Chapter 128. Ed, Please Stop Him
‘What on earth is this…….’
Edward’s face instantly froze in shock.
He looked as if he could hardly believe that what he had just heard was the truth.
At Edward’s reaction, Cecilia nodded as if she understood and wiped away her tears with a handkerchief.
This morning, a letter arrived at the Count Harrington estate.
The sender was Cecilia von Cheister.
The moment Edward received that letter, he sensed that something unusual had happened within the House of Cheister.
Otherwise, there would have been no reason for Cecilia to send such a letter at such an early hour.
At the message asking him to visit the mansion as soon as possible, Edward rushed straight to Elfengreen.
All sorts of ominous imaginations churned in his head during the journey, but he truly had not imagined for a single moment that it would be something like this.
On behalf of Edward, who could not find the words to speak, Cecilia spoke up again.
“Because of what happened yesterday, Mother…… cannot even get out of bed right now.”
“…….”
The words spilled out between her sobs.
Only then did Edward realize the reason why the Dowager Marchioness, who always welcomed him warmly, was nowhere to be seen.
It was only natural, come to think of it.
Exactly what did Raymond von Cheister mean to her—
Of course, there is no mother in this world to whom her child is not precious, but even considering that, her love for her child was of a particularly special kind.
It likely began when she faced the sense of loss and the wounds her children must have felt due to the coldness and indifference of Randler von Cheister.
The thought that because she had failed to properly hold onto her husband’s heart, even Raymond and Cecilia had to suffer that pain.
Even though it was obviously a misguided thought, she was said to have lived in such self-reproach for a very long time.
Because of that, she felt she had to pour out several times more affection to make up for the love they didn’t receive from their father.
That affection naturally applied equally to both of them, but it was also somewhat different for Raymond, the first child and the one who would shoulder the vast House of Cheister.
To Eleanor von Cheister, Raymond was a source of pride and dignity that she wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.
And yet—
Since such a son had suddenly committed such an absurd act one day, it was naturally difficult for her to withstand the shock.
At that moment, while his mind was complicated regarding how to handle this matter—Cecilia’s lamenting voice was heard.
“Ed, I still can’t believe it. How could Brother, of all people, do such a—”
Cecilia could not finish her sentence and burst into tears once again.
It was the same for Edward.
To think that Raymond von Cheister, of all people, would cause such an incident…….
The statement about breaking off the marriage talks with the daughter of the Marquess Constant was one thing, but more than that, he could not believe the reason behind it.
To think it was all because of a maid—and a low-level maid who was an orphan, at that.
Anyone who knew Raymond would have shaken their head, saying it was nonsense.
‘I thought it was just a light, fleeting emotion…….’
Recalling Raymond, who had shown a particularly sensitive reaction to matters related to that maid, Edward’s complexion grew increasingly dark.
“So Ed, please stop him. Brother listens to you, at least.”
“…….”
At Cecilia’s desperate plea, Ed took on a troubled expression.
Just as she said, Raymond was the type to listen to his words more than others’.
Wasn’t that why the senators had bothered him so much this spring to bring him to Denver?
But there was one thing people didn’t know.
That was only possible if it was a matter he hadn’t decided on yet, or if his heart had already leaned toward one side.
Raymond von Cheister was a man who did not easily change a decision he had already made within himself, no matter what.
Furthermore, the nature of this matter was completely different from anything before.
A matter of a woman.
If he had already gone as far as breaking off marriage talks that were being discussed and mentioning marriage with that maid, as far as he knew, there was no one left who could change his mind.
“For now…… we must at least have him postpone the announcement of breaking the marriage talks.”
There was no way his sister, Cecilia, didn’t know what he knew.
Cecilia added those words as if persuading Ed, who couldn’t readily answer.
“After some time passes…… yes, in a month or two, Brother will come to his senses. Right now, he’s just temporarily enchanted by that sly thing and his judgment is clouded—but a day will surely come when he regrets his actions. Surely.”
“…….”
