The Serpent of Paradise - Chapter 20

2. Realizing

The first person to notice something amiss was Emma, the head cook.

“Why is it empty?”

When a young maid told her there were no potatoes, Emma told her not to talk nonsense. But the maid insisted it was true and asked her to come see for herself, so Emma went to the pantry and found only a few potatoes left in the sack. And it wasn’t only the potatoes. Flour, ham, butter, and milk. Almost nothing remained. Just like last winter.

‘That can’t be.’

When she asked what in the world had happened, she was told that the village grocer’s wagon, which came three times a week, hadn’t come at all this week. After angrily demanding to know why the younger servants hadn’t reported it sooner, Emma scraped together the remaining ingredients and hurriedly prepared the masters’ meal.

She then used what was left to prepare a meal for the servants, but naturally, there wasn’t nearly enough food.

“What is this? You expect me to work after eating one bowl of this soup? Do you think gardening is a joke?”

“Was this bread baked yesterday? It’s hard and tough.”

Emma’s face filled with irritation at their complaints. She handed the ladle she was holding to another maid, then stormed up to the first floor.

“That grocer needs to be taught a proper lesson.”

She needed to tell the butler to contact the village grocer immediately and refill the empty pantry. While she was looking for the butler, she heard a horse and saw a familiar man dismount. It was the very grocer she had intended to summon.

“You!” Emma strode over, pointed at him, and shouted, “Have you lost your mind? You haven’t sent any goods all week? Are you going to take responsibility if the countess and the young ladies’ meals suffer because of you?”

Emma naturally expected the merchant to bow his head, say he had committed an unforgivable offense, and beg her to overlook it just once. But he merely glanced at Emma and tried to enter the mansion.

“What’s wrong with you? Can’t you hear me? Go back to the village and bring the goods at once!”

“Be quiet. I’m not here to see you. Where is the butler? No, that’s not right. Where is Mr. Yuri?”

“Yuri? Ah, Lord Mikhail’s subordinate. Why are you looking for him?”

“Why do you think? He paid without fail every week, but the money suddenly stopped coming two weeks ago. I’m looking for him because I haven’t been paid. I won’t bring any more supplies until I’m paid for those two weeks, so give me the money at once. Mr. Yuri! Mr. Yuri! Where are you?”

“See here, what is the meaning of this insolence? Be quiet at once!”

Startled by the commotion, the butler rushed out and told him that Yuri had returned to Sokolov and wasn’t at the mansion. The merchant raised his voice, saying that wasn’t his concern and demanding immediate payment. He only stopped shouting after the butler finally paid him. Then he said that from now on, he would require payment in advance.

Neither the butler nor Emma could understand the merchant’s behavior. Did he have any idea where he was, behaving so crudely? To shout and cause a scene at Edenhurst like a common ruffian merely because he hadn’t been paid for two weeks. Moreover, transactions with a mansion this large were normally settled monthly. Sometimes several months’ worth were paid at once.

“Who says we’ll continue doing business with you? Do you think you can conduct business after daring to disrespect the Lauderdale family?”

When Emma spoke to the grocer as he mounted his horse, he pulled on the reins and scoffed.

“I came after hearing that this family was on the verge of ruin, yet you’re still putting on airs. I’m fortunate I heard early. I wonder whether the people coming after me will manage to collect what they’re owed.”

The grocer scoffed and rode away. Emma coughed in the cloud of dust kicked up by his horse and brushed off her clothes.

“That insolent bastard! How dare he!”

The village was no longer part of the Edenhurst estate because the countess had transferred ownership of the land several years ago. Even so, those people had paid taxes to the Lauderdale family for decades. How could they behave this way?

“He heard some outdated rumor somewhere and came here to cause trouble!”

Things had briefly become dangerous last winter, but that was all in the past now. Yet he had only just picked up on those rumors and revealed his vulgar true nature like this. Emma glared after the disappearing merchant, then turned to the butler and made a request.

“Mr. Butler, please find us a different merchant. Even if it takes longer, I think we’ll have to order from the neighboring village.”

“I’ll do that. But what in the world was all this commotion about…? It’s fortunate madam is in the rear garden and didn’t hear it.”

The butler also glared down the road where the merchant had disappeared. Then he remembered the money he had just paid out of his own pocket.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t heard from Mr. Yuri.’

Yuri had said that he would go to Sokolov with Mikhail and return soon, but there had still been no word from him. Moreover….

‘There haven’t been any replies to the young ladies’ letters lately either.’

After Mikhail returned home, the countess, Elizabeth, and Catherine each wrote him letters. A reply arrived after the first letters, enclosed in a fragrant, high-quality envelope, along with gifts for all three of them. But that was all. No other letters arrived.

‘He must be very busy.’

According to the countess, Mikhail and Elizabeth’s marriage was practically settled, with only the date and venue left to decide.

The butler remembered what Yuri had whispered to him the night before their departure. Yuri said the butler at the Sokolov mansion was thoroughly incompetent and that he hoped the Edenhurst butler would come to Sokolov. He said that after seeing how the man managed the mansion, Mikhail was also very pleased with him.

Yuri then quoted a salary more than five times what he currently earned. When the butler looked surprised, Yuri laughed and subtly mocked him, saying that if such an amount shocked him, he wouldn’t be able to handle life in Sokolov. But the butler wasn’t offended. It was a future that would soon be his.

‘Once that time comes….’

If he waited just a little longer, Mikhail and Yuri would return. Then they would immediately reimburse him for the paltry sum he had paid the merchant moments ago. Perhaps his loyal devotion in serving his masters with all his heart would be recognized, allowing him to become the butler of the Sokolov mansion even sooner. And with time, he might even become the butler of a still greater noble family….

