Chapter 005
His face was arrogant and tense, and his clothes suggested a compulsive obsession with neatness and cleanliness; one only had to see him once to know he was a man of immense wealth.
His eyes were of different colors, and his sharp features were beautiful enough to be described as exquisite.
And Vanessa knew this man.
Agnes rushed in to announce the visitor’s arrival.
“I apologize, My Lady… this gentleman insisted on entering without permission…”
“Duke Walendorf. Is it becoming of you to barge into a house without its owner’s leave in this manner?”
“So you recognize me, then?”
‘Good grief…’
Vanessa had met him in her past life after she became engaged to Konrad. He had been raised in the Imperial Palace and was said to have grown up like a brother to the princes.
However, Vanessa had never felt any affection toward him; she could clearly sense the disdain in his eyes every time he looked at her.
‘How foolish of me…’
“Of course I recognize you, Duke Alexei Walendorf. It would be impossible not to know a man of your standing. My father spoke of you often.”
“Really? Then you must also know that Count Lang left behind a massive debt before his death.”
He said this mockingly, tapping his elegant cane against the furniture as he inspected the room.
“Honestly, that is something I don’t understand either, Duke. What prompted you to grant my father such a large sum? What made you trust him?”
“He said he would provide his house as collateral, so what was I to do? The noble Count wanted to bet on his fate, claiming he would rather be homeless than back down. He was a man who once served the Empire, so I saw no harm in granting him that courtesy.”
Anger flared in Vanessa’s chest, but she forced herself to smile.
“True, but what can be done? I do not have the right of inheritance, and this house will temporarily revert to the Imperial Crown until a legal heir is determined. Perhaps they will find some distant cousin living across the sea, though heaven knows how long that will take…”
The Duke struck the marble floor firmly with his cane.
“Do you find this amusing? And what will you do now, Miss Lang? Soon, you will be asked to vacate this house as well.”
‘Exactly what I was thinking.’
“I have a place where I can at least lay my head, and if not, I can always work as a resident lady-in-waiting in some household. Believe it or not, I am quite skilled at housework; our home has been bankrupt for a long time, and this poor maid is the only one we have left.”
“Vanessa…”
Mason tried to say something, but she quickly stopped him, whispering,
“I’m fine, don’t get involved.”
The Duke looked down at her and spoke in a cold voice,
“No, there is a much easier solution, and you know it well.”
She knew. That one thing that had been considered her only “value” since she was a child…
“Whatever the case, this is not the place to discuss it. We are at a funeral.”
“I will be the guarantor!”
Mason suddenly shouted.
“Mason…?”
“Vanessa is not one to break promises, and if you need a guarantee, I put up everything I own as collateral. It isn’t much, but I have some shares in the Surrey family estates…”
“You idiot! What guarantee are you talking about? Don’t ever say such things!”
“But Vanessa…”
The Duke sighed in annoyance as he looked at them, as if he were tired of this theatrical scene.
“Enough of this nonsense. Do you think I am a man who roams the cities to collect debts myself?”
He then pulled a sealed letter from his pocket and handed it to Vanessa.
“There is someone who wishes to see you. I was ordered to deliver this to you secretly, so keep it well and do not speak a word of it.”
He cast a narrow glance at Mason, then turned and left with sharp strides.
The letter was stamped with the Imperial Seal.
* * *
After the funeral ended, Vanessa was busy for days without pause.
Tax collectors from the palace came to inspect the house and inventory its contents. They said the temporary transfer of property to the Crown was merely a formal procedure, and nothing would actually change.
However, until a legal heir was determined, any disposal, sale, or mortgage of the property was prohibited.
Consequently, Vanessa did not open the Duke’s letter until a full week had passed.
[I wish to speak with you. Meeting you would bring me great pleasure.]
The handwriting was elegant and refined, and below it was the time for the carriage’s arrival: Tomorrow, at two in the afternoon.
‘I almost went to the palace in my nightgown if I hadn’t opened this now.’
