Chapter 5
As punishment for touching her cousin’s fiancé, Agnes was banned from entering the main building.
However, she had originally lived in the annex and rarely left there anyway, so it wasn’t much of a blow.
As usual, after finishing her evening meal, Agnes sat down before her vanity.
Three days had passed since she had abruptly left the garden that day, and there had been no contact from Ergon at all.
‘Was that really not enough to leave any kind of impression on him? I thought he might have come around, if only because of his swollen cheek.’
Agnes started to touch her forehead, then quietly lowered her hand. Her hand was covered by a white glove.
“Try wearing these. Perhaps you won’t see any frightening scenes.”
Three years ago, Enoch had given them to her, pitying her condition.
And truly, just as he said, when she wore the gloves, she saw nothing. After that, Agnes wore the gloves whenever possible. Except for times like now, when they felt stifling.
As she was removing her gloves, her gaze accidentally met the eyes reflected in the mirror.
Black eyes just like her mother’s, whom she had only ever seen in portraits. The eyes her father had cherished so deeply.
Suddenly, Agnes’s gaze shifted to the dusty jewelry box in the corner. It was her mother’s keepsake, but she had never dared to open it for fear of what horrific scenes she might see upon touching it. But now that she knew not only terrifying scenes appeared, she felt she could open it.
Click.
Agnes carefully opened the jewelry box. A headache spread through her mind, and a beautiful woman with a face resembling her own flashed through her thoughts.
It was her mother, Selly. Selly was putting on her makeup with an expression full of excitement.
Without realizing it, Agnes mimicked her actions. She powdered her face delicately, colored her lips with dye, and neatly combed her hair.
During this, several scenes flickered through her mind, none of them particularly unpleasant. Except for the servants’ gossip.
“The young lady in the annex is far too gloomy.”
“I know. Whether it’s her smile or her speech. She doesn’t have a single friend.”
Agnes gave a bitter smile and was putting her gloves back on when suddenly a sharp shout struck her eardrums.
“Hey, Agnes!”
Victoria flung the door open roughly and stormed inside. Agnes flinched, rising from her chair in surprise.
Victoria strode towards her, then let out a cold, mocking laugh.
“So, do you think applying face powder will hide your mental illness?”
Victoria’s icy gaze fixed intently on Agnes’s beautiful face.
“You really do every crazy thing imaginable.”
Stung by the sudden venomous outburst, Agnes asked incredulously,
“Is putting on makeup crazy?”
“Everything a lunatic like you does is crazy.”
Victoria crossed her arms and lifted her red lips. Her demeanor was so arrogantly confident that Agnes’s expression hardened involuntarily.
Come to think of it, Victoria had always been this overbearing. Even back when her uncle wasn’t the Earl of Winchester. And that attitude had always intimidated Agnes. Looking back now, it was just pure arrogance.
Agnes gritted her molars and clenched her fists tightly.
“So, why did you come looking for this lunatic?”
“Have you seen His Highness Ergon since that day?”
“Why?”
“I’m asking you nicely, so answer. Do you have no sense of shame because I let you off for daring to covet my man?”
It seemed Ergon hadn’t contacted Victoria since that day either. And Victoria appeared to be getting anxious.
Thinking this might be an opportunity, Agnes casually slipped off one glove.
“Fine. But first, I want an answer from you.”
“What?”
Victoria’s perfectly groomed eyebrows crumpled unbecomingly. Agnes composed herself so as not to appear desperate and posed her question.
“Where is Brother Enoch?”
“That again? I told you, I never even met Enoch that day!”
But once more, Victoria brazenly feigned ignorance. Beyond disappointment, Agnes felt despair at Victoria’s consistent denial.
“Are you dreaming with your eyes open again, you delusional bitch?”
“It’s not a delusion. Brother was beaten by four thugs in the stable. And you just watched.”
Victoria’s face hardened for an instant, then she let out a hollow laugh.
“Ha, did you see Enoch die, too?”
At the sarcastic tone, Agnes was shocked, her vision going white.
“Enoch died that day.”
It felt like her eyes were rolling back and her blood was boiling. Unable to contain her surging anger, Agnes grabbed Victoria by the collar.
She absolutely refused to believe her brother was dead!
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing!”
The moment she grasped the front of Victoria’s dress, a scene flashed through her mind: Victoria pacing anxiously in front of a massive mansion.
