NOVEL WEB Chapter 70
Chapter 70 “Then, the operation is a success, I guess.”At my words, Mika furrowed her brows as if to ask what I was talking about. I intentionally didn’t respond.I set the glass of wine on the table when a gentleman approached.“Excuse me, where is this wine from… Oh? You look quite similar to someone I’ve seen before. Perhaps at the royal charity party?”“Maybe you’ve mistaken me for someone else? I’m just a maid.”When I adjusted my glasses, the light from the chandelier reflected off them with a flash. The gentleman, who seemed intent on examining my eyes, ended up rubbing his own and backing off.‘Looks effective.’Feeling secretly satisfied, I straightened my shoulders. That was already the third gentleman to walk away like this.‘Well, it’s true. Who would expect a maid to be working in a place like this?’ Some had even walked away without checking my face, assuming it couldn’t possibly be me.‘Of course, it makes sense. They call me Holden’s treasure at parties, so who would think I’d be working as a maid?’Besides, back then, I spent over two hours getting ready, even straightening out my unruly curls. Even as a commoner, I was all dolled up!I felt a brief surge of pride, thinking I had fooled everyone successfully. Just then, I noticed a figure standing near the terrace in the distance.“Oh, there she is. That lady,” Angie said, standing beside me.Against the backdrop of the summer night stood a tall, slender woman with golden hair. Her face, elegant and aloof like a cat, belonged to Yvette Büllosen. It seemed she, too, had come down to Rewybourne for a holiday. **** Everyone had dressed up to the nines for the birthday party, but Yvette alone appeared in a simple coat and dress, as if she had just stepped out of a trading company.The summer night’s breeze flowed in through the open terrace doors.From the hall, stepping onto the terrace revealed a rectangular garden. The garden featured a wide pond, tropical trees, and orange gas lamps lighting up the night.Yvette’s gaze moved beyond the lemon-colored mansion and the garden, settling on a small hill in the distance.Beyond that hill stood a villa Yvette knew well—a small red-brick retreat. Her father, Viscount Büllosen, had purchased it, though she had only visited it as a child, as he had been bedridden with illness for most of her life.The four of them had once spent summers there together. Now, it was a forgotten place, left untouched by anyone.A shadow of melancholy passed over Yvette’s striking blue eyes as they lingered on the hill.“You’ve arrived. I thought you might be too busy to come,” a voice interrupted her thoughts.Yvette looked up to see Colin holding a glass of champagne.She accepted the champagne from him.“I just finished some urgent work.”“You didn’t come all this way just because of Holden and me, did you?”At this, Yvette gave a faint smile. Though she was often labeled cold and unapproachable—feared by many gentlemen—she had a habit of smiling warmly at those she was familiar with.“Not at all. Everyone’s been urging me to take a break lately. As soon as my mother saw the invitation to the birthday party, she practically pushed me out the door.”“I see.”“Of course, getting to talk business with Holden’s owner is an added bonus.”Although people around her had insisted she take time off from her relentless work schedule, Yvette had come here intending to discuss business with Daniel. Colin sighed deeply, recognizing that familiar determination.“Unfortunately, I have some bad news for you—Daniel hasn’t arrived yet.”“Not even for your birthday party?”“We were supposed to take the train together, but… it seems His Majesty called him to the capital.”At the mention of the King, Yvette’s expression shifted as if she understood the situation.“Count Drunia has truly become one of His Majesty’s most prized pieces on the board.”Colin responded with only a slight lift of his lips, his green eyes suggesting a degree of agreement.While the two stood silently on the terrace, nobles on the other side of the room gathered in lively, cheerful conversation.Yvette glanced briefly at the chattering aristocrats before shifting her gaze back to Colin. The chandelier’s light faintly illuminated the shadowed terrace.“The Count should never have financially aided the King. His Majesty would never let an opportunity like Daniel Leandro slip through his fingers. Just look at how he forced a title onto a common merchant and now has him dancing in his palm.”“Daniel does seem to have some regrets about it lately…” Colin trailed off, shrugging as if to say there was little he could do.“Still, he would have helped the royal family. Even if he knew this would be the outcome.”“Why?”“Because war left its mark.”Colin wet his lips with a sip of wine.“If it were just the King suffering from the aftermath of the war, Daniel wouldn’t have lifted a finger to help him.”