# 4
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Even if she had the blueprints in mind, this was her first time using tools and spring mechanisms.
Due to lack of experience, when she finished repairing the watch she had dismantled by lunchtime, it was dark outside.
“Woah, I'm done,” Scarlett said with rare happiness.
From the outside, it looked like she only opened the clock and then closed it.
But after reassembling it, the clock, which had been very slow, returned to its normal speed, and the noise it was making disappeared.
After hanging the clock on the wall again, Candace compared it to her own clock and said, “Oh my God, you really fixed it...”
While they were wondering, the door suddenly opened, and in came Gregory Domfelt, Scarlett's father-in-law. Scarlett's expression, which had been happy until that moment, changed to depression in an instant.
Gregory approached with long strides, looked at her with the blue eyes that his son Victor had inherited, and said: “I don’t understand how you can laugh now.”
Scarlett quickly got up.
Gregory angrily pointed to the window and said: “Did you know that the gas lamp in the hallway is out?”
Upon hearing this, one of the terrified maids who was watching the clock said: “I apologize! I forgot...”
Gregory replied: “Managing the maids is one of the duties of the mistress of the house. While my wife is suffering from a mental illness and is suffering from illness, you do not feel responsible, but rather you are hindering my son’s future and you are laughing!”
The nickname “the man who insulted the princess” followed Gregory throughout his youth.
Rumors said that he had seduced the elegant Princess Marina by various cunning means, and this news was published daily in the newspapers.
Scarlett was aware that Gregory projected his feelings of inferiority onto his harsh treatment of her. When he starts berating her, he continues for hours, exhausting not only Scarlett but everyone around her.
Meanwhile, Palin returned after finishing lunch that started at noon.
He was about to knock on the dressing room door when he heard Gregory's angry voice from inside: “Even animals don't forget what they just did and laugh! Isn't your dull mind preventing you from understanding your mistake?”
Scarlett thought she was wrong, so she sat holding her hands and did not raise her head once.
After Gregory harshly scolded her for a while, he revealed his true intention: “So, stop being stubborn and get divorced.”
As expected, the story returned to this topic.
"I'm sorry," Scarlett replied quietly.
Gregory asked: "Why can't you get a divorce? Don't you know after living with him that Victor considers you incomplete? If you're sorry for obstructing him, wouldn't it be better to make room for him to meet the daughter of a prominent family?"
“If you really want a divorce...give me some wealth,” Scarlett replied, remembering Victor’s order that she not appear at the party.
Gregory looked at her in disbelief and said, “What did you just say?”
Scarlett added: “My brother always needs a nurse, so his expenses are a lot. So, if you divide the wealth even a little...”
Gregory shouted: “You come without a dowry and you dare to talk about dividing the wealth!”
Scarlett replied: “Then I can’t get a divorce either.”
Even though her head was bowed, her will was clear, even Balin frowned.
Gregory continued angrily: “You can only do this if you are possessed by a demon, or if you are determined to destroy our family! This cannot be tolerated, go to the monastery immediately. Go and ask for forgiveness for your sins.”
Balin was surprised by his insult and quickly opened the door and said, “I apologize for interrupting. I came to tell you that lunch is over.”
When Balin, the heir to the venerable Redford family, appeared, Gregory stopped berating Scarlett in front of the servants, but he seemed dissatisfied.
After greeting Gregory, Balin added: “Sending the Commander’s wife to the monastery?”
"She has damaged the honor of my son, Mr. Palin. In the past, she could have been fired immediately and that is not enough."
“But the answer in the investigation is not a crime, right?”
Palin tried to intervene, but this only made Gregory more angry.
When the subject of the convent came back, Scarlett's hands holding together began to tremble.
Marina Domfelt, Gregory's wife and Victor's mother, has been in a mental institution for ten years, and is now confined to a convent. Scarlett was afraid that she too would be locked in the convent forever.
“The Commander won’t want that,” Balin said quickly. “I’ll go and talk to him now.”
Balin left after saying that, and Gregory left as well, dissatisfied.
Scarlett suddenly felt very anxious and breathed quickly, but when she saw the maids looking at her, she smiled with difficulty and said, “If you find a broken watch, let me know. I want to practice. My skills are poor, so it’s okay if I don’t fix it.”
They all looked at each other, then the maid Polly, who was working in the kitchen, quietly raised her hand and said: “I have an off clock, ma’am.”
