Night of Eden 66

 Chapter 66

***

Her legs were shaking so badly that she could hardly walk, but Dana kept up with the Lady. Her mouth was working hard to describe what had happened at the falls.

"...I was trying to hold Master Marcus's hand, and he...he... He was really frightened."

"..."

"I tried to swim out on my own, but... Master Edwin... helped me."

Her voice was shaking violently, and she knew how strange she must look. But her body was completely out of control.

"I don't know why Master Marcus gets so angry as soon as he sees me... I don't know why, but... it's just that, I really don't...."

Liana, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped walking. Dana's shuffling legs stopped at the same time.

Liana stood there for a moment, stiff and rigid.

Her shoulders squared, her fists balled, and she looked as if she was barely holding back something.

"..."

Dana waited breathlessly, not knowing what to do.

Liana, stiff as a board, stepped forward again. The sound of rustling, crunching grass continued for a while.

When the entrance to the stadium was just a tiny dot, Liana came to a halt once more.

"You...."

Contempt and disgust trickled down her rigidly erect back.

"You don't know?"

Dana couldn't say anything, her heart pounding in her chest.

"My brother and... No?"

She froze, unable to breathe.

"Answer me. Do you not understand?

"What?”

The Duchess’s  voice, as fierce as a northern wind, returned, multiplying Dana's suffocation.

"Oh, no... No... Miss...."

Dana mumbled frantically.

"I... I'm not... that... No."

Guilt and shame washed over her at the same time, disillusionment and humiliation pouring from the crown of her head.

"Ha."

A long, long sigh burst from Liana's mouth. The horrified exhalation pierced Dana's entire body like a spear blade. Dana's eyes widened. An inexplicable watery feeling welled up under her eyes.

"I'm warning you."

Liana spun around to face Dana coldly, tears welling in her eyes.

"Do not ever set eyes on my brother again."

A harsh voice slapped her across the face.

"Not even if my brother finds you first. Do you understand?"

Without waiting for an answer, Liana sped ahead.

Dana didn't follow.

"There's nothing wrong with the heart.”

Her grandfather was wrong, she thought, for the first time in her life. For some people, the very act of having a heart was wrong and sinful.

A sharp gust of wind whipped past her, rushing over her cowering body.

***

That evening, as Edwin had foretold, the dinner was held.

The ladies gathered in the parlor, dressed in gorgeous evening gowns of tulle and lace, the men in tuxedos.

Guests chatted with their predetermined partners and waited for the banquet to begin. Soon after, Stan rang the bell for the meal, and they made their way to the dining room in a single file line.

Appetizers, aperitifs, and light conversation followed. Edwin, the host, made sure that no guest was left out.

Soon enough, the highlight of the dinner arrived: the veal, suckling pig, and whole roasted tuna. The guests' faces lit up with delight.

It was a time-honored imperial tradition for the host to cut and serve the meat himself with a knife. Edwin skillfully sliced the food into bite-sized portions, which the servants piled onto plates and distributed to the guests.

The food was perfect. The mood was cordial, thanks to the absence of Marcus Drayton.

The only problem was that the two main stars of the party, Liana and Theodore, were strangely silent.

They were busy looking in different directions, each lost in their own thoughts.

Edwin's face grew increasingly worried.

Theodore was usually so quiet that he could shrug it off, but not Liana. Edwin continued to study his sister's sulking face. She looked angry, but also very upset about something.

He couldn't guess what she was thinking, so he could only vaguely assume that they'd had a fight.

As the banquet drew to a close, he decided that it was his duty as her brother to arrange a reconciliation. He quietly summoned Liana and Theodore.

"Why don't the three of us talk in my room later?"

Liana's eyes lit up for a moment, looking a little dazed. But his next words drew her back into the darkness.

"Let's get Dana to brew us some tea. I have yet to taste her tea."

"No. I don't think I can do that."

Liana shook her head helplessly.

