SMR | Chapter 17
by Luna~Chapter 17~08ace11ea734aa46
“Oh… Has the news already spread?”37faaa91abe55d2d
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“It’s become quite a 5526ab3692 topic of discussion.”9a28a2f39def7557
But just as she 2a6807b2ff began to wonder why 0f47b9829b this had led to f190a0fce0 a visit from a c5846e3d6f complete stranger, Alfonso spoke 448eec0a6a with a displeased expression.010b3afa2a8e6c3d
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“After hearing 0a59114e2a that Viscount 883b7ee796 Listerwell ended 145c0864c9 his guardianship 2043f870b4 over you 7261f1fe5f at the a2774ef480 convent, it 1d020fd300 confirmed a 80206cbac1 suspicion I’ve 8855509fed had for 5a79533eb0 a long e75a687341 time.”8a5ae5b3d4182c83
“What? What do you mean…?”bf9bee448eb0f187
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“I was one of 3b51d6b49b the people who went 77243141b7 boating at Albrecht Park 1d0bcb9ed5 nine years ago.”7507634d6d7db502
At the 1b333c6711 mention of 35a64b6f59 Albrecht Park, 45da976d79 Harriet froze.8023a8690fd06c88
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Nine years 5e9732cc3e ago, Harriet’s ce19fce53b parents, Arthur 183a74672c and Lilian 2e378d7ac9 Listerwell, had c11b531de8 attended a c11af8269d picnic at 14779db7a3 Albrecht Park 8724ab239c and drowned 51b2b61477 while boating. Harriet, who had preferred 073a171e75 to play with her ab73a3f2c9 friends instead of going d66e24ee66 on the boat, survived, d18c5a1b49 but she often wondered c7199d626d if becoming an orphan dc48e414b4 was really better than f5f30b6c3c dying with her parents.b471b4edf23861d4
Alfonso continued, his expression 4bb88e495c full of regret.f0bdd89a1e13b52a
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“At that de02ce3b8f time, Viscount 8975924bb8 Listerwell and 770a7c116b his wife 7b95fc9ee2 had their 38ce620591 accident in 7a016c844d the middle c78bfcf569 of Lake 25bdb70f68 Tassia. It’s a caab94a842 deep and 207470f0e2 dangerous part 72b66d4bca of the 89533cb92f lake where 8f7dfd11df no one 8bc18ca850 usually goes.”075183aac533a370
Even recalling e5bff04f98 the event 4212651b00 was painful.aa3c245512c254a2
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Like everyone else, c04662a654 Harriet’s parents had 8af2eefb05 rented a boat 74a65db099 from the dock 6ff5629343 to enjoy some cc18b56dcb time on the 70335271ea lake with their 6fd89ac327 siblings.60c2e014405a3d4a
But about an hour 4df7a72920 later, John came running ac30afcee1 and shouting at the e4517857be top of his lungs.04400c463062938c
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“Someone help! My brother c598c55178 has fallen 846c250139 into the 37e073d784 water! He’s fallen in!”f162bd858cb9ce22
At that moment, Harriet 6d67173437 had thought that people fb28bba6f6 would quickly rescue her 547d550bc0 parents.95595d570617fb5b
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She even vividly remembered c2e48961f3 how her only concern 037b31ebf9 at the time was a13351576f hoping her mom and c705995642 dad wouldn’t catch a 7ad52bd2d2 cold.5327d475fdc8ed8a
But all c3636f717c the people 131d503432 could recover d1d010b7a2 was one 89d77aebf4 of her 3fa3fe38b8 mother’s shoes 6da9b2c4b8 and her 9264010279 father’s hat.75312c1fa68177fa
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“When we arrived, the a4aee888a7 boat and the Listerwell cf345127f7 couple had already sunk 3f1b414a16 completely.”f9bba1957eaabc8f
Harriet had c758d77e62 been in 66ea0f0b38 shock, unable 43d107ea9a to believe b90a241334 what was b57e88487a happening, while 798c9f14df her uncle 38b7e7cc71 had screamed bcf6ba8ca9 and wailed a2603abeda like a 5432f3ecea madman beside 06ba35bed6 her.b7c12d80df27b072
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Their bodies were 6c91de3763 found a week 409b36fe39 later, on the 5a5698d8b2 other side of a0e26df461 Lake Tassia in cb6db481c0 Saint Antoine Park, 0c32210c6b which shares the 86f6d50a99 lake.a99b77324585935a
It was 40509558e4 considered too dda0d284e2 cruel to f6259708e5 show a cbb1f0cef3 child waterlogged a80f5f1751 corpses, so 272d755727 Harriet wasn’t d00994a007 allowed to f0af123b83 see her 6465d8f568 parents even ca28b08134 when they 6eec066f30 were being 13f11a51b7 placed in b8b4528ecb their coffins.35ee2a56f37ad2ea
