Chapter 12: 11

***

The present.

Now the man was blameless. He was not broken, just arrogant. In any case, I could not blame him for something that has not yet happened here in the world.

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s just my illusion.” (Ian)

Ian smiled softly. It was a smile with a moderate warmth, befitting a cold, stern face.

“But I hope you don’t hate me too much.It would be to our mutual loss.” (Ian)

“Mutual loss?”

Madeline smiled awkwardly. Ian continued.

“You never know what will happen to a relationship.” 

“It sounds like it could be a bad relationship.”

“You don’t give me an inch to get in.”

Ian sighed. He gently leaned his upper body forward in polite greeting.

“I respect your wishes, Miss Loenfield, and I’ll step down for now. But from now on, I will not retreat.”

After Ian Nottingham entered the hall, Madeline turned her gaze toward the shrubbery again.

She did not see the two people earlier, as if the secret meeting was over. No, it was too dark to see clearly. The shadows of people and trees were so mixed up that it was hard to distinguish one from the other.

The more the air smelled of summer grass, the more bitter Madeline’s heart became, as if it were burning instead of lifting. Soon they will hear the news of war.

Now that she had that knowledge and experience, it was even more painful. She wished she had known nothing at all. For she couldn’t help but felt helpless despite knowing everything.

There was nothing good about coming back to life. If there was a difference, it was that she had to go through all the pain again. She envied those who, like that lovers in the forest, knew nothing. 

* * *

Madeline continued to think about it after a few days. Isabelle and the man who was having a secret meeting in the forest. 

She could not stop thinking about those two. It was as if I was peeking at the moment she shouldn’t peek at, a feeling that was profane but drowning her.

‘It’s amazing, too, that there can be such a fiery love.’

The love of the young couple who were ready to die. It was a feeling Madeline could never understand. She was still a “young person,” too, but it was like those feelings had already subsided. 

Of course, romantic love was supposed to be different from selfish obsession. Her husband’s behavior in her previous life was far from love. At least that’s what Madeline thought. His feelings were nothing more than a twisted desire for control or selfish favoritism. It had to be.

Anyway, after several unexplained encounters, she had no choice but to continue meeting the man.

She had no choice. It was not something she could avoid by trying to avoid it. The social world in London was like a narrow pasture where they had thrown out the best pedigreed racehorses. It was frustrating, but bearable. Madeline developed her own personal sideshow. 

She decided to just quietly observe. As quietly as possible, she watched the people. If she watched carefully in this way, she would notice a few things that she missed before. In fact, she saw many things anew. 

Of course, some of them were facts that she did not want to know. Like the secret meeting between her father and Countess Priscilla. She really did not want to see the two of them still secretly exchanging glances with each other over there. 

Madeline raised her eyebrows and turned her gaze hurriedly away. As she turned her eyes, she saw one more fact. 

A man standing loitering at the end of the banquet hall caught her eyes. Louis Burton. He had made his vast fortune in the coal mills, but everyone seemed to be deliberately ignoring him because of his commoner background. Still, he was a persistent socialite, constantly knocking on doors. He was an ordinary looking man with a beautiful, young face. His round, dark eyes were drooping, which made him look very pitiful. 

And there was another element that made her feel sorry for the man.

“So, when we went fox hunting together, I was forced to put in a lot of effort, but he actually ignored all the etiquette there. In the end, how his face burned after Master Nottingham said a few words….”

“And then, to think of making such a face, I feel so embarrassed.”

“Hahaha.” 

She heard voices nearby making fun of the man. 

“Hmmm…”

Madeline was dumbfounded. It was really funny how no one spoke explicitly to the man and ignored him. Moreover, when the name “Nottingham” was mentioned, she felt her blood pressure rising. 

‘He’s still a naive man.’

They were so narrow minded and petty enough to humiliate a man who tried to get into the social world. So.

Eventually, Madeleine decided to be nosy again. She approached the man alone. She originally knew that it was not polite to talk to him first in the first meeting, but she did not want to question that. Then she would not have said anything to Isabelle. 

‘It wasn’t because I felt sorry for that man in particular. I just don’t like hearing people talk behind his back.’

Madeline spoke to the man, smiling as gently as possible.

“Hello, Mr. Burton. We met at a dinner party the other night, do you remember me?”

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“Oh, yes, yes! Miss Loenfield, I remember you.”

