Maylily - Chapter 107

It was a perfect day for drying laundry, with the sky clear and not a single cloud in sight. Standing in the middle of the sunlight pouring down into the backyard, Maylily lifted a white bed sheet from a large laundry basket.

“Up you go!”

She flung it neatly over the line stretched between the tops of evenly spaced poles. The laundry Carlo and Giovanna had wrung dry was twisted in the same direction.

After spreading it out, she slapped the wide drape hanging beneath the line, thwack, thwack. Then she clipped it in place with clothespins to secure the linen into a neat rectangle.

At first, hanging a bed sheet far larger than her own body by herself wasn’t easy. But after repeating it several times, she picked up the knack, so it took less effort and less time.

Helping Carlo and Giovanna with the inn’s work was like that in every way. Sweeping the yard, boiling laundry, beating carpets, baking bread. She was gradually becoming skilled at all of it. Compared to her past, when singing was about the only thing she could do, it felt like a commendable kind of growth even to herself.

She had been of age for several years now, but only recently did Maylily feel like she’d finally become a real adult, capable of taking responsibility for her own life and, beyond that, her child’s life as well. It was thanks to the good adults she met at a turning point in her life.

Maylily’s life had flowed in a direction completely different from what she once dreamed of, but even so, it felt like a life blessed with plenty of good fortune.

As that thought reached her, her chest suddenly swelled with happiness, puffed up like a cloud. The endlessly blue sky, the unripe oranges hanging from the trees, the soapy scent rising from the laundry, and the wildflowers blooming here and there beneath the stone wall all looked beautiful.

A song naturally flowed from between her softly curved lips. As each line of the song passed, one more sheet, then another, was added to the line.

Just as the second song ended, the laundry was finished as well. It was at that moment, when stillness settled over the open space, that footsteps rang out. Beneath the white sheets fluttering in the wind, smooth leather shoes came gradually closer. Soon after, neatly pressed black trousers came into view above them.

[Sorry, but you can’t come in here.]

Maylily said gently as she gathered the clothespin basket and tucked it against her side. Even so, the shoes didn’t stop and kept drawing closer.

[The laundry could get dirty, so please….]

As Maylily lifted the bed sheet slightly aside and stepped forward, her face went pale in an instant, as if she’d seen a ghost. Thud. The basket fell from her hand along with her heart, and clothespins spilled across the ground.

“Wh-what are you doing here….”

Was everything she’d felt just moments ago nothing but a dream? Unable to believe the sight before her, Maylily rubbed her eyes hard. Even so, the figure of the Count of Everscourt standing tall right in front of her didn’t disappear.

Between their violently colliding gazes, a fierce wind blew. A sea-like scent brushed past her nose, and the sound of sheets snapping loudly filled her ears.

“Isn’t that my line? Why are you here?”

As he tilted his head and stepped closer, a barely visible smile spread across the Count’s lips.

“I told you to wait at the house in Cryer.”

The deep blue eyes fixed on Maylily gleamed strangely, like those of a starving beast. A shiver ran down her spine.

Calm down. This is just an absurd coincidence. The Count didn’t come here for me.

Forcing strength into her trembling legs, Maylily steadied herself and squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again. In that brief moment, the Count lightly caught her chin, and in a soft, almost whispering voice, he spoke, “Answer me, Maylily. I’m asking you.”

Smack. The hand that struck Hugh’s away was sharp and unhesitating. Stepping back, Maylily glared at him, her eyes blazing with anger and fear.

“There’s no reason for me to answer that question. It has nothing to do with you anymore, Count.”

Hugh looked quietly at Maylily as she spoke in a colder voice than ever before.

Her face, which seemed to have lost a little weight and grown more delicate, looked brighter than before even with her brows drawn tight. Her shortened hair still fluttered softly, light as down.

Eyes that weren’t threatening no matter how much strength she put into them. Lips releasing shallow breaths. The tiny mole trembling faintly. Her chest rising and falling violently. Her pale hands.

Every single reaction to his slowly roaming gaze was terrifyingly lovable. Unlike him, who barely restrained the urge to pull her into his arms right then and there, she wore the face of someone whose peaceful daily life had been struck by disaster. That gap carved deeply into Hugh’s chest.

“Why, because I got engaged?”

Taking another step forward, Hugh firmly caught the woman’s arm as she tried to retreat. Maylily struggled desperately to break free, but it was useless.

“Let go! I need to go inside now….”

“If I hadn’t gotten engaged, would it be something related to you?”

At the words the Count of Everscourt murmured as if sharing a secret, his face pressed close, Maylily was momentarily stunned.

“What does that….”

“….”

At Maylily’s look demanding an explanation, the Count only tilted his head enigmatically, as if urging her to find the answer herself.

As Maylily slowly turned her thoughts over, her eyes widened as if they might pop out. Both hands flew up to cover her mouth, which let out a silent scream.

Then that article was all….

“No way…. That’s impossible.”

Watching Maylily mutter as if she’d been slapped, the Count’s lips curved slightly upward. It was a smile that confirmed her guess wasn’t wrong.

How could someone lie like that to the world….

“I told you, Maylily.”

“You’re crazy. Completely….”

“I get what I want, no matter what.”

The deep blue eyes filled with Maylily burned hot in the afternoon sunlight. Like soothing a frightened child, the Count stroked Maylily’s pale cheek. The tenderness in that touch made a horrifying sense of being dragged back into the past wash over her.

Shaking her head hard, Maylily struggled violently to break free from the Count’s grasp.

“Calm down, Maylily.”

As her resistance grew more frantic, the Count seized both of Maylily’s upper arms. Tears welled up in her large eyes as she shouted in rage.

“You’re disgusting! Let go of me. Whether you’re engaged or not has nothing to do with me. I will never…!”

[Honey.]

At the low voice spreading across the open space, Maylily’s words cut off short. Her slowly blinking eyes shifted to the side. The Count also turned his head at the appearance of a stranger. He loosened his grip, but didn’t release her.

[What’s going on?]

Awakened by the commotion in the backyard, Michele came outside holding Dylan in his arms and spotted Maylily being restrained by a strange man. He moved toward them.

This time, what kind of bastard is it….

Swallowing back her sobs, Maylily looked up, and as Michele’s gaze shifted from her face to the man’s, his brow furrowed sharply. It wasn’t difficult at all to recall the man’s name from the patronage party at the Roden Opera Company the previous spring.

Hugh Skaard, Count of Everscourt.

Judging by the dangerous twitch of one eyebrow, it seemed the man recognized him as well.

Michele neatly pulled the upper part of the wrap around Dylan to hide the baby’s black hair from view. Then he adjusted his hold so the baby’s face rested against his chest, and stepped closer to them.

[Let go of her hand. That kind of contact is unbearably offensive and humiliating.]

“Did you just… call her ‘honey’?”

The question was asked quietly, but savage anger was being forced down in the voice.

[Since you heard correctly, stop harassing another man’s wife.]

The Count stared at Michele without expression. But judging from the half-maddened look in his eyes, it was clear he felt an urge to twist Michele’s neck off.

“So you’re the one who snatched what was mine….”

“Uuh. Ah, ma….”

The Count flinched at the baby’s babbling that suddenly cut into the conversation. Only then did he notice the child in Michele’s arms, and his eyes were flooded with a massive wave of shock and confusion.

Seizing that moment, Maylily shook his hand off and moved to Michele’s side. After double-checking that the baby’s face was properly hidden, Michele turned to look at her.

[Are you all right?]

[Yes. Let’s go inside, Michele.]