Chapter 21
“Bringing up unpleasant scandals will only invite gossip.”
A rough, heavy voice broke the silence.
“Just sort out the items you can return and send them over. As for the broken engagement, we can simply conclude it as a mutual agreement.”
“Do as you please. But as for this confirmation—”
“Of course, it’s a token of appreciation. Then let’s settle it that way. Please sign here.”
Iliana pulled out another sheet of paper, this time offering a pen as well. The document stated that the engagement had been dissolved by mutual consent, that the items would be returned within a week, and that neither party would bring up the matter again.
“It’s better to have things clearly agreed upon.”
Had she always been this meticulous? With trembling hands, Cedric signed his name. Never before had writing it felt so humiliating.
After taking back the paper and pen, Iliana glanced outside—the dark clouds had already gathered right in front of the restaurant. She gave a brief farewell and left.
“Damn woman.”
She heard Cedric mutter behind her, but she ignored it and walked down the stairs. The innkeeper, who had been anxiously watching from the first floor, immediately bowed when he saw her. He then looked up, as if checking whether anyone else was coming down.
But no one followed.
Iliana stepped lightly into her carriage, her mood noticeably brighter. It felt like she would finally have a peaceful night. Idly playing with the handkerchief tucked in her arms, she smiled faintly.
“This rate, I might actually become friends with the salon owner.”
Erga’s complaint echoed through the study. He had just returned from meeting the salon owner who came to collect payment for the gifts being sent to the Kritia estate. With a long sigh, he dropped the documents onto the desk.
The papers spread out in front of Lian with a loud thud.
“You’ll be seeing them often from now on, so it wouldn’t hurt to get acquainted.”
“Often?”
“You tend not to socialize much. Think of it as a good experience.”
“Experience?”
Speechless with disbelief, Erga swallowed the words rising to his throat and took a deep breath. Despite his incredulous expression, Lian remained focused on the documents.
As usual, they contained nothing particularly interesting.
“I don’t understand why befriending a salon owner is necessary experience.”
“You’ll need it later.”
“If it’s a relationship that costs one hundred and fifty gold, then I don’t need it. Can’t you hear the butler sighing?”
“I didn’t realize you cared so deeply about the butler.”
“Deeply? Hardly. Honestly… I don’t know if spending this much money just to win over a woman is worth it.”
Finished. Since the stack of documents wasn’t very large, Lian quickly signed the last page. He gathered them neatly and handed them back to Erga.
“Just accept it.”
“Accept what? That Lady Iliana will become the next duchess?”
“Yes.”
“Then at least tell me why.”
The carriage accident. His meeting with Iliana. The banquet. And a faint face lingering in his fading memories.
Lian, gazing out the window, let a small smile form on his lips.
“She’s pretty.”
“…What?”
Turning his back on the stunned Erga, he muttered to himself several times:
“Because she’s pretty.”
The entrance to the Kritia estate was so piled up with goods that only a single person could barely pass through. Bessie, the head maid, and even the butler had been busy since morning organizing everything, but the pile hardly seemed to shrink.
It seemed Iliana’s warning at the restaurant had worked this time. The Piaget family had sent the items even earlier than promised. However, perhaps to show their displeasure, each item had been deliberately packed in separate boxes—some containing nothing more than a single dish set.
“What are they thinking, packing teacups and teapots separately? Where’s the rest of this set?!”
Waving a teacup decorated with deep purple floral patterns, Bessie shouted. One of the younger servants quickly raised a hand, calling out that it was over there.
It was complete chaos.
Amid the commotion, only the head maid remained calm, efficiently directing everyone and sorting the items one by one. The heavier lifting was handled by the butler and the other servants.
“Is anything missing?”
Checking the list, Iliana opened one of the boxes. Inside was a luxurious carpet from Targa, tightly rolled. As she lifted it, a cloud of stale dust burst into the air, quickly filling the entrance.
It had clearly been left unused in storage.
She waved her hand a few times, dispersing the dust. Several people coughed, while Bessie openly frowned in disgust.
“We haven’t finished checking everything, but some items are missing.”
“I figured. Probably the expensive ones.”
“Yes. What should we do?”
The head maid was asking whether they should report this to the young master. Iliana had already explained the situation briefly, but he likely didn’t know just how many items were missing.
