Deceived, Yet Drawn to You - Chapter 143

Edmund closed his mouth for a moment and met Blair’s gaze. He quietly studied her hazel eyes, brightened beyond their natural color by the sunlight. Watching his own reflection held within them, he lingered there for a long time before speaking.

“Then, Blair.”

A gentle curve formed on his lips. It was a smile untouched by self-mockery or cynicism, born solely from the tenderness only she could draw out of him.

“Will you stay by my side as my partner?”

The familiar warmth of her hand flowed through their clasped fingers. Knowing how desperate the hand extended by a man who had long fought a lonely battle must be, her heart swelled with deep affection.

“I always have, and I always will.”

“This is a lifelong contract. Far heavier than the one-year contract we scribbled down at the beginning, and one that allows no termination. It will be a terribly binding agreement. Can you still bear it?”

Blair burst into laughter. Her clear laughter filled the greenhouse, and Edmund followed, laughing aloud with her.

“It’s the sweetest form of restraint in the world.”

“Are you prepared to cling to me disgustingly for the rest of your life?”

“Of course. I’ll gladly accept, Ed.”

Blair wrapped both arms around his neck and brushed her nose against his. As if it were the most natural course of things, their lips met, and their breaths tangled deeply together.

The ghosts of the past lost their power. The history of a family stained with hatred could no longer threaten him, and all that remained was the peace to be savored by those who had saved each other.

***

After that, they didn’t leave Chails for a long time. They didn’t even consider returning to Eldenvale.

Time was needed to clear away the burned chapel, but even if everything were restored perfectly, they had no intention of settling in Eldenvale as their residence.

In any case, the base of the enterprises he oversaw was in the capital, and Blair felt more at ease in Chails, so there was nothing to deliberate. Her well-being was his very wish.

“Your Grace.”

He was leaving the Regent Central Bank after finishing a meeting, as usual. At the low voice calling him, Edmund glanced sideways. It was the aide who attended him closely and carried out his orders.

“A report has arrived from the investigative team that departed for Glassford.”

The envelope the man held out was rather thick. It contained the results of the investigation Edmund had personally ordered regarding the movements of Blair’s mother, Countess Twyford.

“They say the inquiry extended much farther than expected. It has been confirmed that a monastery located near the border of a neighboring country was the Countess’s final residence.”

The word final was unsettling. Edmund, who had intended to return home at once and bury his face in Blair’s embrace, felt his eyes darken. As the weighty envelope settled in his hand, he sensed that the truth inside wouldn’t be light.

What could it possibly contain? The Blair he knew was undoubtedly strong-willed, yet her mother’s absence had been the root of her deepest lack. He couldn’t help but worry.

“I’ll review it.”

Holding the envelope, he got into the waiting car. As dusk approached, the main roads were crowded with vehicles heading home. By his estimate, it would take twenty minutes to reach Chails. Wondering whether that would be enough time to read the report and gather his thoughts, Edmund slowly tore open the envelope.

***

Blair was enjoying an unusually cozy day.

Life in Chails was always peaceful, but it was especially so now that Mrs. Norris, the housekeeper who had worked at Count Twyford’s townhouse, and the driver, Hamilton, had recently joined them here.

They had been driven out without even receiving proper wages, and being quite elderly to begin with, they were in a dire situation, unable to find new employment. Because they’d been close to Blair, she knew their circumstances and couldn’t feel at ease about it. After making inquiries, Edmund located those servants and brought them to Chails.

Unlike the servants at the main house, who were little different from the Count’s strict watchdogs, these two had sincerely cared for her, even if only for a short time. They were far more comfortable presences, and she was glad to have them.

When Mrs. Norris heard the news of Blair’s pregnancy, she clasped her hand with tears in her eyes and took meticulous care of her. It was no exaggeration when she boasted that she’d borne and raised six daughters. Her skill in tending to a pregnant woman was truly unmatched. She quickly grew close to the maid Milia as well and now firmly oversaw the household affairs of Chails.

While Blair was spending a comfortable day amid the warm kindness of those she trusted, a heavy thud and the sound of movement came from downstairs.

Glancing at the wall clock, she saw it was about time for Edmund to return. The corners of her lips lifted as she left the study. Edmund was a diligent husband who, once his work was done, declined most dinners and banquets that stretched late into the evening and returned home at once.

