The Serpent of Paradise - Chapter 9

“You’re late.”

“I’m sorry. The young lady… dropped and broke a dish.”

At the countess’s brief reprimand, Sophie lowered her head deeply as if apologizing. There was a slight hesitation, as if she found it unpleasant to call her “young lady.”

Sophie did not consider Anastasia a young lady she was meant to serve. No, she regarded her as lower than even the lowest servant. Even so, she called her a young lady only out of loyalty to the name Lauderdale attached to Anastasia.

Standing behind Sophie, Anastasia clasped her trembling hands tightly and bowed her head even lower than Sophie. Because she had hastily gathered the shards of the broken dish with her bare hands, her palms were covered in small, bleeding cuts. The stinging pain made it clear that fragments of glass were still embedded in them. But there was no time to remove them.

The countess looked down at Anastasia with a cold gaze. Then suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes.

“Madam.”

The head maid called out to the countess in a voice filled with concern and tried to approach her. But the countess waved her hand as if to stop her, then took out a handkerchief and wiped the tears from her eyes.

“It’s nothing. I was just reminded of Edward for a moment….”

Edward. At that name, the air in the room grew heavy. Even the head maid, who had been about to comfort the countess, found her eyes reddening.

The heir of Lauderdale, who had always been kind and gentle, and courteous to everyone.

His radiant blond hair, so much like the countess’s own, shone in the sunlight like a haloed angel, and his gentle, considerate nature was praised by all. Even the countess, who had once scolded that his disposition was too soft for a future count, did not seem to truly dislike it.

“If only that child were still alive, none of this would have happened.”

She had only been waiting for him to return after the war, yet to think that his noble life would be so futilely lost not even to the enemy, but to a mistake on their own side.

As the countess recalled her son, whom she had always loved and been proud of, her gaze fell upon Anastasia, who stood with her head bowed low. The thin lips that had remained composed even as she wept tightened. Her eyes, once soaked in grief, sharpened coldly.

That thing. That snake-like girl.

‘Why did Edward cherish that thing?’

If her son hadn’t asked her to take care of it before he left, she would have thrown it out onto the streets long ago. Since Edward occasionally asked after Anastasia in the letters he sent home, the countess had no choice but to keep her in the mansion.

If her son returned and could not find it, he would be heartbroken. Edward had cherished it so much. And yet… during the funeral period, that thing hadn’t even shown a strand of hair, let alone cried and offered flowers.

That was why the countess found Anastasia detestable. Even so, the reason she still kept Anastasia in the mansion was because every time she saw her, memories connected to her son resurfaced. A doll she herself loathed, but her son had cherished. That was what Anastasia was to the countess.

After barely suppressing the image of her son that refused to fade, the countess cleared her throat. She did not want to keep that girl here any longer. Seeing her dressed like some madwoman from the streets made it even worse.

As if she had gone mad, that thing had continued to dress in such a grotesque manner ever since Edward left. The countess had considered telling her to stop, but left her alone. She thought that appearance suited her. However, she could not show something like that to the guest who would soon arrive.

Covering her nose and mouth with a handkerchief as if making a point, the countess said, “A very important guest will be arriving at Edenhurst.”

“….”

Anastasia listened quietly to the countess’s words like an obedient dog.

“If you are seen while that guest is staying, I will not let it pass. And if you disobey me….”

The countess knew very well what Anastasia feared the most.

“I will throw you out of Edenhurst at once.”

Anastasia’s body, which had been bowed deeply, trembled violently. The countess, who had not expected any answer from her, gave an order to the head maid.

“Have this taken down to the basement at once.”

“Yes, madam.”

As the head maid turned, Anastasia bowed her head repeatedly and followed her out of the room. Then, the maid standing in the corner swept the spot where Anastasia had been standing and wiped it clean with a rag.

“Open the windows wider.”

“Yes, madam.”

After completely erasing any trace that Anastasia had been there, the countess ordered the head maid to bring tea. A moment later, the head maid returned, pushing a cart carrying simple tea food, hot water, and a teapot, and placed them before the countess.

As she watched the head maid pour the tea, the countess’s eyes narrowed slightly. The head maid was competent in all other matters, but even after long instruction, her tea pouring was still not perfect. Moreover, while she had shut herself away grieving her son, that skill seemed to have deteriorated even further.

Thinking of the guest who would visit the estate in a week, she wondered if she should start training her strictly again even now.

The countess shook her head.

‘Mikhail Sokolov wouldn’t notice such things.’

An unblessed bastard who spent his childhood in a shabby inn by the harbor. How could someone like that have learned refined etiquette? He would probably gulp down whatever was offered without even knowing what kind of tea it was.

As she imagined such vulgar and ignorant behavior, there was a knock, and her two daughters entered the room. They greeted her with flawless posture.

“Mother. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, sit down.”

A few days ago, she had explained to her daughters the current state of the count’s house and why Mikhail Sokolov would be coming to Edenhurst. Because of that, their faces seemed to have grown noticeably gaunt over the past few days.

She had given much love to Edward as the heir, but that did not mean she had withheld affection from her daughters. No matter how well an heir was raised, the credit often went to the father.

For a noblewoman who wished to maintain her reputation for a long time, raising her daughters well was important. If a daughter married into a good family, other mothers would constantly approach, express their respect, and ask how to raise daughters so well. That was the most reliable way to secure one’s position in society.

