Chapter 48
“See? You can’t forgive me either.”
Scarlett didn’t try to pull her hand away from him. What she feared even more was that he might grip tighter. Just as he said, if he wanted, he could lock her up in a convent at any time.
“Stay here. When Isaac comes, don’t greet me—just leave.”
When Victor released her hand and said that, Scarlett nodded, signaling that she accepted the deal.
Soon, as he opened the door to leave the bedroom, Victor glanced back at Scarlett.
He asked,
“Do you still love me?”
“……”
At his sudden question, Scarlett’s expression crumpled slightly.
After a moment, she answered,
“Not right now.”
“Convenient distinction.”
“What… distinction?”
She asked, but Victor didn’t answer and walked out of the bedroom.
Left alone, Scarlett sat down for a while. Then she left the room, only to see Blight carrying a wooden crate of liquor bottles and an ice bucket toward Victor’s study.
Scarlett asked,
“What kind of alcohol is that?”
“Oh, young master said the liquor and ice in the study were all gone.”
“…He’s drinking this early in the morning?”
“Yes. Whiskey for breakfast. On the rocks.”
“Wh-what?”
Victor was a man who had practically devoted his whole life to ensuring no one could hold anything against him. So how had he ended up living like this in just a year?
True, to a man who valued honor above all, divorce might have felt like a stain. But still, was he really so wounded that he’d replace breakfast with alcohol?
Scarlett muttered,
“No matter how healthy Victor is, this’ll make him sick.”
“Shall I prepare breakfast? If I tell him it was you who asked, he won’t complain.”
“Yes. Please do.”
At her reply, Blight’s face brightened.
After he left, Scarlett looked down at her nightclothes and murmured,
“I don’t even remember changing into pajamas…”
She spoke to herself, then returned to her room.
After changing clothes and finishing breakfast, she planned to leave right away once Isaac arrived. But her mind kept drifting back to Victor, so she headed toward his study. She was about to knock, but instead simply opened the door.
The meal was laid out, untouched, and the room reeked of cigars.
Victor was perched on the windowsill, drinking. Scarlett glared at him, then walked to the window. She picked up the half-filled glass of whiskey sitting on the sill. As she raised it to her lips, Victor grabbed her wrist.
“What are you doing?”
“Eating.”
“What are you talking about?”
“A guest should follow the host. You said this was your meal, didn’t you?”
Scarlett looked straight at him and pulled her wrist so the glass reached her lips.
Victor silently watched as her mouth touched the glass.
Scarlett downed the rest of the whiskey.
Victor asked,
“Does it taste good?”
“Not exactly breakfast food.”
“I see.”
He snatched the glass from her hand. When she tried to grab it back, he held it high, far beyond her reach.
“Forget it and go home, Scarlett Crimson.”
“I was going to anyway. At least eat what’s been set out.”
With that, she grabbed a white bread roll from the basket on the table, placed it on the windowsill beside him, and walked out.
Isaac, sitting in the detention cell, had begun to think he might be stuck there for quite some time.
But whether fortunately or unfortunately, after Scarlett spoke with the royal police, the weight of his crimes was considerably reduced.
The very next morning, a senior member of the Crimson family came for a visit. It was Zachary Crimson, the siblings’ great-uncle, and currently the eldest of the Crimson family.
Zachary said,
“Do you even understand what you’ve done?”
“……”
Isaac didn’t reply. He only tilted his head slightly and stared at Zachary Crimson.
Ever since Evil Crimson took over the family, not a single relative had offered the siblings any help.
Unable to face Isaac’s eyes, Zachary turned away and said,
“I know why you cut off Evil’s finger. It was to stop him from making clocks, wasn’t it? You thought that would give your sister more power?”
“If two technicians are reduced to one, the remaining one gets busier, doesn’t he?”
At Isaac’s words, Zachary flinched.
Isaac continued,
“You said the Crimson family would help accuse Scarlett in court.”
“That was… Evil was your guardian, holding the family’s power. We had no choice if we wanted to survive.”
Zachary pressed on,
“Anyway… Isaac. Keep your sister under control. What could that girl possibly understand?”
