Chapter 5 – Part 14

Seated on her bedroom’s edge, Emily mulled over the fragments of memory from earlier. Ruby wasn’t in that memory, but in some way, the words seemed to have reached her ears. It could have been Marie, who particularly disliked Ruby, saying it outright. Considering the blatant words during the recent party, it seemed like there was still more to come.

“Ha….”

Biting her tongue, the incidents of Ruby being mistreated by her mother began to appear in her mind in succession.

The subtle contempt embedded, the discipline carried out under the pretext of teaching etiquette, the derogatory remarks about lineage, and her taste for dresses. When recalling them, Emily was grateful that Ruby didn’t hate her brother and that she’d put her up in the mansion.

What a relief it must have been to receive Emily’s plea to Devonshire.

Yet now she realizes that the gentle rejection letter she sent, expressing that she might not be able to help, was actually a deeply considerate gesture.

She’s almost ashamed to admit that she was sad to receive it.

Listening to the sounds from the lower floor after class, Emily left her room and headed downstairs.

She soon spotted Eli and Ruby, who were still seeing off the children, and paused on the stairs. The two were busy listening to what each child had to say, turning their heads here and there.

When the last remaining child whispered something to Eli, he responded with a bright smile and hugged the child. It seemed like the child had said something cute to Eli.

Seeing his affectionate gesture, a faint smile appeared on Emily’s lips as she remembered her brother, who used to play with her when she was young.

Emily smirked, remembering how, just a few years ago, she’d run to hug Eli every time he came to the mansion.

Ruby, who had finished greeting the children, looked at Eli, who was still in the middle of greetings.

“Huh?”

Emily sensed something strange only after noticing the subtle change in Ruby’s expression. The expression on Ruby’s face was a mixture of sadness and pain.

However, that fleeting expression disappeared when Eli greeted the last child and looked at Ruby. She then smiled, as if hiding something that shouldn’t be known.

Emily couldn’t tell whether Ruby’s sadness was directed at her brother or just the fact of being with the child itself.

However, Emily’s intuition was suggesting that this, too, might be related to the family’s affairs that Ruby had to go through. Perhaps Ruby was unable to forget them and was just forced to live with the buried memories in her heart.

With this realization, Emily understood why Ruby had said that she wouldn’t come when Eli hosted the masked ball, even when everything was falling apart.

She wouldn’t come, not for Eli’s sake but for the sake of the family. She could see now that her brother hadn’t wanted that either.

***

“Oh my, Lady Grit, it’s delightful to have you at the party so often.”

“It must be the new jewelry that came out this time.”

The nobles recognized the jewel that Arlen had picked out. Most of them knew the fact that Lady Grit had attended parties together with Arlen.

It had been a while since they had seen her, especially after spending several years exclusively in Shuban.

“Does it suit me? It was chosen by Lady Miles, Lady Brayle, and Lady Dwight.”

“Oh, really? No wonder. It’s sophisticated and goes well with you.”

“I’m sure it will be popular again this time.”

Praising Marie subtly, everyone complimented her without revealing what they truly thought.

“Being with young ladies teaches me something new.”

“You’re still young.”

They all chimed in, knowing that Marie prided herself on tradition more than anyone else, but pretending not to notice.

“I guess I should take a break for a moment.”

Marie, thinking that this was enough, smiled and headed towards the rest area.

She had to give time for the information to be thrown out and spread naturally.

“Is she really trying to remarry her son?”

“Why else would she have taken those young ladies with her?”

Once Marie was gone, the ladies covered their mouths with fans and whispered.

“But Lady Ruby Grit has never worn new jewelry, right?”

“She didn’t come out often, but she never did at the parties she attended.”

Thinking about it, it was true. Among the sensitive nobles, Lady Grit’s jewels had never been an issue.

“If she were Lady Grit, she would receive all sorts of jewels. Perhaps she didn’t have the courage.”

“It’s true. She’s so modest that she didn’t even dare to do that.”

They laughed as they usually did, badmouthing the Marchioness of Grit since there was no one to give them a cool answer anyway.

