He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 121

121. Meeting Miss Lila

◈ The next day, afternoon. Price Ducal Residence, St. James, London.

Whoa- Whoa-

“We have arrived, sir.”

The Price Ducal Residence was located in the St. James area, adjacent to the south of Mayfair.

St. James had long been famous as a place where London’s upper class gathered, and, befitting its reputation, it was lined with luxurious and dignified mansions.

Guided inside by the butler, Duke Price’s wife, who had been waiting in the spacious living room, greeted Tae-oh with delight.

“Lord Sanderson, thank you for coming all this way.”

“Not at all, Duchess. It’s not far from where I live, so it wasn’t hard to find.”

“That’s a relief. Why don’t you have a cup of tea here for a moment? My granddaughter will be down soon.”

“Yes.”

While they were drinking tea and waiting for his granddaughter, a maid with a troubled expression hurriedly approached the Duchess.

“Why are you alone without Eva?”

The Duchess frowned and asked, and the maid replied in a barely audible voice.

“The young lady… said her ankle hurts and it seems difficult to come down the stairs….”

“What?”

“…So, she asked me to tell you that she will greet the guest in the study on the second floor.”

The Duchess’s face contorted for a moment.

Tae-oh was just as embarrassed, as this was a first for him.

Before the Duchess, who was sighing deeply, the maid was hanging her head as if she had committed a great sin.

“What are you standing there for? Go and do your job.”

“Ah, yes! Yes!”

As soon as the words were spoken, the maid quickly disappeared.

The Duchess opened her mouth with an embarrassed face.

“I’m sorry. That girl must be acting like that because I said something to her last night. She doesn’t even want to face me.”

It seemed that she had been suffering from her grandmother’s pressure to marry all this time.

After a moment of contemplation, the Duchess asked Tae-oh.

“Would you go with the maids and talk to my granddaughter? I’d like to go with you, but I think we’ll end up arguing. Then the consultation won’t go well.”

Since it wasn’t a company consultation room, she meant that she would assign a maid because he couldn’t be alone with an unmarried lady in the house, adhering to social conventions.

“Yes, as long as I can consult, I don’t care how.”

“Thank you. Then please wait a moment.”

The Duchess called two maids, and Tae-oh followed them to her granddaughter’s room.

* * *

Knock knock knock-

“Young lady, your guest has arrived.”

“Tell them to come in.”

A clear and youthful voice. But it felt somewhat cold.

Clunk-

The door opened and the granddaughter in question came forward and curtsied.

“Nice to meet you, my name is Eva Riley.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Theo Sanderson.”

The woman he faced was a slender and beautiful young lady with abundant blonde hair.

In particular, her slightly upturned eyes and plump lips were features that any man would find attractive.

“Please sit here.”

“Thank you.”

However, as soon as she sat down, Eva’s prickly tone continued.

“I’m a little doubtful as to why matchmaking requires counseling. I’m sorry, but I hope you can keep it brief. I’m a little tired.”

The negative and hostile emotions emanating from her tone were greatly diminishing her charm.

‘The appearance shines beautifully, but it seems to be gnawing away at that beauty with evil emotions.’

Gentlemen would be fascinated by her appearance, but when they heard her thorny words, they would quickly tire and avoid her.

‘Hmm… it certainly won’t be easy.’

Thanks to her grandmother, she grew up without any shortcomings, but the early death of her parents easily made her perceive herself as an unhappy being.

However, she had a strong sense of pride and didn’t want to show that side to others, and as she pretended to be stronger, she developed her current prickly personality.

“I guess my grandmother asked you to find a man who would fall head over heels for me because she’s going to give you a lot of money? And what else is there? Oh, that’s right! On top of that, a noble young man who is steadfast and has no desire for money, so he doesn’t need a dowry and will only love me? Heh heh….”

Eva was rattling off the conditions set by the Duchess.

“Yes! If you bring such a person, I would want to get married quickly even if it wasn’t for my grandmother’s nagging. Oh, I don’t really like mediocre nobles. I wish he was at least a baronet [a hereditary title below a baron] or higher. If there is such a gentleman, please set the time and place at any time. I promise I will go. But I wonder if there is a man in this world who would marry a woman without a dowry. Hohoho.”

Despite being their first meeting, she didn’t seem to have much intention of being polite.

But her sneering face looked familiar somewhere.

‘That’s strange… I think I know this lady?’

