Chapter 15
The flames in the fireplace danced across Tristan’s deep crimson eyes.
Eliana swallowed hard. Now that she had finally voiced her concern, the courage she’d gathered only moments ago had completely deserted her.
“But… if I’m going to become a duchess… there are so many things I should know. Proper etiquette, manners… I don’t have any of those…”
She couldn’t finish the sentence.
A sudden fear seized her.
What if he decides to leave me here?
She couldn’t even ride a horse, and she had no idea where this fortress was.
Regret and anxiety came crashing over her. Before she realized it, she had begun biting at her fingernails again.
“Enough.”
Tristan finally broke the silence.
“Stop tearing at your nails. They’re bleeding.”
Just as he had done in the carriage, he reached out and gently but firmly caught her hand, preventing her from hurting herself any further.
This time, however, her anxiety refused to fade.
Seeing her trembling like a frightened fawn, Tristan slowly loosened his grip and let out a quiet sigh.
“Didn’t I tell you?” he asked. “It took me a year to find you.”
“…What?”
Eliana blinked at him, bewildered by the sudden change in topic.
“If the Marquis hadn’t hidden you away so thoroughly, it never would have taken that long. Under normal circumstances, your name would’ve already been known in noble society… or somewhere.”
He spoke as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“So… you already knew?”
She stared at him.
“You knew… how I’d been living?”
“…I only had my suspicions.”
She looked at him in disbelief.
“So there’s no need for you to force yourself to explain.”
Turning back toward the fireplace, Tristan placed another dry log onto the flames.
“And I’m not exactly what you’d call an ordinary duke, either. Once we reach Carlisle Castle, you’ll understand what I mean.”
“Huh? What does that—”
At that moment, Loras returned carrying a heavy sack filled with bread, cheese, dried fruit, and the provisions he’d gathered.
“All right, all right,” he said cheerfully. “Everyone must be starving. The area around the fortress is quiet as the grave. We can eat without worrying.”
Watching Loras busily lay out the food, Eliana pushed her thoughts aside and rolled up her sleeves to help.
She was curious just how much Tristan knew about her.
But she chose not to ask.
As he silently sliced the cheese, she slowly spooned the warmed stew into her mouth.
Warmth spread through her chilled body.
Along with it came a strange, unfamiliar sense of peace.
Outside, a slender crescent moon hung precariously beyond the shattered window.
Listening to Eliana’s steady breathing as she slept, Tristan quietly closed his eyes.
The image of her pale violet eyes—so full of fear and uncertainty only moments ago—floated into his mind.
So anxious… so terrified.
In truth, he knew far more about Eliana than she’d imagined.
After their encounter at the lake, Tristan had used every resource at his disposal to search for her.
The reason it had taken an entire year was simple.
The Marquis Crowde had practically imprisoned her inside his estate.
“It’s almost the same as confinement. Aside from volunteering at the monastery once or twice a month, she’s never allowed outside. Most of the people in the territory don’t even know someone named Eliana Crowde exists. Only the household servants and a handful of priests have ever seen her.”
Then why adopt her in the first place?
Every report he received after finally locating her only deepened his resentment toward the Marquis.
Even Tristan had never discovered why a man who already had three children had suddenly adopted Eliana.
The most likely explanation was that she had been an illegitimate child.
But the reason hardly mattered anymore.
He had taken that child into his home…
Locked her away for fifteen years…
And ignored the abuse she suffered every day.
No wonder she tried to throw herself from that black cliff.
The moment Tristan learned the truth, hesitation was no longer an option.
No matter what it took, he had to get her out of that mansion.
Before she tried to abandon her life again.
“Mmm…”
A sleepy murmur escaped Eliana’s lips.
“…It’s cold…”
Tristan slowly opened his eyes.
She had curled herself into a tiny ball, shivering in her sleep.
Quietly rising to his feet, he removed the blanket covering himself and gently draped it over her.
Almost immediately, the faint crease in her brow disappeared.
A moment later, her soft, peaceful breathing returned.
Seeing how honestly her body reacted made Tristan let out a small, amused chuckle.
Then another thought crossed his mind.
How would she react when she learned the truth about why he’d brought her here?
He had never intended to deceive her from the beginning…
But he had certainly taken advantage of her misunderstanding to obtain her signature on the marriage contract.
She was unlikely to be pleased.
After briefly imagining every possible worst-case scenario, Tristan pushed the thoughts aside.
There would be time enough to deal with it after they reached Carlisle.
More importantly…
He needed her.
She was the one and only thread that might finally save him from the unbearable life he had endured for so long.
The next morning, Eliana was the first to wake.
She had never been a particularly heavy sleeper, but yesterday’s exhaustion must have overwhelmed her. She had fallen asleep before she even realized it.
Feeling strangely embarrassed, she quietly climbed to her feet, careful not to wake the others.
Then she noticed something.
She had been covered with two blankets.
Her eyes drifted toward Tristan.
He was asleep beside the fireplace, leaning against the wall as motionless as a marble statue.
Heat suddenly rushed to her cheeks.
Flustered, Eliana rubbed her face and hurried outside.