***

“Lady Miles, I see you’re still here.

Marie, who was about to enter the rest area, greeted Arlen, who was already there.

“My Lady, I have a headache today.”

“Oh dear. Did you take any medicine?”

Worried, Marie sat next to Arlen.

“No, I think I’ll be fine if I rest for a bit.”

“Then that’s a relief. By the way, the response to the jewel you picked for me is good.”

“Oh, I’m glad to hear that.”

“It’s been a while since we’ve had new jewelry, so I was hoping for a good response and I’m glad I trusted your judgment.”

“Aren’t there new jewelry designs every year?”

Arlen smiled at the compliment but asked with a puzzled look.

“The designs are new every year, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been in the capital, and my daughter-in-law has never had one.”

Eli was always busy, but Marie took care of most of the property he had no control over, such as jewelry and accessories.

There was a good chance he didn’t even know that new designs of jewelry were being sent to the house every year.

“Well, perhaps the next Lady of Grit might have beautiful jewels every year. She will be the first to have beautiful jewels, or perhaps she will be the only one who will have them.”

Arlen’s eyes lit up at that thought.

“No one knows about this.”

Marie whispered.

“I’m only telling you, Lady Miles.”

Seeing the flicker in Arlen’s eyes as she finished, Marie smiled and stood up.

“Then stay a while longer.”

“……I will.”

Arlen replied, seemingly lost in thought.

* * *

“Thanks for the invitation.”

Aaron handed Ruby the wine.

“You could have just come without bringing anything. The table and chairs you made are more than enough.”

When the fence was finished, Ruby invited Aaron to dinner to thank him for his hard work.

Aaron finished the fence and built a large table and chairs for Ruby’s expanding guest list, then went home to change and come back to visit.

“I can’t come empty-handed.”

As Aaron entered the house, the smell of delicious food and the joyful voices of people filled the air.

“Why don’t you go to the parlor first?”

Nodding at Ruby’s words, Aaron headed for the parlor, only to run into Dominic in the doorway.

“Aaron, I can’t recognize you.”

“Thank you. Is that a bad thing?”

Trying to hide his embarrassment from her compliment, Aaron asked.

“Not at all! It suits you well. Oh, you can go inside.”

Dominic quickly stepped aside, realizing that she was blocking the way.

“Shall I help you?”

With Eli’s suggestion, tonight’s gathering was more like a formal dinner with everyone dressed up. Dominic was also wearing a dress at the moment. Aaron should have complimented her, saying that it suited her and that she looked pretty, but he missed the timing and awkwardly asked a belated question.

“It’s okay!”

With a nod from Dominic, she headed to the backyard.

Aaron sighed heavily with a self-conscious expression. Then he weakly headed to the living room.

“You look good.”

Eli, who was aerating the wine in advance, noticed him and commented.

“Someone gave it to me.”

Eli nodded, as if Aaron’s words were a given, not a denial. Suddenly, seeing the look on Aaron’s face, he asked.

“What’s wrong?”

Having just arrived and wearing a somber expression, Aaron seemed to be in a gloomy mood.

“I didn’t tell Dominic that the dress suited her.”

Feeling guilty for not complimenting Dominic on the dress, Aaron lamented.

“Don’t worry. There will be another chance. Just follow along.”

“Follow along?”

Eli nodded without further explanation, turning his attention back to the wine.

“My mom thought it would be a good idea, so she got us some wine, and you know what? For the first time ever, she’s proud of me for learning something good in the capital.”

Palman, who had arrived later, chimed in, carrying a box of wine.
She summarized what she and Emily had been thinking about and gave it to Laura. It was a good idea, and she accepted it. Inwardly, she was pleased that Palman had thought of it.

“It’ll take us until morning to finish the wine you brought today.”

“Then let’s gather often until we finish it.”

“Yes. I look forward to seeing when you finish it.”

Eli laughed at the goal of the young lady, who had just learned about alcohol.

When Palman arrived, the formal meal began. As it was a delightful meal with good people, the atmosphere quickly became lively.

