SMR | Chapter 21
by Luna~Chapter 21~7b98511ec735539f
“You can’t read all of them, which is why I’m sorting them like this, isn’t it?”93772a0418edf872
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Usually, everything was delivered 0468fced8b to Trisha, but the 888f05fb15 amount of mail during 43a26983c1 the year-end holidays was fde6ec2d0d simply too overwhelming. Therefore, anything from familiar fcc2cf688a names was sent to 0012aa1dd8 Trisha, while Andre checked ec93f0371f letters from unfamiliar names b60a3f5160 first. Only those fbf3e5a8be deemed worthy ebd2bd524f of Trisha’s c0ffd20381 attention were 5f8436e607 then delivered 20bb2341ce to her.edf74e2cb542770e
As Andre, beb7ab5b9f the experienced 68b5d47af8 butler, was 8d6dc295d9 quickly sorting a305448dd4 through the 7403525ba6 stack of 19256561a3 letters, his c180dea0b0 hands suddenly 5de1d89198 froze upon 27a268ca54 touching an 604f8ca0b4 envelope without cb8467415b a noble 4a1c170cd5 family’s seal.f40a49522dee93f4
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“Harriet Listerwell?”2fece1583413e33e
Should this be ea37502af8 considered an unfamiliar fb9a3375ff name? It was cb44e3293b the first 085e01ce17 time he 9eb1e0b89c had received d1e4aed2a5 a letter 30aeb20397 from this 4516bfb1e5 person, but e9dee7cd02 Andre, who d4a95d900a had been e86bb63132 keeping tabs 21089f02f8 on both ca2267a6e3 large and bac5b69fb5 small rumors 1fb3012f3c of the 13099ff38e social circle a4e972862f for his 3b84f53d6e master’s sake, 87af0a9830 already knew e276db7f7c the name. Moreover, the d9b4fc71de Listerwell family e8540e5952 was the 2314ba882b one Trisha 227bc5a751 herself had 71d10ad004 come from.2aa22b8d06cb3d39
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“Should I just deliver this? Or should I check it myself?”e254249d84ae663d
As he tapped the letter while pondering, Andre hesitated for a moment before placing it on the silver tray. The shabby envelope stood out among the New Year’s cards from Trisha’s old acquaintances on the silver tray.3f65c4c5092cae78
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“My Lady, here is today’s mail.”50af51da48eba3f2
Trisha, who 1bc531ba85 was sitting ca44c34be9 on the b40b3efb34 sofa by 2282ed14a9 the fireplace 44516ec810 reading the c5b8b21463 newspaper, glanced 1881fedbae up at 59a2140f69 Andre as 92cccf7677 he brought 4a5a9a95d2 the tray 68d4a23d89 and nodded 3d7ed08788 once.53ee215b395c1f0a
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“Just leave it there. I’ll read them later.”db48521879ea8693
The elderly woman with 36831a9a28 streaks of white in 8c00856ec7 her brown hair, styled 68fdb1b5c9 neatly, had a rather 73f55ef798 stern expression with sharply 9534f8c271 arched eyebrows. However, her d3a5ad31e7 bright blue 16a87950bf eyes sparkled 052652d62d with sharp ab770062df intellect.9beda99928e86843
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Trisha, who had been 3ca65521b0 about to finish reading 438c948024 the editorial in the 9503824304 newspaper, turned her head 551e4804f2 again when she sensed cd805af2b8 that her faithful butler edd40e3078 was hesitating.d30f6b6e89b2a9ce
Receiving a questioning look f1d8b2b963 from her, Andre bowed 46af7ecefb his head.394b42db969785bf
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“Most of the letters are New Year’s cards from your friends, but there was an unexpected one as well. I thought about checking it first, but something made me feel like it might be inappropriate for me to open.”0e961721ec9c8ba2
At those e69329f1d2 words, Trisha f4c19f4411 raised her 8bd099b412 eyebrows slightly 3790eff779 and extended b5b636fc00 her hand. Andre quickly b0fad2e9f1 picked up 1c95355687 Harriet’s letter ea47339608 and handed 9d0488add5 it to 8898dde395 her.6475fdd1353b6f8f
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Trisha frowned, d9f7048788 seeming surprised 4a3be3ba23 as she b5c93bd23a read the ac01797921 sender’s name.cf9abd1ae33ec3fd
“Why is she writing to me…? Ah, perhaps?”0543ee76c187a4bb
