Chapter 39
Even after that, Lionel made sure to join her for meals once a week without fail.
Though he never lingered long even once, Agnes always looked forward to that short time.
‘Couldn’t you stay with me a little longer?’
She swallowed the words that rose to the tip of her throat.
This much is enough.
Don’t be greedy.
Consoling herself in that way.
Today as well, after Lionel left the seat first, Agnes finished her meal alone and prepared to go out.
It was because her body had recovered to some extent, and it was finally the day she had decided to go to the trading company.
“I’m going back there again.”
The voice that leaked out like a soliloquy was thin and powerless.
Clasping her fingertips together, Agnes took a deep breath for no reason.
“It’s okay. It’s just going to do what I’ve always done.”
Think of it as going out for a short while.
Unlike before, now when work is done, I can return to this mansion.
Having barely composed her mind, Agnes neatly put on her hat and adjusted her scarf.
Agnes neatly placed both feet on the footrest of the wheelchair.
The new wheelchair that Lionel had obtained moved smoothly forward without any obstruction.
Thanks to that, she could easily reach the place where the carriage was.
Kalt, who was waiting for Agnes, politely extended his hand.
“I will assist you, madam. From now on, I will escort you when you go to and from the trading company.”
As the carriage she boarded with Kalt’s help began to move, autumn light brushed past the window.
The city streets came into view after a long time.
In particular, yellow chrysanthemums resembling those she had once seen in the greenhouse of the Bardo Trading Company caught her eye.
“Pretty.”
The words muttered quietly bounced back from the glass window.
Since the trading company’s greenhouse belonged to Chloe, Agnes had never entered it even once.
After sneaking in and getting severely beaten, looking at flowers from afar was all she could do.
When she opened the window, the scent of flowers carried on the wind.
As the faint fragrance tickled her nose, Agnes slightly closed her eyes.
“Come to think of it, chrysanthemums were blooming in the duke’s garden too.”
Shall I go out to the garden this evening?
But alone, it would be difficult to navigate the uneven dirt paths of the garden.
Unless someone pushed the wheelchair.
Naturally, Agnes pictured Lionel’s face.
What expression would Lionel make if I asked him to walk in the garden together.
“He’d probably… dislike it?”
With a small chuckle, Agnes closed the window.
After all, watching flowers only with my eyes from afar suited me better.
***
“We have arrived, madam.”
Before Kalt could finish speaking, the carriage door opened.
At the same time, dozens of gazes poured in all at once.
Some covered their lips, others pretended to organize papers and averted their eyes.
But everyone’s attention was focused on one place: the returned Agnes Bardo.
Squeezing through them, the voices of Chloe and Adrian were heard.
“My daughter, come quickly. Was the journey tiring?”
“Agnes!”
Fluttering her white pearl earrings, Chloe rushed over in an instant and hugged Agnes.
The trading company people sent warm gazes at the sight of welcoming the sister they hadn’t seen in a long time.
However, the words that reached Agnes’s ear were different.
“You’re really lucky. How do you survive every time? It would have been better if you had just died buried in the collapsed theater back then.”
A snort burst near her earlobe.
Blatant chill spread wherever the breath touched.
Thanks to that, her mind, relaxed by the chrysanthemum scent, snapped awake.
Agnes briefly closed her eyes and opened them again.
“…As expected. Nothing has changed here.”
A bitter smile leaked out.
This is why I didn’t want to come.
But since I had already returned, I couldn’t avoid it.
Let’s do what needs to be done.
‘I must find something that can help Lionel.’
Agnes pushed Chloe away with force.
Chloe, suddenly left awkwardly hugging the air, suddenly frowned.
“Where should I conduct my work?”
“Hmm? Ah, that’s right. Your father has prepared a new office for you, who has become the duchess.”
Following Adrian down the corridor and turning in, a room that sparkled as if a new nameplate had just been attached appeared.
“I paid special attention to it—do you like it?”
New carpet was laid on the floor, and a fine display cabinet was placed on the wall.
On the surface, it looked splendid and impressive.
But if you slightly changed the direction of the light, the underside was revealed.
