Emily’s father left the Parlis estate without seeing Alec.

Alec’s aunt watched Sophia’s father’s carriage from the window.

-Knock, knock!

“Sister, we’ll be taking our leave…”

“Thank you for your time, Richard. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“…Hmm… Are you sure about this?”

“Yes… I know you’ll be busy, but…”

“What about the marriage proposal you mentioned earlier? Wasn’t that a bit insensitive, discussing it in front of Alec?”

“I don’t think so.”

Alec’s aunt looked out the window and saw Alec and the doctor boarding a carriage.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

When Emily’s father arrived home, he saw the maids whispering in the hallway.

“What’s going on?”

“Oh! Welcome home, Master… There’s… a visitor for Lady Emily…”

“A visitor for Emily?”

(Could it be… the man from the marriage proposal…?)

“Oh! You’re back.”

His wife hurried down the stairs, relieved to see him.

“I heard there’s a visitor for Emily.”

“Yes… It seems they’re here to… collect payment from Emily…”

“What?! Payment? Who are they?”

“They’re men Emily was involved with before her engagement…”

“Involved with… before her engagement…”

Emily’s father remembered the three young men Emily had dated while at the academy.

“Why now…?”

“They heard the rumors about Emily… and they want to be reimbursed for the things they bought her…”

“…”

Emily’s father went to the drawing-room to see the three men who were waiting.

“My apologies for keeping you waiting…”

“It’s been a while, Professor Lemoir.”

“…”

“We know Emily’s here. Why won’t she see us?”

“My daughter isn’t feeling well and is resting…”

“Is it true she was having an affair with her sister’s husband? As always, Emily is quite something.”

“What business do you have with my daughter…?”

One of the men placed a sheet of paper on the table. The other two men followed suit.

“…”

“While I was dating Emily, I often paid for things on her behalf… She said she’d pay me back, but I never saw her again… I was shocked when I heard about her engagement… I was serious about our relationship…”

“…”

“I wasn’t heartbroken when I heard she was seeing other men, but I did spend a lot of money on her, taking her to dessert shops. I treated her like a younger sister. I didn’t intend to ask for the money back, but I have a girlfriend now, and we’re getting married. I need the money… I happened to run into these two, and when I heard they were coming to ask Emily for money, I decided to join them.”

“…”

“I loved how affectionate Emily was… I used to buy her accessories… But I was a student and couldn’t afford expensive things, so she would always get upset with me… When she realized I didn’t have much money, she stopped seeing me… We haven’t seen each other since graduation…”

“How terrible…”

“That’s awful…”

“…”

Emily’s father, after hearing the men’s stories, couldn’t bring himself to refuse their requests, knowing what his daughter had done.

“So, I just need to give you the amounts written on these papers?”

Emily’s father left the room and returned shortly with envelopes containing the requested amounts.

“Thank you very much… Now I can repay the money I borrowed from my parents.”

“Haha, now I can take my girlfriend out to dinner.”

“I’m finally going to buy some new clothes after two years!”

The three men talked about how they would spend the money, smiling.

“I’ve paid you… Now please leave… and don’t ever contact my daughter again.”

“Of course.”

“Alright.”

“Certainly.”

The three men smiled and left the estate. Emily’s mother, who had been watching them, entered the room where her husband was.

She sat down opposite her husband, who was slumped on the sofa.

“I paid them… They won’t be coming back…”

“Dear…”

“Ever since Sophia passed, it’s been one thing after another… If only she were still alive…”

Emily’s father wiped his tears and spoke to his wife.

“I received a marriage proposal for Emily…”

“What? A marriage proposal for Emily?!”

Emily’s mother was surprised to hear from her husband that there was a marriage proposal for their daughter.

“It was from the marquis’s aunt… Marchioness Adelaide… He’s a merchant from a neighboring country and he’s married.”

“What?! A marriage proposal from a married man… for Emily?”

“He has a wife and three children… and five other concubines… He wants Emily to be his sixth…”

“W-we can’t let Emily marry into such a family! You refused, of course, didn’t you?”

Her mother glared at her husband, seeking confirmation.

“I initially refused… But then she offered to cover all of Emily’s expenses at the Parlis estate… and if we accepted the proposal, she’d also cover the expenses owed to the Colbert family…”

“Dear…”

Emily’s mother sensed her husband’s internal struggle as he wrung his hands.

The Lemoir family was facing financial difficulties. Even after reducing the number of servants and maids, their situation was dire.

Her husband had been searching for work and had even asked his siblings and relatives for help, but due to the rumors surrounding Emily, some of them had been affected both personally and professionally, and had turned him away.

“I heard he’s a kind nobleman… He approached Marchioness Adelaide with the proposal after seeing Emily at a banquet… Since no one knew about Emily’s fiancé, he must have assumed she was available…”

“…”

“I haven’t given her my answer yet… I doubt a better proposal will come along for Emily… It’s fine if she remains unmarried, but I worry about her future, as she’s never experienced hardship… And we won’t be around forever… Considering all this… perhaps I should accept the proposal…”

Emily’s father, tormented by his worries, spoke to his wife.

“W-what about… Alec…? Emily still has feelings for him. Perhaps they could…”

“Don’t even think about it! The marquis was Sophia’s husband! Are you trying to cause more trouble?! Besides, the marquis is no longer a member of the Parlis family.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“At the Parlis family meeting today, Marquis Alec was stripped of his title and became a commoner…”

“W-what… Why…!?”

“He angered his aunt, Marchioness Adelaide… That was his punishment… She revoked his title…”

“Why…? Alec is her nephew… That’s cruel…”

“Indeed… but I believe Marchioness Adelaide made that difficult decision out of her love for Sophia… She cared for Sophia like family… But the marquis and Emily destroyed Sophia’s life… I believe she suggested the marriage proposal for Emily and stripped Alec of his title, reducing him to a commoner… for Sophia’s sake… She cared more for Sophia than we, her own family…”

Emily’s father’s body trembled as he wept. Emily’s mother, hearing that Alec had become a commoner, slumped her shoulders. The two continued to agonize over the marriage proposal for Emily.