Chapter 103
Inside the leather glove covering his hand, the withered flower stem was crushed.
Lionel had truly intended to pass by just like this.
However, he had no choice but to stop walking.
It was because he noticed the blanket draped over Agnes’s lap dragging across the floor.
It was a childish excuse.
In any case, tidying something like that was the servant’s job.
But he wanted to remain by Agnes’s side, even if he had to make up such a trivial excuse.
After hesitating for a moment, Lionel walked over to Agnes.
Step.
His military boots struck the marble floor, leaving behind crisp footsteps.
The military uniform he had put on for the first time in a long while felt somewhat uncomfortable.
A short while ago, Lionel had visited the prison where the Sercadia officials were being held and extracted their confession.
According to them, there was a secret imperial letter proving that the Emperor had instructed Sercadia to wage war.
If he could obtain that letter, even the Emperor would no longer be able to run rampant.
In addition, the procedures regarding the transfer of ownership of the Bardo trading company were also progressing step by step.
Everything was proceeding smoothly.
At this rate, Agnes would no longer become a sacrifice in meaningless political schemes.
Convinced of that, Lionel bent down to straighten the blanket.
At that moment, sunlight reflected off the epaulet on his shoulder.
“The matters concerning the Bardo trading company will all be settled soon. The others as well.”
As he adjusted the blanket, his eyes fell upon Agnes’s hand tightly gripping the wheelchair’s armrest.
She was gripping it with such force that the blood had completely drained from her already pale hand.
Lionel quietly drew a breath.
A bitter taste spread through his mouth at the thought that she found him that unbearable to look at.
“I won’t be back until this evening, so make yourself comfortable.”
Unable to bring himself to look at Agnes’s face, Lionel straightened his bent body.
Then he turned around and left the mansion as though fleeing from it.
Because he did not have the courage to face those light gray eyes that held no emotion whatsoever.
However, even after Lionel had left the mansion, the strength never left Agnes’s hand.
“Lady Agnes, I’ll take you the rest of the way to your bedroom.”
It remained the same even when the wheelchair, which had come to a stop, began moving smoothly again under the maid’s hands.
Agnes did not know what kind of expression she was wearing.
It felt as though black water was rising beneath her chin.
It had started the moment she saw Lionel’s military uniform.
From the instant she saw it, every nerve in her body had begun standing on end uncontrollably.
The days when the sight of his military uniform had reassured her were already long gone.
The silhouette of the pitch-black uniform remained embedded in her vision like a tiny dot that refused to disappear.
That tiny dot gradually spread outward.
Soon, it formed a single illusion.
An illusion that looked exactly like the bridge on the day the accident had happened.
Agnes struggled not to be consumed by that illusion.
‘Calm down. This isn’t reality.’
But despite Agnes’s efforts, fear and helplessness slowly devoured her.
It felt as though the sounds of radios crackling were coming from every direction.
She even had the illusion that the ground itself was shaking.
Agnes gripped the armrest even more desperately.
She felt that if she loosened her grip, her body would immediately fall into the abyss below.
How much longer would she remain trapped in the very moment the accident had happened, unable to escape?
In an effort to regain her senses, Agnes bit the tender flesh inside her mouth hard.
While she wandered between reality and illusion like that, the maid escorted her into the bedroom.
By the time she finally came back to her senses, lunch had already been prepared on the table.
‘It’s okay. I can endure it.’
Agnes slowly counted numbers and tried to take deep breaths through her nose.
If I can just hold on a little longer, I’ll be fine.
Whispering those words to herself, she picked up her utensils.
However, the moment she tried to bring the food to her mouth, the gazes pouring in from both sides tightened around her like a noose.
The servant, unaware of Agnes’s condition, placed the next dish served on a silver plate onto the table.
“Since you spent quite a while outside today, we’ve prepared warmer dishes that are easier on your stomach than usual.”
Clink.
A steaming bowl of stew was placed in front of Agnes.
At that moment, Agnes’s eyes shook violently.
The hot silver plate reminded her of the heated iron Andrew had once thrust toward her.
Driven by ingrained memories, phantom pain flared through her legs as though hot metal had touched them again.
That was her limit.
Unable to endure any longer, Agnes abruptly turned her wheelchair.
As a result, the food laid out on the table came crashing down.
Crash!
“Ahhh!”
The terrified maids tried to grab Agnes.
But Agnes sprang out of the wheelchair, which had become stuck on the carpet.
Then, in movements that could scarcely be called either walking or crawling, she rushed into the bathroom, locked the door, and turned on the cold water.
“It’s okay. It’s okay.”
Continuously whispering those words to herself, Agnes stepped beneath the stream of water and covered her ears.
Just as she had always done after Andrew’s treatments ended.
Hoping that the repeating sounds of radios and explosions ringing beside her ears would disappear.
