Chapter 37

Dinner was already perfectly prepared. It was surprising, since Blair hadn’t gone into the kitchen to check the menu or urged along any unfamiliar maids. The Chails townhouse felt like a machine designed to run on schedule. More precisely, it moved according to Edmund’s daily rhythm.

Then what would the grand estate in Eldenvale be like?

Blair thought about it as she watched the dishes being set out over the crisply starched linen tablecloth. There, the Duke and Duchess still resided, the heads of the Libert family, despite the Duke’s illness. As the heart of an estate carrying centuries of history, it would be incomparably larger than a townhouse in the capital. Edmund had said he would stay there until he inherited the title, but the timing was still undecided. That uncertainty made her even more cautious.

“How was your day today?” Edmund asked as he quenched his thirst with water.

After a brief moment of thought, Blair decided to answer honestly. Since her exploration had been done with his staff in tow, it was only a matter of time before it reached his ears anyway.

“It was fine. I looked around the house.”

“Did you find anything interesting?”

“Yes. It’s only a guess, but….”

Blair glanced at Edmund to gauge his reaction.

“Do you draw, by any chance?”

He let out a low sound of realization.

“So you saw the sketch on the desk in my study.”

“I didn’t commit the rudeness of opening it. I only guessed it might be a sketchbook.”

“That’s all right. It’s nothing to boast about, but if it were something that needed hiding, I wouldn’t have left it there.”

Lowering his gaze, Edmund moved his cutlery with flawless dining etiquette. Blair watched him quietly. Every time he showed such an emotionless side, she felt an urge to shake him. Wanting to see when those indifferent gray eyes might turn and look at her with a different light couldn’t be all that abnormal.

“Edmund.”

He lifted his head mid-meal. His expression was still flat.

“Did you know that we share a hobby?”

“Do we?”

“Yes. I also draw whenever I have time. It’s nothing more than sketching with a pencil, though. They say people who enjoy viewing art stop at appreciation alone, but that isn’t always true for me. I didn’t expect you to be the same.”

Her clear voice carried on for a while. He studied Blair’s eyes as if weighing her words, then replied quietly, “I see. I mostly draw scenes I can easily see in daily life. Things like the Ridgeway River or the bell tower of Royal Burrow. Ordinary things.”

Expecting his next question, Blair recalled the portrait of him she’d been adding to night after night until recently.

“And you, Miss Blair?”

“I’m always different. If there’s one thing in common, it’s that I tend to draw what I want to remember for a long time. You could say I’m the opposite of you. I only want to leave on the canvas the special things that have stolen my heart.”

Only then did a faint shift of color pass through the eyes fixed on her. Without looking away, he said, “Now I’m curious what you’ve drawn recently.”

“If there’s a chance… I’ll show you someday. I brought it with my luggage, after all.”

“That would be nice.”

A brief silence followed. Edmund called a servant and ordered wine, then changed the subject.

“I told you there was important news. I heard that the Count of Twyford and the Marquis of Dorman have agreed to dissolve the engagement. Officially, your betrothal to Isaac Dorman is now void.”

“…So that’s how it turned out.”

Blair replied calmly after a brief pause.

“It was something I wanted so badly, yet it only took a day or two….”

Even though it was news she’d waited a long time to hear, her chest didn’t swell or race. It felt like a chain that had been choking her had finally been removed, yet there was no clear sense of liberation. Looking down at the vivid marks still left around her neck only deepened the hollowness she felt.

“It would’ve become a rather complicated matter if one side had clung to it until the end, but thanks to the article breaking, the Dorman family had no choice but to retreat for the sake of appearances. Their own family situation is tangled, and they needed to secure a match without aftereffects as quickly as possible, so this made things difficult for them as well. Since even the financial settlement concluded without issue, I’d say it was resolved quite smoothly.”

Edmund delivered it in a calm voice, as if reading printed letters from a contract. He was about to take a sip of wine, then stopped and looked at her intently, as though checking her complexion.

