Love Doesn’t Matter - Chapter 82

Chapter 82 – Will He Just Leave?

Since his vacation was over, there was no reason to look for a villa. He was also occupied with his overdue schedules. Nevertheless, Hadius instructed Tobias, the butler, to prepare to go to the Sitmer. Hadius had an important appointment just an hour before, so Tobias’ mouth gaped open.

“Marquis Artuscher is Duke Meyer’s longtime friend and an important investor. With all due respect, I think that he has an important position for you to attend.”

Hadius didn’t even pretend to listen. He instructed him to send for the butler and merely patted the butler’s shoulder after arriving, as if to soothe him.

After arriving at the villa, he went straight to the garden. He expected nothing as he passed Metasequoia Road. Whether it was Pip or Laura, he would grab just anyone and make sure that the cat was doing well.

But as he got closer to the pond, he couldn’t stop the pounding of his heart. Hadius slowly walked along the bushes, not giving up on any hopes. In the shallow reed forest, on marble statues, next to iron ornaments, under the railings, underneath the lantern… he found himself looking for the cat again. For a moment, he thought he was being ridiculous. He thought that except foolishly escaping from his study time to catch a bird with Elliot, this was the most stupid thing.

Hadius smiled bitterly, but continued to climb up the stairs and walk to the pavilion. The sound of the weeds swaying with the wind was very lonely. Staring into the sky, his head hung, and self-mockery was clear on his lips.

Hadius soon returned to the villa. The villa keeper recognized him at once and rushed him to the entrance. The villa keeper thought that the master was going to rest for a few days again, so he grabbed firewood first.

“Where is Pip?”

“He went to the farm to get cheese. I will go get him right away after I light the fire. Please just wait here for a moment….”

Hadius stopped the frantic villa keeper.

“It’s okay. I plan to go back to Nowak right now.”

“Yes? But….”

The villa keeper’s eyes went straight to the sky. The afternoon sun colored the sky orange. It took him half a day to arrive, but in less than an hour, the master who would take the long road again seemed so strange. His master’s strange actions and words continued.

“Have you ever seen that cat?”

The villa keeper managed to hold back his urge to ask, ‘What?’ It was because ‘the cat’ he asked out of the blue was obviously ‘that cat.’

“Yes, of course I did.”

“… When?”

“I see it almost everyday these days.”

The young Meyer was surprised. His barrage of questions followed after: Where have you seen him? What was he doing? Is he injured? Did he gain some weight? The villa keeper was busy answering, ‘Yes, yes,’ when he realized that talking about the cat was making his master happy. It was natural to want to look good in front of the Duke Meyer, and the villa keeper embarked on a great adventure for the first time in his life, telling him things the master didn’t even ask of him.

“It wasn’t just healthy. You don’t know how much it has grown in a few days. It was fast. A few days ago, I don’t know where he got it, but he caught a large moth like this and chewed on it all day.”

For a moment, the corners of his master’s mouth were curled up. It thrilled the villa keeper so he continued speaking.

“I think he likes this place a lot. Not only me, but the workers also like him, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”

His master’s mouth, which had hardened, loosened gently before he knew it.

“When and where can I see it usually?”

“Ah, about that….”

The villa keeper searched for his memories, ‘Ya!’ and twisted his fingers.

“Around this time, he would be wandering around the pavilion over there. He would run around the vineyard in the mornings and sometimes appear in the winery to surprise people.”

Hadius looked around the pond where the pavilion was. He crossed his arms and pondered something, and after a while, he looked back at the villa keeper.

“You have some work to do.”

He instructed the villa keeper to fence the pavilion for several yards in radius.

“Install lamps at appropriate intervals and build a beautiful house for it.”

The villa keeper couldn’t help but doubt his ears. Wasn’t it a stray cat? A lamp, a house, and even a fence…. All he could do was blink his eyes and say, ‘Yes, yes.’

Hadius passed the villa keeper and headed back to the garden. His eyes couldn’t forget the lingering attachment, so he looked around once more. Unlike before, a strange impatience was tightening inside him. He then saw someone approaching over the bridge. He was surprised to recognize Grozhang.

“Why are you here?”

“Young Master.”

The eyes of the aide approaching him were strangely anxious.

“I’ve received a message from Hilden Farm. It looks like Miss Bern is working.”

The memories of the barn momentarily flashed in Hadius’ head.

[‘I will find a job. Just don’t stop me from doing that.’]

“Mercenary Captain Maesen came to see me in a hurry. He asked me in a rush if he should leave her alone or if he should tighten the security. It was concerning Miss Bern’s security, so I couldn’t help but come here in a hurry.”

Hadius pondered as he walked. The fiancée of the Meyer Family was now completely free from the attention of their enemies. The alliance force was now openly urging him to meet Bianca Reinen, and it had also been a long time since his mother said ‘countryside child.’

“… Tell them not to get involved.”

“Yes, sir. Also, Young Master,” Grozhang continued, catching his breath, “There’s another important piece of news you should know. It was a message from the woodcutter you sent to Grossen. Sir Malvin… seems to be moving to the New World soon.”

His elegant steps moving silently caused a loud friction for the first time.