Tae-oh, racking his brains, asked Eva.

“Excuse me… have we met before?”

“Pardon?”

“You look familiar.”

“I don’t think so. This is our first time meeting, isn’t it?”

Eva looked down at Tae-oh with eyes that seemed to say, “What nonsense are you talking about?”

The moment he saw her eyes, a hidden memory flashed through his mind.

‘Ah! The villainess I saw at the ball!’

Tae-oh finally realized who Eva was.

She was the lady who appeared at the ballroom with Lord Louis Palmer and Ashley, and was given a hard time by Ashley after showing off.

He hadn’t remembered because he had only passed by briefly several years ago, but her face looked very different from then.

Eva, who remained in his memory, was a lady with a mean look and excessive makeup that made him feel repulsed.

But Eva’s current appearance without any makeup was rather a graceful lady with a pure charm.

However, perhaps because of the bad memories at the ball, the story he heard through the Duchess, and her current crooked attitude, he didn’t find her attractive.

‘I don’t really want to do this one. Was I too quick to jump in because I was blinded by the desire for the building?’

Thinking of finishing the consultation quickly and returning, Tae-oh narrowed down the questions.

“Does Miss Riley have any ideal type that she particularly likes?”

“Ideal type… that’s funny. But I don’t really know what that means since we’re getting married based on conditions. I just want a good noble family. After all, noble marriages are….”

In the midst of such a troublesome consultation.

Clang-

A sharp sound of glass shards rang through the study.

A young maid who was wiping the bookshelf accidentally knocked over a flower vase placed there, causing it to fall to the floor.

The startled older maid glanced at Eva and scolded the young maid.

“What are you doing? What are you going to do if you break that precious thing because you can’t even do that properly?”

But an unexpected situation unfolded.

“Esther! Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I’m, I’m okay, miss.”

“Why are you touching that? You don’t have to wipe places you don’t need to.”

Eva jumped up from her seat and ran to worry about the maid.

She even tried to clean up the broken glass herself.

“Oh my, miss. Leave it alone. You’ll get hurt. I’ll clean it up.”

The older maid stopped Eva from grabbing the broken flower vase.

Eva quietly comforted the young maid, who was surprised and didn’t know what to do.

“You were so distracted by eavesdropping on my conversation, weren’t you?”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“What do you mean no? I saw it all. Anyway, you have to clean this up quickly because it’s a flower vase that my grandmother cherishes. She’ll be furious if she knows it’s broken.”

The maid’s face turned pale at the mention of the Duchess’s cherished flower vase.

“Oh, what should I do, miss?”

“Don’t worry too much. If you get caught, I’ll say I broke it.”

“Yes? Ah, yes. Th-thank you.”

Eva’s attitude was quite different from what it had been so far. The emotions she was dealing with felt like a different person.

“And Esther. Don’t wipe the bookshelf with a wet cloth, just dust it well with a dry cloth. You know how much I cherish these books, right?”

“Yes, miss… sob. I’m sorry. I haven’t been here long… sob.”

“Why are you crying over something like this like a fool? Everyone makes mistakes.”

It was an emotionless voice, so it might look cold on the outside, but it contained warmth and consideration that was difficult to express.

But that appearance confused Tae-oh.

‘What is it? It’s a completely different emotion…?’

The way she showed in front of Tae-oh and other nobles and the way she showed in front of the maids were so different that it was no exaggeration to say that they were different people.

‘It’s different from the arrogant attitude she showed at the ball and the words she said to the Duchess. Why is she covering up the mistakes of a lowly young maid like that? Esther, the maid, said she hasn’t been here long, so there wouldn’t have been time to get close personally.’

However, he was soon able to tell from the older maid’s words that Eva’s generosity was her usual character.

“Esther! Be careful. It’s a good thing it was the kind Eva, otherwise you would have shed quite a few tears in front of the Duchess today.”

‘Kind Eva? So that kind of appearance isn’t just a one-day or two-day thing?’

It was difficult to put his finger on it, but it felt somehow contradictory.

Usually, if she was the granddaughter of a ducal family with that kind of personality, it would have been more natural for her not to not tolerate or care about the maid’s mistakes.

But Eva was not only covering up the mistakes of a lowly maid, but she was also taking responsibility for it herself.

“Lord Sanderson, where were we?”

“Ah, yes.”

The consultation with Eva, who had returned to her seat, continued.