It seemed that touching anything—person or object—brought up the most recent and strongest memory associated with it.
“So you’ve already been to the Duke’s residence. You must have been terribly anxious.”
“Stop that creepy talk!”
Thump!
Victoria shoved Agnes hard with both hands. Agnes expected to fall backward. But her body hit a solid wall—somewhere where there had definitely been no wall before.
“Y-Your Highness!”
Victoria’s always confident, glamorous face turned ashen. Agnes looked back at the wall that had caught her.
“Oh dear.”
Ergon was shielding her entire body with his own, a gentle smile on his face.
“Are you alright?”
Hmm?
Agnes’s eyes wavered. His tone, which had previously been disrespectful towards her, had changed. And the way he looked at her was uncomfortably affectionate.
“I’m a little late, Agnes.”
Ergon whispered slyly. Agnes couldn’t believe her ears.
“Excuse me?”
The next moment, Agnes looked at Victoria. Victoria seemed greatly surprised and flustered by Ergon’s sudden appearance.
“Your Highness, why at this hour…?”
It was even more startling because it was twilight, the evening hour. But Ergon had his reasons.
“I came because I have something I must convey.”
Ergon explained, looking at Agnes, who was stepping back from him. Victoria hastily pulled Agnes behind her and retorted.
“Then let’s go to my room first.”
But her action was blocked by Ergon’s outstretched arm.
“No.”
Ergon’s large, knobby hand grasped Agnes’s shoulder and gently pulled her towards him.
“Not your room.”
“Excuse me?”
Victoria’s eyes widened, and so did Agnes’s. Ergon met Agnes’s gaze and whispered affectionately,
“Lady Agnes, I have something to say to you.”
Agnes stiffened her body and looked at Ergon with puzzled eyes. Victoria asked incredulously,
“Not to me?”
“Yes. Would you excuse us?”
Ergon had been speaking disrespectfully to Victoria all along. Realizing it belatedly, Victoria’s lips formed a round ‘O’.
“I wish to be alone with Lady Agnes.”
But faced with Ergon’s firm dismissal, she could only make a sour face.
As if a dragon lay sleeping, a strange tension hung over the vast Earl’s residence. It was because the current lady of the house had been in a noticeably foul mood lately.
The Countess, Charlotte, paced the hallway anxiously before opening the bedroom door and entering.
Her husband, George, was sleeping in the bed, snoring loudly.
Charlotte’s slender eyebrows furrowed sharply.
‘Honestly, all he knows is lying around and sleeping, the lazy oaf.’
George Winchester, the current head of the Winchester Earldom. Lazy and incompetent yet greedy, he had managed to secure the position of head, but failed to gain the trust of the elders. Though they didn’t show it, the council of elders was merely waiting for the young heir, Enoch, to come of age. For them, the disappearance of Enoch, who had just turned twenty-two, must have been a bolt from the blue.
“George!”
Charlotte raised her voice harshly, waking George. George scowled, his features already grim, and opened his eyes.
“When exactly are you going to kick Agnes out?”
Charlotte demanded of George, placing her hands on her thick, barrel-like waist.
“I can’t stand her!”
She had thought Agnes was just holed up in the annex, but Agnes knew about Charlotte’s secret rendezvous with a young knight. Charlotte truly loathed that gloomy girl.
“It’s not just me, Victoria is suffering because of her too! Duke Ergon has come, and he says he’s here to see her, not Victoria!”
George listened to Charlotte’s complaints and raised his heavy torso. Then he scratched his dry, stubbly beard and replied.
“It’s only been three months since Enoch disappeared. If Agnes disappears now too, there will be talk everywhere.”
On the day George became head of the family in place of the young heir, the council treated him like a mere stand-in. So George defiantly held weekly balls and lavish parties. He invested boldly using the family’s wealth, and when he suffered losses, he borrowed money using the family’s real estate as collateral. Because that was the prerogative of the head of the family.
After squandering wildly and letting the debt snowball, George finally started paying attention to the council of elders. Fortunately, the elders were preoccupied with Enoch’s disappearance and still unaware of the debt. George wanted to avoid shifting their attention elsewhere.
“If you won’t do it, I will. That girl seems to miss her brother so much, we’ll just say she couldn’t bear the grief and took her own life.”
Charlotte, who had been grinding her teeth, muttered quietly. George thought it seemed like a good idea and nodded lightly.
“Fine. Go ahead and try it.”
