3. Love Letter (13)
It happened when I attended the salon for the third time. Although it was my third time attending, their attitude remained unchanged. By then, I felt I had been acting out of pointless stubbornness. I belatedly realized the obvious fact that picking an emotional fight would only exhaust me in the end.
So, thinking I should just leave, I was secretly plucking flowers in the beautifully decorated garden when I heard footsteps from somewhere. They came from the direction of the large hedge behind me, completely overgrown with vines.
Hiding myself, I looked toward the source of the sound and saw five women surrounding a single woman. The atmosphere was visibly unpleasant. The surrounded woman stood trembling, her hands clasped together and her head bowed low. She looked like she was about to cry.
The curly-haired woman at the front tapped her forehead.
'We make it so obvious every time that she shouldn't come, so why does she act like this?'
'Right?'
'She has absolutely no sense.'
As if reacting to the curly-haired woman's words, they each spat out a comment. Every single word was dripping with malice, intent on hurting her. I caught on immediately. The woman in the center was being ostracized. Seeing noble young ladies engaging in the same kind of bullying I often saw in the slums made me think that human nature was the same wherever you went.
I clicked my tongue softly and turned away. It was unfortunate, but I had no desire to intervene in that commotion. Getting involved unnecessarily might actually backfire. Half of it was also just because I couldn't be bothered.
I went back to the flowerbed and calmed my anger by plucking flowers. Just as the fallen petals began to form a path on the ground, I heard the sound of crying. I tried to ignore it at first, but as the sound gradually grew louder, I eventually stood up.
I went back toward the hedge and found the ostracized woman standing alone this time. The sight of her crying, shedding large tears, felt truly pitiful. But her demeanor was somewhat strange. Wasn't she fidgeting anxiously, looking up at the tree like a puppy desperate to relieve itself?
After a brief hesitation, I brushed off my skirt and walked in her direction. I had to pass the hedge to leave the garden anyway.
'Why are you crying?'
Startled by my sudden appearance, the woman flinched violently. She shrank back, looking even more terrified than before. I felt awkwardly embarrassed and scratched the nape of my neck.
The woman belatedly gave a stuttering reply.
'M-My necklace is up in the tree...'
Following her gaze, I looked up and saw a necklace hanging from a branch, swaying in the wind. Goodness, how did it get up there?
'Are you crying because of that?'
'I-It's a very precious necklace. It's my grandmother's keepsake...'
'Is that so?'
If that was the case, feeling a bit sorry for not saving her earlier, I swiftly kicked off my shoes. Then, I even took off my stockings, gathered my skirt to the side, and placed my bare feet against the tree trunk. The woman watching me widened her tear-filled eyes.
'W-What are you doing!'
'I'm going to get the necklace.'
'Pardon?'
Leaving her flustered and questioning behind, I calmly reached out and felt for the hollows in the trunk. Then, I began to climb the trunk with all my might. I might look like this, but I had years of living as a pauper under my belt. Climbing a tree of this height was a piece of cake.
However, perhaps because the trees here were maintained, there were few grooves in the trunk to step on, making it difficult to climb. So, I carefully grabbed the tree and hauled myself up. Soon, I reached the branch where the necklace was caught. I reached out and barely managed to grasp the swaying pendant. But I had no idea how to untangle it. The necklace was too far towards the end of the branch for me to pull it free; I simply couldn't reach.
Trying to force it free, my foot eventually slipped, and I almost slid down. Fortunately, I managed to grab the trunk at the last second, avoiding a highly dangerous situation. I heard the woman watching from below scream.
'A-Are you okay?!'
'Yes, well.'
After that, I carefully descended and safely made it back to the ground. The woman, who had been keeping her eyes on me, let out a sigh of relief as I landed safely. I handed her the necklace. However, because I had nearly slipped midway, the necklace chain had snapped of all things.
'I'm sorry. The chain broke.'
'It's okay! It was truly so precious, but thank you for finding it for me.'
She clutched the necklace tightly and teared up. I smiled awkwardly and brushed the dust off my bare soles. My appearance had become a mess in just a short while. I'd probably get an earful when I returned to the mansion. I put my stockings and shoes back on and smoothed out my wrinkled skirt. The woman helped me, brushing off my dress here and there, and I quietly accepted her kindness.
'You're Miss Christopher, right?'
She recognized me, as if she knew who I was. I nodded again.
'That's right.'
'I-I've heard a lot about you.'
'Is that so.'
So she's heard all sorts of rumors. I replied nonchalantly, but I felt a twinge of irritation inside. Just thinking about how she, like the others, would probably ramble on about whether the rumors she heard were true or not already made me sick and tired of it.
'I heard you've been very sickly since you were young, but you seem fine now.'
My hand, which was brushing off my dress, paused for a moment. Right, that was the official story. In fact, that was why I had been pretending to be frail ever since my debut in high society. Even if my health had recovered, suddenly acting perfectly fine would have been strange. I had decided not to do anything too physical in front of others, but feeling drastic fatigue while attending this place had made me momentarily forget.
