Chapter: 17
It’s Too Much Karma to Confess
“Me?”
Rose shed tears as she brought up the past.
“Of course I’m fine.”
In contrast, Brandon smiled.
“I’m not a crybaby like my sister. I’m completely fine. Really, really fine!”
“If you say so, that’s a relief.”
“When you think about it, it’s nothing. I don’t care about the past. The only things I focus on are the present and the future.”
Dorothy felt that he was talking more than usual.
Hmm, was he always this talkative?
“Wow, but still, the fact that you’re worrying about me, Dorothy—it feels pretty great. Maybe I should’ve asked you to keep worrying about me.”
“No, I’ll decline that.”
“Pfft. I thought you’d say that.”
Brandon burst into laughter and set down his teacup.
“Staying indoors is suffocating, Dorothy.”
After glancing out the window, he made a suggestion.
“How about we take a walk together?”
How could someone be this perfect twenty-four hours a day?
Despite the somewhat warm weather, Brandon wore a three-piece suit with a coat on top.
Even dressed in something that looked stifling, he didn’t show the slightest sign of discomfort.
It takes effort and time to take care of oneself.
Even with his busy schedule, he still maintained himself impeccably—Dorothy found that impressive.
She had thought he was simply slender, but his arms were thicker than she expected. She couldn’t help but admire them.
“It was exactly this kind of weather, Dorothy!”
She looked up at the sky. It was bright and clear.
“What do you mean? Though the weather really is nice!”
“The day my parents divorced.”
“……”
Unsure how to react, Dorothy hesitated. Seeing her expression, Brandon let out a small chuckle.
“You don’t have to make that face. I told you, I’m really fine.”
As they passed by the riverside,
Brandon suggested they sit down and talk, tossing his coat onto the ground.
Can we really sit on that?
After a moment of hesitation, Dorothy sat on top of the coat.
It felt like she was crushing an entire house beneath her, not just a coat.
“My sister disapproves of me going to the Chairman, but I don’t see it that way.”
Dorothy had always found it harder to read Brandon’s true feelings than Rose’s.
Perhaps because of that, she listened carefully to what he said next.
“At the time, the Duchy of Kaishner was in a very precarious political position. My parents’ divorce only shook our standing further.”
He continued,
“But after the Chairman took me in, Kaishner was given an opportunity. He pushed me forward as the successor. Thanks to that, we were able to solidify our position in the Assembly. Though my mother and father can no longer be active in the Assembly…”
Resting his chin on his hand, he smiled lazily.
“I’m the one who upheld the ducal house when it was about to be handed over to another successor. Haha, I was alive and well—there was no way we could pass the family to a cousin living in another country.”
“So you’re saying you don’t regret it.”
“Yes. If the family had been handed to someone else, my sister probably wouldn’t be living as comfortably as she does now.”
Rose had said the Chairman was dangerous.
That Brandon should never have been sent to him.
That they should bring him back even now.
“I don’t regret it. Not at all.”
But after hearing Brandon’s words, Dorothy could somewhat understand his choice.
Back then, he had only been nine years old.
“And yet my sister only says my choice was wrong. Ah, how upsetting.”
At the time, Brandon had simply chosen what he believed to be the best option.
“How about you? Do you think the same as my sister, Dorothy?”
He spoke as casually as ever.
But even he seemed uncertain about the words he was saying.
At least, that’s how it looked to Dorothy.
“Hmm.”
She couldn’t easily declare what was right or wrong.
Passing judgment carelessly would be arrogance.
So instead, she said this:
“You must have gone through a lot.”
“……What?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure whether it was wrong.”
After thinking for a moment, Dorothy continued,
“But I think Your Grace is right. The present and the future matter more than the past.”
“……”
“If someday you decide it was wrong, you can always correct it then. In any case, what matters most is that it was the best choice for you at the time. And I think that’s enough.”
To Dorothy, he looked like someone who needed comfort.
Maybe she was mistaken—but that’s how it seemed.
“You know, actually… after my engagement was broken off, I felt lonely and secretly lost.”
“Yes.”
“But I was really happy to meet Lady Rose and Your Grace.”
“……”
“I hope that alone can serve as my answer! After all, the two of you are precious to me.”
Somehow, she ended up expressing her gratitude.
When she came back to her senses, Brandon’s hand was resting on her cheek.
Startled by his vacant stare, Dorothy froze.
“……Your Grace?”
“Ah.”
Tilting her head slightly, she watched as Brandon hurriedly stood up.
“I apologize, Dorothy. That was improper of me.”
He cleared his throat awkwardly.
“And.”
“……?”
“Thank you.”
At his words of thanks, Dorothy smiled brightly.
No matter how she looked at it, the world seemed to have become a little strange.
“Wait a moment, Your Grace! I just saw a friend I haven’t met in a while. May I excuse myself for a bit?”
“Of course. Go ahead, Dorothy.”
“Thank you!”
Could the world really change this much overnight?
Waiting for Dorothy, Brandon leaned against a tree and muttered to himself.
He was not a particularly sentimental man.
He didn’t care how green the trees were or how warm the sunlight felt.
But today was different.
“This is really strange.”
The transparent droplets splashing from the fountain.
The families strolling together.
The cloudless, clear sky—it all caught his eye.
“Maybe the world has gone mad.”
He folded his arms and pondered the cause of this phenomenon.
But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t find an answer.
The only plausible explanation was that the world had become a little more peaceful.
To Brandon, whose days had been like hell,
this scenery felt unfamiliar.
That must be why it stood out so much.
“Your Grace, I’m sorry! Did you wait long?”
Just then, Dorothy returned from meeting her friend.
“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”
“It wasn’t long at all.”
He responded automatically, yet strangely, his heart pounded.
“Or have I gone mad?”
“……Pardon?”
“It’s nothing.”
When he thought about it, this had been happening more often lately.
Ordinarily, he rarely felt nervous.
But recently, even while speaking, he found himself studying the other person’s reactions.
“Did you have a pleasant reunion with your friend, Dorothy?”
“Yes! Thanks to you. Um, actually…”
She hesitated.
“The reason it took a bit longer was because of this.”
“What is it?”
“A box of desserts.”
“Desserts?”
“Last time, I only gave you a single chocolate, and it’s been bothering me. I don’t know if you like sweets, but please have some whenever you think of it.”
“I wasn’t particularly fond of desserts before…”
“Gasp! Really?”
“But I think I might start liking them.”
Suddenly, he realized he had only ever behaved strangely in front of one particular person.
He felt nervous only around her.
He watched her reactions.
He wanted to say just one more word to her.
And that person was standing right before him now.
“Thank you, Dorothy. Though I’ll probably end up hanging it from the ceiling again without eating it, because it’s too precious.”
“I’ll buy you more, so please actually eat them this time.”
“Haha, I’ll think about it.”
Hmm. It’s not that the world changed—it’s that I did.
Brandon looked at Dorothy standing before him and thought,
Maybe it’s not the world that’s gone mad—maybe it’s me.
“Shall we head home now? I think Lady Rose will be waiting.”
“You said she cried herself to sleep.”
“Wouldn’t she be awake by now?”
“Since we’ve already waited this long, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to wait a little longer?”
“……”
He just wanted to stay by her side.
Like a leech, he wanted to cling to her and absorb every bit of that pure kindness.
That was what Brandon was thinking.
“I was joking. Let’s head back home.”
“Yes!”
On the way home,
watching Dorothy walk ahead of him, Brandon let out a small laugh.
“You’re treating me so kindly that I might almost mistake it for you liking me.”
For some reason, he felt that now, he might be able to answer that.