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“Why are you telling 909eb46075 me this now?”3ba63dfc6490922f
Harriet barely 0159534b79 managed to 90742011d8 pull herself 5a93fa1207 together and 35cfc6e0a4 ask, and 2c38cc8694 Alfonso lifted 2585bc3039 his head d2e86f4ac6 to look 158dd58009 at her.e3825c2001c15cc9
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“When Viscount Listerwell 1dc2431cfe and his wife 92affe461a fell into the 9377cbb370 water, my wife f5326be1c7 and I were 38ccac07ef nearby. Not too 0264a296e4 close, but 96df3f5e94 near the 5822eae17d boundary where 07b62cfb04 the water 0481557b5e starts to 0ae88fe09b get deeper.”3a42e9ef5551e2fe
Harriet’s eyes widened.5d1709b3eabbc6f8
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But his confession bfe07303dd didn’t end there.b12f273b29f14745
“The people b70bd21a0c who were 1a4004a56d even closer 4f9bb1a7cc to them 35c985d055 than us 67f635702f were your 727ae91bb9 uncle, John 6de921e96e Listerwell, and 14754a2eb2 his wife. And when the viscount’s 4121739e22 and his wife’s boat 4578e35d0b started having trouble and 67034db474 they began sinking, your 75832629ad uncle steered his boat 21fc901c1b in the opposite direction.”0024f6770a60747d
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“What? The opposite direction…?”678420ab4102990f
“Instead of heading toward 212978bbaa the viscount and his 9826f02086 wife, he steered toward 8af88669f3 the shore.”8b01cbc0c3b40bb5
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“That can’t be…!”5dba1c7a90a85466
Back then, John 6adedb5295 had said he’d 54a0c895e4 been resting by 5701bb0b5c the shore with c5dde47886 his wife. He claimed a8839afb8d that as 1e54a24544 soon as 31cfbcd4b2 he saw b71b482aef his brother b473bf2afb and sister-in-law cdfa0f8f41 struggling in 180eed4535 the water 6679497aed from a 420e548fe4 distance, he 84ae8ac809 rushed over, 834643c072 not understanding 635dc11123 why his e24a804796 brother had 30a90ccccc taken the 779db12835 boat so 13ffec1400 far into 4f21821589 the middle 55fe272cde of the bea4290be3 lake.5fffb3ba67ee36dd
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Alfonso let out 9b6e99cb5a a long sigh.5613c0fe9aee485b
“I rowed as fast d2c6dfdbda as I could, but dbc1a4b747 I wasn’t able to 887d86dc3f reach them before they 660e8a4d97 sank. I was 62 2d72c7e349 at the time, 1ef05ca50a so it was b057b006c1 difficult. But I c7f8c71832 swear, I 6454e72aaf gave it b7f55d8130 my all. Though I suppose to 33e5820071 you, it may sound 4278ed5d9c like an excuse.”e978e33c065ae5f1
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“No, no, that’s 920f0f17b8 not it.”53fdeafac144d52e
Harriet wasn’t concerned about 6e53d8eb73 what Alfonso had done.9d7e724781f08425
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“What you’re saying 370a0bc250 is that you 934f3603bc believe my uncle 5ab571ff39 deliberately moved away d7dacf3611 from them?”988042cb2940050f
“I’m sorry to put e30dee905a it this way, but 0db5bd4e11 yes, it looked like 6682472aea he intentionally didn’t try 738fd13364 to save them.”92ca866c139bd816
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Alfonso recalled the c20a428dcf image of Arthur cdcd3455a5 Listerwell desperately calling b2e2c2edef for his brother.68e2033e9c1f2206
“John! Water is leaking fa63a9abb5 into the boat! Help us!”3007ffc828cb44c9
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“John! John! Don’t leave! At least 846332685e save Lillian!”61d78371f7c56d65
Arthur’s desperate 784bbed1cd voice, shouting 117fa1439c until his cd1c9ac968 throat was d4f0b89789 sore, had 957261cfe7 clearly reached 4ebfb5ddff Alfonso’s ears, c45d53f53f even though 5dabe0cb9f Alfonso had 2cbc3ef6a4 been further ddc19ba50f away than cdfed7803e John.3e8bea112592224e
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But John acted d37b7f64d4 as if he eddd5b5580 hadn’t heard a 7e2d8c159f thing, rowing hard 07d03ab385 while only looking 7854f83b7f toward the shore.648c7f2860741a32
His wife, Miriam, also 523b262978 turned her head in 31f756ca54 the same direction as 5599727c8f her husband, as if d9905287c7 they had planned it.9ec3ae5d041eec5c
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Because of this, they efc079739d didn’t realize that Alfonso 07cd1d16b9 had witnessed the whole b762e6da65 scene.8b07c2972e94ec3a