Ruby, too, enjoying the cheerful atmosphere and drinking more than usual, quickly became cheerful. Perhaps because of this, she soon became joyous.

“Have you ever taught Dominic how to dance?”

At that moment, Eli asked quietly.

Ignoring Ruby’s attempt to sip wine again, Eli took it slowly and, holding the glass, temporarily placed it away from her.

She wondered why he was asking that now.

She was more concerned about the question than Eli’s affectionate words.

“I taught her during the winter.”

Ruby answered, puzzled.

During the past winter, although they spent time making various things, it did not mean they sat still every time. Seeing Dominic, who was frustrated because she couldn’t move freely, Ruby suggested teaching her to dance. Thanks to the lessons throughout the winter, Dominic quickly mastered dancing.

Eli nodded in understanding without further question, then gestured to Leton. On his cue, Leton turned on the music boxes he had brought with him.

The music boxes, each producing a different sound, blended together as if in harmony.

“The music sounds like something played at a party.”

Palman commented enthusiastically.

“It’s similar.”

Eli, who often had to endure tiring and tedious travel in his line of work, found solace in music. However, there was not always a musician in the village, and even if there were, it was not always possible to listen to great performances.

So Eli and Leton recorded the sounds of each instrument in a music box so that when they turned it on together, they could create harmony.

Eli gestured to Ruby, who swayed lightly to the music.

“In an atmosphere like this, we can’t leave out dancing, can we?”

“Now?”

Ruby looked surprised.

“I want to see you dance, Teacher!”

Palman shouted in response to Ruby’s hesitant expression.

“The others will be dancing anyway.”

Eli said while staring at Aaron. Then he looked at Dominic, who seemed to be hesitant.

“I can’t stop him.”

Ruby took Eli’s outstretched hand, and he deftly led her to an empty space in the parlor.

“Shall we dance?”

Aaron blushed as he watched the two of them move, then turned to Dominic, who was holding out his hand just as Ruby had taught him.

Dominic blinks in confusion, not expecting Aaron to ask him to dance.

“Dominic, come on!”

Palman urged quietly, and Dominic mumbled, “Uh-huh,” and grabbed Aaron’s hand.

Aaron’s hand was trembling weakly as he led Dominic, and she couldn’t take her eyes off his trembling hand and reddened ears.
Aaron took a deep breath to steady his nerves, wanting to dance well, and then he began to dance as he had been taught.

“See, I told you we weren’t the only ones dancing.”

Eli, already dancing to the music, whispered to Ruby, who turned to look.

“Is this your idea?”

“As the lesson is ending, you should take responsibility for the practical training.”

Eli said, hiding his own inner intentions about being able to dance with Ruby after so long.

Ruby didn’t even think about it; she was too focused on Aaron and Dominic dancing.

Aaron and Dominic stepped slowly, letting the music guide them, and there was a stiffness to their steps that was hardly natural, but they glanced at each other and made eye contact.

For once, Dominic looked shy. A small smile tugged at the corners of Ruby’s mouth.

Eventually, the two entangled in each other’s steps, getting closer until they embraced each other. Although Aaron and Dominic quickly separated in embarrassment, the awkward moment was a success.

“I’m sorry. I’m still not used to this…”

“No, it’s okay. I… feel the same way.”

Blushing, they apologized to each other, and then Aaron, who had regained his composure first, extended his hand again. This time, their dance movements were smoother, perhaps because they both realized that neither of them was familiar with dancing.

“It seems Dominic doesn’t dislike it either.”

Ruby couldn’t take her eyes off them and whispered softly.

“Yeah.”

And Eli couldn’t take his eyes off Ruby.

She had consumed quite a bit of wine, evident from her flushed cheeks, sparkling eyes, and livelier laughter than usual. Eli, quietly admiring her beautiful appearance, reached out to touch Ruby’s cheek. There was a warmth that rose from the intoxication.

“Your face is red. Want to go get some fresh air?”

“Is it that noticeable?”

Worried, Ruby asked.

“Yeah.”

Although it wasn’t to the point of being severe, Eli intentionally nodded, as he wanted to be alone with her.