The Future is unpredictable

Selene, having returned to the mansion after meeting Theron, immediately sought out Gwendolyn.
“Gwen. Did you mail the letter I wrote?”
At Selene’s urgent question upon her return, Gwendolyn put down the thin yarn she was knitting with and quickly approached.
“The letter? You mean the one to the Pianist Association?”
“Yes, that letter.”
Although Selene asked calmly as usual, her eyes looked somewhat tense.
“No. Since it’s not an urgent letter, I was going to collect them and send them all at once, so it should still be at the entrance.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Selene rummaged through the pouch where the letters were collected.
Upon finally finding the letter, Selene’s chest heaved slightly.
“Didn’t you write a reply in that letter deciding the time of your study abroad?”
“…That’s right.”
“But why? You decided on summer, have you changed your mind?”
Selene’s lips parted slightly.
If asked if she had changed her mind, she would have to say she thought so, but she was not pleased to answer that way.
To reverse the conclusion she had reached after days of deliberation, just because she had a few words with Theron Cox today.
Even when she had received the phone call that day, she had thought nothing would happen.
Although Theron Cox’s voice over the receiver sounded unnecessarily grim, that would be all.
So, the reason she had gone to the meeting today, despite the one-sided notice, was just to end things cleanly with Theron Cox…
‘…I never imagined he would demolish a nearly completed building.’
It was something Selene had not expected at all.
No, probably no one had expected it.
But that was just the beginning.
In addition to that crazy act, Theron Cox had revealed his past.
That past was also not something Selene could have ever imagined.
Although she had been hurt when her wonderful and kind parents had died in an instant in the war, she had never heard a single harsh word from her parents in her childhood.
Theron Cox spoke as if violence were a daily occurrence.
Not only that, but he had had to run away because he had almost drowned in a bathtub.
It would be a lie to say her heart was not moved for a moment.
Still, he was the first man she had opened her heart to, the man she had liked.
The deep pain in Theron’s eyes made it impossible to doubt the truth.
For a fleeting moment, Selene imagined.
If she had met Theron Cox by chance at a social gathering and developed a relationship, wouldn’t marriage with him have been a natural future?
It was a normal fantasy to have when one has a lover, but Selene, who had never dreamed of such a future in her entire life, knew how special that was.
Perhaps to the point where she felt Theron Cox was her destiny.
Thinking that, she felt a sense of injustice and at the same time hated Theron Cox to death.
Because it was concluded that Theron had started their relationship, which seemed to be destined, by throwing ashes on it.
Perhaps that’s why, even during their conversation, the thought of studying abroad was wandering in Selene’s mind.
Although she had decided to leave for the continent of Vetgraz this coming summer, she knew that the five-year period of studying abroad was a long time in which a city could change and people could change.
Although he was a man who acted so desperately as to confess his sincerity by demolishing a building, it was also a time when that feeling could fade as if it had never been.
Selene asked herself.
‘Is it really okay? Even if Theron Cox completely forgets me?’
‘No.’
The answer was a definite ‘no’ without much thought.
The way she had been nervous on her way back to the ducal estate after parting with Theron, wondering if the letter she had already written and asked to be sent had been delivered to the Pianist Association, proved it.
Then, what was important now was one thing.
Whether her feelings for Theron Cox could go back to the way they were before.
Because she knew that Theron was not lying to her, as he had demolished a nearly completed building on his own accord, without anyone asking him to.
For that, she had to stay here until winter and watch Theron.
To see if that man could erase the wound he had inflicted on her and make her smile the smile she had once had when she looked at him.
“My lady…?”
Selene, who had been lost in thought for a moment, realized that Gwendolyn was waiting for her answer.
“Summer doesn’t seem to be a suitable time to be on a ship for a long time. It’s hot and there are a lot of bugs. Of course, I have no reason to leave for my studies in a hurry, as if I were running away.”
“Then you’ll be going to study abroad in the winter.”
Selene gave a concise nod.
