Chapter 18: The Carlson House, Afterward

Harird and Electra parted without even exchanging farewell words, leaving him with a form of divorce that sat poorly with him.

Livia had also said that she wanted to speak with Electra first.

Because of that, Harird had people searching for Electra’s whereabouts for a time.

He did not immediately finalize the divorce either, hesitating and trying to hold back.

“That would mean neglecting Lady Livia, my lord.
Are you truly fine with that?”

Pressed by the head steward, Harird could not bring himself to hesitate any longer in front of Livia.

Even so, once the divorce procedures were completed, he tried to immerse himself in the happiness of being united with Livia again, convincing himself that this was the best outcome.

“An immediate marriage, then.
I have no objection, but…”

“What is it, Said.
Do you have a complaint?”

“No.
However, the situation has changed, has it not?
You have become a viscount, my lord.
There is no need to rush the marriage.
Should you not hold a wedding ceremony with Lady Livia and inform the surrounding nobility that the two of you will marry?
That she will become the Viscountess Carlson in the future.
Especially a wedding ceremony—Lady Livia surely wishes for one.”

“That is… true.”

“Yes.
Therefore, it would be best to formally establish her as your fiancée first, make proper preparations, hold the ceremony, and notify the neighboring nobles.”

“…I see.”

After divorcing Electra, the servants initially behaved with reservations, but they quickly shifted their attitude.

So quickly, in fact, that Harird felt taken aback.

“Have you all accepted it?”

“Accepted what, my lord?”

“My marriage to Livia.”

“Well… acceptance aside, we servants do not believe it is our place to interfere with our lord’s marriage.
Of course, if you were being deceived in some manner, that would be another matter.
However, Lady Livia does not appear to fall under such concerns, does she?”

“That may be so, but…”

Still, Harird felt an odd sense of discomfort in the servants’ attitudes.

There was a strange composure about them.

It felt as though everything had already been seen through.

When Livia expressed something she wanted or desired, documents were promptly placed before Harird.

They summarized the required funds and what would be lost as a result.

If it would put pressure on the lives of the people, he was informed in advance, complete with projections of the impact.

“…Were the servants of my house always this capable?”

Harird continued to feel unsettled.

If they were truly that competent, then why had they still not found Electra?

Three months had already passed since his divorce from Electra.

“Said, have you still not found Electra’s whereabouts?”

“…Regarding that, I will bring you the report at once.”

“A report?”

“Yes.
There is information regarding Lady Electra’s whereabouts, but… it is difficult to judge.
Once it was compiled, I wished to seek your opinion, my lord.”

“Huh…?
What does that mean?”

“I believe you will understand once you see it.”

The head steward quickly brought the report and handed it to Harird.

It contained compiled sightings of Electra.

“What is this?”

“These are collected testimonies of sightings of Lady Electra.
There are quite a number of them, and we believed we would find her quickly, but…”

Harird read through the compiled accounts.

There were indeed many, but none pointed in a consistent direction.

“This tells us nothing about where she went.”

“Exactly so.
However, since many sightings were reported toward the royal capital, we focused our search there.”

“And you did not find her?”

“Yes.”

Harird dropped the stack of reports onto the desk with a slap.

He clicked his tongue in irritation.

(What is this.
It is as if she is deliberately evading our search.
We are even going out of our way to look for her!)

“…What about the Vent family?
Normally, she would have returned to her parents’ home, would she not?”

“That possibility does appear likely, but conversely, there have been no sightings there at all.
Furthermore, as they are another noble house we are divorced from, we cannot investigate forcibly.”

“If we lodge a formal protest—”

“A protest?”

For the first time, the head steward’s expression shifted as he questioned Harird.

“What exactly would you protest?”

“That is…!”

“…My lord.
Lady Electra bears no fault.
This divorce is clearly our responsibility.
We should consider ourselves fortunate that it ended peacefully.”

“But she disappeared on her own!
Is that not irresponsible?”

“She fulfilled all her duties as baroness.
We servants and the people alike are living without issue.”

“Are you accusing me of having done nothing…?”

“If we acknowledge Lady Electra’s achievements, does that demean you, my lord?
You have become a viscount, and your life lies ‘ahead’ of you.
You are not even comparable.”

“But—”

“My lord.”

The head steward’s expression hardened as he looked straight at Harird.

