Chapter 32

“What do you mean, a marriage proposal!?”

The voice of Miriam that reached Diana’s ears carried a poignant, sorrowful ring.

A marriage proposal.

Miriam’s small fists trembled with bitter frustration.

That tremor was seeped in the still-unhealed pain of loss.

“It’s not like that, Miriam, it’s merely that such a discussion was brought up…”

“You haven’t turned it down, have you?”

Miriam glared sharply at her father as he flusteredly attempted to make excuses.

The eyes with which Miriam stared at Baron Quilter, who hesitated before giving a small nod, were wide with utter despair.

“…Do whatever you please.”

Leaving behind just those words, Miriam bolted up the stairs.

Left behind in the foyer were a bewildered Baron Quilter and Diana, her hand still resting upon the door handle.

“Ah… my apologies. I have shown you an unsightly scene.”

Baron Quilter offered a weak, weary laugh.

The fixed, frozen smile upon his face looked heartbreaking.

“Should you not go after your daughter?”

“Once she has one of her fits of temper, she refuses to speak to me for quite some time.”

Though his voice chuckled, it was noticeably raspy.

The exhaustion of long, arduous years settled deep within his eyes.

“What has happened here?”

At the sight of Alan arriving upon hearing the commotion, Diana unconsciously let out a breath of relief.

“Family ties truly are a delicate and difficult thing to navigate, aren’t they?”

Before a wryly smiling Diana, Alan lightly shrugged his shoulders.

“A family quarrel, was it?”

“In a broad sense, I suppose you could say that.”

To be precise, Miriam had taken umbrage at a sudden marriage proposal that had flown in and fled to her room… though rather than a quarrel, it was perhaps more accurate to say she had simply taken it upon herself to be furious.

“A marriage proposal, hm… Wesley had a mountain of marriage proposals flying his way as well, didn’t he?”

“Yes, though he reportedly turned every single one away with the excuse that he had no intention of remarrying… though the number of letters that arrived must have easily numbered in the hundreds, if not thousands.”

At Diana’s words, Baron Quilter blinked his eyes in surprise.

“Indeed, even His Grace the Duke of Gazard received them…”

“For a widowed nobleman, talk of remarriage always finds a way of turning up, no matter what.”

At Alan’s words, Diana nodded.

“Even when he turned them down, they kept coming endlessly. When I was young, I used to sulk over it… but in my father’s case, there were simply too many, to the point where worrying about them became utterly pointless.”

“To be frank, I find myself envying your father.”

At Baron Quilter’s words, it was Diana’s turn to blink in surprise.

“With a power as vast as the House of Gazard, one can presumably decline every single proposal that flies your way. However, our house holds no such influence.”

“If that is the case, I shall lend you our cooperation. There is no need for you to accept a marriage proposal that goes against your wishes.”

“Just as Diana says.”

In stark contrast to the two guests speaking with absolute confidence, Baron Quilter’s gaze wandered uncertainly through the empty air.

“For our house… no, is such a thing even within my power to refuse…”

When a proposal was brought forth by a noble house of higher standing, one had to tread carefully with their response.

No matter how much backing they received from the House of Gazard, the House of Quilter was merely a minor baronial family lacking formidable power.

“In that case, you simply need to build up enough power to be able to refuse them.”

Diana’s words were resolute and forward-looking, fixing her gaze firmly upon the future.

After a gentle knock, the doorknob turned with a soft click.

Miriam’s room was plunged into dim silence, the light blocked entirely by heavy curtains.

“Miriam…?”

Stepping foot into the chamber, Diana called out softly.

Though the sun was still high, Miriam had curled up alone within the bed of her sleeping quarters.

“I am sorry for abandoning you and rushing off to my room alone like this…”

“There is no need to apologize for that, pay it no mind.”

Though she was clearly shaken, Diana’s expression naturally softened at Miriam’s concern for her even in such a moment.

“With talk of my father’s remarriage popping up out of nowhere, it is only natural to feel unwell over it.”

Memories from her own childhood surfaced in Diana’s mind.

Cordelia wailing in tears, and Diana shedding silent tears with a quiet face.

The one whose lingering heartache lasted the longest had always been Diana.

“My father does not cherish me, nor does he cherish my mother.”

Sniffling with a sullen, sulky voice, Miriam reminded Diana of her younger self.

She wanted to say that wasn’t true… yet Diana also understood that Miriam was in no state to readily accept such words right now.

“The baron didn’t give an immediate answer, did he?”

“If he hasn’t turned it down outright, it amounts to the exact same thing.”

Pouting her lips and turning her face away in a huff, Miriam looked just like a young child.

Wondering if she herself had looked just like that back then, Diana felt her expression relax.

“I am certain he treasures your mother dearly, you know.”

With an awkward look, Miriam’s gaze drifted across the room.

Surely, deep down in her heart, she understood the truth as well.

The tangled and troublesome shackles of aristocratic society.

As the head of a baronial house, turning down a marriage proposal brought by another noble family was no easy feat.

The reason he hadn’t given an immediate yes was undoubtedly because he was taking Miriam’s feelings into utmost consideration.

“If you are willing, would you tell me about your mother?”

“My mother was… an unusual person. Even though she married into the family from a viscount’s household, she was someone who took the initiative; standing in the kitchen herself, tending to the gardens and the greenhouse, and working tirelessly.”

“My. There was a rather lovely garden out back. Was that originally tended to by your mother?”

At Diana’s question, Miriam’s expression blossomed with a pleased smile.

“Yes. Not just the garden; my mother loved flowers dearly, so she cultivated them in the greenhouse to ensure the mansion could be adorned with blossoms all year round. Even after my mother passed away, the gardeners have kept up the greenhouse just as she did.”

Miriam’s voice quivered slightly with a profound wave of nostalgia.

“How wonderful…”

Diana smiled along with her, though a lingering wave of loneliness suddenly seeped deep into her chest.

“I am… somewhat envious of you, Miriam.”

“Eh…?”

“Because my mother passed away the very day after she gave birth to my sister and me…”

At Diana’s words, Miriam drew in a sharp, startled breath.