Love Doesn’t Matter - Chapter 27

It wasn’t long after they went to the boutique that Emilia started to think of Mr. Beppy as a real ‘guardian’ instead of an informant. Suddenly, a stranger came to visit. And a man, on top of that.

She could count on her fingers the number of people that came looking for the red brick house over the past few years.
The tax collector that comes twice a year, a relative of her stepmother that lives in a distant city, and Haley, Emilia’s best friend.

So, when a strange man suddenly appeared, it was natural to be anxious. Besides, the bastards that tied Charlotte to a tree while she was playing in the garden looked exactly like that. If it weren’t for barking Brave and Beppy blocking the front of the house, Emilia might have been quite frightened.

Fortunately, Mr. Beppy pleasantly shook hands with the man he had blocked. Only then could Emilia open the door at ease.

“Hello, Young Lady. I am Young Master Meyer’s aide, Grozhang Ture.”

Grozhang took off his hat and gave a very polite greeting. Emilia also answered with courtesy.

“Hello, Mr. Ture. Nice to meet you.”

He seemed to be around his late 40s.
The tall and skinny man had a common face that could be seen anywhere, but his sunken eyes felt somehow sharp.

Emilia, who was staring at him, blinking, took a step back when she realized that she had a guest.

“… Would you like to come in?”
“No. I must return after conveying the Young Master’s words.”

Hadius would have someone deliver his message?
What happened to the person who always visited without notice?

“A few days ago, an official request was made to the Countess of Lüen in the name of the Meyer family. The Young Master asked for permission to attend the ball that is going to be held as the fiancé of the Young Lady.”

As she listened quietly, she suddenly felt strange.

“The Countess forwarded an invitation, saying she would gladly accept it.”
“Ah, is that so…”

She wondered why she felt so strange, and then she remembered when she attended the Meyer family’s dinner party.

Back then, the mansion’s butler and the chamberlain always spoke like that. It is an extremely aristocratic way to communicate. It is a long and difficult stretch of words, with rhetoric, that should be said simply.

Emilia swallowed a sour feeling as she faced the man. The ‘Young Master’s words’ continued to be conveyed through Grozhang’s mouth.

“The Young Master also made a request for the Young Lady. He wishes to be contacted at any time if there is anything you need to prepare for the ball. He also said he was ready to help you with all his heart.”

Hadius is saying once again that he will buy her a dress and accessories. Strangely, she felt remorseful.

Did she change her mind due to the fact that everyone looked at her despite her modest attire?
Or maybe she was giving a lot of meaning, on her own, to his meaningless politeness.

“He is truly a benevolent man. I am deeply impressed by the Young Master’s generosity. However, I am now enjoying the pleasantness of being independent without financially relying on my fiancé. So please tell him he does not need to worry.”

Emilia deliberately answered in the language of the aristocracy. Grozhang seemed a little surprised, and then nodded.

“Finally, he asked if perhaps you could visit Nowak tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow…?”
“Yes. If perhaps you have a prior engagement, the day after tomorrow; if that doesn’t work either, he would like you to visit as soon as possible.”

Hadius wants to meet. And quickly. Her heart pounded again.

“For what reason?”
“He hopes that you will sign the breakup agreement.”

Emilia was shocked when she realized that what was rising from the bottom of her chest was disappointment.

No. You can’t.

Emilia clasped her trembling hands together and made up her mind.
From now on, everything she will do together with Hadius will just be some kind of ‘pretense’. In order to obey His Majesty’s orders and calm down the public opinion.

As she was staring into the void, she put a fierce look on her eyes.

“Tomorrow is fine. Where should I go and at what time?”
“Five in the afternoon. To the Young Master’s private residence. We will send you a carriage on time.”
“No, I also have a carriage now. I can go with Mr. Beppy.”

Grozhang smiled softly.

“No. The Young Master wishes for the Young Lady to come in his own carriage. Furthermore, when the Young Lady is with the Young Master, he wants Beppy Dilson to protect this place, if possible.”

Protect?
That strange word again.

Emilia’s gaze stopped for a moment at Mr. Beppy, who was feeding Brave, and turned back to the man in front of her.

“Recently, there are rumors that gypsies and beggars have been wandering in this zelkova forest. If possible, always have Beppy Dilson by your side; and if you see strangers, try to avoid them as much as possible.”

Gypsies and beggars were something she had never heard of, but Emilia smiled diligently.

“Yes, thank you for your concern.”
“Then, I will get going now. Goodbye, Young Lady.”

She realized it only when the door closed. The reason why that man has been calling her ‘Young Lady’.

That must also be a pretense. A pretense to show the public that the fiancée of the Meyer family is being treated accordingly.

***

It was finally ‘tomorrow’.

When Emilia had just begun to hang the laundry, she saw the carriage sent by Hadius.

