TVJWLP 25

Chapter 25

Orland’s World

Orland had been drunk since the night before. He couldn’t possibly face the anniversary of Charles’s death sober. Pouring a strong shot of liquor into his glass, he took out the pendant he always carried—a necklace designed to hold a photo. With a click, he opened it, and there was Charles, smiling brightly. Her black hair, like Tanasia’s, and her sunlit orange eyes gazed warmly at Orland.

“Charles…”

Even decades later, he could vividly recall the first day he met her. Charles had been the daughter of a nanny. On a sunny summer day, her orange eyes had peeked at him from behind her mother’s skirt, and that memory remained etched in his heart.

“What’s your name?”

“My goodness! Charles! Calling the young master by your name!”

The nanny had jumped as if in alarm, but Charles had been only five, and Orland eight. Unaware of social hierarchies, they used formal titles around adults, but called each other by name when alone. Charles had been Orland’s childhood friend. She existed in every memory of his life—from their cute childhood days, to her tomboyish youth, to her radiant beauty as an adult. At first, he had only thought of her as a friend. No one else could communicate with him like Charles, and no one else could make him so happy—but he hadn’t realized his feelings.

“I think I’m going to get married.”

He had heard those words from Charles on the day of her coming-of-age ceremony.

“What?”

“I’m of marriageable age now. Mother is insisting I marry. I even met the son of a merchant on the main street recently.”

It was like a thunderbolt. Charles, someone else’s woman? The thought of her laughing with another man and bearing a child half like each of them threw him into panic. Slowly, Orland realized he had fallen in love first. Once he understood his feelings, he interfered with every suitor Charles met. He’d sneak up to intimidate them and, if words failed, he wouldn’t hesitate to show off his power and influence.

“How dare anyone… take my Charles…”

He feared losing her to another. He worried endlessly about how to confess his feelings—but Charles took the first step herself.

“Stop it, Orland.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I know you’ve been interfering with all the men I meet. If you’re worried I’ll have an unhappy marriage, that’s enough.”

“I—”

“I appreciate your concern, but I’ll carve my own path. I choose who I marry, and whether I marry at all.”

Charles was not a woman who would be swayed by anyone. Like a pine tree with deep roots, her heart was strong, and anyone would inevitably fall for her. Orland hadn’t acted out of fear she’d be unhappy—he knew she would find her own happiness. He acted only for himself, fearing he would be devastated if he lost someone as radiant as her.

“Charles, I won’t let another man take you.”

“What are you saying all of a sudden?”

“I like you. No—I love you.”

The words, long suppressed, burst out uncontrollably. He remembered the surprise on her face vividly, followed by the stiffening expression that came next.

“Stop. This isn’t funny at all.”

“It’s not a joke…!”

“Master, isn’t this enough? Do you really think we could ever be together?”

Neither Orland nor Charles were the children they had been. They knew all too well the differences in their social status. Charles was the one overwhelmed, yet Orland continued to declare his love relentlessly.

“Wait for me. I’ll become strong enough that no one in the world can speak against us.”

“Orland!”

“I promise. No one will ever separate us—not my father, not my mother, not even God himself.”

He had made the historic Breloff family rise to power solely to marry Charles proudly.

“Orland, I know you have many proposals. Why choose me? My family is ordinary, my status low… I might regret it later.”

Charles was wrong. He had never seen anyone as beautiful as her. No one else made his heart race or reminded him of being a boy like Charles did.

“Because I love you. Charles, I love you more than anything. I would give everything for you, cherish you, love you as if my life depended on it.”

He would never forget the moment tears welled in Charles’s orange eyes. Their first kiss, when she was so small and delicate he feared breaking her in his arms. The first time she wore a white wedding dress, dazzlingly beautiful, and he felt as though he owned the world. When they held their daughters, Tanasia and Noxia, born of their love, he was the happiest man alive. If anyone asked which moment he’d return to if he could, Orland would choose that first day he met Charles—he wanted to love her again, just once more. A single tear fell from his eye, for as vividly as he remembered their happiness, he also recalled the day she was murdered.

“Or…land…”

A frail voice, red blood soaking the floor. While he was away for business, a mysterious intruder had invaded the Breloff estate, killing Charles and everyone else. By the time he arrived, everything had already happened, and only Charles, barely alive, remained.

“Charles! Charles! Hold on! The doctor’s coming!”

“Orland… just… promise me.”

“Don’t say anything. You’re bleeding.”

Fear gripped him. Holding her trembling hand, she spoke:

“Take care of Tanasia and Noxia… properly…”

“What do you mean? Don’t say that. You’ll be fine. Why say such things?”

