The Sand Beneath My Feet
The soft crunching of sand beneath my feet was strangely satisfying. Vivienne walked along the beach wearing the shoes Matilda had given her. They weren't particularly pretty, but her feet felt so comfortable in them that she couldn't help but like them.
This was what it felt like to walk on sand.
If only I could try it barefoot, but my bandages still wrapped my feet tightly. Vivienne took a few more steps before glancing back. Theodore followed at a steady distance, maintaining a respectful gap.
After exchanging greetings, he had remained quiet ever since. Compared to our first meeting, his words had grown much fewer.
Vivienne paused for a moment and squatted down. There was something adorable on the beach that caught her eye, so she quickly picked it up and ran over to Theodore.
“Excuse me, Theodore.”
“Yes?”
“You said I could call you Theo, right?”
“Of course.”
Even though I didn't know the reason, I tried to sound casual while hiding my awkwardness. I wanted to ease the stiff atmosphere between us a little.
“Here—.”
I held out my small fist in front of him.
“……”
“Quickly.”
“What is this?”
“A gift. Palm.”
I held out my palm hesitantly, and a seashell dropped onto it with a soft plop.
At first I was confused, but the item was so insignificant that a smile naturally spread across my face.
“It's the repayment for the herbal ointment you gave me back then.”
That was hardly anything special.
It seemed like he had kept it in mind.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, my wrist has healed completely.”
Vivienne shook her wrist in front of him. A delicate lace ribbon was tied around her wrist, looking adorably cute.
Then she noticed something else and walked over at a brisk pace, gesturing with her hand. Theodore, not knowing what to do, widened his stride and chased after her.
“What is this, Theo?”
She pointed at some writing scratched into the sand.
“It looks like graffiti.”
“What kind of graffiti?”
“It seems like a name.”
“Oh.”
Vivienne studied it carefully and then spoke shyly.
“Then how should I write my name?”
“Your name?”
An instant intuition struck me.
Since she didn't even know her own name, it seemed she couldn't write at all.
“Wait a moment.”
Theodore picked up a suitable stick from around and began to draw on the ground.
“Depending on the spelling, but probably—”
Letters were carved into the sand with a thin, neat style.
VIVIANE
Vivienne quickly took the stick and began copying it exactly.
Her handwriting was crooked, and it took a long time for her to follow. It was clear she didn't know how to write.
“Then how do I write Kian's?”
She was calling his name.
Seeing a woman call her owner by name made me feel strange.
Once, I had called him by name too, but that time felt incredibly distant.
“The owner's honorable name is written like this.”
KIAN VON LARSON
Vivienne looked at the letters and hesitated for a moment. Had he written the full name unnecessarily?
Still, since she wanted to write it no matter what, it took longer. With a grunt, she persisted until the end.
“It took a while? I don't know how to write letters.”
It was a modest confession. In the Larson estate, there was no one among the employees who couldn't read.
However, among the common people, there were many who couldn't read. So it wasn't strange at all.
“That's why Matilda gave me a book to read, but I could read none of it and only looked at the pictures.”
“……”
“If the opportunity arises someday, I want to learn how to write letters.”
The way her face flushed bright red made me unable to look away.
I'd love to hire a teacher for her.
Directly telling Kian didn't feel right. It would be better to go through Matilda.
“Oh, right, you should eat something.”
Theodore quickly averted his gaze and spread out a mat on the sand. Then he took out sandwiches and drinks from the basket Matilda had packed.
Vivienne plopped down onto the mat and began eating the sandwiches. She held them tightly with both hands and bit into them until her cheeks puffed up like a squirrel.
Would she choke like that? Even when I tried to look away, I kept seeing her mess with the food.
“Theo.”
Then I met her deep blue eyes. I quickly looked away, but I heard a soft slapping sound as she patted the spot next to her.
“Doesn't your leg hurt? You must be hungry too. Sit down with me and eat.”
“I'm fine. My stomach isn't very hungry.”
