Chapter 63
“Duke, my wheelchair…”
“Kalt will take care of it.”
Still trapped in Lionel’s arms, Agnes blinked.
The surroundings were in total chaos.
About half of the members of the Castia Merchant Group were captured on the spot.
However, Nick and Rael, the leaders of Rebelt, had already made their escape.
Even as orders flew back and forth amidst the tangled forces of Lionel’s unit and Jerome’s troops, the tension remained taut.
Lionel moved through the confusion without setting Agnes down.
“Colonel Valheim.”
However, along with the pungent smell of rum, Jerome blocked Lionel’s path.
“If you’re going to leave, why don’t you leave the Duchess behind? She needs to be investigated on suspicion of colluding with Rebelt.”
Lionel’s steps came to a slow halt.
He merely turned his head to the side to scan Jerome, then briefly took one hand off Agnes to place it on Jerome’s shoulder.
With just the act of lightly gripping it, the corners of Jerome’s mouth distorted unpleasantly.
“Colonel Winterbolt. Can’t you see the state my wife is in? In times like this, it would be normal to view her as a victim.”
Jerome snorted, smoothing out his twitching lips.
“Then she should have watched her behavior. Didn’t I warn you? You seem to be mistaken; your wife wasn’t released because she was innocent. She was still under my surveillance to see if she would collude with Rebelt. And as it happens, today’s incident occurred.”
“I believe I told you before.”
Lionel put strength into the hand gripping Jerome’s shoulder.
“If you want to investigate, follow protocol by filling out the paperwork and visit the mansion formally.”
“To step forward and defend a suspect—do you also wish to be arrested on suspicion of colluding with Rebelt?”
Lionel let out a scoff. There was no warmth in his smile.
“Go ahead and try. Then I will also arrest you on charges of aiding the defection of high-ranking officials from Sercadia.”
“I… don’t know what kind of nonsense you’re talking about?”
Jerome tried to brush it off with a laugh, pretending to be nonchalant, but his Adam’s apple bobbed minutely.
Lionel’s gaze did not miss that movement.
“Colonel Winterbolt. By any chance, where were you yesterday evening? None of your subordinates seemed to know your whereabouts.”
“I didn’t know you were this interested in me. Were you so curious about what I do at night?”
Jerome, his intoxication suddenly vanished, rolled his tongue cautiously.
“I don’t know why I have to explain this, but His Majesty sought me out, so I entered the palace. Satisfied?”
“Is that so? That’s quite strange. Because I met someone who looked exactly like you outside the Imperial Palace.”
“You must have seen wrong.”
“If you say so.”
Lionel’s gaze swept past Jerome’s face.
“Ah, shall I give you a piece of advice?”
Lionel removed his hand from Jerome’s shoulder and tapped it as if brushing off dust.
With just that simple motion, Jerome caught his breath again and wiped away cold sweat.
“If possible, why don’t you take this opportunity to switch from a pipe to cigars? The scent of what you smoke is so pungent it could fill a train carriage and then some.”
Jerome’s eyes wavered subtly.
However, he soon forced the corners of his mouth upward.
“You’ve been spouting nothing but strange talk for a while now. Fine, I will formally request the investigation into the Duchess later. You may leave for now.”
Lionel did not respond.
He merely passed by the spot, carrying Agnes in his arms with one corner of his mouth curled in a sneer.
The moment he brushed past Jerome, only a cold air flowed gently like his scent.
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“Call Andrew.”
As soon as they entered the mansion, Lionel commanded without even setting Agnes down from his arms.
Kalt ran off busily, and his coat, stained with the smell of blood, was handed over to the servants.
The place Lionel headed while holding Agnes was none other than his own room.
Andrew, who entered Lionel’s room in a daze, hurriedly examined Agnes’s injuries.
Lionel watched the scene silently from a step away.
His gaze was so fierce that Andrew fumbled his hands several times.
Naturally, every time that happened, a deep wrinkle formed between Lionel’s brows.
“There is an injury on her neck as well.”
Andrew, who was about to finish the treatment, looked at the nape of Agnes’s neck again at Lionel’s words.
There was indeed a reddish mark on her white skin. However, it was so faint it was almost invisible.
“Duke, if we just leave this, it will soon—,”
“Treat it.”
Andrew, overwhelmed by Lionel’s aura, was only able to finish the treatment after disinfecting it and even applying gauze.
Lionel watched the scene without a word, and as soon as Andrew withdrew, he let out a deep breath.
His hand roughly swept back his hair.
“Do you think I showed you those portraits because I had nothing better to do? If it looks dangerous, you should run away. Who do you think you are to jump in there?”
