The marriage was a month earlier than planned at Orpheusās request, and I got onto the carriage without anyone seeing me off.
I had already sent my luggage ahead of time, so I went to the Rosenstein House with just myself alone.
When I arrived at my husbandās home, the butler, Juris, and the head maid, Elze, greeted me.
The other servants were already lined up in the hall, and they bowed deeply and politely as I entered the hall.
A girl came out of the line and named herself Claire.
She was the maid who would be taking care of me, and I got the impression that she was innocent and honest from her nervous expression.
āāā I think Iāll be able to get along with this girl.
Orpheus appeared from the stairs in the centre of the hall when I vaguely thought that.
He wasnāt alone. He was accompanied by a petite woman.
āAh, Lord Orpheus. Miss Diana is with you too,ā I heard Juris say, and thought, so thatās his cousin.
The woman was adorable, just like a flower sprite.
She had blonde hair, which was close to white, dreamy light blue eyes, and a small and delicate face.
She had a slender body with thin arms and legs and wore a fluffy light blue dress.
Orpheus and Diana contrasted each other with black and white when they stood next to each other, and, together, they looked like a pair of dolls.
Their linked arms looked as if they were lovers, and I couldnāt help but be suspicious of their relationship, but Diana just said this, āIām sorry for borrowing your husbandās arm. But, please donāt misunderstand anything. I am just his cousin, and this person is just like a brother to me. We donāt have a strange relationship at all.ā
Dianaās eyes stared at a place which was a little off from where I was actually standing.
I wasnāt suspicious of her, but she was practically looking at me, and I wondered once again if she really was blind.
As she said, they were probably linking arms so that he could guide her.
Unfortunately, she couldnāt walk freely without the help of others.
I pushed the hazy discomfort to the back of my mind and put a tight lid on it so that it wouldnāt come out.
āIāve heard about it, Miss Diana. Please donāt mind me. I donāt blame you since there are circumstances behind this.ā
Diana looked relieved and said, āI want you to call me Diana.ā
I replied, āThen, please call me Ophelia too,ā and she smiled joyfully.
Orpheus laughed next to her.
However, the servants were different.
Their attitude was strange in a way.
Some looked bitter and averted their gaze by looking down. Some looked at Orpheus and Diana with moist eyes, and someā¦ glared at me with hateful eyes as if they were stabbing me with their gaze.
Juris had a somewhat lonely smile, Elze stared at me with hate, and Claire stood still while looking puzzled.
I suddenly remembered that manās words because of their reaction. ćI wonāt let you be happy. Iāll make you suffer more than I have.ć
āāā Is that how it is?
There were too many unnatural points to laugh it off as a misunderstanding, and I stood still because I didnāt know what to do.
After that, we signed the marriage certificate, and I was guided to my room. I broached the topic with Claire while drinking the tea I was served, āThis mansion is wonderful. Both Lord Orpheus and Miss Diana are nice. But I donāt seem to be welcome here.ā
I wasnāt good with beating around the bush, so I spoke frankly, and Claire suddenly stopped cutting the cake, āLord Orpheus and Miss Diana are more than cousins, arenāt they? You and the servants know this, and thatās why they donāt have good feelings towards me.ā
Claire turned back while looking pale and said, āMadam, Iām sorry. Everyone has gone weird because they adore the Master and Miss Diana. To be presented with such such an outrageous attitudeā¦ you must have felt uncomfortable. Iām really sorry.ā
āClaire, lift your head. Itās not your fault.ā
The servants are also humans.
Even though they are usually faithful to their duties, they might have been too excessive while supporting the relationship between their master and his lover.
As a result, they lacked calmness and took actions which werenāt appropriate for their positions.
āIām not blaming them. I just wanted to check the facts. Otherwise, I wouldnāt know how to behave in the future,ā I said as I thought.
ć¼ć¼ć¼ If thatās the case, then why didnāt he marry the woman he loved instead of me?
The Lagerfeld House is an old House, but theyāre not very wealthy and are rural nobles.
That man might have had a good explanation if he wanted financing, but if so, then he didnāt need to marry me off.
The current Lagerfeld House isnāt appealing enough for nobles in the capital, who have both status and money, to want to connect their House by marriage.
Claire shook her head, āI donāt know.ā
āMaster and Miss Diana both deny their relationship in front of me and the servants. They say that they both donāt love each other. Even though theyāre so close.ā
My questions only deepened, but it didnāt take long for me to find out why.