Although she didn’t know what kind of variables would arise later, for now, her heart was set on watching Theron Cox, so there was no need to explain in detail to Gwendolyn.
However, Gwendolyn smiled meaningfully, as if she knew something.
“Is there no chance that you won’t go to study abroad at all?”
“There’s no such thing as zero percent chance in this world.”
“That’s right. It’s a world where a nearly completed building can be demolished all of a sudden, isn’t it?”
‘Demolishing a building…?’
Selene paused her actions for a moment.
Gwendolyn’s words sounded as if she were talking about Theron Cox’s crazy act.
Sure enough, that name came out of Gwendolyn’s mouth.
“Cox Corporation. There was an article in the newspaper today that they were demolishing a nearly completed building. I was wondering if it was because of you, my lady.”
“…Why do you think so?”
“Cox Corporation announced that there was a fatal flaw in the building, but I thought the truth might be to win back the heart of the woman he loves.”
It was too accurate for a mere guess, and Selene became suspicious.
“Did you meet Theron Cox behind my back?”
“It wasn’t a secret meeting. I just ran into him on my way to throw out the trash and we talked for a bit.”
“What did Theron say?”
“He said he was waiting for you, my lady Selene.”
Gwendolyn’s calm smile faded.
“And… to be honest, I’ve given that man a hint before.”
“A hint…?”
“Yes. That you were going to buy a new metronome, so if he wanted to meet you as if by chance, that would be a good time.”
‘A new metronome.’
Selene remembered that chance meeting.
When she was looking for a light to smoke a cigarette at the coffee house, Theron had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and lit her cigarette.
She had thought it was a coincidence, but it was because Gwendolyn had given him a hint.
Belatedly, she felt a sense of betrayal from both of them.
“Why did you do that?”
“Because I wanted you to experience love, my lady.”
‘Love.’
At that word, Selene felt as if the puzzle pieces were falling into place.
From her grandmother suddenly rushing her to get married, to Gwendolyn wanting her and Theron Cox to be together.
“Did you also know from the beginning that Theron Cox had approached me with a purpose, Gwendolyn?”
As she asked the reluctant question, the answer she had feared came from Gwendolyn.
“Yes. Lady Beatrix told me.”
“But you didn’t say a word to me.”
‘I trusted Gwendolyn, at least.’
A sense of betrayal that she had not felt from her grandmother and uncle welled up.
Even at Selene’s expression, who was biting her lip and holding back her anger, Gwendolyn continued calmly.
“I’m sorry if you were hurt. I did it because I believed that man would change you, my lady Selene.”
“And this is what happened.”
“I will apologize as many times as you want if my wrong judgment has hurt you, my lady. But please don’t judge too hastily. The future is always unpredictable.”
If she had thought of her as just another servant, Selene might have ordered her to go home on the spot.
But Selene knew that Gwendolyn was not just working here to earn money.
She had received several offers related to the piano from other places with her previous experience, but she had ended up staying here and had not left, no matter what annoying disturbances there were at the ducal estate.
The same went for her existence to Selene.
Gwendolyn was not just a servant, but a person who had always been by her side and had taught her the piano.
Perhaps she was more special than her grandmother, more than her parents who had passed away early.
So, she knew that this time too, Gwendolyn had not just acted presumptuously or judged lightly.
But the more she thought about it, the more she wondered.
‘Did Gwendolyn like Theron Cox so much that she would leave him be, even knowing that he had approached her intentionally?’
‘She had said she wanted her to experience love, but if he had looked like irredeemable trash, Gwendolyn would not have been able to watch so calmly.’
Selene, whose mind had become complicated, couldn’t bring herself to say anything harsh to Gwendolyn in the end.
“What’s done is done. But from now on, you can’t hide anything about Theron Cox from me.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
As Gwendolyn also bowed her head as if to admit her past wrongdoing, Selene also let out a deep breath, letting go of the anger that had welled up for a moment.
As she had said, what’s done is done, and perhaps the problem she was facing today was more bothersome.
Theron Cox.
What was much more important was for Selene to think about what to do with that persistent man from now on.