"I have a headache. I can't do it today."

"Headache?"

Edwin's face showed concern.

"I'm going to ask Dana to give me a massage, so you'd better save the tea for another time."

In front of his sister's white face, Edwin couldn't help but nod.

Their father had complained of a headache, too.

"Okay, okay, go get some rest."

Dreading the end of the dinner, Liana headed straight to her room. Edwin and Theodore met her at the door.

".....I'm sorry, Brother Theodore."

“It’s fine. I hope you recover quickly."

Edwin watched them go and wondered again.

Was he getting ahead of himself?

Even in Peron, they were just as formal and a little more reserved. Looking at them in person, it didn’t even seem like they were fighting. Maybe it was unreasonable to expect them to get closer in just a few days after spending years apart.

Yeah, there's no need to get in the middle of things, especially between men and women.

Edwin stood staring at the closed door, then glanced back at Theodore.

"Shall we have a drink?"

Late at night, under a full moon, two glasses were placed in the silent smoke room.

Two men sit diagonally across a round table. Without warning, they clinked glasses and popped them straight into their mouths.

Edwin waited until the whiskey bottle was at least half empty. In truth, an uncanny impatience had been gnawing at his chest since earlier. He wanted to get drunk, and he wanted to get wild.

Luckily, Theodore was a heavy drinker and emptied his glass much faster than usual.

Edwin waited for the right moment, and then blurted out.

"Thank you."

Theodore raised an eyebrow.

"...For what."

"For doing me a favor."

"A favor?"

"Dana."

Edwin realized as he answered.

His sister was just an excuse. He wanted to talk about Dana, really.

Dana.

The girl who had been burning through his mind with a color that had grown darker and more vivid over the past few days, rather than fading.

"Since you approve of her, I assume the Duchess approves of her as a handmaiden. Isn't that right?"

The last time they had met was here, right after the shooting wager.

Edwin remembered clearly how he had almost begged Theo to honor the wager. Theodore, who had seemed to waver a bit when he'd brought up Liana.

But he was still uneasy because he hadn't come to a clear conclusion.

Even after he arrived in Pemburg, he was still worried that Theodore was playing some kind of trick on Dana. Sometimes it was hard to concentrate on his work.

But the Duchess came to her first, and within a few days she was accepted as a handmaiden.

How could all of that be possible if Theodore hadn't granted his request? And now he had Liana by his side.

Relief washed over him, and his emotions, which had been cloudy and hazy, became clearer. Everything became clear, as if he had lifted the opaque curtain and stood in the bright sunshine.

He was definitely attracted to Dana. More than just a favored servant.

"I knew you would."

Edwin muttered to himself and smirked.

"Thanks for letting me have Dana. I've been meaning to say that."

The words, thrown lightly, were a flashpoint. Theodore burned quietly.

The image of Edwin's arms around Dana on the practice field flashed through his mind, stirring up all sorts of dormant feelings.

"The head maid says that the Duchess wishes to take Dana to Macmilan's main house for a more formal education, and I intend to discuss the matter with Liana."

"..."

"It's strange, isn't it? ... she doesn't seem like a normal maid anymore, and honestly, I don't feel like she’s maid at all......."

"..."

"I thought about it while I was in Pemburg, my feelings for her."

Edwin's voice was drunken as it drifted through the silence.

"To be honest, Teddy."

He hesitated, and Theodore's chest burned uncontrollably with foreboding.

"You were right. I don't see Dana as... I don't think I see her as a mere servant. I think I'm......."

Theodore gripped the glass even harder. The desire to smash something was burning up the back of his hand.

"Oh, how ridiculous I must be, denying that I was never......."

Edwin threw his head back. He covered his face with his arms and let out a long sigh.

"I can't get it out of my head. I can't get her...."

It was like hearing a death sentence.

Theodore turned to ice as his heart felt like it was rolling off a cliff.

***

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