SMR | Chapter 17
by Luna~Chapter 17~ba744d9cd2a32713
“Oh… Has the news already spread?”fccdfc0b5af4ed7a
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“It’s become quite c75fb24ad3 a topic of d3683b4038 discussion.”62ced3d378af2652
But just 9dcfe6b941 as she f7c478e269 began to eca5c13596 wonder why da823e5e04 this had 63cecff3e6 led to d17a4c4142 a visit 7ce5c5cd0e from a 1729f20701 complete stranger, c5da9b03ab Alfonso spoke c40323813a with a 8c48a07c8a displeased expression.6604caf1786bd88f
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“After hearing 38cfbde61e that Viscount 138d9eb0a0 Listerwell ended 5a32c8eb99 his guardianship 658f17f11c over you e4850d07c9 at the d338cc92a8 convent, it 6a32bb971e confirmed a 3657e9115c suspicion I’ve 743b1c2025 had for 24ac3340f4 a long 3baf6282d1 time.”e662e0027042d20c
“What? What do you mean…?”9525cba1c497f02d
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“I was one of d452fb15f9 the people who went 14f9c21f8e boating at Albrecht Park 0855958ea5 nine years ago.”ae07369e7ee6dc09
At the mention of 73623416a6 Albrecht Park, Harriet froze.75cf6085b6db84f5
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Nine years ago, Harriet’s 908a6bb367 parents, Arthur and Lilian 46b95677ee Listerwell, had attended a 8c92323635 picnic at Albrecht Park 3178cb1eef and drowned while boating. Harriet, who 3a22710a7a had preferred b9275fadea to play a502c147c5 with her 917bd8873f friends instead eed38f2080 of going 1a8a826c4a on the 562d3db683 boat, survived, 4299cbfe42 but she dfb6eb8ada often wondered da1d2294e6 if becoming 3d4332119c an orphan 0740682ab1 was really 073d32ac09 better than 312ac032c4 dying with 684c7dd283 her parents.29fd5ffafdb88642
Alfonso continued, 68db5d47d4 his expression ad4f7fc7fb full of cf463940f2 regret.cb28f52355e881ff
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“At that time, 3be4dcc56d Viscount Listerwell and 67baa365fb his wife had 29ca9cbf52 their accident in caf74a7784 the middle of d3f69aa147 Lake Tassia. It’s a deep 2cf1722753 and dangerous part 8747eb0ef1 of the lake ee2b4d1c90 where no one a02d96e295 usually goes.”87171ac7d0740947
Even recalling the event 9c2bc9387a was painful.4d2cb058e476245c
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Like everyone else, 2d52aa6828 Harriet’s parents had 032858dca3 rented a boat 8c27dd3ff2 from the dock afdc572e3d to enjoy some 5f392a2cc3 time on the 57dd62984c lake with their 4903c6a4de siblings.7b00dac2a3963ab2
But about an 2bdcbc0640 hour later, John 78ae41c2e6 came running and d9f7a43c49 shouting at the ad10bc8a76 top of his 80ea702066 lungs.f741369a4635e92a
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“Someone help! My brother has fallen f35148ca09 into the water! He’s fallen in!”f7a246a775dc3d8c
At that moment, ce0b801e87 Harriet had thought 7a84b735fc that people would d6ef068853 quickly rescue her 0e4f428cea parents.123ca59d54832667
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She even vividly 7bc7dae461 remembered how her 5f2b222762 only concern at 9f148576bc the time was 5630a063aa hoping her mom 687344aa05 and dad wouldn’t e80092859f catch a cold.0a7a7c28871c36f6
But all a642d5f8b9 the people d877c8c2db could recover 61dfb81b08 was one f3de9b3b2e of her 3d898b63ae mother’s shoes 41c99046de and her 199bd40608 father’s hat.30e0078bf79be0e8
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“When we arrived, the 50cb1c2656 boat and the Listerwell 382e31ac39 couple had already sunk 0dbe9f987b completely.”9f2eaa6dfc57c373
