.

“That is not like you, Marquis.”

Leton quietly muttered.

Although he understood the difficulty in Eli’s heart due to the crack in his relationship with the Marchioness, there was no reason for him to act impulsively and destructively like this.

“What is like me?”

“You’re not the kind of person who beats yourself up like this …….”

“Really?”

Eli mumbled, but he didn’t agree with Leton at all.

He was the kind of person who pushed himself through difficult moments. When his family had fallen, he’d been the Emperor’s right-hand man, and he hadn’t hesitated to take a hard line. When Ruby died, he did the same. He threw himself deeper into his work and tried to push himself to think of nothing else.

“If that’s what you were thinking, change it. You’re going to keep seeing it.”

With that, Eli turned to the window.

Despite his disheveled attire, his eyes were sharp and thoughtful.