“A… stationery?”
“Yes.”
The maid had a puzzled expression at Siella’s request.
“Why are you suddenly asking to prepare stationery…?”
Looking at the wandering eyes of the maid, Siella soon let out a devastated laugh. “I don’t know why everyone has the same expression every time I try to send a letter to someone.”
Their expressions were surprisingly similar to each other.
Siella remembered the time when Camellia arrived at the Duchy with Edwin. It reminded her of the fact that they had a similar reaction when she tried to contact Eschert. A maid even dissuaded her at that time, asking her why she would bother the already busy Duke, and why she suddenly wants to write to the Duke. The letter was eventually sent out after being reviewed by the Head Butler.
“Is asking you to prepare for stationery an unreasonable request?”
“…”
“Or was I in a position where I can’t send a single letter at will?”
I had no idea I was in a worse position than a prisoner in a prison.
Listening to Siella’s words, as if she was muttering to herself, the flustered maid opened her eyes widely.
“Ah, no… it, it’s not like that….”
Lowering her gaze and biting her lower lip, the maid raised her head as if she had made up her mind.
“Then I will go right now to the Head Butler and ask him now, Lady.”
“It’s alright.”
“Yes.”
“There’s no need.”
Siella let out a long sigh at these excruciatingly tiresome feelings and turned her back. It wasn’t this bad even when she was living back in Leroy county.
She hadn’t sent a letter to anyone until now so she hadn’t noticed it, but now that she did, she couldn’t even send a letter to anyone on her own. It was at this moment she realized how ridiculously she had been treated.
“Tell the butler that I want to meet Sir Lancellot as soon as possible.”
“Ah, are you going to write a letter to Sir Lancellot…?”
Lancellot had been the only outsider Siella knew for the past five years, as she had never ventured out of the mansion. Although not very often, Siella had periodically met him with Eschert. And of course, the employees of the mansion knew that. Above all, he was the only person who could freely enter the mansion without Eschert’s special permission.
“I will bring you the stationery right away, Lady.”
“It’s alright, so go tell the Head Butler directly what I said.”
“Lady….”
Siella didn’t even look at the maid as she walked out of the room with her head down. But a moment later, she couldn’t ignore the quiet opening of the door and the maid coming in to place the stationery and quill on the table.
“Haa….”
“I, I brought you the stationery. You can give it to me when you finish writing, and I will go and mail it right away.”
She thought that the scared maid would bring her stationery if she came out strong and brought up Lancellot. She wouldn’t even care if her expectations were wrong. It was also fine if the maid went and told the butler that she wanted to see Lancellot. When Lancellot came to see her, all she had to do was ask him for a letter to be sent to Count Leroy.
Siella laughed at the maid, who had brought her stationery exactly just as she thought she would.
“Alright, you can go now.”
“Yes….”
Is this feeling that makes my heart throb at times like this anger, suppressed injustice, or just frustration?
At the same time when the sound of the door closing resounded, Siella placed the quill on the white paper without hesitation. She wrote down at a rapid pace the words she wanted to say to Lancellot.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
The banquet was held on the scheduled day without a hitch. Even though a big and irreversible rift had formed between Siella and Eschert, the time passed without any concerns just as usual.
Siella didn’t attend the banquet that started at noon. Eschert also didn’t say much regarding Siella’s absence. He only sent her a message through the Head Butler to do what she wishes to do.
Listening to the noise coming from outside the window all day long, Siella meaninglessly passed her day as usual. And then, the promised time had arrived. Siella put on her loose shawl and left her bedroom.
She was headed to the back garden, far from the main hall of the annex where the banquet was in full swing. Siella didn’t encounter anyone on her way to the back garden. It was exceptionally dark in the garden as it was hidden by the shadow of the mansion’s main building. Even so, Siella could recognize the man at one glance, who was waiting for her as he stood on one side of the garden and his back facing her.
“Leonard.”
Leonard Leroy. He was the only person left for Siella in this world and had only been reunited after five years.
“Long time no see.”
Leonard also immediately recognized Siella and approached her. He was more mature than Siella had remembered. Siella was left with no choice but to realize again and again that she had wasted the last five years in futility.
“You said let’s live without meeting each other again.” Leonard said as he lightly shook the cravat on his neck and loosening it. “I didn’t expect you to contact me first.”
“Neither I.” I tried to live my life without ever looking back to Leroy County. “I didn’t know I’d look back to Leroy again.”
Siella muttered lightly and stopped in front of Leonard. Leonard also stopped at an appropriate distance.
“How did Kyle come back?”
“It turns out that Viscount Rinock’s squire regularly visits the island.”
Leonard frowned as he was reminded how terrifying the mother’s obsession was to her son. He immediately began tracking Kyle as soon as he received the letter from Siella. It was confirmed that Viscount Rinock planted three spies in the island on the behest of Bianca.
“When you say regularly, how regular?”
“For the last three years, every 15 days, consistently.”
Siella clenched her fists with both of her hands, which she was slowly lowering down. “Three years….”
Three years. It has been three years. If what Eschert said that he didn’t know was truly true, then that means, the island on the south where Kyle should be confined hadn’t been properly managed by Eschert.
Three years. It was enough for Kyle to finally escape the island under such poor surveillance for such a long time.
“Haa….”
Should I get angry that Eschert didn’t keep his promise for a long time? Or should I be surprised that Kyle had finally managed to escape the island after wasting three years? Siella had no idea what to do.
“Haha….”
Watching Siella’s broken smile, Leonard took off his coat and put it over her shoulder. Siella felt the warmth around her body and looked up at Leonard. She herself didn’t know that she had been trembling all this while. She didn’t know if it was because it was cold or for some other reason.
When Siella thanked him, Leonard changed the subject without saying anything.
“So, are you going to run away again?” Leonard asked her.
Siella pondered for a moment, then tilted her head and replied, “Instead of running away this time, should we just make a contract somewhere and order to kill him?”
“That wouldn’t be bad either.”
The words were said lightly like a joke, but they both knew that the other person’s sincerity was mixed with those lightly said words.
“I don’t think that b*st*rd would quietly die and leave you.”
Silence ensued in the back garden after Leonard’s words fell. Siella blankly raised her head and looked up at the night sky, then she lightly asked him as if she had just remembered, “How was the banquet?”
Leonard quietly stared at Siella for a moment. Siella could clearly feel Leonard’s gaze beside her, but she didn’t look back at him. Leonard opened his mouth before long, casting his gaze up in the night sky like Siella.
“I don’t know….” Leonard’s carefully chosen words quietly echoed in the silent garden. “I may not know anything else, but I can guess how you’ve been doing here.”
Siella smiled bitterly at that, but ultimately didn’t say anything.
(T/N: Am I allowed to curse? Because this chapter makes me want to.)
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