Seeking for Your Forgiveness

Chapter 4. Police Agency?

The guard frowned.

She’s here to collect the debt from the marquis?

It seemed impossible that the woman in front of him would have more money than Marquis Schneider. In order to be owed a debt, she had to be at least a member of the royal family.

He contemplated for a moment with a concerned look, and then said, “I’ll ask and come back again, so please wait here for a moment.” For some reason, he couldn’t let her go away.

Marianne slowly nodded.

Creak.

One side of the door in front of her was closed. As Marianne heard the guard’s footsteps go far away, she casted her eyes at the cypress tree standing nearby. The breeze shook her black veil gently.

Kristoff probably never imagined that she had fled here. And what she was going to do here as well.

She was scared. It was a lie if she wasn’t scared. In the past three years, she has made few decisions for herself.

However, from now on, her life would change solely by her decision. She was being careful to even take a step ahead as if she were standing on a narrow single-wooden bridge.

“Will I be able to do well on my own?”

The weak question that came out between her lips dispersed in the wind and vanished without a trace. Marianne shook her head after unconsciously grasping the hem of her dress. Then, she lifted her chin again.

Her determination filled eyes were glistening like persimmon leaves during spring.

***

“Come in.”

His old voice, which was as if showing the amount of days he lived, still contained a strong power. Upon being granted his permission, the butler opened the door and reached out lightly.

“Please come in, Mrs. Kloze.”

The young butler whose face she had never seen before gave a soft smile. He’s probably the assistant to the butler.

Nodded, she fixed her back posture and went into the parlour. The afternoon sunlight shone onto the floor as if it were a carpet.

Marianne walked by the luxurious furniture and paintings and headed to the gray-haired old man. The old man, who was sitting on the blue satin chair, had been giving her a sharp eye from the moment she entered the room.

The old gentleman seemed to have just returned from the outing. He slowly rose from his seat while still wearing his business suit.

The old man’s wrinkly face looked relaxed and warm at the first glance. However, Marianne didn’t take too long to notice his sharply flashing gray eyes.

“Mrs. Kloze?”

Marquis Schneider spoke to Marianne who headed toward him. He asked with a wary voice, as if to confirm her name.

“Long time no see, Marquis Schneider.”

The marquis’ eyebrows twitched upon hearing Marianne’s voice. He finally looked at her, whose eyes filled with confidence.

Then, he frowned as if he had no idea why Marianne came to see him in this way, regardless of how much he thought about it. The wrinkles around his eyes deepened a bit more.

“Take a seat, Mrs. Kloze.” Marquis Schneider said while observing her mourning clothes.

“Ehem.”

Marquis Schneider’s gaze shifted away from her outfit. Recalling the face of his grandson, who was still alive, he rubbed his palm and glanced at the butler.

“First of all, I would like to serve you tea……”

“It’s fine, My Lord.”

Marquis Schneider slowly turned his head. The marquis, who was staring at her with a mysterious gaze, soon realized what Marianne was hinting at and signaled to him, it was as if telling the butler to leave.

The quick-witted butler quietly left the room. Marquis Schneider looked at her again only after the door was closed.

The marquis, who was staring at her, finally spoke in a friendly tone.

“Marianne? Are you really Marianne?”

“Yes, My Lord.”

Marquis Schneider thought he knew his granddaughter-in-law quite well. She was sincere in helping Kristoff, and as the only woman in the Schneider Family, she also didn’t neglect the family affairs.

Marianne’s face while standing next to Kristoff and smiling came to his mind. His eyes turned again at the widow who was wearing a black mourning dress.

“What’s the matter, Marianne?”

Marquis Schneider, who couldn’t figure out the answer, couldn’t endure the lingering silence and finally spoke up. Marianne glanced up through the veil and made eye contact with him.

The voice coming out of her mouth was laced with determination.

“I am going to divorce Kristoff, Your Lord.”

Awkward.

Marquis Schneider unknowingly let out such a noise. He brought his eyebrows together and frowned. The wrinkles around his eyes twitched.

Right, he knew his granddaughter-in-law quite well. That she wasn’t the type of person who recklessly says this.

If Marianne talked about divorce, it meant that there was a serious matter happening between them.

“Marie.”

Marquis Schneider said her name with a tender voice. His tone was soft, as if soothing a child. His livid eyes, which were paler than Kristoff’s, stared at her affectionately.

“I admit that Kristoff is gruff. I know he can’t treat a woman’s heart well. He must have been so immersed in his work that he neglected his family. All the while you must have had a hard time. However, Marie.”

“Regardless of what you say, I don’t intend to change my mind. It’s already decided.”

Marquis Schneider was silent once again. No matter how much he tried to back his grandson, he couldn’t say that Kristoff had a friendly personality.

Kristoff was gruff to everyone. He was a consistent man.

He wasn’t satisfied with the title of the next marquis of the Schneider Family, and he wanted to climb to a higher position on his own.

It wasn’t exaggerated to say that the goal has been achieved to some extent. At least, there was no one in the capital who didn’t know his name. His grandson’s fame has even spread to his estate, Blauberg.

Therefore, he was shocked when Kristoff brought Marianne and said this was the woman he would marry. This was because he never expected to have a marriage out of love, even the arranged one as either.

Although he didn’t know the amount of love they had when they met in college, Marquis Schneider was already fond of Marianne at first sight. It was because she seemed quite a patient woman.

And right now, even Marianne seemed to have given up.

After a brief sigh, Marquis Schneider casted his eyes at her again.

