“Don’t make a fuss—just get out of here.”
“Very well. I shall.”
“Eh?”
As her interlocutor goggled at her, Octavia looked back quizzically. He had told her to get out, and so what sense was there in being shocked when she agreed? Octavia’s travel bags, coat, hat, and other items, which she had often taken from her room when going out in the past, lay scattered in the marble hallway at the entrance to the Earl of Reine’s manor. They had just been thrown down there from the top of the staircase. She wondered if it had really been necessary to throw things, but she was also relieved that they had saved her the trouble of doing her own packing. Octavia had been thinking that it was about time for her to be going. She hadn’t expected things to progress this far the day after her grandmother’s funeral, but from her family’s perspective, this had been a long time coming.
Picking up her caramel-colored coat, Octavia spoke to a servant standing by the wall in the entrance hall, who had held his breath while watching the scene unfold.
“Did you put the dress my grandmother gave me in my luggage?”
“Y-Yes. You’ll find three nights’ worth of clothes and other essentials.” He paused. “Err, that’s all I could prepare.”
“That’s fine. Thanks. You’ve been a great help.”
“I-Is this... all right?” someone asked gingerly from the top of the staircase. Octavia looked up curiously at her family, who looked back down at her. On the landing at the top of the split staircase stood Octavia’s half sister; Octavia’s former suitor, who had his arm around her sister’s shoulder; and Octavia’s own father. Could they, in fact, be worried about me?
“It’ll be fine. Don’t worry about her,” spat her former suitor venomously, after making an expression of such astonishment that one might think he had been poisoned himself. He was the very man who had directed Octavia to get out. He spoke to her now: “Don’t be so conceited as to imagine that we’d worry about you. A daughter like you ill befits the noble house of Reine. Now that I have married into this family, I have decided that you can no longer remain part of it.”
“I suppose you’re right. I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Th-The Earl of Reine has said himself that he merely adopted you at the behest of the previous earl’s wife, despite knowing nothing of your background.”
“Oh? To call my grandmother the previous earl’s wife is not quite right. My grandmother was the previous earl. And although it’s true that my grandmother was very fond of me, you’re wrong to claim that my background was unknown. You just don’t want to acknowledge that my mother was a servant, with whom my father had carried on an affair in his younger days.”
“Octavia! Watch your tongue!” Octavia’s father flushed crimson with anger, but this scandal was well-known. Not only was everyone in the manor aware of it, but most likely everyone in the earl’s realm knew.
While engaged to the daughter of a noble household, Octavia’s father—the prodigal son of his own household—had conducted an affair with a servant girl prior to his marriage. This had produced his eldest daughter, Octavia. Since the servant girl belonged to a lower class, Octavia’s father had thought that he could readily sever their relationship with a financial settlement. He may have been her father, but Octavia thought this was despicable.
The final straw had been the revelation that the Reine household had been given special dispensation at the founding of the Kingdom of Angelus, allowing female members to be recognized as full peers under the title of earl. Octavia’s father had been under the false impression that her grandmother had been called the Earl of Reine as a proxy for her deceased husband, Octavia’s grandfather. Until very recently, no one had realized that “the previous Earl of Reine” referred to Octavia’s grandmother, and now they looked so foolish that Octavia couldn’t even be angry at them. She felt sorry for them.
“Father, it’s a little late to try and hide it. Everyone knows already.”
“J-Jessie is my only daughter! I’ve never thought of you as my daughter, not even once!”
“Please rest assured, I’ve never once thought of you as my father either. My grandmother was the one who raised me. However, for the sake of convenience, I can find no term of address more suitable than ‘Father,’ so please excuse me for using it.”
“Y-Y-You...” Octavia’s father could only open and close his mouth in response to Octavia’s apology. Perhaps he was having trouble getting enough oxygen.
Standing beside him, Octavia’s half sister frowned and interjected, “Sister, don’t say such unhappy things.” Octavia’s half sister, with her tidy countenance, had a voice like a small bird chirping, which was pleasing to the ear.
“Jessie, I’m really not so unhappy.”
“I know that. I must say, I really am sorry about what happened with Edward.” Jessie looked up at Octavia’s former suitor, Edward, who still had his arm around her shoulder. Edward met her gaze, then placed his cheek against Jessie’s forehead.
“Put your mind at ease, Jessie. All along, I was only supposed to have been courting the daughter of the House of Reine. His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, who sent me here, never specified Octavia by name.”
“But our grandmother intended for my sister to inherit this house.”
“That was because she believed to the last that Octavia was properly descended from the House of Reine, was it not? The House of Reine may hold special dispensation allowing women to inherit the title of earl, but it’s not as if they would disregard lineage. Since we are only correcting her mistake, I am sure your grandmother would not object.”
Of course, thought Octavia, my grandmother will never say anything ever again. Octavia’s grandmother, who had given her more attention and love than anyone else in the family, had died abruptly two days earlier.
Octavia’s last sight of her grandmother, lying in the coffin, still didn’t seem real to her. Remembering her kind face, resplendent with makeup; the wedding ring still on her finger; the leisurely strides she took when walking through her garden; her voice, which made you want to share your secrets with her... It felt like at any moment she might emerge from the room in the back and reproach the family for this quarrel: “Are you all still at it?” This daydream felt much more real to Octavia than her death. Don’t despair. How many times had she said that to Octavia?
Octavia’s grandmother had said that she would definitely die first; Octavia must not die before her. That was why she had taught Octavia so many things, and why they had made so many promises, like what to do in the event that she inherited the title of Earl of Reine. Or, indeed, what to do if she were driven out of her home.
No one can choose the circumstances of their birth. If one can be so easily disowned, one shouldn’t speak too highly of family, lineage, or noblesse oblige. Therefore, to avoid misfortune, live in hiding with confidence. That will be what grants you your freedom.
“To allow you to stay here any longer would be tantamount to plotting against the Royal Family of Angelus. Her Highness the Queen has already acknowledged that I will be the next Earl of Reine. Those documents allowing a woman to inherit a peerage are outdated. An element of discord like you can only bring calamity upon this family in the future,” said Edward.