Lately, she spent most of the day in her sleepwear, spending her time among desks, settling small debts, answering accumulated letters, and dealing with the remnants of the chaos.
Never in her life had she neglected her appearance to this extent.
She used to believe the only thing she could boast of was her looks, so she took care of her hair, applied makeup meticulously, and manicured her nails until they were flawless.
“But this letter… there is no signature.”
Vanessa muttered this as she examined the thin paper from front to back. Alicia’s eyes sparkled with enthusiastic light.
“Could it be from His Highness the Prince?! Who else could send an invitation to the Imperial Palace?! Mason says His Highness was looking at you repeatedly that night!”
“Alicia, please stop rambling…”
Mason muttered, placing his hand on his forehead as if he were suffering from a headache.
Alicia was Mason’s younger sister, only fourteen years old. She had followed him since morning, begging Vanessa to tell her about the debutante balls.
When she heard that a letter had arrived from the palace, she couldn’t contain her excitement and insisted on opening it immediately.
‘Strange… this letter is too calm to be written by Konrad… but if it isn’t from him, then who? And who else could task Duke Walendorf with delivering it…’
“Oh my goodness, aren’t you going to become the Princess of the Palace, sister?! Wait, then what about that Duke who knelt before you that night? But he is the Prince’s uncle, isn’t he? My, it seems the men of that family have truly wonderful taste!”
“Where do you learn such things?”
Mason muttered in despair. As for Vanessa, her head began to spin.
‘Wait, what is she saying? My former husband’s uncle? This… no, wait, I haven’t even exchanged a word with Konrad yet. And why am I even thinking about this? Nothing at all happened between me and the Duke…’
“This is no time for daydreaming! Sister, do you have a dress for the new season? No, let’s go to my house! When they hear you are going to the palace, everyone will be dying to lend you their dresses!”
Alicia rushed forward enthusiastically to hug Vanessa, but as she reached her hand toward her face, Vanessa’s body suddenly trembled. She lurched back, avoiding the touch, and the chair she was sitting on hit the floor with a loud bang.
“Sister?”
Alicia’s eyes widened in surprise, as did Vanessa’s, who didn’t understand what had happened to her.
‘What’s wrong with me? Nothing like this has ever happened to me before…’
As if realizing something, Mason quietly led his sister out of the room.
“Do you feel unwell?”
“No, I was just lost in thought. Anyway, Mason, I have some remaining work… can we postpone tea for later?”
“Don’t worry about it. If you need any help, tell me immediately.”
Vanessa smiled.
“Of course.”
The old bruises and wounds had begun to fade over the past week, but the finger marks left around her neck from that night were still quite visible.
Vanessa raised her hand to adjust the scarf around her neck; she didn’t want Mason to see that mark.
“Ah, right, Mason. Your father’s merchant ship is departing next month, isn’t it?”
“Huh? Oh, yes, I think so.”
If her memory was correct, in about a month, an underwater volcano would erupt on the trade route to the Southern Continent. Tidal waves would submerge all the islands in that region, completely paralyzing ship movements.
Back then, three out of the five ships owned by Baron Surrey were passing directly over the volcano; they all sank, and no trace of them was ever found.
The ships were loaded with fabrics and leather, the Baron’s most important goods, and that accident caused a rapid collapse of the Surrey family’s fortune.
‘In that life, I was the Princess, so I could help him under the guise of an investment… but now, I don’t even have enough to feed myself…’
“You must postpone the sailing until the following month, no matter what.”
“What?”
“I have a reliable source. You know I don’t joke about such matters.”
“True… fine, I’ll try to convince my father.”
After Mason left, Vanessa remained in the library, not moving from her spot.
She searched the family tree carefully but found no suitable heir for the property. And even if one were found, it wasn’t certain they would accept the family’s massive debts.
‘How can I convince someone? “Here, take the debts first, then give me the money from the land sale, and I’ll try to pay them off somehow”?’
“Ah…. I should have just danced with him that night…”
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