My mind raced in a split second. I belatedly covered my mouth and let out a small cough.
'Cough, cough.'
'A-Are you okay?'
'My body suddenly feels a bit... I think I should head back now.'
It was beyond awkward, but that wasn't what mattered right now. I needed to get out of there immediately. Since it had come to this, I might as well return to the Christopher mansion. I'd use the excuse that my health had worsened. It wasn't like anyone would care if I left anyway.
'Then I'll be going. It was nice meeting you.'
'Huh? Ah, yes. It was nice meeting you too! M-Miss Christopher!'
'Yes.'
She seemed to want to talk more, but I offered a polite smile and turned away. However, it didn't take long for my steps to grow heavy. I groaned in thought, then turned back around.
'This might be presumptuous of me to say.'
The woman's eyes widened.
'There is something my grandfather told me.'
'Y-Yes?'
The woman asked back in surprise at my sudden words. I brought up the advice I had once heard from an elder.
'He said that people will treat me the way I treat myself. So, if I make light of myself, others will make light of me too.'
I had seen the woman at the previous two salons I attended. The people here treated her with the same blatant hostility they showed me. It seemed like she had been coming here even longer than I had, which made it strange that she was being ignored. When she tried to speak to them, they made their displeasure obvious; when she smiled, they mocked her. Despite all that, she kept smiling and tried her best to fit in with them.
This place had a strong vibe of people following the judgment of a single person. They were especially eager to cater to the whims of those from socially prominent families. They probably thought it was best not to get on anyone's bad side. I could almost scoff at their snobbish behavior, but I couldn't say I didn't understand it. I had only recently become a noble, so I didn't know much about social standing or justifications, but to them, it could be a crucial matter.
I didn't want to just blindly condemn them. Everyone had their own circumstances. And I knew very well that the woman in front of me mustered a lot of courage to face those who looked down on her.
'If you've made an effort to change, I think that's enough. You can be proud of yourself. Even if the people around you ignore your efforts, it's not your fault.'
'...'
'And one more thing—go meet people who will appreciate your efforts.'
There was no need to come to a place like this and suffer by whittling away your pride. There were plenty of houses hosting salons. Even if their status was lower than this one, it seemed like the woman wanted to attend salons to form connections with people, rather than for the status itself. However, no matter how hard she tried, people who disliked her from the start would only continue to look down on her. It would be much faster to meet good people and befriend them instead.
The woman didn't say a word in response to my words. I glanced at her and turned away. I knew that if someone who suddenly appeared offered sharp advice, it wouldn't be pleasant to hear. She might even get angry and ask who I was to say such things, so I left first to avoid that.
I no longer wanted to stay there. When I announced to the salon attendees that I was leaving, true to form, no one tried to stop me. In fact, they gladly let me go, telling me to hurry along.
After that, I didn't attend any more salons, and the memories of that day faded away as they were.
Or so I thought.
"Actually, at the party, I saw you going to the garden alone and followed you. Because of what happened last time, I wanted to say hello, but then I got lost in the maze and was in a panic. I was so happy when I luckily ran into you in front of the fountain."
The woman smiled happily as she recalled what happened at the party last time. I also dug up my memories from then. I had wondered why someone suddenly popped out of the hedge, but she had followed me and gotten lost. The reason she had recognized me and acted so friendly was because we had met at the salon.
"I couldn't get your necklace back then... And, I was even kidnapped, so I didn't have the presence of mind to explain who I was. I'm sorry."
"N-No, it's fine. I'm sorry too. Actually, I had completely forgotten about it."
"No! It's understandable to forget! I-It wasn't exactly a good memory, and you have no reason to remember it, Miss Christopher. I was just so grateful back then... So..."
I'd been trying to sort out my chaotic thoughts since earlier. So, this woman had met me at the salon and formed a good impression, which was why she sent the letter? At the same time, the contents of the letter, which had been so passionate every time I received one, came to mind. I was convinced a man had sent it.
I opened and closed my mouth before finally forcing out a single sentence.
"Then, that letter..."
"Ah."
The woman let out a short gasp and suddenly flushed red. Her shy expression looked unfamiliar. She clasped her hands tightly together and lowered her head slightly.
"I'm sorry for suddenly sending you such a letter. I got scolded so much later. Anyone would feel awful receiving a letter like that without knowing who sent it. I-I didn't have any bad intentions. I just wanted to let you know my feelings... It was the first time I had ever received such concern. And such a warm piece of advice, too."
"...Pardon?"
"M-M-Miss Christopher."
The woman was trembling with intense nervousness, stuttering three times over her words. I stiffened. A sudden, intense sense of foreboding washed over me. As I instinctively backed away, she took a large step forward and grabbed my hand. Her sudden boldness was hard to believe, considering how passive she had been acting just a moment ago. Her eyes, now right in front of me, were sparkling brightly.
"I love you!"
"......?!"