“……”“But if I were to guess, I’d say he supported the King and the nation for the sake of the impoverished and the orphans.”At this, Yvette’s lips parted slightly in surprise. Everyone knew the story: Colin, Daniel, and Holden had all been orphans.War always brought the most suffering to the poor, the weak, and the displaced. Daniel had likely helped the King in hopes that the monarch would directly aid those vulnerable groups.Yvette let out a sigh and turned her head away.“I spoke out of turn.”“Not at all.”Colin smiled softly, clinking his glass against hers. The two remained on the terrace, breathing in the summer night air.“By the way, Saint Deborah hasn’t arrived either.”“I did send her an invitation…”Colin, knowing the close friendship between Deborah and Yvette, had assumed she would attend his birthday party as well.“Perhaps she’s busy with work at the temple?”“That’s probably the case.”Yvette briefly showed a hint of disappointment but quickly masked it, erasing all traces of discontent from her face. ***** It was late at night.At the largest central temple in the capital, during the hour when the moon hung highest in the sky, someone stealthily led a horse from the stables and slipped out of the temple.A woman cloaked in a dark gray robe rode silently. Once she had put some distance between herself and the temple, she pulled back her hood. Her silver hair shimmered as it scattered in the air.Deborah clutched the reins tightly in one hand while pressing her other hand to her chest, where her heart pounded furiously.“To marry him…?”She bit her crimson lips hard, her face a mixture of despair and shock.Earlier that day, a royal messenger had come to deliver the news.“His Majesty has decreed that preparations be made for your marriage to Count Daniel Leandro. The wedding will take place before summer’s end.”“Wait a moment. Marriage? This summer?”Startled, Deborah had shot to her feet.“Did he—did the Count even agree to this? And so soon?”The King’s attendant had looked at her with a cold, indifferent gaze.“The opinions of an orphaned noble are of no consequence. After all, the title of Count was a gift from His Majesty. The Count must obey the King’s will without question.”“Even if he’s an orphan, this is unjust. Neither the Count nor I desire this marriage. I’ve held my tongue out of consideration for His Majesty, but… I don’t want this. And neither does he.”“His Majesty is doing everything he can to ease the scars of defeat, and yet the Saint of the Temple says this? Are you claiming that His Majesty’s and the citizens’ happiness mean nothing to you?”“Who would find happiness in this marriage? Certainly not me.”“I am speaking not of you, but of the entire kingdom! In these troubled times, the people need proof—proof that happiness is still possible, proof that the kingdom can return to what it once was!”The attendant had shouted at her as if scolding a child.The King had been pouring money into the nation to erase the pain of defeat, but the citizens were growing increasingly disillusioned.‘Of course they are,’ Deborah thought. ‘He spent all that time cozying up to nobles and nouveau riche while neglecting the weak.’Instead of directly helping the poor, the King sought to plant false hope in their hearts.A grand and joyful wedding between an orphaned noble and the beloved Saint of the Temple. A sweet love story. A spectacle to blind and deafen the people.The attendant clicked his tongue disdainfully.“You became a Saint for the well-being of the kingdom, Saint Deborah. Do you think your illegitimate birth would have afforded you such status without the High Priest’s and His Majesty’s benevolence?”“……”“After the social season ends, your wedding to Count Leandro will take place. Under His Majesty’s care, it will be the grandest ceremony the kingdom has ever seen. People from all over will flock to the capital to witness your blissful union.”“I… I…”“Do not test His Majesty’s patience further. And do not disappoint the people of the kingdom.”With that, the attendant had left her reception room without a backward glance. Deborah had collapsed into her seat, sobbing. Only after her tears had dried, leaving her cheeks raw, did she sneak out of the temple with her horse under the cover of night.‘Even if I run away, the King will catch me, or I’ll live the rest of my life as a fugitive. That cannot happen.’She could no longer delay her marriage to the Count. But running would not bring her freedom, either.A life on the run was just another form of oppression.There was no freedom in fleeing.And so, Deborah directed her path toward the place where all her misfortune had begun.“Father.”She was heading for the most dilapidated townhouse in the capital, where her father resided.The man who had sold her to the temple the moment a courtesan had shown up with a child, claiming it was his.The man who had sold her to the temple without so much as a glance back.Baron Louise.Deborah was going to the man who had abandoned her, her father.