Chapter 07
The letter began with the words:
[To my beloved daughter, Tiria. Once again, this father writes to you.]
It was a typical noble’s letter.
It opened with routine greetings, asked after her well-being, provided updates on family matters, and only afterward subtly revealed its true purpose.
Perhaps this was simply how aristocrats wrote.
The pages were stuffed with flowery expressions and elaborate metaphors. What could have been said in a single sentence was wrapped in endless layers of wording.
Yet despite all the detours, the destination of the letter was crystal clear.
Elric read it again and again, eyes wide.
Was his ability to grasp context a blessing or a curse?
This…
[Ten years is enough. Come home and join us. If you wish, we can even arrange a new marriage for you. Stop waiting for someone who will never return. Take what is yours and come back. You have suffered enough.]
The letter was telling her to return home.
To take the inheritance that had been left in Elric’s name and bring it back with her.
His hand slowly lowered.
His gaze remained fixed on the letter.
Of course. Why hadn’t I thought of this?
His father had liquidated all of his enormous wealth and left it entirely to him.
Nothing had been allocated for Tiria.
Wouldn’t anyone feel wronged by that?
Most people would covet such an inheritance.
Elric thought of Tiria.
A beautiful woman of few words.
A woman whose dignity seemed so natural that it made others instinctively lower their heads.
And…
…She must have suffered greatly.
A woman who had endured those long years alone.
After all, she had spent nine years under his cold, desolate father without a husband by her side.
To be honest, even if she took the inheritance, no one would have the right to complain.
Even Elric thought she deserved a share of it.
If her reason for remaining here was the inheritance, then everything became simple.
The puzzle pieces fit neatly together.
His thoughts cleared.
And yet—
Why…
Why did his chest feel so heavy?
As if dark storm clouds had gathered inside him.
Perhaps the peaceful days in Wibin were affecting him.
Or perhaps it was the childish part of him that didn’t want the memory of his first love—both sweet and painful—to be tarnished.
Uncomfortable thoughts began creeping into his mind.
And what fueled those thoughts was a contradiction he still couldn’t understand.
…If it was all for the inheritance, why work so hard?
He remembered Tiria inspecting the wheat fields every day.
He remembered how she always joined him for breakfast.
He remembered that she stayed up late every night handling countless letters like these.
The truth was, if she had wanted the inheritance, she could have taken it a year ago.
To say she was only putting on an act because he had returned didn’t make sense.
From everything he had seen, she hadn’t spent that year idling away.
Something continued poking at the corner of his heart.
Unable to sit still, Elric rose from his chair.
Sunlight streamed through the office windows.
He slowly scanned the room.
The office had hardly changed since his father’s time. He still roughly remembered where everything was kept.
Opening a drawer hidden within one of the bookshelves, he nodded.
As expected.
Inside was a stack of letters.
Upon closer inspection, every one of them came from House Wibin.
One by one, he began reading them.
All of them had arrived during the past year.
And every single one revolved around the same subject:
The inheritance.
Tiria had never responded to any of them.
Some letters even pleaded for a reply.
A bitter laugh escaped Elric.
The answer was so obvious now that he felt ashamed for ever doubting her.
She was protecting it.
She had protected an inheritance whose owner might never return.
The fact that even Aldio knew nothing about it meant she had hidden the matter completely.
After all, Aldio would never pry into something his master had not permitted him to know.
Thinking of Tiria fighting that battle alone for an entire year, Elric found himself staring out the window.
Why?
The wheat fields stretched into the distance.
Among the workers stood Tiria.
Her straw hat caught his eye.
Elric wanted to know.
And more importantly, he was not the kind of man who could simply ignore his curiosity.
Leaving the office, he called out:
“Aldio.”
“Yes?”
“Please ask Lady Tiria to come.”
He chose a direct approach.
* * *
Tiria stood before a mirror, adjusting her appearance.
Her mood was better than it had been in a long time.
…No, if she thought about it carefully, she had been feeling rather happy lately in general.
