This kind of courtship is complicated - chapter 7
**#007 A Noisy Letter**
"Hey!"
"Is it really you, Mom?"
"Alright then. Are you on board with this too?"
Diana firmly held her husband's cold hand. Before Viscountess Belia de Vivié could say anything, Diana jumped up from her seat.
The chair Belia had just been sitting in seemed as if it would tip over any moment. Evan, who had been sitting next to her, calmly grabbed the armrest to stop it from wobbling.
Belia's eyes, full of joy, were definitely sparkling more than usual.
"To be honest, I thought Mom and Dad would be against it, just like Evan. Even though they acted normal on the surface, I was preparing myself for disappointment before I even spoke. It wasn't until today that I understood the feelings of people who always think of the worst-case scenario before anything else. Unexpectedly, it brought even greater joy when things turned out better than expected."
Belia, who had been talking non-stop, kissed her parents on the cheek after finishing her speech and hurried out of the room as if she had urgent matters to attend to.
She didn't give them a chance to reply. The lively footsteps rushing up the walnut staircase could be heard from here.
Half-eaten toast and cocoa sat forlornly on the dining table.
"Diana! Do as you please!"
The Viscount raised his voice in concern, but Diana showed no sign of hesitation.
"Don't you know our Belia by now? It's useless even if we object. Belia is the kind of person who does whatever she sets her mind to. And the emotion called love burns even more passionately when someone tries to quench it from the side."
"But what if the two of them happen to meet...!"
Diana's luminous violet eyes bent beautifully. Although she had brown hair like Belia, her eye color gave them quite a different atmosphere.
"Fortunately, Arzen Marquis's eyes are focused elsewhere."
Diana's words carried many implications. Viscount de Vivié recalled the scandalous articles about the Marquis and the pictures of women that had been published in the gossip columns.
Absolutely not. Belia wasn't one of them.
So, the sudden rejection of Belia's proposal had been merely due to embarrassment, it seemed.
Belia was not to the Marquis's taste.
With mixed feelings and a somewhat irritated expression, Viscount de Vivié contemplated this fact while Diana stared at the empty chair where her daughter had been, her gaze turning affectionate.
The room fell silent. The sky outside, which had ceased snowing, was clear. The sunlight that seeped through the window underneath reflected off busy moving hands.
The sound of a scratching pen permeated the afternoon. The crackling, irregular sound of logs burning in the fireplace warmed the room.
"It's done!"
After a few hours of sitting, a cheerful cry rang out. Belia unfolded a single piece of paper, head held high. Neatly written text filled the paper.
"It looks like the love letter to Marquis Arzen is finally complete."
Evan closed the book he had been reading out of boredom and looked at Belia. She sat at her cluttered desk, beaming.
Ink had smeared onto her cheek as she had written the letter so vigorously that it had to be scratched off. Nevertheless, she was content with her work.
"Are you really planning to send that letter?"
Ignoring Evan's disapproval, Belia nodded vigorously.
"Of course! Why would I have written it if I wasn't going to send it?"
"Do you really think you can do something about the Marquis?"
"Yeah, I think I can. I've said it before, but this is my business. Don't say anything, Evan."
Heavy sighs escaped Evan's lips, which had been listing Helios Arzen's faults just last night. He wondered what she was planning.
"I don't know. First, maybe you should wash your face."
Evan pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and tossed it lightly. However, the handkerchief ended up landing on her head, not her hand.
Belia grabbed the handkerchief that was blocking her view, checked carefully to see if there was any ink on her hand, and then meticulously folded the letter and put it in an envelope, sealing it with her most cherished stamp.
For Marquis Arzen.
Thinking of all the stories she had written under that name, a smile involuntarily crept onto her face. It had been like this all along.
Even though her hand was itching from hours of rewriting the letters, whether it was tension or excitement, her heart was racing as she thought about reading the letter to Helios, not sure which.