Harriet had 98aa7e5f62 been in 5cac7eb49b shock, unable 8c36632666 to believe de90d6fa71 what was 2178a80238 happening, while 894ee2b66a her uncle d8bd3bf96f had screamed 25010b087c and wailed fd09eb5f38 like a 55fcfb6a98 madman beside 93ebb64486 her.a8f3763191b64c84
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Their bodies were found 21d893b77e a week later, on a1f6828c35 the other side of c94f728331 Lake Tassia in Saint 16598b2f20 Antoine Park, which shares 351bdc23ec the lake.f510c2661c86411f
It was considered too 1c80c16343 cruel to show a 0e79c1a3e1 child waterlogged corpses, so d3479570c7 Harriet wasn’t allowed to d4d98a1ddd see her parents even 7182e45eef when they were being 84fe7642ae placed in their coffins.766afebdfb08341e
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“Why are you d5c2aafbd9 telling me this c188838a20 now?”a802119449e0df8d
Harriet barely fd3aaf6871 managed to c2ee246da2 pull herself 1f71c985bf together and f810ef8c88 ask, and c018c1f55d Alfonso lifted e3ee20b001 his head 970da80ec7 to look 22f7b3258f at her.f98eebefd8f75d3a
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“When Viscount Listerwell and 7dcf36ea8a his wife fell into 12db7892b0 the water, my wife 1b71e5fd12 and I were nearby. Not too close, but e3399a5782 near the boundary where 6a2cb3b7ca the water starts to 3d5d7df9f0 get deeper.”206a00481aadf3d6
Harriet’s eyes widened.8899c9d8726a935c
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But his confession fa59f43659 didn’t end there.fd7ff5068b5406a0
“The people who 9d69110918 were even closer b428f2a4d0 to them than abca55abc8 us were your ccbd96b844 uncle, John Listerwell, 841d7154a8 and his wife. And when a1346f83b8 the viscount’s de3d30f8e8 and his e1273c934b wife’s boat 326b633cbf started having a426fedf0f trouble and 4b97c189a7 they began 3cd4c1cf86 sinking, your f8216a9408 uncle steered 71adde965a his boat f4491f0ec1 in the 3867cf156a opposite direction.”405ed7ffef5bb18f
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“What? The opposite direction…?”46dc1f076fe69692
“Instead of ee12935ecc heading toward c223fab8a6 the viscount 22a94ba217 and his 43084f9235 wife, he 9b323eaa6a steered toward 894c45a4e6 the shore.”c812f93eb48b2b74
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“That can’t be…!”0886baaace3ce383
Back then, 6cab3aee4d John had c4fbfe98ab said he’d 8ece07a7d9 been resting d073b4716f by the 6243053af6 shore with 8aa6a4445a his wife. He claimed that as 2074510caf soon as he saw 3cedec5693 his brother and sister-in-law d1b3eab37b struggling in the water e2e4f9e72f from a distance, he 2209136ee0 rushed over, not understanding 450df83c78 why his brother had ddff80836b taken the boat so f47885b468 far into the middle 60d8751975 of the lake.d799b6d0a17ebec2
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Alfonso let out a 75fdca8098 long sigh.bc536b936ebd0591
“I rowed cb86eef7c9 as fast 9c445f19ea as I 7ba235d95e could, but d76fdf239d I wasn’t 3e372388cd able to 830e258042 reach them 564e28ce46 before they 6a082a7e06 sank. I was 62 3db9e50057 at the time, 8318325e46 so it was 8e75a80590 difficult. But I swear, d5402f9f08 I gave it 13db49d1cc my all. Though I 643e619d1f suppose to f31a2b0c09 you, it cd2233b9e9 may sound 8bf83b6e89 like an 4e9f5c413f excuse.”39604529a0ebaa13
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“No, no, 43d0a05b91 that’s not d71d4f5ad7 it.”5d772594f1b09587
Harriet wasn’t concerned db5d17ae7a about what Alfonso a8f2455a2f had done.3f6d4a86d8193acf
