Angelica led me away from the terrace, and as soon as we got far enough that the marquis was out of sight, she immediately turned around and bowed to me.
“Please allow me to apologize again for my father’s and brother’s disrespectful behavior, Your Grace. I’m sure they must have offended you terribly... However, if I may, I would ask that you reprimand me in their place.”
Her voice was calm and resolute, without the slightest tremor.
“No, it’s fine... I was a little surprised, but I’m not going to scold anyone.”
I insisted that there was no need to apologize, and Angelica slowly raised her head.
“You have my deepest thanks for your leniency, Your Grace. My father isn’t usually like that, but he hasn’t been getting much sleep lately, and I’m afraid he’s been a little on edge. I expect he’ll be calmer by the time we return. You should be able to speak with him then.”
She smiled sweetly at me, then continued walking through the garden—it looked like the offer of a tour had been genuine. I followed after her, gazing at her from behind. Her slender frame and warm smile were definitely those of a teenage girl, but all of her words and actions for the past while had felt strategically chosen. I could sense a keen awareness and a deliberate intent underneath it all.
“So, you’re not just an ignorant heiress, are you?” I asked as we walked.
She looked over her shoulder at me and blinked in surprise. “Ignorant of what?”
“Of... Of me. Of all the rumors. At first, your smile seemed completely unguarded, so I assumed you must have been thoroughly sheltered.”
“Of course not,” she said, letting out a soft chuckle of amusement. She sounded as though she were just chatting with a friend—her voice was perfectly relaxed, and I still couldn’t detect any fear in it. “I am the daughter of a marquis, after all. I attend society events to form the connections I’m expected to, and one can’t avoid hearing rumors at such places. Though, to be fair, my brother’s words were from genuine ignorance.”
“You haven’t told him anything?”
So Vim really is a sheltered son. This world’s a mess, and I understand wanting to protect a kid from all of it, but still...
“I do intend to tell him eventually—no, soon, before you and I are wed. He’s still young, and I don’t know how much I’ll be able to convey to him in the time I have... But I suppose he’ll learn the rest over the course of his life as heir to the marquessate, one way or another.”
“Why didn’t you tell him everything from the start? From the looks of things, you’re his teacher as well, aren’t you?”
She wouldn’t be able to hide the truth forever. Vim was the marquis’s eldest son, and given Angelica’s betrothal, he was definitely going to inherit the title. Wasn’t keeping him in the dark cruel in its own way? It wasn’t quite the same as the excuse I’d fed Eberhart, but it really would be like plunging the boy from heaven straight into hell.
But Angelica just gave a small shake of her head. “There are going to be plenty of painful experiences waiting for him, no matter what. So I need to teach him that a kind and gentle world exists as well, or else he might never be able to smile again.”
I stared back at her. “Knowing of a kinder, gentler world might drive him to despair when he’s faced with reality.”
“Nevertheless, I can’t let him be without a single happy memory. All of us must comprehend both good and evil—to fail to do so is a sin. Even if the dreams and ideals he once believed in come to hurt him someday, that is simply the fate shared equally by all those who stand above others. Cruel though it may be, it would be wrong of me to try to shield him from it.” As we reached the rear of the manor, Angelica stopped in her tracks. “We’ve arrived. Please, look around.”
At her encouragement, I turned my gaze away from her to take in the flower garden. The scenery that leaped out at me was so captivating that my breath caught in my throat.
The fields were flush with bright, vivid flowers, all the way out past the horizon. They were clearly maintained by human hands, but the way they flourished made it look as though every single one were growing wild and free. If anyplace in this world was fit to be called paradise, it was right here in this garden. That was what I thought as I took it all in.
“Beautiful...”
I was so overwhelmed by the sight that I could only utter that single word of admiration. Angelica smiled cheerfully at me.
“I’m glad you like them. In fact, His Majesty once praised these flowers as well.”
“Eb— King Eberhart visited here?”
I was so enthralled that I almost forgot my etiquette, but I managed to catch myself at the last second.
Huh. So even that tyrant can get captivated by beautiful scenery...
“He did. I imagine you’re already aware, but...my father was originally slated for execution as one of those in line to the throne.”
Wait, what? I didn’t know that. Hang on, so he didn’t get let off the hook because he was a distant enough relative? And anyway, what does that have to do with this garden?
“These flowers are what stayed His Majesty’s hand,” Angelica continued. “He came to visit—to deliver my father’s death sentence personally—and I gave him a tour of this garden. He praised it then, just as you did. And then he told me that he wanted to watch this beautiful scenery wither and die... He said that if I was prepared to drink down venom, then he would allow my father to live.”
I stared back at her in silence. My buoyed spirits instantly sank right back down. Evil would always be evil, in the end—tormenting anything lovable, defiling anything beautiful. Those were the twisted ideals that both Eberhart and Heinreid held. I’d been a fool to expect any humanity out of him.
And this girl was preparing herself to be sacrificed to one of those horrific monsters.
How? How could she speak of it all so calmly?
I had to ask her.
“Aren’t you afraid? Whatever rumors you’ve heard, I’m sure they’re all true without the slightest exaggeration. If anything, the truth is probably worse.”
I was the subject of all that fear—it wasn’t a question I should have been asking. But I was desperate to understand what was going through Angelica’s mind.
She gave an awkward hum and raised her hand to her mouth in contemplation.
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t. I feel anxious and sad as well. Once I depart, this garden my family has passed down will grow desolate. And no matter how firm my resolve may be, I’m a mere girl who has lived a life knowing nothing of true pain.”
“Then—”
“But...” She interrupted my follow-up question, gazing straight into my eyes.
All this while, her eyes had been narrowed with her smile. But now, for the first time, I saw that her irises were a deep, clear purple.
“My father wept,” she said. “When my betrothal was announced, and when he learned that he had been saved by it, he wept and apologized to me again and again. When I saw him in that state...I knew that I couldn’t let myself cry.”
I’d heard this before. I’d felt this before. As I took in her words, an overwhelming empathy flooded through me. My mind went back to my mother and my sister, weeping over white hospital sheets. I remembered seeing my family trapped in a hopeless situation, powerless to do anything but cry and apologize... And I remembered what I’d thought—what I’d resolved to do.
Shit. This girl is the same as me. If I leave her be, she’s going to end up choosing the same path I did...