The Weight of a Week's Silence
“Yes. If Vivi catches a cold, the master will get furious.”
Those words had not been casual at all.
Remembering how Kian had mentioned the two of them that morning, Vivi decided not to protest.
“Ah, yes… Mother has always called me Vivi, so I’ve started to forget myself. I’m sorry.”
Surprised by the nickname that slipped out on its own, she kept stuttering.
“It’s fine, Theo.”
Vivienne smiled brightly.
Her expression still looked a little awkward, yet she seemed to feel a measure of happiness that a friend had appeared with whom she could speak freely and laugh.
“Please keep calling me Vivi from now on.”
That day’s walk had been longer than usual.
* * *
The sun had set, and with the day’s duties completed, Kian headed not to his own chamber but to the adjacent room.
The masterless room stood empty.
Asking Matilda where Vivi had gone, he learned she had gone for a walk.
She never wandered far to begin with, and she would return soon, he decided to wait.
The fourth floor of the main residence had originally housed two large rooms, the private quarters of the late duke and duchess.
The late duke’s room was where Kian lived, and he had given the remaining chamber to Vivi, which had stirred quite the commotion among the staff.
What did that mean? Even if it had been the duchess’s room, to him it was little more than an empty warehouse, waiting only for a ghost to appear.
It was a childish story, yet to some it was no mere warehouse but a tomb.
There were those who claimed they had actually seen the late duchess’s spirit.
Well, that was plausible.
The woman’s final moments had not been pleasant.
If she had become a vengeful ghost and wandered the Larson halls, it would have been nothing strange.
It was amusing.
Yet a single woman had been brought into a room whose only lingering rumor was a terrifying one from the late duchess’s shadow.
And soon it had transformed into the scene of an illicit affair.
Kian’s laughter came out dry.
He wondered how long she had been there.
Heat now warmed the once-vacant room.
Inside, a rich fragrance of fresh flowers filled the air.
Kian’s gaze turned to the table.
A bouquet of roses, scattered wildly, filled an ornate vase.
Seeing it reminded him that the same bouquet had stood in his own room the previous evening, held by the foolish-faced woman who had entered.
He had been told she had slept through the day because of illness.
If she had gone without sleep since dawn, hunger for food might have been less pressing than for sleep, yet the image oddly mirrored that of the day before.
To avoid any trouble, he had come here in advance.
People did not easily reverse their decisions.
Once hunger was satisfied, they would not change their mind.
Nor did he wish to bribe someone to sit and wait.
It was far simpler to simply wait for her.
Kian, who had already proven himself inefficient in pursuing her, might as well have looked at his own uselessness.
Turning his eyes from the vase, he scanned the room and muttered to himself.
“Why are there so many ribbons?”
He had known the room held an odd corner, yet ribbons were scattered everywhere.
Matilda answered with a warm smile.
“Vivi loves ribbons.
Once I taught her, she practiced tying them on her own and says she wants to learn better.”
“Is that so?”
Ribbons.
Not objects, but something she enjoyed.
Kian had never seen anything like it before.
Searching the room, he noticed a small paper package tied with a ribbon.
“What is this?”
“Ah, that… that is…”
Matilda hesitated, words faltering.
“Vivi made it herself to give to the master.”
It was nothing trivial.
Lace ribbons on newspapers she could simply discard?
Among all the ribbons in the room, this one was tied with the greatest care.
A dry chuckle escaped Kian.
He untied the ribbon and began examining the contents.
The newspapers from the day she had fallen asleep in the bathtub through the previous day were tied precisely to three pages.
“A gift.”
Kian sat on the sofa, crossed his long legs, and began reading.
He judged she would return before he finished.
Vivi’s week.
Seeing the ribbons carefully tied, he read every article with care, even those of no interest.
Only one page remained when Vivi still had not returned.
Matilda’s expression grew more anxious as the waiting stretched on.
Finishing the uninteresting snippets, Kian set the newspapers on the table.
He gathered the ribbons and set them aside, then gazed out the window.
The ruddy afterglow had vanished, leaving the room in complete darkness.
After that, she still did not return.
* * *
Theodore escorted her to the door and then left.
Nothing had been resolved, yet he felt strangely refreshed.
Vivi lifted the corners of her mouth as she opened the door.
Matilda greeted her with a worried face.
“Is something wrong, Matilda?”
“It’s just…”
A heavy atmosphere, unlike any other.
Matilda could not continue, seeming unable to answer.
“Was it too late for a walk?”
At that moment, a low voice came from inside the bedroom.
Time seemed to stop with the shock.
