Chapter 3

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Ivan’s cause of death was drowning. More precisely, drowning by falling on accident.

He welcomed the Count, an old friend who had come to visit him from afar, and slipped while trying to show the scenery along the river, the only pride of the town..

Although the greedy villagers valued a coin more than the word of God, everyone still expressed their condolences for the death of the pastor who came to the countryside to save their souls.

Ivan’s coffin was placed in the center of the church chapel. It was the season where everything was frozen, and no flowers were in bloom. As a result, people mimicked a bouquet of mistletoes and placed it on his coffin.

Anastasia sat on a chair in the front row of the chapel, staring blankly at her father’s coffin.

The village chief looked at Anastasia with pity.

A child who always wore old, worn-out clothes, was dressed in black clothes which had been hurriedly brought from a large nearby village by the count’s order.

The first good clothes she wore in her life were mourning clothes. The village chief told Anastasia that the count was welcoming and sending condolences to the villagers instead of young Anastasia.

“You must be a grateful. Don’t forget to be grateful for the rest of your life.”

“…….”

Anastasia nodded helplessly instead of answering. The Count was truly someone she should be grateful to. Both for Anastasia and for the village chief.

In a cold winter like this, it’s hard to ask someone for something. So, those who die in winter are cremated. But cremation requires firewood. When the village chief tentatively spoke of this matter, the count ordered to give him ten gold coins, and then said:

“If it is firewood, prepare generously.”

Ten gold coins for firewood. When the chief asked to sell firewood, people took out all the firewood in the warehouse when he said he would give money without going to a big village.Thanks to this, a mountain of firewood was piled up outside the village. Ivan’s body would burn very well.

That’s not the only thing to thank the count for.

‘I’ll take care of the child.’

When he heard that Ivan was dead, the chief immediately remembered Anastasia.

If there is a child in a village who has lost a parent, most of the time, the richest person in the village takes the child. It is not a loss. In this barren land, human beings are an important labor force that can harvest a hundred grains later even if they were only fed one potato a day. But the village chief did not want to take in Anastasia.

‘I can understand why the pastor kept her locked up.’

Although she is twelve years old, she was small and skinny and looked like an eight-year-old at most. Nevertheless, as she resembled her deceased mother, the villagers glanced at Anastasia with indecent intentions. Especially the men.

The Chief had seen Anastasia’s mother. The woman next to the pastor, who was in full bloom when he first came, was a beautiful woman even if she was clearly ill. She was a secret hidden deep inside the church and the next time he saw her, she was already buried on the hill.

The pastor openly expressed to other people how much he didn’t want to show his wife. Since then, he kept his daughter, who looked quite alike, hidden. Maybe he knew she would grow like this.

‘But Anthony has been talking a lot about that child these days.’

The village chief knew his son hung around the church every day, waiting for Anastasia to come out. The reason he wanted the dictionary was also to entice that child. But if I were to bring Anastasia into my house?

‘I can’t deal with that.’

My son is not going to rot in the countryside like this. He’s destined for a bigger city, no, the capital.

He will be the pride of the family. But if Anastasia is there, she’ll end up following him. And one day I’ll end up catching her in his bed.

It wasn’t the future the village chief wanted. I was worrying over where to send her.

But instead, the Count will take her. My worries we’re easily set aside.

After a few villagers payed their respects, Ivan’s coffin was immediately placed on the pyre.

The firewood pile burned fiercely for a day and a half. The village chief collected the burnt bones from the ashes and put them in a wooden box. Then he handed it to Anastasia, who was standing in front of the carriage.

“Listen carefully to the Count’s words.”

“Yes….”

Anastasia lifted her head, startled by the warmth of her father, it was the first time she had felt it. On the hill beyond the church in the distance, her mother’s tombstone appeared very small.

As Anastasia got on the carriage and looked out the window, the villagers gathered to see the Count off, waved. All the children looked at Anastasia with envy.

The poorest child in the village is going to become a future countess in an instant.

For rural people, working in a nobleman’s mansion was already a great honor.