Belia looked up quietly. Snowflakes had fallen on the tree that had been asleep for the winter as it prepared for spring next year, and a white rabbit hopped playfully across the snow-covered ground, reflecting the soft light.
In her mind's eye, the image of Helios Arzen was painted against the pure white winter landscape.
In that hazy moment, only his eyes were visible. In the dim darkness, his black pupils, the brightest part, must have been beautiful to an extent that even he wouldn't know.
Only Belia remembered the image of him.
Up until now, none of the male protagonists in the novels I've read have been like him, but he's not more dazzling than them either.
'Helios Arzen.'
Maybe it was because of the softly spoken name, but Belia couldn't help but slightly nibble on her lips.
Even though the window was tightly closed, the chilly and fresh air felt like it brushed against her fingertips. Belia cautiously gazed at the letter she was holding.
I wonder if I'll receive a reply before the snow melts?
She had vague expectations, but this time, she decided not to say them out loud. Instead, she sealed the envelope with a brief kiss, filled with earnestness, and turned away.
"Evan, let's go!"
"Where to?"
"I'm personally going to deliver this letter!"
"Why do I have to go with you?"
"We're friends, aren't we? And irreplaceable ones at that!"
Belia grabbed her coat, scarf, and gloves. Of course, she didn't forget the letter. The queen she had seen for the first and last time at her debutante ball was sitting solemnly and elegantly on the stamp inside.
***
A noisy letter.
Unbelievably, most of the letters sent to Helios Arzen so far had been like that.
Filled with unnecessary stories on a single piece of paper, the letter was the loudest among all he had seen, thanks to some lady who sent it without a gap in her tales.
Helios Arzen held a letter in his hand, as he did every day, received from his butler.
What he ate, what the weather was like, or simple greetings – there was no mention of these usual contents in the letters.
Belia de Vivié's letters were somehow strange, not unlike that woman.
Starting with the story of talking to a cherry blossom tree growing near a window and receiving a response in the form of shaking branches. Then there was the news of making frog-shaped embroidery patterns, and the story of spotting a white pants-wearing athlete from Felcie's team with a torn uniform at a boat race last summer, ensuring he didn't feel embarrassed.
After learning about Belia de Vivié's unpredictable daily life, it was impossible not to wonder how her letters would conclude. Today was no exception.
With a faint smile, Helios placed the letter he had been holding down and gently gripped the handle of the tea cup, from which steam was rising.
As he took a sip of the herbal tea, the refreshing aroma filled his mouth.
Reading Belia de Vivié's letters before the morning newspaper arrived was no longer as bewildering as it had been.
It wasn't an awkward task to read the letters that were not boring at all.
But how long would this continue? That was the only question that piqued his curiosity. He couldn't understand her relentless efforts of writing passionate letters without receiving any replies.
Why, exactly?
Helios placed the teacup back on the saucer. The sound of it touching gently and brightly filled the air.
He thought of Belia de Vivié on the Christmas Eve he had first seen her.
"Well, I fell in love with the Marquis at first sight."
He remembered that moment when she, with her petite figure and brilliantly sparkling eyes, said something so absurd.
Helios smoothed his hair with his hand. The black locks scattered softly between his fingers.
"Is it Belia again? That persistent lady. Helios, it seems like you've made a big mistake."
It had been just like what Deon had said not too long ago.
It seemed like something had gone seriously wrong for that woman's jokes to be so persistent.
"Helios, may I come in?"
Just as he glanced at the densely written letter once more, a faint and gentle voice came from outside the door.
"Come in."
With a calm response, a suitable smile accompanied it. Clorenette Arzen, sitting across from the window at the table, approached with a table of tea in front of her.
"Helios."
As the sunlight settled on her white hair when she sat down, her delicate glasses frame shone with a golden hue.
Her bony joints and wrinkled face displayed the years she had lived through.
"Mother, have you come for business?"
Approaching his grandmother, Helios smiled warmly as he asked.
"Ah, you know very well."