A Promise to Return

Anastasia felt her breath catch, tears welling in her eyes. She tried her hardest not to close her mouth, but in the end she had no choice but to chew if she was going to swallow the piece of bread. Even if she ended up biting the finger he had pushed deep into her mouth, there would have been nothing she could do about it.

Fortunately, Mikhail soon withdrew his finger. Then he placed the water glass from the table into Anastasia’s hand. He seemed to be gauging something as he watched her snatch the glass with both hands in a frantic hurry.

Gulp, gulp. The water she swallowed so urgently pushed away whatever had been choking her breath.

“Haa…”

Once her breath returned, a long, eased sigh flowed out. She meant to say she was all right now, promise to take the medicine, and then thank Mikhail for the gift. But before Anastasia could speak again, the hand that had torn more bread approached.

“Again. Open.”

It was a voice like coaxing a child. Shame flooded her at the thought that she must look that lacking. Even so, Anastasia opened her mouth as he ordered, because she had the expectation that he would feed her again.

To have someone feed her at this age. She knew how absurd and embarrassing that was. But Anastasia could not refuse. No—she did not want to refuse. In all her life, no one had ever paid this much attention to her meals. Attention? They had never even been by her side.

Like a fledgling, Anastasia took whatever Mikhail gave her and bit into it greedily, as if it did not matter what he offered, without even checking.

The strange meal continued for quite some time. Once he had fed her everything he had brought, Mikhail wiped his hands on the cloth with a regretful expression.

“Now then. You should take your medicine.”

“…”

Anastasia could not readily agree. If she took the medicine she would fall asleep again. By the time she opened her eyes the sun would already be up, and by then Mikhail would already have left the manor.

I want to see him off too.

The maids had said they were all preparing to see him off, waiting for dawn. Most of the people in the manor would come out to bid him farewell. Then couldn’t she hide behind them and greet him as well? And return to her room right after… wouldn’t that be all right? If not, she at least wanted to see his last appearance.

“Miss Anastasia. Is there something worrying you?”

“…”

“Your body seems almost fully recovered, yet your expression is not good.”

At his words, Anastasia realized he was examining her face. She lowered her head deeply again, mumbled for a while, then forced out a question with difficulty.

“Um… I…”

“Speak freely.”

As if she could speak freely. Even the way he was addressing her with the same elevated title he used for Elizabeth or Catherine was burdensome enough. Still, it felt good. Somehow it made her feel as if she had truly become a young lady of Lauderdale.

“When you leave this time… will you not return?”

At Anastasia’s question, Mikhail was silent for a moment. Then he tilted his head slightly. The face revealed in the reach of the lamp light wore a complicated-looking smile.

“Would you like me to come back?”

Mikhail answered the question with a question. Anastasia, who had been about to close her mouth, answered with a resolute face as if she had made a great decision.

“Yes.”

At Anastasia’s answer, Mikhail’s eyes widened slightly as if briefly surprised. Had her answer been strange? But Anastasia sincerely wanted to see Mikhail again. She did not want to lie to him either. So she had simply answered honestly.

“I see.”

At the reply that came back, Anastasia somehow felt empty. It was hard to feel any emotion in his answer.

“Then I will come back.”

“Really?!”

At the words that he would return, Anastasia sprang up from the chair. His face drew closer, yet it was still a full head above Anastasia’s. She felt anew how very tall he was. And that his body looked incomparably larger and more solid than her own.

This man is a man. So she should be afraid. As always. She should have been…

Mikhail took a step back from Anastasia. Quietly, so as not to be too rude, yet not so far that the distance became too great. When she had peeked through the window, he had walked about this far from Elizabeth as well. So even knowing this was the proper distance, Anastasia somehow felt a sense of loss.

Mikhail reached out and looked at the box on the table. Handprints remained here and there on the velvet-covered surface of the box, as if he had touched it.

“Stay healthy until then. Don’t get hurt.”

Having said so, Mikhail stretched out his hand and took Anastasia’s. Though she flinched in surprise, Anastasia did not pull her hand back. Mikhail took the hand that had been entrusted limply to him, raised it, lightly kissed the back of her hand, then carefully let it go. From Anastasia’s slightly parted lips, a very thin, languid breath escaped.

Having released her hand, Mikhail picked up the medicine bottle on the table, scooped a full spoonful with the spoon beside it, and said to Anastasia.

“Now then… shall we open up once more?”

“Eugh…”

When Anastasia could not hide her expression and frowned at the memory of the bitter powdered medicine’s taste, Mikhail’s low laughter rang quietly through the room. In the end Anastasia had to take into her mouth and swallow what felt like even more medicine than usual.

Mikhail came out into the corridor and quickly descended the stairs.

After informing them that he would leave early the next morning, dinner had been prepared hastily yet lavishly. He had told the Countess that since it was the last, he wanted to eat with all the Lauderdale young ladies, but as expected Anastasia’s figure had not been seen. Mikhail had no particular thoughts about that fact. He had thought of course it would be so.

