There Is No Paradise Where You Escaped - Chapter 60

In the heart of Rottermond’s forest path, little sparrows fluttered their damp feathers, shaking off water droplets at the small square’s fountain. Charlotte, captivated by the tiny birds making soft chirping sounds, smiled gently.

“Those little ones are just like you, Miss Windler,” he said.

Gideon, watching a sparrow that had finished its bath and was now hopping around the fountain, murmured contentedly:

“Small, beautiful, and cute. Listen to that chirping. It’s just like when Miss Windler was upset with me… No, it would be similar if you sang.”

Catching a glimpse of Charlotte, Gideon quickly rephrased his sentence.

Charlotte chuckled without realizing it and invited Gideon for a walk.

The two walked beneath the leaves, slowly changing into autumn hues. They followed a quiet, sloping forest path—cool and serene—as Gideon escorted her.

Gideon explained that he had come to Rottermond at Susanna’s request and would stay for about a week. Though Charlotte had every reason to resent him for keeping her tied to Rottermond, she couldn’t bring herself to hate him as she saw him smiling peacefully.

If anything, Gideon was now her savior. Since Edwin and Vivianne had left, she hadn’t stepped a single foot outside her room. The Baroness hadn’t said anything, but being with her in that cold atmosphere made Charlotte want to throw up, even if she hadn’t eaten a thing.

The mere thought of being alone in the manor with the Baroness felt like having a noose around her neck, but Gideon’s arrival brought her a little relief. 

“Miss Windler.”

At the gentle call, the discomfort she’d felt while thinking of the Baroness sank back into her thoughts.

“When I next meet the Duke, I’m thinking of formally setting the wedding date. What do you think, Miss Windler?”

“The Duke will be pleased.”

It was a formal and stiff reply.

“I’d marry tomorrow if I could, but you once said you prefer spring, didn’t you? How about it? Shall we hold the ceremony in spring—the season you love?”

Gideon scratched the back of his head, blushing.

What radiated from this pure and innocent man was unmistakable love, and that was why her heart still ached. 

Guilt, shame, and a lingering attachment were buried deep within her.

Charlotte Windler’s love had ended.

She had stubbornly held onto a love she should’ve let go of long ago.

It was a mistake she couldn’t undo.

If nothing changed, she was set to marry Baron Zimmermann.

Even amidst the heartache, Charlotte felt both relieved and unfortunate that this was the man she would marry.

Just as she always felt like the villain when standing in front of Vivianne, she felt the same now before Gideon.

If only the man in front of her were a bad person—if only he were pursuing Edwin’s proposal out of ambition—then she wouldn’t have felt this sad.

“By the way, I wonder how the Duke and Vivianne are doing in the capital. I did get a letter from Vivianne not too long ago…”

Charlotte changed the subject.

Gideon looked momentarily awkward, but then listened attentively to her story.

Not long ago, she had received a letter from Vivianne, and something about it seemed suspicious.

The letter began with the usual greetings, asking how things were going in Rottermond. But then, uncharacteristically for Vivianne, she rambled on about herself.

Vivianne wrote that she was staying comfortably thanks to Humphrey and the kind staff at the manor in the capital. She also said that the endless crowds and tightly packed buildings of the capital sometimes left her feeling suffocated.

Then Vivianne got to the point: while walking in a nearby park recently, she had met a man who lavished her with expensive gifts, dined with her, paid attention to what she liked, and even remembered the things she mentioned in passing. She asked Charlotte what that might mean.

There wasn’t anyone who didn’t know that Edwin gave Vivianne special treatment.

So the man in the letter could only be Edwin.

But the timing was what made Charlotte suspicious.

Had Edwin acted differently in Rodinia? No—he had acted exactly the same way there, too.

So she wondered why Vivianne was asking this now.

Vivianne wasn’t the type to be cruel or manipulative. She was too kindhearted to taunt Charlotte over marrying one man while loving another.

And since she likely didn’t know about Charlotte’s feelings for Edwin, it couldn’t have been out of malice.

“Is she doing well? I heard that Miss Aveline is quite popular in Farrington. At this rate, it seems the star of the upcoming royal party won’t be Her Majesty the Queen, but Miss Aveline instead,” Gideon interjected.

“Vivianne?”

“It all started when the Duke bought Miss Aveline’s dress at Mrs. Green’s shop. That ignited the rumors. Of course, during those ten days I spent in Rodinia, many already suspected something was going on between the two.”

Charlotte nodded bitterly.

She accepted it, and she understood the subtle, complicated feelings shared between Edwin and Vivianne.

But just because she accepted them didn’t mean she could pretend they weren’t there every time she saw them.

She could no longer hear Gideon’s words.

His voice barely registered as her mind was fixated on Vivianne’s letter and the two in the capital.

At the end of the manicured forest path, a narrow trail led to the meadow.

Because of the hill that played tricks on the eyes, people often misstepped, and accidents occurred.

There had even been an incident where a maid fell to her death here. Since then, a fence had always been put up—but today, it seemed to be gone, perhaps removed temporarily for repairs.

