To My First Love, With Regret - 66

—The price of this apology will likely match the inheritance I received from Robert Kallas exactly.

Ethan assumed this was a trade, an offer to return the Kentrell assets he had extorted from Kallas in exchange for this document. It was the only answer that made sense to him, but Eve looked at him with the cold, disappointed expression of a teacher facing an exceptionally dull student.

—No. Selling the honor of the deceased for money is just another way to insult them.

She meant that she wasn’t using his grandfather’s reputation as bait to claw back the family fortune.

—Then why on earth are you apologizing?

—Because it is the just and courteous thing to do.

—Ah, ‘justice’ and ‘courtesy.’ I see you finally have the leisure to afford such luxuries.

Despite the sting of his sarcasm, a fire flared up inside Eve, but she didn’t let it burst out. Her expression remained unchanged. No matter how much mud this man throws, I will not let myself be stained.

He had abandoned his convictions, but Eve would keep hers. No matter how rude he became, she would maintain a minimum level of decorum. Now that she had nothing left but a brittle, skeletal sense of dignity, she clung to it all the more.

—Mr. Robinson’s situation has been a weight on my heart for a long time. I always told myself that if I ever gained the power to correct the family’s mistakes, I would. I thought you would want this, too.

Ethan was forced to nod. It was true that he had tried to seize the Duchy specifically to restore his grandfather’s honor. However, that wasn’t his only objective.

What about me? Weren’t you sorry to me?

His name was nowhere in that apology. But it didn’t matter. To be more accurate, he simply didn’t want to beg for an apology. He was the victim who had lost everything; they were the perpetrators who had taken everything. Why should he have to plead for them to ask for his forgiveness?

Eve seemed to misunderstand why he was staring so intently at the paper.

—If there’s any wording you want to change, tell me. I’ll edit it and issue it as an official statement as soon as possible.

On the subject of restoring his grandfather’s honor, the writing was flawless. There were no clever excuses hidden between the lines, no subtle victim-blaming. It was so polite and sincere that Ethan felt almost rude for having dissected it looking for an ulterior motive. He handed it back to her and nodded.

He felt a massive lump that had been weighing on his chest melt away, if only a little. This single sheet of paper couldn’t bring his grandfather back to life, but it would at least reclaim the honor that had been trampled into the dirt.

—It is indeed justice and courtesy toward the Captain. I accept the apology.

Ethan didn’t say thank you. Eve didn’t seem to expect it.

She simply gave a light, relieved smile, as if a great burden had been lifted. It was a moment of pure, transparent sincerity, as if she had finally thrown off a heavy mask.

That clear face, devoid of any calculation, strangely disarmed Ethan’s heart, a heart he had fortified with layers of hatred. For a fleeting second, he too let down his guard and thought to himself: I never imagined a day would come where I would feel gratitude toward the woman who cruelly abandoned me.

But Ethan’s maskless moment was only a flash. The hatred returned like a reflex. The memories of the cruel farewell notice that only an arrogant Lady could send were still etched into his blood.

I implore the investigator.

Please hand down the most severe punishment the law allows for Ethan Fairchild.

— Lady Evelyn Sherwood of Kentrell

That relieved smile of hers was revolting. Eve did not yet have the right to be free from her sins. She might have apologized for her family’s crimes, but she remained silent to the very end regarding her own greatest sin against him.

She was a woman to be grateful for, and a woman so loathsome he wanted to kill her.

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Anthony Sherwood, what on earth are you doing?

Lately, Ethan felt like a monkey in a zoo. Eve, on the other hand, misinterpreted Tony’s behavior, assuming the boy was simply deep in a game of spy.

The child had begun observing them at some point. He would stare at them point-blank from inches away, or clumsily hide behind doors and furniture, like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand, thinking that if he couldn’t see the enemy, the enemy couldn’t see him.

While his physical hiding skills were pathetic, his thoughts remained perfectly concealed.

—You know….

He would start to say something.