“… New World?”

“Yes, Lord Malvin seems to have instructed his son, Sir Malvin, to study business in the Tran Federation for a year or two.”

Grozhang carefully looked at his master’s face after speaking. He felt relieved the first time he heard that Nathan might be living. It was because he thought that the young man Malvin had a huge role in why his master was still frantically obsessed with his fiancée. But contrary to Grozhang’s expectation, there was no sign of relief on Hadius’ face.

Nathan Malvin is leaving… to the New World…. Hadius felt a fire rising from the depths of his chest. He was obviously looking ahead but he couldn’t see anything. Will he obediently leave like that? He is leaving the woman in his heart? Doubts that had just left him spread out uncontrollably like fire in a dry field. The destructive urge to go to him and strangle him to death was at the forefront of his mind.

Hadius grabbed the pavilion railing as if he would break it at any moment. The burst of his fury was causing an uncontrollable and extreme pain.

At that moment, the sound of rustling came from somewhere. His lost eyes turned toward the thick bushes. Something bounced off the gilded iron ornament – it was Moria.

* * *

“Done,” Emilia unconsciously muttered.

There were dark circles under her eyes, and her body was stretched weakly, but her mouth was smiling broadly. She had finally pulled out the chicken hair perfectly. She may have failed the first one, but the second one was a perfect success.

Emilia looked down proudly at the clean raw chicken without any torn flesh. She thought it was the most trivial and easiest thing in the world, but it was one of the most difficult and hardest things she had ever done in her entire life.

“What?! Did you do something wrong again?!”

The chef didn’t even look at it properly and burst into a scream. She belatedly saw the clean raw chicken and flinched.

When fierce eyes moved from the two chickens to Emilia, she prepared herself with her head bowed down. She did the one well, but the other one was a failure, so she thought that there was nothing she could do if she was scolded. But the chef didn’t say anything. The chef reached out her thick hand and took the two chickens.

Emilia was waiting for the thick curing to start with a ‘b*tch,’ but she was dumbfounded.

“Hey! What are you staring at so blankly?!”

She was awakened by the chef’s screeching scream. Emilia quickly started to wash the dishes.

The dishes piled up like a mountain were still hard and exhausting. She was washing the plates soaked in lye with clean water today as well. She raised her head when she felt that something was weird, then she saw that the chef was staring at her with her hands behind her back. When their eyes met, she went into the kitchen as she cleared her throat with a cough. Tilting her head, Emilia soon returned to what she was doing.

As usual, she stayed until the last minute to wash the dishes and perfectly clean the mess. She was hanging a cleanly boiled dishcloth on the clothesline when someone approached her. It was the chef again. She glanced around the clean scullery and looked at Emilia with a distinct look. She then asked her a big question.

“You.”

Emilia was startled, and her body trembled.

“What is your name?”

“… I am Elaina Mauve.”

Emilia came up with a prepared pseudonym.

“Elaina Mauve.”

After repeating her name, the chef blinked a few times and threw something on the chopping board.

“That’s the meat you ruined. Since I can’t sell it, go and eat it with your family.”

Startled eyes stared blankly at the pile of goods, then turned to the chef again.

“What are you doing?”

The chef pushed the chicken toward her again, who wasn’t even thinking of accepting it. Emilia bowed her head and said, ‘Thank you’. The chef had already walked away when she raised her head again. Her heart was subtly stirred.

Emilia opened the back door of the restaurant as she finished packing. There was a small mailbox in the middle of the square where Beppy was waiting. Emilia stopped in front of him. After a while, she held a small piece of paper in her hand. It was a letter for Nathan Malvin. Her body slightly trembled before she pushed it inside the small entrance, but it was only for a moment. Emilia didn’t hesitate and concentrated on her hand until the letter dropped inside. She felt relieved as if she had pulled out a tooth, making her sick.

Emilia continued her light steps. She saw Beppy’s carriage as she turned to the corner. He was dozing off again as usual. Beppy became busier as she began to work. Taking her mother to the factory in the morning was always his job, and on the days that Emilia went to work, he had to drive to this place without time to sit. Even if Emilia could ride a circulating carriage, it was of no use. The old man stuck to her as if he was some kind of magnet. It broke her heart to watch the old man curled up like a child with his hat pressed down.

Emilia blinked her eyes as she vigorously brushed away the growing bitterness inside her. She decided – not to empty the gold coin box she hid in the stable but use it to vent her anger. It won’t be going to Hadius Meyer but to the old man. It will be a goodbye present.

The word ‘farewell’ engulfed her whole body like a cold wind. Emilia’s hand caressed the door of the carriage covered with velvet cloth as if searching for warmth. What will happen to my life without a carriage? The circulating carriage doesn’t even come inside the forest. I will have to work for half an hour at the entrance and go to work, sitting for hours on a hard wooden chair. It was exhausting just to think about.

An impossible thought was in front of her. But Emilia reminded herself that it was their original life and their own path. Everyone lives fiercely. Don’t think about anything else.

Just as Emilia had made up her mind and reached out to the old man,

“He just fell asleep. Let him rest for a while.”

A low, familiar whisper ran down her spine.