Chapter 47
Returning to his office, Lionel pressed one hand to his temple as soon as he sat in his chair.
Simon was holding a stack of documents and reciting the matters handled in his absence, but his words did not reach his ears.
In his head, the image of Agnes in the garden a moment ago was slowly replaying.
He shouldn’t have spoken like that.
Come to think of it, since entering this mansion, Agnes had almost never voiced that she was uncomfortable.
If a person like her brought up that she was struggling as she did earlier, it wouldn’t be a simple complaint.
Angular words had burst out like a habit.
Even though this was not a battlefield. He had directly applied the standards of that place, where not even a sliver of weakness was permitted, to Agnes.
Lionel often used to think.
Perhaps, he was already a person whose internal gauge for normalcy was broken.
Along with the humanity he had discarded equal to the number of his dying comrades, the temperature of his emotions had been buried as well.
Was that why?
Lately, he frequently found himself at a total loss on how to treat Agnes.
Like the face that smiled brightly despite him handing her a random bouquet he just happened to grab.
Like the sight of her small mouth busily chewing food.
And the cheeks that turned red, unable to hide it, every time their eyes met.
All of it was unfamiliar and, strangely, uncomfortable.
Especially when she lowered the corners of her eyes as if she were depressed like just a moment ago, the inside of his throat felt gritty.
Because he didn’t know what to say.
He felt as frustrated as when facing an enemy whose strategy he couldn’t see.
A new emotion was settling over the fading hatred before he knew it.
A dangerous and unfamiliar kind of thing.
“Duke, do you perhaps have something on your mind?”
Simon, having closed the documents, cautiously observed Lionel’s reaction.
“Do I look like it?”
“Yes. You have an expression different from your usual one.”
What was my expression like?
Lionel rubbed his face with a dry hand.
“Call Andrew right now. Nora too.”
“Those two?”
Simon raised his head with a surprised look.
“Is there a problem?”
“Agnes was struggling with the
treatment. Have you seen the treatment process?”
“No. However, I always had servants on standby in front of the door so that the treatment could be stopped immediately if it became too difficult.”
Sensing an unusual atmosphere, Simon’s face also became solemn.
The thought struck him that he must have missed something while buried in work.
“Shall I prepare the treatment reports for you to review together?”
“No. I will ask them directly.”
“……Understood, I will bring them both immediately.”
Simon, who left the office as if running, returned with Andrew and Nora in less than a few minutes.
“Duke, you called for us.”
Andrew, with his hands folded
modestly, waited for Lionel’s response.
Lionel tapped the table with his fingertips and did not lift his gaze.
“Is the treatment being carried out properly?”
“It is. The sensation in the Duchess’s legs is gradually returning, and the time she spends standing and walking from the wheelchair is increasing.”
“Is that so? From what I hear, it seems there is an excessive side to the treatment.”
“Not at all, Duke. There is no problem with my method.”
Andrew affirmed quite firmly with a face full of tension.
“Since the Duchess has a delicate and fragile nature, she must have said such a thing.”
“So you mean Agnes is being needlessly sensitive?”
“That is not what I meant. I only meant to say that there are sometimes people who cannot endure hardships well.”
Lionel’s eyebrows twitched slowly.
“Even if it is a matter of Agnes’s personality, make sure to accommodate her. That is why I am paying money to hire you.”
“But you clearly said you would respect my medical opinion regarding the treatment—”
“Then I’ll change my words. Accommodate her. Absolutely.”
It was a chilling tone.
At that one sentence, Andrew’s mouth hung open for a moment before snapping shut as if locked.
If he didn’t, it felt as though his head would fall right then and there by the man in front of him.
“Your answer.”
“I, I understand.”
Lionel’s razor-sharp gaze landed on Nora this time.
“I hear you’ve been busy decorating the entire Duke’s mansion lately.”
“It is a task I do with joy. I am merely doing my best for you, Duke, and for the honor of the family.”
Lionel let out a smirk.
“The honor of the family. You haven’t changed. Even when we were young, you used the excuse of honor to tattle to my father about my piano playing.”
“…….”
“Working hard is fine. But Nora. You must keep this in mind.”
Nora’s face stiffened slightly at the words embedded with thorns.
Watching this, Lionel leaned the side of his head against the back of his hand. His hair, flowing down like a pouring night sky, caught the eye.
However, Lionel’s beauty soon gripped Nora’s neck like a venomous snake.
“If you touch my things one more time, I won’t let it slide.”
The air froze at the low bass voice that was slightly hoarse at the end.
In the resonance of that voice, there lingered a sharp warning reminding her that the only reason he had allowed Nora back was to honor the last wishes of the late Duke.