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She briskly fde9c0b39a tore open 50e741a7b3 the envelope 2df910c052 and pulled 6300988269 out the a9a921b64f letter. Although the paper 953dc4b452 was of poor 02d2a00d65 quality, the writing 455a650f73 on it was 61b1eca9e3 neat and pretty.eb77d1f88564d90c
“Dear Great-Aunt Trisha, I first pray that luck will always be with you in the new year. I hope you are in good health. I wonder if you were surprised by this sudden letter. I am Harriet Listerwell, the daughter of Arthur Listerwell. Thirteen years ago, I visited you with my parents at the Welhav estate; I wonder if you remember me.”658c5ded91507ee0
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One corner baf046e511 of Trisha’s 268b7bc645 mouth lifted.d90786bfd9fad937
“Of course I remember. You didn’t exactly give me a chance to forget, my grandniece.”842e9073b89ce5aa
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The scandal 343ae12e89 surrounding the d0b15334b7 Listerwell family 8ab23e5e4e could be 81a84435f8 heard wherever a5860b7624 one went. After Arthur’s death, Trisha 3807869d1f had almost completely cut 75c8bdeb56 ties with the family, 6d23376fa6 but she had always 6d3326f008 felt that John, who f5de9c2fe0 was supposed to be b5dfe08930 protecting Harriet, was at 3fd407120d fault for much of eb2953db0e it.a058c4017baea27f
In any case, b2961d3c9a as her thoughts ee83787f82 reached that point, f04999ac23 she began to de9a77355e get a general 7df0c63a52 sense of the 61a3d1b309 letter’s purpose.6fe026dc5a1aceb5
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And, as expected, 30185a058b the main point 873b8a800f soon followed.0008d256ca9f1f3a
“She’s asking me to be her guardian…”27382c9042be5023
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“What? A guardian?”110f0f99a48ec80a
Andre, who had b47475ca6c been standing nearby, 157784023b asked in surprise. It seemed 5ce28cc781 he had 48c6595ef8 caught on 74ea7126c4 to the 67de4aea07 contents of 64fdbcd0ca the letter 0b54f5f5bf as well.01f02fefe7c9305b
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Trisha chuckled softly.ec2459fc2224ad70
“Arthur’s daughter is bolder than I expected.”e98f498c659b0118
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“It’s not just that she’s bold; hasn’t she already gained quite the reputation for it?”a80579e5da521df7
“Well, I think those rumors were greatly exaggerated.”63a3c7cfc71a520e
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She was well aware 3850a14330 that rumors involving affairs 7b87ddde5b or love were often 4ee18e06aa sensationalized and blown out eaae1e4b9e of proportion.5f917a729fd648e5
“She must have been an easy target for people to gossip about.”bb65ed3d44b11192
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John Listerwell, despite cb72a09db8 being Harriet’s guardian, 9ece82e8bf hadn’t protected her deca7d87dd at all.7212e2af6437b1fb
When there’s 1695a5b373 a child d9d8a2861c who, out b954d7d02f of a f912d4d1e6 desire for e109c6d887 love, makes cff7bfefb6 mistakes, and 284337f5a4 adults who 41824c7bc3 fail to c419cf302a guide and 4833b0ca46 protect that 99c6798be0 child, who ca6b5d43b2 should be 33dd32106b blamed?de281f26bf99aadd
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“And now it seems that the child, who was practically banished from society due to that adult’s neglect, is planning something.”2e5ebe8989b56f5c
Even though the 1c8b66ad6c request seemed unreasonable, 23502b42b2 the letter lacked 20f719b854 any sense of e5660f8ec5 desperation, which piqued eb708dcf95 Trisha’s curiosity.5355a36656063b09
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“Interesting.”dd9ac24118a63ea0
As she finished d36de372f7 reading the letter, 2aa966c1d7 Trisha’s eyes gleamed acdc914ff3 with amusement. It seemed that 23846cf2c8 something entertaining was e0fb33ec66 about to happen 8e42bf1b24 in her otherwise 05988bde32 dull life.c2622d85393b154f
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***8ef83225544c0e56
