A Mad Lady’s Confession - Chapter 63

The carriage, carrying its two masters, left the estate once again.

Matthias kept his eyes on the scenery rushing past outside the window and quietly recalled the conversation from earlier.

“I’ll send a letter over there. I’ll ask if she’s willing to meet—”

“Can’t we go in person?”

“….”

“Even if we get turned away at the door, I want to go myself. I can’t just sit still like this….”

For nobles, informing the purpose and time of a visit in advance was one of the most basic forms of etiquette. Under normal circumstances, he would have cut off such rudeness, but Matthias could not stop her.

Because the look on her face, saying she didn’t mind being turned away, didn’t mind if they ultimately failed to meet, that she simply couldn’t remain like this, was so full of urgency.

He turned his head and looked at Eleanor’s profile, who was likewise staring out the window.

Just why are you like this?

He regretted not asking the countless questions earlier. It might have helped him understand her now.

Why do I want to help her? Why do I want to… understand her?

“Today, in the city….”

Amid the clatter of hooves, Eleanor’s voice broke the silence.

“Everyone was kind and gentle.”

“Were they?”

“Yes, even to me, a complete stranger. They all said it was because you made this place that way, Your Grace.”

Matthias found himself wondering whether that was truly the case. Even looking back, he couldn’t say. As he swallowed his dry throat, he replied, “I see. I’m not sure.”

“They said you don’t turn away from the weak.”

He had never particularly thought about such people. He simply did not want the territory he ruled to stagnate and rot like the capital, Belgar, and he believed that suffering generally began with the weakest. From the poor and the fragile.

“…I thought it would have been nice if I had been born in Gammelstad.”

If we had been, too. Eleanor murmured softly.

We? Who exactly is she referring to? He was about to ask, but Eleanor closed her eyes. As if she didn’t want to acknowledge any questions right now.

The carriage reached a small village called Tollen, about an hour from Gammelstad.

Among the houses of various sizes lined along the coast, the carriage stopped in front of a brick-colored manor with a red roof. A modest estate with an arched iron gate and a small garden beyond it.

When the coachman knocked on the ring attached to the gate, an elderly woman with streaks of white hair soon came out from inside.

“What is it?”

“Ah, we are from Nielsen—”

“Eleanor Brynhill.”

The woman turned her gaze toward the voice. Through the open carriage window, someone wearing a bonnet introduced herself again.

“Please tell her that Brynhill has come to see her.”

Who in the Düsseldorf household wouldn’t know that ‘that lady’ from Brynhill? The head maid standing before them was no exception. With cold eyes, she spoke in a flat, rigid tone.

“Excuse me, but our lady is currently—”

“Even if I cannot meet her, that’s fine. Please just pass along the message. That I came because there is something I absolutely must tell her.”

“….”

The head maid, who stood there for a moment with clear displeasure, turned and went back inside the manor.

Matthias could do nothing but watch the woman as she kept her eyes fixed on that retreating figure.

If he invoked the name of Nielsen, it might have been somewhat forceful, but he could have made Düsseldorf open that door regardless. Yet he did not do so.

Because he could tell that, whatever it was, this matter held very important meaning for the woman.

Perhaps, after this, something between them might change greatly. He did not realize that such a faint sense of anticipation had begun to take root within him.

Surprisingly, it was not long before the door of the manor opened again.

As they stepped down from the carriage and entered, the same stern-faced head maid stood before them.

“The young lady is waiting inside.”

Following behind her, the two of them stepped into the manor.

There was a small lobby, and beyond it stretched a long corridor. At the end of it was a reception room for guests.

“The gentleman will wait here.”

The head maid’s attitude was imperious. Even after seeing the carriage bearing the Nielsen crest, she stood straight-backed, observing only the bare minimum of courtesy, as if to say that regardless of who he was, she had no intention of concerning herself with him.

However, Matthias did not feel offended. In truth, his attention was elsewhere.

