The Serpent of Paradise - Chapter 3

Ivan’s cause of death was drowning. More precisely, drowning due to a fall.

It was said that as he welcomed the count, an old friend who had come from afar to see him, he tried to show him the scenery by the riverside, the only pride of this village, and slipped.

Though the villagers valued a single coin more than the word of God, they still all expressed their condolences for the death of the pastor who had come all the way to this countryside for the salvation of their souls.

Ivan’s coffin was placed in the center of the church chapel. Since it was the season when everything froze and no flowers bloomed in the fields, the people made do by arranging sprigs of mistletoe like bouquets and placing them atop his coffin.

Anastasia sat in the front row of the chapel, staring blankly at her father’s coffin. The village head looked at her with pity.

The child who had always worn worn-out, tattered clothes was now dressed in black garments hastily obtained from a nearby large village at the count’s order. To think that the first fine clothes of her life would be mourning clothes. Watching the count greet the villagers in Anastasia’s place, the village head spoke to her.

“Be grateful. You must live your whole life without forgetting it.”

“….”

Instead of answering, Anastasia nodded weakly. The count truly was someone to be grateful to. To Anastasia, and to the village head as well.

In a winter this cold, burying someone is difficult. So those who die in winter are cremated. But cremation requires firewood. When the village head carefully mentioned that, the count ordered that ten gold coins be given to him and said,

“Then spare no expense in preparing the firewood.”

Ten gold coins for firewood. At the village head’s suggestion to sell firewood, and at the promise of money without needing to go all the way to a larger village, people brought out all the firewood they had stored in their sheds. As a result, a mountain of firewood was piled up on the outskirts of the village. Ivan’s body would burn very well.

That wasn’t the only thing to be grateful to the count for.

‘He’ll even take in the child.’

When he heard the news that Ivan had died, the village head immediately thought of Anastasia.

When there is a child in the village who has lost their parents, most of the time the wealthiest person in the village takes the child in. It isn’t exactly a loss. In this barren land, a human is valuable labor who can be fed a single potato a day and later harvest a hundred. But the village head did not want to take Anastasia in.

‘I can see why the pastor raised her locked away.’

Though she was twelve, she looked at most eight, so small and thin. Even so, as the entire village gathered to mourn the deceased, people kept glancing at Anastasia. Especially the men.

The village head had seen Anastasia’s mother before. When the pastor first came, the woman beside him, heavy with child, had been clearly ill, yet beautiful. He had hidden her deep within the church, and the next time anyone saw her, she had already been buried on the hill.

He had disliked showing his wife so much that he had buried her alone in secret without letting others know. After that, he raised the daughter, who resembled her quite a bit, locked away. He must have known she would grow up like this.

‘Even recently, Anton has been talking about that child a lot.’

The village head knew that his son circled the church every day, waiting to see if Anastasia might come outside. He also knew that the dictionary he had newly bought had been something Anton wanted in order to lure that child out. And now, to bring Anastasia into his own home?

‘That won’t do.’

His son was not someone who would rot away in a place like this. He would go to a larger city, no, to the capital, and become the pride of the family. But if Anastasia were there, it was obvious she would trail after him everywhere. And one day, he might see that girl lying in his son’s bed.

That was not the future the village head wanted. He had been troubled, since there was nowhere appropriate to send her, but now that the count said he would take her, the village head easily rid himself of the problem.

After the few villagers had come and gone, Ivan’s coffin was immediately placed atop the pile of firewood.

The burning pile blazed fiercely. It burned like that for a day and a half. The village head gathered the bone fragments that remained among the ashes and placed them into a wooden box. Then he handed it to Anastasia, who was standing in front of the carriage.

“Listen well to the count.”

“Yes….”

Startled by the warmth of her father she felt for the first time, Anastasia lifted her head. In the distance, beyond the church, she could see her mother’s gravestone, very small on the hill.

As Anastasia climbed into the carriage and looked out the window, the villagers who had gathered to see the count off waved their hands. The children all looked at Anastasia with envious eyes.

To think that the most pitiful child in the village would, in an instant, be taken to a count’s household. To country folk, even working in a noble’s estate was the highest honor.