“…I’ll be okay.”
“I have to be.”
☆☆☆
At that same time.
Unaware of Agnes’s condition, Lionel stood in front of an old building.
At the entrance of the building, located in a back alley of the slums, a torn piece of cloth hung limply.
This was the last location among the gambling dens Kain had told him about.
Just as he was about to enter, Kalt, who had remained with the Order of Knights, arrived late and joined the group.
“Colonel. Chloe Bardo is causing another disturbance in front of the Order of Knights, insisting that she wants to see you.”
“Leave her.”
Lionel replied coldly, as though she was not even worth dealing with.
Having relied on Jerome’s backing and behaved as though she feared nothing in the world, Chloe was now running around like someone with her feet on fire after learning she was about to lose the trading company.
But he had no time to waste on someone so insignificant.
As Lionel lifted the cloth hanging over the entrance, the Black Iron Knights waiting behind him immediately stormed into the building in perfect formation.
The gambling den descended into chaos in an instant.
People trying to flee.
Gamblers grabbing each other by the collars while trying to snatch the betting money.
The commotion spread like an explosion in the blink of an eye.
As Lionel calmly walked through the chaos, his eyes landed on Hunts arguing in front of the cashier.
“Give me my money! I won the bet, so why won’t you pay me?!”
“I told you to get lost!”
“If you don’t have money, then give me drugs! Yeah, drugs will do! Huh?!”
Hunts was clinging to the gambling den owner’s waist as the owner tried to flee with the cash box.
Lionel strode straight to the cashier.
Then he grabbed Hunts roughly by the shoulder and forcefully pulled him away.
Hunts’s staggering body swayed violently once in midair.
Then it was thrown directly in front of Lionel.
As he faced the off-balance Hunts, the stench of alcohol mixed with drugs struck him.
It was a revolting smell.
“What?! Who are you?! Ah, it hurts. It hurts, hehe.”
Hunts laughed even as he flailed around.
His unfocused eyes made it obvious at a glance that he was completely out of his mind.
“Hunts Lockwood. Do you recognize who I am?”
“How… hehe… would I know who you are?”
Hunts giggled as he scratched himself.
Lionel tightened his grip on Hunts.
As crushing pressure, enough to shatter bone, bore down on him, a groan escaped Hunts’s mouth.
Perhaps because of the intense pain, focus briefly returned to his eyes, which had been dulled by alcohol and drugs.
“O-Oh my, well, if it isn’t the Duke.”
“Did you actually come looking for me?”
“That’s right.”
“I came looking for you.”
“I have something to ask.”
“What could possibly be so urgent that you came all the way to a place like this? Hahaha.”
Although his focus had returned, Hunts still had a screw loose.
“I hope you’ll give me an answer worth making this trip for, Hunts Lockwood.”
“Of course.”
“When it’s an order from someone like you, Duke, I’ll certainly give you a worthwhile answer.”
Hunts grinned foolishly, completely oblivious to the gravity of the situation.
“I wonder what our Duke is so curious about?”
Suppressing the urge to smash that slack face in, Lionel spoke each word with force.
“Tell me the truth about how Agnes’s accident happened.”
Hunts shrugged as he hiccupped.
“Well, the train overturned—”
Before Hunts could even finish speaking, Lionel’s gloved hand finally snapped and seized Hunts by the face.
“Ow! Owww!”
The giggling Hunts exaggerated his cries.
“That hurts, Duke.”
“Stop playing games.”
“I already know that everything you spouted in my office was a lie.”
At those words, Hunts’s murky eyes rolled around.
“Oh dear.”
“So you figured everything out.”
“Now what should I do?”
Hunts chuckled as he rubbed his palms together.
It was both shameless and servile.
Then he pressed his thumb and index finger together to form a circle.
“My mouth doesn’t come cheap.”
“Will that be acceptable to you?”
Feeling his mind boil at Hunts’s disgraceful behavior, Lionel threw a pouch filled with gold coins onto the floor.
Clink.
As the sound of the gold coins echoed, Hunts’s eyes flew open.
Hunts flailed as though trying to pick up the money pouch.
“If I tell you, all that money is mine?”
“Yes.”
“Then I suppose I should tell you.”
“But you can’t punish me for telling you something you don’t like, alright?”
Drooling over the gold coins, Hunts awkwardly rolled his loosened tongue.
His greed-filled gaze remained fixed on the money pouch.
“As for how the accident happened.”
Then suddenly, his unfocused eyes slowly shifted from the gold coins toward Lionel.
Smirk.
Curling the corner of his mouth into a grotesque grin, Hunts clutched his stomach and giggled as though he had just told the funniest joke.
“How did it happen?”
“What do you mean, how?”
“It was all because of you.”
“You were the one who ordered the bridge where the carriage had stopped to be blown up, weren’t you?”
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