“Did Kristoff agree to have a divorce? Considering he’s……”

He couldn’t speak furthermore and shut up on his own. The marquis’ brows were slightly distorted while thinking about Kristoff’s nature.

If it’s him, he would never have agreed.

Marianne quietly replied, as if she had guessed what he couldn’t say. Her voice was calm and composed all the time. She implied that it didn’t happen accidentally.

“That’s why I tossed the divorce papers and ran away.”

“Run away……”

Marquis Schneider opened his eyes wide as if he had heard something unexpected. He finally realized why Marianne was wearing mourning clothes and sighed.

No, it was more like a laugh than a sigh.

The sound of laughter soon made its way between the crevice of his teeth. It seemed like a genuine surprise for him that Marianne, who was gentle and chaste, turned out to have such a side of herself.

He tilted his upper body forward and his gray eyes glistened with interest.

“Did you say you ran away? How did you get rid of the servants? They wouldn’t have gotten away from your side at all times.”

Marianne had an awkward expression on her face upon hearing his words, and quietly unraveled the things she had done. While listening carefully to her story, the marquis burst into admiration upon the part in which she passed in front of Gunter after escaping from the lounge.

Her cheeks glowed even more awkwardly. Her cheeks turned even redder upon feeling even more awkward than before.

“Hahaha.”

After hearing the whole story, Marquis Schneider burst into laughter again. Then, he resetted his expression right away and stared at her with a serious look.

The appearance reminded her of Kristoff at first glance. Kristoff would probably look like him after he grew over the years and became rounder a bit more.

“All right, what is the reason that my granddaughter-in-law, who can barely escape from Kristoff, came to see me? Seeing that she came to collect the last debt I owed to her, it must not be an ordinary request.”

As expected of Marquis Schneider, Marianne slowly took a deep breath. He knew why Marianne came here.

“Yes, there’s something I would like you to help me with.”

“What if I pretend to help you and contact Kristoff behind your back?”

Marquis Schneider asked, as if wondering. Marianne gazed at him thoughtfully and slowly pursed her lips.

“When I married Kristoff, My Lord, you congratulated us on our marriage and said that once in a lifetime, you would do us a favor, no matter what it takes.”
 

He was reminded by his old promise. He narrowed his eyes and nodded as if recalling it.

“After graduating from law school, you decided to give up on your dream and focus on helping your husband. It was a sign of my own sincerity in appreciating it.”

As he said, Marianne was one of the first women to enter law school. Conservative universities have opened their doors for women for the first time in line with the social situation, and she even entered the school with excellent grades.

Marianne has always wanted to be a lawyer or a police officer. The lighthouse that reveals the truth, Marianne’s heart pounded upon those words. Some of the women colleagues who graduated with her have already established themselves as lawyers.

However, Marianne decided to give up on her dream and lived as Mrs. Schneider after graduation. She didn’t feel unfair or dissatisfied about it. As she loved Kristoff.

She thought her life as Mrs. Schneider was quite worth it.

“Yes, I do. I’m still grateful to you.”

Marianne continued with his eyes down.

“I know the fact that the promise coming out of the marquis’ mouth is never blank. Therefore, I hope the marquis still keeps them now.”

Marquis Schneider’s eyebrows twitched at the way she spoke. He stared at Marianne with a gaze filled with unfamiliarity as if he were looking at something he never knew before.

The thought that he might have been the only one who thought to know her well crossed his mind.

The picturesque woman who assists her husband in a quiet and calm manner. She was, indeed, the perfect fit to have a seat beside Kristoff.

However, today, the unexpected appearance of Marianne undoubtedly struck the marquis right in the back of his head.

However, it wasn’t meant to be offensive. He meant it was quite cool. He also felt very pleased to think about how his grandson would show up in the future.

But then again, it’s time for him to suffer hardship in life as well. A man who has never been let down before has no profundity.

“At that time, I thought you would ask for land or jewelry, but I didn’t think you’d be in such a difficult situation. However, I can’t take back the promise I’ve made…… so, tell me what can I do for you, Marianne?”

Marquis Schneider asked brightly. After staring at him for a while, Marianne swallowed anxiously and finally brought up her intention.

“In here, please try with all your might to get me into the Blauberg Police Agency.”

“……”

Marquis Schneider closed his lips with a face that looked as if he had been struck on the back of his head. The crease between his eyebrows deepened a bit more.

It wasn’t long before he had a frown on his face.

“Police Agency?”

And then, Marquis Schneider asked again as if he didn’t quite understand yet, “Did you just say police agency?” in which Marianne replied with a nod.

“Yes, My Lord. You just have to state that you recommend me to the police chief. Since I graduated from law school, I won’t be eliminated due to lack of education.”

Blauberg was Marquis Schneider’s territory. Even if times had changed and he couldn’t wield absolute power as in the past, he still influenced the area almost as strongly as before.

It wasn’t just the police chief. Influential figures such as the mayor and local judges also bowed their heads toward him. Schneider was still alive and well. No, they are in a more glorious moment than in the past.

Considering the fact that money begets money, it wasn’t a new thing to know Schneider Family became one of the richest people in the kingdom.

Furthermore, Marquis Schneider turned Blauberg, which was nothing more than a port, into the most prosperous trading town within the kingdom. Kristoff’s skill might have been inherited from his grandfather.

“Police.”

Marquis Schneider, who was merely reciting the word like a parrot, once again frowned. His eyes, which reflected years of experience in life, scanned her up and down.

“With such a woman’s body?”