But the friendly and good emotions she had shown to the maid earlier did not appear. She was consistent with her thorny tone again.

‘What is this lady’s real identity?’

Just as the consultation was about to end, he saw the books that were full of bookshelves on the wall.

Judging from what she said to the maid earlier and the way they were organized, it seemed that she really cherished the books.

“I see you like books?”

“There are no such elegant books that gentlemen would like. They’re all low-level popular novels. It’s the only hobby I can do, since all I do is play and eat.”

“I don’t think it’s just a hobby?”

“Pardon?”

“There’s a badge on the bookshelf? That looks like a book club badge…. Are you a member of a book club?”

At that time, many small book clubs were operated around bookstores and other places in England.

“Yes. Well, I don’t participate very actively, but it’s still the only social activity I enjoy these days.”

“Ah, I see.”

But a unique bookshelf caught his eye. Unlike other bookshelves, it was a luxurious bookshelf with even hinged glass doors.

And on that bookshelf, a book titled ‘LOVE’ was filled in each section.

In the top section, there were about a dozen copies of Volume 1, and in the section below, there were about a dozen copies of Volume 2, and so on down to the bottom five sections.

‘Oh? She deliberately bought a dozen copies of the same book?’

All the books were written by the same author, and each volume had a subtitle.

• LOVE Vol 1. Glimpse

• LOVE Vol 2. Rekindled Flames

• LOVE Vol 3. Absence

• LOVE Vol 4. Destiny’s Dance

• LOVE Vol 5. Yielding to Fate

Since they all had the same title of ‘LOVE’, it seemed to be a series of romance novels.

Looking at the author’s name, it was Logan, and the publisher was ‘Jayden’.

‘Hmm… Eva must be a huge fan of the author Logan. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have bought so many copies of the same book and displayed them so carefully.’

Even in modern society, there are many enthusiastic fans who buy and collect multiple copies of their favorite singer’s albums.

Eva was buying and collecting books in that way.

Perhaps this was a good opportunity for Tae-oh as well. Reading the book that she cherishes so much would allow him to more clearly understand Eva’s inner emotional state and tendencies.

* * *

Tae-oh had finished the consultation with Eva without much gain, but he had obtained a unique clue: that her inner self was different from her seemingly sharp appearance.

She had been living with a false appearance for a long time to hide her true feelings, but now it seemed that she was comfortable with that appearance as if it were her own.

However, judging from the completely different attitude towards the maids and the books that filled the bookshelf, there was a high possibility that Eva’s inner self was hiding a completely different story.

In particular, there could be some answers in the book called LOVE, which she cherished so much.

As soon as Tae-oh came out of the Duchess’s house, he headed straight to a paid book rental store to get the novel LOVE.

* * *

London Leadenhall, Minerva Book Sales and Rental Store.

A bookstore with a luxurious red lounge that catches the eye.

When he opened the door and went inside, a middle-aged man with a pipe in his mouth got up and greeted him with delight.

“Welcome… Oh, aren’t you Lord Sanderson? Wow, it’s been a long time since you’ve been here, hasn’t it? Haha.”

“Yes, Mr. Harvey. It’s been a long time indeed.”

The Minerva Book Sales and Rental Store, located in London’s Leadenhall, was a fairly large bookstore that rented and sold books for money.

It was a type of paid lending library, and this type of bookstore had been developing in England since the early 18th century.

In these rental stores, it was common to make about 25 copies of a novel and earn money by renting them out.

Because the price of books was very expensive at this time, it was common to copy the original book and rent it out for less than half the price, and then return it a few days later after family or friends had read it.

“Mr. Harvey, do you have any novels written by an author named ‘Logan’ here?”

“Logan… you say? Ah, Logan! Yes, we have a few. But which book by that author are you looking for?”

Logan seemed to be a mid-career author who had written several works.

“Um… it’s like a five-volume novel. The title was LOVE. I think the subtitle of Volume 1 was Glimpse. I only need Volume 1 for now.”

“Ah, LOVE.”

He nodded, thinking for a moment at Tae-oh’s explanation. And soon he headed to one corner.

Thump- Thump-

He dusted off the dust on the box and took out a book from it.

In his hand was Volume 1 Glimpse of the book LOVE that he had seen in Eva’s room.

It seemed to be a relatively recent book, but it seemed that it had already been removed from the display case.

“Is this the book you’re looking for?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

But the clerk said with an apologetic expression.

