Chapter 67
“Does the Duke also know about this fact?”
Kain’s cautious question was not light.
Agnes’s heart sank with a thud, as if it had entirely swallowed that weight.
In Kain’s gaze, concern for Agnes and a subtle reproach toward Lionel were intertwined.
Agnes could not answer immediately.
Not yet.
He must not find out in this manner.
Lionel had lost too much in the war and was still trapped in the middle of the battlefield.
The way he was accustomed to not tending to his wounds, the nights he couldn’t fall into a deep sleep, and the habit of reflexively grabbing his gun at even the slightest loud noise.
All those actions were speaking.
While the war had ended and everyone was returning to their daily lives one by one, Lionel alone had yet to find his way back.
She did not want the eyes of reproach to reach such a man.
Agnes still desperately hoped. She hoped that her existence would not become a source of guilt for Lionel.
Guilt would instantly shatter this unstable affection that was barely being held together.
Agnes did not want that.
She wanted to protect Lionel, and she hoped that when Lionel thought of her, such heavy emotions would not be layered upon it.
So, she caught her breath and lifted her head firmly.
“No. It is true that I headed North, but the Duke has nothing to do with me injuring my leg. So, I would appreciate it if you didn’t say anything unnecessary.”
Kain bit his lip hard.
“But Duchess—”
“Kain. I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
It was then.
Over Agnes’s shoulder, Kain discovered a shadow and military boots extending from the corner.
It was Lionel.
How long had he been there?
How much had he heard?
Kain’s Adam’s apple moved up and down.
“……I must have been mistaken about something.”
Kain knew his judgment was not a mistake.
Agnes’s reaction was unnatural, and it pointed to the fact that her leg being ruined was because of Lionel.
However, the moment he felt Lionel’s presence, his mouth moved like an instinct.
It was a cowardly act, like a fleeting moment of spite.
It was because if Lionel were to find out about this conversation he just had with Agnes, somehow, Lionel’s gaze looking at Agnes seemed like it would change.
In fact, Kain had harbored feelings for Agnes since the first time he saw her standing on stage.
However, he did not have the courage to confess his heart.
As a price for letting the years slip away aimlessly, Agnes had already become another man’s wife.
Yet, Kain could not easily fold his feelings.
To be honest, it was because he had concluded that the Duke and Duchess of Valheim were a couple that would break apart soon.
But one day, Kain ended up seeing the emotion hidden behind the hatred in Lionel’s eyes.
An obsession and affection so thick it felt like suffocation. When he saw that, Kain had no choice but to lay down his heart.
That depth was something he could not dare to reach.
Above all, Agnes’s eyes looking at him were nothing but dry. There was no crack for him to wedge himself into between the two.
Still, the remnants of his given-up heart strangely remained like spite, occasionally popping out through his mouth.
Just like now.
However, with his reason soon returning, Kain became ashamed of his behavior moments ago.
Kain chose his words while reflecting on his lowly conduct.
Though he had set aside his romantic feelings, his favor toward Agnes as a human being still remained.
“Duchess, if there is anything I can help with, please tell me anytime.”
“Thank you, even if it’s just words.”
As if trying to refresh the awkward atmosphere, Kain checked the time with a large gesture.
Then, saying the conversation was roughly finished, he turned back toward the direction of the drawing room.
“Speaking of which, you said there are children at the shelter, right? Lately, a few of those kids have shown a talent for dance, so I’ve been looking for a dance teacher.”
“I see. I hope you can find someone good.”
“So I was wondering, Duchess, wouldn’t you like to try teaching the children?”
Agnes, who was rolling the wheels of her wheelchair, paused for a moment in front of the corner and looked up at Kain.
“Me……?”
“Yes. How about it?”
Teaching, dance.
A unique light flickered in Agnes’s eyes. Because she had only run toward the goal of standing on stage, she had never once thought about teaching others.
However, at the proposal Kain made, the area around her heart tickled for a moment.
‘If I get to teach someone, maybe I won’t have to give up dance even if I can’t stand on stage……?’
For the first time in a while, vitality returned to Agnes’s face.
“Can I think about it for a bit?”
It was that moment.