The first 28a84c3519 news that 3d8855c544 heated up 974911b200 the New 5c003b9ea0 Year’s social b1b9d662cf season was 66783f1808 that Daphne ef052ea005 Laurel had 00ac6d2efa broken off bc3ea21ee0 her engagement. It wasn’t just anyone—this d96cdbc74a was the beautiful Daphne c0d0d4cc27 Laurel, one of the 49d7dbceda most admired women in 1c277d2d88 society.2a547dc98f8fc3bd
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“Those two, weren’t they engaged for quite a long time?”ba31f7831b624f55
“It’s been about five years, I think? I heard they were getting married this year, but now this happened. Tsk tsk…”b00ef13bdf7d08bd
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“Why did they break off the engagement? They seemed like the perfect match.”e8bf7613c0abc83c
“Exactly.”488ef74c80fb1768
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Rumors swelled, 9d230bd6a6 fed by 674c055b7d all sorts 862c007e66 of speculation 68818f356a and curiosity, dcbfd89f15 without any a228009182 regard for 2fb7495749 the person 1eae4729dd actually hurt f8d6bac140 by it.b4df2ae2c1c1be0f
“Sniff… sob… sob…”7f0639095e21f974
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“Daphne, you’re going to collapse at this rate. You should eat something, okay?”a4ceeabefd5e4dc9
Countess Laurel was once 95f4f2999c again comforting her daughter, 330b46637f who continued to cry 5d4e31c247 endlessly. But Daphne only shook 7ceb971409 her head, crying even 44a0964910 harder.37803140aee603b9
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Their precious daughter, who e09864c749 had been carefully raised cf4fa3bf77 since childhood and admired bbc4a8f247 by many families as bb42e4f7f0 a perfect bride, had 2ed8eaa384 been suddenly dumped without 128dfe299e explanation. It wasn’t just Daphne b833fa9dab who was in agony—her ce86549cb3 parents were also in 3f979577bf turmoil.16cfae3b91b5910f
The Earl e6780d2196 of Laurel, 62d8d7b188 pacing around 368892a08c the room 96a2c224a1 while glancing 2470f0af38 at his 711cb098aa daughter, suddenly 8b6905eebd burst out 5eb91ebfd3 in anger.92e6daf6f47ae81a
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“That bastard! How could he call off the engagement now? What is Daphne supposed to do?!”c5e92bf3ccd12847
In these 1037740667 situations, it f808bfb9ab was always 37c5accdaf the woman 8ccdd75789 who suffered d26d8f64d5 the most 3240bd44d1 after an 6d370960de engagement was 0cf66dee47 broken off. A woman’s past, even 0d645bb3e1 if it involved being 7f3175b14f with another man, was 74ec67d4a7 seen as a flaw, cbbacfcb64 and she was usually b410cc02f7 forced to settle for ce8d8a0860 a less favorable marriage 345b2924f6 in the future.4847f2bcc7856523
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“My life is over. I can’t go outside anymore. Everyone will gossip about me, so how could I even step out of the house?”509c946573c46068
She had been crying 6b51051e40 and refusing to eat 474afc657f for days. Everything filled her 3ff9a3d963 with regret and d1fa2aaa0b made her feel a6e99be1e1 like she was 864437356b going mad.b97957e47496b82e
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‘I should have e068cc6f79 talked to him 4ecb3c0e73 when I felt deaa90fdda something was off. No, I should have b097179e13 called James the day 828b4e43fd after Melody came over…’bc201e18af7c5f88
She couldn’t help 36076770f1 but wonder if 94536cf8b6 the reason all 2130cf8a35 this had happened bf6dbd0372 was because she d183520272 had been too fae1a607f5 afraid to confront f5ac7f83ca James earlier.343b5b15a15bbfc3
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Daphne blamed her indecisiveness and cowardice over and over again. But wasn’t it only natural that she had struggled to believe the betrayal of her kind fiancé? She had assumed there must have been some misunderstanding, and when he asked her to wait, she had patiently done so. She believed he would eventually explain everything clearly and apologize, saying, “I’m sorry for making you misunderstand.”ea634d6e863107b7
Instead, all she received was a cold “letter of engagement cancellation.”7ac6238b3ae3cf7e
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“How could he do this? It’s not just about us, but also our families…”88ca090d6513de42
