Chapter 20

Translator: Jaemicy

Chapter 20

“It’s a breach of contract.”

Cardan murmured, growling.

However, the Duke of Baloa did not budge even when he mentioned the contract that he was so obsessed with.

Cardan’s steps became faster.

He was always weighing the Duke’s life in his heart.

I knew that even if I lost Eleanor, the living should live, and that I should kill the Duke someday.

It was just a matter of decision, and the result was set.

However, it was complicated to see the Duke drooping in his arms like a doll that had fallen off like a string.

I was impatient with her weak sound of breathing that seemed to be cut off. When he came to his senses, he was running without realizing it.

“Don’t you dare die. Your body will rot like a prisoner without resting in the temple.”

You must not die yet. Even if he kills her with his own hands, she should not yet die.

Perhaps because he didn’t give up Eleanor or for other reasons, Cardan suddenly recited it.

My whole body was burning hot.

Every time I breathed, I felt like a fire was rising in my lungs, and my dry mouth smelled like fishy iron.

In addition to the heat, she suffered from unknown nightmares.

In one scene, she was looking at the documents while stabbing her thigh with a quill pen, and in the next moment, she was slapped by an invisible man.

The beating hand gently swept my cheek before I knew it, and the man had turned into the woman from the portrait.

The woman’s face, smiling at me with warm eyes, was immediately covered with tears.

Between the scenes of rising and disappearing, I buried the red-colored pigeon again and again.

“I’m sorry…”

For some reason, I felt like I had to say this, but no matter how hard I tried, my mouth wouldn’t fall off.

“It’s hopeless.”

The doctor, who was called by the Count at best, just shook his head.

“There’s a limit to detoxification, but it’s almost twice the lethal dose of Mereiza, so there’s little chance of survival.”

The doctor pointed to Erina, who was breathing faintly.

“It’s a miracle that she’s breathing right now.”

The doctor shuddered as Cardan uttered a harsh curse.

“P-prepare your heart……”

“Get out.”

At the cold glance, the doctor fled.

Cardan stared down at Erina’s pale day.

The doctor was right. It was a miracle that she didn’t die instantly because she drank twice as much as the lethal dose.

She’s been constantly drinking his blood, so she’s barely surviving.

“You’re killing me.”

So I might have been more relieved.

It was a maneuver that dealt with many threats without blinking.

I had never thought of the possibility that the duke could die in another’s hands.

Cardan pulled out a dagger and tore through the wound that had begun to heal.

When his blood flowed again through her cracked lips, her bloodless lips turned red, creating an illusion that her pale face seemed to have returned to life.

“If you want to be tough, you have to be tough until the end.”

Cardan clasped his wounded hand.

“Don’t back down for nothing.”

He glared coldly at Erina.

“Wake up.”

Contrary to the doctor’s words that it would be difficult to pass through tonight, as if his words were fulfilled, Erina regained stability over time.

The irregular breathing subsided, and the pale face began to return little by little.

Only then did Cardan’s eyes catch the bloodstains that stained the entire leaf of the Duke’s jacket.

Perhaps she was a little energized, because even in the midst of losing her life, the Duke felt her jacket collar with a fluttering gesture as if she were uncomfortable.

But halfway through, her hand snapped to the bed, apparently losing strength.

Eventually, Cardan took off her jacket with a frown.

However, the shirt under the jacket was also dyed red.

My eyebrows twitched with displeasure. There was no other way.

“You’re annoying me.”

Cardan quickly began to pull the button. When he unbuttoned the last button and took off her shirt, Erina began to tremble.

“It’s cold”

A little sobs escaped through her bloodless lips.

“The stove…

Her quivering hands clasped his hands as they sought warmth.

Normally, I would have immediately shook off the Duke’s hand and covered that profane mouth with a pillow, but I decided to let it slide this time.

“Just hang in there. I’ll bring you a new shirt.”

I didn’t know who I was talking to, but all of a sudden, Cardan threw her tattered shirt into the fireplace and headed for the side room where the Duke’s luggage was arranged.

Although she had so much luggage, I couldn’t find a box with clothes even if I dug through a few boxes. Instead, I looked for something else.

It was a box with a small portrait.

I felt like hell.

It was a sham beyond description.

My whole body feels like it’s going to fall and my skin is throbbing even if I move a little.

It was hard to breathe, but the dry mouth was still dry with blood.

Still, I struggled to raise my eyelids.

I didn’t feel comfortable lying down like this.

If I’m so limp, I’ll be beaten again. If I was attacked in this state, I didn’t really have confidence to survive.

“Ugh.”

The muscles all over screamed as I raised myself with difficulty. Even though I moved very little, my vision became blurry as my eyes were spinning.

“You’re up.”

I blinked a few times before I recognized Cardan sitting next to the bed.

I couldn’t see his face well because my vision was still blurry, but I intuitively noticed something was wrong with the faint voice.

“Your Majesty.”

A voice came out as if scratching sandpaper.

I was overwhelmed by vague anxiety when I could not make up a friendly voice for customer service, which is used to flatter.

Cardan, staring at me without saying a word, only increased the anxiety.

“Why do I have this?”

Finally breaking the silence, Cardan held out something like a flat box.

I couldn’t see exactly what it was, so I didn’t realize what it was until Cardan handed me the item.

A portrait.

My heart felt like it was pounding for a moment.

I carefully picked up the box with the portrait with trembling hands.

When I first discovered the portrait, I intuitively realized that it had something to do with the contract with Cardan.

Therefore, I brought the important evidence of the contract because I was anxious to put it in the palace while I was away.

I tried to find any hint about the contract by looking at it from time to time, but it was something I hadn’t looked at a few times since Cardan joined.

“I asked you why you have it.”

The bloody voice gave me goose bumps all over.

If you make any mistakes here, you’ll die. I forced my head throbbing with heat.

“Eleanor.”

I whispered the only information I knew.

“Eleanor…”

Why did the original Duke of Baloa have a portrait of this woman?

The relationship between the Duke of Baloa and Eleanor was still a labyrinth, although it was certain that he was a precious person to Cardan.

But keeping someone’s portrait

“I wanted to remember.”

Cardan burst into a short laugh.

A laugh that doesn’t sound pleasant at all, close to a wild growl.

“You remember Eleanor?”

The contempt in his voice was palpable.

“Why are you…”

Cardan, who stopped talking, leaned forward.

Even with a blurry view, I could see a sharp enemy who persistently tore off my face.

As if you’re analyzing every little expression on my face.

I couldn’t breathe because at this rate, all my thoughts would be read.

Cardan opened his mouth slowly.

“What kind of person is Eleanor?”

As the visibility became clearer, the face of Kardan, who had become frighteningly cold, was clearly visible.

“Say it yourself.”

My heart beat so hard that it wouldn’t be strange to faint like this. I felt like I was being hunted by a beast.

But I couldn’t give up like this.

How did I survive?

I survived by trying so hard that I could not give up here.

I picked a horse slowly.

There must be a hint somewhere.

A woman with light brown hair.

Both the Empress Dowager and the original female lead had the same hair color as the woman in the portrait.

In addition, she is so precious to Cardan that he cannot give up even if he is bound by the contract.

“Your Majesty’s lover. She’s your lover.”