Chapter 1 – Windberg (Part 10)

His footsteps echoed on the wooden floor. Thud, thud, the man’s heavy footsteps were clear. The sound gradually faded and soon disappeared completely. The woman left alone sank back into the silence.

Evelyn closed her eyes again, still seated on the sofa.

‘It’s a perfect place. My author dislikes the cold.’

She tried to recall the ecstasy of that time. The radiant golden clouds. The clear sky and soft path, the fragrant scent of flowers.

All of that had now vanished without a trace. What surrounded her now were a humiliating contract, a suffocating corset, and an ownerless chair. Damp and chilling dark clouds.

‘My fiancée makes such pretty sounds.’

She bit her lip. She didn’t know what emotion was clamoring in her chest. It felt like a burning fireball, or perhaps it was as if she were frozen like an iceberg. She wanted to follow Jared and slap him, but she also wanted to submit and say she would follow his decision.

‘You sing so prettily like a bird.’

Evelyn felt as if she had become a seriously flawed object. The thought of being abandoned like a broken doll sent a chill down her spine. Then she was appalled and angry at having such thoughts. 

How did I end up like this? 

She felt disappointed and sad.

‘This is the best option.’

He might be regretting it. He might be blaming himself for a hasty decision and rash actions. He might be forced to go through with the marriage because he had done something he had to take responsibility for. 

Jared Glenn was certainly capable of that, but what Evelyn wanted wasn’t that kind of responsibility.

‘You already…’

This wasn’t how she wanted to bind him.

‘You already…’

She didn’t want to have to endure this humiliation because of him.

“No.”

She muttered as she opened her eyes. Staring at the couch opposite her, where the lawyer had sat, she asked herself. 

Can you endure this? Can you handle these emotions? Can you sustain yourself for countless days in this house?

Can you live pretending nothing is wrong, smiling like a doll?

“…No.”

That was her decision.

Evelyn didn’t touch the contract with a single fingertip. Nor did she touch the fountain pen beside it. After looking at them for a moment, she removed the ring from her left hand. She placed the diamond ring on the margin of the contract and stood up. After picking up the powder compact, brush, and perfume bottle from the dressing table and putting them into her trunk, she hesitated for a moment before taking the perfume back out and placing it on the dressing table. The perfume Jared had given her had a strong rose scent.

There was nothing else to pack. The trunk was heavy but not too much to carry. She picked it up and left the room. Her heart pounded violently as she closed the luxurious door of the master suite behind her. The anxiety of turning away from a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and the pride of doing the right thing simultaneously weighed on her heart.

Evelyn walked quickly down the hallway. The light from the oil lamps on the wall stretched all the way to the end of the hallway. She followed that light, walking on the plush carpet. Past the antique statues, the central staircase. Descending that central staircase led directly to the main hall.

At the last step of the grand stone staircase, Evelyn spotted two people standing in the hall.

Butler Klaus and a noblewoman were facing this way. Evelyn immediately recognized the splendid platinum hair. The green eyes quietly looking this way. The eyes appeared almost black in the dimly lit interior.

Those eyes swept over Evelyn. They paused on the large trunk she held in both hands. With her gaze fixed there, Diane Glenn spoke softly.

“Prepare a carriage for the guest.”

“Yes, Madame.”

After the butler retreated upon receiving his orders, only the two women remained in the hall.

Evelyn, who had been standing in place for a while, began to walk again. Clack, clack. Her footsteps echoed slowly up to the high ceiling. Clack, clack. The sound resonated off the cold, hard walls.

Evelyn stopped close to Diane standing in the center of the hall. At this late hour, the entrance door was firmly closed. The heavy door made of wood and iron seemed impossible for her to open alone. So Evelyn had to wait. She had to wait until the carriage arrived and someone opened the door for her. Diane stood a few steps away but didn’t greet or speak to her. They had already exchanged enough words earlier. She didn’t want to engage in any more ridiculous charades.

Diane didn’t leave her spot. She continued to stand there, as if she would wait with Evelyn until the carriage arrived. A subtle fragrance wafted from the lady standing like a painting. A heavy silence settled in the dim, vast space.

“He always wanted to rebel.”

Diane spoke. Evelyn remained silent. The two women stood side by side, facing the firmly closed door.

“He was a bright child from a young age. There was nothing he couldn’t do compared to his brothers. So naturally, he was angry. It’s entirely understandable.”