It meant that Lionel could cast Nora out of the mansion at any moment if he put his mind to it.
Only after Mrs. Nora, catching the meaning, bowed her head with a forced smile did Lionel permit the two to leave the office.
As they stepped out from the meeting with Lionel, which felt as long as several hours, Nora and Andrew each let out their held breath.
“To think she still hasn’t abandoned her vulgar habits and ran to tattle like that.”
Mrs. Nora’s eyes narrowed.
Both of them guessed that the reason they had been rebuked like this was because of Agnes.
Since she was the very first person Lionel met as soon as he arrived at the mansion.
If so, there was no other conclusion than that this was all due to Agnes’s snitching.
Grind.
The sound of Mrs. Nora grinding her molars echoed bloodthirstily through the hallway.
“It seems my etiquette education was insufficient.”
The next morning.
Lionel’s low voice echoed across the dining table.
“Are you finished already?”
It was a meal together for the first time in a while.
But Agnes, whose appetite was already small, finished her meal today after only a few pokes with her fork.
Lionel’s gaze naturally lowered to Agnes’s plate.
It was in a state where she had barely touched it.
“I’m not very hungry.”
Agnes gave a rough excuse.
The reality was that she was in a state where it was difficult to even swallow a sip of water because of the corset Mrs. Nora had tightened so hard, but she couldn’t tell the truth.
If Lionel heard it, only a cold remark like yesterday’s would return.
He might scold her, asking if she was whining now because she couldn’t even manage a single servant.
So, Agnes stood up first, smiling faintly as if nothing were wrong.
“I’ll leave first. It’s about time to go to the trading company.”
“I’ll take you there to match the finishing time.”
“You must be busy, so you don’t have to do that.”
A slight distance was embedded in Agnes’s words.
But as Agnes turned her body as if to avoid him, Lionel put down his utensils and immediately stood up.
“I was about to head out anyway.”
Adding that, Lionel naturally followed Agnes into the carriage.
Because of that, the road to the trading company felt extremely long to Agnes.
Unable to endure the discomfort, Agnes hurriedly used Kalt’s help to get off the carriage as soon as they arrived at the trading company.
In her rush, she didn’t even realize she had left her shawl on the seat.
“You really don’t have to come to pick me up.”
Leaving those words behind, Agnes entered the main gate as if fleeing.
“Ugh.”
Agnes hunched her shoulders at the strongly blowing wind.
Only then did she remember leaving the shawl behind, but Agnes gave up quickly.
That was how much the conversation with Lionel in the garden yesterday had been a great wound to Agnes.
If she went back to the carriage now and saw Lionel’s face, her upset feelings seemed likely to burst out.
Her mood was a mess.
Just from not showing her feelings to Lionel while coming to the trading company, her energy was drained as if she had used up her entire day’s worth of physical strength.
Since she could just endure the cold for a moment, Agnes pushed her wheelchair toward the backyard while shivering slightly.
Because she needed a place to breathe right now.
But the moment she turned the corner, a scream erupted from Agnes’s mouth.
“N-no……!”
The middle of the backyard was already in a state of chaos.
Workers were holding pickaxes and hammers, striking down the crumbling wall.
Thud, thud—.
Every time the dull sound erupted, brick dust scattered, and the smell of old lime filled the air.
“Wh-what are you doing? On whose authority are you destroying this place!”
Agnes shouted urgently while pushing her wheelchair.
But blocking her way was Chloe, who was flamboyantly dressed.
“Look at this girl. It’s a trading company I’m going to inherit anyway, so who are you to raise your voice when I say I’ll do as I please?”
With a spiteful expression, Chloe twirled her hair around her finger and quirked the corner of her mouth.
“This place will soon become a tea time space. If you’re the Duchess’s sister, aren’t there many social gatherings? It should be decorated with that much dignity.”
In that tone, perfect arrogance and hypocrisy were mixed.
A haughty and excited voice, as if she herself had become a noble.
Agnes’s face turned pale.
“There are plenty of spaces to drink tea! Sister, you can use anywhere! This place is…… to me……!”
Her voice flipped as her breath hitched roughly.
The ends of her words trembled, and the corners of her eyes were stained red.
At that moment.
Something soft and warm settled over her shoulders.
Agnes turned her head with a start to check the identity of what had wrapped around her shoulders.
It was the shawl she had left in the carriage.
“If you collapse because you’re sick, who else are you planning to bother.”
A low and calm voice brushed past her ear.
Lionel, who had approached right behind her before she knew it, reached out his hand toward Agnes’s forehead.
When his fingertips lightly touched her, his cool skin was felt.
“Look, you’re already this cold.”
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