After all, Elric—who she had assumed would ignore her forever—had at least begun acknowledging her existence.
Not only that, but every now and then he even smiled at her.
The smiles were clearly forced.
Anyone could tell.
Yet even a false smile brought her joy when she realized it was directed at her.
What could she do?
Call her foolish if you wished.
Her heart had long since left her control and continued circling around him.
And today he had even requested to see her personally.
It was the first time.
Naturally, she couldn’t help but hope.
Is this enough?
She had rushed back from the fields and still wasn’t satisfied with her appearance.
Even after changing clothes, she worried she still smelled faintly of dirt.
Her hair seemed imperfect as well.
Maybe she should fix it a little more…
But she didn’t have the time.
“Madam, are you ready?”
Aldio’s voice came from outside the door.
Swallowing her disappointment, Tiria answered,
“Yes. I’m coming.”
What could he want?
Countless fantasies drifted through her mind.
What if he wanted to have dinner together?
What if he simply wished to talk?
She mentally prepared responses for every possibility.
Eventually she arrived at the first-floor drawing room.
And once again, his purpose turned out to be completely different from what she had hoped.
“I came across this letter. First of all, my apologies. I opened it without permission.”
Her heart dropped.
She immediately recognized it.
How could she not?
For the past year, those letters from her family had tormented her relentlessly.
Why was it here?
Sensing her confusion, Elric explained.
“It was mixed in with the correspondence Aldio was carrying.”
What unfortunate timing.
Anxiety flooded her.
Would he misunderstand?
Would he think she had remained here solely to steal his inheritance?
Countless dreadful possibilities raced through her mind.
Fortunately, that wasn’t the case.
“…To be honest, I looked further into it. I also discovered that you’ve been ignoring these letters for the past year.”
She couldn’t be relieved.
Because there was something in his words that pierced her heart.
Lady…
To him, she was still merely “Lady.”
“That’s all I wanted to ask. Why protect an inheritance belonging to someone who might never return? You could have taken it for yourself.”
To him, she was a stranger.
Such a distant stranger that protecting his inheritance seemed incomprehensible.
Her chest ached.
The coldness he’d shown at their first reunion had faded, and she had been grateful for that alone.
But somewhere along the way, her heart had become greedy.
Now even something this small wounded her.
“Can you tell me? Why didn’t you return to Wibin?”
Such an obvious question.
His calm, indifferent curiosity cut deeper than cruelty.
His expression was composed.
Perhaps she should be grateful there was no anger or contempt in it.
No.
If he hated her, things would have been easier.
At least then she could remind herself that she was unwanted.
Instead, his face inspired hope.
And that was far crueler.
So she spoke.
It was almost a complaint.
The closest thing to rebellion Tiria could manage.
“Portman.”
“Hm?”
“I am Tiria Portman.”
Not Lady Wibin.
The mistress of the Portman household.
Your wife.
But she couldn’t bring herself to say those words aloud.
She was afraid.
Afraid of seeing disgust in his eyes.
Afraid of becoming something worse than strangers.
Cowardly as it was, she would rather remain a distant acquaintance.
Fortunately, her expression did not break.
Her voice remained steady.
The strict etiquette drilled into her since childhood concealed her sadness.
For the first time in her life, she was grateful for those harsh lessons.
Elric looked flustered.
“That’s all?”
“Do I need another reason?”
Ah.
She had managed to say that much.
But how much longer could she keep this up?
Beneath the table, her hands clenched tightly in her lap.
It felt as though the blood had stopped flowing.
If she stayed any longer, she would make a spectacle of herself.
“May I leave now? I still have work to do.”
“Th-that…”
Elric opened his mouth, then slowly nodded.
Tiria rose from her seat.
She maintained her composure.
Straightening her back, she placed a hand over her chest and gave a small bow.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
After lifting her head, she carefully controlled her pace and exited the drawing room.
Walking alone down the corridor, she steadied her breathing.
Her heart hurt.
But thankfully, she was used to it.
By tomorrow, she would be able to look at him again just as she always had.