She remembered seeing a small pond when they first entered the fortress yesterday. Splashing some cold water on her face sounded like a good way to wake herself up.
Pushing open the heavy wooden doors, she stepped into the cool dawn air.
The fresh scent of dew-covered grass and leaves filled her lungs.
Tis and Loras’s horse grazed peacefully nearby.
“Good morning, Tis.”
Feeling encouraged by the refreshing morning air, Eliana timidly greeted the black stallion.
As though he understood her, the intelligent horse quietly met her gaze with his dark eyes before lowering his head to continue eating.
She smiled to herself before making her way to the pond.
Kneeling beside it, she found the water astonishingly clear despite having sat untouched for who knew how long.
Maybe it’s because of the barrier…
Just as she scooped up a handful of water—
“Is it… you?”
A voice.
Eliana jerked upright and looked around in alarm.
But there was no one.
Only Tis stood nearby, calmly watching her.
“…Did I imagine it?”
Tilting her head, she leaned toward the pond once more.
Then—
A faint blue light shimmered beneath the surface.
As though drawn by an invisible force, she reached into the water.
Her fingers brushed against something cold and metallic.
When she lifted it out, an old sapphire pendant emerged from the water.
Droplets fell from its surface.
A gentle blue glow radiated from the jewel.
Something had been engraved on the back.
“…Violin Fabienne…?”
The moment she traced the engraved name with her fingertips—
The voice returned.
“At last… finally…”
The pendant suddenly trembled.
The next instant—
A tremendous wave of magical energy burst outward, shaking the entire fortress.
“Aah!”
Startled, Eliana crouched down with a scream.
But nothing else happened.
When she cautiously looked up, someone was already racing toward her.
“Are you hurt? What happened?”
Moving with unbelievable speed, Tristan reached her side in an instant, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to help her up.
Instinctively leaning against him, Eliana held out the pendant still clutched in her hand.
Loras came running over moments later.
“My lady! Are you all right? That magical surge just now was enormous! What in the world—”
His words caught in his throat the instant he saw the pendant in Tristan’s hand.
“An artifact…?”
He inhaled sharply.
“You found one?”
“I didn’t.”
Tristan glanced toward Eliana.
“She did.”
“…Her Ladyship?”
Loras stared at Eliana in astonishment.
She looked just as bewildered.
“I-I don’t really know what happened… I was about to wash my face when I heard a voice. Then I saw something shining under the water, so I picked it up… and suddenly the wind exploded around me…”
“The magic sealed inside the artifact must have been released all at once,” Tristan said, carefully examining the sapphire pendant.
“When that much mana dissipates simultaneously, a surge like this can occur.”
“So… this pendant is an artifact?”
Eliana looked at it blankly.
“But what do you mean its magic was released?”
“The barrier surrounding the fortress has disappeared.”
Tristan continued studying the pendant.
“It seems whatever condition was required to解除 it has finally been fulfilled.”
“…Because I touched it?”
“Most likely.”
His eyes never left the pendant.
“Come to think of it,” Loras said eagerly, “what exactly was the voice you heard, my lady?”
“I… can’t remember clearly.”
Eliana frowned as she searched her memory.
“It asked something like… ‘Is it you?’ I think…”
Everything had happened so suddenly that the details were already slipping away.
As she desperately tried to remember, her eyes met Tristan’s.
He was staring at her so intently it almost felt as though he could see straight through her.
Just as the intensity of his gaze began making her uncomfortable, Loras suddenly exclaimed,
“An artifact of this quality normally can’t even be detected until someone touches it directly. But you sensed both its light and its voice before making contact.”
He looked at her with sparkling curiosity.
“My lady… could it be that you possess magical power?”
“W-What?”
Eliana waved both hands frantically.
“No! Of course not! That’s impossible! I barely even know what magic or mana really are!”
Though she denied it with all her might, Loras simply extended his hand toward her.
“No one knows everything about themselves.”
His expression was unusually serious.
“If you don’t mind… would you place your hand on my palm for a moment, my lady?”
Thinking it must be some strange joke, Eliana hesitated.
But seeing there wasn’t the slightest trace of humor on his face, she cautiously rested her hand in his.
Loras closed his eyes.
Silence fell.
Time seemed to stretch on endlessly.
For some reason, Eliana found herself growing increasingly nervous.
Her palms became damp with sweat.
The quiet weight of Tristan’s gaze resting on her only made it worse.
“Hmm…”
At last, Loras opened his eyes.
“That’s odd.”
He tilted his head.
“Maybe it really was just a coincidence.”
“See?”
Eliana quickly seized the opportunity.
“Magic? That’s ridiculous. If I’d actually had something like that, I wouldn’t have spent my whole life—”
She snapped her mouth shut before the rest of the words could escape.
For just a tiny moment…
Watching how serious Loras had been, she’d allowed herself to hope that perhaps she truly possessed some hidden magical talent.
Realizing how foolish that hope had been, her ears flushed bright red with embarrassment.
“If we’re finished here, we should get moving.”
Tristan stepped toward her and gently draped her hooded cloak over her shoulders.
“Unless you’d like to spend another night sleeping on a stone floor, we’d better leave soon.”