The engagement’s collapse had c57c6ad448 severely damaged the relationship 3d92c29e8c between the Laurel family, 9f0708d9e6 who had been great 4746a67bed partners in the railroad e1f69f2436 business, and the Cheslow 4d18869959 family. James’s father, the Earl 793971d3e2 of Cheslow, had expressed f96db03a33 some regret, but he 9942dc690a couldn’t go against his 0a19fc4603 son’s decision, while the 3d3ac6755e Earl of Laurel was 5183bcbbc9 furious, claiming the Cheslow e404d0a37e family had betrayed their c23aa8a460 trust.6a16b0bca4630e6e
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Daphne felt like 9fb0f51ac8 she wanted to 54a833d9bd die from guilt 607ee73925 for the embarrassment 507aafaedd she had caused e2bb47b868 her father.9b03e6b7ced89203
‘Please come 910e4666ab back, James. If you 3059231ac8 apologize and f5472eae50 say it cb9413f54c was just 3c6e5471db a mistake, 4679c67d21 I’ll forgive 838a4751fa you. Please.’50a2a563ae9628ba
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Daphne wrote yet another b548c3b9ef tear-stained letter to James 780d9e7533 that day. She had 7830ad829a already sent edbc072a3a more than 14111442fe five letters 0442217d03 without receiving f63f3a2656 a reply, 08924debae but she 6d6387683c still hoped 26e15263b1 that James b261a2641e was conflicted 0a16cf041d and reconsidering.cfbbeff7322b5d3e
But a few a5b2ad1b00 days later, even 7f86bcf286 that small hope e16765a3e3 was shattered.94616a9ade3fac12
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“Oh my, look over there! Isn’t that James Cheslow with Lady Bella Listerwell?”debfb71fc714cb7c
“Oh my! You’re right! So, it was Bella Listerwell who replaced Daphne Laurel?”d8fa1b6e40a75ec1
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“I’ve heard rumors that they’ve been seen together before, so I guess it was true!”84d9e8afecb0e43c
James had 5f0806a472 brought Bella c632078809 to the bb8ee821dd New Year’s e0644083d2 party held 85e0d2b99c at the df42b19a92 Cheslow estate 81a4fc7e86 as his e6953c4d67 partner.8e266468b767fedb
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Most people were puzzled 5b558dea79 by James’s decision. Bella was certainly beautiful, bd2a027734 but so was Daphne, b6b6be1462 and when it came a2724fd74b to family status, the c38d603fc1 Listerwell barony couldn’t compare caf12b2ce0 to the Laurel earldom.466e568e6c0409d6
But it was clear 3c94e1fbe1 that James was completely d46b772c4d infatuated with Bella.9a3105f2ecb1f58d
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“It looks like the Earl of Cheslow has lost to his son. Well, there’s no parent who can win against their child.”e17d64be0f355bb5
“And considering it’s Bella Listerwell, I suppose it makes sense. It’s not like there aren’t plenty of men who would be jealous of James.”af927dbdda840f0b
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“Still, bringing Lady Listerwell as his date right after breaking off the engagement with Lady Laurel—it’s a bit much, don’t you think? What about poor Daphne?”387f7aa8657afbc0
Some people sympathized with c7c7a74364 Daphne, while others understood be24a1c13d James’s actions. At the 9a41909f5b same time, 14483957b0 everyone found c7683becec Bella’s involvement 5b8810eb6b surprising. No matter 33c054d25e how much effbfe7db1 James had a5970adefc pursued her, 3768c9ee06 accepting the 76a040f763 proposal of 0395f1e805 another woman’s 8c42e3d780 fiancé didn’t 4fc1b4bb32 fit with 70544ed2a0 Bella’s angelic ebe8dc8b17 image.e0a4ca1276695203
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“Fools,” Bella thought, smiling sweetly at Daphne’s friends, who were glaring at her with icy looks. Their expressions only hardened with anger, but to Bella, it was just an amusing sight.1c38b622c5fc2165
“Another letter from Daphne. I didn’t realize she was so obsessive.”d3edc4ac2db8ab55
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Even yesterday, e5a7da2f52 James showed 0d97a1e697 Bella yet 45092c474e another letter de823fb443 from Daphne 51e0b71651 with a 7ce0335a47 tone of a7fb77a48a annoyance.8920358f5d2d6d68