RTPM 30

Chapter – 30

Evangeline placed a hand over her chest as she spoke softly and bowed her head. At her unexpected apology, the crowd broke into louder murmurs of confusion. It seemed awkward—was it really appropriate for a woman who was to become a duchess to behave like this? Yet no one was in a position to stop her.

“There is no need for that. This is an apology I must offer in my father’s stead.”

“Ahem.”

“I also apologize for not stepping forward to resolve matters sooner. It is my inadequacy that allowed things to come to this.”

“N-no, that’s… well…”

“And once again, thank you.”

This time she bowed even deeper than before. The elegant, restrained movement plunged the room back into silence.

“…I sincerely thank you for trusting my father and standing by him all this time. Though he has departed, I will not forget that kindness, however insufficient I may be. I wish you a peaceful night.”

“….”

Now it was truly over. Those offering the apology and those receiving it all knew. Compared to the noisy days they had endured, the way everyone dispersed so quietly felt almost anticlimactic. Watching them scatter, Philip brushed at the corner of his eyes for no reason in particular.

“…Young Lady, how could you go so far?”

“As my father’s only daughter and heir, it is naturally my duty.”

“But after the way those people treated you—”

“Let us speak honestly. I was not entirely innocent either.”

Having lived in the lavish world her father had built, she could not resent anyone. Whether they had known or not was irrelevant. What mattered now was only that she had finally cast off every burden.

“By the way, I had no idea you possessed the Maikar Coast.”

“To be honest, I didn’t even know it was the Maikar Coast. I had simply kept it in storage.”

“What?”

Even at Philip’s astonishment, Evangeline only smiled faintly. Two years ago, when her father first entrusted the box to her, perhaps her expression had looked much the same.

—

“Evangeline. This is your share.”

“Another horse? I don’t need anything more now.”

“No one knows how life may turn. This must remain unknown to all. If a moment comes when you face something you cannot bear alone, use it only for yourself.”

—

Her father had always been accustomed to giving her things, but that time he had seemed unusually solemn. He told her to keep it hidden somewhere secret and to open it only if she was ever cornered beyond remedy.

With a smile, he added that it would be better still if she never had to open it at all.

“If that’s the case, why offer it up like this? It was entirely your land, unrelated to the guild.”

“No. It was my father’s share.”

“….”

“I never once thought of it as mine. As his only daughter, I couldn’t achieve something by my own strength to give him. At the very least, I wanted to safeguard what I had received and return it to him.”

“Young Lady!”

“I may not understand business as well as my father, but when he gave me something like that, I believed there must be a reason. If ever he faced a crisis, I intended to use it to help him rise again.”

Call her shameless for not paying off the debts first if they must—she could not help it. Her faith in her father had been absolute.

Whether he failed or fell, so long as he still lived, she believed he would rise again somehow. A man who never gave up and always achieved what he desired—that was the father she had watched for over twenty years.

“But… you know. Father has left us now.”

Though she accepted everything else calmly, she could not grow accustomed to her father’s absence. Even so, she had to endure. She had to summon strength from nothing if necessary. All the last bastions she had relied upon were gone; there was nothing left to lean on.

“Still… you could have kept at least a little.”

“Philip.”

At her faintly admonishing glance, he forced his expression back into place. If the Young Lady could remain so composed, he could not dissolve into tears. And there was still a task he had to complete.

“Please. If possible, tomorrow morning’s paper.”

“…Young Lady, please, just reconsider once more.”

“Tomorrow.”

Evangeline smiled firmly after laying down her ultimatum. Whatever the case, he had stayed by her side to the very end, even when she had nothing left. She tried to reassure him with her smile, but suddenly Philip’s face turned pale.

“Why do you look like that? What is it now—”

“Evangeline.”

Following Philip’s gaze, she turned and found Decarno standing at the end of the corridor. It was unexpected to see a man whose hair had never once been out of place arrive without even a coat, but she found herself smiling inwardly.

She had lost everything overnight—why should he remain untouched?

If that was greed, then so be it. This would be the last time.

“You’ve come.”

“…Seems there was something interesting happening without my knowledge.”

The heavy movement of his throat drew closer to her. Philip tried to block him in a fluster, but Evangeline refused. She nodded for him to leave, and as he did, Decarno let out a derisive snort.

“Such consideration, even for your subordinates. Truly a duchess overflowing with grace.”

“You do know I am no longer a duchess.”

“Ha. So that’s why you’ve done all this?”

There was no need to hear explanations. The moment his carriage had arrived, he had instinctively known the situation was becoming troublesome—the bright faces of creditors, the grim expressions of lawyers, and the impeccably elegant woman before him.

“What exactly do you gain from going this far?”

“Myself.”

Evangeline smiled more brightly than he had ever seen her smile. There should have been nothing left—yet she looked lighter than ever.

“My father wished for it to be used only for me. I have simply honored his will.”

“Evangeline!”

“With no father and no family left, I have only myself remaining.”

She could endure insults and pointing fingers. The whispers of strangers meant nothing to her.

But if the one man she believed knew her did not respect her—if, despite all her efforts, she would remain merely a convenient woman in his eyes—then there was no reason to hold on to that place any longer.

“It’s late. I should go.”

“You’re leaving like this?”

“I no longer owe the Duke anything.”

“….”

The lighter her expression became, the darker his eyes grew. His breathing grew rough, yet was drowned out by her clear laughter.

“Well, it may be pointless to say this now, but I truly enjoyed the time I spent at the ducal estate.”

“…Evangeline.”

“For someone who had always drifted, it made me proud to settle somewhere at last. You cannot imagine how happy I was to finally have a place I could call home.”

Even now, thinking back, it was true.

Without the anxiety of having to leave one day, without the unease of impermanence, she had been filled with the joy of belonging somewhere for a long time to come. Stronger than anywhere else in Roark, that place—Teje—had been a sturdy refuge. There had been no reason not to love it.

Even if it ended like this, she could not deny her heart.

“As Your Grace once said, perhaps I was naïve—dreaming of a house as beautiful as a picture book.”

“Then was I in that house, getting in your way? Ah, you must have suffered, enduring me all this time.”

“How could that be? You were part of it as well.”

“….”

Brushing her hair behind her ear, Evangeline smiled faintly as if in thought. The heated edge in Decarno’s breathing vanished in an instant.

“…What did you say?”

“I liked you, Your Grace.”

“….”

Like everything else that belonged to that place, she had liked him. Having no other experience, she could not swear it was love. But Decarno had been the man who formed and upheld the world she had long desired—strong, noble, and elegant.

How could she not have liked such a man?

“You don’t truly believe I coveted only the title of duchess, do you?”

“That’s not—”

“So you still don’t believe me. Well, it’s a story that serves no purpose now.”

At the rare uncertainty in his eyes, Evangeline gave a small, wry smile and lowered her gaze. The fact that she could speak of such things so calmly proved she had truly let everything go. For her, that was a blessing.

“I wish we could have parted differently, but perhaps this too is fate. From now on, we will see each other only in the newspapers.”

“…Evangeline. Wait.”

“I wish you peace.”