Chapter 6 – At the Crossroads of Choice (1) (Part 12)

As they expected, Asiel didn’t show up for three days. Walking while looking at the sky, Lorraine spoke.

“The weather will be nice tomorrow too.”

A subtle atmosphere lingered all day. People went about the third day’s schedule individually, as if they had never followed the bride and her father around, laughing and chatting.

“…Indeed.”

A silence followed. Lorraine watched the waves regularly wetting her ankles and cautiously asked.

“The young lord… never intended to come to the wedding, did he?”

At her question, Edwin nodded and quietly replied.

“Probably.”

“…I hope things don’t escalate.”

Currently, Asiel Dunant was secretly wanted. If news spread that one of the founding families was once again plotting rebellion-.

「If all the invested capital withdraws, the country will be in turmoil.」

Jamie often said, “The country must not fall into chaos.”

Lorraine, looking at the shining lighthouse, suddenly remembered and asked.

“By the way.”

“What?”

“Why did you have a fake romance?”

Lorraine knew that letters from young ladies still occasionally came to Edwin. Butler Paul managed them discreetly, but they weren’t invisible.

“…Why bring that up suddenly?”

“Just curious, all of a sudden.”

“So, why?”

“Well… even Lady Roben was fooled by Your Grace’s… mmph.”

With a swift hand, Lorraine looked at him with disbelief. Even so, Edwin only released her mouth after checking their surroundings.

“Watch your mouth.”

“There’s no one around. Why are you so cautious when you don’t even care about appearances….”

Lorraine grumbled but put down the shoes she was holding and took out a handkerchief from her pocket. Fortunately, it was a cotton handkerchief. Unfortunately, it was a new one with her mother’s embroidery.

It was a shame, but there was no choice. She soaked the handkerchief in seawater without hesitation. Squeezing it until it retained just enough moisture, Lorraine held it out to him.

“Give me your hand.”

“Why?”

Not wanting to argue further, she firmly grabbed his hand.

“You got lip gloss on it.”

“Oh.”

“It doesn’t seem noticeable, but….”

A rosy lip gloss stained the white handkerchief.

“See? It got on it, right?”

She rarely wore makeup. She wasn’t skilled at it, nor was it a habit. Even doing this much was thanks to Louise bringing her lipsticks or lip glosses since her academy days.

「This much is enough for you. You can at least trace, right?」

She never felt the need to have a dressing maid, nor could she afford one, unless she were a countess or something.

「Why don’t we have a dressing maid?」

If only Olivia hadn’t insisted.

“Didn’t it feel sticky? See, who goes around covering people’s mouths like that.”

She let go of his hand only after wiping his palm again with the clean side.

“There, it’s done. It doesn’t feel sticky, right?”

“Uh, well….”

After meticulously wiping her mouth with the remaining clean side, she continued nagging.

“I’m letting you off easy, but if you do this to other ladies, you’ll get into big trouble.”

She was about to put the handkerchief back in her pocket but realized it was wet and tied it around her wrist instead.

“By the way… you know you’re still getting letters from the young lady of the Lotger family, right?”

“The eldest?”

When Edwin asked as if it couldn’t be true, Lorraine shrugged and answered.

“No, the second, Miss Kate Lotger.”

“…The Duke of Lotger must be furious.”

Edwin muttered as if talking to himself.

It was because the one who had a scandal with Edwin was the eldest daughter, Roselyn. Moreover, the Duke of Lotger was known to dislike such newspaper appearances.

“That family’s young lady has persistence. To keep writing letters even after being scolded by her father.”

Lorraine sighed and shook her head.

She suddenly recalled the face of Roselyn Lotger, who had shown the opposite attitude to her sister. It was quite some time ago.

「I see. Thank you.」

Roselyn was known to have inherited her late mother’s and grandmother’s frail health.

‘I heard she was getting better lately, but maybe not….’

Lorraine knew well that she hadn’t made her social debut and had spent a long time bedridden.

「I should be going now.」

When Roselyn stood, the maid standing by immediately supported her. The maid’s gaze was colder than the heart of a winter snowfield.

I’m not the one at fault, so why am I getting the blame?

Lorraine thought, awkwardly avoiding the maid’s gaze.

It was a dirty, unfair world.

Suddenly, she noticed Roselyn’s arm held by the maid. She seemed to have gained some weight compared to before.