Diane continued in a low voice. As if she didn’t care about the other’s reaction. There was always that attitude in the noblewoman’s dealings with Evelyn. As if her thoughts didn’t matter at all.

“After puberty, he stopped listening to me. After graduating from school, he lived contrary to my wishes. He shunned social gatherings, ignored every proposed match, and suddenly declared he wanted to marry some unknown woman, leaving me aghast.”

A woman born as a wealthy noble lady. She lived as a Duchess and is now the mother of the Duke. She must have had countless audiences with the Emperor and Empress. Does living such a life make one like this? Does it make the honor and feelings of a woman like Evelyn Dale so trivial that they’re not worth considering?

“He was angry. Rather than longing for an honor that wasn’t his, he chose to rebel. I think that’s why he chose you.”

A commotion approached from outside the thick entrance door. The sound of carriage wheels. The noise of several people.

“I have no regrets towards you.”

Diane spoke in a dry tone. Evelyn still stood facing forward. She didn’t think the other woman was looking at her.

“I never considered you as a daughter-in-law, but that’s not your fault. Dreaming futile dreams is a mistake one can make at a young age.”

Evelyn tried hard not to react. Words she wanted to say rose to her throat, but she bit them back. 

If the other person disregards me, I can disregard them too. 

But her heart didn’t follow her thoughts, and the humiliation piercing her chest like a thorn was unavoidable.

“Seeing you make such a wise decision now, you seem to be a better young woman than I thought.”

Her grip on the trunk’s handle tightened. 

Why must ears always remain open? It would be nice if they could close like eyes.

Then, creak, one side of the door opened. The entrance to the mansion’s main building. The high and grand door. As it opened, the cold air from outside rushed in. Evelyn involuntarily twitched her toes.

“The carriage is ready.”

Butler Klaus reappeared and announced. Evelyn glanced at the coat in his hand. It was the coat she had brought with her trunk when she passed through this door earlier in the afternoon. The butler approached, as if to help her put it on, but Evelyn reached out and took it from him.

And she looked beyond the wide-open door. A two-horse carriage was waiting for her. It was much smaller than the one she had arrived in. Yet, it was still a luxury she could never own in her lifetime. The Duke’s family crest gleamed in the light.

“Farewell.”

Almost simultaneously with Diane’s farewell, Evelyn stepped forward. Holding her large trunk and coat, she walked briskly ahead. The attendant waiting by the carriage took the trunk and, with a polite demeanor, opened the door for her and asked,

“Where shall I take you?”

Evelyn couldn’t immediately answer the simple question. 

Where should I go? In this unfamiliar place, where should I go?

After a moment of thought, she knew the answer.

“To the train station.”

There was no longer a place for her to stay in Windberg.

Once the woman boarded and the door closed, the coachman lightly flicked the whip. The sound of hoofbeats began to echo.

The northern autumn night was bitterly cold. The chill seeped from the cold seat. Evelyn picked up the coat she had placed on her lap and slipped her arms into it. Clip-clop. The carriage slowly traveled along the gaslight path of the dark garden.

Apart from the sound of hooves and wheels, no other noise was heard. The vast Ducal residence seemed to be entirely asleep. The windows of the mansion’s main building were sparsely lit. 

Jared would be in one of those rooms. 

Thinking of this, Evelyn turned her head away from the carriage window.

‘Welcome to Maxville.’

She weakly smiled as she adjusted the collar of her coat. 

What had happened just a few hours ago felt like a distant past. How foolishly I had dreamed when I first arrived here. It hadn’t even taken a day for that dream to shatter. Truly, how fragile dreams are.

Dreams break in an instant. All it takes is to open the eyes that were closed.

Clip-clop. The carriage was now leaving the garden. After traveling through the forest for about an hour, it would reach the city. The coachman might resent the woman who made him drive the carriage on such a dark night. She hoped he would understand that she had no choice.

Thinking this, Evelyn let out a long breath. Her heart, which had been pounding hard, was gradually calming. Nevertheless, she continued to soothe her still anxious heart. Every choice inevitably comes with regrets for the path not taken, and the decision she made was the most honest and reasonable one.

Yes. That’s why I came here. To put a definitive period on it. To cut off useless regrets or vain hopes. Completely. Cleanly. To end it without any regrets.

With a slightly lighter heart, though still trying to feel lighter, she leaned back straight in her seat and closed her eyes.

The carriage ran faster and faster. The two horses eagerly pounded the ground with their healthy legs.

Soon, the Windberg Ducal residence disappeared entirely into the midnight darkness.