Chapter 5 – Issen (Part 22)

“Hmm…”

Jared slowly exhaled a long breath and lifted his eyes. The view through the gap in the red curtain remained the same. The train hadn’t moved yet, but the sounds of the engine warming up and the station staff’s whistles indicated that departure was imminent. Watching the bustling platform, he thought of his destination. Chester. It was one of his estates, but he had never visited before. It was still strange to Jared that he was sitting on a train bound for Chester. He had thought he would never set foot there in his lifetime.

But that’s not all. All the situations he’s experiencing now are incredibly strange.

The Empress’s letter arrived in Maxville last month.

At that time, Jared was surprised. Not only was it the first time the Empress had sent him a letter, but the content was also unexpectedly abrupt. The purpose was to assist in bringing a novelist living abroad to Trissen. Outwardly, it appealed to his passion for literary endeavors and patriotism, but Jared saw the essence of the letter as this:

No matter how busy you are, you wouldn’t refuse my call, would you?

Her intentions were clear just by looking at the date she specified. Ten days before the Sun Festival. A round trip from Windberg to Issen took precisely eight days, and there was no way she would excuse him from attending the audience before the festival, so in the end, it meant he had to dedicate those ten days entirely to her. It was either spite or authority.

He was so taken aback that he considered sending a refusal letter, pondering an excuse, when the navy blue cover of a book lying nearby caught his eye. It was The Blooming Mansion, which the Empress had kindly sent along with her letter. 

What kind of novel did that writer write? 

Sighing, he opened the first page of the book, which, in hindsight, was the most decisively strange moment.

There was no way he couldn’t know. How could he not recognize it? The words she frequently used. The flow and rhythm of the sentences. Even the habit of mixing complex and simple sentences in her unique ratio. To a writer, style was like a scent, and even if they changed clothes, they couldn’t completely hide it.

Moreover, for a reader who particularly loved that author, no matter how well it was hidden, it couldn’t be completely obscured.

So Jared knew. Even before he finished reading the entire novel. He already knew who he would meet in the Empress’s audience room. His broken dream. The nightmare that wouldn’t fade. The woman who disappeared without a trace and drove him mad.

It was their first meeting in 3 years and 4 months.

‘You may not know, Duke, but such an honorable event doesn’t happen often for someone like me.’

Evelyn seemed unchanged. Aside from her pale face, which was trying to hide her surprise, she looked no different from the last time he saw her. So it was truly a strange thing. How could she remain so unchanged? Was God determined to mock him? Had he committed such a great sin?

Evelyn Dale was still beautiful. She still shone so brightly that it hurt to look at her. And so, Jared found it difficult to maintain his composure.

After losing you, I fell apart.

Lonely and desolate, I went mad.

How is it that you still shine so brightly?

“Haa…”

With another long sigh, he lowered his eyes to the documents in his hand.

The report contained both useful information and unnecessary content. Evaluating it, he turned the first page over. The back page was mostly about the man’s birth. The story behind the creation of that extraordinary lineage was quite interesting, but it wasn’t the information Jared wanted. What he sought was something more personal. For example, why a 32-year-old man had not yet married.

There is no reason for a man with no issues not to marry. When a man who can take a wife chooses to remain single, there must be a problem. Jared knew what his own problem was. So, what was the issue with this man, this Clifton?

He continued reading through the document. Then, near the end, he paused. After reading a series of sentences, he furrowed his brow. 

Had I read it wrong? 

He went back and read it again from the beginning. There was no way he had misread it.

“…Ha.”

As he exhaled a breath, a loud horn blared. Then, with a hissing sound, the train began to move slowly. The platform gradually slid back through the red curtains. The engine, just starting up, moved the train at a very slow pace.

But Jared did not spare a glance at the scene. He just stared at the report in his hand with a displeased expression, his dark eyebrows drawn together.

*

The plan to go to Chester was delayed by two days. The reason given was the author’s poor health. Evelyn said it wasn’t necessary, but Bryant insisted. He knew it wasn’t a serious illness. He understood what it meant when a woman’s complexion was slightly pale, she preferred to stay in her bedroom, and she claimed to be unwell but didn’t call a doctor.

Half a day after sending a telegram to Glenn’s Court, a reply from the Duke arrived. It was a brief and polite message stating that delaying the visit was no problem at all and wishing the lady a speedy recovery. Additionally, it mentioned that the Duke had a scheduled departure, so he would send someone to meet them at Chester station in two days. What was particularly impressive to Bryant was that the reply was delivered not by a postman but by the Duke’s attendant.

The familiar attendant handed the letter directly to him and then left. As Bryant opened the envelope embossed with the silver eagle emblem, he let out a dry laugh. 

It wasn’t the feudal era, so what was so important about a letter that it had to be delivered by a person? 

After quickly skimming through the elegant letter alone, he shoved it into a drawer in the parlor.

Jared El Windberg. 

He learned the Duke’s name for the first time that day. He didn’t need to know the Duke’s name, but still.

While Evelyn rested, Bryant also attended to his work. He visited the Issen branch to meet with employees and read manuscripts sent from Kingston by express delivery. He couldn’t read every manuscript that arrived at the publishing house, but he made sure to read the ones selected by the editors to the end. He was the one who ultimately decided on the publication of all books.

In the afternoon, he met with diplomats he was acquainted with and had tea. He casually asked about Duke Windberg. Although the diplomats rarely had contact with the Duke from the north, they shared various stories about the family.

The Glenn family had significant influence in mining and transportation and owned half of the rights to operate the Trissen railroad. Due to historical reasons, their relationship with the Imperial Family had always been delicate. Although there was hope that it would become more amicable with the change of generations, the new Duke reportedly disappointed the Empress by resembling his predecessor’s attitude. Bryant listened to these stories, pretending not to be interested, and thought how pathetic he was. Good grief. Here he was, using his precious time and connections for this nonsense.

He had never before concerned himself with whom his lover had met in the past or how long their relationships lasted. Even if he unexpectedly met a man from her past, he didn’t care. Why should he? It all happened in the past, and in the present, the woman was his.

Yet, the Duke of Windberg was particularly bothersome, perhaps because he was such a powerful figure.

‘If you build a friendship with him, it will be beneficial in many ways. There are few in Trissen with as much social value as he does. He could be quite helpful to a businessman like you, Mr. Clifton.’

Helpful, indeed. If he would just return to his northern estate right away, that would be truly helpful.

“Hmm…”

Bryant let out a long breath and closed his eyes. He was lying diagonally on a red velvet-covered couch in the parlor. The stack of manuscripts in his hand was still stagnant. The neatly printed letters by the typist refused to catch his attention.

By this time tomorrow, he would be in Chester. He would stay at the Ducal mansion for a week until just before the Sun Festival. A week. A time when many things could happen. Would anything untoward occur during that time? Would he be able to safely return with the woman?

To be honest, he had a bad feeling about it.