QOL 03

Chapter 3

The carriage carrying Erin entered Le Mans Street, lined with the luxurious estates of the capital’s wealthy elite. The private residence of the married princess stood in the middle of the avenue.

“Thank you.”

After paying the fare at the front gate, Erin quietly turned her head and looked over the familiar street.

The trees lining the sparsely populated road were already preparing to sprout new buds. Winter clearly seemed ready to give way at last.

Feeling the warm afternoon breeze brush against her, Erin tried hard to steady herself.

“My lady, you’ve arrived.”

The butler came out to greet her. Looking somewhat troubled, he informed her that the estate was empty.

The princess had gone to the palace early that morning, while her husband and son had traveled to the provinces on business.

And since Erin had already expected as much, she calmly nodded and asked to be shown to one of the empty drawing rooms.

The princess did not return until late at night.

Only after Erin had finally eaten an early dinner after much insistence, drunk tea, tasted even the snacks the kitchen staff hurriedly prepared, and wandered through the study attached to the sitting room during a walk, did she finally see the princess.

“Wait just a little longer.”

“Yes.”

Though she nodded brightly, Erin soon pressed a hand against her tightening chest.

“Oh dear, our young lady has grown so thin.”

Perhaps the problem was that she had forced herself to eat because it felt awkward refusing the food brought out by the kitchen. Erin took a deep breath, hoping to settle her stomach.

She couldn’t continue behaving like a child forever.

Though she felt embarrassed for rushing here the moment she was called, suffering alone would solve nothing either. At the very least, she needed to act properly. Maturely.

Ask what needed asking, fix what needed fixing.

“My lady.”

A little later, the butler returned. Saying softly that the princess appeared exhausted today, almost apologizing for the long wait, he guided Erin toward the princess’s bedroom.

When she entered, the princess—standing on the terrace smoking a cigarette—turned at the sound of footsteps. Though she was over forty, her beauty remained unchanged.

“You’ve come, my dear.”

“Lady Tina.”

“Sit somewhere comfortable. Let me finish this first, then we’ll talk.”

The princess’s hair was damp beneath the thin nightgown draped over her shoulders. Only after smoking another cigarette did she shut the terrace door and step inside.

“You’ve become even thinner than before.”

“It’s better to be light when dancing.”

“Still, your face looks dreadful… Why must that blasted ballet require everyone to look like skeletons?”

“I do eat properly, so don’t worry.”

When the princess still looked dissatisfied, Erin gave her a soft smile.

The princess leaned back against the sofa and crossed her legs.

As she rested both arms on the armrests, the scent of lavender oil mixed with cigarette smoke spread through the room.

“Unfortunately, there’s still no news.”

“Ah…”

Erin hesitated before nodding.

Though she had come today because of Eden Fletcher, this was equally important.

Her mother and father had vanished almost two years ago without a single word.

Whenever she thought of them now, confusion was all that remained.

If they were alive somewhere, why not send even one letter… Though even such uncertainty was far preferable to receiving news of their deaths.

“It’s strange enough that the Crown Prince is searching for them, but I suppose the absence of bad news is fortunate in its own way.”

Thinking of her twin brother, the Crown Prince, the princess shook her head with visible exhaustion.

“Is His Highness still insisting that our family’s business rights be revoked?”

“That won’t happen, so don’t worry. That fool is obviously dragging things out on purpose. He’s simply trying to take advantage of your disappearance for political gain.”

The princess’s makeup-free face darkened further as she spoke of politics.

Watching the woman who still supported an empty household, Erin felt a strange sense of guilt.

“More importantly. Did you meet him? Did you hear what he had to say?”

The princess smiled gently.

Seeing the look on her face—as though she already knew why Erin had come—Erin drew a short breath before nodding.

Finally, the real issue.

Ask what needed asking, fix what needed fixing. Maturely.

“He said he wanted to tell you himself, so I allowed it. Somehow it felt better that way. Besides, I’ve been rather busy lately.”

“……”

“I know it must have startled you, but you’re already twenty-two. You’ve long since reached marriageable age.”

“…Marriage.”

“Yes, and especially this time…”

The princess, choosing her words carefully, reached toward the cigarette case before stopping herself. Instead, she picked up the wine bottle the butler had already uncorked.

As dark crimson liquid poured into the glass, Erin spoke first.

“I heard… the debts increased again. Is that true?”

“So you heard that much?”

