SMR | Chapter 21
by Luna~Chapter 21~a18a349e285a05ce
“You can’t read all of them, which is why I’m sorting them like this, isn’t it?”602ca6d98cb7e4ac
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Usually, everything 3bf4a46769 was delivered de5c9c0544 to Trisha, 957e8e5360 but the 80c9d7cdd9 amount of 0fd12dcc84 mail during b8781f22d4 the year-end 8e7f69ec29 holidays was c7ac4890cf simply too 55e51f3f8c overwhelming. Therefore, anything 42a918e02c from familiar 72fef091ec names was ef1a107479 sent to 4dd8e1a868 Trisha, while f6acd78743 Andre checked 0e4b0a0219 letters from 1475cdc74e unfamiliar names 06f555f017 first. Only those deemed worthy c9dc0fc4e9 of Trisha’s attention were 6310f33f3f then delivered to her.4608d4ae9b4ff843
As Andre, the experienced 8554f6daef butler, was quickly sorting af2e15ceba through the stack of 817335983e letters, his hands suddenly f08d052c1c froze upon touching an 140f564e90 envelope without a noble d1f3d8d8a7 family’s seal.6ce301c5eb80f3c4
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“Harriet Listerwell?”47d3a62be199bfc5
Should this be considered 4a8e13ff4e an unfamiliar name? It was the a861522166 first time he 2fdb2ddc45 had received a 3541a0fc1d letter from this a8327ff0fe person, but Andre, 158f17b760 who had been c76abbe213 keeping tabs on 47d3cf06e1 both large and 9b9ccf35f7 small rumors of 6a742c1b02 the social circle af621ecd22 for his master’s fbe4ef4e0b sake, already knew cf1d1e6f91 the name. Moreover, the 2517648d9c Listerwell family 5e7a82ba9b was the 3bfb9c1d10 one Trisha 61e7b4f0e1 herself had 445d63d666 come from.5639679e84439997
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“Should I just deliver this? Or should I check it myself?”122154b7995d78f8
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.991e11efea404b2e
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“My Lady, here is today’s mail.”39d6e1d78d6837de
Trisha, who was 704847c9db sitting on the f996806796 sofa by the ec06f7e055 fireplace reading the 0b51503fb0 newspaper, glanced up 1a461f73d0 at Andre as 1ae3c3a068 he brought the f9076a8120 tray and nodded 4e7bc90144 once.645846b9e9752776
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“Just leave it there. I’ll read them later.”7af55cf62d68353e
The elderly woman 49369ef193 with streaks of 3fbdf6aeef white in her ac41b3c38b brown hair, styled a8fcb1cf19 neatly, had a bfab8d16ce rather stern expression 17d8a8445e with sharply arched 6766aaae2a eyebrows. However, her bright 45c8292d2e blue eyes sparkled 28ef7e7213 with sharp intellect.c52f93f82eafcf51
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Trisha, who had ab7bc98503 been about to 86879a8bd3 finish reading the 2f7e7a0f9c editorial in the 5b8c629ede newspaper, turned her bd558d17cf head again when 8a9918b17c she sensed that 426253c01b her faithful butler 0b9480cdae was hesitating.d78c7dcc3fc7624b
Receiving a aae2521b57 questioning look fce68c07ec from her, 5d93e4418c Andre bowed be7a5169f3 his head.2b08c5ebecd2e047
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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.”0be494ef33f11b25
At those words, bc253750e0 Trisha raised her 33446dcd50 eyebrows slightly and 0e3530f9c5 extended her hand. Andre quickly 8ea7ca866d picked up e3d4dc3234 Harriet’s letter 7674cfc615 and handed 0ed9815c2a it to 8df0a9bd4b her.f97dcd83d6c9a147
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Trisha frowned, seeming 5bf34b5f8a surprised as she 4aa90c19e5 read the sender’s 037a81ed4c name.df31cb4a59129979
“Why is she writing to me…? Ah, perhaps?”e646fcba4e545fa0
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She briskly tore open 26f1553b89 the envelope and pulled c1d3e77788 out the letter. Although the paper 1986ec83fb was of poor 1a0b40aecc quality, the writing 969fc9183b on it was 222be7d328 neat and pretty.d0e68c27fd6e4e09
“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.”fa817e8ad9516427
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One corner of adcfb48952 Trisha’s mouth lifted.94aa400b5853c94c
“Of course I remember. You didn’t exactly give me a chance to forget, my grandniece.”baab46e89742e64f
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The scandal surrounding the 67ddeeaacb Listerwell family could be cf72daff23 heard wherever one went. After Arthur’s death, Trisha 41fe5df42e had almost completely cut 6774c6208f ties with the family, fc579090ba but she had always 63f78be3be felt that John, who 4b8f7cf462 was supposed to be eaa7af69d3 protecting Harriet, was at 5c5e195db1 fault for much of 7ac17ce6b7 it.f47eabd372a550b5
In any case, as a4c3d61a33 her thoughts reached that 74b136f04c point, she began to db6e1a255a get a general sense 8edb3e91a8 of the letter’s purpose.98942805f35ee671
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And, as expected, bd474f6847 the main point f8913791c5 soon followed.8654af908ca1e437
