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Eileen found herself laughing several times while talking to Rotan.
Time flew by unnoticed amidst pleasant laughter.
When she saw the sunset through the window, Rotan rose from his seat.
"It is time for me to go."
Eileen escorted him to the front door.
She wanted to step out into the garden with him, but Rotan stopped her with a stern look.
"The wind is cold.
Please, stay inside."
It was unclear what he found cold about the wind of a systematic early summer evening.
But Eileen, accustomed to being overprotected, didn't wish to argue and saw him off from the doorway.
"Until next time."
"Yes, Lady Eileen."
He gave her a salute, and Eileen did the same in jest.
In response, Rotan let out a deep, booming laugh.
"I’ll be back soon with a gift."
Rotan waited until Eileen closed the door and went back inside.
Satisfied that everything in the house was quiet, he returned to the carriage.
His face, which had been smiling the entire time he was in Eileen’s presence, now became completely expressionless.
Once inside the carriage, he asked the driver coldly, "Where is Baron Elodd?"
"He is currently in an audience with His Grace."
At the mention of Eileen’s father, Baron Elodd, Rotan spat out a string of foul curses.
It was the kind of harsh language that would have horrified Eileen had she overheard it.
The driver, watching Rotan through the rearview mirror, added cautiously, "Lady Eileen shouldn't be made to worry too much."
Rotan, too, was most troubled by that.
Frowning, he gave the order: "Return."
The black carriage pulled away smoothly.
Rotan looked back at the receding orange tree and the small brick house before turning his gaze away.
***
The Elodds traced their lineage back to moneylenders.
They had accumulated wealth by lending money and eventually purchased a noble title.
The family, once flourishing and expanding its influence, had begun its decline during the time of Eileen’s grandfather.
The fault lay with her father.
He was infamous for his reckless behavior, but he was the only legitimate heir.
Upon the death of the head of the family, her grandfather, Eileen’s father had inherited the title of Baron Elodd, and the tragedy began.
Left without anyone to restrain him, her father threw himself into every vice imaginable.
He became obsessed with gambling and squandered the family fortune, driving them to ruin with astonishing speed.
Her mother was the only one who tried to save them.
She begged her relatives for help and eventually sold their mansion to pay off his debts.
Even after they moved into the small brick house, her father continued to drink and gamble.
The definitive moment of the family's downfall came while Eileen was studying botany and pharmaceuticals at the university.
When she returned home after receiving a letter from her mother, it was already over.
It wasn't just a matter of tuition—they didn't even have a piece of bread for breakfast.
They might have had to sell the last remaining brick house if her mother hadn't intervened, while her father was still disappearing into gambling houses.
Her mother and Eileen struggled with all their might to keep at least the house, but it was like pouring water into a bottomless barrel.
While they desperately sought a solution, her father calmly suggested they turn to Cesare.
"Why don't you ask for help?
Why suffer like this?"
Every time, her mother would fly into a rage and warn him: "Don’t you dare hold out your hand to His Grace.
If you say a single word, I will kill you."
Cesare was well aware of the Elodd family's difficult situation.
He often hinted to Eileen about financial assistance, but she always replied that everything was fine.
Though her reasons differed from her mother's.
Eileen didn't want to look pathetic in front of the man she loved.
But there came a moment when help was inescapable.
*‘There was no money for Mother’s funeral.’*
If it hadn't been for Cesare, Eileen would have followed her mother on that day.
On the day her mother died, Eileen had given the doctor who pronounced the death every last coin she had left and saw him out.
All that remained was the house.
She didn't know how long she sat alone beside her mother's body.
At some point, Eileen jumped up and headed for the Imperial Palace.
She didn't even have money for a cab and simply walked until she accidentally met Cesare.
He appeared to be returning from a hunt, dressed in his hunting attire.
Seeing Eileen, who was drenched in a cold sweat, Cesare immediately understood that her mother had passed away.
"Eileen Elodd."
He didn't offer her comfort.
He spoke her name in a cold voice to bring her back to her senses.
"Get a hold of yourself.
Where is the Baroness's will?"
Cesare took the will first.
Handing it to a lawyer so that Baron Elodd couldn't lay his hands on it, he wiped away Eileen's tears.
She, clutching his handkerchief, murmured in a daze, "I need to hold a funeral..."
"And?"
"I have no money...
Could I... could I borrow some?
I’m so sorry.
I’ll definitely pay it back."
She spoke incoherently, and she didn't remember what he answered.
It seemed she couldn't withstand the unbearable grief and lost consciousness.
When her senses returned, the funeral was already over.
Her mother had been buried in the most expensive and prestigious cemetery in the Empire, surrounded by the white lilies she had so loved during her life.
Later, Eileen tried to return the money for the funeral, but Cesare refused, saying it was his final gift to the Baroness.
***
Eileen, sorting through her memories, set aside her book.
Because of the proposal and the kiss, her mind was spinning with all sorts of thoughts, and she couldn't focus on reading at all.
She rose from her chair and walked to the mirror.
In the reflection, she saw an unattractive girl.
Her hair was unkempt, of an indeterminate, somewhat muddy color.
And then there were the bangs covering half her eyes, the oversized glasses, and the baggy clothes that hid her figure.
The girls of high society were always flawless.
Perfect makeup and hairstyles were a given.
They wore dresses that emphasized thin waists and exposed their shoulders and arms.
Unlike Eileen, who only understood plants, they were educated, knew how to dance, and understood etiquette.
Any of those beautiful, flower-like young ladies could have been at the feet of such a man, but for a country bumpkin like her to become the Duchess... it would truly bring shame upon Cesare.
She couldn't leave such a stain on the reputation of a man who was already beyond description.
*‘How can I avoid execution and also avoid marriage?’*
After reflecting for a long time on how to convince Cesare, she suddenly opened her bedroom door in a fit of anxiety.
The house was quiet.
Her father had still not returned.
Although he often stayed away due to his gambling and drinking, today it felt especially important.
*‘Father must have also heard the news about the approval of the triumphal arch.’*
The father she had seen that morning had been full of joy.
Most likely, he had learned the news before Eileen had.
Perhaps he had gone to see Cesare and was saying something foolish.
Deciding to question her father thoroughly when he returned, she went to sleep.
But the next day, her father still didn't appear.
A week passed, and Eileen was still alone.
It was one of two things: either he was dead, or he had managed to get some money and was gambling.
Since there were no rumors of his death, he was most likely gambling, but there was only one place he could have gotten that much money.
*‘He must have gone to His Grace.’*
Cesare wouldn't just lend money to her father.
Not when they were essentially strangers.
But if Cesare had given her father money, he surely expected something in return.
It was unclear what her father, who had nothing, could possibly have paid with.
She needed to find her father, take the money back, and get him to promise never to do it again.
That was why she had come here, to the gambling house he frequent, but...
"Hey, young master!
Come in.
Is it your first time here?"
"Handsome young master, would you like to play with an auntie?"
Eileen stared in confusion at the street before her.
The gambling house was nowhere to be seen, but women with their chests half-exposed were giggling and flirting with her.
She had hastily changed into men's clothing because wandering the night streets alone as a woman was dangerous.
She wanted to ask where the gambling house was, but she feared her voice would give her away as a girl.
Eileen didn't know where to look and walked forward uncertainly.
Women in red scarves laughed at her obvious inexperience.
They tried to grab her, and Eileen was about to run away when suddenly...
A man appeared in her field of vision.
Looking like a thug, he stood leaning against a shop wall, smoking.