At the princess’s acknowledgment, Erin let out a shallow sigh.

“Honestly, it isn’t even surprising anymore. Hundreds of oil refineries are sitting idle. Production from the North Sea oil fields has decreased, and demand has fallen too.”

The kerosene business that once brought unprecedented wealth to the ducal family was fading rapidly after the invention of electric light bulbs.

Though electricity had reached the Kingdom of Lidos later than elsewhere, it was obvious the times were no longer favorable.

Sitting upright, Erin rubbed her pale hands together.

“Is it really… that large of a sum? Large enough that outside help must be secured through marriage?”

“It is. Your family expanded tremendously in the oil industry, so the scale is anything but small. Once the tide changed, they became helpless.”

“Ah…”

Erin pieced together fragments of newspaper articles she had seen before while listening to the princess.

Even so, the family business still felt like a distant world she could hardly grasp.

“They said they’ll seize the capital estate if the bonds coming due aren’t repaid.”

“The estate? How could it possibly reach that point?”

Erin’s eyes widened.

“Yes. The repayment deadline has already been extended five times, so even taking it to court would likely fail. That’s why I had no choice but to act first.”

“Act first meaning…”

“It means the estate issue has been resolved safely through that businessman, Eden Fletcher. At least that part is fortunate.”

The moment she heard the problem had been solved, relief flickered through her—only to be swallowed by the memory of the unpleasant smile the man had worn while looking at her.

So his claim that he had “paid the price” had not been a lie.

So that was the confidence he had relied on. And she hadn’t even realized it.

“You must understand. Even though the situation moved quickly, it wasn’t something that could simply be handed over to outsiders.”

“…Yes.”

“When circumstances become this desperate, you do whatever you can.”

Erin no longer even had the energy to force a smile. She merely clenched both fists tightly.

“Honestly, where in the world has that man gone, and what could he possibly be doing at a time like this?”

The princess, having already emptied one glass and refilled it, frowned as she thought of the duke and duchess—her old friends.

But soon she relaxed her expression and gently patted the back of Erin’s hand.

“You need to come to your senses too, my dear. You can’t let a family with hundreds of years of history disappear in your generation.”

Dark circles shadowed the princess’s eyes as she pressed her fingers to her temple.

Watching the princess in the dim room beneath the soft glow of the lamps, Erin’s thoughts turned cold and clear.

Ask what needed asking, fix what needed fixing.

And after that, accept what must be accepted.

Without even understanding the true situation… until meeting the princess, she had intended to complain like a child.

As though marriage itself mattered so much.

As though it were such a terrible thing.

“I spoke with him briefly, and he doesn’t seem violent. He understands basic manners well enough.”

The princess lifted her wineglass while looking out the window.

“He may be from Lidos originally, but he established himself in the Empire, so there’s little risk of him becoming entangled in local politics. And he has enough wealth to handle all of the Cornu family’s short-term debt.”

Princess Hestina was famous for being extraordinarily selective about people.

It was surprising that arrogant man had earned such favorable judgment from her.

“Though the timing was rushed, the more I considered it, the more he seemed like the best option. His status as an illegitimate son is somewhat unfortunate, but… I can’t allow you to become the second wife of a man over forty. I absolutely refuse.”

“…Yes, Lady Tina.”

Erin nodded again, gripping her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms.

“To be perfectly clear, I will never marry you. Never. Absolutely never.”

The thing that was truly impossible was not marriage to a stranger.

It was allowing herself to follow the pathetic path of nobles who destroyed a family line that had lasted hundreds of years with their own hands.

Having spent her entire life living beneath the shadow of her family name, she understood better than anyone that she no longer had the right to refuse anything.

Late that night, after their conversation ended, the streets outside remained perfectly still without even a breeze.

As the carriage passed through the gates, Erin unconsciously turned her head toward the window.

At the farthest end of Le Mans Street stood the Cornu estate, nestled in the deepest and quietest corner.

‘Home…’

The mansion remained vivid in her memory, yet she could barely remember the last time she had visited.

It must have been late autumn. Somehow, an entire season had already passed.

The carriage began rolling away in the opposite direction from the estate, gradually picking up speed.

‘In the end, what matters is that you continue protecting the ducal house as though nothing happened until your father safely returns.’

Though she leaned back and slowly closed her eyes, the voice echoing in her ears prevented her from relaxing.

For a fleeting moment, her father’s face surfaced in her mind—

only for the darkness to swallow it whole.