Maylily - Chapter 106

The young man dressed in a neat black frock coat and dark gray gloves was, at a glance, a high-ranking noble from abroad. Flawless white skin, glossy black hair, a face as handsome as a god painted on a temple ceiling, and a confident, straight gaze. Everything about him radiated nobility.

What on earth would bring someone like that to our inn….

Watching the man approach the counter on his long legs, Carlo swallowed hard. It wasn’t unheard of for nobles to visit Bredova, but they usually stayed at hotels in neighboring cities about an hour away by carriage.

So for Carlo, whose inn mostly served sailors or traveling merchants day in and day out, facing a guest of such an unfamiliar sort made him tense despite himself.

[How many nights will you be staying?]

The man set his bag down in front of the counter and stood straight, then slowly lowered his eyes to look down at Carlo, who wore a practiced, welcoming smile. His deep, shadowed eyes gave off a cool air.

On top of that, his build was as tall and solid as Michele’s, or perhaps even more so, which lent him a faint sense of pressure. Even to an ordinary man ignorant of fine goods, everything wrapped around that body looked expensive, from head to toe.

He was a guest who didn’t fit this inn in any way.

[Is the address written here this place?]

The man pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and held it out to Carlo. Despite his appearance suggesting someone from Riverton or Aren, the Cartian he spoke carried the exact same accent and pronunciation as Cartian nobles.

[Yes, that’s correct. That’s our inn’s address.]

[I see.]

Replying in a low voice, the man turned his head from side to side, carefully surveying his surroundings. It was hard to tell whether he was searching for something or inspecting the facilities one by one.

After quite some time, he turned his gaze back to Carlo and spoke as he took a wallet from his coat.

[One month.]

[What? You mean you’ll be staying at our inn for a full month?]

Carlo’s voice rose slightly in surprise. He had expected the man to turn around and leave, dissatisfied with the inn’s facilities.

[Is there a problem?]

The question came calmly, without any rise or fall. Carlo hurriedly shook his head.

[Ah, no. Not at all. There’s no problem. Please write your name here on the card.]

The man lightly pressed the pen tip to the paper, paused for a moment, then wrote his name. The card Carlo received back bore the name ‘Frank Barry’ in elegant handwriting.

After completing the check-in process, Carlo handed the man a key with the room number attached.

[I hope you enjoy a comfortable stay at our inn.]

The man nodded gracefully and curved his lips into a soft line. With that faint smile, his expression instantly became gentler. Beneath hair that swayed lightly, deep blue eyes shimmered like jewels.

That face felt strangely familiar.

That’s odd. There’s no way I’ve met someone like him before….

Tilting his head in confusion, Carlo watched the man head toward the guest rooms. With his back held perfectly straight, the man started up the stairs and soon disappeared from sight.

***

The guest room was on the second floor. A faint chill rose from the stone floor laid along the shadowed corridor. Stepping forward slowly over it, Hugh inserted the key into the old wooden door.

When he opened the door, a single bed, a small table beside it, and a wooden chair that looked a bit too small for Hugh to sit on came into view in that order. A crudely decorated coat rack was mounted on the wall, and a washbasin sat in one corner. Through the window left open for ventilation, a breeze carrying the dampness characteristic of the seaside blew in.

An appropriately shabby, modest inn that suited a small rural town.

The fact that naïve, world-ignorant Maylily had drifted as far as a place like this was still hard to believe, even now that he stood inside the room.

It was three days ago that Hugh finally got his hands on the whereabouts of the woman he’d searched for over the course of a year.

The strategy that made a woman who had hidden herself without a trace, as if she’d evaporated from the world, walk out on her own was simple.

If she ran away because she hated his affection, then all he had to do was make her believe it was over.

For the plan to succeed, Hugh endured and endured through endless nights of insomnia. To earn her trust again, he needed to invest that much time.

When enough time passed for him to be certain of success, he cast the bait. And the innocent Maylily fell for it without resistance.

“A report just came in from our contact in Purdshire. Miss Aile’s letter arrived at the Brooks couple’s grocery store, and her address was written on it.”

