An Incomplete Divorce - Chapter 43

“I apologize, Master. She has not arrived yet.”

The butler bowed respectfully towards Johan, lamenting his mistake.

Due to the shortage of servants attending to the arriving guests, he had sent any maid who seemed free on the errand.

Even as the banquet time approached, she had not appeared.

The butler glanced at Johan’s expression and pointed to a watch in the center.

“This piece should go well with today’s outfit. What do you think?”

Johan briefly scanned the alternative watches the butler had laid out with narrowed eyes.

The butler felt anxious at the displeasure evident in his gaze.

Where on earth was she and what was she doing?

To Johan Leopold, the Patek “Nostalgia 1870” meant more than just a wristwatch.

It was the first and last birthday gift from his mother, the Duchess of Edinburgh, given on the day he was born.

The men of the Edinburgh ducal family had a custom of wearing the watch gifted at birth when they turned sixteen.

Although it was common to alternate with other pieces depending on the occasion, Johan stubbornly insisted on that watch alone.

Johan closed his eyes and slowly tilted his head back, massaging the nape of his neck with his large hand.

The butler, feeling ashamed, didn’t dare suggest anything else.

His expressionless face showed a hint of fatigue. An arid indifference emanated from the duke, hardly befitting the birthday celebrant.

It was no different from when the Duchess Leopold was present.

“I apologize. It was my oversight.”

The butler offered another polite apology.

Just then, there was a knock and the door opened. The butler’s gaze immediately turned to the doorway with hope.

His briefly brightened expression hardened again upon seeing Morris.

How nice it would have been if it were the awaited maid.

“It’s time to go downstairs.”

Johan, who was about to habitually adjust his cuffs, stopped the motion and simply stood up.

“Master. Your watch.”

“When it arrives. I’ll put it on then.”

Johan said dryly as he buttoned up his black tailcoat.

The butler bowed deeply to Johan’s back as he crossed the bedroom. That’s when another knock sounded.

Finally, she’s here.

The butler looked up with relief.

“……”

The smile at the end of his mustache instantly vanished. It wasn’t the awaited maid.

As the butler vowed to fire her today, the deputy manager of the Leopold Hotel approached Johan directly.

“I have a matter to report.”

Johan nodded.

“Marquis Lancelot has checked in.”

It wasn’t particularly special news. They had already anticipated he would interfere with the International Bank acquisition.

“And.”

The employee paused briefly before continuing.

“Miss Anne Marshall is staying with him.”

“Anne Marshall?”

At his tone of unfamiliarity, Morris elaborated.

“You know, Miss Blanchet’s maid. The one from the count’s household.”

At Morris’s words, Johan’s gaze, which had been lowered obliquely as if gauging something, returned to the front.

“What about Olivia?”

“For now, she’s not on the guest list.”

Johan tilted his head slightly.

What business would the maid who followed Olivia like a shadow have in Londos alone?

His narrowed eyes sharpened. The golden light of the fading afternoon pooled in his ashen irises.

‘Happy birthday, Johan.’

His wife’s voice pierced through.

‘I love you.’

And her face, constantly murmuring love with a poignant smile.

Johan slowly closed his eyes in the dazzling sunlight pouring through the window.

And when he opened them again, all traces were wiped clean.

At the main gate of Greathill, adorned with the emblem of a roaring lion with raised forepaws, a battle of wills between the gatekeeper and the coachman was in full swing.

“This is the carriage of Marquis Edgar Lancaster Lancelot of the Lancelot ducal family from the Kingdom of Brit.”

“So.”

The gatekeeper sighed and explained again.

“Even His Majesty the King of Brit cannot enter without an invitation. So please show me the invitation.”

The two argued for a while.

While the tedious fight continued, Edgar surveyed the scenery outside the carriage.

A cool breeze blew from the lush green forest.

Beyond the swaying curtains, Greathill was visible. It shone alone brilliantly on the hill where the sunset was falling.

“Oh, I’m telling you we forgot the invitation in our haste from Brit.”

The gatekeeper, tired of the verbal sparring, sighed and said as if resigned.

“Then, please wait a moment. I’ll speak to the butler.”

The door of the luxurious mansion seemed unwilling to open readily.

The gatekeeper turned away, taking a step back from the coachman’s persistence.

The coachman quickly looked at Edgar through the small window. Edgar gave a short nod.

It meant to briefly incapacitate him.

The moment the large-bodied coachman, who had descended from the driver’s seat of the gleaming white carriage, was about to raise his arm to strike the gatekeeper’s nape, another carriage came rattling down the spruce-lined avenue and stopped.

Edgar bit his lip hard at the sound of hooves and the carriage stopping. Damn it.

The gatekeeper and coachman’s eyes met as they turned towards the arrival of the new guest.