Unaccustomed to receiving such attention, Anastasia hesitated and couldn’t even return the greeting. Before she could do anything, the count pulled up the leather curtain that served as the window. Anastasia closed her eyes. She didn’t even know where she was going, but it felt as though this golden carriage would take her somewhere more beautiful.

As the carriage began to move, the villagers lowered their heads. By the time they raised them again, the carriage had already left the village. Thus, the great event of the count’s visit to the small rural village came to an end.

When the carriage had completely crossed over the hill and disappeared, the people returned to their homes. From tomorrow, it would be the same dull routine again.

There was one fact they had forgotten amid the great event of the count’s visit. In this season, there was no ground thawed enough for one’s footing to slip. Even if someone did fall in, there was no river melted enough for a person to be swept away.

Without considering any of that, they would remember only the count’s visit forever.

***

“Ugh….”

Inside the swaying carriage, Anastasia covered her mouth. Then she lifted her head slightly and glanced at the count. Even though three days had already passed since boarding the carriage, his posture remained straight and elegant.

After steadying her churning stomach, Anastasia hugged the cushion of the carriage. The box of her father’s remains that she had held when leaving the village was no longer in her arms. Not long after they had left, the count had taken it from her and thrown it outside the carriage.

The remains that were supposed to be buried in Ivan’s hometown had been discarded on land she didn’t even know. Anastasia had been startled and tried to stand, but at the count’s cold gaze, she had no choice but to sit back down.

It wasn’t that she felt affection for her father. Still, he was someone connected to her under the name of family….

After throwing away Ivan’s remains, the count had been cold for a while, but after some time passed, he became kind again. With Anastasia seated before him, he began to talk about her mother. Thanks to that, Anastasia learned things about her mother that she had never known.

As her name Chloe suggested, she was not from Novgod but from Ils. She had crossed the North Sea by ship, but it had sunk. Clinging to a floating bag, she managed to survive until she was rescued by Ivan, who was a fisherman. The family she had been traveling with had died, and she had no relatives she could contact, so she had nowhere to go. A year later, Chloe married Ivan. And one month after that marriage, she met Count Lauderdale, who had come to stay at a seaside villa nearby for a retreat.

“It was a pleasant time. Since your mother didn’t go home, your father came to the villa every single day.”

The count let out a low laugh as he said that. Even though it was laughter, Anastasia trembled. There was something frightening about the count when he laughed. After telling a few short stories, he said nothing more.

The difficult and awkward journey continued. Then, when the carriage began to run on a smoother road, the coachman’s voice could be heard saying that they were not far from the estate. At the coachman’s words, the count spoke to Anastasia.

“You’ll need a new name.”

“A new… name?”

“Yes. I, too, am from the glorious Ils. And so, the things I cherish in my land are given names of Ils. So I will give you one as well.”

Cherish. The word lingered in Anastasia’s ears.

At that moment, the coachman’s voice was heard again.

“We’ve arrived, my lord.”

At that, the count threw open the curtain that had been drawn the entire way.

“Ah!”

At the sudden flood of sunlight, Anastasia shut her eyes. The light was so bright that it cast darkness across her vision. For a moment, she couldn’t see anything. Instead, she could feel other things. A warm breeze that didn’t feel like winter at all, a scent carried on that breeze, the song of a beautiful bird she had never heard before.

Her eyelids slowly moved, and the scenery began to take shape. The moment the blur became clear, Anastasia forgot even that the count was there and sprang to her feet, rushing to the window.

“Ah….”

At what filled her sight, Anastasia could say nothing but a short exclamation.

Just a few days ago, she had been in a desolate frozen land, but outside, spring had come. A wide meadow thick with grass, sheep gathered here and there grazing, a river quietly flowing and glimmering in the sunlight, flowers of every color. And beyond that, a vast mansion.

The count did not rebuke Anastasia’s rude behavior. Instead, with pride, he said, “This is my land, Edenhurst.”

At his answer, Anastasia’s eyes reddened. Ah, I’ve finally….

A little ways off, there was a large stone engraved with the name of the land.

Anastasia quietly shed tears as she engraved that name into her eyes, her mind, her heart.

Edenhurst

That was the name of the paradise Anastasia had longed for so desperately.