“Promise me. Even if I’m gone… raise Tanasia and Noxia so they have nothing to envy in life…”

A fire seemed to explode in his throat. He could instinctively sense that this was Charles’s final moment. He wanted to refuse, to say no, to beg her not to die—but her desperate eyes left him no choice.

“Alright. I promise. Even without you, I’ll raise Tanasia and Noxia well.”

“…Thank goodness…”

Charles’s faint smile came, and she dropped her head. Feeling her limp body, he could only cry out. Holding her as she died, he whispered endlessly:

“I love you, Charles. I love you so much.”

Orland’s world ended that day—the very moment Charles died. Even now, over a decade later, whenever he closed his eyes, he remembered her and replayed the scene of her death. He had lost the woman he loved most, his closest friend, his greatest support. Without her, life had no meaning. No laughter, no tears—everything had turned gray overnight. Losing a loved one was far worse than he had imagined, like a soul dead but a body still moving.

“…I hope I’m not too old for her to recognize me.”

Charles had been dazzlingly beautiful in youth, but Orland had long passed forty. Sometimes he worried if she would recognize him if they met again, or tease him for aging.

“…I don’t care what’s said, as long as I can see her again…”

Even if she didn’t recognize him, he would recognize her no matter what. Seeing and holding her again was worth losing everything. Bitterly, he downed the rest of his liquor. The burn reminded him he was still alive. If Charles hadn’t entrusted Tanasia and Noxia to him, Orland might have killed himself the day she died. Or even if he had avenged her, he wouldn’t be sitting here drinking. What kept him alive was responsibility for Tanasia and Noxia, and finding the one who killed Charles.

“Who could it be?”

Someone had dared to invade the Breloff estate and kill Charles. Orland had spent over ten years investigating and pursuing the culprit—without finding a trace. Clenching his glass tightly, his knuckles whitened as if it might shatter at any moment.

“The one who’s escaped for so long… who are you?”

That the culprit could remain hidden meant their status wasn’t low. Orland had been building power to punish whoever it was. All the Breloff family’s wealth, influence, and connections would be used to find and punish them.

“Just wait until I catch you.”

He would make them feel the world’s worst pain. He could not rest while alive—or dead—without avenging Charles. Every year on the anniversary of her death, he vowed to kneel the culprit at her grave. But years had passed without success. This year, like every year, he could not face Charles’s anniversary sober.

As Orland drank again, someone approached. A hand, enticingly warm, wrapped around his, and he instinctively looked up. It was the madam of the bar, pale-skinned and black-haired, resembling Charles.

“I thought the marquis didn’t like drinking, but you’ve been at it since last night. Shall I warm the seat beside you?”

Since losing Charles, Orland had been courted by many. The seat of the Breloff marquis’s mistress was vacant, naturally inviting attention. Many women had even dressed to resemble Charles, but none were her. Orland set down his glass and murmured to the empty space:

“Zen.”

At his call, Zen appeared out of nowhere.

“Oh my!”

The madam recoiled, startled, but Orland’s taste for alcohol had already dulled.

“Remove her.”

He didn’t want small talk; he sought to drink in peace. Zen lifted the woman and flung her outside without hesitation. Orland rose, no longer willing to drink here.

“Let’s go elsewhere.”

Previously he had drunk at the Breloff mansion, but Tanasia and Noxia would worry, so he drank outside. As he staggered, Zen quickly steadied him.

“You’ve had too much.”

Having emptied his body of alcohol overnight, an ordinary person would have passed out.

“…This isn’t enough.”

Orland could only endure one day a year with the help of alcohol. To sleep tonight like unconscious, he needed more liquor. Zen had much to say, but this scene repeated every year, so he followed Orland’s wishes.

“I’ll attend you.”

As Zen guided him out, a cautious knock sounded outside.

“Master, a maid sent by Miss Tanasia has arrived.”

It was the carriage driver. Surprised, Orland shook his head to maintain sobriety.

“What is it?”

“She has prepared food suitable for a drink and remedies for hangovers.”

“Tanasia?”

Everyone knew Orland got drunk on Charles’s anniversary, but no one mentioned it. He had thought she’d simply scold him for drinking, but instead, she sent food to accompany it. For some reason, it made him chuckle.

“I thought these times were pure hell…”

Time without Charles was agony. He tried to care for Tanasia and Noxia, but it wasn’t easy.

“…My daughter’s grown so much.”

In the passage of time, Orland felt a rare pang of warmth. He wanted to tell Charles that their daughters had grown enough to care for him.