151. Perhaps It Was All For This Moment (4)
Among them, I heard a voice pressing Alicia. Pushed forward by the crowd, Alicia stood flustered, unsure of what to do. However, the moment her eyes met mine, her bewilderment vanished, replaced by a face twisted with jealousy.
"That's not true!"
Alicia declared boldly. Violet, who had been embracing me and reveling in the joy of our reunion, turned around. Meeting Violet's gaze head-on, Alicia pointed at herself and shouted confidently.
"I am Pola! I'm the real one, not her!"
Watching this unfold, Violet turned to look at me once more. I couldn't utter a single word as I met her purple eyes, which seemed to ask what on earth was going on. Violet glanced back and forth between my hesitation and Alicia's confident facade, seemingly pondering for a moment, before pulling me into a tight embrace again.
"My, how strange. I know who Pola is, after all."
Then, with a nonchalant tone, she drove the final nail in the coffin.
"But I haven't the slightest idea who you are."
It was like a sandcastle destined to crumble from the very beginning. No matter how many layers were built up, it was a precarious situation that would inevitably collapse helplessly at the slightest tide. When the inevitable finally happened, my heart sank to my stomach.
At Violet's words, everyone's attention snapped back to Alicia. Her face flushed bright red as she screamed her denials. Even the other servants passing by seemed to sense something was amiss, gathering around to watch the spectacle.
"She's lying! That woman is lying!"
Alicia cried out her innocence, but her opponent was a noble. Regardless of whose words held the truth, the scales had already tipped heavily to one side.
The people who had previously surrounded Alicia hesitated and stepped back. Doubt had already begun to sprout in their minds. Realizing the situation had turned against her, Alicia hung her head low, her body trembling violently. She was completely isolated.
"No, it's not true..."
Meaningless words spilled from her lips in a fragile whisper. It looked as though a thick darkness was descending upon the trembling Alicia. For a brief moment, the images of my dead siblings overlapped with her figure. Without realizing it, I began to reach out, but Violet grabbed my hand firmly, stopping me in my tracks.
She flashed me a sweet smile.
"You mustn't."
I contorted my face. Turning my head again, I saw that Alicia was staring at someone. At the end of her gaze stood Vincent. He watched Alicia with an impassive expression, while Ethan, standing beside him, calmly observed the sudden turn of events, assessing the situation.
Alicia reached out and stumbled toward Vincent.
"L-Lord Vincent. Please, tell them it's all a misunderstanding."
As if grasping at her last shred of hope, Alicia begged Vincent for help with a trembling voice. However, he was no savior. Standing utterly motionless, Vincent spat out a single sentence.
"I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about."
With that, he put an end to the situation.
Alicia froze completely. Tearing his gaze away from her, Vincent signaled Audrey with his eyes. Audrey, who had been silently observing the situation, maintained her usual composure before quietly issuing orders to the nearby servants. Hesitantly, the servants stepped forward and bound Alicia's arms.
"What are you doing! Let me go!"
Alicia thrashed wildly, but her bindings held firm. She was dragged away unceremoniously. Her piercing screams echoed heavily through the hall, yet no one could step forward to help her.
"It's so nice to see you again like this, Pola."
"Yes..."
Sitting on the parlor sofa, Violet took a sip of her tea and spoke warmly. Seated across from her, I bowed my head deeply as I replied.
After Alicia was dragged away, Ethan took Vincent and headed somewhere. Meanwhile, Violet and I followed Audrey to the parlor. Violet had wanted to go see Robert immediately, but Audrey gently coaxed her into coming here first, suggesting that barging in suddenly might startle him.
Audrey then hastily brought out tea and light refreshments before leaving to inform Robert of the news, leaving Violet and me alone in the parlor. Violet offered me a seat, suggesting we chat while we waited, so I found myself sitting on the sofa as well.
The earlier situation must have been strange enough to warrant questions, yet Violet made no mention of it. She simply sipped her tea in good spirits.
"I heard you've been attending to Robert. I'm grateful."
"Not at all."
Her words went in one ear and out the other. I felt as though I were sitting on a bed of thorns. It wasn't just because of what had just happened; I couldn't help but wonder if I even had the right to welcome her so warmly.
Looking back, our relationship had grown distant in the annex five years ago, and the last I saw of her was when she left the mansion, as if being dragged away against her will. The memory of her declaring she still loved Vincent remained vivid in my mind. For us to meet again like this, at this very moment—if it were a coincidence, it had to be a cruel one.
"I heard Robert was ill. I wanted to come see him right away, but I'm no longer in a position to do so. I thought I'd just quickly wrap up some urgent business before coming, but it took much longer than expected, which is why I'm only arriving now."
"I see."
"How is Robert? Is he still in poor condition?"
"No. He is doing much better now."
"Thank goodness."
Violet pressed a hand to her chest in relief. She hadn't shown it outwardly, so I hadn't noticed, but she must have been deeply worried about Robert. I offered an awkward smile before falling silent, my gaze still drifting across the floor. I was uncomfortable. Shifting in my seat, I found myself glancing toward the door.
"Hmm— I'm happy to see you, Pola, but it seems you aren't happy to see me."
"That's not it!"
I snapped my head up and waved my hands frantically. At that, Violet let out a soft chuckle.
