A Butterfly Through the Mist - Chapter 137

Tilia stared out the carriage window with a face as pale as if it had been bleached.

The season, slipping from autumn into winter, had shortened the days so much that just turning one’s gaze away for a moment meant night had already fallen. People on the streets, glancing at the darkened sky, hurried home with quickened steps to escape being swallowed by the darkness.

Though the cold wind had people pulling their collars tight and walking briskly, Tilia sat there, not even thinking to close the window.

What she was seeing wasn’t the scenery outside, but the shattered image inside her. What she was feeling wasn’t the chill of late autumn, but the storm blowing within.

With vacant eyes fixed on an invisible point, Tilia let out a slow sigh.

Today, the place she had visited, even breaking her promise with Susan, was the Bartlett mansion.

“What brings you here? You didn’t even send word.”

Judy, surprised by her friend’s sudden visit, nevertheless greeted her warmly.

Before Judy could even offer her tea, Tilia quickly asked, “Tell me what Ilex was like while I was away from Arkansis.”

At the abrupt question, Judy seemed both curious and surprised. With her characteristic bright smile, Judy muttered cheerfully, “So our Tilia is finally curious about such things,” and then began recounting in earnest.

The story Judy told of the past three years was not far from what Tilia had expected.

After Tilia’s sudden disappearance, Ilex also vanished for a year, barely showing his face. Some said he had been locked away somewhere; others said he had finally come to his senses and was learning the business; still others gossiped that he had simply gone mad.

And about a year later, after the rumors had died down, Ilex reappeared—and abruptly announced his engagement to Cecilia Clayton.

“After that… he started attending various social gatherings. That’s when he really began his business ventures in earnest.”

Whenever Judy mentioned Cecilia Clayton, she stole glances at Tilia. Only after Tilia repeatedly reassured her that she knew and didn’t mind did Judy continue.

With investments from the Clayton family, Ilex’s business had flourished at a frightening pace—to the point that even companies in other countries took notice.

“I remember seeing a few articles in the business section expressing concern that his business was too aggressive. I always read them carefully, wondering if perhaps Ilex Davenport might have some news about you.”

Taking a slow sip of her tea, Judy continued.

It was around then that Davenport House began to falter, even as Ilex’s business thrived like a snowball rolling downhill.

“Who would have thought—the new pharmaceutical business Davenport had invested in turned out to be a complete scam.”

Judy sighed softly.

The company had advertised that it could not only diagnose hard-to-identify diseases easily but also cure them—but in reality, it was a phantom company that hadn’t received a single certification.

“I’m sure Ilex suffered significant losses because of it too. I heard the Clayton family, which had heavily invested in that pharmaceutical venture, ended up recalling investments from various places to deal with their financial troubles. Naturally, Ilex’s business, which had been supported by them since its founding, was among those affected.”

Though, of course, no matter how hard it hit him, it couldn’t have been worse than what Davenport House suffered…

Judy’s voice trailed off into gloom as she struggled to bring her story to its end.

It was said that a tragic accident had occurred when the late Duke of Davenport and his heir had hurriedly moved to salvage a business on the brink of collapse.

“It was a day of heavy rain. If not for the business crisis, they wouldn’t have rushed the carriage like that. On such a steep road, they wouldn’t have pushed the driver so hard—unless they were planning to die…”

Soft-hearted Judy couldn’t speak for a while after those words. She opened her mouth several times, only to close it again, before finally whispering in a small voice.

“Ilex must have suffered greatly. He lost both his father and brother all of a sudden…”

Judy reached out her warm hand and held Tilia’s tightly, fumbling to conclude her story.

“After that, it’s just as you know. Ilex naturally became the Duke of Davenport, broke off his engagement with Cecilia Clayton, and merged the business he originally had with the Davenport family business. And then you returned to Arkansis.”

Throughout her explanation, Judy continuously glanced at Tilia’s face and squeezed her hand, clearly thinking her friend was deeply shocked by the story of the accident.

But Judy’s gentle assumption was only half right. Tilia was indeed shaken by the story she had heard, but not because of the accident itself.

It wasn’t the carriage accident that made Tilia stare out the window with a complicated expression—it was the truth that seemed to be hidden behind it. The reality that, though veiled, she could still glimpse.

Please, let it not be true…

Tilia closed her eyes, chewing her lip—a bad habit she had fallen into again.

Though she wished it weren’t true, it was hard to deny. For the past three years, everything had flowed in Ilex’s favor.

Judy had said that the scandal with the pharmaceutical company must have harmed Ilex too.

But how could that be true? All Ilex Davenport gained was benefit. He had likely returned the Clayton family’s investment at just the right moment, thus solidifying the independence of his business.

Though he had cleverly hidden his profits behind claims of losses, it was easy to see that the incident itself had been a tremendous opportunity for him.

And it wasn’t just about the independence of his company.

Thanks to the unfortunate accident involving the Davenport family, he had secured far greater gains.

Because of that accident, Ilex had gone from being the second son of the Davenport family to becoming the Duke of Davenport. He now owned all the businesses the Davenport family had possessed. He had risen from being someone whose fate was decided by others to someone who could decide the fates of others.

It all fit together perfectly, like pieces of a puzzle. And as far as Tilia knew, in life, such perfect fortune was rarely a coincidence—it was usually made.

By the manipulation of someone who stood to gain the most.

I just hope… at least the accident wasn’t orchestrated.

Her green eyes quivered anxiously. Like drifting snowflakes, her gaze wandered before settling outside the window.

Only then did Tilia truly register the scene before her.

The sun had disappeared completely, and darkness blanketed the streets. The crowds that had hurried by earlier had dwindled to a few solitary figures braving the cold wind.

Staring absentmindedly at the desolate street, Tilia suddenly reached into her pocket.

As soon as her fingers brushed against the smooth paper, she pulled it out. Her gaze traced the rough handwriting on the slightly crumpled letter.

Just as she had begun to sense the hidden truth behind Judy’s story, Tilia could now easily guess who had written the letter.

It wasn’t simply because she had seen Ilex hiding something about his mother the night before, nor merely because he had realized she was in Arkansis rather than Ontaroa.

Even before that, Tilia had known that Seraphine Davenport wanted to interfere between them.

Norbert Karel. In the cabinet of the man who had once stolen her letters, she had already seen her name.

Recalling her name, buried among many scribbled notes, Tilia took a slow, deep breath.

Back then, she had simply thought Seraphine wanted to eliminate a woman who would hinder her son. That she was merely trying to block a harmful love.

But that wasn’t it. Now it seemed something deeper, darker was hidden.

I need someone. Someone who will tell me the unvarnished, brutal truth.

Murmuring inwardly, Tilia raised her hand and knocked on the wall of the carriage.

“I’d like to change the destination.”

She already knew where she needed to go. She had asked Judy earlier—whether she knew where the Duchess of Davenport was staying—and Judy had quickly found out.

“Please take me to the Davenport estate.”

Speaking clearly so the coachman could hear, Tilia clenched the letter tightly in her hand.