At the words telling him to wait here, the first thought that came to him was whether it was truly alright to leave Eleanor alone with that woman. Not because he feared Eleanor might cause harm, but because he worried what that lady, whose feelings were clearly unfavorable, might do to Eleanor.

Even though requesting a meeting without prior arrangement, and even asking to meet alone with a lady, was extremely rude, he could not keep himself from speaking.

“Even if it’s at a distance, could I stay nearby—”

“It’s alright.”

At those words, he looked down at Eleanor. Though she was trembling, her light green eyes curved into a small smile, as if to reassure him.

“I’ll be fine.”

When Matthias gave a small nod, Eleanor soon followed the head maid down the corridor leading to the reception room.

Her back looked so slender it seemed as though it might disappear, and Matthias could not take his eyes off her the entire time. Even after she turned the corner and vanished from sight.

Eleanor’s shoe tips followed behind the trailing hem of the maid’s dress as they passed through the long corridor several times before stopping in front of a certain room.

As if to indicate it was inside, the head maid tilted her chin. Eleanor took a deep breath before stepping through the latticed door fitted with glass.

The room was very bright. Beyond the open terrace window, the sea spread out at a glance, and linen curtains swayed like waves in the breeze.

Rather than a room, it felt more like a living space. On one side of the wide area, an easel and painting tools were scattered facing the terrace, while on the other side, books were piled carelessly.

“Brynhill?”

At the voice, Eleanor turned her head. A woman with long black hair sat at a tea table beside the large window.

“Would you like to sit here?”

At the cool invitation from Young Lady Düsseldorf, Eleanor stepped forward. The closer she approached, the more clearly she could see the woman.

Her bare face, untouched by makeup, looked healthy despite being slightly tanned by the sun. Her hair, left loose without styling, was a little disheveled as if she had just woken up, yet it was not messy, and instead gave off a sense of freedom.

A woman wearing a muslin gown over a thin dress poured tea for Eleanor.

“If our head maid was rude, I apologize. Ever since I started living like this, I suppose everything irritates her. She would have acted the same even if it had been the Emperor instead of the Duke, so please understand.”

“…No, it’s alright.”

An amber liquid filled the teacup. Only the sound of waves crashing in the distant sea could be heard from time to time.

What should she say first? She had imagined this moment countless times, but she had never practiced how to begin.

“So we finally meet. You.”

It was Young Lady Düsseldorf who spoke first. Surprisingly, there was no ill will in her gaze as she looked at Eleanor. Only curiosity filled her eyes as she studied her.

Eleanor thought this was the moment she had to gather her courage. It was something she had believed she absolutely had to do.

“Please forgive me for having no choice but to come to see you like this. I… came today in such a discourteous manner because… there is something I must tell you.”

“….”

Something she had to say.

“I sincerely apologize for what happened that day.”

Eleanor lowered her head. Placing her clasped hands on her lap as if seeking repentance, she slowly forced the words out so she could convey her sincerity.

“I’m truly sorry. I caused you such a terrible wound…. I’m not asking for forgiveness. Even if you hate me or curse me, I believe you have every right to do so. If, here and now, you feel the urge… you may punish me in the same way, and I will accept it without protest.”

That was the resolve with which she had come. That she would accept any punishment willingly.

After breaking off her engagement with the Crown Prince, Young Lady Düsseldorf had been forced to leave even high society because of the aftermath of that incident. The future of a young lady only a few years older than Eleanor had been buried away in this rural seaside manor.

Eleanor sincerely wanted to apologize for the future she had lost.

“Any punishment, however you wish—”

“Seeing you like this, I understand it clearly now.”

When she raised her head, her gaze met the black eyes staring intently at her.

As if searching for something, Düsseldorf examined her carefully before speaking.

“You stated that you don’t remember that night, didn’t you?”

“….”

“I understand the reason now as well.”

Her dry throat tightened. As anxiety spread through Eleanor’s body like standing at the edge of a cliff above the sea, Young Lady Düsseldorf spoke with certainty.

“It wasn’t you to begin with.”

“….”

“The one who attacked me that night wasn’t you.”