The Serpent of Paradise - Chapter 19

At the break of dawn the next day, Mikhail, Igor, and Yuri departed. So many servants came out to see him off that it wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to say all of them were there.

Contrary to what they had nervously expected, the man who would become their new master was handsome, pleasant, and generous. In particular, perhaps because Yuri and Igor had let it slip the previous day that Mikhail’s mansion in Sokolov needed more servants, the servants began hoping that when Elizabeth went to Sokolov before long, they might be able to follow her there as well.

The countess was once again nowhere among those seeing him off. This time, however, Elizabeth, perfectly dressed for the occasion, and Catherine, blinking her still-drowsy eyes, came to bid him farewell.

“Then, please wait just a little longer.”

Before entering the carriage, Mikhail kissed the back of Elizabeth’s hand. It was a very brief kiss, but long enough for Elizabeth’s face to flush and the servants to avert their eyes for a moment. After releasing Elizabeth’s hand, he kissed Catherine’s as well.

The maids looked enviously at the young ladies receiving a farewell reserved solely for the Lauderdale ladies of the mansion. They thought it was only natural that their young ladies should receive such treatment. After politely bidding farewell to the two sisters, Mikhail inclined his head slightly.

“Edenhurst was a truly interesting and beautiful place. I hope it remains unchanged until I return.”

“Of course. Edenhurst will always welcome you.”

Mikhail gave a gentle smile at Elizabeth’s words, then entered the carriage. Soon, the crack of a whip sounded, and the carriage began to move. The servants remained bowed until Mikhail’s carriage disappeared into the distance. Only when it finally vanished from sight did they raise their heads.

“Phew….”

As though they had all agreed beforehand, everyone let out a long breath. They looked like people who had been weighed down by something. Once Elizabeth and Catherine went inside, the servants began chattering among themselves.

The atmosphere was markedly different from the oppressive mood that had filled the mansion before their arrival. Partly because of the countess’s orders, none of Edenhurst’s servants wore black anymore. Nor would they wear it again. They now had the joyous occasion of Elizabeth’s marriage to look forward to.

“I want to go to Sokolov. Mr. Yuri said Lord Mikhail’s mansion there is filled with gold. It’s full of Ilsian ornaments, of course, as well as flowers shipped in from Flanre every week. Even in the middle of winter!”

In Novgod, flowers used to decorate a mansion in winter were the height of luxury. The country was so cold that no flowers grew during winter, and since flowers withered before long, fresh ones constantly had to be purchased. Yet he sent ships all the way to distant Flanre to buy flowers merely for decoration.

The servants had believed Edenhurst to be the wealthiest and most beautiful mansion of all, but somehow, the peeling paint on its walls looked especially conspicuous today.

The servants spent the entire day talking about the wages at the Sokolov mansion, which Yuri had discreetly told them about. And the servants weren’t the only ones in a good mood. When Mikhail’s visit and his meetings with Elizabeth proceeded even more smoothly than she had expected, the countess wrote letters to acquaintances and relatives in the capital. At the same time, she began purchasing goods from the capital that she hadn’t been able to order for quite some time.

Elizabeth seems to have found a good match and will likely marry soon. When the time comes, might you be able to attend?

Those who received the countess’s letters investigated who had visited Edenhurst, and when Mikhail Sokolov’s name emerged, they wrote back without delay.

No matter how fiercely he opposed the Empress Dowager, everyone knew Mikhail would win. Moreover, once he married Elizabeth, wouldn’t he officially become the Count of Lauderdale? He would then stand squarely at the center of power.

Replies that had previously failed to arrive even after several letters now returned swiftly. The owners of the capital’s dress shops summoned by the countess arrived with several freight wagons packed with this year’s most fashionable and expensive goods. For the first time in a long while, crowds of people came to Edenhurst, filling it with bustle.

Because of that, everyone was so busy that they forgot. They forgot that Anastasia was still in the corner room on the third floor. Only after another week passed did the countess remember Anastasia’s existence and frown.

“I forgot about that insolent thing.”

Hadn’t they nearly been humiliated in front of Mikhail Sokolov? Fortunately, she had coordinated their story with the head maid and all the other servants. They would say Anastasia wandered around because she wasn’t of sound mind. That she was little better than an idiot, so they couldn’t send her elsewhere and were caring for her here.

‘It’s fortunate Mikhail Sokolov said nothing. He didn’t make any particular comment afterward either.’

At first, he had carried Anastasia in his arms and even used his own room to care for her. Because of that, hadn’t the countess been forced to pretend to care for Anastasia as well? She had even prepared that fake room for the thing on the third floor of the main building.

But after that, Mikhail never particularly sought Anastasia out. He merely said that the doctor under his command would prepare medicine for her. Even on the final day, he had politely said he would like to see her at dinner, yet hadn’t he said nothing when she ultimately failed to appear?

‘He never went to see her either.’