“No… why.”

The gatekeeper stammered, looking up at the coachman’s raised hand. He looked quite like a bandit now that he was standing, which wasn’t apparent when he was seated.

“…Dust on your shoulder.”

The coachman lowered his arm, brushed the gatekeeper’s shoulder, and returned to his seat, picking his ear.

Just then, the coachman of the carriage that had arrived behind called out.

“This is the carriage of His Highness Prince Mikhail of Londos!”

Ah! Mikhail.

Edgar let out a silent laugh.

It seemed the goddess of fortune was on his side. At least for today.

Edgar, who had alighted from the carriage, approached the overly ornate white carriage.

He tapped the side of the gold-trimmed window with his cane.

A blonde young man, startled from a conversation, turned his head.

“Brother?”

Mikhail’s eyes, as he stepped out of the carriage, widened as if he’d seen a ghost.

“Is it really you, brother?”

Instead of answering, Edgar flashed a grin. Then he boldly boarded the carriage.

The gatekeeper ultimately had to let Edgar’s carriage pass as an accompaniment to the distinguished guest, Prince Mikhail.

It was the first uninvited guest in Greathill’s short history.

The butler was equally surprised by the appearance of an uninvited guest who was not on any list.

The butler, staring blankly at the marquis, exchanged greetings with Mikhail in a daze.

Even as he received the hat and cane Mikhail naturally handed over, his gaze remained fixed on Marquis Lancelot.

I must inform the master.

Following the watch incident, the butler’s insides were once again burning with anxiety. The visitor was none other than the head of a competing company.

“I overtook uncle’s carriage. He should arrive soon, so keep his seat.”

Mikhail said, lightly placing his hand on the butler’s shoulder before removing it as the butler began to move to guide them.

Then he crossed the central hall. The butler blankly stared at the back of the unfamiliar guest taking brisk steps beside the prince.

“What are you up to?”

As Edgar, walking with a silent smile, was about to turn his steps to the opposite side of the corridor leading to the banquet hall, Mikhail asked in a lowered voice.

Though he pretended to be alarmed, there was also some expectation for what was about to unfold.

The corner of Edgar’s mouth curved.

“It’s my dear cousin’s birthday.”

The scent of roses wafted on the gentle breeze. He was reminded of the woman anxiously waiting for news.

He couldn’t help but smile at the thought of her saying she would never forget and surely repay the favor he had done.

What did she think she could offer?

‘In what way?’
‘Uh…?’

The woman, apparently not having thought that far, just blinked her large eyes at him in confusion.

It was amusing to watch Olivia’s surprised reactions.

Edgar burst out laughing as he watched the woman’s face turn bright red, wondering what she was imagining.

‘Winning the Dublin Championship. That’s enough.’

Ah! The woman’s face reddened even more as she let out a sigh of relief.

‘I can’t promise victory for certain. But I’ll do my best.’

After a moment of silence, the woman’s eyes became clear.

Edgar tightened his lips and continued.

“I’m going to leave a bottle of alcohol.”

Edgar held up the gift box in his hand. It was wrapped in black paper with a scarlet ribbon around it.

“Don’t tell me. You poisoned it?”

Mikhail asked in a low voice, glancing around. Edgar’s silent smile made him even more suspicious.

Mikhail, who had been bored, was dying of curiosity.

“What wind blew you here anyway?”

Wind, huh…

“Who knows.”

Edgar answered indifferently, then turned away, briefly raising his hand.

It meant not to follow him any further.

“Be careful not to catch the Dowager Duchess Wellington’s eye.”

Edgar couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of the old lady’s fierce gaze.

She was a remarkably long-lived old woman.

Edgar brushed aside unnecessary thoughts and headed straight for the reception room Anne had told him about.

After passing three or four stern portraits hanging in the long corridor, a particularly grand door came into view.

Servants were guarding it, but they showed no particular wariness towards a guest who had passed through Greathill’s main gate.

The door opened readily when he said he had just arrived and wanted to leave a gift.

Edgar entered the reception room with a grin.

The first thing that caught his eye was a mountain of gifts shaped like a Christmas tree.

Various wrapping papers and ribbons cast a brilliant light in the chandelier’s glow.

It was a massive gift tree, as if showcasing Johan’s standing.

Edgar placed the box he was holding on a nearby table and approached the pile of gifts.

With his hands in his pockets, he began searching for a navy paper bag with a careful gaze.

Starting with a square velvet box that appeared to contain jewelry, the boxes grew larger towards the bottom.

“……”

No Patek shopping bag or leather case with the logo was visible anywhere.

Edgar frowned and turned to the left.

His gaze, fixed at the very top, was just moving down to examine the boxes below when the reception room door burst open.

“Is this what you’re looking for?”

A low voice broke the quiet stillness.