Chapter 50
In the early dawn, I was frozen in front of Vivian’s room for quite a while.
The maids around the door stared up at me with confusion.
A hint of tension was evident in their faces.
It must have been because of Vivian’s command telling them to keep their distance from me.
Receiving their gazes, I stood there for a while before I finally knocked on Vivian’s door.
– Knock. Knock.
No answer was heard.
Nonetheless, I knew she was awake.
I didn’t bother waiting for a response and opened the door.
– Creak.
“…Ugh!”
As expected, Vivian was indeed awake.
She wasn’t in her pajamas from the previous day; she was properly dressed.
Had she just come back from washing up? Her hair had a nice sheen, and her skin looked pale.
Even her feet, which had become dirty from stepping in mud, were now clean.
“…If you were awake, why didn’t you answer?”
“…”
Vivian didn’t reply to my question.
There was a distinct awkwardness etched on her face.
She wouldn’t even meet my gaze and frowned at the bridge of her nose, expressing some sort of displeasure.
Perhaps it could be described as a frightened look.
“…”
Seeing her expression made me regret yesterday even more.
Consumed by guilt, I hadn’t been able to sleep the previous night.
I had merely spent the night awake at my lodgings and had come here to see Vivian.
The longer I hesitated, the more the awkwardness between us seemed likely to thicken.
Vivian, as though questioning me, asked,
“…Who told you to show up?”
“I had no reason to hide anymore. I even met the Dubos kids.”
“…I can’t let Asha—”
“-But what’s going to change if you try?”
“…”
Silence ensued.
I couldn’t see Vivian, and she wasn’t looking at me either.
After the heat of the moment, it felt impossible to find yesterday’s madness again.
This awkwardness, for some reason, felt painfully strange to me.
It was as if everything we had built together was crumbling away.
Of course, it was hard to say the memories we had built were positive, but there was a sense of connection that now felt lost.
Steeling myself, I took a step towards Vivian.
– Thud.
“…Viv…”
– Thwap!
In response, Vivian took a step back from me.
I halted and looked at her.
“…”
“…Ugh!”
After exchanging a brief glance, Vivian turned red in the face and frowned, avoiding my gaze.
Even she seemed bewildered by her own reaction.
Like a cornered rat, she squeezed out her frustration.
“Why… why did you come here?!”
“…Is there ever a reason for me to come?”
“But… today is different…”
“…”
She was right; today was indeed different.
I couldn’t act as if yesterday never happened.
I hesitated, then steeled my resolve.
I had indeed come to apologize for what had happened the previous day.
Without it, Vivian would simply continue to avoid me.
I didn’t want that.
“…”
I gently clenched my fist.
Perhaps it was because I had never once apologized to her, but it felt awkward to bring the words out.
But I knew I had to do it.
She was someone who hated me. Someone who called my desires filthy.
I had attacked her with those two things combined.
“About what happened yesterday…”
As I opened my mouth, my gaze landed on her neck.
What I thought was a gentle nibble had left a blue bruise on her fair skin.
It remained like a perfect footprint, a mark of my presence on her flawless skin.
“…”
Seeing that reignited a strong desire within me.
Rather than feeling sorry, a strange excitement surged anew.
Then I collected my thoughts and spoke up.
“…I’m sorry about yesterday.”
In an instant, confusion filled Vivian’s face.
“…Huh? Sorry for what?”
“What?”
She blinked rapidly, tilting her head slightly.
“…Sorry for what… Ah.”
Vivian seemed to realize the meaning of my apology a moment too late.
Her expression turned to one of realization.
I found her reaction confusing.
Hadn’t it hurt her…?
As we both were wrapped in confusion, someone knocked on Vivian’s door once more.
– Knock knock.
“Lady Vivian, it’s Asha Dubos.”
A voice filled with both guilt and caution.
Vivian’s eyes briefly turned towards me.
Disliking the silence between us, I took the initiative to open the door.
Asha and Lani stood at the entrance.
It seemed Lani had told Asha everything out of worry.
Her eyes were puffy from crying.
Asha’s expression wasn’t bright, either.
Upon seeing me, Asha displayed a startled expression.
“Ka… Kyle Allen.”
I nodded in greeting and glanced at Vivian.
“…Ah.”