A smile broke out from Louis Barton’s dejected face. It was quite good to see the energy come out of his mellow eyes. It wasn’t bad.

“Boring, isn’t it?”

“No. No. Not boring at all. Miss Loenfield.”

Louis Barton said, waving his hand. An overly strong denial was as good as a strong affirmation. Madeline nodded softly. 

“Good. I’m glad. I didn’t know you weren’t bored. I’m starting to get a little sleepy, to be honest.”

“That’s ……. That’s a big deal. Miss Loenfield. You’re tired.”

Barton opened his big eyes and was at a loss. He brought over one of the empty chairs. 

“Would you like to sit down for a moment?”

The way he fidgeted showed he had no social experience. It was surprising for a man who appeared to be at least 30 years old. Madeline was about to sit down in the chair the man offered her. A large shadow hung from the other side. 

“We meet again, Miss Loenfield.”

She looked up and there was Ian Nottingham with a blunt face. It would not have been unreasonable to say that it was an ordinary-looking Ian Nottingham, since his basic face was unsociable to begin with. Madeline greeted him reluctantly. 

“…..Hello, Master Nottingham.”

“Mr. Burton, it’s a pleasure to meet you again.”

“Oh, uh, yes. Master Nottingham. It’s been a really long time. I really enjoyed that time.”

Louis Burton’s whole body was trembling. It was much worse than when Madeline spoke to him. On the other hand, Ian who suddenly approached them seemed to be fine. He seemed calm, as if he really only came to say hello.

But Madeline knew he had not come to them for no reason. 

“The hunt I did with Mr. Burton was very…. It was fun.” (Ian)

Ian raised his lips and forced a smile. But the accent and tone of his voice were a little sarcastic. Madeline lifted one eyebrow, but poor Mr. Burton was truly horrified, unable to read any of the nuances. 

“Truly, I am honored. Master Nottingham. When would you like to hunt again….”

“Miss Loenfield. Do you know much about hunting?”

Ian aksed Madeline, blatantly cutting off Louis Barton’s words.

“No, I’m not much ….”

Not so much. Madeline hated hunting then and still do. Of course, there was a big personal reason there. Her mother hated hunting very much. Her father went hunting very happily while she looked depressed. Looking back now, she didn’t know how she put up with it.

“Hunting, it’s fun.”

When Ian Nottingham suddenly blurted out, Madeline was slightly disconcerted. Did he just interrupt the conversation to say that? The other person seemed to think the same. Ian coughed several times.

“I……. I mean it’s fun to track the movements of your prey and it’s also quite interesting to handle the hounds. It seems that a lot of ladies do it these days. Why don’t you give it a try, Miss Loenfield?” 

Young Ian Nottingham was certainly more sociable than the man in her previous life, but he was by no means “outgoing.” He was only ever a confident man. There was a rather awkward aspect to approaching people first like this. 

“Yes. Hunting is the highest culture for ladies and gentlemen! Miss Loenfield. I heard that Baron Loenfield is also very good at hunting. The young lady must be talented, too.”

“Oh……”

Louis Burton’s excitement made Madeline feel a little down. She approached him first to help him who was alone and was being laughed at, but he was courting Ian without knowing anything.

“I was surprised by the way. Master Nottingham, you were quite ruthless with your hands in front of your prey.”

“…….”

Ian Nottingham’s complexion changed dramatically at Burton’s words. But the change was so subtle that only Madeline noticed.

‘Wow…this Burton guy, he really can’t read the air.’

“I loved the way you disposed of all your prey! I respect you! You’re good at everything because you’re that relentless.”

‘Now I know the people didn’t laugh at him for no reason.’

Madeline felt a slight headache. The language games of the social circle were too subtle and sly, but Burton’s mouth was his obstacle. It was when Madeline moved her eyes, trying to get out of this difficult situation.

At that moment, an elegant figure appeared without a sound or a shadow. It was Isabel. Her black hair was braided in a bun. The skirt was simple without decoration, but it wasn’t cheap. There was a slightly arrogant cat-like smile on her face. She looked at Madeline and tilted her head. 

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“Miss Loenfield. Here you are. I heard they have a new dress catalog at Le Bon Marché, would you like to go take a look?”

Isabel gave a very innocent and natural smile. If someone who didn’t know her saw it, she would look very lovely.

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