4. A Fortune That Rolled In
"Fine. One way or another, bankruptcy is staring us in the face, so there's no harm in setting aside a portion for my predecessor's daughter. After all, she is your child, isn't she?"
Brenda Hardy shouted sharply at her husband, who kept his lips tightly sealed. Throughout the night, she had been so dumbfounded that her mind had gone blank, but now rage was beginning to surge belatedly. Regardless, Walter Hardy merely tilted his wine glass in silence.
"Are you listening to me right now? Honey! Hello, Viscount Hardy!"
Brenda Hardy cried out irritably and snatched the wine bottle away. He had been drinking day and night ever since being scammed, but today that sight was particularly grating on her nerves.
'A lady claiming to be of the Hardy family has come calling.'
Last night, when the maid had arrived in a fluster and stammered out those words, Brenda had assumed some deranged lunatic had appeared. Erna Hardy. If the maid hadn't added the visitor's name, she might have ordered her driven out with a basin of dirty water thrown after her.
Annette's daughter had appeared. Why suddenly?
Unable to believe it, Brenda hurried to the scene, where she encountered a sight that left her jaw hanging open. The girl looked so much like her mother that it gave her chills, as if the deceased Annette Baden had come back to life. Of course, that ridiculous attire was equally astonishing.
"Honey! What exactly are you going to do with that girl? Hmm?"
"Send her back."
Walter Hardy, who had been acting like a detached observer, finally spoke.
"Just persuade her to leave. That's all there is to it, Brenda."
"How easily you say that. Yes, I'm sure she'll listen to reason. That's why she came all this way to make such an absurd demand. Of course."
Brenda Hardy sneered openly and snorted.
To ask them to look after the Baden family's country manor. The girl's request was truly preposterous and brazen beyond belief. Even with her face tense with nervousness, the way she clearly stated her piece was unmistakably Annette Baden. Brenda Hardy had to summon every ounce of patience she possessed not to throw the girl out immediately.
"Master, Madam. Breakfast is ready. Lady Erna has come down as well."
The maid's message, accompanied by a cautious knock, stopped Brenda Hardy from launching into another tirade.
"Make her understand and send her away. You must. Understood?"
Leaving his wife with her earnest instructions, Walter Hardy rose from his seat.
Having given her shelter and food for one night, he had fulfilled the minimum obligation. So he firmly resolved to drive the girl out immediately. He had no intention whatsoever of adding a daughter who pestered like a debt collector to an already troublesome situation. That was certainly his intent. Until he faced Erna, waiting quietly in the morning room.
When their eyes met, Erna hurriedly rose from her seat. Morning sunlight poured generously over her through the wide windows facing the garden. Perhaps because he had been thoroughly drunk the night before, it felt as if he were seeing the girl for the first time.
"Hello, Father."
Erna, who had been holding her breath and blinking her large eyes, offered a tentative greeting. Her voice was remarkably clear and gentle.
"Um... Father?"
Tilting her head slightly, Erna clasped her hands tightly together, fidgeting anxiously. Her small, slender frame and delicate features. The child was the spitting image of her mother. The only trace he had left seemed to be her brown hair.
Swallowing dryly, Walter Hardy examined his daughter with increasingly intense scrutiny. Even in that absurd outfit, she was such a pretty child. If properly dressed, she would surely be quite a beauty. She might even compare favorably to Princess Gladys, whom the whole nation had fawned over and praised.
When his thoughts reached that point, Walter Hardy let out a brief exclamation of admiration. It felt as though a great fortune he had completely forgotten about had suddenly rolled in.
"You go ahead and start eating first."
He said something entirely different from his earlier resolution, and with a rather serious gaze, he looked at his wife standing beside him.
What are you doing right now?
Brenda Hardy, glaring with hostile eyes, mouthed her reproach, but he remained unmoved.
"Let's talk a bit more, dear. I believe it will be a very important conversation."
* * *
The Grand Duke's carriage returned only after the morning had fully brightened. At least within this Schuberin Palace, it was an ordinary scene, nothing out of the ordinary.
"Good morning, Mrs. Fitch."
Bjorn offered his usual composed greeting to Mrs. Fitch, who wore a stern expression. At the faint scent of alcohol carried on the crisp morning air, the lines between Mrs. Fitch's brows deepened.
"Your return is quite early, Your Highness."
Bjorn merely grinned at her barbed response.
After nodding slightly toward the lined-up servants, Bjorn began striding across the hall. In his upright and elegant posture, it was difficult to find any trace of what had undoubtedly been a less-than-proper night. Mrs. Fitch sighed silently and followed behind him.
"An invitation has arrived from the palace as well."
Mrs. Fitch, who had been reporting on the countless social invitations pouring in, added with emphasis in her voice. Bjorn, having just reached his bedroom door, glanced over his shoulder at her.
"From the palace? Why?"
"His Majesty the King's command was enclosed, stating that you must without fail attend this year's Founding Festival ball and fulfill your obligations as the Grand Duke of Schuberin. He said that if Your Highness fails to attend, he will hold all the servants of the Grand Duke's residence accountable."
"That sounds more like a threat than an invitation."