Vivian seemed to come back to her senses as she looked at Lani’s face.
It was as if she were thinking, ‘Oh, you were here too.’
It must have been quite the shock I gave her.
After pouring so much anger onto Lani, it seemed she had forgotten about Asha as well.
Asha averted her gaze from me and deeply bowed her head to Vivian.
She spoke eloquently,
“On behalf of the Dubos Family, I apologize to Lady Vivian Rondore. I understand that Lani’s foolishness must have brought great disgrace to the Rondore family.”
“…”
“I hope you can forgive my foolish sister just this once. I assure you there won’t be a second incident.”
Asha, as if to prove that statement, didn’t glance my way anymore.
It conveyed her intent to sever ties completely with me.
Lani began to cry once more.
Seeing that made me sigh.
I felt uneasy.
I understood Vivian’s feelings.
I also recognized how Lani’s actions were insulting.
However, from my perspective, Lani was one of the few who showed me kindness.
It was true that she could be a nuisance, but I didn’t want to see her in this state.
Now that the excitement had subsided, I hoped Vivian would make the right decision. Of course, I wasn’t in a position to expect that.
I silently watched Vivian.
Finally, Vivian was able to face me.
Her face was filled with anxiety as she took turns looking at me and Lani.
Vivian rubbed her neck and stepped closer to the Dubos young ladies.
I walked away, concealing the bite mark on her neck.
Although her movements were awkward, Vivian seemed to want to hide that injury.
I closed my eyes tightly again.
I shouldn’t have been thinking this way, but I couldn’t help but find Vivian’s embarrassed demeanor oddly pleasing.
Asha attempted to raise her head to meet Vivian.
“Please don’t raise your head.”
However, Vivian gave the command, halting Asha’s actions.
I realized this was partly to keep her own neck hidden.
Asha and Lani, bewildered by the sudden turn of events, complied with Vivian’s words.
They stood with bowed heads, waiting for her words.
Silence lingered.
In the extended silence, Vivian finally let out a long sigh.
Her embarrassment and confusion slowly faded, replaced by the cold demeanor of a ruler.
Vivian looked at me with that expression.
I, too, gazed into her red eyes.
“…”
“…”
In my view stood Vivian confidently, while Lani bowed her head in submission, both scenes captured in one glance.
Vivian’s expression conveying that image seemed to send a message to me.
If you connect with someone, such scenes will keep happening.
The person you hold affection for, I will continue to stomp on.
If you don’t want to see such pitiful sights, behave yourself.
But such concerns from Vivian were meaningless.
Because I had no intention of doing that.
Vivian rubbed the bruise on her neck and looked at the Dubos young ladies.
She spoke,
“Lani Dubos.”
“…Yes, Lady Vivian.”
“…I trust you understand my hatred towards Kyle Allen.”
“Yes, yes… I understand, Lady Vivian.”
Vivian nodded once before speaking with a more relaxed expression.
“…I will let this one pass.”
Asha and Lani looked surprised and lifted their heads.
However, at Vivian’s icy expression, they quickly lowered their heads again.
“I do not believe our friendship will simply end like this. I would like to think of it as a blunder that we can move past.”
Asha expressed her gratitude.
“Lady Vivian, thank you so much—”
“—However.”
Vivian cut off Asha’s words, causing the Dubos young ladies to tense up in an instant.
“…However, there is something you must do for me.”
“Just say the word.”
Vivian spoke in a flat voice.
“Worried that I haven’t yet made my debut in society, I dread the potential for such issues to arise in the future. I find it irritating to think that other foolish young ladies who are unaware of my relationship with Kyle might show him affection.”
I looked at Vivian. There wasn’t a hint of falsehood on her face.
It seemed she genuinely didn’t like the idea of me being in a good relationship with someone.
I couldn’t blame her.
I was the one who had provoked her, daring her to torment me when our relationship was even more awkward than it is now.
Vivian had been exacting her revenge on me for that.
While I had been under the illusion that I was growing closer to Vivian through various situations, she still appeared to want to inflict pain on me.
Vivian stated,
“I understand. Young ladies can suddenly develop interest in him. After all, he is the eldest son of a large family, my captive, and a knight who slayed a dragon at the age of fifteen.”
After stating words that were difficult to discern as either praise or sarcasm, she shifted her expression to something colder as she glared at them.
