Chapter 108
“Come with me?”
At those words, Agnes unconsciously bit her lower lip.
Just as she had begun to suspect that Lionel might have vaguely discovered the truth behind the accident, Leuceviten was offering her the possibility of leaving this place.
Out of habit, Agnes raised her head and looked out the window.
Although darkness had already fallen and nothing could be seen, her gaze naturally drifted toward the direction of the observatory.
Whenever the vague feeling that she would never be able to leave the ducal estate overwhelmed her, she had made a habit of looking in that direction.
‘But… I can leave this place…?’
It felt as though the firmly locked bedroom door had suddenly opened without warning.
Her heart pounded.
If she crossed that door, she might finally escape the suffocating life she was living now.
Even so, she could not bring herself to make the decision to step over that threshold so easily.
Had Lionel agreed to this as well?
Would he really let her go without resistance?
As though seeking confirmation, Agnes cautiously spoke.
“Does His Grace know about this as well?”
At the question, Leuceviten shook her head.
“No. He does not know this part. He only knows that I am establishing a new dance company.”
The heart that had begun to race instantly calmed.
If it was a proposal Lionel did not know about, then there was no point in even considering it.
Lionel would never permit it anyway.
And Leuceviten would never ignore Lionel’s wishes just to take her away from this place.
‘Because I’m not worth that much.’
There were already more than enough dancers eager to stand on a stage bearing Leuceviten’s name alone.
That meant there was no reason for her to take such a risk for Agnes.
However, as though denying Agnes’s conclusion, Leuceviten smiled kindly.
“What do you wish to do, Your Grace? If you wish to come with me, I will help you.”
“You… would help me?”
It was too much.
Far too much kindness to show someone she had only met twice.
As though sensing Agnes’s caution and confusion, Leuceviten skillfully took a step back.
“There is still plenty of time, so whenever you have made up your mind, please let me know. We will respect your decision, whatever it may be.”
At those words, Kain, who was standing beside her, silently nodded as well.
After that, a little more meaningless small talk followed.
Soon afterward, Leuceviten left the drawing room.
As though she truly had no intention of forcing anything upon Agnes.
However, Kain did not follow after her and remained where he was.
“Is there something you still wish to say to me? If it’s about the proposal you just made…”
“Oh, n-no! It’s not about that. It’s just… um.”
Waving both hands, Kain parted his lips, then repeatedly raised and lowered his head.
As though struggling over whether it was right to bring it up, he hesitated a few more times before finally speaking.
“I think I should tell you. His Grace came to see me not long ago.”
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“Madam Leuceviten and her grandson have just left.”
Once Simon finished his report, a heavy silence settled over the room once more.
Lionel sat opposite the elderly physician, his gaze fixed on the floor.
As though the sensation from earlier, when the root of his tongue had seemed to completely block his throat, still lingered.
“You said your voice suddenly disappeared. Was there anything different from usual at that time?”
“Something different from usual.”
Lionel slowly drew in a breath.
But in the end, that breath never fully reached his lungs.
The first thing that came to his mind was the devastation caused by a single message he had transmitted over the radio.
The moment he recognized that fact, the inside of his throat went dry.
The terror that had surged over him just before he tried to speak.
Only now did Lionel clearly understand that the terror had erupted as it collided with the guilt of not having escaped.
The situation was so absurd that even calling himself a coward felt far too generous.
“Since you’re no longer having difficulty speaking, it seems highly likely that this is a psychological issue.”
“A psychological issue?”
The elegantly curved corner of his lips twisted.
“Ha… Haha.”
Like a phonograph being forcibly wound, a slow and distorted laugh escaped him.
Lionel gradually bent forward, and his large hand completely covered his face.
Though the elderly physician looked at him with sympathy, he still tried to fulfill his duty.
“Although the cause and symptoms are different, it follows a pattern similar to the trauma response shown by Your Gra—”
At that moment.
Lionel’s forced laughter abruptly stopped.
He slowly lowered the hand covering his face.
The eyes revealed beneath it had turned ice cold.
“That can’t be right. Someone like me can’t have the same symptoms as Agnes.”
What had he ever done to deserve being placed alongside her?
The absurdity of it made another laugh rise within him.
He had now reached the point of coveting even Agnes’s illness.
Just how greedy was he, that even the scars he had created with his own hands were not enough?
Why was he trying to steal them and force them into his own body?
As though he himself were some wounded victim.
Even though they had never belonged to him.
And as if that were not enough, he had called a doctor over simply because he had been unable to speak for a moment.
“How truly impressive.”
Lionel’s hand once again pressed down on his cravat as though trying to claw at the back of his neck.
Compared to the pain Agnes had endured, this was nothing at all.
So why was it so unbearably difficult for him to endure?
He could barely tolerate how loathsome he found himself.
But there was something even harder to bear.
For a fleeting instant, the thought crossed his mind that if Agnes saw him in this pitiful, mangy-dog state, she might pity him.
If that happened, perhaps Agnes would not abandon him completely.
But that hope did not last long.
Before that insane thought could go any further, Lionel bit down on his own lip.
*Crunch.*
As blood seeped from his torn lip, his mind finally began to function properly again.
“…What a hopeless bastard.”
It had only been half a day since he had sworn to disappear from Agnes’s life.
If that resolve could crack so easily, then he had to seal everything off completely, leaving no room for even the smallest shred of mercy.
“Psychological issue or whatever. Make sure none of that leaves this room. Especially not to Agnes.”
Yes.
She must never know.
If she never saw it, she would never pity him.
And she would never again be swayed by someone like him.
Agnes had to remain unaware.
From now on as well.
Still muttering to himself like someone with a screw loose, Lionel frowned.
For a brief instant, he thought he had seen a crimson flash beyond the black night.
The pale blue irises that had been dull until moments ago suddenly sharpened with focus.
Keeping his eyes fixed outside, Lionel strode to the window and pushed it open.
*Slide.*
As the glass separating the inside from the outside disappeared, cold air rushed violently into the room.
The wind scattered Lionel’s black hair wildly across his smooth forehead.
Then, another brilliant flash erupted.
At the same time, a low, heavy rumble spread through the air.
Even from afar, the deafening shockwave was familiar.
It was the aftermath of an explosion he had encountered countless times during the war.
Though he could not be certain, it seemed as though the acrid smell of smoke drifted toward him on the wind.
Judging by the direction, it had come from the slums.
Instinctively realizing that something serious had happened, Lionel immediately turned around without even closing the window.
However, the sturdy figure that had looked ready to dash out the door came to an abrupt stop.
When the door opened, Agnes was standing there.
The moment he saw Agnes, Lionel’s throat tightened once again.
Fortunately, this time his voice came out.
Though not without effort.
“…Why didn’t you return to the bedroom?”
Unable to finish his sentence, Lionel looked at Agnes.
But Agnes did not answer.
She simply stared at him silently.
Recalling the final conversation she had just had with Kain in the drawing room.
[His Grace has been looking for Sir Hunts. He wanted to ask about the circumstances surrounding Your Grace’s accident. By now… he has probably already found him.]
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