He had been told to call if there was business, yet he had not expected a direct visit.
Wait—had he not come like this the day he returned the shoes?
Her heart pounded.
“Thank you for the gift, Vivi.”
Kian approached slowly with empty eyes.
On the table lay the newspaper package in disarray.
Closing in, her heart raced madly.
“It would have been better if you had brought it yourself.”
His fingers, oily from the newspapers, brushed the outer garment draped over her shoulder as he whispered.
Thud—the Theodore jacket fell to the floor.
Was it an accident?
Even so, it had been loaned by Theodore.
And Matilda was watching.
She felt uneasy.
Reflexively bending to pick it up, Kian ground the jacket into the floor with his polished shoe.
It was clear intent to anyone who saw.
Vivi’s gaze turned helplessly to Matilda.
Matilda looked pale and stared at the floor.
Without hesitation, he grabbed Vivi’s wrist and pulled her out of the room.
* * *
Slams! The door closed sharply.
His face remained emotionless, yet his movements carried a trace of agitation.
Vivi staggered into his arms from his rough grip.
“Was my answer this morning insufficient?”
“Yes?”
“Did you not realize what you are in this house right now?”
She had sensed his suspicion.
Yet she could not understand why his reaction carried such irritation.
It was only late, after all.
She had simply gone for a walk, and she had not promised to meet Kian beforehand.
“It seems my explanation was lacking.
Let me explain from the day you fell asleep in my bathroom.”
Kian wiped his face dry with an irritated hand.
“Normally, once the tea service ends, I leave the bedroom and begin my work.
Then, before noon, three maids clean my bedroom.”
“…”
“You said you woke around noon.
So the fact that you saw me sprawled in my bed late—perhaps even four people saw it: Matilda, the maids, Theodore…”
Reminding her of facts she had not known only made her face flush crimson.
“I gave you a separate room because I knew you would be leaving the estate.
To prevent the maids from bothering you, I also assigned Matilda and Theodore.”
“So far, so good.
What did I do wrong?”
“…Nothing.”
“If I had come home and not found you, how would you have been then?”
That was why he had pretended.
He had spent the night awake and waiting, pretending to clothe her.
“I now understand what kind of being I appear as in this house.
Please stop speaking of that part.”
She felt as if she might cry, yet she spoke with more force, fearing that if she broke down here she would feel worthless.
Unexpectedly, a crack appeared in Kian’s arrogant gaze.
“And you thought it was because of me?”
“Why would you think that?”
“You said there had been no reason for kindness toward me before, so the reason must be on the side of the one showing kindness, not on mine.”
“Interesting.”
He did not deny her words outright, which only made her more curious.
“Your duke has a fiancé, after all.
It is too great a risk to bear for something as insignificant as me.”
“Vivi.”
“Yes?”
“Does my fiancé bother you?”
“…”
She had been careless enough to hit the mark.
Of course it did.
She had cried alone from anger, yet she was the only one who felt that way.
She could not reveal her true feelings.
“Silence means affirmation, doesn’t it?
Since you did not answer, I will assume what I wish.”
“It is troubling.
That is, simply because I might cause needless misunderstanding.”
“If you want to cause misunderstanding on purpose, does that make any sense?”
Kian stepped closer.
“I am not marrying.
Breaking the engagement is my goal.
If you are going to worry about my fiancé, Vivi, you should first understand that.”
Despite the grotesque words, a small sense of relief came from hearing the word “break the engagement.”
Was this still possible?
He was openly using her to create misunderstanding.
Why did her heart race at the mention of breaking the engagement?
Or was there another way?
She had answered with a pretense of cleverness because of pride, yet her mind was in utter turmoil.
She had finally heard a proper response, and if she let her thoughts drift now she would be pulled in again.
Vivi tried to keep her composure.
“Then you want me to act?”
“I never said act.”
He answered bluntly.
Not act?
Then sincere?
Caught off guard, Vivi’s gaze shifted restlessly.
“Our relationship is improper, after all.
Here we are, together in my bedroom right now.”
Kian swept her messy hair back with his long fingers.
His fingertips brushed her earlobe and the nape of her neck, leaving every hair on her body standing on end.
“And I have been curious about this since that day.”
His large hand now cupped her flushed cheek.
Her face drew nearer, and his voice whispered wickedly against her ear.
“What would it feel like to kiss you?”
Thud-thud, thud, thud.
Her heart beat irregularly.
Perhaps because it raced so wildly.
While frozen in place, Kian pulled her waist close with one arm.
Her body pressed flush against him.
Her soft lips brushed lightly against his ear and then fell away.
“Of course.
I am still curious.”