Chapter 1.3

Upon entering the study, Harrison personally closed the door and invited Alexa to sit on a comfortable sofa.

He perched on the edge of a single-seater sofa at Alexa’s diagonal. It was a sign the conversation might be long. The more important the topic, the less likely Harrison was to sit comfortably on the sofa.

“It’s nothing serious.”

His gaze turned to the family photo on the nearby side table. In the photo, Isabella, Harrison, Alexa, and Dominic were all smiling as brightly as they could.

“You really love that photo.”

“It’s an image I’ll never forget, even when I die.”

Harrison awkwardly rubbed his chin with his thumb.

“Anyway, I thought this was the kind of conversation best had where Isabella could hear it.”

“I’m ready to listen to anything you have to say.”

At Alexa’s voice, which carried even a hint of solemnity, Harrison looked puzzled.

“Alexa. That’s the sort of thing you say to someone who’s about to cast you out. I don’t know how many in Rosnair would dare to mistreat you, Alexa Winterbourne.”

‘So it wasn’t bad news.’

Alexa clasped her fingertips together.

“I don’t know why I miss Isabella so much whenever the weather warms up.”

“When the weather improved, we all hoped Mother’s health would get better, too.”

“That’s true. All four of us waited for that day. In the end, it never came….”

Harrison roughly rubbed the corner of his eye with his finger. Thanks to desperate practice, Alexa could now hear her mother’s name without crying. She comforted her stepfather with a gentle look.

When he’d gathered his feelings, Harrison spoke slowly.

“I know you’re putting your heart into Everhart to fulfill her dream. And I find that very admirable. So, what I’m about to say—don’t misunderstand.”

“Of course.”

Harrison took a short, deep breath.

“The lawyer already told me not to say this, but I have the freedom to say what I want, when I want.”

The man known as the raging bull looked straight at Alexa, as if his gaze pierced her. The ticking of the clock was the only sound in the study, where even their breathing seemed silent.

“I want to give Everhart to you.”

The words that broke the silence were truly shocking. Alexa, who had been clasping her hands, unconsciously opened her mouth in surprise. Whatever serious topic she had been imagining, her thoughts came to a halt.

‘Everhart. Was there another Everhart besides the beautiful department store on Burrells Street that I knew?’

Watching his adopted daughter’s reaction, Harrison added playfully.

“Of course, not right away. I haven’t even changed my will yet.”

He was talking about passing down a department store of immense value as if handing a box of candy to a child. It didn’t feel real. Alexa had never expected a moment like this, not even in her imagination. All she’d ever wished for was to work as long as she could, earning her own money.

“I told Dominic beforehand. He agreed right away. For some reason, he never gets greedy when it comes to you.”

Alexa opened and closed her mouth several times, gathering her strength just to say something.

“…I never even imagined it.”

Her voice came out thin, almost strangled.

“But you’re happy, right?”

“Of course!”

Alexa quickly exclaimed, then expressed her gratitude.

“To be given Everhart Department Store—there’s no one in the world who wouldn’t be happy to hear such words. I’m so surprised, I don’t even know what to say.”

“Isabella played a huge role in bringing Everhart this far. And you are her only daughter, and my daughter as well. Of course, you deserve to inherit it.”

“Thank you for saying that. You have no idea how deeply moved I am.”

“But there’s a condition.”

Harrison Winterbourne’s contracts must be read hundreds of times. Otherwise, he might even sell your soul to the devil.

Recalling the terrifying rumors that circulated, Alexa quietly tried to guess what her adoptive father’s condition might be. If Everhart was placed on one side of the scales, what could possibly go on the other? There was nothing she owned that matched the value of the department store.

“I want you to marry a suitable partner.”

“Marriage?”

Alexa’s eyes widened at the unexpected answer.

“Even now, most businessmen don’t recognize women as partners worthy of sharing trust. You must have felt that while working.”

“Yes.”

Harrison spoke in a persuasive tone.

“I trust you, who absorbed Isabella’s philosophy and skill by her side. But I’m also keenly aware that others don’t trust you as much as I do. I respect them as well.”

