What Remains at the End of Regret - Chapter 22

By the time the light tapping of rain against the window turned into thick, steady drops that began to irritate him, Edmund sat up in bed.

The scenery outside, once bright, had dimmed under the streaks of rain.

Faubert lived up to its reputation when it came to scenery.

For Edmund, who preferred quiet and order over noise and crowds, the summer estate here was more than enough. Even better was this private guesthouse, a place where only he was allowed. It offered just the right comfort to make the sluggish heat of summer bearable.

This was a rare break.

Though he had come to Faubert to rest, he could not simply abandon his duties to the family and the company. Letters and documents from the capital, Litton, still needed his attention, and Edmund handled them all without delay.

A balance of rest and discipline had been part of him since his academy days. Even after leaving military service and inheriting his title, those habits remained unchanged.

Today was meant to be quiet.

He had planned to rest, listen to the sound of the waves, take a proper nap, and enjoy the peace.

Summer was always unpredictable when it came to weather. A sudden shower meant nothing.

Everything should have gone smoothly.

If it had not been for Vivian Mabel.

The bold intruder who stepped into a space that belonged only to the Duke of Lockberg.

The soft creak of the door and faint footsteps had blended with the rain, but Edmund noticed them right away. No one in this house would ever enter this space without his permission.

When he came down the stairs and saw what waited below, the scene was so unexpected that he let out a quiet laugh.

It was her.

Vivian Mabel.

She was alone, nodding off, trying to stay awake by tugging at her cheeks, then dozing again as her head tilted forward.

The sight was so absurd that Edmund leaned against the staircase, crossed his arms, and watched her without a word.

Vivian was curled up, wearing a thin white dress that clung to her body. It was soaked through and nearly transparent.

Water dripped from the back of her neck and slid under the fabric. Edmund’s eyes followed the drops as they trailed down her slender back.

It was too much water to be from the rain alone.

From her hair to her clothes, she was completely soaked.

Had she actually entered the sea?

It seemed impossible. It was hard to imagine someone so small making it all the way here through the water.

Yet the evidence was right in front of him.

While he stood there, quietly observing her, Vivian began to stir.

She murmured softly to herself, still half asleep.

Then her eyes opened and met his. Green, wide with fear.

For a moment, she looked like she had seen a ghost.

Edmund felt something stir inside him.

He chose his words carefully, knowing exactly what effect they would have.

“Did you lose your way again?”

He spoke gently, but the words struck hard.

Vivian flinched and took a step back.

Again.

She understood the meaning.

What she had feared was true.

This place beneath the cliff was the same one she had tried to spy on through the bars that day.

She had entered the Duke’s secret space.

Her stomach turned with shame. She could not meet his eyes.

She lowered her head, trying to escape the gaze that pressed on her like a weight.

There had been some impulse behind her actions, but the day had not started badly.

If she had known it would end like this, she would never have gone near the water.

She would not have swum across the sea.

She would not have ended up here.

When the Duke’s hand brushed her hair, Vivian Mabel flinched and stepped back in alarm.

Then, realizing the state of her clothing, she looked down and panicked. Her thin, damp dress clung to her skin, revealing more than she had intended. Flustered, she grabbed the front of her dress and sank to the floor.

Edmund let out a quiet breath. His lips curved slightly, almost mocking her.

“You were young back then,” he said.

His eyebrows lifted slightly as he added, “What about now?”

Vivian had no excuse. This was clearly her mistake.

Still, part of her couldn’t help but think that if it hadn’t rained, none of this would have happened. She tried to push the thought aside.

Her throat tightened, and she could not speak. Nervously, she clenched both hands and looked away.

Edmund asked, “How did you get in?”

“What?”

“You didn’t swim across the sea, did you?”

But she had.

Only now did it truly hit her. She, a grown lady, had swum through the ocean in a soaked summer dress.

To any reasonable nobleman, especially someone like the Duke of Lockberg, that kind of behavior would be completely beyond understanding.

“You could at least try to explain yourself,” he said.

But the path from the Lockberg summer estate to this guesthouse had been completely sealed. She had no other way to explain her arrival.

So, Vivian realized she had no choice but to admit the truth, foolish and unladylike as it was.

“I swam through the sea to get here,” she said.

Edmund exhaled, part surprise, part disbelief.

His expression showed just how absurd her words sounded.

Vivian bit her lip hard. Her pride stung, and now anxiety began to turn into fear.

Everything had gone wrong, but she didn’t even know where it had started.

She was not the kind of person who acted on impulse.

Why today, of all days, had she let herself do something like this?

What had she been thinking when she came here? She could not answer that herself.

All day, her mind had been clouded with thoughts of Hayden.

She had drifted in the water, thinking of him. At some point, her eyes had found the Lockberg mansion, standing high and unreachable.

Faubert was open to her in every way, but that one place had always been an exception. Even she, the daughter of Faubert’s master, could not approach it freely.

That sense of exclusion sparked something in her.

Rebellion.

It began as a reckless impulse, fueled by pride and frustration at the Duke who constantly humiliated her.

She had thought it would be simple. Just look from a distance, then go back.

If only the rain had not started.

She kept her lips tightly closed, afraid that anything she said would sound like a weak excuse.

She could not bring herself to say out loud that she had come here because the Duke had made her feel so small.

Silence filled the room.

Then his voice broke through, calm and slow.

“Should I praise you for your boldness?”

She did not respond.

“Or should I punish you for coming this far without permission?”

What do you think I should do?

The way he asked sent a chill through her.

Vivian began to tremble.

She shut her eyes tightly. In that moment, she felt like she could do anything to escape.

“I am sorry, Your Grace. I will never do this again. I swear it. I only came to get out of the rain. It started so suddenly and I just needed a place to warm up for a moment.”

Her voice was desperate.

She was almost begging.

This was a clear mistake.

If the Duke decided to hold her accountable, she had no way to argue.

And if this shameful event ever reached her family, she felt she might collapse from humiliation.

He looked down at her, voice cold.

“Why should I believe the words of someone who sneaked in without permission?”

“What do I have to do for you to believe me?”

Vivian took a step toward the Duke, her hands still tightly clenching the front of her dress.

Her large eyes began to well with tears, but all she could see was the Duke looking down at her with a cold, unreadable gaze.

In that moment, she wished he would just punish her quickly.

At least then, she could leave this place.

“I wonder,” Edmund said, staring down at her desperate movements, his voice holding the edge of a smile.

“No one has ever dared come in here without permission, so I really wouldn’t know. Why don’t you tell me what you think should happen?”

Vivian said nothing.

“Answer me.”

She bit down on her lip and slowly shook her head.

Of course not. No one in their right mind would dare step into the Duke of Lockberg’s private space.

The more calmly Edmund described the recklessness of what she had done, the more dizzy Vivian felt.

Swimming all the way here out of pure stubbornness. What had she been thinking?

Please, just let me go.

“Then tell me,” he said, his voice now quieter, “what do you think I should do to someone who snuck into a place like this?”

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