It was Odette.
When he realized that, Bastian was already heading towards the valley below the trail.
It was the path he had taken to join the fishing group and the others to picnic.
He saw a woman wading into the water in the ravine to which he looked absentmindedly. He didn't even know what in the world she was there for.
It just happened.
His eyes went, his feet moved, and there was Odette.
Bastian mocked himself, feeling futile. Odette was staring at him with bold eyes. Her head held high, pretending unaffected, but she couldn't hide the trembling of her fingers.
The wind had stopped, but the petals of the wild flower bouquet Odette was holding were still swaying slightly. So did her skirt, which she had gathered and held in the other hand.
Bastian's throat bobbed, as he watched his wife searching for something. How comical and irritating this moment was as the woman trembled as if she was about to be attacked by wild beasts.
As Bastian reached the edge of the valley, Odette, who was crossing the stream, suddenly stopped her movement. She looked panicked as she had dropped something.
Making a quick decision, Bastian stepped into the water without hesitation. It wasn't too difficult to find the rose-colored gem shining among the stones.
"Hey, Captain Klauswitz! Did you get impatient with the fish and ran to your wife?"
Loud laughter was heard from the hiking trail on the slope. It was Admiral Demel and a group of generals from the Navy Department.
Bastian responded with a brief silent bow, and took a step closer to the stiff Odette. He was thinking of giving her back the necklace and leaving, but it didn't seem like a good choice in this situation.
"There are many eyes watching."
Bastian lowered his head towards Odette, who was startled to back away, and whispered a warning.
Odette could not run away from this contract.
Bastian was well aware of that. No matter what happened, even if he broke all his promises.
She was a woman driven to the edge of the cliff. If she caused a commotion and the emperor found out, she wouldn't be able to get the money she was guaranteed. She had no choice but to fall down the precipice.
But she was also a woman whose attachment and responsibility for her life were too strong for to do something stupid like that.
Bastian gently put the necklace with the slightly open locking ring on Odette's neck. Odette's fear and antipathy, which were vividly conveyed, were not the subject of consideration.
In any case, the strong one in this marriage was Bastian. So he just did what he wanted. That was the right of the powerful.
The silly jokes and laughter thrown by the onlookers were carried by the cool breeze.
Odette struggled to endure this moment. She tried to resist by sending a resentful glare, but Bastian's face was one of neither guilt nor remorse for his past outrageous actions.
The eyes looking directly at Odette were just blue, without any emotion.
Around the time when it became too much to receive that gaze any longer, the locking ring on the necklace finally snapped in place. While Odette, barely relieved, catching her breath, another group of guests came down the trail.
It was then that Bastian's hand, which had been slowly sweeping down the nape of her neck, touched the pendant. It was where he could feel the beating of her heart. Unable to bear it any longer, Odette pushed Bastian away with all her might.
In the wind, the missed bouquet and the hem of her skirt dropped to the flowing stream.
However, he did not even move an inch, and rather, only Odette lost her balance and stumbled. Thanks to Bastian's sturdy arms wrapped around her back, she was spared the shame of falling into the water, but she wasn't sure if that was a blessing or a curse.
"Oh…. ."
Odette gazed hopelessly at the bouquet of flowers being swept away by the current of water.
On the sparkling surface of the water, the carefully collected colorful flowers fluttered and danced.
Until the last flower disappeared, Odette stared blankly across the stream. Bastian's gaze was also directed there as he embraced Odette.
***
Odette often thought of that day after that.
It was an afternoon in the summer forest, when her ears were tingling with the sound of the powerful water flowing without rest. Flowers with vivid colors and clear water. A sliver of sunlight that came through the dense foliage of the trees.
The end of that memory was always Bastian. The man Odette had no way to understand.
Like the flowers that had floated away in the current, this confusion would one day disappear to the other side of life.
Odette opened the door to the small study, reflecting on that comfort. The interior decoration of this room was completed the week after returning from the Demel's residence. Classical landscape paintings and Pelia ornaments. The space reflected Sandrine's request to some extent.
Odette received the head maid's work report while sitting at the desk facing the painting she had picked out herself.
Arden's daily life became monotonous as the number of guests who had flocked to celebrate the wedding decreased. Except for the weekends Bastian came to visit, Odette spent most of her time alone in the villa.
Her relatives also visited, but not very often. Outings were also kept to a minimum. It was a decision she made based on the judgment that contact with the outside world should be reduced as much as possible.
It had already been two months since the wedding.
Soon, Berg's short summer would end, and the cool, windy season would come. As time passed, the next summer would come, and then the summer after that, and this marriage would come to an end.