“So, until then, this fact must absolutely not leak outside.”
“So, until then, this fact must absolutely not leak outside.”
Cecilia’s face turned pale in an instant, as if she had imagined the rumors spreading among people.
Cecilia clutched her skirt tightly with both hands and pleaded desperately with Edward, who sat across from her.
“Ed, you’re the only person I can trust right now. Please…… please persuade Brother.”
“Cecilia…….”
Edward looked pityingly at how her beautiful face had become haggard from the severe emotional distress she had suffered all night.
He couldn’t tell such a Cecilia that it would already be difficult to change Raymond’s mind.
Also, no matter how obvious the result was, he couldn’t just watch his close friend walk into a visible mud pit.
Toward Cecilia, who was anxiously waiting for his answer, Edward finally nodded.
“Alright, I’ll do that, so now—”
Looking at her long eyelashes wet with tears, Edward was about to tell her to stop crying.
Suddenly, at the unsettled atmosphere of the drawing room, Cecilia’s gaze turned to the opposite side.
Naturally, Edward’s gaze followed Cecilia’s.
The person who came rushing into the drawing room was none other than a maid.
The lady’s maid who always followed Cecilia.
“What on earth is all this fuss?”
Cecilia sharply rebuked the maid for showing such a frivolous attitude in a place where a guest was present.
At that irritable voice, the maid was startled and quickly bowed her waist.
“I-I am sorry. My Lady…….”
It was then.
Cecilia discovered something strange in the maid’s apologetic behavior.
Not only the way she was rolling her eyes here and there, but the way her lips were restlessly twitching felt extremely suspicious.
It looked as if she had something she wanted to say to her.
Come to think of it, it was also strange that the maid, who had been serving her for several years, had made such a basic mistake.
In an instant, Cecilia’s brow furrowed fiercely.
“What is it?”
Even at the question asking what was wrong, the maid, for some reason, kept her mouth tightly shut and continued to watch her reaction.
Perhaps she was trying to be careful with her words since a guest was present, but the problem was that Cecilia was currently in too foul a mood to consider such things.
“Did you not hear me?”
“M-Madame Mariella is currently at the mansion…….”
At the heightened tone, the maid finally confessed the words that had been lingering in her mouth.
It was an unexpected statement.
At that random answer, the frown between Cecilia’s brows grew even deeper.
Madame Mariella; why would she be at the mansion right now?
She hadn’t been called separately since she visited once before.
Cecilia, who tilted her head in confusion, soon thought of a hypothesis and turned back to the maid.
“Did Mother call her, by any chance?”
She asked because there was no one else in this mansion who would call her besides her mother if it wasn’t her, but it was still strange.
This was because Eleanor had a separate boutique she usually frequented.
She had said she didn’t like Madame Mariella’s dresses because the overall design and colors were too flashy.
“T-That is…….”
The maid did not answer this question immediately either and hesitated for a long time.
At the situation repeating for the several-th time, Cecilia’s patience finally ran out.
“Are you playing a joke on me right now? Speak clearly!”
At the sharp voice cutting across the drawing room, the maid’s face turned deathly pale.
“It wasn’t the Dowager Marchioness……”
But after getting those words out, the maid’s mouth closed again.
She looked extremely troubled as to how she should convey this.
After hesitating for a long while more, the maid finally opened her mouth again, pressured by Cecilia’s fierce aura.
“I heard…… that the Duke…… called for her.”
“……What?”
For a moment, Cecilia thought she had misheard.
Was it not so?
What reason on earth would her brother have to call for Madame Mariella, who makes ladies’ dresses?
“…….”
Cecilia’s slowly moving blue glass-bead-like eyes met the eyes of the maid, who was looking her way anxiously.
In that instant, a thought flashed through her mind.
Cecilia’s beautiful face distorted like a demon’s in an instant.
“Ce-Cecilia!”
Edmund hurriedly followed after Cecilia, who suddenly stood up and ran out.
A tension like the calm before a storm was rapidly rushing into Elfengreen.
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