As they stood side by side at the entrance waiting for the carriage, Roselyn suddenly turned around.

「Sorry for the inconvenience.」

「Oh, no.」

When the carriage arrived and the coachman opened the door, Roselyn naturally took his hand and stepped in. Lorraine lowered her gaze and bowed deeply.

「…Goodbye.」

Roselyn, who had been looking at her quietly, smiled and replied.

「…Thank you.」

With that, she boarded the carriage without hesitation. Lorraine watched the departing carriage for a moment, then suddenly asked Philip, who was standing beside her.

「…Is he planning to break up with Lady Lotger?」

「…Uh, huh? What are you suddenly…?」

「I mean His Grace.」

As if she had no more interest, she turned back to the mansion and continued.

「I’ve never seen someone stand up their partner like this.」

When she narrowed her eyes and asked, Philip waved his hand and loudly denied it.

「No, it’s just that a schedule suddenly came up.」

「Hmm….」

It wasn’t a convincing answer, but she had no right to press further.

「It’s rude, in such a situation.」

「…Yes, I agree.」

The relationship with Roselyn ended after continuing for half a year.

All of Edwin’s scandals were more aptly described as relationships that ended rather than broke up.

“No, I mean! Just be honest with me. Don’t you know the saying ‘Now I can say it’?”

“Nonsense.”

“Philip said it was because you found it bothersome, is that true?”

At that moment, Philip, who was handling the influx of work on Edwin’s behalf in Lantil, had to rub his arms to ward off the sudden chill.

“Rubbish.”

“Isn’t that a plausible theory?”

“I’m suing you for defamation.”

Despite Edwin’s ominous voice, Lorraine replied with a grin.

“Is stating facts a crime?”

“…….”

“Well, as long as no one got hurt in the process, isn’t that what matters?”

As if she had never interrogated him, she shrugged nonchalantly, showing no interest in hearing his answer.

***

The work began as soon as they arrived at Zepa Harbor.

“This might sound a bit… but.”

“Go ahead.”

Some guests cited personal reasons for not attending the remaining events.

“Am I a bad person for finding Marquis Roben’s face amusing?”

The one who answered Lorraine was Ian’s aide, Sydney.

“No, considering the trouble you went through, it’s understandable….”

He nodded as if it made sense. Naturally, Marquis Roben’s complexion was as miserable as a soldier under carpet bombing.

「Thank you for coming.」

However, the Marquis, like a true noble, didn’t press further and saw the guests off. Lorraine shook her head as she watched the last carriage depart.

“Is it a testament to patience? He hasn’t even furrowed his brows.”

“…He’ll take it out on the attendants.”

Edwin replied nonchalantly while reading today’s newspaper.

“Juliet Roben is holed up in her room without a trace.”

“There too.”

At that moment, Ian, sitting across from them, asked.

“Still no news of Young Lord Dunant?”

“None. But….”

Edwin folded the newspaper and continued calmly.

“He’ll come here. This is his land too.”

Currently, they were at a villa owned by the Marquis.

The guests who were leaving for various reasons, expecting the wedding to be canceled, looked at them strangely. But they didn’t ask why they weren’t returning home.

It’s not their business.

Nobles. Lorraine sighed heavily and shook her head.

“And… it’ll take the guards over 30 minutes to get here geographically.”

Edwin gestured toward the lighthouse faintly visible through the open window.

“Asiel knows he’ll only face imprisonment if caught. He’ll likely surrender without resistance. Once caught, he’ll request a noble trial from His Majesty.”

He spoke as if he could see the future.

If the accused was a high-ranking noble, the Emperor and nobles would have to serve as judges. It was a right granted to nobles and a bad custom.

Ian’s brow furrowed as if crumpling a sheet of paper. The situation Edwin foresaw was about 30 degrees different from what Ian hoped for.

“So, he’s not… running away.”

His voice was grave as he tapped the armrest with his fingertips.

“The founding families have a significant presence in Moses, so it can’t be helped.”

“It’s not that your Emperor is indecisive.”

“They call it pacifism.”

The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy. Lorraine aimlessly rolled her eyes and met Sydney’s gaze, who was in a similar situation. They exchanged awkward smiles.

Then Edwin stood up and spoke first.

“Anyway… the schedule is empty until the day of the ceremony, so rest.”

No response came.