So the countess had devoted considerable effort to her two daughters. Especially her eldest, Elizabeth, who resembled her closely and had grown to please her just as much as Edward had. In appearance, refinement, and bearing, she was a daughter with nothing lacking in noble society.

That was why she had rejected all the numerous proposals. To the countess, Elizabeth was a daughter to be married into at least a count’s family or higher, the imperial family, or a noble house of Ils.

‘Mikhail Sokolov will choose Elizabeth.’

No matter how low his origins, he would not fail to recognize her daughter’s nobility. No, precisely because he was base, he might try to seize the most dazzling thing.

The countess looked at Catherine, seated beside Elizabeth. Though not to the same extent as Elizabeth, Catherine was also a beautiful child who resembled her. She was somewhat concerned that despite being twenty, she looked younger than her peers, but she had a healthy complexion and a strong body. Perhaps Mikhail Sokolov would prefer a young and healthy woman who could bear many children. Like commoners, for whom children were assets, he might make her give birth every year.

Whichever daughter Mikhail chose, it would tear at the countess’s heart. She had not raised her daughters with such care only to send them to a man of such low birth.

“As I told you a few days ago, in a week, Mikhail Sokolov will come here. I hear he is staying at an inn in the neighboring village.”

“….”

“….”

Elizabeth and Catherine remained silent, saying nothing.

“I’ve told the maids, so have them prepare the clothes you will wear that day.”

After a moment of hesitation, Catherine spoke cautiously, “But… they’re all things we’ve already worn.”

“It can’t be helped. Mikhail Sokolov informed us of his visit on short notice.”

Though she did not say it aloud, Catherine felt as if the words ‘how rude’ followed behind her mother’s statement.

At that moment, Elizabeth looked at her younger sister and said, “He doesn’t hold a title, so we don’t need to observe such formalities. So don’t worry and go choose something.”

After lightly reprimanding Catherine, Elizabeth spoke to their mother, “Then we’ll go and prepare.”

“Yes, off you go.”

Elizabeth stood, gave her greetings, then took her sister and stepped out into the corridor. Once they had walked a short distance away from the drawing room, Catherine spoke in a sulky voice.

“Who’s trying to impress some commoner anyway? I just wanted a new dress….”

“Endure it. Besides, if we wanted to have something made in time, we’d have to summon dressmakers from the capital, and even that would be tight on time.”

“But still….”

It had already been more than two years since she’d last had new clothes made. Ever since she was born, Catherine had ordered countless outfits each season, so now she felt like the most pitiful and impoverished young lady in the world.

When Elizabeth said nothing, Catherine began speaking again.

“I hear Mikhail Sokolov is handsome, even if he’s a commoner. They say women in the capital lined up to get into his bed.”

“Catherine. Where did you hear such vulgar rumors?”

“At a ladies’ salon. It’s an entertaining magazine. They say all the women in the capital read it these days.”

Catherine spoke proudly, pleased to confirm that she knew more about Mikhail than her sister. The time when the sisters couldn’t go to the capital overlapped with the time when Mikhail came and went from the imperial palace, so neither of them had ever seen him in person.

As if she didn’t want to respond further, Elizabeth walked ahead and returned to her room. Catherine pursed her lips a few times, then lifted her head.

No matter how little interest she had in the family’s finances, even Catherine couldn’t fail to notice how quickly their house was declining. They could no longer buy new clothes, the quality of the tea leaves they drank daily had gradually worsened, and even their meals had lost their taste after the cook brought from the capital was replaced by a village woman. On top of that, stains from leaks remained throughout the mansion, and the paint on the exterior had peeled and looked unsightly.

‘But many things have been sorted out.’

It must have cost quite a lot of money. They weren’t even married yet, and he hadn’t even visited, yet he was already helping them to this extent.

‘He’ll definitely try to marry my sister.’

Imagining it, Catherine felt even better. Her sister, who always acted as noble as their mother, no, even more so. Ever since she was young, she had said she would marry royalty or a high-ranking noble from Ils, yet to become the wife of a commoner… how wounded her pride would be. Of course, she would be a countess after marriage, but she would be pitied for life in society.

‘It’s not a big problem for me.’

As a daughter of the Count Lauderdale house, whose name would continue, she could marry into a decent family with the enormous dowry Mikhail would provide. And then she could rely on her husband’s power. Let her sister take all the pity from others.

With a light heart, Catherine returned to her room. She couldn’t have new clothes made this time, but when her sister married, she surely would be able to.

***

“Over there, you can see the Edenhurst estate.”

At Yuri’s words, Mikhail, who had been looking toward the forest, turned his head. On slightly elevated ground near the river stood a large mansion. In front of it stretched a wide meadow where a flock of sheep grazed freely, and beyond it lay a deep forest. Having already seen it once from afar, Mikhail felt nothing even as he looked at it again.

“Edenhurst, is it? Whoever named it must have been quite moved.”

Edenhurst. Didn’t it mean ‘forest of paradise’ in Ils? Mikhail clicked his tongue as he observed the mansion drawing closer.

Setting aside the fact that the mansion was built in an old and outdated style, it clearly hadn’t been properly maintained. How much money would it take to renovate and repair that place in a modern style?

‘Better to wrap up the negotiations quickly and return to Sokolov.’

There was nothing here that seemed capable of holding his interest.