“Lord Sanderson, I’m very sorry, but we don’t have a copy of this Logan’s work for rental. The boss told me not to bother making a copy because it’s not very popular.”

In modern times, it would be unimaginable for a large bookstore to make and rent out copies of books.

But this was very common in England at the time, and this paradoxically played a major role in the early development of the publishing industry.

“It’s okay. I’ll just buy the book.”

“Ah, would you like to do that?”

Even if it was a novel, it was usually about three volumes. He wondered what kind of content was in a novel that was five volumes long, but he thought it would be enough to buy and analyze just one volume for now.

And above all, he expected that he would get some sense of what Eva’s true intentions were after reading this book.

* * *

Late at night.

The candle in the bedroom was not extinguished.

Tae-oh had been reading Logan’s book for several hours.

Clack-

Finally, he read the last sentence of Volume 1 and closed the book. It took longer than he thought to understand and analyze the meaning.

‘…….’

At first, he thought it was just a popular novel and tried to go to bed with a light heart.

But as the story progressed, he became more and more immersed in the novel.

He was reading it to understand Eva’s psychological state, but he was rather greatly impressed by the author’s thoughts and insights in writing this work.

‘To think that there was someone with this level of insight and knowledge in the 18th century….’

The stories melted into the writing were full of thoughts that would be difficult to come up with without long years of experience and intense contemplation.

But judging from the fact that he had never heard of the name when he was in modern times, it was clear that she was not a historically famous writer.

‘It’s too unconventional of a thought compared to the era. Of course, it can’t help but be unpopular….’

Logan’s novel LOVE dealt with the love story of a man named ‘Cayden’, who was from a poor but always positive aristocratic family.

He experiences a rapid change in emotions as he falls in love at first sight with ‘Natalie’, the wealthy and beautiful daughter of a merchant, in a bar.

The author Logan was skillfully portraying the process of discovering the true nature of ‘love’ through a poor aristocrat named ‘Cayden’.

In fact, epistolary novels [novels told through letters] were popular in romance novels at this time, but this work was in the third-person omniscient point of view, like one of modern novels.

Perhaps that’s why it was easier for Tae-oh to read.

Originally, he was only going to read Volume 1, but now he wanted to read more not only because of understanding Eva’s psychology, but also because he was personally curious about the author’s intentions in the book itself.

To that extent, Logan’s book had a very excellent insight into human emotions.

‘If Eva is immersed in this kind of book….’

He had only read one volume, but he felt that he could understand Eva’s psychological state to some extent.

Logan’s novel superficially contains the love story of a naive young aristocrat that can be commonly seen in this era.

But inside, it was full of subtle criticisms of the wrong values of this era.

In addition to the protagonist’s love story, there was a deep sense of disillusionment, hatred, and frustration with hypocritical aristocrats.

Above all, the perspective of looking at humans was as rational and sharp as that of modern intellectuals, so much so that it was hard to believe that it came from the head of an 18th-century person.

Perhaps Eva’s friendly and kind treatment of the maids, while showing a hostile attitude towards aristocrats or gentry from noble families, was in line with these ideas.

‘Ah… come to think of it, that’s why she did that to Lord Louis Palmer back then…?’

Eva Riley had shown great favor to Lord Louis Palmer, who became Ashley’s husband, at a ball a few years ago.

Now that he thought about it, Lord Palmer had consistently treated servants and maids humanely, and he wondered if she had fallen for that appearance.

‘The basic attitude towards humans is also a problem, but if you are a big fan of the author of this kind of writing, it is easier to feel contempt when talking to aristocrats who are not. Then, were all the things she said about introducing the lineage of the baronet earlier things she didn’t mean?’

If Eva was madly in love with Logan’s progressive thoughts and mature consciousness, she would have no choice but to feel a strong aversion to the immature thoughts and actions of the young aristocrats who had been introduced to her as marriage partners.

Perhaps the antipathy towards her grandmother, who brought up her fake aristocratic father and drove her into believing that her granddaughter’s blood also had such a swindler’s disposition, led to the antipathy towards aristocrats who boasted of so-called ‘noble status’.

But in any case, in this era, such antipathy was a very impure idea.

Moreover, it goes without saying from the aristocrat’s point of view.

Then, finding an aristocratic groom with emotions that Eva would like seemed very difficult in reality.

‘Oh dear- considering the other conditions set by the Duchess… this request may have to be abandoned in reality?’