The maid assigned to Anastasia said that Mikhail hadn’t visited her even once. The countess felt relieved upon hearing that. Of course, Anastasia was afraid of people. She was even more helpless when the other person was a man. The ignorant thing followed only the word of God that her father had taught her as a child, so if she had been left alone in a room with a man, she would have panicked and screamed.

The countess remembered how Anastasia had looked in the room on the third floor. Emaciated and unable even to meet another person’s eyes properly. But despite her wretched appearance, the countess could tell. Her beauty had blossomed even more than when she was a child. Her hollow eyes, sunken cheeks, and grotesque clothes merely concealed it.

“Now that the guest has left, I should send that thing away.”

Because her son had cherished Anastasia, the countess had kept her tucked away in a corner of the mansion and occasionally reminisced about him. But perhaps the time had finally come to deal with her.

Normally, the countess would have shed tears at the thought of Edward, but now that she believed her daughter could restore their former glory, her emotions didn’t overwhelm her as they once had.

The countess considered how she could send Anastasia away without creating a mess. Considering how others might view it, the best option seemed to be marrying her to some suitable man and then sending her away. The countess thought of the people who came and went from the nearby village. She’d heard that one of the village headman’s sons was simple-minded. Perhaps she should send Anastasia to him.

But Elizabeth, whom she expected to agree, gave an unexpected answer.

“Just leave her alone.”

“…Elizabeth?”

“I don’t want to cast her out and risk creating trouble when something good is about to happen. There’s no harm in dealing with her slowly, so leave her alone for now. Besides, we’ll have guests visiting for some time. If we throw her out now, some people may use it to spread unpleasant rumors.”

“…That’s true.”

There were bound to be people who disapproved of this marriage. Moreover, wasn’t Mikhail currently in conflict with the Empress Dowager?

A smile appeared on the countess’s face at the thought of the Empress Dowager.

That damned bitch.

The vulgar words, unbefitting a noblewoman, died in the countess’s throat. She was the woman who had deliberately sent her son into the military. The woman who had taken Edward hostage and gradually stripped away the Lauderdale family’s wealth. Hadn’t she taken everything from their beautiful seaside villa to the estate that generated considerable profits every year? Yet she had clung to Edward until the very end and ultimately killed him.

The primary reason the countess contacted Mikhail was to save the cornered Lauderdale family, but she was also strongly motivated by the desire to put the Empress Dowager in a difficult position.

‘Mikhail Sokolov understands how greatly indebted he is to us.’

Now he would soar with the wings of Lauderdale. He must never forget that they were the ones who had given him those wings.

***

By the countess’s order, Anastasia was moved to another room. She thought she would return to the basement as before, but instead of the room in the farthest corner of the basement, she was given the best room in the kitchen servants’ quarters.

Unlike her previous room, it was a semi-basement room with a large window through which she could see the ground and sunlight could enter, so it hardly felt like a basement. The walls were properly papered, and though modest, it even contained furniture.

Once again dressed in layers of clothes as before, Anastasia began organizing the belongings she had brought down from the third-floor room. After slowly putting everything away with the door closed, Anastasia checked whether anyone was outside the window, then made sure the door was securely locked before reaching beneath the bed. Her fingertips touched a soft box. A moment later, Anastasia pulled out the red box and held it against her chest.

Mikhail had told her to open the box after he left. So Anastasia didn’t open it until the following day, after his departure. Inside was a pair of leather shoes. Shoes that were clearly brand-new and had never been worn by anyone.

Made of exceptionally soft leather, they were so fine that she didn’t dare try them on. Had she ever received anything new in her life? Not when she lived with her father, nor after she came to Edenhurst. Even while the count was alive, everything given to Anastasia had been something Elizabeth or Catherine could no longer use. Back then, the count had said,

“When the time comes, I’ll give you everything.”

Anastasia knew very well when that time was. He had always whispered it to her. But the time he spoke of had passed, the count was dead, and nothing had been placed in her hands. She thought it was fortunate. Anastasia had never once waited for that time or wanted anything.

Anastasia shook her head vigorously, driving the dead man’s image from her mind. Then she carefully embraced the shoes and stroked them. The small ornaments attached to them swayed beneath her hand.

Holding the shoes against her chest, Anastasia smiled brightly. She was so happy. Over the past few weeks, she had filled her eyes with Edenhurst’s beautiful scenery and enjoyed a beautiful room. On top of that, she had even received a gift proving that what she had seen wasn’t a dream. Sitting alone in the semi-basement room, Anastasia wore the brightest smile of her life.

“I’m so happy….”

The emotions she couldn’t completely swallow spilled from her lips.

Anastasia thought of Edenhurst’s new master, who had given her all of this. She was ready to respect, love, and serve Mikhail as her new master. And so, like everyone else in the mansion, she hoped Mikhail would return as soon as possible.

But two weeks later, the atmosphere in the mansion began to change.