Chapter 3 – Unrequited Love, That Difficult Path (Part 6)

At that moment, David stood up from his seat. He gently pressed his wife’s shoulder, preventing her from rising, and kissed her cheek.

“I’ll be going ahead. Excuse me.”

The rhythmic tapping of his cane was the only sound breaking the silence in the dining room. He tried not to limp too much on his left leg, but it was noticeable.

“Could you all leave us for a moment?”

Deborah, who had been quietly observing the situation, spoke up. She wiped her mouth with a napkin and smiled as she looked around.

“I need to speak with your sister.”

“Yes.”

Though her tone was gentle, Lorraine knew very well that it wasn’t a suggestion.

“Get up, both of you.”

Lorraine gestured to her younger sisters as she stood up. Olivia quickly exited the dining room, but Victoria remained obstinate.

“…Vicky.”

“No.”

Despite her sister’s icy glare, Victoria pretended not to notice and stayed put. Lorraine, unable to bear it any longer, pinched her arm.

“Ouch!”

“…Get out.”

Lorraine’s ominous tone eventually forced Victoria to leave, albeit reluctantly.

They bickered as they left the dining room.

Once the door closed and the commotion subsided, Deborah called out to her eldest daughter in a kind voice.

“Diana.”

“…….”

Despite her attempts to act grown-up, Diana was still a child in front of her mother.

‘Who does she take after?’

Deborah could easily guess but sighed inwardly and called Diana once more.

“Diana Wiig.”

“…Yes.”

“It’s time to stop.”

Deborah tried to live without regrets, but there were moments she couldn’t help but regret.

「Dear!」

The most significant of those moments was the day her husband had his accident. It was the day she lost her composure, and her eldest daughter, barely over ten years old, started acting as the head of the family.

“You should pursue what you want. There’s no need to be tied to this house anymore.”

Diana thought she should shake her head.

‘No, whatever it is you’re thinking, absolutely not.’ 

She should have denied it, but she couldn’t act.

“I know what you’ve given up.”

Diana looked at her mother in surprise at her meaningful words. Despite Diana’s shocked expression, Deborah remained calm.

“It’s shameful to ask you to reclaim it now, but don’t block what’s coming.”

Deborah smiled warmly as she stood up and patted Diana’s back.

Meanwhile, Lorraine waited in Diana’s room for her sister to return. When the door finally opened, Diana walked in, looking a bit weary.

“…What?”

Lorraine stood up from the couch and said,

“You’re back early.”

“So what?”

“Nothing… just.”

As Lorraine mumbled, Diana flopped onto her bed.

“…Did you tell Mother?”

“Tell her what?”

Surprised by the meaningful tone, Lorraine turned around to see Diana taking off her glasses and rubbing her face.

“The carriage.”

Despite the brief explanation, Lorraine shook her head as if she knew what Diana was talking about.

“Am I crazy? Do I want to get beaten to death by you?”

Lorraine’s serious response made Diana sit up abruptly.

“Then… how does Mother know?”

Lorraine, who looked at Diana as if she was worrying about something pointless, flopped onto the couch and muttered.

“It’s funny to think there’s anything Mother doesn’t know in this house.”

“That’s true….”

As Lorraine said, it was impossible to keep secrets from Deborah, including lies.

“Anyway, it wasn’t me. Really.”

Lorraine lay on the couch like wet laundry and raised her arms. Diana asked again, still doubtful.

“Really?”

Instead of an answer, Lorraine threw a cushion at her.

“Hey!”

Diana caught the cushion and shouted. A sharp reply came from the couch.

“I said no.”

“…If you say so…but throwing cushions and making a fuss….”

Diana grumbled and tossed the cushion back onto her bed.

***

Unfortunately, Diana’s prediction was half correct. Back when Diana was attending the academy, she would come home about once a month.

She usually arrived in the morning, but occasionally she arrived late at night. On those nights, she would secretly get out of a luxurious, unmarked carriage.

At that time, Lorraine often stayed up late.

「Oh…?」

She thought she was the first and only person in the household to witness Diana’s secret romance. So Lorraine believed she just needed to keep her mouth shut.

However, there was one more witness that night.

「Diana came home in a carriage last night… do you know anything about it?」

Deborah’s questioning made Lorraine’s voice rise involuntarily.

「…What? Diana did?」

Of course, in terms of causality, Lorraine didn’t tell Deborah, but—

「You’re too loud.」

—Lorraine was caught nonetheless.

Even now, she wasn’t good at lying, but back then, lying was impossible for her.

At Deborah’s remark, Lorraine clamped her mouth shut and rolled her eyes. Unfortunately, there was no way out for her.

「If you lie, I’ll call your father. A four-way confrontation would be quite interesting.」

That doesn’t sound fun at all.

Deborah’s voice, saying it would be interesting, sounded more like a threat.

Lorraine bit her lip.

「So, who owns that carriage?」

「I really don’t….」

Deborah’s eyes turned cold. Lorraine bit her lip harder.

「…Really, really. No lies at all.」

Lorraine showed her palms and spoke earnestly.