“But there are too many for you to eat alone.”
I knew Matilda's hands were big, but the sandwiches packed in the basket were definitely too much for one woman.
“If you need help, you said to tell me.”
“That's right.”
“The sandwiches Matilda prepared for me, I don't want to leave any. So quickly.”
“Then. Eat until you're full and I'll eat the rest.”
At this point, Vivienne seemed to have nothing more to say. She stopped urging him.
An awkward silence fell between them. The only sound was the occasional crashing of waves on the beach.
It felt too intense, but this was probably the right way. Since she had officially become the master's woman, setting boundaries with her was basic common sense.
“Kian—”
Vivienne hesitated for a moment as if trying to speak.
“…Does he cherish me?”
“What?”
Theodore's eyes widened a little at the somewhat random question.
“Matilda said so. Kian sent me because he cherishes you. Theo is incredibly strong.”
The blue eyes curved beautifully. The deep blue pupils strangely resembled the sea—calm on the surface, but constantly churning with waves beneath.
Until a few days ago, she had been wandering around. The back of the woman I last saw at the arena looked like a candle in the wind, fragile and unsteady.
Finally, she had a room and people to care for and protect her. Yet, oddly enough, the woman's smile looked rather lonely.
Does he really cherish her?
In the mansion, the rumor was already spreading that the woman the master had brought was being displayed openly on the master's bed. She was being used like a chew toy before being shown off. How much more so would they have given her a room on the same floor? It was the intention to wear down the threshold.
Even if I didn't want to hear it, those absurd rumors kept entering my ears.
But the actual Kian had just left the estate for an external schedule. When I had gone horse riding with him, I recalled his orders, so he probably didn't know about the rumors either.
Perhaps it was because the master's behavior felt unfamiliar. My mood kept sinking. I couldn't possibly know the master's true feelings. No, trying to guess them at all seemed arrogant.
I had to maintain my boundaries.
“I will give my all to your protection.”
Theodore quietly put the seashell he was holding into his pocket.
***
In the bustling capital, a brand-new large department store had opened. This place only dealt in expensive luxury goods, and high-ranking nobles were its main customers.
Inside the department store, while sitting on the sofa and flipping through the catalog, Dante asked Kian casually.
“Not feeling well somewhere?”
“What are you talking about?”
“The Duke of Larson is doing things he never used to do. Why does it happen that when people do things they don't usually do, they die?”
Kian had brought Dante Garcia, the noisy young master from the Garcia family, along for one reason: the department store. The Liber department store was run by a craftsman who was going to become Dante's father-in-law.
“I can just cancel. Seeing my fiancée a little bit is probably better than dealing with that annoying newspaper business.”
“Suit yourself.”
“At least for appearances, catch her a bit. It would be quite annoying.”
“What for?”
Dante and I had been inseparable since the military academy. To be precise, Dante was the one who clung to me.
He helped me by casually disrupting my composure—cigars, poker, whiskey, horse racing. He taught me everything I needed to know for social activities without ever suggesting brothels or drugs.
On the surface, he seemed loud, but strangely he never crossed any lines. Thanks to the Garcia family running a newspaper, he provided quite useful connections.
Of course, I didn't want to hear his exaggerated boasts that he had made me human. But he wasn't a bad connection to keep around lightly for a long time.
When Kian chose a few samples from the catalog, the employee measured his foot size without being told. I heard it was made by the same craftsman who supplied the imperial palace, and delivery would be made once completed.
“Women's catalog too.”
“Yes.”
As Kian gestured, the employee immediately lined up the catalog. Dante looked at him with a curious expression.
“A gift?”
“Maybe.”
“For your fiancée?”
The lack of a direct answer made it suspicious.
“Who? Huh?”
“Is there nothing a bit lower? Something easy to wear.”
Whether Dante asked or not, Kian had no time to explain his order to the employee.
“This is the one. It's a design worn by many young ladies who aren't yet used to shoes.”
The madman must be completely insane. Dante thought that.