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“What you’re saying is 613b029a0a that you believe my f486a8e116 uncle deliberately moved away c6cb3dea09 from them?”6e6dab74ae972f77
“I’m sorry 3b92bb1ace to put 3abe404a03 it this 7baad13523 way, but 6f9f5814c0 yes, it 26516e843d looked like 4ac31cafa5 he intentionally 4086669558 didn’t try 6af733ee89 to save d96ddb3025 them.”77b8685ca33e4b0a
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Alfonso recalled e8afc8021d the image 080c3af467 of Arthur 26045b1e98 Listerwell desperately 303e3cee95 calling for 3f36eb5c8c his brother.7e66423186f1c477
“John! Water is leaking into 3f51b809aa the boat! Help us!”f0a3cb9ea8ea00c8
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“John! John! Don’t leave! At least save c4a021f571 Lillian!”7c4eea54562aede2
Arthur’s desperate voice, shouting a6de8a61b5 until his throat was e2b12f9f1a sore, had clearly reached 5ebe5bfa0b Alfonso’s ears, even though 87f44724b9 Alfonso had been further 4394542cc1 away than John.ab3f6d7ab29dab82
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But John acted as c94da3e49e if he hadn’t heard a46d9376fa a thing, rowing hard 2712b9016a while only looking toward 2ca2ffc8f8 the shore.86b79199101d150c
His wife, 3ef8d294df Miriam, also bc5a02eebb turned her 3c1ef1525b head in 0f7b388b61 the same 7623c51e03 direction as 2f66991ef3 her husband, 380982def4 as if 35cfe5e1a1 they had dc518a244d planned it.34cbb87b29669468
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Because of this, bacbde22a1 they didn’t realize 5199beb75d that Alfonso had f7b4f807f8 witnessed the whole 3fc6bcb92f scene.3ae546a2fc6fb508
“Then why 3dbcdf651e didn’t you 98a1e9de87 say anything 1121acb08b at the b84d0b9275 time? Why have 140d56afa2 you stayed 93988272a3 silent until 0efb97058d now?”5e386ac430b10e86
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Harriet’s voice was filled 7997721cb9 with accusation, and Alfonso 072b5faad5 wiped his bald forehead 8fa885252d as if he were 666f55e2db wiping sweat.d1c03aab74db5401
“I struggled with it. I questioned whether we ae1f8d3335 had really seen things 808b3103eb clearly, whether there might 8be5121864 have been some other a00ef173fb explanation. And at the e4d4ae21e7 time, John Listerwell 670c8285ad seemed so heartbroken, 37ee3646ad and everyone was d914b048e9 comforting him.”4ce4fefbd3a8e8dd
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Harriet understood what he meant. Even she had thought that her uncle seemed more devastated by her parents’ deaths than she was.906a23888fd99e23
“So, I 399ff34f03 stayed silent. I thought 1225f4f2d8 if I df55269d5d spoke up 9b44bb8e58 recklessly, we 7665a248b3 might be ce656eeba8 the ones 1700f07b6f who were d2a9e42835 criticized. I tried to convince a44ea6b9ab myself that I must 5acceacb1a have been mistaken and 3a2b59a487 tried to forget about c5a65bcbc4 it.”df7ee12b6b8f021a
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When Alfonso heard that 621a356ae0 John had taken Harriet 8d7dba48ec in and was raising 5e0e1bc64a her, he thought he a32c4c466f must have misunderstood John. When Harriet gained f28315ce54 a bad reputation 5b69c0ab7b as a troublemaker, ba3f1a4712 he simply pitied 483a20a740 her, thinking she e7a84d9882 was struggling because 249fef6bcd she had lost 7809343be1 her parents.544c16b1d762af54
But when he heard 0754f01425 that John had not 0766a9d991 only sent Harriet to fa196f4302 a convent for a 810c71405a year but had also 5f532a325d ended his guardianship over a113826494 her, a strong intuition 8106443302 struck Alfonso’s mind.94390030c3877451