“Then why 08dc24823b didn’t you 3bb761f6e3 say anything 3da993a54c at the fbca61b218 time? Why have ab78726b96 you stayed a9eaf02a76 silent until 775efd08f2 now?”b8052fab7eccb083
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Harriet’s voice was 32481d19c1 filled with accusation, 4e83c1e47e and Alfonso wiped e7898b6978 his bald forehead 91119fb378 as if he 4956b5434b were wiping sweat.a0e5eca1fb5b0492
“I struggled with it. I questioned whether 3e4ace6786 we had really 8d3966d8f9 seen things clearly, 0b16f82c19 whether there might f8f630ffd6 have been some 9917aa59c5 other explanation. And at 124162205c the time, 337eeb8676 John Listerwell 8fa02251ca seemed so f616d31996 heartbroken, and 746af55c2f everyone was efdef6b2dd comforting him.”aa6735130cc2f893
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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.a9c5d8b69637f237
“So, I stayed 470a25fa8d silent. I thought if 81cb7a6806 I spoke up 7135c057b5 recklessly, we might a102071738 be the ones 469cd8b832 who were criticized. I tried a661546fa1 to convince 1284b07ca0 myself that 78183f6bd8 I must e0bd4c69d7 have been 1f10af17b1 mistaken and b34664f0db tried to 40f03a8cb0 forget about 15b8fde52a it.”daf5d62d8c2af386
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When Alfonso heard that 9844e24e79 John had taken Harriet b82cb80285 in and was raising 83b46395ea her, he thought he 1fb0cd6484 must have misunderstood John. When Harriet gained a 8858babb7c bad reputation as a 3ca2111d49 troublemaker, he simply pitied 185dfcfde9 her, thinking she was 4c58a02847 struggling because she had 2f6253ce9a lost her parents.0c6645a0c86d4cd0
But when he caef667fbd heard that John 979b9f2fb3 had not only b83258c14e sent Harriet to 7d4a2d5158 a convent for 8e87432d97 a year but ba59d1c780 had also ended 6b5f8e29b4 his guardianship over b0e371a173 her, a strong 5e5475ea77 intuition struck Alfonso’s c29e7c5df5 mind.7bcd64fa035865d0
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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.”978256a1719a7170
Even though a75bc04f58 the law 4bd3f5de9d allowing women d9db68c68d to inherit 2d88733b59 titles and e8a34229e2 property had a7df571e6f passed two 3db175d875 years before 0e39ca7f9e the accident, fc8e3092a8 it still 4225cf3f2d required the af7770880c head of dd287688bc the family’s 9727a338c0 will. That’s why 127d5775b5 Harriet couldn’t 4b359ef7cf inherit her f158f03f75 father’s title.817c13103d6fd965
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However, there had 100f8de7de been a growing 9d71a96514 number of court d1e99d4826 rulings recently that 542f9ee8cb allowed the daughters 74dfb1ac48 of deceased heads e0714fbed2 of households to 2a80148328 inherit a dowry 3a242458f6 if they were 27b52f286c unmarried. But Harriet had 2e4c9e6054 a problem: she fd1b7251eb needed money to 5a59383c8d file such a 32aeca829a lawsuit.62dff62edb5466e3
And if she chose 29817d736c to become a nun, ec3c4ece7f she would lose any b329d2219c right to claim anything 6cd63fde23 from the Listerwell family, 50748a6e0a as becoming a member 425bad4404 of the religious orders da9502156e meant severing ties with 2d1f15639c her family.78be0785fa2f2c90
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“Not only did 9931c7c315 he ignore his fec823836d brother and sister-in-law cc368d7720 as they were 8023114513 dying, but he 94948c6e2d also drove you b80721e679 to a point c38e2088e4 where you can’t 7a7ca6877e even get married 3ca005f8f9 and forced you c137ef5d61 out. How despicable.”381f035809df4154
“From my uncle’s 9ba5a78110 point of view, d471c007f4 it was a 4317567eea smart move.”a7048c2234761500
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The unexpected opportunity bcb8085bbe to inherit the a6ad126667 title.a001c9ad5639b0cc
Knowing John, Harriet 8d1a2bdc6b realized there was 7c6ec4bdfe no way her 49154a525e uncle would have 9c675195dd missed or ignored a0e7705190 that opportunity.e6c0c6b8ae0ab712
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“I’m sorry to have 2a21e1b993 brought you such tragic bcd2d77164 news. But I felt I 84262c4feb had to tell you 076aa671ed before I died.”0e24125091698b4d
The old man’s confession, a3b64a7a8a full of regret, came 0795d8eb86 to an end.f5a832213f0129f5