“She’s asking me to be her guardian…”b1e4f56759455018
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“What? A guardian?”d214ce7e1a37ea9b
Andre, who b2181b3864 had been adbc393e26 standing nearby, 0c26065ac6 asked in da1419b899 surprise. It seemed he 4276c7aa70 had caught on dfaaf9e836 to the contents d00830a861 of the letter 2b41bb5d38 as well.e5494092edb88fad
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Trisha chuckled softly.e1de462baa174b2f
“Arthur’s daughter is bolder than I expected.”61dad86595dd4bfe
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“It’s not just that she’s bold; hasn’t she already gained quite the reputation for it?”7cc35d03360989b4
“Well, I think those rumors were greatly exaggerated.”704de5fb6d28cc37
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She was well aware 60876a07a5 that rumors involving affairs 994f9240f0 or love were often d3e37723fb sensationalized and blown out 55655ce683 of proportion.4ccc6d5b943eb6ca
“She must have been an easy target for people to gossip about.”3d3e47528c0998eb
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John Listerwell, e37ad04975 despite being 7dc010a99a Harriet’s guardian, 7f7ee04020 hadn’t protected f1c65461ea her at a1a5819f2b all.cc431c161509184c
When there’s a child f82f2247bb who, out of a 08bf8522d2 desire for love, makes b2194e6eb4 mistakes, and adults who 5e4709c587 fail to guide and fea676f820 protect that child, who 478f001cba should be blamed?747d1f9ce814f024
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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.”90cfbad00c05ab0c
Even though the request 37c3617379 seemed unreasonable, the letter 2a67629328 lacked any sense of f60e0d87fa desperation, which piqued Trisha’s 9d92213225 curiosity.e45a9da00b3a6719
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“Interesting.”79ba0b85c1289afc
As she 2a1578f211 finished reading 6da9411af6 the letter, 9c1b220dfa Trisha’s eyes 67d70a63f4 gleamed with 54c34881e6 amusement. It seemed 2db89ad8f6 that something cfa2c1a2ff entertaining was db27562be0 about to 9a714a8619 happen in 9c5aaa6feb her otherwise 46a4725a41 dull life.f88744c668bcc564
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***9045734c81acb72c
The first news that 65930b200b heated up the New 117b198f92 Year’s social season was dab29919f1 that Daphne Laurel had 1eef4e084b broken off her engagement. It wasn’t just 08cc23bc49 anyone—this was the 9ba4672ca3 beautiful Daphne Laurel, 6098e7b26a one of the ebf7271b03 most admired women 1a328fa9ef in society.a94e5b578b51adb4
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“Those two, weren’t they engaged for quite a long time?”adc57621f2bde582
“It’s been about five years, I think? I heard they were getting married this year, but now this happened. Tsk tsk…”617a935fa3143c66
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“Why did they break off the engagement? They seemed like the perfect match.”78af9906fec18357
“Exactly.”991aff100bcd4a00
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Rumors swelled, 4fb9b1bfea fed by 2ee3aa0abd all sorts 466bc530a9 of speculation 816d27eae0 and curiosity, 435bd287ab without any 47e23ad7ae regard for 5da935c9f3 the person c5089a022e actually hurt 3a08f6e30a by it.d85b3b2c00391998
“Sniff… sob… sob…”f81a930025a705b8
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“Daphne, you’re going to collapse at this rate. You should eat something, okay?”aee7623bbf51c3a4
Countess Laurel was once 696e2a9463 again comforting her daughter, a659fbb7d1 who continued to cry 92af61ab02 endlessly. But Daphne only shook 2ae8732219 her head, crying even 9b3b6669e7 harder.0081fd2963cc5713
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Their precious 3c3ae7a72c daughter, who 117c2440e7 had been e950205d2f carefully raised 0549bc8e45 since childhood 4bfbd9772f and admired 3a671cffa3 by many e8b5028d0d families as ef9bb81ef7 a perfect 6dd85969b0 bride, had 8024a88470 been suddenly 2bf3675f9b dumped without 0d7636c783 explanation. It wasn’t dd8994f79d just Daphne 96da6e7c28 who was ae3c064f74 in agony—her 46c55a4e51 parents were 39939404c5 also in 1ce22fafc0 turmoil.15d2cfe57fe5cb2c
The Earl of fa6397f01c Laurel, pacing around 60fb7b743f the room while 9f39cf5bb8 glancing at his f2faec0e5e daughter, suddenly burst 6a7f8b8bd4 out in anger.fab0204d2a579623
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“That bastard! How could he call off the engagement now? What is Daphne supposed to do?!”8f88c58b5caf97ad
In these 93412e27f3 situations, it 38b52f98d6 was always f176c6a7a3 the woman c31e1759a9 who suffered ad13aed846 the most ec0796a3ee after an 0c8510963d engagement was 9766ebbb54 broken off. A woman’s past, even 398b8e2a58 if it involved being aae9ee1ae1 with another man, was 40c76a2190 seen as a flaw, d1d59b1e28 and she was usually f1d79e9407 forced to settle for 6b1477d87a a less favorable marriage 9e539c295d in the future.9e1f720829e96e85