—Never mind.

Then he’d shut his mouth just as quickly. Instead of sharing his own feelings, he bombarded them with questions.

—Ethan, were you and Eve childhood friends? Did you play with Eve like you play with me? Is that how you started liking her? Since when? Why?

With his innocent face, the boy stepped on Ethan’s landmines one after another like a natural-born demon.

—Did you really run away with Eve? When? What did you do after you ran away?

What is this little brat even asking? Ethan fumed inwardly.

—Ethan, do you know who I am?

—The Duke.

—Wrong, you dummy!

Tony had taken to making up riddles to which only he knew the answer, delighting in teasing Ethan. Ethan couldn’t help but think: This bright, mischievous brat is a Sherwood through and through.

If Eve had known what he was thinking, she would have laughed bitterly. Recently, she had begun to see the biological father in the increasingly persistent Tony.

—Eve, did you really love Ethan? Why did you love him? But why did you leave him? Do you not love him anymore?

The boy kept prodding at her wounds, asking about her relationship with that man. Even when Eve gave no answer, he didn’t stop.

Is the Fairchild gene finally manifesting, or did he catch it from hanging around that man? Whichever it was, Eve was worried that her son was growing to resemble his father.

As they waited for Tony’s strange game to end, the final days of July arrived. It was then that the atmosphere changed. Every officer staying at the mansion began moving with a sense of frantic urgency, as if being chased.

Major Fairchild was no exception. Even when Tony invited him, he didn’t have time to show up for dinner and ruin the mood. For a while, Eve was finally liberated from her chronic indigestion.

I hope he just leaves forever.

On the very day she was making that silent wish, Ethan Fairchild appeared before her like a curse.

—Give me one day of your time. There’s a place I want to take you.

Eve refused flatly. She didn’t want to go anywhere with him even within the confines of Cliffhaven, let alone somewhere far enough to require a train. That alone was reason enough to decline.

But Ethan was persistent. Expecting her refusal, he dangled bait in front of her. You won’t regret it. I’ve prepared the gift you’ve been wanting, he claimed.

Is he going to give me Chantal’s head in a pretty box this time? Unfortunately, Chantal’s cunning head was still firmly attached to her neck as she remained busy extorting Eve’s money using Tony as a hostage.

I have no idea what this gift could be….

That was the problem, she didn’t know. Ultimately, curiosity won out. Eve agreed to follow the man she no longer trusted, on the condition that she bring a bodyguard.

When she finished her preparations and headed to the mansion’s main gate, Tony was somehow already there waiting. He stood as if blocking the door of the sedan waiting for Eve.

—Where are you two going?

Before anyone could fabricate an excuse, Tony clung to them.

—Take me too.

Only then did Eve notice the boy’s appearance. He was fully dressed and looked strangely determined. A child who usually ran around in just his shirt was now wearing a jacket and a vest. He had even used his own hands to neatly comb back the hair he usually hated brushing.

He looked so adorable, and it was so obvious that his cute face would soon be filled with disappointment, that Eve couldn’t bring herself to say no.

However, taking him was out of the question. She didn’t know why Ethan had invited her, and it was a long journey. As she agonized over how to refuse without making him think she hated him again, Ethan stepped in and pulled Tony away from Eve.

—Not you.

—Why?

—Because it’s grown-up business.

Eve couldn’t help but frown. Coming from that man’s mouth, the ordinary phrase grown-up business took on a sticky, vulgar nuance. She immediately washed the dirty scent off the words with her own voice.

—It’s not for fun, Tony. You’ll find it boring.

—I still want to go.

The boy stubbornly squeezed himself between the two of them and did something entirely unexpected.

He grabbed Eve’s hand with his left, and Ethan’s hand with his right.

The three of them, connected as one. In that moment, the three looked like a normal family, a husband and wife with their child between them.

Eve’s heart plummeted at the sight of a picture that could no longer exist, and should never exist. Just as she was about to reflexively pull her hand away…