She stopped what she was doing and put down the laundry. She went back into the house, washed her hands, and prepared to go out. All she had to do was grab her purse, worn-out gloves, and a hat.

The gloves are here. But where is the bonnet?

A voice came behind Emilia, as she was searching the closet.

“You’re looking for the hat, right? Here it is. I also put a brooch on it.”

It was Charlotte. The child was sitting on the stairs leading to the attic, holding the hat in one hand.

She used her psychic powers once again.

Emilia thought, smiling. She often talked about it with Mitch. That Charlotte seems to have psychic powers. Even though she couldn’t see, Charlotte remembered exactly where something was, and she could distinguish sound, smell, and touch surprisingly well.

“Thank you, Charlotte. I’ll be back.”

Emilia smiled and tied the bonnet. She was just about to leave the house when Charlotte spoke again.

“You know. Should I tell you a secret?”
“A secret?”

As she looked back, Charlotte’s unfocused eyes were sparkling weirdly.

“What is it?”
“No matter how much I think about it, I think he likes you.”

What?

“Young Master Meyer.”

Why is that child being like this again? She thought she had clearly explained the reality that day.

Emilia sighed and opened her mouth.

“No, it’s nothing like that. Charlotte. Young Master Meyer is not doing this because he likes me. It’s just that he is anxious.”
“Anxious?”
“He’s afraid that I won’t break up the engagement easily.”

Charlotte, who couldn’t close her mouth because she was surprised, soon shook her head stubbornly.

“No, Sister is wrong. Young Master Meyer likes you. He’s doing this because he likes you.”

Emilia sighed again. Well, it is unreasonable to expect that a child understands the ‘political interests’ surrounding their engagement. Emilia decided to take a slightly more straightforward approach.

“Young Master Meyer said so when he gave me the carriage. He said he wants to break off the engagement, so he’s doing this in case I won’t.”

Charlotte’s face gradually became sulky. Yet, she did not suppress her stubbornness.

“I don’t believe what you say. You also know about my psychic powers. Every monster in the world has at least one special ability, right? And I am a terrifying one-eyed monster. Sometimes I see people’s hearts clearly. The heart speaks directly to me!”

Charlotte was upset for a moment, seeing that she called herself a monster again.

“No, Charlotte. It’s really not like that. I’m meeting that person today to talk about breaking up.”
“What does it have to do with breaking up?”
“What?”
“If you break up, does that mean he doesn’t like you?”

With such shocking words, Charlotte slowly disappeared into the attic. Emilia was holding the doorknob, unable to open the door, and listening to the sound of her heart beating for a long time.

Her heart, which had barely calmed down, turned inside out again when she left the house. Hadius’ coachman, who recognized her, suddenly started laying a carpet for her to walk on.

“Greetings. Young Lady. The weather is nice and clear.”

As she stared at the carpet that had stopped at her feet with amazement, Emilia took a step, slowly. Every time the tip of the old shoes stepped on the luxurious velvet fabric, she fell into an indescribable mood. The weird feeling peaked when she got on the carriage.

Did Hadius always ride it?
A familiar body odor, moist as a thick fog, drenched her whole body. Emilia sat down, unable to shake off her strange trembling.

The carriage ran diligently and arrived at the riverside of the Riviera, the symbol of Nowak. She was familiarized with it because it was the route she took every year. But at one point, the carriage suddenly turned.

Staring at a slightly unfamiliar street, Emilia recalled the ‘Young Master’s private residence’ that Grozhang had said yesterday.

Her destination was not the house where the dinner parties were held. The Young Master’s private residence; in other words, Hadius’ house.

The carriage stopped in front of the three-floored mansion with a small garden. The exterior and interior were not much different from that of the Meyer family.
But from the moment the door opened, everything changed.

“You’re here, Young Lady.”

The servants split like the miracle of the Red Sea at Emilia’s appearance. Crossing through the very middle was a grey-haired old gentleman.

“Hello, Young Lady. It is a great honor to meet you. I am Tobias Molton, the butler of the ‘Basilion House’.”

She confirmed it once again as she looked at Tobias, who greeted her politely.
From yesterday’s aide to the butler right now, Hadius’ servants were treating her not as ‘Emilia’ but as ‘Young Lady Emilia’. They are clearly treating her as a lady from an aristocratic family. Even though she knows it’s a pretense, she feels strange.

Tobias led Emilia, who couldn’t even greet him properly due to her confusion, to the living room. The door opened without a chance for her to catch her breath.

Hadius appeared just before she could look around the entrance of the majestic mansion, which he named ‘Basilion’. Emilia froze again in front of her fiancé, who appeared suddenly without notice.

“Hi.”

He was dressed in a perfect tailcoat. The man in a black suit and a cream bow tie was shining like a star. After a few seconds of silence,

“Hello, Young Master.”

Emilia managed to answer.