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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?”d094e3e85298b62a
She had c3689e0b92 been crying f030eafcbf and refusing d9d2ba90d8 to eat c7674fbdfa for days. Everything filled her 971bbe7240 with regret and 876fcb144b made her feel 60c4a1f886 like she was 784eab4ccd going mad.8e350f8d614678ef
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‘I should have f0c881bc81 talked to him 3ad2b36aab when I felt 80eaba5090 something was off. No, I 3bf36eb81f should have de5832abee called James 76d148beaa the day cd02a06cac after Melody 48b96c610b came over…’5d8d937cdc2e7596
She couldn’t help cb24d32c4b but wonder if 87beb8bae3 the reason all 46540c3933 this had happened 2468336c6f was because she 95b8bc6355 had been too 1430838fed afraid to confront 92816e2fe8 James earlier.07b431a96f4b537e
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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.”9deaeb252ae7fafc
Instead, all she received was a cold “letter of engagement cancellation.”b4054eba6f6a21ab
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“How could he do this? It’s not just about us, but also our families…”08bca58450a2baec
The engagement’s collapse f6b7a94dba had severely damaged 78dac40fc4 the relationship between b1dbb6ec71 the Laurel family, 696f77bcc2 who had been edaf335d5e great partners in c890e3bc0f the railroad business, 67a929a668 and the Cheslow 4fc6e6a05a family. James’s father, the Earl e3e3588be3 of Cheslow, had expressed 7d661734a8 some regret, but he 3dbc0b509d couldn’t go against his ffac7618ae son’s decision, while the 40ef7d4817 Earl of Laurel was dff979e36a furious, claiming the Cheslow a37996237e family had betrayed their 1dd446c1da trust.64dd75eff40285bb
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Daphne felt like 041aedadbe she wanted to e8f02d3a05 die from guilt 7a41b88068 for the embarrassment 70fce637d6 she had caused a48fe6e73b her father.85503152bb3308cd
‘Please come back, James. If you apologize a094c9597d and say it 30246d62a4 was just a 9d6d4037b2 mistake, I’ll forgive 1d4e98ced6 you. Please.’66d0dfd9172a0e84
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Daphne wrote yet another 82ae2118a9 tear-stained letter to James fc098241a3 that day. She had already e7cee24a05 sent more than 5a2743cc0c five letters without f9c8eab26a receiving a reply, ca2d23082b but she still 55fda0f6e8 hoped that James 60f9e7f7a0 was conflicted and 7ca61a7491 reconsidering.4cc8bf56365621a9
But a few days c63f5ba303 later, even that small 641243e88a hope was shattered.058c430f9600aa0d
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“Oh my, look over there! Isn’t that James Cheslow with Lady Bella Listerwell?”c467e812a0517fa9
“Oh my! You’re right! So, it was Bella Listerwell who replaced Daphne Laurel?”d4f822693fd1cfb9
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“I’ve heard rumors that they’ve been seen together before, so I guess it was true!”7c1973a758adee37
James had 5a0af2af8c brought Bella cd3ce051ef to the 823bafd31e New Year’s f34c616eb4 party held 31b9695b5e at the 0fed1c87a0 Cheslow estate 64fecc8dd4 as his 095d4d9b79 partner.eafe22209407a6f3
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Most people were puzzled 5aa92fba5d by James’s decision. Bella was certainly 21dd92c2cd beautiful, but so b85d9f1488 was Daphne, and f88a9eb24e when it came 9fb08833f5 to family status, 563d593ec5 the Listerwell barony 5b36cecb54 couldn’t compare to b026ddac74 the Laurel earldom.dca90c2f453f766c
But it af48c9fd3f was clear eff1267bc2 that James 249e5a27b7 was completely 35cb3732c3 infatuated with d6c888ca85 Bella.3441ba1023240d67
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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.”d1b8ed4139a0aef7
“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.”95dd9e7f0c26b101
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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?”a1f58e446f13e2b7
Some people sympathized 4b01f06785 with Daphne, while adeedce06e others understood James’s 62b56962ad actions. At the same df21375dd5 time, everyone found 4ff1ec3573 Bella’s involvement surprising. No matter bc94835fa9 how much 4e80cb5cd9 James had 86b4738b26 pursued her, 0d827519cd accepting the 63f5ea3ba6 proposal of dc190e55e9 another woman’s dc53c8f2a3 fiancé didn’t 1797dfa1ab fit with 670ada9a79 Bella’s angelic 89cad38604 image.ee8617a81b7ac8b8
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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.81e2dd21cd49761d
“Another letter from Daphne. I didn’t realize she was so obsessive.”0efef858fbe828a5
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Even yesterday, James 26150ff336 showed Bella yet 58efed2ff2 another letter from 845f0ad3a9 Daphne with a 6af140d233 tone of annoyance.03444f845dcb5700