It was four days later that Katrin Grotte came to the estate.
Past noon, with her bonnet pulled low over her head, the woman announced her request for an audience. It was the coldest day since the previous winter.
Anette asked Heiner to ensure that no one but herself and Katrin entered the drawing room. Heiner objected, but she was adamant as never before.
In the end, he permitted it on several conditions, including a body search of Katrin. He even made her carry a small knife for self-defense.
Anette entered the drawing room, fiddling with the folded knife tucked into her clothes. Katrin, who had been sitting in a chair, stood up. The woman smelled of the cold outside.
Katrin removed her hat and bowed her head. She was an unremarkable brunette with plain features, but the two beauty marks beneath her left eye made her look somehow forlorn.
Anette also inclined her head slightly before raising it again. After exchanging greetings with only a nod and sitting down, silence descended.
Katrin wore an inscrutable expression. Unable to endure the discomfort, Anette opened her mouth.
"Well...."
"I..."
Their voices overlapped. Anette smiled awkwardly and said,
"You first—"
"No, please speak first, my lady."
"It's nothing much, but perhaps some tea... What kind of tea do you prefer?"
"Anything is fine."
At the indifferent reply, Anette trailed off, saying, "I see...."
The meeting felt so uncomfortable that it was almost unbearable. She couldn't quite meet Katrin's eyes and glanced around aimlessly.
Anette knew nothing about this situation. Why David had tried to harm her, what feelings Katrin held toward her, and what this faint, elusive memory of her was....
Being left alone in this state of utter ignorance made her endlessly anxious.
Anette had a servant bring two cups of warm lemongrass tea. While she was worrying about what to say until the tea was ready, Katrin readily threw her a question.
"Are you feeling well?"
"Much better."
"That is truly a relief."
Was it sincere? Anette couldn't take Katrin's words at face value. Her eyes, lowered to avoid her gaze, suddenly fell upon Katrin's stomach. Sensing that look, Katrin placed a hand on her belly.
"Five months."
"...Ah."
Katrin was a newlywed. It was natural that she would be pregnant. And yet, for some reason, the fact of her pregnancy felt so strange and unfamiliar.
"Congratulations..."
Anette spoke with difficulty, her voice gritty as though chewing on sand. Even to her own ears, it was a reaction completely devoid of congratulatory intent.
"Thank you."
Katrin replied composedly. Anette clenched both hands, which rested atop her skirt, tightly. Her nails dug into her skin.
The news of her miscarriage had not been made known to the outside. There was no way Katrin could know. Anette felt the impulse to confess everything to her.
I had a miscarriage.
Because of your brother.
It was eleven weeks.
Will your child be born blessed?
My child wasn't even blessed—no one even knew of its existence.
The words that couldn't be voiced were swallowed back into her throat along with self-mockery. The strength left Anette's hands.
What would change even if she said that? Wouldn't it just be feigning pity? Nothing would change anyway.
Moreover, she couldn't violate what Heiner had already classified as confidential. Though it was something that had happened to her, Anette had no authority. It had been that way for a long time.
A servant brought out simple refreshments, but neither of them touched them to their lips. Steam rose quietly into the air.
Katrin, who had been gazing at the surface of her tea, suddenly opened her mouth.
"You must think I came here hoping for mercy, my lady?"
"...Is that not the case?"
"It is not."
"I actually thought it might not be."
"That is unexpected. Why?"
"I... don't really know."
She couldn't voice the guess that Katrin felt somehow familiar—a guess she couldn't even be sure of herself. Fortunately, Katrin didn't press further.
"The reason I came to see you is because I have something to tell you."
"..."
"I wished to meet you after you had recovered more fully. So I deliberately visited a little later than I might have. You may have been hoping I wouldn't come, my lady."
"No, I..."
Anette hastily denied it, then hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to continue.
"...Not particularly."
"Is that so."
The corners of Katrin's lips rose slightly. It was a smile without sincerity.
"You are a little different from what I expected, my lady."
As a question mark appeared on Anette's face, Katrin's smile deepened somewhat.
"I thought you would be more arrogant and pretentious."
"Why...?"
"Because you are an only daughter."
The only daughter 'of Count Dietrich.' Anette chewed over the omitted words alone.
"Well, it has been a long time. Many things have happened. People change."
It was a statement containing a subtle implication. Unable to find a suitable reply, Anette simply remained silent.