Lionel habitually reached into his inner pocket for a cigar.
“Can’t you grasp the situation? Are you that dim-witted?”
The air in the room became heavy in an instant at his harsh words.
At the words that had burst out like thorns again of their own accord, Lionel swallowed a curse back down his throat.
However, Agnes merely replied calmly, like someone who hadn’t been hurt, as if she had grown accustomed to his way of speaking.
“Because that is my role. That is why you sent me to the merchant company.”
Lionel’s gaze wavered.
It wasn’t a lie.
The reason he sent Agnes to the Bardo trading company in the first place was to catch Rebelt.
Therefore, Agnes meeting the Castia Merchant Group directly was no different from a stroke of luck for him.
Nonetheless. Lionel extremely disliked this situation where Agnes had jumped into a dangerous situation herself.
“Are you… angry?”
“No.”
But his fingertips still trembled slightly.
Every time he exhaled, the smell of blood remaining at the tip of his nose grated on his nerves.
Lionel eventually gave up on searching for a cigar. It was because he decided he had to wash off this smell first.
“Stay right here. Don’t go wandering around needlessly.”
After saying that, Lionel left Agnes on the bed and headed to the bathroom.
As soon as the door closed, he pulled off his shirt and threw it down carelessly. Dried blood was stuck around the shoulder wound that Jerome Winterbolt had aggravated.
Lionel turned on the faucet as if a groan was about to escape from the pain.
Then, the sound of pouring water filled the bathroom.
“Ugh—.”
In that moment, an oil bottle next to the bathtub caught on his arm and fell to the floor.
When the crashing sound of breaking glass echoed, the sound of a wheelchair moving hurriedly was heard from outside.
“Duke? Duke, are you alright?”
Agnes’s urgent voice came from beyond the door.
However, Lionel did not answer.
He only grit his teeth to endure the pain.
“I’m coming in. Okay?”
Agnes, who hurriedly opened the door and entered, covered her mouth upon seeing Lionel’s wound.
“Blood… I’ll call Andrew!”
However, Lionel strode forward and grabbed the bathroom door to prevent Agnes from leaving.
“I feel like it hasn’t even been five minutes since I told you to stay put. You really don’t listen.”
Amidst the rising steam, Lionel and Agnes’s gazes collided.
“And, I believe I told you to change how you address me. Did I not?”
“This isn’t the time to quibble over that! The wound—,”
“I think I must quibble.”
At Lionel’s stubborn tone, Agnes eventually let out a small sigh.
“…Fine, Lionel. Please get treated. Okay?”
However, Lionel’s stubbornness did not break.
Hiding his annoyed expression, he sat on the edge of the bathtub.
“If it bothers you that much, then help me wash.”
Agnes’s eyes grew round.
However, since it didn’t seem like Lionel would listen to her at all, she had no choice but to soak a towel in water.
“After you finish washing, you must get treated.”
“…”
“Why… why don’t you take care of your body? This is the same place you were injured last time.”
Not taking care of his body. Who was saying that to whom?
Lionel let out a hollow laugh as if it were absurd.
But due to Agnes’s persistence, he finally added a dry remark.
“Fine, I understand.”
Agnes wiped the blood from around his shoulder with the wet towel. Being as careful as possible not to let water seep into the wound.
Lionel looked like someone who was very accustomed to such injuries.
There were many scars on his body. On his chest, on his side, and even on his lower back.
The marks of stab wounds and gunshots remained vividly.
Because it felt as if it showed the grueling years Lionel had endured, Agnes bit her lip hard.
Otherwise, it felt like tears would come out.
But eventually, her swallowed-back tears were caught by Lionel.
“Why are you crying?”
As Lionel spoke, a cracked, husky voice flowed out.
“…I’m not crying.”
However, contrary to her words, moisture was hanging from the tips of Agnes’s eyelashes.
It looked as if Agnes was forcibly holding back her tears.
Watching that made the inside of Lionel’s throat feel scratchy again.
It was stifling.
If it wasn’t simple possessiveness, then what on earth was this emotion toward Agnes? He felt like this suffocating feeling would only clear up once he found the answer.
Therefore, Lionel lowered his head very slowly.
It was because a way to check, simpler and easier than anything else, had occurred to him.
In an instant, Agnes and his lips became close enough that they might touch at any moment.
“You are. You’re crying.”
Lionel lowered his gaze to stare at Agnes’s lips, then lifted his eyes again.
Confirming that Agnes was not avoiding him, Lionel lowered his lips as they were.
The moment their lips touched. Lionel closed his eyes.
Absurdly, all the chaos that had been weighing him down vanished in this…
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