Bjorn let out a dry laugh and opened the door. In the gesture of rubbing his red-rimmed eyes and his slow gait, a fatigue inconsistent with the cheerful morning atmosphere lingered.
Every year in May, the Founding Festival of Lechen was held. The palace ball that marked its beginning was a grand event that drew the attention of the entire social world. There were no small number of somewhat foolish nobles who prepared for a full year for that day.
Since relinquishing his position as Crown Prince, Bjorn had stopped attending the event. The fact that his absence, previously tolerated, was now suddenly being questioned suggested that the intentions of the royal elders had changed. The reason was likely Gladys. That name, which had been grating on his nerves quite a bit lately.
While the maids who followed drew the heavy curtains to block the sunlight, Bjorn slowly removed his jacket and loosened his tie. Mrs. Fitch, who had been standing her ground with much left to say, reluctantly turned away when he began unbuttoning his shirt.
'Is there perhaps a lady you have in mind?'
Toward the end of the charity party at the Royal Hospital, his mother had asked gently.
'You don't possibly think a single divorce isn't enough, do you?'
Bjorn had parried with a light, casual joke. His mother's eyes, gazing at him, had deepened with concern she could not hide. The reason for the sudden invitation likely lay there.
Bjorn tossed his shirt carelessly aside and threw himself onto the bed as if collapsing. The maids, having drawn the last curtain, retreated with steps that minimized any sound.
Gazing quietly at the ceiling, Bjorn closed his eyes before long. The sound of steady breathing began to seep into the dark, quiet bedroom.
* * *
Something about the atmosphere in the household was strange.
That was the conclusion Erna reached based on the past three days she had stayed at the Hardy household. There was a somehow unsettled and gloomy atmosphere weighing down the entire house. She wished they would simply give her a refusal soon so she could return to Buford, but Viscount Hardy kept refusing to give a definitive answer.
Let me think about it a bit more.
That was the only response she received for days on end to the question she had mustered her courage to ask.
If today brought only that same answer again, Erna intended to give up completely. She couldn't keep lingering as an uninvited guest forever. She also worried about her grandmother, who must be distressed because of the granddaughter who had left a mere letter behind and fled like a thief in the night.
Would a short walk perhaps improve her mood?
Thinking it over, Erna soon changed her mind. Considering yesterday afternoon when she had suffered a mishap after going out for a walk out of frustration, her hands still trembled at the memory. A man she had encountered at the square kept trying to talk to her and following her, forcing Erna to flee in a panic.
"Miss! Lady Erna!"
Along with a cheerful knocking sound, a lively voice called out. Erna, who had been looking out the window, flinched and closed the curtains. While she was straightening her clothes, another knock sounded.
"Yes! Please come in."
Flustered, Erna hurriedly took a seat at the table by the window. Moments later, the door opened and a maid entered carrying a tray with afternoon tea prepared.
"Thank you."
"There you go again, Miss! I told you to speak comfortably."
"Hm? Oh... right."
A shy smile appeared on Erna's face as she watched the maid.
The young maid who had introduced herself as Lisa had taken charge of attending to Erna. She was a kind girl with an impressive, bright smile. Though Erna was grateful for her attentive care in many ways, she felt a bit unfamiliar with dealing with someone her own age after so long. It was the first time since Pavel had left home to attend university.
Come to think of it, she had heard that the city with the Royal Academy of Arts was this very Schuberin.
Along with the memory that surfaced came belated regret. She should have brought Pavel's address. Having left in such a hurry, practically fleeing in the night, she hadn't had the presence of mind to think of such things.
The Baden family home was situated in the most remote part of the countryside village. It was a place like an isolated island, where even the nearest neighbor's house was a good hour's walk away. The Baden baron couple, having turned their backs on the world, lived there in seclusion, and Erna, raised by their hands, had done the same. It was no exaggeration to say that plants and livestock were more familiar to her than people. If not for Pavel, that would certainly have been the case.
"Um, Lisa."
When Erna cautiously called her name, the maid's eyes sparkled as she poured the tea.
"Yes, Miss! Please speak!"
"Is the Royal Academy of Arts close from here?"
"It's about five stops away by carriage. Are you planning to go there?"
"No. It's nothing like that. I was just curious."
Erna shook her head hurriedly. Showing up to visit Pavel unexpectedly seemed rude somehow. She preferred to stay quietly and then leave; she had no desire to create unnecessary complications.
"By the way, Lisa, is something happening at the Hardy household? The atmosphere seems a bit unsettled."
Sitting up straighter, Erna cautiously asked what she had been curious about all along.
"Hm? Well... that, I wonder?"
The maid instantly changed her expression and averted her gaze.
"I don't really know about such things, Miss. Really. I haven't been in this mansion for very long. So... um... that is, I don't know."
"I see."
"Exactly. Of course not."
The maid hurriedly pushed the tea she had poured toward Erna. She didn't seem to notice that some of the tea had splashed onto the saucer.
Erna took advantage of the maid's brief distraction to quickly wipe the saucer clean. She also made sure to hide the handkerchief with the tea stains where it wouldn't be noticed. It was then that a knock sounded along with an unfamiliar maid's voice.
"Miss, the master is asking for you."
It was the very message Erna had been anxiously awaiting.