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“I don’t want to believe that your uncle intentionally damaged the boat. But I do suspect that when your parents were on the verge of death, he decided to take over the family. Cutting off his guardianship of you after leaving you at the convent… that seems like the final step of his plan.”958ebb8a56061360
Even though the law a84f200fc5 allowing women to inherit 7541d7d830 titles and property had 6a67733989 passed two years before f40b022efe the accident, it still 2283015831 required the head of 76967cd121 the family’s will. That’s why Harriet a89ed8cd41 couldn’t inherit her 0490466910 father’s title.2c464ba62a264ac5
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However, there had dedefa9a5f been a growing 75b653968d number of court 35a850b295 rulings recently that 9a2c512dc1 allowed the daughters 7edb37cdf9 of deceased heads 97b5e2884d of households to 889eccdbdb inherit a dowry ed2668b6e6 if they were 24e99ef3e5 unmarried. But Harriet had a 75f081b5ef problem: she needed money f29e3b6513 to file such a 039980ddb2 lawsuit.4ad8a2dfc56639ea
And if bacb3ef1b6 she chose 140166eb6c to become 4edd4ccb57 a nun, f09539ca64 she would ae965a8c27 lose any 5a71f57633 right to 10f03a7509 claim anything 39ae18d412 from the dbba5076d1 Listerwell family, 8a71197beb as becoming 9fd476ac82 a member 92c9083ce7 of the 8ee0d647d4 religious orders 49b27036a2 meant severing 4f650e9eab ties with 7da1b33567 her family.dad26e937899b843
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“Not only did 48c4acf340 he ignore his 1a1676e364 brother and sister-in-law c33cd76b17 as they were e36e7bbe61 dying, but he be605708da also drove you de37ab6646 to a point 52034403ec where you can’t 11d2d84109 even get married 12518913cb and forced you 11e1c1b490 out. How despicable.”c131640619297731
“From my uncle’s 4c5a1672f8 point of view, 9952488ecf it was a 58dd023eb6 smart move.”d8b3de3c6d1290df
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The unexpected opportunity f3e13066bc to inherit the 9bdd9016d5 title.6a3ab86363821d1c
Knowing John, Harriet 93dc3884bc realized there was 040be6d63c no way her fc9fdc4823 uncle would have 3665a1c16c missed or ignored 9769935267 that opportunity.08b50db3d468ed2b
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“I’m sorry to have 76b985b591 brought you such tragic ce19bf6673 news. But I f65960a770 felt I 2e87c0d3a0 had to 8411b92b6e tell you 6affa6bec4 before I fc51825de5 died.”8fc2ba1dcf37d731
The old man’s cc83fd7427 confession, full of 0dda2c957b regret, came to 6411d84176 an end.00d5a2859ea0b554
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Only after 0cfa44dcc4 hearing everything c8dea68b46 did Harriet 4affd6593c realize something f2aabec3b5 she hadn’t 0e7c1d9a5e thought of a3212e19c0 before.0958c7d1b06442ec
‘Why didn’t I ever 601685362e think it was strange faf6f12542 that my parents went 6389770a4f all the way to 27ef4ba0e3 the middle of the 071804f4c8 lake?’dceb402225cc51a3
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They had gone boating 5fd5a06f4b many times before the c8400bb286 accident, but her parents f4e4858e84 had never gone into aca8d258a2 the dangerous part of 0bafa77b43 the lake.935ac01f1ec09692
But Alfonso had b0cff1320f said that John 5a7e51c0e1 and Miriam were b51bf1a3a0 near them.151b458db1f647ff