The carpet had frayed edges, and the glass of the display cabinet had fine cracks.
The desk, shiny only with polish, had scratches here and there, and the chair creaked when sitting down and standing up.
It was obvious that furniture used by junior clerks had been hastily brought in.
From the beginning, even the carpet was not suitable for a wheelchair to move around on.
“I’ll also assign an assistant. I hired a new person because there seems to be a lot to handle.”
At Adrian’s gesture, the young man standing at the door bowed his head.
“My name is Lucian.”
Gray hair and black eyes.
He was a man with an impression as featureless as achromatic colors.
After crossing the threshold, Lucian unconsciously clicked his heels together. Like the habit soldiers show when standing before a superior.
Lucian’s palms were covered with many calluses.
They were the hands of someone who had held a sword longer than a pen.
“It seems we’ve caught up on family matters enough, so I’ll bring the documents to process.”
At Adrian’s gesture, a tray piled high with document files was brought in.
Overdue transaction statements, canceled contracts, penalty adjustment proposals, trade suspension reports, and more.
The document files were neatly stacked on the desk.
Agnes was appalled at the absurd amount.
This was at the level of not having handled any work at all in the meantime.
It was surprising that they had only incurred deficits and not gone bankrupt.
“Then, I leave it to you.”
Adrian, with a relieved face after dumping the workload, tried to leave the room.
Lucian, who was frowning along while looking at the pile of documents, cleverly blocked Adrian’s path.
Then, in a very low voice so Agnes couldn’t hear, he whispered.
“What my master wants from the guild master isn’t something like that, I think.”
“First, I need to put out my urgent fire, don’t I? I will definitely meet what Colonel Winterbolt expects, so don’t be impatient.”
Adrian patted Lucian’s back with a slick face.
“I’ll gradually throw out the bait related to Rebelt. So, you should go in and help quickly.”
***
Time passed frantically.
Only when the sun was setting did Agnes stretch for the first time.
Ink had somehow smeared and spread on the side of her hand.
Lucian, who was organizing documents across the desk, looked up.
“Will you do more, madam?”
“No, that’s enough for today.”
Pausing her words, Agnes looked at him with an apologetic face.
“I’m sorry for making you work all day. You couldn’t even eat properly because of me, right?”
Lucian shook his head.
“It’s fine. And I am not of a status that the duchess needs to speak formally to. Please speak casually.”
“How can I do that.”
Agnes smiled.
“You’re the one helping me.”
Since Adrian left, the office door had not been opened until now.
That meant neither tea to wet the throat nor lunch had been provided.
For Agnes, it was familiar, but she felt a bit sorry for Lucian.
Wondering if he was receiving the same treatment just for being by her side.
Agnes took out the cookies that Simon had packed from her belongings bag.
“Eat at least this. From next time, I’ll make sure to arrange for Lucian’s meals.”
“Then, I won’t decline.”
Lucian put the cookie in his mouth in one bite. Contrary to his blunt impression, he had a cheeky side.
When she turned off the lamp, the room quickly grew dim.
Coming out, the sunset seeped to the end of the corridor, stretching shadows long.
While organizing the most urgent documents, Agnes scanned the transaction ledgers from the past several years.
Just flipping a few pages, suspicious traces stood out. Circumstances of weapons flowing to unknown places as well.
“I can climb up from there.”
With the words muttered quietly, Agnes rubbed around her eyes.
A sigh tired from exhaustion naturally escaped.
She wanted to quickly return to the mansion and bury herself in soft blankets.
So, she hurried her steps toward where the carriage was.
But waiting for Agnes was not Kalt.
Beside the carriage infused with sunset light, Lionel was leaning his back and standing.
Lionel, who had his arms crossed and eyes closed, slowly lifted his eyelids upon sensing Agnes’s presence.
It was the moment golden light from the sunset seeped into his topaz-like blue eyes.
Agnes lost her breath for a moment.
Fleetingly, it seemed as if Lionel’s stiff mouth softened while looking at her like that.
“For someone returning home after a long time, you look quite tired.”
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