Chapter 166
The sky, which had been perfectly clear that very morning, was now dyed ash-gray, dropping raindrops thick and fast. It was unremarkable, average weather for the capital. Philip watched the rain beating against the windowpane and rolling down in beads, feeling nothing so much as the realization that he truly had come to the capital.
The carriage was silent. His sister, who had been chattering incessantly the entire time, had finally succumbed to sleep.
Rachel had spared no effort in preparing for today's party since several days ago. And those preparations included dressing her younger brother in a presentable manner and firmly instructing him to speak in an adult, cultured manner.
Only a month had passed since Philip enrolled in the Academy. Young Philip's heart still lingered on the bed in the dormitory room he shared with his friends. He wanted to sleep in, buried in a warm blanket, listening to the chattering of his young roommates.
But since Rachel had gone to such unusual trouble, refusing her goodwill would have been unreasonable. Philip knew full well how much his sister worried for him. Perhaps she cherished him even more than his parents. Because Rachel loved Philip that much, Philip loved Rachel too.
So he could gladly endure today's discomfort.
Philip looked down a little awkwardly at the children's suit he was wearing. It had clearly been tailored that spring, but he had since shot up in height, so even the sleeves were too short. But more uncomfortable than the sleeves were the dress shoes. His feet had grown even more than his height, so the shoes tailored with the outfit pinched and squeezed Philip's feet even when he wasn't walking. After boarding the carriage, his toes throbbed incessantly. His big toe, trapped inside the narrow shoe, thumped and vibrated so much it felt as if a heart were beating within.
‘I just have to endure a few hours.’
Thinking so, Philip tried his best to curl his trapped, motionless toes inside the shoes.
Today was the day of a party hosted directly by his cousin's wife, Mrs. Pinscher. The invitation had arrived about a week ago. According to what was specified on the invitation, the party was to be a modest affair, inviting only those close to the couple. But such supplementary explanations likely had never even registered in Rachel's eyes.
Rachel had repeatedly told Philip that he had to make a good impression on the adults at this party. Rachel's intentions were obvious. She meant to find a new patron for Philip at today's party.
When he was furrowing his brows without realizing it due to his throbbing feet, a voice called out from across the carriage, "Philip." The boy reflexively raised his head and looked up.
"Take off your shoes."
The man whose eyes met his extended a large hand to Philip and spoke. When Philip was too flustered to answer, he repeated, "It's fine. Take them off and give them to me."
Philip finally took off the shoes as if reluctantly and handed one to his cousin.
The man held up the small shoe, peered inside, then produced a small blade from his bosom. His hands were so large that it looked like nothing more than a small razor. He tilted it so that the dim light of the lantern dangling from the ceiling shone into the inside of the shoe. Then, without hesitation, he inserted the blade, cut something out, and tapped it clean.
A small piece of leather fell out and rolled to Philip's feet. Philip stared at it blankly, then looked back at his cousin. Isaac handed back the shoe he had been holding and spoke with an indifferent face.
"The other one too."
Philip obediently handed over the remaining shoe and watched as Isaac similarly cut something out. Soon both shoes were returned with temporary measures complete. Philip cautiously put his feet back inside. They were still terribly tight, but better than before. At least the feeling of his heel being pinched had disappeared.
"Thank you."
Isaac roughly pushed the cut leather pieces aside with his foot toward the corner and merely nodded. Then he continued to ask.
"Is school life manageable?"
"Yes."
"No one bullying you."
It sounded as if he would take care of them if there were any. Philip nodded and replied, "Yes. There aren't any."
His cousin had always been a man of few words. It had been that way when they first met, and it was that way now. He was consistently not the type to speak unnecessarily beyond what was needed.
"Good."
That was the extent of Isaac's reply, and the carriage fell silent again.
Instead of expressing his gratitude once more, Philip stared quietly at Isaac sitting across from him. According to the original plan, Isaac should have been at the mansion greeting guests with his wife. Having been called to headquarters and held up all afternoon, he had only just been released and was still wearing his navy-blue uniform jacket.
The carriage had already entered Punch Street in the old district. Soon it stopped in front of Hayden House. As if she had been waiting, the front door opened and Caroline came out. She declined the umbrella offered by the maid with a shake of her head and immediately came down toward them.
"You really ought to take an umbrella."
Isaac, who had already gotten off the carriage, extended his hand to her and spoke.
"It's fine. It's right in front. And this rain will stop soon. You can tell at a glance."
Caroline took her grandson's hand and climbed into the carriage as she spoke.
"Have you been well, Grandmother."
"Yes. Dear, have you been well? It seems you've grown quite a bit since I last saw you."
Caroline received Philip's greeting with her usual expression and sat across from Rachel. The carriage door closed again, and Isaac sat beside Caroline.
Caroline glanced toward the sleeping Rachel. When Philip, wearing a look of trying to read the room, cautiously tried to grab his sister's arm to wake her, Caroline shook her head as if to say it was fine.
With the crack of a whip, the carriage set off again. Passing through Saint Petrium Square in the center of the capital, then toward the outskirts once more.
It headed straight for Eris Hall, where the party was being held.
＊＊＊
Contrary to what Caroline had asserted, the rain was beginning to fall harder and harder. The downpour relentlessly hammered the carriage roof, loud enough to hurt one's ears. Rachel remained asleep without paying any heed to this grating noise. Instead, she intermittently muttered in her sleep—things like Philip's name, or elegant greetings directed at someone in her dreams.
