Chapter 1 – I Like That Person Too

When I turned around, drawn by an irresistible force, he was still standing there as if nailed to the spot.

Was it because he was drenched in the rain? He looked as if he were crying while looking at me.

It was a strange feeling. It felt as though I would never be able to forget this moment.

But even as I turned away and hurried my steps, and as the distance between us grew so far that I could never return to him, I did not hear his voice calling out to me.

If he had called out to me one more time, would everything have been different?

…No, it’s just a futile thought.

In the end, Ansel and I will walk our own paths. We have to.

As if we never loved each other from the start.

* * *

“Eloise.”

A gentle voice tickled her ear, and her jewel-like blue eyes fluttered open.

“Time to get up.”

Outside, the dazzling early summer was in full swing. The warm sunlight streaming through the window beside her bed slanted across Eloise’s drowsy face.

In that light, her eyelashes, bathed in a transparent glow, slowly fluttered.

“…Sister.”

“What’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream?”

Sarah’s warm hand gently stroked her sister’s cheek. Eloise, still half-asleep, looked up at her sister. She suddenly recalled the voices of people who unanimously praised Sarah as the most beautiful woman in Maybury and the eldest daughter of the Bailey family.

It wasn’t just her appearance; Eloise loved her sister Sarah, who was as kind and gentle as an angel, more than anyone. She also knew well that her sister cherished her only sibling dearly.

Rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, Eloise answered in a languid voice.

“No, sister. It was an old dream.”

“An old dream? What was it about?”

Smiling softly, Sarah slowly helped Eloise sit up as she asked.

The answer that came back was somewhat unexpected.

“Sir Ansel was in it.”

“…”

“I dreamt of swimming in the lake with him. Isn’t that strange?”

A brief silence followed. Though short, it was enough time for Eloise to realize she had said something unnecessary in her half-asleep state.

“…It was just a dream, Elsie. Besides, it’s been over ten years since we swam and played in the lake.”

In a calm tone, Sarah replied as she led Eloise to sit in a chair.

“Come, let me brush your hair. If you go down like this, Mother will scold you.”

Their mother was a woman as strict as any noble lady. She was particularly meticulous about her daughters’ appearances.

Lady Bailey’s scolding had been a constant since her daughters were little girls, but now that they had grown into fine young ladies of twenty-four and twenty-two, it had reached its peak.

Traditionally, the eligible bachelors of the kingdom did not shy away from the effort of finding a suitable bride. Therefore, now that word was spreading about the beauty of Lady Bailey’s daughters, their mother believed it was the perfect time to put extra effort into their grooming.

Of course, the two daughters willingly accepted their mother’s nagging. They understood their mother’s desire for them to marry well—meaning ‘wealthy,’ ‘well-off,’ and ‘affluent’ men—and live comfortably.

But above all, the Bailey sisters deeply loved their mother.

“We can’t risk upsetting Her Majesty in the morning. Please do it.”

Eloise pulled her sister’s hand resting on her shoulder and rubbed her cheek against it, responding in her characteristic playful tone. Soon, her nightcap was removed, and her luscious, honey-colored hair cascaded down like waves.

“I don’t want to get married. Unless it’s to a man as beautiful and kind as you, sister.”

“Don’t joke like that in front of Mother. Understand?”

In the season when the softest and most fragrant breezes blow, the sisters’ gentle laughter filled the room.

“Good morning, Mrs. Hearst.”

Sarah greeted kindly as she came out of the room. The housekeeper, who had been busily cleaning the entrance of the stairs, clasped her hands together in delight at the sight of her.

“Sally! Oh, my goodness.”

This enthusiastic reaction was, so to speak, a typical morning scene in the Bailey household.

“I’ve known you for over twenty years, but I must say, this morning you look more beautiful than ever. Just look at your swan-like grace and your golden hair! If only a good match would come along, it would be perfect.”

“If suitors are what you’re talking about, there are already plenty.”

At that moment, Eloise, who had followed Sarah downstairs with quick steps, interjected.

“There’s no one prettier than my sister in all of Maybury, no, in all of Longfield.”

“…Unless it’s someone who can fully take care of the family, it won’t do. So, for now…”

Sarah, blushing, lowered her gaze as she tried to stop Eloise. The housekeeper chuckled, shrugging her plump shoulders.

“Of course. Sally won’t rush into marriage. Not until someone who meets Lady Bailey’s standards appears. By the way, did you sleep well, Elsie? Lady Bailey is already downstairs.”

“Really? Well, you have to give it to our mother; she certainly isn’t one for sleeping in.”

Eloise dashed down the stairs like a squirrel that had found an acorn. Behind her, she could hear the laughter of Sarah and Mrs. Hearst.