āThereās something Iād like to tell you.ā That night, after dinner, I was relaxing on the couch in my assigned room, and Orpheus said this while sitting next to me.
He worried about my body since I had been sitting in a swaying carriage for half the day and asked, āShall I tell you tomorrow?ā But, I declined, āItās okay, please tell me now.ā
āYou must have been curious about why I chose you as my wife,ā Orpheus spoke as the candlelight swayed.
āBecause, this was the last request of my father, the former Earl Rosenstein. He requested that I marry Ophelia, the daughter who Lord Lagerfeld took in, into the Rosenstein House. This happened a year ago. One night on his deathbed, father summoned me and ordered me to make you my wife.ā
I honestly have no idea what he was talking about.
Why did the former Earl Rosenstein, who I donāt know, know about my existence and want me to be his sonās wife?
The only thing that comes to mind isā¦
āLord Orpheus, do you know my mother?ā
That man had told me not to talk about this, but Lord Orpheus probably already knew my mother from the way he spoke, so I asked him, and he answered, āI heard about her from my father.ā
āDid you make me your wife knowing this?ā
Did he not resist marrying a daughter of a vile prostitute who was only half noble even though it was his fatherās last request?
However, Orpheusās answer was beyond my expectation, āYes, is that a problem?ā
He replied as if it was nothing, and I gapped.
There is a mountain of problems, thoughā¦
Orpheus continued speaking while I remained dumbfounded, āMy father was one of the men who loved your mother. He couldnāt get her off his mind even when she disappeared from social circles. Just before he fell ill, he found out that your mother had passed away from the epidemic six years ago, and that you, her child, had been taken in by the Lagerfeld House. He secretly went to see you when he found out and saw that you were being treated as a slave.ā
Orpheus paused and squeezed the hand, which was on my shoulder.
It didnāt hurt, it was just hot.
āHe couldnāt contain himself when he saw the daughter of the woman he loved, who looked like her mother, being oppressed. He thought about kidnapping you on the spot, but his servant stopped him since that would be bad. He had no choice but to think of a legal way to protect you, and, as a result, came up with the idea of letting me marry you. But he immediately fell ill straight after and it became his last request. Then, I became friendly with Lord Lagerfeld through an acquaintance and demanded that I will marry you in exchange for investment capital. I tried to hasten it as much as possible, but it still took a month and a half,ā Orpheus said, and hugged me.
He hadnāt hesitated even though he knew I was a prostituteās daughter.
āIām sorry you had to experience painful memories until then.ā
I thought his words were miraculous as I buried my face in Orpheusās neck.
While inhaling the pleasant scent of the forest, I thought about why he needed to apologise even though he had nothing to do with it and said, āItās not your fault. You let me out of that house.ā
He freed me from those days of being oppressed and abused.
He helped me when no one else even looked back at me.
To the point that he betrayed the woman he lovedā¦
My eyelids got hot as if they were being burnt.
An unbearable impulse swelled up inside me, and I sobbed.
āIām sorry,ā I broke down as soon as I said that.
It was pointless, even if I tightly shut my eyes.
āIām sorry. Iāve changed your life. Iāve snatched away your chance to have a happy marriage.ā
āOphelia, thatāsā¦ā
I pulled myself away from Orpheus and sat on the floor as if Iād fallen down.
I kneeled at his feet and looked up as if I was begging for forgiveness.
Orpheus tried to get me off the floor while being confused. He was as merciful and beautiful as the angels painted on the walls of the church.
āI canāt give you more than the happiness you would have felt from that. Instead, Iāll give everything I have to you, Lord Orpheus. Both my body and my mind. I donāt care what kind of sacrifices I have to make for you. Iāll do anything for you, and Iāll endure any pain for you.ā
I couldnāt think of any other way to repay the former Earl Rosenstein and Orpheus except for this.
I am a person of no worth.
Iām only useful as a scapegoat.
āSo please, please forgive me.ā
I looked down and could only hear the sounds of sobbing in this silent room.
āYouāre wrong,ā Orpheus finally said in a voice that exuded dissatisfaction.
I looked up in surprise.
āThatās not it, Ophelia. The words you should say now arenāt words of apology.ā
āThenā¦ā My lips trembled, and he smiled gently through my blurry vision.
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āItās thank you. You should say that at times like this.ā
I held back the tears which were threatening to overflow again and breathed in to stop my sobs.
āThank you very much, Lord Orpheus.ā
Orpheus helped me up and sat me next to him, then said as if he was scolding me, āI told you that you didnāt need to call me Lord.ā He wiped my tears with his thumb.