‘I’ll let it go.’

Deborah, who had been staring at Lorraine, nodded.

「Go upstairs.」

As soon as Deborah gave her permission, Lorraine quickly returned to her room.

「Sister, are you in a relationship?」

「Why are you awake? Didn’t you sleep?」

Lorraine looked back and thought, relieved.

「I asked if you’re in a relationship.」

 「…Be quiet. If we get caught, we’re dead.」

If that had been discovered, she would have been as good as dead. Lorraine swallowed a sigh and thought.

「I’m not a fool. I don’t answer questions that aren’t asked.」

She was definitely a fool. Lorraine clasped her trembling hands and muttered.

“Love isn’t a crime, so why do you have to hide it….”

Lorraine let out a deep sigh.

***

“So, is your sister getting married?”

Louise, who was peeling a grapefruit, handed a segment to Lorraine and asked.

“They’re just engaged for now. They’ll decide on marriage after the tour.”

Leaning against the bed and reading a book, Lorraine accepted the segment and replied. Marianna, who was arranging flowers at the table, chimed in.

“She’s as stubborn as ever. I bet she’ll be married for sure after the tour.”

Marianna’s tone was full of certainty. Louise, holding a plate with thick grapefruit peels, stood up from the bed and said.

“Do you really think so?”

Marianna, as if waiting for this, put down her pruning shears and said.

“I’ll bet the brooch I bought last time that she’ll get married.”

“Are you suggesting a bet? Don’t you remember your track record?”

Louise’s question made Marianna turn towards her with an indignant face.

“This time, I’ll win.”

“Baseless confidence is the cause of defeat.”

Louise placed the plate on the table and spoke as if to be heard. Marianna’s voice grew louder.

“Let’s bet. What will you wager?”

“I’ll bet the fabric that came in last time.”

Louise shrugged and checked the flowers Marianna had arranged.

‘Here we go again.’ 

Lorraine sighed and shook her head.

Louise and Marianna occasionally made bets, which usually started when one of them got irritated and lost their temper.

‘And that one always lost.’

Lorraine offered her condolences to Marianna’s brooch and closed her book.

“Lou, where’s the next volume of this?”

“Oh, that. Wait a moment, I’ll get it… Hey, I told you not to arrange the flowers like that!”

Louise gave instructions on flower arranging while quickly fetching the book.

“Here. Isn’t it good? It’s by a new author, but it’s pretty decent.”

“Yeah, it’s good.”

They were currently gathered at Louise’s house.

“Olivia must be really excited.”

Marianna, who had put down her pruning shears, turned a potted plant this way and that and said,

“Yeah, I guess.”

Lorraine, flipping through the pages of her book, answered nonchalantly. Then Louise plopped down next to Lorraine and asked,

“So, what does Miss Lorraine Wiig think?”

She extended her fist as if to prompt Lorraine to speak into it. Lorraine brushed her hand aside and replied,

“…About what?”

“About Olivia’s engagement. We’ve only talked about Diana so far.”

Louise’s comment, as if stating the obvious, was picked up by Marianna.

“She’s your younger sister getting married before you.”

“Your parents still don’t know, do they? About you not wanting to get married.”

Louise looked at Lorraine as if it was a given.

“They probably suspect.”

‘No concrete evidence, though.’

Lorraine lost the will to continue reading. She closed the book and placed it on the side table.

Lorraine Wiig’s declaration of not wanting to marry was quite a famous story within the academy. A guest lecturer, invited for a one-day class, had started spouting nonsense from the beginning of the lecture.

「There are a lot of female students here…?」

He had looked around the classroom with a displeased expression.

「Does he have a problem with that?」

Marianna had muttered in a sarcastic tone, and Louise, sitting next to her, had nudged her in the ribs.

「He can hear you. Be quiet.」

From that moment, a faint line appeared between Lorraine’s brows.

The highlight of that day was when a classmate asked why he was excluding questions from female students.

「Women don’t need to study this hard. They should focus on supporting their husbands and maintaining their appearance….」

Unable to bear it any longer, Lorraine interrupted him by raising her hand.

「Professor.」

Her cold voice echoed through the large lecture hall.

The seniors, recognizing the voice’s owner, looked intrigued, while her classmates were anxious. The lecturer, fiddling with the edge of his monocle, responded.

「What is it?」

「You should stop. If you remember whose grace allowed women to enter the academy.」

When he fell silent, Lorraine continued with a frosty smile.

「I appreciate your erroneous prediction that everyone here, including myself, will just stay at home.」

「…….」

「Unfortunately, I plan to use the knowledge granted to me by Her Majesty the Empress to live my life. Very unfortunately.」

Despite claiming it was unfortunate, Lorraine’s tone was light and polite.

「I believe Duke Rochester, who oversees the academy, should be informed of this. Don’t you think so?」

She asked nonchalantly, tilting her head.

Mentioning Duke Rochester, responsible for the academy’s management, changed the lecturer’s expression.

「Today’s class will end here.」

All he could do was announce the end of the class.