“You don’t look pleased at all.”

The low question slipped into her ear. Blair quietly nodded.

“My thoughts are a mess. It’s hard to be simply happy when there’s a stigma and scrutiny I have to bear. But….”

Breaking off the engagement would remain a stigma, but it was also an opportunity for a new beginning. She drew a careful breath and continued.

“I don’t want to live anymore as someone who’s consumed for the sake of my family or someone else’s interests.”

“Then become your own master now. Taking hold of the reins of your life yourself is true liberation.”

It was wrapped as advice, but beneath it lay a clear temptation drawing her toward him. Naturally, she had to take that hand. There was no other answer left now.

By the time dinner ended and all the plates had been cleared from the table, Edmund took a small case out of his inner pocket, as if following a predetermined sequence.

“It was prepared in a hurry, but I hope you like it.”

As the case opened, a dazzling gemstone came into view. It was a diamond far larger than the engagement ring he’d personally chosen with her at a Fitzrovia jeweler.

Even so, it didn’t feel crude, thanks to its finely crafted design and piercingly bright brilliance.

“It seemed appropriate to have the proper form.”

“It’s beautiful, but… isn’t it too much? It looks excessively expensive.”

“Do you like it?”

At Edmund’s calm question, Blair, who’d been hesitating, spoke honestly.

“…Yes. I like it.”

A large hand extended toward her. After a brief hesitation, Blair placed her left hand atop it. As she drew in a shallow breath at the man’s cool body heat wrapping around the back of her hand, he slowly slid the diamond ring onto her ring finger. In place of Isaac’s engagement ring, which had once weighed on her like a stone, another sign of a contract now bound her instead.

But this time was different. The contract with Edmund was one she’d chosen herself. Freedom is never given for free. Having paid the price, Blair would no longer live at the mercy of another’s will. From this point on, her life could never be the same as the one that had been taken from her and forced upon her before.

“It suits you well. It looks like a ring that belonged on your hand from the start.”

Feeling the weight encircling her left ring finger, Blair lifted her head.

“Of course, I know it’ll feel heavy for a while. But I believe that weight will support you for a long time, Miss Blair.”

“I… hope so too.”

Blair drew in a deep breath and lightly clenched her fist as if making a vow. She hoped her choice was the right one. And she prayed that, at least for the span of one year, she could be bound to this man at her side by trust.

***

At last, the day came to head to Eldenvale. From early morning, Blair finished preparing for the journey and boarded the automobile together with Edmund. His driver and two attendants accompanied them, traveling in two vehicles.

“How long will it take to arrive?”

“About an hour. Eldenvale estate itself is only thirty minutes from Borsa, but the ducal residence lies deep within the territory, so even after entering Eldenvale, you have to drive another thirty minutes. That’s why it’s usually said to take an hour.”

It meant the estate was as vast as the capital itself. The sheer scale made her realize just how closed-off and expansive the place she was about to step into would be.

As the automobile began to move forward, Blair gazed out the window. The glamorous cityscape gradually gave way to a suburban view shrouded in damp fog. Instead of the capital’s characteristic bright gray or milky-white buildings, red brick structures began appearing one by one along the road.

When they entered the road leading to the ducal residence, the view grew even hazier. Edmund explained it was due to mist rising from Eldenvale’s lake.

Soon, Blair came into view of the mansion, cloaked in that dark atmosphere. With its sharp lines and deep blue roof, the residence looked almost like a fortress.

When the automobiles arrived before the main building, Edmund stepped out first, then offered his hand so Blair could follow. She noticed an elderly butler and several maids waiting to receive them.

“Welcome back to Eldenvale, young master. And Lady Twyford. I am Albert, thenbutler in charge of managing the household.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Please take good care of me.”

After exchanging polite greetings with Blair, the elderly butler turned his gaze to Edmund. Blair didn’t miss the faint worry that flickered in those seasoned eyes.