“I understand what you’re trying to say.”

“Men are surprisingly afraid of unfamiliar things. I was the same before I met Isabella. I was a stubborn man, clinging to mistaken certainties as if they were gospel.”

“But you converted.”

Hearing Alexa’s words, Harrison suddenly burst out laughing. Converted! Muttering to himself, he lightly slapped his thigh with his palm.

“You’re right. And deciding to spend the rest of my life as Isabella’s devotee was an excellent choice. I never regret it.”

“So you think I need a loyal devotee too.”

“A wife with an excellent husband is more easily respected by others than an unmarried woman. If I delay your marriage any longer, I’m afraid I’ll be seen as a negligent father who neglected his only daughter’s future.”

Even the kindness Harrison had shown so far was a debt Alexa would never be able to repay in her lifetime.

Marriage was still unfamiliar and daunting, but Alexa nodded without hesitation, putting aside her uncertain feelings.

“I’ll look. I’m not sure I’ll ever find a devotee as wonderful as my mother, though.”

A joyful smile spread across Harrison’s lips at her acceptance.

“You will find one. I’ll use every connection I have to find you the most perfect match. You don’t need to worry about the dowry.”

After wishing Harrison a pleasant evening, Alexa left his study. She went up to her bedroom without calling a maid and changed from her dress into nightwear herself. So much had happened in such a short time, she felt dizzy.

After tidying up, Alexa looked around the bedroom she had decorated together with her mother.

The vase and console they had chosen together, the photo of mother and daughter standing by the seaside hanging next to the vanity, even the bedding on the bed she was sitting on—there was nothing in the room untouched by Isabella’s hand. Feeling overwhelmed, Alexa ran her hand over her face.

The time to leave this place has come.

She had known it would happen someday, but she never imagined that the huge event of inheriting Everhart Department Store would be part of that moment. Excitement, tension, and fear mixed together, and her heart felt ready to burst.

Marriage. Becoming someone’s wife.

Her mother, Isabella, had done it three times.

But behind the excitement, fear crept in. The marriages Alexa remembered were journeys stained with public criticism and family resentment, always ending in uncertainty.

* * *

Isabella was the daughter of Rob Bridier, the wealthiest banker in the country of Aren on the New Continent.

At twenty, she fell in love at first sight with a naval officer and married him against her parents’ wishes. The next year, Isabella gave birth to Alexa. However, Alexa’s father lost his life while serving overseas, and Isabella had no choice but to return to her parents’ home with her daughter, who had just started walking. She begged her father for forgiveness and was accepted back into the Bridier family.

For several years, she devoted herself to helping with the family business, the department store, while raising her young daughter. At a social event, she met Lord Belsmire.

The Lord pursued her persistently. Rob, wishing for his granddaughter and daughter to live under the Lord’s protection, gave his permission for the marriage, and Alexa’s second father became a Duke. Newspapers in both countries covered the shocking marriage as an incident where Bridier’s gold even brought a ducal family to its knees.

As a result of this sudden remarriage, fourteen-year-old Alexa left her family home and woke up in the ducal mansion, where a chilly draft crept up even in summer.

Late at night, the mansion felt as silent as if no one lived there. Carefully climbing out of bed, Alexa glanced at the cord she could use to call a maid, then draped a blanket over her shoulders and stepped into the hallway.

It was a time when everyone was asleep. But having greeted guests from lunch until evening and barely eaten, she was hungry. Smiling prettily like a doll and eating duck with plum sauce were not tasks that could be performed at the same time.

All she needed was a piece of bread and a cup of warm milk.

A noblewoman would have pulled the cord and called a maid. But Alexa was not used to ordering someone around for such a trivial wish. She didn’t want to be the kind of person who, not even a noblewoman, called for maids.

At her home in Aren, there was a modern kitchen, so if she got hungry, she could easily go downstairs and ask the chef for something to eat. Not only she, but her grandparents also mingled freely with the staff. It was comfortable and efficient for everyone.

In the end, Alexa, wrapped in her blanket, marched determinedly toward where she thought the kitchen would be.