It hadn’t even been a full month since he announced the false engagement.

Considering the time it took for the article to reach Maylily, for her to write the letter, and for that letter to be delivered, her speed of reaction was remarkable. As if she’d been counting down the days until Hugh went to another woman.

What shocked him even more was the address written on the telegram David handed him. The moment he saw the word ‘Cartia’ written next to the unfamiliar place name ‘Bredova,’ Hugh felt as though his head had been struck hard.

Underestimating Maylily, thinking that a powerless, timid woman couldn’t have carried out such a bold escape. His arrogance in believing that no matter how badly she wanted to flee from him, she wouldn’t have crossed the land he stood on. Those two misjudgments combined into that shock.

It was an uncalculated stroke of luck that the engagement article spread through Cartian media, which lay outside the search area. Thanks to that, the news reached Maylily quickly.

On the afternoon the report came in from the Purdshire contact, a telegram also arrived from Jace Brooks.

An orange tree in the backyard.

The landlady and her husband, and their nephew. Friendly relations.

Additional information that allowed him to infer Maylily’s living environment was included.

1XXX.10.14.

The date Maylily wrote the letter.

Looking at that date, which differed by less than a week from when he announced the engagement, Hugh let out a hollow laugh.

Still so brazen, Maylily. Thanks to that, I’m really looking forward to our reunion.

“Shall we send someone to confirm it?”

“I’ll go myself.”

Hugh no longer had the leisure to wait calmly for a contact to visit Bredova. From the moment Maylily’s location was identified, a desire to reach her as quickly as possible roared inside him.

He departed the very next day and traveled without rest for two straight days. For the final hour or two of the journey, he rode in a carriage, endlessly jolting along a narrow, rough road that wasn’t properly maintained.

Could Maylily really have hidden herself in such a remote place? All for the sake of escaping from him?

At the address he reached after carrying countless repeated doubts with him, there stood, unexpectedly, a small inn. Before entering, Hugh ordered his attendants to stay at another inn in the village and wait. It was to avoid drawing attention, or conversely, causing inconvenience to the people here.

[Welcome.]

The innkeeper, presumed to be the owner, was an elderly man with a kindly impression. Instead of hastily asking him about Maylily, Hugh decided to observe the situation first. It was too early to be certain of what kind of relationship the man had with Maylily, and there was also the possibility that, once aware of Hugh’s presence, he might try to sneak her out.

While exchanging a brief conversation with the owner, Hugh carefully searched the spaces where Maylily might be.

Beyond the green door behind the counter, or in one of the many guest rooms. Or perhaps she was being confined in some hidden space.

Yes. If the reason Maylily came all the way here was kidnapping and confinement, that might almost be easier to accept.

At that pathetic thought, Hugh let out a self-mocking laugh and leaned diagonally against the window. The tip of the cigar between his dry lips glowed red.

He hadn’t even been here for a full few minutes, yet already his heart was beginning to tighten. It was the aftereffect of a year spent chasing after Maylily, repeating hope, disappointment, and frustration.

It was just as a heavy sigh escaped him and cigar smoke spread into the bluish air. Through it, a faint singing voice reached Hugh’s ears.

Of the season that once shone brightly

His breath caught at once at the song he had heard so many nights, wandering between dreams and reality. As if standing in time slowed to a crawl, Hugh very slowly removed the cigar from his lips, and his gaze shifted downward beneath the window.

the final flower falls.

Orange trees gleaming in vivid green. White bed sheets fluttering on a clothesline set up in the open space beside them.

Even if the petals scatter and vanish,

Between them moved lightly a woman, her blond hair rippling softly. The sparkle born of that movement rode the wind and shattered brilliantly across his deep blue eyes. Light was slowly returning to Hugh’s world, which had been sunk in darkness.

the fragrance of love remains.

What if it vanished like smoke the moment he closed his eyes? Hugh, who had been staring at that light without even blinking, let out a long breath in silence, all trace of composure gone from his face. Then he soon left the guest room.