“……”
“Are you going to let Scarlett tarnish the name of the family you’ll lead?”
As Zachary repeated words that sounded just like Evil’s, Isaac recalled himself at thirteen and Scarlett at twelve.
After the carriage accident, when he regained consciousness, both their parents were dead—and he had lost his sight. At just thirteen, Isaac sat in a wheelchair in silence for months.
Meanwhile, the moment Scarlett was discharged from the hospital and returned home, she ran straight to the cleaning supply closet. She pulled out the rags the maids had made and began scrubbing the windows until they squeaked.
“I’m really good at cleaning. I can make them shine! From now on, I’ll do all the cleaning. Oh, and brother, you need someone to take care of you too, right? I’ll do it, I can do everything!”
Twelve years old.
She was only twelve.
How had that child been able to assess the situation so quickly?
And after making that judgment, how had she managed to suppress her grief? There was only one answer.
Scarlett knew that if she were cast out of the house, Isaac’s life would become even more precarious. With their parents gone, she believed she had to protect her suddenly blind brother, despite having no training or preparation for it.
As Isaac thought, Zachary went on,
“This could ruin the whole family. You don’t know, but when business becomes unstable like this, the banks will try to recall their loans immediately. Then the factories will close in no time.”
“You knew, didn’t you? That my uncle’s clocks were faulty.”
“……”
“Of course you knew. You’ve spent your whole life making clocks too.”
The clockmaking craft was passed from heir to heir. Normally, no one but the official heir learned everything.
But the previous Earl Crimson and his wife were unusual. Isaac’s grandfather, Count Philip Crimson, had recognized Wendy Tail, a worker in Factory No. 1, as a genius. So instead of naming his own son, Willis Crimson, as successor, he named Wendy. That was possible because Willis, the rightful heir, was in love with her. Together, they had Isaac and Scarlett.
Isaac was certain that, had their parents lived, they would have chosen Scarlett—not him—as the family heir. She had loved tinkering with clocks from a young age and had a sharp mind.
Her ability to make clocks now, purely from childhood memories, was proof of her genius.
Isaac quietly said,
“If the business had continued as it was, people would have noticed sooner or later. A bigger lawsuit would have come.”
“It might never have.”
“It couldn’t not have.”
Isaac pressed on,
“You think you can just half-deceive people, sell it off, and that’ll be the end? You think the buyers are fools.”
“Ordinary people don’t know clocks as well as our family does.”
“No. People are sharper and more sensitive than you think. Scarlett doesn’t avoid shortcuts because she’s stupid. She avoids them because she’s smart enough to know they shouldn’t be taken.”
To Isaac, the world of good and evil was fairly clear.
Scarlett Crimson was good. Evil Crimson was evil. That was the one firm boundary in his otherwise uncertain life.
He continued,
“Great-uncle, I can already see a little now.”
“…What?”
“Someday, my vision will become clear again.”
“……”
“Stand by Scarlett. Then I’ll forgive you—at least a little.”
Zachary swallowed hard.
He began to realize that Isaac hadn’t just been doing nothing in that attic all this time.
Then the door to the visiting room opened. Both turned toward it, and a navy officer entered.
“My name is Palin Redford. The captain asked me to escort you, young master, to Lady Scarlett. Shall we go?”
At his casual tone, both Zachary and Isaac looked startled.
Isaac asked,
“So I can just… leave?”
“Yes. Because our captain wants it.”
Palin spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Isaac let out a hollow laugh, then sighed and covered his face with both hands.
“When I get out, Scarlett’s going to scold me…”
At that, Palin shot Zachary a glance and jerked his chin toward the door.
Zachary had heard of Victor Dempelt, but hadn’t realized he wielded such unchecked power. He had believed Scarlett had been cast out of the Dempelt household. But seeing Isaac released by Victor’s hand made him think Scarlett’s relationship with Victor might not be as bad as he assumed.
After Zachary hurried out of the room as if fleeing, Palin said to Isaac,
“My lady’s memory is a bit hazy.”
“…What?”
“She forgot she was divorced and went back to the Dempelt estate.”
At those words, Isaac’s expression darkened.