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‘What if my bfefe39ed0 uncle persuaded my 615db849d5 parents to go 93cb8551d0 there?’939c578c920f54f6
If he had even 310686b884 lied about not being c40a396a92 there, it meant he b2fcd0eb9e knew the truth would 05cc2a06f8 make him look guilty.c5161a38c5c9f67d
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And if he a0b278e26c had really persuaded 7af767c1bb them to go 1a369abf85 there, it meant 6c06c2a4df he knew the 85f53e6c01 boat would sink.547570d0c23857d3
‘As unbelievable as it seems… everything lines up too perfectly for it to be just a coincidence.’f7f3d35667991aa2
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Even if it cfa446b9b1 hadn’t been a ca5e1e7873 premeditated murder, the 66f0c8cbfc fact remained that 766b76e0da John had left 4a0ea28290 Arthur and Lillian 04c01b7dbc to die in 08ceb9aee8 the water.1ff47b023f57426b
A fiery 55e4fbc3cb anger burned 48bd9ad47f in Harriet’s 7f62a57724 chest, but 7acf423296 at the d071a12f3d same time, 64540e1cb1 she felt e71fc520bc relieved that 92a57730b9 she had 4b8705e2b3 found out ae597dba97 the truth, 475edf9c16 even now.5a2de104761a8eb1
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What if she had c54bb8fa5d never known?c2bd77be2298feb9
Her foolish self 045126f37e might have forgiven 62a33bb0e7 her uncle one ff1b1c8546 day, convincing herself b0ef9f9155 that she should 04f5ccf2b8 be grateful he 58788183fe raised her until 14cba75633 she became an 60979b1e2f adult.7127319a4f9cc25b
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“Thank you.”fae02624cd1ec442
Harriet bowed 9cc2716e47 her head 97d68ba688 to Alfonso.49e8b6103f7fcc02
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“You could 167e887b11 have kept 42e2236a5d silent, but a3d7a3c975 you came 8e903253e8 all the 38c8f030bc way here…”3541de7fcde36fb6
Her voice choked with 9fcb788791 emotion, and she couldn’t cd96fd2f51 finish her sentence. In front of her, 16c5428fb7 Alfonso pulled out a 2264509dd4 white envelope and held f252dcf7d3 it out to her.c60b5d2458043fe8
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“It’s not 2dfbf8d916 much, but 5f8d6fe89d I hope e01c28c6a8 it will 3160a694da help you d7bcd85e64 in standing 97b7303c2d on your 1cbc945784 own.”1acf3be25556e057
“Oh, no, Baron! You don’t 2024167207 need to 93133b0d25 do this!”5459c9c6efdd4dfd
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“One reason I 233ec06031 stayed silent all c2758bf334 this time was defe1cb2e7 certainly to protect 4907327d2e myself. Because of that, I’ve ceb9468fe3 been deeply troubled for 3eba987206 days, knowing what has 30426ad9f6 happened to you.”d94d27fb0380e89d
He firmly placed a4bcc9e397 the envelope in 0a68d498da Harriet’s hand.83e4140bef4a5e5f
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“Please take it. It’s my apology for dd055f114e my cowardice. I’m truly 62a597c28b sorry it ae0e14498c isn’t much.”3e00ae5be703a0dc
Harriet, seeing 0a49869f71 the old b81b196b0f man bowing b772c046bc his head d915faea59 even deeper d57b14902f in apology, 5ef5ed7028 finally let cae44a7a3b her tears b1ab67e459 fall.f65bbb750a02dc1b
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She was 1ed1baf4f1 grateful and 1dd90dd0dc sorry.db41aa78f0a92eda
But at the same b952aeef80 time, she was seething a06b8969e1 with rage.8e1b7dd90f7cfa38
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‘The one b2ba911a91 who should 78cb9ce404 be bowing 2849e2f91a and apologizing 559340d8a8 to me 947b1930d2 is someone 77bdf0061d else!’b0ff34394afeabb7