He put up the leather shade of the window. Anastasia closed her eyes. Where was I going? She didn’t know, but she thought this golden carriage would take her to a more beautiful place.

The villagers bowed their heads as the carriage moved. Only after a long while did they raise their heads. And before they knew it, the carriage was leaving town. The big event of the Earl’s visit to a small country town is over.

When the carriage disappeared completely over the hill, people went back to their homes. It’s a boring routine starting again from tomorrow.

There was a fact that they had forgotten about the great event of the Count’s visit. The fact that there is no land melted enough to slip your feet in this season. Even if you fall, there is no river melted enough for people to drown in.

No one would ever think of it, and only the Count’s visit would be remembered forever.

***

“Ugh….”

In the shaky carriage, Anastasia covered her mouth. Then she lifted her head slightly and looked at the count’s eyes. Three days later, his attitude was still upright and graceful.

Anastasia calmed down and hugged the carriage’s cushion. The remains of her father, who was in her arms when she left town, were no longer in her arms. Not long after leaving the village, the count took it and threw it out of the carriage.

The remains, which were supposed to be buried in Ivan’s hometown, were thrown into an unknown land. Anastasia was surprised but had no choice but to sit back in the eyes of the cold count.

I didn’t have any affection for my father. But he was still connected to me with our family tree…

The count, who had been cold for a while after throwing her father’s ashes, was kind again after a while. He started talking about her mother in front of Anastasia.

Thanks to this, Anastasia was able to learn about her mother, who she had no idea of.

She was from Ills, not from Novgorod, as the name Chloe suggests. It is said that her boat sank while crossing the North Sea in her boat, and her fisherman Ivan saved her while holding on to her floating bag. Her family members were dead and she had no cousins to contact. Her mother was nowhere to be seen, and a year later, Chloe and Ivan married. And a month after the wedding, she met the Earl of Lauderdale, who had gone on vacation to a villa near the beach.

“It was a good time. Your father visited the villa every day because your mother didn’t go home.

The count laughed low as he said it. Anastasia trembled even though it was a laugh. The smiling count was somehow frightening. After three or four short stories, the count said no more.

The difficult and awkward journey continued. Then, when the carriage suddenly began running on a less rocky road, she heard the horseman say the mansion was not far away. She could hear the sound of speaking. At the voice of the horseman, the count said to Anastasia.

“You need a new name.”

“A new… name?”

“Yes. I’m also from the glorious Ils, so the ‘things’ I cherish on my land have Ils’ name. So I’ll put it on you, too.”

PR: I’m really annoyed with this pov of seeing people as objects, things, etc. This guy really seems to see her as a replacement for his version of Chloe. SPOILER: And the male lead! Ugh, he’s just as bad if not worse since you’ll see it in detail.

Cherish. Those words stayed in Anastasia’s ears.

Then I heard the voice of the horseman again.

“We’re here, Count.”

Then the count opened the screen wide which had been closed their whole journey.

“Ugh!”

Anastasia closed her eyes to the sudden pouring sunlight. The bright sunlight created darkness in her vision. Because of that, Anastasia couldn’t see anything for a while. Instead, she could feel something else. A warm wind with no trace of winter, a scent mixed with the wind, and a beautiful bird’s cry that she had never heard before.

Her eyelids moved slowly and the landscape began to take shape. The moment the blurriness became clear, Anastasia, forgetting that she was in the presence of the Count, jumped up and went to her window.

“Oh….”

Anastasia couldn’t say anything other than a brief exclamation at what entered her sights.

Until a few days ago, she was in a barren and frozen ground, but out here spring was already being welcomed. A wide meadow full of grass, sheep grazing, a river flowing quietly in the sunlight, and colorful flowers. And the huge mansion over there.

The Count did not condemn Anastasia’s rude behavior. Instead, he spoke proudly.

“This is my land, Edenhurst.”

Anastasia’s eyes shimmered at his answer.

‘Oh, I’m finally….’

A little further away was a large stone with the name of the land engraved upon it.

Anastasia wept quietly and engraved the name in her eyes, head, and heart.

Edenhurst

That was the name of the paradise Anastasia had longed for.

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