Scarlett replied: “Really?”
“They said at the watch store that it was not repairable, but it was a Crimson watch.”
“Can I see her?”
Polly responded enthusiastically: “Of course!”
Polly was happy to see Scarlett so excited.
After everyone left, Scarlett remained unable to move due to shame. Then she slowly turned towards the wall clock when she heard its voice.
'At least I didn't waste this day in vain.'
She stood looking at the clock for a long time. Despite her feeling of distress and frustration, she felt comforted when she saw the watch she had repaired with her own hands, as if her parents were consoling her in her sadness.
***
The title of Duke of Domfelt was given to Marina Irene when she was expelled from the royal family, and is also the name of the wasteland on the outskirts of the capital that was owned by the royal family.
On Barren Hill, the Domfelt family took advantage of the enormous wealth brought by Marina to develop the land and restore the Grand Palace. In addition, Victor's enormous wealth was accumulated through the law that gave captains what they confiscated from pirates after deducting taxes.
On a hill overlooking the sea, Marines were training in the Domfelt family forest.
While others were training with rifles, Victor was focusing on getting used to a pistol made of silver and diamonds, awarded to him with a medal from the royal family.
Victor muttered, wiping his face with his left hand: “Just decoration.”
Thanks to his natural talent and effort, Victor always achieved impressive results in all his training and studies.
Ivan, the deputy commander, laughed happily when he saw Viktor, who rarely showed annoyance, look annoyed and said, “Zeina? It’s a historical and traditional symbol, sir.”
The gun was indeed both a symbol and an ornament.
Victor tried to focus again, so he raised the gun, but he noticed Balin approaching from afar.
Victor held the gun with his right hand and looked at the target. Despite his downplaying of the gun, its bullets hit the center of the target accurately.
Balin approached and said: “Mr. Commander, Mr. Gregory intends to send your wife to the monastery!”
Gregory, the second son, did not inherit a title, nor did he receive a title due to his unauthorized marriage.
Although it was an incorrect title, people called him “Sayyid” as they called army or police officers.
Victor listened to the excited Balin, and answered calmly as he loaded the bullets into the gun: “The monastery is not a prison, is it?”
“Even if it is, isn't that an exaggeration?”
“Why? Are you afraid that I will imprison her for life like what happened with my mother?”
“…I didn’t say that.”
“But you thought about it, didn't you?”
Victor continued to hit the target easily, then pointed the gun back, and fired two shots in succession, and a deer fell.
Balin, who could not bear to see animals die even though he was accustomed to seeing human death, felt upset and turned his head.
“It won't happen. My wife cheated on me, but she's not crazy.”
Victor fired one last shot at the target, then the gamekeeper picked up the deer.
Seeing the blood flowing, Balin closed his eyes tightly. When he opened them, Victor had left, and he heard Ivan's reprimand: “Don't interfere in family affairs. This is unnecessary interference.”
“I know that, but it is true that the commander did not remove Duchess Marina from the convent.”
“Well, there must be a reason for that.”
“But she is his mother.”
Balin sighed deeply, ruffling his red hair. He felt that his intervention was unnecessary, but he couldn't stop thinking about it.
* * *
That night, during dinner, Scarlett looked at Victor sitting in front of her for a while. He was dining in a tuxedo, as he did on their wedding day.
At the beginning of their marriage, she looked at him, fascinated by his elegance while eating.
For two years, he maintained the same appearance. Whether Scarlett was smiling happily or crying sadly in front of him, he continued to eat his food calmly.
Scarlett now maintained a similarly stern expression while eating, and said: “Victor, have you heard from Mr. Palin about the monastery?”
Victor answered indifferently: “Go to him.”
She accidentally dropped Scarlett hanging on the plate.
She left the pen and looked at him and asked: “...how long will I stay there?”
“I don't know”
“It doesn't have to be long. I might run away because I'll miss you.”
Scarlett laughed out loud after saying that.
Victor did not answer, but she continued with a smile: “Is one month too short?”
“Do whatever you want”
“No more than that. Come and get me in a month.”
“Okay”
“Victor”
She waited until he looked at her, then added gently: “I love you.”
“So do I”
Usually, Scarlett was the one to say “I love you,” unless Victor needed something. Sometimes he would reply that he loved her too, and sometimes he would just agree.
Whenever she received this confirmation, Scarlett felt happy mixed with a hint of sadness.