Lost in pleasant fantasies, the butler turned around. For now, he needed to contact a grocer in another village.

***

“Look at this! Valentina is practically dying of jealousy!”

Catherine giggled on the bed as she looked at the letter from her friend in her hand. The head maid beside her told her to behave with dignity, but Catherine didn’t hear her.

Catherine enjoyed every day lately. After Mikhail’s visit, her mother once again summoned people from the capital as she used to. Thanks to that, Catherine was able to have proper clothes made for the first time in years.

‘Twenty outfits for each season, no less!’

She had never had that many made even while her father was alive. At first, her mother told her to order only three outfits. After cautiously gauging her mood, Catherine said,

“Once we go to Sokolov, we’ll immediately have many occasions to visit the capital, so how could three outfits possibly be enough? I’ll visit my friends’ homes often, and I’ll formally make my debut. Then I’ll be invited to tea parties and banquets, so three will be nowhere near enough. What will people say if I wear the same clothes twice?”

The countess considered Catherine’s words for a moment, then nodded.

“You have a point. If we wait until we reach Sokolov to have more made, that will take time as well. And there will be many places to visit immediately. Let’s simply have everything made while we have the opportunity.”

The countess readily accepted Catherine’s request. At the same time, she instructed Elizabeth to order additional evening gowns separately.

In the past, her first concern would have been the cost, but that no longer mattered. From listening to Mikhail, the countess learned that his wealth exceeded even what she had imagined. Some said he possessed more money than the imperial family. Since he would soon marry Elizabeth anyway, he would also assume responsibility for all the Lauderdale family’s finances. If so, it would be more convenient to order everything they wanted now rather than worry about his reaction after the marriage.

The madam who owned the dress shop was delighted by this. As she had them try on the samples and clothes she brought and took their measurements, she told them the latest news from the capital. At the same time, she didn’t forget to flatter the countess and her daughters.

“I heard that discussions with Lord Mikhail Sokolov are going well. Please be sure to call for me again when you need clothes for the joyous occasion. But truly, congratulations. Many ladies wanted Lord Mikhail, but in truth, they were all the ones clinging to him. There has never been anyone whose hand he reached for first. Then again, Miss Elizabeth is certainly worthy of that. You were chosen as the Rose Queen when you made your debut, weren’t you?”

The madam’s sweet words continued endlessly, but neither the countess nor Elizabeth made any particular attempt to stop her.

After they finished ordering the clothes, the three women read the letters that had arrived from relatives and friends in the capital and wrote replies. The rumors had apparently already spread, because not only relatives who had previously failed to reply but even people who had severed contact sent letters. Catherine wrote to the friend who had been sending her letters of sympathy, telling her that Mikhail Sokolov had given her mountains of goods from Ilenka. She thought it would be fine to reveal the relationship between her sister and Mikhail by now.

As expected, letters from her friends poured in. Some even asked whether they could visit Edenhurst immediately.

‘Of course, I politely refused.’

Catherine recalled the list of high-ranking noble families she had seen in a magazine. It would be better to associate with people from families like those now. Of course, she didn’t know what they might say about Mikhail’s origins, but he would soon become a count, and she would become the daughter of the wealthiest noble family in the empire.

Catherine rose from the bed, went to her desk, and took out the women’s magazine from the capital that she secretly read without her mother’s knowledge. The magazine contained detailed information about newly emerging shops, as well as people and goods.

Catherine took out a sheet of writing paper and began writing a letter to Mikhail. She wanted to visit these places when she went to the capital with her sister, so she asked him to make reservations in advance. He would certainly grant her request. There was no way he would refuse a request from his future wife’s younger sister.

***

Anastasia was the last person to notice that something was amiss. That was only natural, since a maid now brought her meals to her room twice a day, and she naturally ate alone inside. It was pleasant to eat quietly by herself in a sunlit room without watching anyone’s reactions, but she could no longer hear the servants’ conversations.

She had lost the only means through which she could hear about the outside world, but Anastasia didn’t mind.

After placing the dishes from her finished meal on the cart outside, Anastasia left the mansion, still dressed in several layers of clothing. Perhaps it was because the countess had moved her to a different room. Although the mansion’s servants still ignored Anastasia, they no longer looked at her with particular contempt. Thanks to that, Anastasia could walk along the path beneath the sunlight and go to the forest.

After entering the forest and reaching the ruined chapel that served as her sanctuary, she immediately looked beneath the stone bench. The safest and most comfortable place in the ruined chapel was covered with straw, fallen leaves, and old clothes that had been reduced to rags. Anastasia used them as a bed whenever she was there.

When she moved them aside, the beautiful red box was revealed, still unchanged. Anastasia sat on the bench and stroked the box.

‘I hope he returns soon.’

He said he would return. So she would wait.

Anastasia knelt in the middle of the chapel and began to pray. Since finding peace of mind, Anastasia had revived her long-ago memories and prayed properly. It was a very long prayer that began with a formal prayer, continued with a confession of her sins and the singing of hymns, and ended with her earnestly praying again and again for what she desired.

The prayers she had memorized while her father beat her still remained in her mind. A smile never left Anastasia’s lips as she prayed.

God, please protect Lord Mikhail. And please let him return soon.

Her prayer continued until sunset.

Realizing how late it was, Anastasia hid the box beneath the clothes again, then returned to the mansion. If she waited in her room, the maid would bring her dinner. But as she approached the mansion, she heard a loud commotion.

“Pay back the money!”