Gideon nearly fell.

If Charlotte hadn’t caught him just in time, the unguarded Gideon would’ve tumbled down the steep slope—almost a cliff—and likely shared the same fate as that maid.

Charlotte, not wanting that outcome, sighed with relief as she saw that Gideon was safe.

Startled, Gideon clutched his chest.

      『 I’ll have to tell Donnelly about this when we get back. No matter what, the fence should be put back up.』

Charlotte, feeling creeped out, hurried Gideon toward the small square.

────── ✾ ──────

 Farrington was immersed in a festive atmosphere.

From every house to every shop, flags of Neway fluttered in the breeze, and citizens gathered in the square in front of the palace, singing and heightening the celebratory mood.

As they waited for the royal couple to appear, their voices grew louder, praising Neway and its monarchs who led the nation.

When the balcony doors finally opened, the royal guards took their places on either side.

The crowd erupted into even louder cheers. And amid such fervent reception, the King and Queen appeared, smiling brightly.

Shouts of congratulations for the Queen’s birthday echoed through the square.

In honor of her birthday, the King granted the people wine and meat, which only fueled their excitement.

Even after the royal couple withdrew, the celebrations in the square continued with feverish energy. They drank, danced, and feasted on meat, savoring the joyful occasion.

As the sun set, a procession of noble carriages headed toward the palace.

Among them, when the carriage of the House of Baytness passed by, the crowd cheered just as loudly as they had for the royal couple.

Amid the loud cheers, Vivianne discreetly pulled back the curtain and glanced out the window. She was reminded of the reaction they’d received in Rottermond—it hadn’t been much different.

It made her realize again the weight of Edwin’s authority and power.

Closing the curtain, Vivianne slowly turned her gaze toward Edwin.

Their gazes met effortlessly. But Vivianne didn’t avoid his gaze this time, calmly staring into his icy eyes.

A few days ago, after a violent struggle in the carriage, they had left bite-mark bruises on each other—his on her collarbone, hers on his neck.

Vivianne’s bruise was relatively easy to hide, but Edwin’s bite mark peeked out from beneath his ascot tie.

Despite this, Vivianne decided not to feel guilty.

After all, she had been bitten in return—and hers had been in a more shameful place.

So, she chose not to concern herself with the mark visible above his tie.

However, since that day, things between them had become terribly awkward. Not that they had ever been particularly close, but now there was an inexplicable discomfort between them, and the events in the carriage kept haunting Vivianne.

“I agreed to accompany you to the palace, but we should avoid being seen together any further. It draws too much attention… and I don’t want to cause any more misunderstandings,” Vivianne murmured calmly, without emotion.

She needed to put out the rumors spreading in the capital about her being the prospective Duchess.

Edwin’s engagement rumors with Sarah Chadwick were already circulating, so being caught in between would only lead to speculation that she was Edwin’s mistress.

“What misunderstanding?” Edwin asked as if he already knew, and his intentions were clear.

“The misunderstanding that I’m in some kind of romantic relationship with you.”

“A romantic relationship? What exactly does ‘romantic’ mean in this context?”

Vivianne didn’t bother answering a question that was difficult to respond to.

“If biting and kissing are included in the definition of a romantic relationship, then it’s hardly a misunderstanding.”

Vivianne’s facial muscles trembled slightly.

At the end of their violent clash in the carriage, he held her as she cried, soothing her for what felt like hours.

She was convinced that man harbored not one, but two—no, three or four—souls within him. He switched between them as the situation demanded, leaving others perpetually disoriented.

“I’ll say this again: I will never feel like your mistress, nor will I ever become your mistress.”

“So, what then? Will you resume your role as matchmaker, arranging more meetings with Miss Chadwick to hasten our marriage?”

Vivianne’s eyes twitched.

She had only once stepped aside to make space for the two of them—at the Count of Thurston’s ball.

But she’d never told him to dance with her.

He had done that on his own, made another appointment, and met Miss Chadwick at the theater for a long conversation.

“I trusted Miss Aveline’s taste in books once. But honestly… It’s almost amazing that Baron Zimmermann fell in love with someone after receiving ghostwritten letters in that kind of taste.”

Vivianne’s face flushed red, and she stopped herself from protesting. Saying any more would only make her look more foolish.

“If you’re going to play matchmaker, at least pick someone who stirs a bit of desire. That way, I might actually want to share a bed with my one and only wife.”

Behind his faint smile, Vivianne’s eyes grew sharp like blades.

“And like I said before, even if I get married, nothing about your situation changes. You don’t want to feel like my mistress? You don’t want to be my mistress? Then what do you think you should do, Vivianne?”

There was only one answer.

Vivianne Aveline had to be killed.

If he could rid himself of that old, binding promise and welcome his wife with a lighter heart, then everyone could be happy.

“You should be doing everything in your power to stop my marriage.”

Outside the carriage, the roar of the crowd continued.

But as the carriage rumbled through the gates of the palace, the deafening cheers faded.

“That’s the only way you can avoid both feeling like my mistress—and becoming one.”