Chapter 34 (1/2)

Herietta blushed and became embarrassed. Vivianne looked at her happily. Aside from her outward appearance, she looked really lovely.

After a while, Vivianne raised her head and saw the man standing behind Herietta. She could recognize at a glance who he was, even though he was wearing a mask. She bowed briefly towards him.

“Sir Edwin.”

“Lady Vivianne.”

Edwin also respectfully responded to Vivianne.

“Thank you for coming, Sir Edwin. It must have never been easy to decide to come here in this situation.”

“I just followed Miss Herietta.”

Edwin replied in a tone that seemed a little blunt.

“And I am no longer a duke. So there is no need for Lady Vivianne to address me with the title of Sir, and you can be less respectful.”

At Edwin’s words, Vivianne bit her lip. They were all right things and things they ought to agree on. But why does it sound so cold to her? It was as if he wanted to ensure the sense of distance that existed between the two of them.

“Of course, in crowded places, I will be careful.”

Vivianne said quietly.

“But that doesn’t mean I want to treat you like that right now. Even for a moment, we were once engaged, weren’t we?”

‘Even though I don’t know what that meant to you.’

Vivianne thought as she swallowed the bitterness in her heart.

“Lady Vivianne, in your last letter, you wrote that you had a story to tell about the Redford family, can you tell me what it is?”

Herietta, noticing that the atmosphere was moving strangely, hurriedly tried to change the subject of the conversation. Vivianne nodded.

“Of course, Miss Herietta.”

She turned her gaze to Edwin and looked at Herietta.

“I’m sorry, Miss Herietta, would you mind stepping out for a moment?”

“Yes? Out…?”

“I think Sir Edwin and I should share this story alone.”

Herrietta, who thought she would join the conversation with them, was perplexed. But Vivianne’s attitude was firm. Hearing her words, Edwin took a step forward and stood next to Herietta.

“There is nothing I need to hear from Lady Vivianne that Miss Herietta should not hear. If that’s not allowed, I don’t think I need to have this conversation either.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I am not doing this to distrust or reject Miss Herietta.”

Vivianne maintained her calm demeanor and explained.

“This is purely for Miss Herietta. Miss Herietta, I don’t want to put you in danger. This is not a small private talk. It’s not just a conspiracy theory. It’s not a very pleasant story about those who sit at the top of power. If this story leaks and things go wrong, people who know about it will be in big trouble. You never know what dangers will come in the future.”

“I don’t mind though. If I can help in any way, I am willing to accept whatever happens later.”

Her expression showed enthusiasm as she spoke with eyes full of determination and sincerity. But Vivianne only shook her head silently.

“I know your feelings well, but my thoughts remain the same. There is an old saying that sometimes not knowing is medicine. If you had been so precious to me, I would never have wished you would have known about it.”

“Even if it were…”

Herietta trailed off and clenched her fists.

“Sir Edwin, I’ll let you decide. I will follow your will.”

Vivianne, who had a foreboding that the difference between Herietta and her would not be able to narrow it, passed the decision over to Edwin. There were three people currently present in the room. If the will could not be united, someone had to take responsibility and draw the line.

Edwin was worried. This was not something that could be easily answered without thinking.

“I…”

Naturally, he wanted to say that he would listen with Herietta. But he knew Vivianne well. She was very careful and logical in everything she did.

He thought that Herrietta might be in great danger because of her hasty reply, so he couldn’t say anything.

Edwin looked at Herietta. Herietta was also looking at him. She had very troubled eyes. She had a lot to say, but it was clear that she was holding off because she didn’t want to cause trouble.

‘Maybe it’s better to choose to not listen to both.’

After all, she was reluctant to come here from the beginning. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t curious about what Vivianne was trying to say about his family, but he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to find out the truth about it.

Edwin, who had decided in his mind, was just about to speak his mind when…

“That’s fine. I’ll just walk away.”