Chapter 8
Vivian waved off Varner’s offer to guide her through the back garden.
After carefully confirming that Varner and the servants had fully withdrawn, she untied her neatly styled hair. The shoes that had been making her heels ache were slipped off and quietly hidden in a corner of the garden.
The warmth of the grass pressed gently between her bare toes as she stepped forward.
Free from anything that had been holding her back, Vivian finally ran through the vast garden without restraint. Her light footsteps moved through the paths of the estate with no hesitation.
Amid branches trimmed just above her height, her white-blonde hair bobbed into view, bright and full of life.
She breathed in the salty scent of the Taniche Sea mixed with the soft, early summer air. Puffing up her cheeks, she let out a big breath and took off running across the garden.
From a distance, the Lockberg summer villa perched on the cliff looked almost like a fortress. Vivian wanted to discover every treasure it held inside.
Though the Marchioness had given her permission to explore, she knew she could not visit every day without seeming rude. So, she was determined to take in everything she could while she had the chance.
But despite her excitement, Vivian soon found herself hesitating.
Maybe she should not have refused Varner’s offer to guide her.
Her cheerful face began to twist into a frown. She had never imagined she might actually get lost in the garden. No matter how far she went, the greenhouse she had been told about was nowhere to be found.
Just then, a stone archway appeared in her view, carved with detailed patterns.
It was blocked by iron bars, making it impossible to go beyond. The heavy structure did not match the lush and colorful garden. It felt out of place.
Drawn in, Vivian stepped closer and stared through the gate.
What was on the other side?
Her hesitation lasted only a moment. Pressing her face between the thick iron bars, she stretched her neck and tried to look further inside. But no matter how far she peered, she could not see anything.
“Who’s there?”
The calm and refined voice came from somewhere nearby. It landed like a cold drop of water.
Startled, Vivian quickly turned around. But the motion was too fast and did not go smoothly.
“Oh no…”
Her head, which had slipped between the bars so easily, now refused to come back out. Her soft blonde hair was stuck.
She twisted and pulled gently, but it did not budge.
Her skin tingled with the awareness of someone standing behind her. The Marchioness and Varner knew she was in the garden, so there could be only one person behind her now.
“The young viscount…” she whispered.
Vivian finally freed her head from the bars and bowed deeply.
Realizing how clumsy she had been, she bit her lip and tried to correct her posture. She lifted her dress lightly, moved her right foot behind her, bent from the chest instead of the waist. But the greeting was completely wrong.
When she stood up again, her eyes darted nervously.
Edmund Lockberg could not help but let out a quiet laugh.
Her feet were dirty from grass and soil, her hair was loose and messy, and just a moment ago, her head had been stuck between the bars. Everything about her appearance was absurd.
Finally, he saw the girl properly. She was the one who had been introduced as the only daughter of the Mabel family. Vivian Mabel.
The girl with green eyes who had hidden behind her mother’s dress at the mansion. None of the staff had a child this small, so she could only be the Mabels’ beloved young lady.
Edmund had intended to wait until she noticed him. He had wanted to see for himself the curiosity of a child wandering into the one area of the villa meant only for the Lockberg heir.
And now, the white hair that had been stuck between the bars disappeared, replaced by a flushed red face.
Her sudden cry, followed by a deep bow, sent her hair cascading forward like waves. When she lifted her head again, the ends of her hair drooped, completely deflated.
“I… I’m so sorry.”
Vivian Mabel barely reached Edmund Lockberg’s waist. She was only twelve.
Compared to him, a naval officer in training currently attending the Argent Academy, Vivian was still a child just beginning to grow.
Edmund narrowed his eyes slightly and approached her with calm, measured steps.
“This is the Lockberg estate. A space only the head of the family is allowed to enter.”
Edmund stopped just a step away from Vivian and looked down into her wide, upturned eyes.
“What impure reason do you have for spying on a place like this?”
Impure reason. At those words, her small face stiffened.
Edmund slowly lowered his gaze.
Beneath it, he saw the red marks left behind on her pale neck by the iron bars.
Was she ignorant, or just foolish?
Glancing briefly at the iron gate behind her, Edmund let out another dry chuckle.
It may have been easy to slip in, but once your body was pushed in deep, of course getting back out would be difficult. Who would even think to stick their head through that gap in the first place? Whether the young lady understood that or not was one problem. But the look in her eyes, as if accusing him of being some kind of villain, and the downward tug of her lips pulled at his nerves in a most unpleasant way.
“Answer me.”
Vivian slowly lifted her head. Her voice came out barely above a whisper.
“I… I didn’t know…”
“…”
“It’s true. I was just looking for the greenhouse…”
If I had known what kind of place it was, I swear I wouldn’t have come.
Vivian Mabel’s lips were pale as she spoke. Faced with a gaze that felt like it might tighten around her neck at any moment, she froze completely.
“Why didn’t you ask Varner to guide you?”
“I just wanted to look around slowly and comfortably…”
Edmund Lockberg’s brow tilted slightly. At her quiet reply, his lips shifted ever so slightly, the expression hard to read.
How many people in Lockberg would even think to pursue something like that?
Edmund’s gaze returned to Vivian. Apparently, at least one did. A bold little girl from the Faubert family.
“Leave.”
The small white feet hurried away in a rush, dyed entirely green from the grass.
The traces she left behind, as if she had tossed away all formality, remained in Edmund’s view. His interest in a girl barely half his size ended right there.
Leaving behind the heavy atmosphere, Edmund turned and walked away.
＊ ＊ ＊
A stone building that did not belong in a garden so green and full of life.
She should have realized it sooner.
Vivian had run all the way to the back entrance without stopping. Now she stood there, breathless, gulping down air. She knew that spying on a place said to be reserved only for the master of Lockberg was not something easily overlooked. Even so, she felt grateful to the young lord for letting her go without harsh punishment.
If she had just listened more carefully to the dowager’s instructions, she could have avoided this entirely. That only made her angrier at herself. She had been too excited about visiting the greenhouse and let herself tune out the words of someone far above her. That mistake was hers alone.
“Stupid.”
Vivian Mabel, who had always clenched her fists and stood her ground even in front of stern Madam Pourin, finally felt the flush of shame rise within her today.
And it had to be in front of the young lord.
Looking back on the dinner and everything that had happened since then, she felt nothing but regret. Everything kept falling apart, and the weight in her chest grew heavier.
She should have studied etiquette more seriously.
The moment from earlier, when everything had unraveled in front of him, came back to her in a rush. Vivian let out a deep sigh and buried her face in her hands.
She brushed off the hem of her dress, now dirtied and untidy, then slipped her feet into her shoes. On the outside, she still looked every bit the perfect noble young lady.
After smoothing her tangled hair and putting herself together as best she could, she walked toward the carriage that had been waiting for her. With the coachman’s escort, she stepped inside.
The carriage, which had been moving slowly, began to pick up speed. Vivian stared out the window, watching the tree-lined road that had welcomed her now fade into the distance.
She felt so terribly lacking.
It was a feeling she could not explain. Something strange and new, unlike anything she had ever felt before. Her heart, once bright and pure like clear skies and white snow, now seemed covered in a shadowy haze. The steady rhythm of the carriage wheels made her stomach churn. Her chest felt tight, as if something were weighing it down from within.