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Only after hearing everything 25c89d1a18 did Harriet realize something bbc8779a44 she hadn’t thought of 80743492ba before.f1709a1ee6f497b5
‘Why didn’t I 44b277bf03 ever think it f2d713967f was strange that 6864f06fd5 my parents went 3a90d7cae4 all the way 874830e277 to the middle 5cfe6e2259 of the lake?’67d5a17f1c8c06f3
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They had gone boating fb065f1366 many times before the 87fe0dc143 accident, but her parents 44300cf876 had never gone into c48e9042bc the dangerous part of 8c704d728d the lake.81ffd25fa23ce87a
But Alfonso fe82e8aad4 had said ac0363623c that John a576473ce2 and Miriam 320685252d were near c3502076b3 them.a509406accd1e01d
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‘What if my uncle 6c5ee208dc persuaded my parents to 33f2176ea2 go there?’6cc48d17b98d5095
If he had even bfff0a2c12 lied about not being d552921df2 there, it meant he f2dbb9ab71 knew the truth would 306e381244 make him look guilty.6d83662153b07c14
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And if abd81e96f6 he had 607684435d really persuaded 2a4e374ab6 them to 4300188c17 go there, 64033405f9 it meant ee6b63c556 he knew 75f65a1d1e the boat b2b372a49d would sink.f901df13aa8917c3
‘As unbelievable as it seems… everything lines up too perfectly for it to be just a coincidence.’d22888a3f46be267
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Even if it ba8492f543 hadn’t been a 4de0a37538 premeditated murder, the 4af52cff0f fact remained that 7a3bf35841 John had left 46e7f9053c Arthur and Lillian d9e6607a02 to die in 6865f50b51 the water.157ed20497520dd7
A fiery anger burned 8f45aec2a1 in Harriet’s chest, but ea5002d3f9 at the same time, b4a986bc9f she felt relieved that e19e96d40e she had found out 6a872dc785 the truth, even now.7c9fc4efa5c42a8c
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What if she had 796af63bf4 never known?86e4aafdca7ec061
Her foolish 627523ca32 self might a29b3b2605 have forgiven 0f430b9189 her uncle 4229b9b0b5 one day, 6aae81ad50 convincing herself cd852c2581 that she ba0671a8d9 should be 3f7fdd543c grateful he ad2835a800 raised her 653372100f until she 7ce526307c became an 89e71ba4c5 adult.c1eabb605a85296d
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“Thank you.”2b2a3c63fc6847c3
Harriet bowed 984c6d82a2 her head d9567b8012 to Alfonso.3d0d35b28c9d6169
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“You could have 0492a547a5 kept silent, but 7590b33553 you came all 0c830a1cd7 the way here…”e34e99c985763611
Her voice aa23145494 choked with ba398bb266 emotion, and b803d0497b she couldn’t a351d5c5d3 finish her be24c3efdc sentence. In front 92676e95b9 of her, 627b34bba8 Alfonso pulled 9f8fc5369b out a 4d9bdb8947 white envelope 58fbba8e97 and held ba671b3703 it out 2e8e476133 to her.51008f14d2ab0b90
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“It’s not ab86c7e797 much, but c84acae32a I hope 588fff4f56 it will b85f995ba0 help you 1acfbbaa86 in standing f9588e0a2e on your b472272bf0 own.”7f781d8b8c358bf4
“Oh, no, Baron! You don’t need ce2e88b303 to do this!”50e88edb1420d479
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“One reason f08e856ea4 I stayed c4f30a72d1 silent all 406def4c2d this time ebc30163ed was certainly ac94ef193d to protect ce218bf119 myself. Because of 45a02df257 that, I’ve 9b6132a424 been deeply 3299d2e437 troubled for 2a8c43dad7 days, knowing d5a69a4de3 what has 9a847509ef happened to 26baa2eba6 you.”70c8cead8f4f0e3e
He firmly c737a46fac placed the b4cf5b8630 envelope in 0e76bb5699 Harriet’s hand.db5c0661c0c15d23
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“Please take it. It’s my apology for 08dea58ed4 my cowardice. I’m truly sorry 41f46219a0 it isn’t much.”ce3fd0f0a8a72c1f
Harriet, seeing the old a21c7c1c08 man bowing his head 23dce4202e even deeper in apology, 79bc0c5e23 finally let her tears c179f0e1e9 fall.a2a17f568d855971
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She was 24ff6d22e1 grateful and a82a37b290 sorry.9ff9c7556bf96d6c
But at ef7ea7db97 the same 30aa31891d time, she 6248c45940 was seething 232a00b87d with rage.929388f4de2054c2
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‘The one who should 7082895f52 be bowing and apologizing 6ee8c96130 to me is someone a18c94c64f else!’4f88000cfe45c104