As if crushing the small, blooming hope, a terribly low bass voice flowed out from beyond the corner.
“I would also like to know what you are thinking about.”
Lionel slowly walked out and bent his waist to meet Agnes’s eye level.
“Hmm? Agnes. What were you talking about so enjoyably?”
***
Lionel tilted his head, a cigarillo stuck crookedly between his teeth.
Upon entering the drawing room, Lucian had handed over additional information regarding the daisy pattern engraved on the flag delivered the other day.
“This old man can’t see ahead now, so I’m not certain, but the pattern used by the previous young lord of the Marquis of Guten’s family was also a daisy pattern.”
The previous young lord who had vanished without a trace while fighting with his brothers over the Marquis title. The fact that his pattern was related to Rebelt was quite a surprising fact.
He had been in a pretty good mood due to the not-so-bad harvest.
But this was another unexpected situation.
He hadn’t intended to eavesdrop.
When Agnes didn’t enter the drawing room even after his conversation with Lucian was over, he went out to find her and happened to hear by chance.
“…….”
Lionel bit down hard on the unlit cigarillo.
The taste of tobacco leaves bursting from being chewed at the end of the cigarillo swept through the roof of his mouth, dry and bitter.
Without even blinking, Lionel stared straight at Agnes and cocked his head to the side.
‘That it was true she went to the North.’
Agnes’s words were consistently coherent.
From the time she first pleaded her innocence until now.
Now, added to Agnes’s consistency was the testimony of the train attendant.
Well, that much was fine.
But why. Why was he being mentioned in Agnes’s accident?
As if standing before a Pandora’s box that must not be opened. A chilling thrill ran down Lionel’s spine.
Once again. The screams flowing from the radio the moment the bridge collapsed were replayed in his ears.
He saw that Agnes’s shoulders were completely stiffened.
He hadn’t asked anything yet, but Agnes had a face terrified like a prisoner who had just been notified of their execution.
‘Should I press for answers right now?’
If he cornered Agnes like this, his curiosity might be easily resolved.
The old him would have surely interrogated her and more.
But he didn’t feel like it.
Even though he had intended to question Agnes about the facts from the moment he heard the attendant’s words.
Seeing Agnes with a face that looked like she might cry at any moment, the desire to force her mouth open vanished completely.
He didn’t want to make her cry.
In the end, Lionel slowly spat out the cigarillo and snapped the body of the stick in half.
‘It doesn’t necessarily have to be now.’
Once again, a damn whim arose.
Anyway, ever since he became involved with Agnes, consistency had long been thrown away.
Was there only one or two whims he had indulged in because of Agnes? Adding one more this time wouldn’t be a big problem.
“Li, Lionel. When did you come out? Is the conversation all finished?”
Agnes’s acting as she greeted him, pretending to be quite composed, was clumsy.
Yes, watching this awkward lying was also quite fun, wasn’t it?
Lionel, having organized his thoughts, twisted one corner of his mouth.
“Yeah. But since you, who said you’d wait in front of the drawing room, weren’t there, I came to get you.”
“Even without that, Kain said he’d show me around the townhouse, so I was looking around and just about to go back.”
Agnes tried to leave the spot before words like those from before could come out of Kain’s mouth again.
“So. Are you not going to tell me what you were talking about so enjoyably?”
“Ah……. Kain said he’s looking for someone to teach dance to the children at the shelter he cares for. We were talking about that.”
“Aha. I see.”
As if relieved that he didn’t probe further, Agnes’s expression visibly relaxed.
When he gripped the wheelchair handles after intentionally stroking her earlobe in passing, she even blushed.
At that pure, unadorned excitement, Lionel lowered his pitch-black eyelashes.
Certainly, this strange peace formed between him and Agnes over the past few days was quite good.
So, it wouldn’t be bad to enjoy this state for a while.
The truth was a matter that could be looked into gradually after that.
Sharing a story known only to the two of them—Kain and Agnes, not him—was extremely unpleasant, but time was on his side anyway.
The one who would spend more time with Agnes was himself, so it would be okay to give a brief reprieve.
Until Agnes pours out the truth herself.
Postponing it didn’t mean the truth would disappear.
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