After dinner he had conversed with Elizabeth in the drawing room. Over the past week, Mikhail had made truly great efforts by his standards. Had he ever poured so much time into one woman in his life? Even when dealing with Larisa Kabayeva, who was said to have put collars on the necks of all the men in the capital, he had not sat that long.

It was not simply spending time together; Mikhail had treated Elizabeth with every bit of devotion he could muster. Thanks to that, Elizabeth’s expression had gradually softened, and now she even smiled when their eyes met. She herself probably had not realized it.

It was not only Elizabeth whose smile had been caught. Everyone in the manor except Catherine was happy, waiting for the increasingly approaching prosperous future.

Coming down to the first-floor corridor and passing the servants’ parlor, he saw Igor surrounded by the servants along with Catherine. Apparently, by Catherine joining them, the servants had gained the privilege of sitting in the parlor and listening to the stories.

“So when we were building the third pier it was really hard, but Lord Mikhail…”

At Igor’s words flowing through the gap in the door, Mikhail shook his head. He had wondered what story he was holding people with, and it turned out he was selling off Mikhail’s past. Having given Igor a look through the crack in the door, Mikhail returned to his room. After some time, Igor and Yury returned together with tired faces. As soon as they entered the room they sat on the sofa and gulped down water.

“Phew.”

Having caught his breath, Igor grumbled at Mikhail.

“I have no idea what the hell this is supposed to be. I’m not some grandmother telling old stories.”

“Why? You were doing well. Think about that side of things when you retire later.”

“Don’t make fun of me! Why do I really have to do this sort of thing…”

Igor pounded his chest as if wronged. Then Yury came inside. He too sat collapsing with a tired face like Igor, drank water, then looked at Mikhail with resentful eyes. Suddenly receiving the resentful gazes of the two, Mikhail gave a bitter smile.

After dinner he had deliberately ordered the two of them to hold the servants. Because although the Countess and Elizabeth, who minded appearances, would return to their rooms, there were still far too many people wandering around the manor after that.

The two had grumbled that they were being made to do all sorts of things yet followed the order, and thanks to that Mikhail had been able to visit Anastasia without being noticed by the others.

But when he went up, a snort of laughter escaped at the desolation of the space where she stayed. It was a space anyone could see had been abandoned. Even without specially ordering the two, it would not have been difficult to avoid others’ eyes.

“So, did you have a good visit with Miss Elizabeth?”

“Ah.”

At Igor’s question, Mikhail gave an ambiguous answer. The two thought Mikhail had asked them the favor so he could meet Elizabeth separately. But Mikhail had gone to the picked-up daughter, not the first daughter of Lauderdale.

He looked at his finger. Why did she open her mouth so readily and gobble whatever he fed her when she had no idea what he might put in it? He recalled the small mouth, the red lips, and the pure white teeth he had seen under the dim lamp light. To think of the way she so readily accepted and ate with that mouth that looked so small it seemed it could not properly bite anything. If only he had had the time, he would have wanted to sit there a very long time and try feeding her all sorts of things.

“Anyway, good work. As you wanted, we’re returning to Sokolov tomorrow, so finish all the preparations for the return.”

At those words, Igor rose and answered.

“Yes, yes, understood. Then as soon as we return, shall I prepare a villa on the outskirts of Sokolov? Or prepare a mansion inside Sokolov or in the capital…”

“Why?”

“What do you mean why? Aren’t we bringing Miss Elizabeth?”

Igor looked at Mikhail with eyes that asked why he was even asking. Hadn’t this ridiculous act been so that Mikhail could properly bewitch Elizabeth? In truth that young lady already seemed full of the mind to marry even without such things.

“No need. Leave it.”

“What do you mean? Don’t tell me… you’re not going to marry?”

“I will.”

“Then why…”

“The Lauderdale people don’t know their own worth.”

“…”

At Mikhail’s chilled words, Igor and Yury closed their mouths. It was as Mikhail said. The more courteously Mikhail behaved, the more haughty the Countess’s attitude became. Especially seeing Mikhail spending time with Elizabeth every day, she seemed to think he had fallen hard for Elizabeth. While drinking tea with Mikhail, the Countess had asked around about marriage.

And she tried to take everything she could get.

The Countess had brought up stories of her youth and spoken of the most splendid and beautiful places in the empire. She had mentioned the great mansion near the capital called the summer palace of Rogevik, or the grand and magnificent cathedral in the resort city of Plaisir.

Throughout the listening, Yury’s face had gone white. Because they were all places that would cost enormous amounts of money, as the one in charge of accounts he already seemed to have a stomachache over the sums he would have to settle. But Mikhail had smiled and said they were truly beautiful places, and far from stopping the Countess, he had said that among his ships there was one that brought flowers from far-off Flanders, further inflating her imagination.

In the Countess’s mind, a wedding more splendid than even the imperial family’s was already taking place. A wedding that, even if she married a commoner, no one else would ever be able to mock.

“Have I ever made a losing deal?”

“…You have not.”

“Then you know.”

Mikhail sank into the chair. On a chair that must once have been expensive but whose fashion had long passed, Mikhail spoke in a calm tone.

“Let’s give the Lauderdale people some time to learn.”