Unlike Isaac, Caroline asked Philip about this and that incessantly the entire way. Unlike the previous conversation that had ended with "Anyone bullying you?" "No," Caroline seemed determined to find out everything about the Academy Philip attended.
Only after hearing that he sometimes skipped lunch but tried his best to eat at least a sandwich so as not to starve did Caroline respond with a satisfied face, "That's what you should do."
Only then did the carriage become quiet again. Caroline turned her attention to Isaac. To be precise, after examining him thoroughly from head to toe, she asked.
"Have you been to the military court or whatever again?"
"No. I went to meet some superiors."
Fortunately, Caroline did not pry further than that. She turned her attention back to Philip. This time, the subject of interest was his dormitory room.
Isaac listened to Philip talk about his roommates and how they divided the cleaning duties, while fixing his gaze on the window again.
The rain continued to pour, and the carriage interior was far removed from the silence he normally loved. If it had been him from a few months ago, he would have been nervously staring at the floor.
Rachel was still deeply asleep, occasionally talking in her sleep, while Philip and Caroline continued their conversation without rest. And Isaac let the sound of their conversation wash over him as he watched the changing scenery outside the window.
The rain was pouring down terribly hard, but strangely, as they neared their destination, the rainfall began to weaken again. Caroline spoke once more about her intuition born of long experience, and Philip nodded even more perfunctorily than before in response.
The carriage now faced a familiar hill road. To the side of the hill, dense bushes formed a small forest. The road was still poorly paved and muddy. When the wheels struck a large bump and the carriage lurched, Caroline grumbled something with an annoyed face. She would probably tell Sasha to fix the nearby roads the moment she saw her.
The carriage began to climb the hill slowly and sluggishly. Isaac listened to the carriage's groaning with a listless face and thought.
‘It would be faster to just walk up.’
Of course, he only thought it, and did not actually do the crazy thing of getting out and walking up. Yes. He didn't do such a crazy thing like he had back then.
Once they finished climbing the hill, a tall mansion came into view, standing haughtily with not a single house around it. Whether it rained or not, the mansion exuded an indescribable gloom and grandeur, and today was no different.
The carriage door opened, and Isaac got out first to help the others disembark. Rachel only woke up after arriving. With a greatly flustered face, she grumbled, to Isaac or to Philip it was unclear, about why they hadn't woken her until now.
Caroline, Rachel, and Philip entered the mansion's entrance hall first. The moment Isaac was about to close the carriage door, something black suddenly appeared above his head.
Isaac turned around and looked up at the butler Jason, who was raising his arm to hold an umbrella over him.
"The party has already begun. I believe you may enter as you are."
Isaac reached out his hand, but Jason steadfastly refused to hand over the umbrella. Isaac respected his will and entered the entrance hall together with him.
He saw Caroline, Rachel, and Philip waiting ahead. Isaac told them to go in first, and the three soon walked toward the door of the hall where the party was.
The huge door opened and the three entered first, disappearing from sight. Instead of following them in, Isaac stopped for a moment. Jason, who had been following one step behind, looked at him as if asking why.
"...I was wondering if I should change my clothes."
Jason cautiously offered his opinion with his usual polite face.
"In my opinion, you look fine as you are now. You look even more dashing than usual."
Isaac was not used to such compliments. He didn't think he would ever get used to them, even when he became a grandfather.
As Isaac was hesitating while entertaining such idle thoughts.
A door on the far side of the hall opened and someone poked their head out.
"Jack!"
Before Isaac could even answer, the woman slipped out from inside and approached quickly.
Her steps were headed straight toward Isaac without a moment's hesitation.
Jason had already long since stepped back so that the master and mistress could converse comfortably.
"What are you going to do about coming so late?"
She scolded him, and Isaac rubbed the back of his neck with a slightly awkward face.
"I was thinking of changing my clothes."
"No, you look fine as you are. Hurry up and come in."
She had approached right before him, grabbed his arm, and pulled him down toward her. As if in encouragement, her lips briefly met his cheek and pulled away, and she was already walking ahead holding his hand. Isaac walked as if being dragged along helplessly by his wife, watching her back.
The woman turned her head as if sensing Isaac's gaze and looked at him.
Beautiful green eyes looked straight at him, containing not only determination but also her usual affection.
"It's really hard dealing with the guests alone. Especially the officers—I have no idea what to talk to them about."
"If you leave them alone, they'll just drink and amuse themselves."
"...Ah. That's truly excellent advice."
She spoke sarcastically and tugged him along. Sasha glanced back at Isaac once, and Isaac responded by taking the doorknob with his own hand, turning it, and pushing it inward.
There were more guests than he had expected. The people stopped their conversations one by one at the appearance of the master and mistress and looked their way.
"Don't be nervous."
She let go of the hand she had been holding at some point and looped her arm through his as she spoke.
Instead of answering, Isaac clutched her hand tightly with his other hand, then let go.
This time, it'll be fine because we're together.
It'll keep being fine from now on, too.
They entered the hall together where people were waiting.
🍩｜For Lady Grayson's Perfect Death｜Fin
ⓓPublic Funding · Personal Thanks