Chapter 4.18

Finally, he reached the couple’s bedroom on the second floor. He mentally prepared himself before knocking. Who knew what state the person responsible for this bizarre situation might be in?  

“I’m coming in.”  

Without waiting for a response, he opened the door and saw Solnia eating something.  

“You’re home early?”  

“What are you eating?”  

“Cookies.”  

Holding up one of the remaining cookies, she looked at him as if to say, “Want one?”  

“I heard Madame Gibson visited earlier.”  

“Yes. I wonder if she got home safely?”  

“Do you think that’s what I’m asking?”  

“It went well. Without any trouble.”  

Saying so, Solnia brushed off some crumbs and closed the book she had been reading.  

“I heard you didn’t dismiss any of the maids.”  

“They’re all capable workers.”  

“Even though they badmouthed their master so much?”  

“Who doesn’t gossip about their boss? They were just unlucky to get caught.”  

Unbelievable. Since when had she become so magnanimous? 

He almost felt sorry for not noticing sooner.  

“Anyway, I didn’t want to fire anyone.”  

“So, you told them to work properly under your watch?”  

Solnia took a deep breath and lightly shook her head, looking up at him.  

“Isn’t it better that they’re working hard now?”  

She seemed about to say something else, but her unusually clear gray eyes made him forget everything.  

After tidying up her spot, Solnia hugged her book and stood up.  

“Should we have dinner together?”  

“I’m not interested.”  

“Good. Then I’ll see you at bedtime.”  

With a light tone and steps to match, she walked past him toward the door.  

“Oh, by the way. You’re lucky.”  

Just as she seemed about to leave, Solnia glanced back and said,  

“To have such good servants.”  

“……”  

“I’m a bit jealous.”  

Leaving the bewildered Luette behind, Solnia smiled and exited the bedroom.  

She truly was envious.  

If the Dowager Madame’s mansion had such servants, they wouldn’t have ignored her as she wasted away.  

*

“By the way, is the Countess of Melfir doing well?”  

Alec couldn’t believe his ears. Did he just hear someone else ask about Solnia’s well-being?  

Despite his irritation, Alec maintained a composed smile and replied,  

“Yes, she seems to be adjusting well to life in the capital.”  

“That’s a relief. I was so surprised to see the Countess of Melfir at the Dowager Madame’s party. She was so stunning.”  

Just past lunchtime, this bothersome conversation unfolded during a courtesy visit to a viscount’s residence. The Viscountess, utterly lacking in tact, interrupted the men’s conversation and started talking about someone who wasn’t even present.  

“No wonder the ‘Luette Trovill’ fell for her.”  

Thinking she was giving a compliment, the Viscountess’s words only further irritated Alec. Specifically, the mention of that name.  

“You flatter her. She could never compare to your beauty, Madam.”  

“Oh my, Earl, you’re too kind.”

Alec naturally replied while checking his pocket watch. Then, he made a rather troubled expression.  

“Oh dear, it’s already this late. I’m sorry, but I have a prior engagement and must take my leave.”  

“That’s alright. Go on, then.”  

“May you have a peaceful day.”  

Alec politely bid farewell to the viscount couple, who were now little more than a façade, and left the residence.  

However, his mind was consumed by one thought.  

The insolent olive-green eyes that had glared at him.  

‘Have you ever seen Solnia act insane?’  

Those were the eyes Luette Trovill had when he interrogated him.  

“…How dare he.”  

How dare he, how dare he.  

Alec knew. He was fully aware of how his younger sister was being treated. The grand mansion that had paved his path as a proper successor had gifted his sister a living hell.  

But that had nothing to do with him.  

Occasionally, he would see his sister looking so emaciated that she seemed like someone who hadn’t eaten a proper meal. At those times, he did feel a faint pang of pity, but it was nothing more than the basic compassion any human might feel.  

What could he do? She had been born with gray eyes.  

Alec didn’t consider Solnia his sibling. Though they had been born of the same womb, he believed their very essence was different.  

It was unfortunate that Solnia had been born with gray eyes and had to endure their grandmother’s disdain, but it was also inevitable. After all, he hadn’t been the one to give her gray eyes.  

That was why Luette Trovill’s interrogation had been so baffling.  

To Alec, it was entirely natural, yet Luette’s gaze seemed to accuse him of some grave sin.  

“Ridiculous…”  

It was laughable. That lowly man, who had somehow stumbled upon the position of successor, now seemed to think the world revolved around him. This was why one should never hand something valuable to someone unworthy. Their grandmother’s teachings were never wrong.  