On the first floor, at the center of the beautiful dining table set in front of a large window, lay a bouquet of fresh wild roses. In early summer, Maybury transformed into a vast rose garden, and around this time every year, each household would compete in decorating their tables with roses.

Lady Bailey, dressed in an elegant green satin dress, was lost in thought with a teacup before her. Just then, the sound of a chair being pulled out broke her reverie.

“Good morning, Mother. Where’s Father?”

Lady Bailey meticulously adjusted the side locks of her daughter’s hair. The honey-colored curls, disheveled from running down the stairs, were soon neatly arranged.

“Is it the first time your father hasn’t been here for breakfast? He’s probably gone far again and will drag himself back late at night. Sarah, come sit down. Let’s say grace.”

As always, Lady Bailey recited a calm prayer wishing for the family’s health and peace. Sarah, opening her eyes that reflected the bright summer sky, spoke in a gentle voice.

“I hope he brings back good news this time.”

“Oh, dear! Don’t even mention it. I just hope he hasn’t been swindled again. We have no more wealth to lose.”

Lady Bailey sighed deeply, pausing as she tapped a boiled egg with a silver spoon.

“He’d be better off staying at home rather than wandering aimlessly.”

“Mother…”

Eloise started to say something but quickly chewed and swallowed the piece of potato she was mumbling with in her mouth. Poor table manners typically invited a scolding.

“Mother, you don’t like it when Father is often away from home, do you?”

“How can you say that so nonchalantly? If your father hadn’t gotten involved in those scams, we would have been living comfortably!”

Lady Bailey added in a grumbling tone.

“Maintaining appearances is all we can manage now. What a foolish man.”

Catherine Fairbain, who is now Lady Bailey, was the daughter of a baronet, technically not a noble but included in the aristocracy. Naturally, she could have married into nobility and lived as a distinguished lady, and she had ambitions for that… 

“But you love Father.”

“…”

Blinded by love, she ended up marrying a commoner.

In truth, things started off smoothly. After all, her husband was a self-made businessman, and having two beautiful daughters who shared his eyes made her feel as if she couldn’t be happier.

That is, until he lost their entire fortune.

Fortunately, they had an estate he had purchased just before being swindled. Though it was a small piece of land, the income from it saved them from having to work to make ends meet.

But that was all. Their life consisted merely of avoiding the misery of hard labor, having just one maid, one cook, and one coachman. Moreover, due to national laws that required estates and mansions to remain within the family, the Bailey estate, lacking a male heir, was destined to be inherited by a distant male relative.

In other words, the future of this family depended on the marriages of the two daughters.

However, unfortunately, the family, barely maintaining their current lifestyle, had no dowry to speak of.

This was indeed a significant problem. In the marriage market, unless one belonged to a noble family, the only bait to catch a big fish was a substantial dowry. This was why Mr. Bailey, who lost his fortune to fraud, was tirelessly seeking new opportunities without a moment to despair.

“Mother, you’ve always said you don’t regret marrying Father.”

Lady Bailey responded without hesitation to Eloise, who murmured as she cracked an egg.

“Of course. You two are my treasures.”

“…Don’t worry too much, Mother.”

Sarah quietly sipped from a glass of water, her tone gentle yet oddly resolute, like a fragile breeze.

“I will try harder to find a good marriage match.”

“Oh, my sweet daughter.”

As Lady Bailey had expected, Mr. Bailey returned home well after sunset. Naturally, he seemed to have nothing to show for his efforts.

The evening passed with the familiar warmth of the father-daughter reunion and the mother’s affectionate scolding.

Night inevitably arrived, and the sisters, now dressed in white chemises, lay down in their moonlit bedroom on the second floor, as they always did.

However, even after her sister gave her a gentle kiss and returned to her own bed on the other side of the room, Eloise couldn’t fall asleep for a long time.

‘It was certainly an ordinary day.’

Yes. The only difference was that dream.

“Sister, are you awake?”

She whispered in a hushed voice, but there was no reply. Eloise murmured as she tossed and turned.

“You know, the dream I mentioned this morning, it was actually nothing. I just said something silly in my sleep.”

“……Hmm, I’ve already forgotten about it.”

Eloise’s eyes blinked in surprise at the unexpected response from the darkness. But soon, she heard the steady sound of her sister’s breathing and closed her eyes again. It seemed like it was just sleep talk.

“Sally, I actually knew.”

This time, there was no reply at all. Eloise let out a faint sigh.

‘I knew that you liked Sir Ansel. Maybe you still do.

But sister,

I like him too.

Can you really marry someone else for the sake of the family? I…’

“Sister, what should I do?”

The soft breathing of the peacefully sleeping Sarah blended with the faint sounds of summer night insects.

‘The day I first met him, it was a season just like this.’