“…But he is still my enemy. I still hold hatred for the Allen family, who took everything from me.”
Lani trembled, fear radiating from her.
Even while Vivian observed Lani’s frightened state, she continued. Her past self certainly wouldn’t have done that.
But the poison bestowed upon fourteen-year-old Vivian and sixteen-year-old Vivian was far more potent.
“I have one request for the Dubos young ladies.”
Asha spoke with conviction.
“Please tell us.”
“Every time you meet other young ladies, spread my hatred towards Kyle Allen far and wide. Ensure that today’s incident does not repeat itself. No one should ever show goodwill to Kyle Allen… not a single person…”
Before long, Vivian was looking up at me.
Her eyes were a mixture of countless emotions.
Contrary to my expectations that she would reveal only hatred and anger based on her previous words…
…something sticky and unidentifiable lingered in her gaze. I couldn’t quite decipher what it was.
“…Do you understand?”
Vivian was still locked in her gaze with me as she asked the Dubos young ladies.
“Yes.”
Asha answered firmly.
Lani remained silent.
Vivian was not the type to let that slide.
“…Lani. What’s your answer?”
Lani shook her head, trembling, and finally nodded.
“…Y-yes.”
“Can you explain what you will do?”
Even asking for confirmation, she reduced Lani’s willingness to mere fragments.
“I-I’ll let other young ladies know… about Lady Vivian’s hatred towards Kyle Allen.”
Finally, Vivian wore a satisfied expression.
I quietly sighed.
Asha, with her eyes cast downward, raised her head slightly.
She proposed,
“…Lady Vivian, we should be on our way back home now.”
“But it’s still raining?”
“…We’re far too shameless to impose any further.”
“If we part like this, won’t it be awkward the next time we meet?”
Asha shook her head.
“We’re merely grateful that Lady Vivian has forgiven our rudeness. At the moment we meet again in the future, we will surely encounter each other in a much better atmosphere. While Lady Vivian is indeed generous towards us, I know that you will need time to digest your anger towards us.”
“…What about the meal?”
“We won’t eat and will return home.”
Vivian pondered over that statement before nodding her head.
“Very well then.”
Asha lowered her head once more.
Then she began to back away, trying to leave.
Lani followed suit, bowing her head deeply once again before backing out.
In the final moment, Lani raised her head to give me a fleeting glance.
Her gaze was filled with lingering affection.
“…Hah.”
Vivian let out a cold laugh upon seeing that expression.
A thick wave of discomfort spread across Vivian’s face.
Lani, startled, tore her gaze from me, bowed to Vivian once more, and hurriedly left.
I closed the door, suppressing my mixed feelings.
A silence enveloped the space containing only Vivian and me.
Vivian walked nonchalantly to her desk.
Had she slightly lessened her rejection towards me while talking to the Dubos young ladies? Her atmosphere had returned to a semblance of its former self.
“…Did it really have to go this far?”
Not knowing what to say, I asked.
Vivian answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Did you think you’d act differently?”
“…”
“Think about it. Suppose you captured the son of the man who killed your parents and siblings. And that kid goes rampaging with lust every other day… could you just stand by?”
“…”
“It’s better for everyone to know my warnings. Isn’t that right?”
I couldn’t deny the logic in her words.
In the end, I had nothing to retort and began scratching my head.
Thinking about it, everything I did to protect her was entirely for my own satisfaction. I had no right to expect anything now. She had already warned me not to protect her if she disliked it.
Finally, I said,
“Okay, I got it.”
I had apologized and lightened the atmosphere, so I wanted to return to my room now.
Or perhaps grab some bandages for Vivian.
“Where are you going?”
Before Vivian could stop me.
“…Why?”
Upon my question, Vivian replied,
“The Dubos young ladies are leaving, aren’t they?”
“…So?”
Vivian lightly sniffed,
“I have to go eat.”
“…”
That proposal was so utterly unexpected that I was left speechless.
In this kind of atmosphere? After she had just said she hated me so much?
But it seemed Vivian had already made her decision.
She appeared so relieved after saying that to the Dubos young ladies that a faint smile had crept onto her face.
“I’ll just wrap a bandage around my neck and go, so prepare, Kyle.”
She said,
“…It’s been a while.”
