Chapter 25
A shadow fell over Lionel’s sharply defined face.
Agnes pushed the wheels forward and carefully pulled the wheelchair handle from Kain’s hand.
“……Whatever misunderstanding there is, it’s not like that.”
However, Agnes’s words did not reach Lionel.
“A misunderstanding. Well, perhaps the other side thinks the same.”
Lionel’s darkly sunken gaze turned toward Kain.
Under the silent pressure that seemed to demand an answer, Kain shook his head with a pale face.
“A government affair? It’s absolutely not that, Your Excellency.”
“Then this is purely a coincidence right now?”
“W-Well, that…….”
Kain trailed off and soon avoided Lionel’s eyes.
Though it was probably not intended.
That reaction was enough to sink Lionel’s mood even further.
The hotter his insides grew, the colder Lionel’s expression and tone became.
“It seems Simon won’t be needed. A new guide has appeared, after all.”
Without saying more, Lionel turned and left the spot.
After walking a few steps.
When they had reached a distance where their voices could no longer reach each other.
Lionel looked down at the toe shoe box in his hand.
“I did something that doesn’t suit me.”
He casually tossed the box into the disposal bin beside him.
Thud.
With a dull sound, the box was buried among the trash.
As if it had been an item with no meaning from the very beginning.
Lionel stared at the spot for a moment, then turned his head with a frown.
He felt pathetic for having even briefly expected to see Agnes smile.
What would he have done by seeing it.
Lionel habitually searched his inner pocket.
If he pushed cigarillo smoke into his dry mouth, this irritation might subside a little.
However, just before opening the case, the radio crackled.
Crackle-.
「We have spotted a man with features similar to Adrian Bardo near the stage.」
Lionel shoved the cigarillo case back into his pocket and gripped the radio.
Adrian.
At that word, his head instinctively turned toward where Agnes was.
Agnes was whispering something to Kain.
As her neatly shaped pink lips moved, Kain’s eyes widened and the corners of his mouth lifted.
It was a fresh smile like a boy experiencing his first love.
Grind.
Strength entered his fist, and the radio dug into his palm.
「We confirmed movement toward the audience seats, but due to the crowding people, we could not track further movements.」
The radio voice hit his ear and shattered.
However, Lionel’s nerves were entirely focused on one place.
At the edge of his vision, Agnes’s figure moved slowly.
Until the moment the smoothly rolling wheelchair headed toward the entrance, Lionel’s gaze did not detach.
His insides gradually twisted.
Just seeing Agnes side by side with another man brought up an
inexplicable displeasure.
As the image of her smiling face flashed through his mind, his heart throbbed irregularly.
‘What is this.’
Lionel himself could not identify the nature of that emotion.
Whether it was displeasure, anger, or a mixture of both.
Only one thing was clear.
This was not a simple attraction. It was something more.
“…….”
Tap, tap-.
The tip of his long index finger regularly tapped the side of the radio.
Something more than attraction.
Lionel’s eyes slowly sank.
Whatever it was, it didn’t matter.
In any case, it was merely a light and trivial emotion that would disappear without a trace after a little time passed.
Lionel slowly withdrew his gaze from Agnes and brought the radio to his mouth.
“Control the entrances. First identify any suspicious individuals among the audience.”
Consciously suppressing his voice that was about to sharpen.
Lionel passed through the
increasingly crowded audience seats and moved his steps to the second-floor box seats to secure his view.
It felt as if all his senses were stretched taut.
And within those senses,
The emotion toward Agnes was the most grating on his nerves.
In the form of a foreign and unwelcome possessiveness.
***
Agnes blankly gazed at Lionel’s back as he headed toward the opposite box seats from the audience area near the entrance.
Endlessly at him, who did not look back even once.
Now, his back felt more familiar than Lionel’s front.
Would the day ever come when she could properly face his face instead of that back.
Shaking off the meaningless thoughts, Agnes offered an apology to Kain.
“I’m sorry, Kain. Because of me, you ended up hearing such things.”
“No……! Rather, I feel sorry because it seems Miss Agnes has been put in a difficult position due to the invitation I sent.”
In the awkward atmosphere, Kain scratched his fluffy hair.
The tips of his round ears, suiting his gentle eyes, were dyed red.
“Haha. It seems watching the performance might be a bit difficult, right? Shall we leave? I know a restaurant nearby with good food.”
“Um…… Kain.”
At her suddenly calling his name, Kain’s eyes rolled around.
And his cheeks flushed as if pleased.
“Yes, Miss Agnes.”
Agnes carefully chose her words.
“I think I need to say this clearly. Today, I didn’t come because of the letter; I came to see my husband.”
“…… Ah. I see.”
“I’m sorry. For not saying it right away.”
The corners of his mouth that had been curved like a half-moon gradually lowered.
Kain’s face, which had been flushed, visibly became dejected.
But it was only for a moment.
Perhaps worried that Agnes would feel awkward, Kain hurriedly curled the corners of his mouth playfully.
“If you make such a sorry face, I’ll feel too hurt. Perhaps I was the only one overly happy without noticing?”
“It’s not like that. I’m also glad to meet you again.”
“That’s enough then. So don’t apologize.”
As he smiled more brightly, shallow lines folded horizontally under his cheekbones.
The dimples revealed with his smile made Kain look pure, resembling him.
So as she gazed for a moment, Kain cleared his throat awkwardly and turned his head.
Then suddenly pointed to one spot.
“Huh? That person over there. Isn’t that Miss Agnes’s father?”
In the direction Kain pointed, there was Adrian hiding his figure among the structures below the stage.
That place was an underground storage for lighting equipment or props. One that ordinary audience members could not access.
Agnes, who had been watching the same place, grabbed Kain’s sleeve.
“Kain. I’m sorry but…… do you perhaps know a way to get over there?”
“Hm. It’s hard to enter directly, but I know a place where the inside is visible.”
He added that it was a path he had glimpsed when performing here before, Kain explained.
Discouraging Agnes from going alone, he turned the wheelchair and headed straight to the narrow iron door on the side of the stage.
He seemed pleased by the fact that he could do something for Agnes.
Beyond the arrived iron door, the wall leading below the stage was dimly cast.
Agnes held her breath and peered inside.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw Adrian and a large-built man standing in front of him, blocking his way.
“I almost got into big trouble. It’s a relief we safely smuggled the goods out.”
Adrian grumbled while brushing off the gunpowder dust on his hands after setting down the box.
“As long as the Duke didn’t catch us, it’s fine!”
“It’s a pity it’s not the planned location, but we’ll let it slide this much. But remember this is the only time.”
“I told you I understand, how many times!”
The man who had been threatening handed Adrian a thick envelope.
Bills were peeking out from between the yellow envelope.
At the sight, the corners of Adrian’s mouth slyly rose. As if he had never been annoyed.
“Ho, we already paid the full amount. Why give something like this too.”
“It’s a gesture meaning please continue to take care of us in the future. And also a warning not to do anything foolish.”
“No need for unnecessary worry. Don’t you know my way is to keep my mouth shut and hands open for profitable deals?”
Adrian stuffed the money envelope into his pocket and, as reciprocation, held out a bundle of documents.
“What’s this?”
On the first page that passed by, there was a list of rare fabrics and spices.
Touched by someone else’s hand, not Adrian’s.
However, the only one who knew that fact here was Adrian alone.
“Think of it as a gift I’m giving with the meaning that I too hope for good relations in the future. If used well, it’s something that could make quite a large sum for the two of us.”
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