"Then lift your head. I've missed you just as much as I'm happy to see you."
"...Yes."
She treated me so naturally, as if she had completely forgotten about the past. I forced my stiffening neck to stay upright, fighting the urge to shrink back and bow my head. Seeing me struggle, Violet continued to offer me her radiant smile.
"How have you been all this time? I heard you left suddenly, though the news reached me late. Things were so chaotic for me back then that I couldn't even properly check on you."
"It's alright. I didn't get to tell you, either."
Not that either of us was in any position to look after the other.
It seemed Violet hadn't heard the exact details of why I had to leave this place. Or perhaps she knew, but chose not to show it. Since it wasn't something I could easily bring up, I kept my answers vague.
"I hope you've been well too, Lady Violet."
"Of course. I've been doing wonderfully."
Violet smiled brightly as she sipped her tea. I carefully scrutinized her face.
Considering everything I had heard about Violet, it was hard to believe she had been doing wonderfully. She must have endured hardships and experienced things too harrowing to even imagine. Having weathered it all alone to sit here today, she claimed she was fine—considerately keeping her words light so as not to burden my heart.
Her behavior earlier had been a bit startling, but the Violet sitting before me now was still the same warm and affectionate person.
Soon, the door opened, and lively footsteps came pattering into the room. They stopped abruptly near the sofa. Robert stood there, his eyes wide as saucers, staring in our direction. Turning her head, Violet caught sight of him and immediately rose to her feet.
"Robert, my son!"
"Mother?"
"Yes. Come to your mother's arms."
Violet spread her arms wide, her smile even brighter than when she had greeted me. Robert's startled expression crumbled into one of tearful joy. In an instant, his small body threw itself into Violet's embrace. She held him tightly, burying her face in his and rubbing it affectionately.
"Mother! I missed you so much!"
"I missed you too, so much."
Tears welled up in Violet's eyes. Unable to contain her emotions, she sniffled, repeatedly whispering apologies. Surprisingly, Robert didn't cry. Instead, he patted her back with surprising maturity as she rubbed her tear-stained cheeks against him, calmly comforting her. Behind them, the nursemaid secretly wiped away her own tears.
While the mother and son shared their tearful reunion, Joelly arrived, having heard the news. Looking slightly disheveled from rushing over, Joelly ran joyously to Violet, who was still embracing Robert. With the three of them together, the warm atmosphere only multiplied. I watched them for a moment before quietly slipping away.
Violet had her son and her nursemaid; there was no need for me to linger. Besides, I had my own business to attend to. The moment I stepped out of the parlor, I went looking for Audrey. I needed to know what had happened to Alicia after she was dragged away.
Fortunately, I didn't have to walk far down the corridor before finding her. I immediately approached and asked about Alicia. She seemed unusually reluctant to speak. It seemed she had been ordered to hold her tongue around me after hearing about the situation. But I had to know. So, when I asked her almost pleadingly, Audrey reluctantly informed me that Alicia had been confined to an empty room.
It was a small mercy that the incident had erupted so suddenly. With the mansion already in an uproar over the second murder case, it seemed no immediate punishment had been decreed. She was being confined to prevent her escape, but Audrey warned me that once the urgent matters were settled, Alicia would face the consequences of her actions.
Hearing this, a headache flared up. I pressed a hand against my throbbing forehead, agonizing over how to resolve this situation.
"Pola."
As I was walking down the corridor, a sudden voice called out. Startled, I turned my head, only to find Ethan stepping out from a partially opened doorway nearby, gesturing for me to come over. I glanced around before quickly heading his way. The moment I stepped inside, he closed the door and turned to face me.
"Have you been well?"
I asked after his well-being first. He looked fine on the outside, but the state he was in when I last saw him had constantly weighed on my mind. However, instead of answering, Ethan simply crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, shooting me a disgruntled look.
"Just what exactly is going on here?"
I immediately understood what Ethan was asking. He might not have grasped the full picture of what just happened, but he definitely sensed something was off. It seemed he had dragged Vincent away to interrogate him about Alicia's actions. Like a sinner, I bowed my head deeply.
"Looking at your face, it seems you knew about this as well, Pola."
"I'm sorry."
"An apology isn't what I want to hear right now."
"There were... circumstances. I am truly sorry."
"What kind of circumstances?"
I couldn't easily answer that. When I remained silent, Ethan posed a different question.
"Since when did Vincent know?"
The fact that her sister was pretending to be me. The fact that I was the real one. The question encompassed both. The fact that he was asking this meant Vincent probably hadn't explained everything properly. Or perhaps, he had stayed quiet out of consideration for me.
"After you left, Lord Ethan..."
"Did you tell him first, Pola?"
"...The Master figured it out on his own."
"Vincent figured it out on his own, huh. Then that makes it sound like he kept his mouth shut even when someone else was pretending to be you."
"..."
"Pola."
A low rebuke reached my ears. I bowed my head even deeper. "I'm sorry." As I murmured softly, a heavy sigh followed.
"To be frank, I'm disappointed."
It was a completely understandable reaction. Even without spelling it out, the reason Alicia had done what she did was obvious. Knowing that, it was only natural for Ethan to condemn me for failing to stop her. Clasping my hands tightly together, I quietly accepted his reprimand.