Odette became a little more cautious when she realized that two years might not be that long. At this point, the friendly newlyweds had been shown enough, so it was time to take care of herself. It was the right thing to do to minimize the impact their divorce would have.
"Furniture for the solarium will arrive this afternoon."
The maid who delivered the last report took a step back.
"Yes. Good work, Dora. Take a break."
Odette smiled kindly and opened the letter on top of the mail pile. It came from Tira.
Odette read Tira's letter while drinking tea. New friends, current interests, and expectations for the new semester that was about to begin. It was a very Tira-like letter, distracting but friendly.
Would Bastian accept her request to visit her sister for a day?
After a few moments of pondering, Odette added the note to the bottom of her open notebook.
Try not to bump into each other.
On the way back from a weekend at the Demel's, Odette made up her mind. Until the day this marriage ended, she must not confront Bastian in order to keep herself safe.
Looking back, it was mostly when he had a conflict with Odette that Bastian became harsh. Other than that, the man showed nothing that could be called emotion, and they could be polite strangers to each other. As it had been ever since that day.
They had to stay one more night at the Demel's villa, but the misfortune like the previous day did not happen. It was thanks to Bastian, who had been at the card table all night, only returning to the bedroom around dawn.
After giving the bed to her husband, Odette went out for an early morning walk that she had promised Marchioness Demel the day before. It was a natural outing with respect.
The two weekends they spent together in the Ardennes were no different.
Odette greeted her husband with a gorgeous appearance that was enough to be on the stage of the opera house.
She just sat quietly like a puppet and laughed, completely excluding her thoughts and judgments. Occasionally, resentment set in, but Odette endured it well. She would rather endure humiliation than go through that* again. It was a painful lesson learned from experience. (*she was talking about the near r*ped incident)
By the time the sunlight streaming in through the window with open curtains reached the end of the desk, only one letter was left in the mail pile. The sender was Maximin von Xanders. The sweet botanist.
Hearing that she was creating a garden for the new mansion, Count Xanders kindly recommended plants and flowers that would grow well in the climate of Ardennes. A greeting saying thank you for being kind to his daughter and a short note about Alma's health these days were added.
As Odette, soothed by the warmth of the thoughtful letter, stood up, a message came that new furniture had arrived.
Quickly fixing her hair and straightening the folds of her skirt, Odette went to the solarium and met the interior decorator.
In the hexagonal room protruding toward the sea, there was a completely unexpected piano.
"Did my husband buy the piano?"
"I suggested that putting a piano in the solarium is trendy these days, and he gladly accepted."
The interior decorator opened the lid of the piano with a proud smile.
"I'm proud to say this, but you can't easily get a piano like this even if you have money, ma'am. Thanks to my friendship with the musical instrument company, I was able to get it through hard work."
He was bragging, but at least this statement was close to the truth. For a person who had been playing the piano for many years, Odette noticed this at a glance.
She was perplexed by the fact that a man like Bastian who had no interest in music had picked up such a luxurious instrument.
Don't be greedy for what isn't mine.
Even at the moment of sternly scolding herself, Odette's eyes were fixed on the beautiful piano.
Even if she couldn't have it, she wanted to stay by it for a while.
It was the first greed that arose since she stepped into this mansion.
***
Bastian left work earlier than usual. It was thanks to the completion of the preparations for the naval festival. It was a reward for the hard work he had done so far, but it didn't mean much because he had to go back to the office again anyway.
"I'll rest for a bit, Lovis."
After giving the butler a brief command, Bastian went straight to the study on the second floor.
Excluding the time to change his clothes and move around, the given break was less than half an hour.
Bastian first took off his uniform jacket and sat down in his wing chair. He had already been off work for several days in order to finish his urgent business as soon as possible. He took care of the work there until deep dawn, then went home, closed his eyes for a while, and went back to work at the Admiralty.
Just as he was about to close his eyes to get some sleep, the phone rang. He could have let Lovis take it, but Bastian got up out of habit and walked over to his desk.
"Yes. This is Bastian Klauswitz."
The late afternoon sunlight fell on Bastian, who was holding the receiver. The call didn't end, but for some reason the other person didn't answer.
– …Hello.
Just as he was about to put the receiver down he heard a clear voice saying an awkward greeting. Bastian slowly opened his closed eyes and looked out the window.
– It's me. So…
"I know. Odette."
Bastian cut off Odette's unnecessary explanation with a low sigh.
He felt the sharp edges of his nerves, which had been awakened by strong coffee, were becoming dull. It was a very sweet but unpleasant sensation, resembling languid fatigue.