Luette Trovill had been a rotten seed from the start. An ill-mannered boy who always wore a rebellious expression and acted as he pleased, he was utterly undeserving of the name Trovill.  

Fortunately, there was William, which gave Alec hope for the future of the Trovill household.  

“Tsk.”  

As the carriage passed the road leading to the Trovill Ducal Mansion, Alec cast a glance toward the distant figure of the Duke of Trovill, likely bedridden.  

Shaking off thoughts of the insolent Luette Trovill, Alec habitually donned his gentlemanly smile. Yet, his brows furrowed once more.  

One thing lingered in his mind.  

‘Exactly what I said. Have you ever seen my wife act insane?’  

My wife.  

Alec hadn’t expected Luette Trovill to refer to Solnia in that way.  

Of course, for someone like Luette Trovill, who could don a charming mask before women without a second thought, such a performance wouldn’t be difficult. But Alec hadn’t anticipated him using the term so naturally.  

Could it be that Solnia…  

As useless thoughts consumed his mind, the carriage passed through the gates of Oberon Mansion. Alec reached into his pocket with practiced ease and retrieved a small silver flask.  

When he stepped out of the carriage, he was the very image of the gentlemanly and dignified young Earl of Heston, known to all.  

“You’ve arrived, Earl.”  

“Where is Grandmother?”  

As Alec entered the mansion with familiar ease, he encountered an unexpected figure. Emerging from the drawing room was none other than the Countess of Moulton.  

She’s here all the time.  

Despite his inner thoughts, Alec greeted her with a polite smile.  

“Countess Moulton, I see you’re here.”  

“You’ve arrived, Earl.”  

Alec quickly scanned the Countess of Moulton. She was, by all accounts, a perfect woman. It was no wonder the Dowager Madame kept her as a close confidante.  

But that was all. She needed to know her place and stop crossing the line.  

“The Dowager Madame summoned me urgently, so I came right away.”  

“Is something the matter?”  

“She says her cold isn’t improving. It seems we’ll have to postpone the charity bazaar.”  

Hearing this, Alec cast a glance toward the second floor, where the Dowager Madame resided. No matter how formidable the Heston Dowager Madame was, even she couldn’t defy time. At seventy this year, even a cold seemed to hit her hard.  

“So I’m currently drafting a letter to inform everyone of the postponement.”  

The Countess of Moulton added this, as if to explain why she had emerged from someone else’s drawing room in the absence of the homeowner.  

It wasn’t unusual, given that the elderly Dowager Madame used the Countess of Moulton as her right hand.  

“I see. You’ve worked hard, Countess.”  

“Not at all. Anything for the Dowager Madame is my duty as well.”  

How laughable.  

Alec nodded lightly.  

“I’ll go see Grandmother for a moment.”  

“Oh dear, what a shame. She’s resting right now.”  

“I see. That can’t be helped. It’s fortunate you’re here, Countess.”  

Just as he was about to turn away, Alec seemed to reconsider and looked back at the Countess of Moulton.  

“By the way, could I take the letter for my sister?”  

“Pardon?”  

“We were planning to have dinner together. She likely has no idea about this, and I’d like to spare you the trouble of delivering it yourself.”  

Placing a hand over his chest, Alec bowed courteously. It was a gesture befitting the Earl of Heston. The Countess of Moulton readily agreed and headed back to the drawing room.  

When she returned, she handed Alec an envelope bearing the Heston family crest.  

“The Countess of Melfir is truly fortunate. To have such a kind brother and a remarkable grandmother.”  

“You flatter me. I’ll be sure to boast to my sister about your kind words.”  

Alec said this as he glanced at the letter addressed to the Countess of Melfir.  

*

When Luette opened his eyes, he quietly slipped out of bed, as was his habit.  

It had been nearly a week since they had reluctantly begun sharing a bedroom.  

Luette would only come to the bedroom in the early hours of the morning, while Solnia was asleep, and leave before she woke. It was a strategy to minimize the discomfort of facing each other. Perhaps that was why he had grown accustomed to moving in and out of the bedroom without a sound.  

As he tied the belt of his robe, which had been left on the floor, Luette glanced back almost unconsciously.  

His smooth brow furrowed.  

Solnia wasn’t there.  

The spot where she usually lay, with her back turned to him, was spotless, as if she hadn’t been there at all.  

“Where on earth could she have gone?”  

Given how unusually lively she had seemed lately, it was unlikely anything had happened.