If it were the past, she would have tried to prove she wasn't such a person. But now, she had no such will whatsoever.
She might truly be such a person—Anette thought inwardly. She simply hadn't known it herself.
"Do you have any cousin brothers, my lady?"
"...I had a few."
"You must have been close to them? Especially since you are an only child."
"We were on decent terms."
Anette didn't understand why she was asking such questions, but answered as asked.
"You weren't very close, then."
"My relatives lived in other provinces."
"I see. I have one older brother above me, and one younger brother below. We grew up together, as in most families."
Katrin, who had naturally brought up personal matters, continued to speak as smoothly as flowing water.
"My brother graduated from the academy and got a job at a trading company. He was an ambitious person. He always wanted to rise to a higher position."
Katrin's eyes, slowly sifting through the past, grew a little hazy. Anette knew those eyes.
"My brother tried hard to climb higher. He worked diligently, flattered his superiors to get in their good graces, and even did dirty work. He did everything he could from that position."
It was longing.
"But my brother failed at every promotion attempt. I heard the branch manager was a nobleman, and that person completely stole my brother's merits. And promoted his own son. James must have been able to endure the former but not the latter. I don't quite know what the standard was... Anyway."
Katrin didn't seem to realize she had unconsciously spoken her brother's name. Anette quietly repeated the name to herself. James.
James... Berkel.
"My brother went down that path and joined the revolutionary army."
Katrin let out a laugh like a sigh.
"A trivial reason, isn't it?"
But Anette couldn't react at all. From the moment the word 'revolutionary army' was mentioned, she felt as though her breath was being cut off.
"The revolutionary army may sound impressive by name, but in truth, most of them were people like my brother. They didn't step forward because of some grand cause or exceptional ability, but simply... ordinary, perhaps somewhat insignificant people."
After the revolution, radio and newspapers highlighted the heroic aspects of individual revolutionary soldiers. It was an effective way to both justify the revolution and shape public opinion.
"Honestly, I don't know much about the revolutionary army. I didn't want to get involved with such things. But I'm certain my brother wasn't entrusted with anything important there. He was merely a low-ranking member at best."
Anette desperately held herself back from bolting from her seat immediately. She didn't want to hear it. She had to hear it. She didn't want to hear it. Still, she had to hear it. Still, still....
"Five years ago, it was when the rooting out of the revolutionary army was at its height. Many people were found out and dragged away, and my brother was among them."
Why did she have to hear this?
"The person in charge of the interrogation was Count Dietrich then. Interrogation... or should I call it torture? Anyway, that matter was concluded very quickly."
Why had she wanted to hear this?
"The conclusion was that my brother was a spy from a hostile nation who had come to incite rebellion in Padania, and was sentenced to death under the National Security Law. The count, having quickly wrapped up the interrogation, went straight off somewhere. Like a man with urgent business."
Why was she listening to this story....
"That day, there was your piano recital."
In that moment, Anette recalled where she had seen the woman before.
Anette's face turned deathly pale in an instant. Without realizing it, she covered her mouth with both hands. It felt as though a strange sound would burst out if she didn't.
***
It was when she was twenty-three. After the recital ended successfully, Anette was being showered with congratulations, several bouquets cradled in her arms.
Her mind was a blur from the crowd surrounding her. The lights were blinding, the fragrance of the large bouquets in her arms was thick, and people's admiration swirled dizzyingly in her ears.
"Honey, let's take a picture, the three of us."
"Come this way, Father!"
"Oh, yes. Of course I must take one with my daughter... Ah, wait a moment. Take some with the others first."
A man who had approached urgently whispered something into Count Dietrich's ear. Anette tilted her head, then took pictures with other friends.
At the man's words, the count expressed displeasure in a low voice. Anette had been laughing at her friends' jokes, then turned to look at her father.
"...not... immediately...."
"Reporters are...."
After the short conversation, Count Dietrich roughly waved his hand and sent the man away. It was an attitude suggesting annoyance.
A puzzled Anette asked her father what was going on. Count Dietrich evaded the question, but at his daughter's persistent questioning, he had no choice but to give a vague answer.
"Someone is causing a commotion in front of the concert hall."
"A commotion? Who? Why?"
"They must be dissatisfied with a verdict. There are fools everywhere who know nothing of the law's strictness. Don't mind it."