“What is it?”

“…Why are you searching so insistently for Lady Electra?
Several months have passed since the divorce.
You are now engaged to Lady Livia and have become a viscount.
Is there truly any need to concern yourself with Lady Electra?
Searching costs money and manpower.
She was not abducted, nor was she involved in an accident.
She left this house of her own will.
…The sight of you continuing to worry about your former wife cannot be pleasant for Lady Livia.”

“Ghk…
But Livia herself says she wants to apologize to Electra.”

“Does she still say that now, three months later?”

“Yes.”

“…Is it not because you yourself continue to concern yourself with Lady Electra?”

“I-I am not concerned—”

Harird was taken aback by the head steward’s words.

They were surprisingly dismissive of Electra.

He had expected them to side with her more than with him.

And yet—

(That’s it.
This is the source of the discomfort.
The servants showed dissatisfaction only at first, then quickly let go of Electra…)

“Did Electra truly do her job properly during those two years?”

“Yes, my lord.
Lady Electra carried the Carlson house admirably.”

“…Yet there seem to be few servants who side with her.”

“Pardon?”

“She was a wife cast aside through divorce.
Unlike a man, she would have no place to marry into.
And yet none of you even seem worried about her.
She must have forced you all into such attitudes.
If so, then her work must have been—”

“…My lord, do you hate Lady Electra?”

“Huh?”

The head steward did not grow angry at those words.

Instead, he looked at Harird with something like pity.

“I truly do not understand why you would say such a thing.
What do you want from us, mere servants?
It is true that Lady Electra initiated the divorce, but you also intended to divorce her.
And now you have taken Lady Livia as your fiancée, calling her a beloved partner.
Why, in such a situation, do you continue to cling to the woman you divorced?
This only makes Lady Livia pitiful.”

“Ghk…”

“My lord, for Lady Livia’s sake as well, I believe you should cease the search for Lady Electra.
What you should be doing now is reassuring Lady Livia by making it clear that you no longer concern yourself with your former wife.”

He was right.

Harird understood that.

And yet, what he could not accept was why the head steward and the others spoke as though they were siding with him and Livia.

Why did they show no concern at all for Electra, who had supported them for two years?

“I said three months, my lord.”

“Huh…?”

Harird tilted his head at the head steward’s words.

“What do you mean?”

“For three months, please respond to Lady Livia as though to say, ‘There is no need to worry about my former wife anymore.’
If even after that Lady Livia continues to concern herself with Lady Electra… then.”

“Then?”

“…We shall hire an ‘actor.’”

“Huh…?”

An actor.

Harird could not immediately grasp what that meant.

“Lady Livia’s upbringing was apparently quite harsh.
I suspect that she finds it difficult to sincerely accept her own happiness.”

“…Difficult?”

“Yes, my lord.
It is a matter of the mind.
She was raised in the church as an orphan.
Thus, being chosen by a knight and noble—moreover, a celebrated hero such as yourself—and standing on the verge of marriage.
Her heart cannot keep pace with such happiness.
Therefore, she can only feel happy by comparing herself to others.
I do not believe she truly needs to meet Lady Electra herself.

She simply wishes to be told by ‘a woman claiming to be Electra’ that ‘it is all right for you to be happy.’
If she hears even that single line, she will surely be able to accept her current happiness.

…This is not something one should say of the woman you love, but I will say it plainly.

She is a pitiful young woman.
What she needs for her happiness is not for you to continue searching for your former wife.

…Thus, if Lady Livia truly needs Lady Electra’s words, then rather than futilely continuing the search for the real person, we should appoint a ‘stand-in for Lady Electra’ and have her perform.”

Harird blinked as he listened to the head steward’s proposal.

It sounded like a clever idea.

He even felt it might work.

And yet… was this head steward truly the sort of man who would suggest such a thing?

Harird could only feel uneasy.

The search for Electra was forcefully brought to an end, and even letters sent to the Viscount Vent house were met only with evasive replies.

Thus, half a year passed since Harird and Electra’s divorce.

When Livia continued to speak of Electra even then, Harird finally decided to adopt the head steward’s plan.

He hired a ‘stand-in’ for Electra and arranged for her to meet Livia.

“Pleased to meet you, Lady Livia.
My name is Electra.”

A hired actress, bearing no resemblance to the real woman, stood before Livia.