Chapter 34
Although he had work to handle back at the office, Cayente stayed behind at the mansion. It felt like a whirlwind of events had swept by in a short span, leaving him more exhausted than a full day’s work would have.
“I’ve seen them off. The royal physician has been instructed to visit the Baron’s mansion in three days.”
“Alright.”
In the end, Cayente opened the documents he had planned to take with him and spread them out in the study. The tea had already been prepared, and since Yulia’s party had returned safely, there wasn’t much left to report. Still, Henry didn’t leave the study and remained by his side.
“What is it?”
Cayente asked without lifting his eyes, gaze still fixed on the papers in front of him.
“What are your plans for introducing the rest of the family before the wedding? I didn’t see them on the invitation list, so I assumed you’d meet them separately, but there were no orders. Should I contact the young ladies to see when it would be convenient for them to visit?”
“There’s no need for that.”
“Oh, have you already taken care of it?”
“What?”
Cayente had no intention of inviting his family to the wedding. This marriage wasn’t worthy of anyone’s blessing—and especially not that of his family.
Perplexed by Henry’s confident assumption, Cayente finally looked up, and Henry immediately responded.
“Didn’t you summon Mark separately the other day? I thought you had contacted them through him… Was I wrong?”
“Ah, Mark.”
Recalling what he had tasked Mark with and what he had reported back, Cayente gave a slight sneer and turned his gaze back to the documents.
“Don’t worry about it. None of my family will attend this wedding.”
“What? But it’s the Count’s wedding. How could your family not be there? Ah… are the young ladies too busy? I heard the graduation exams at Cassard National Art School are notoriously difficult.”
Even if his younger sisters were lounging in embarrassing swimsuits getting tans on the family’s private island, Hilden Island, he wouldn’t call for them. To explain that would mean revealing to Henry all the things he’d been doing through Mark—things he didn’t want Henry to find out about.
He could already imagine what kind of expression Henry would wear if he knew. Surprise, pity, sorrow… and worse, disappointment.
Cayente didn’t want to give that kind of disappointment to a man who had devoted his entire life to the Clu family. Henry, like Yulia, was one of the few people who remembered the old Cayente and still believed he might return to being the warm and kind man he once was.
“Then what about Lady Maria? You must at least invite her. She’s your mother, after all.”
Cayente remained silent, unable to say the truth. Henry took that silence as something positive.
“Ah… she must still be too weak to travel such a long distance. It’s really unfortunate how her health seems to improve only to decline again. Still, not a single family member attending the wedding of the Count of Clu? That’s hard to accept.”
Cayente appreciated Henry’s thoughtful interpretation—that Maria, the former Countess of Clu, was simply too ill to attend. And for that kindness, he opened his mouth to speak.
“Why say no one? There’s you. And there’s Yulia, who will soon be a member of the Clu family.”
“Thank you for saying that, but… oh dear. I’ll take my leave now. Please call me if you need anything, Count.”
Even as he stepped out of the study, Henry looked regretful over Cayente’s situation—but Cayente felt no such thing. With Yulia at his side and the Baron’s family supporting her, this wedding would be perfect.
* * *
It was a rare evening where the entire family gathered for dinner because Baron Luper had returned early. But despite the occasion, the atmosphere at the table was heavy. The Baron had seen the bandage wrapped around Yulia’s hand and, blaming himself, was fuming.
“This is all because you had the misfortune of being born to a father like me. What kind of suffering is this, Yuli?”
“Oh please. I told you, it’s fine.”
“It’s alright, Father. A really famous doctor came to check it. The wound is just from glass shards—there’s no problem with the hand. And if something does go wrong, my fiancé promised he’ll definitely heal it.”
Of course, Cayente hadn’t made such a promise outright. But Yulia said it anyway, hoping it would ease her father’s expression. After all, Cayente had said there were ways to deal with it—words that could be interpreted that way.
“Did Cayente say that?”
“I didn’t hear it myself because I was cleaning up the garden, but Lucy heard it. Cayente told her not to worry even if something went wrong, that there would be a way. Right, Lucy?”
“Yes, I think he was trying to comfort her because she was so upset.”
Lucy, who had been worried after seeing how harshly Cayente sometimes spoke to Yulia, was thrilled to hear that he had shown some concern, and responded cheerfully.
The whole family, Lucy included, tried to lift the Baron’s spirits, but the bitter smile on his face refused to fade.
“If only our Yuli had been born to better parents… she could’ve been performing cello at a royal gala by now.”
“You’re impossible. If you’re going to keep ruining everyone’s appetite, go eat alone. Yulia said she’s fine, so why are you acting like this?”
“Father, why don’t we go out for a bit? Don’t let Mother scold you again.”
In the end, Ian led the Baron out to walk around the garden. Even then, the Baron kept muttering the same thing—that Yulia’s suffering was all due to her unfortunate parentage.
“If you were just going to regret it later, why didn’t you do better? Other people made a fortune in textiles, and we end up with debt? If I’d earned even one-tenth—no, one-hundredth of what the Count made, we wouldn’t be eating this. When are we going to stop eating potatoes? Yulia, speaking of which—”
“No.”
“You won’t even hear me out?”
“You’re about to talk about writing another check. No. You already spent too much decorating the wedding hall.”
“It wasn’t even that much! You saw Cayente didn’t even blink when that expensive chandelier shattered. When it fell, all I could think was how much it cost—my heart nearly stopped. I wasn’t even thinking about injuries!”
“Still, no.”
“So I get to eat this stuff while you’re out there enjoying the good life after marrying rich? You look sweet, but you’re actually pretty ruthless.”
Yulia never once thought her father was a bad man. But lately, her mother had become… a bit much. Even if things improved and the family’s finances turned around, her mother’s growing taste for extravagance might sink them all over again.
* * *
“Count, if there’s nothing else you need, I’ll take my leave.”
“Good work.”
After the maids and servants lining up past the study gave their evening farewells and Henry returned to his room, Cayente pulled out a thick file from the corner of his desk drawer.
<Clu Trade>
Cayente’s next endeavor.
The fabric quality wasn’t particularly impressive, but people trusted and bought it simply because it bore the “Clu Textiles” name. For a trial run, the profits were more than satisfactory.
Once the full cotton harvest began and he could acquire more factories to produce high-quality fabric, Cayente was confident that Clu Textiles would dominate the textile market just like it had with wool.
And when that happened, the Tahr Continent would feel too small. Currently, they were paying commissions to trade companies to ship their goods—but once the cotton business expanded, the volume would skyrocket. He had no intention of continuing to pay those growing fees indefinitely.
The recent sharp rise in wealth among traders only made the idea more tempting.
When the time came, Cayente even considered slightly raising wages for factory and ranch workers. For now, he was squeezing them dry at the bare minimum, but once Clu became untouchable, it wouldn’t hurt to ease up a bit.
Trying to shake off the unpleasant thoughts, Cayente left the study. Just then, the doorbell rang from the direction of the entrance. Curious who could be visiting at this late hour, he rushed through the garden to the gate—only to frown upon seeing the man standing there.
“Let’s talk.”
Baron Luper. Yulia’s father. And also—
“I told you after the wedding, I never want to see your face again.”
He was Cayente’s enemy.
