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Chapter 24
Should I give up everything now? Pretend it never happened? No, it’s my choice, so I have to take responsibility. This is the last time.
With every step I took, doubt and inner conflict followed. I couldn’t tell if it was the wooden planks of the gangway shaking, the rolling sea beneath, or my own heart.
When I finally gathered myself, I found myself on the deck.
Among the crew I had sailed with several times before, I waved toward those left behind.
In return, the woman I loved waved back.
At the same time, her thin, reed-like body trembled.
Before I could make sense of it, she collapsed like a sandcastle washed away by the waves.
That was the last thing Charles remembered.
“Ugh…”
Charles slowly opened his eyes. Everything around him was blindingly white.
So… am I dead? Is this Heaven? Or Hell?
“Honey!”
It must be Heaven. Charles relaxed and, without another thought, forced his entire body upright.
“Eléonore!”
You mustn’t leave for Heaven yet!
“Eléonore! Are… are you okay? Ugh…!”
A pain like thick shards of glass scraping the back of his skull made him grimace in agony.
“I’m fine. So you should rest. Honestly, what made a person who can’t even swim jump in…”
Her voice was quiet, but firm. A pale hand guided him gently back down.
“It’s just… my body moved on its own.”
“Do you know how terrified I was? I knew you were leaving on a long journey, but I thought you were going somewhere you’d never return from, and I… I…!”
Tears slowly crept into Eléonore’s voice, eventually breaking into sobs.
She gripped Charles’s hand tightly, as if never to let go.
Charles forced the hot, rising emotions in his throat back down.
He realized, without doubt, that the place he truly belonged was by Eléonore’s side.
His impulsive action, jumping without thought or calculation, left him oddly relieved.
It was the same kind of smile one wears after finally finding the answer after a long struggle.
“How fortunate.”
“Sniff… Wh-what is?”
Charles kissed the back of her hand and replied,
“That I realized where I belong before it was too late.”
For the first time in a long while, he felt like he was really seeing his wife’s face.
She was no longer the lively, cheerful girl he remembered.
Even without the illness, when she smiled, faint rainbow-like lines appeared around her eyes, and her gaze held more depth.
He too could not remain a boy whose heart leapt for adventure forever.
“And I’m sorry.”
“You…”
“I won’t leave you alone anymore. It’s late, but from now on, I’ll try to be a husband, a father.”
Although he added playfully, he probably wouldn’t earn as much money as before.
“It’s fine. Are you worried I can’t support you? How much did I bring as a dowry when we married?”
Their eyes met in the quiet, and the laughter died down. Their shallow breaths seemed unusually loud in the silence.
Without waiting, they embraced each other’s necks, tilting their heads to press their lips together.
No—just as their lips were about to meet.
—Knock, knock, knock.
“Ah, ahem. Hedebo here. May I come in, Marquise de Charmeaux?”
Damn. I didn’t need to be reminded I wasn’t in Heaven.
Eléonore gave her husband a brief kiss to calm his obvious longing and stepped aside.
Once face-to-face, neither spoke first.
After a long pause, Charles finally broke the silence with an apology.
“I’m sorry. Seems I still can’t do it.”
So he had made up his mind. Guillaume silently nodded.
Having observed Charles react to stories of new routes and foreign lands, Guillaume had guessed this outcome all along.
It wasn’t surprising. Only a little disappointing that he wouldn’t be working alongside him. After all, Charles was a remarkable partner, even before being a friend.
“I told you, one like me is enough. Thinking about the penalties makes my head hurt. Let’s see… port fees, labor costs, damages the cargo owners might demand…”
As Guillaume began counting on his fingers, Charles buried his head in his hands, groaning.
“Good grief! I thought I made some money off those De Nîmes trousers!”
“Exactly! Who told you to jump in? And now we’re talking about it—how could you, barely able to swim, think of doing something so reckless…”
“So Guillaume, go to Gaurier and earn the money instead.”
“Suddenly?”
“Guillaume Hedebo of the Hedebo Trading House. From now on, you are my representative. Make my fortune grow with this voyage.”
They had known each other for decades, yet Charles still had no idea what Guillaume was thinking.
Guillaume gaped at him.
Regardless, Charles offered a shameless grin and extended his hand.
“What now?”
“A handshake to celebrate the contract.”
“Who said I’d do it?”
“If you won’t, there are plenty willing.”
“But there’s no one else who could handle this like I can.”
Guillaume smiled and shook Charles’s hand.
“Just one thing.”
“What is it?”
“As my representative, does that mean I can taste your preserves?”
Guillaume asked seriously, not joking. Perhaps it mattered more than profit sharing.
“That… I think you’ll need Adele’s permission first.”
At that moment, the familiar chirping of a child’s voice came from beyond the door. Likely running in the moment they realized Father had woken.
“Papa!”
“Ap-pa! Aaaah, hoooh!”
As soon as the door opened, Adelaide and Antoine rushed to Charles and hugged him.
“You were very scared, weren’t you? Sorry about that. Papa isn’t going anywhere now. I’ll stay with Mama and you at the mansion.”
“Boo-hoo… Really? Truly?”
Antoine’s eyes were wide in disbelief; Adelaide’s as well.
“But… then, Papa, where will you earn money…?”
Antoine’s innocent but pointed question left Charles momentarily speechless.
Thinking Father’s silence meant the worst, Antoine began crying again.
“Are we… ruined?”
“Uncle Guillaume, is it okay to ask you something?”
Adelaide grabbed Guillaume Hedebo’s sleeve.
Despite the age difference, her calmness in contrast to her little brother made Guillaume flinch.
“What is it?”
“I want to ask you to handle sales for me.”
The next words almost made Guillaume bite his tongue.
“Thanks to the revenue from De Nîmes trousers, the house won’t be ruined as Antoine fears. But we did take some losses. So… I want to patent the preserves.”
“Preserves… patent?”
“Yes. Of course, the patent will be filed under Father’s name, but… I want you to sell the rights on my behalf.”
“Hmm.”
“I’ll leave the details and commission to you.”
“What if you scam me?”
“Scam me? From a tiny child like this?”
Guillaume’s expression was impossible to describe, but Adelaide returned to her usual calm, as if she had never faltered.
“The preserves made for Papa, I’ll give them all to you. And no patent fees for you.”
“I’ll scrape the sailors’ wallets from the bottom of the sea.”
Guillaume didn’t hesitate to shake Adelaide’s outstretched hand.