Judging by the number of boxes, it looked like plenty had been returned—but in reality, more than half the listed items were gone.
“They must have packed it like this on purpose to hide what’s missing.”
Perhaps they also wanted to make things difficult for her, but the real reason was obvious. The marchioness’s shallow tricks were transparent, but Iliana chose not to make an issue of it—not because she had secured a written agreement.
She knew all too well how obsessed with money that greedy woman was.
More than anything, she didn’t want to be entangled with Cedric over this matter any longer. It wasn’t as if making a fuss would bring the missing items back.
“That’s one more excuse I’ll have to make to Father.”
“This is clearly the Piaget family’s fault. The young master will think the same.”
“Father won’t see it that way. Anyway, keep up the good work.”
After lightly patting the head maid’s shoulder, Iliana was about to return to her room when Bessie came running over, clutching her skirt and stepping over boxes.
“It’s missing.”
“What is?”
Bessie glanced around, then leaned in close and whispered into Iliana’s ear.
“The ‘Blazing Sun.’ The necklace the Duke Blair gave you.”
No…
Iliana’s eyes trembled as she bit her lower lip.
One of the main reasons she had demanded the return of the items was that necklace—the very object that had allowed her to return to the past. It had been passed down from her grandfather and rightfully belonged to her.
If she had asked for just that item, the marchioness would have grown suspicious immediately. That’s why she used the excuse of retrieving all the engagement gifts.
If they discovered that the necklace held the power to reverse time, they would surely go to great lengths to hide it.
She had intended to retrieve it naturally—but now…
Iliana rushed up the stairs two or three steps at a time. The head maid called after her to walk properly, but she ignored it. Entering her room, she threw open the wardrobe.
“Ah… the appointment.”
It wasn’t just the returned items that had arrived at Kritia that morning. A dress embroidered with golden roses—and a bouquet of softly fragrant yellow roses—had also been delivered.
It wasn’t simply because she disliked red roses. The golden rose was the symbol of the Kritia family.
She stared at the roses arranged in the vase on the table. Beside them lay a note she hadn’t finished reading earlier, having been distracted by the sudden influx of goods.
Picking up the folded note, she read:
[3 PM. At Siana Lakeside Park. I hope you like this gift.
—Lian Gotri]
So arbitrary.
Since he hadn’t said anything after the banquet, Iliana had completely forgotten. Though she had agreed to work with him, she didn’t appreciate his sudden, unannounced approach.
He truly had no sense of etiquette.
She took the dress from the wardrobe and held it up to the mirror. It fit perfectly, as if tailored just for her, and complemented her bright complexion beautifully.
As she examined the rose embroidery along the hem, she noticed that the center was left empty.
“Is this some kind of test?”
The intention was obvious.
Walking over to the bedside table, she opened the drawer and took out a neatly folded handkerchief. Aligning it with the empty space in the embroidery, she tilted her head slightly.
It might look nice, if it matched the size of the rose.
Surely, he wasn’t expecting her to embroider something herself for a meeting on the same day. No matter how uncouth he was, he couldn’t be that unreasonable.
Pulling the bell cord sharply a couple of times, Iliana soon heard hurried footsteps on the stairs before Bessie entered the room.
Iliana gestured for her to follow, dress in hand. Passing through a side door, they entered a spacious dressing room.
It was rarely used since she didn’t own many clothes, but it had a large mirror.
She handed the dress to Bessie.
“Do we have a hat that would go well with this?”
“Hmm, just a moment… Ah, how about this one?”
The yellow forsythia-colored hat was adorned with imitation roses, with a long lace ribbon trailing behind it.
Iliana shook her head.
Bessie quickly opened the wardrobe again and brought out another.
“This one belonged to Madam. It’s a bit old, but it would suit you beautifully.”
Most of the items in the room had belonged to her mother. They were so luxurious that, despite the passage of time, they still hadn’t gone out of style.
The hat, glowing like a fiery sunset, looked even more radiant in the sunlight streaming through the window.
But once again, Iliana seemed dissatisfied. She pointed toward the corner of the wardrobe.
Turning to look, Bessie hesitated before pulling out the hat.
It was a deep navy hat, adorned with silver feathers.