“You’re back.”

As she descended the stairs and reached the entrance hall, a radiant smile spread across Blair’s face. The moment Edmund saw her, he wrapped an arm around her waist out of habit and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“I can’t tell you how much I wanted to see this face all day.”

“You really are something.”

“Was everything all right today?”

“What could possibly happen to me? Ah, Countess Gillingham sent a telegram saying she would like to visit this weekend. Would that be all right?”

“Of course. As long as she doesn’t trail her brothers behind her, she is welcome anytime.”

Blair laughed and met his eyes, then tilted her head slightly. If she was not mistaken, a faint shadow of distress flickered in Edmund’s eyes as he smiled back at her.

By now, they could sense each other’s moods from the sound of a breath alone. No matter how he tried to conceal it with a smile, Blair immediately realized he was hesitating about something.

“Did anything happen to you today?”

When she asked quietly, Edmund responded with a silent smile instead of an answer. He pressed another brief kiss to her round forehead and took her hand.

Click. The bedroom door closed, and after loosening his tie, Edmund faced Blair.

With the sunset beyond the drawn curtains at her back, she didn’t look anxious. She didn’t urge him to explain what was wrong. She simply waited for him to speak first, as if she already knew what words might come.

Even as he faced her composed expression, Edmund wavered. The fierce instinct to protect Blair rose within him.

He didn’t want to disturb the peace they’d barely reclaimed. He could hide the truth if he chose. Sometimes it might be better not to know the truth, and the temptation shook him, whispering that there was no need to rake up the past and stir ripples in the heart of a woman who had only just found tranquility.

But how many misunderstandings had arisen when he deceived Blair in that way before? To blind her in the name of goodwill was not respect for the woman who had chosen to remain by his side. Above all, she was not someone meant to act according to rules inside his cage and settle there. She was his partner, who had fought through hardship together with him.

“There was something you asked of me before.”

Edmund walked steadily to the round table, took the envelope from his inner pocket, and set it down quietly. Blair’s gaze followed him without a word.

“It’s about the investigation into the Countess’s whereabouts.”

Blair stared at the report, then lifted her eyes to meet Edmund’s again. The look that seemed to foresee the truth trembled slightly, yet held steady resolve.

“My aide who went to Glassford delivered the report today. It took some time since he had to travel quite far.”

“Mm. Tell me.”

Edmund closed his mouth for a moment and carefully selected the contents of the report he’d read several times in the car.

“It was a small monastery located near the border of Brücken. It was said to be the Countess’s final resting place.”

“….”

“It appears your mother was already weakened by illness before she decided to leave Glassford. I imagine she realized she didn’t have much time left and chose not to spend the remainder of her life with Count Twyford.”

Her mother’s departure was not an elopement for cheap love, but a choice to preserve her own life. Blair listened in silence.

“The one who helped the Countess at the time was a stable hand named Alfred. It seems he never forgot the kindness she showed him when she once took him in after visiting an orphanage, and he assisted in her final escape.”

“…So they didn’t run away together after all.”

“Yes. The supposed romantic relationship was nothing more than a fabrication born of the Count’s suspicion. Alfred was merely an accomplice. He encountered the Count, who had intercepted the letter, beneath the elm tree, but managed to escape safely and escort the Countess to the monastery.”

The Countess, whose mobility had already declined at the time, first left the estate with Alfred’s help and then sent him back to retrieve Blair. Even after the attempt failed, she tried several more times to rescue her, but at some point every movement was cut off as if severed. From these circumstances, Edmund added, it appeared the Count threatened her by taking Blair’s safety hostage.

Having already left an indelible stain on the family name, the Count ordered her to live as though dead and remain hidden if she wished to preserve her daughter, Blair, intact. The mother had no choice but to submit. Not long after, it seemed she passed away at the monastery.

The memories long stained with resentment were all false. Behind the belief that she’d been abandoned lay only her mother’s desperate struggle to take her only daughter with her somehow.

“I didn’t know any of that.”

Blair’s reddened eyes trembled faintly along with her shoulders.

“I spent my whole life hating her, thinking whatever was easiest for me to believe, that she’d abandoned me.”