Chapter 44

“So, as per the contract, I brought the candle as proof that Lady Eleanor is safe.”

Cardan came a step closer to me. His low, grinning voice was rougher than the gravel field.

“You, you bastard–”

A breathtaking overwhelming energy weighed on me, but I firmly opened my mouth.

“And one more thing.”

I held out my hand.

“Let’s make a new contract.”

Cardan stopped at my suggestion.

However, the life that swept over his whole body only became breathtakingly thick.

“New contract?”

The flaring red eyes stuck in my hand.

“Ha.”

Cardan burst into laughter.

“What tricks are you going to play again?”

I bit my lip.

Surely, you believe in the Duke of Baloa without losing your mind.

But I had to try something.

As time went by, breathing became more and more unbearable.

I was gasping for breath, and my hands began to tremble terribly.

I ended up dropping my hand.

“No more, I will not try to manipulate His Majesty.”

I managed to spit out my last breath.

“No more, for personal gain, I will not threaten you.”

His distrustful red eyes were still staring at me like tears, but the terrible aura faded a little.

“Heuk…. Heuk…. Heuk….”

My upper body fell forward as the breath that I had endured opened.

But before I could breathe, his long finger forced my chin up.

“Are you going to return Eleanor?”

The world was blurry because of the tears around my eyes, but the red eyes staring at me were terribly clear.

Don’t be scared. If you’re scared, it’s over.

I said that to myself, and straightened my back.

“No, I won’t.”

I didn’t stop talking even in the face of the tsunami.

“At least I have to guarantee my miserable life.”

“What?”

A fine-grained syllable

However, the energy contained in it seemed to crush the bones of my whole body into powder.

But I didn’t bow down.

Blood pooled in my tightly closed mouth, but the voice that flowed through my lips was unexpectedly calm.

“I promise you I’ll take good care of Eleanor instead.”

I blinked at the candle in Cardan’s hand.

“If you want, I’ll give you candles as proof.”

Cardan looked at me without saying a word for a while.

A waxy face showed no emotion.

“How can I trust you?”

The slow recited voice was even mellow.

Only then did I notice the deep hatred reflected in his eyes, which I thought was cold.

A chill ran down my spine.

At this rate, I’m sure he’s going to kill me with or without Eleanor.

Like a horse struggling to climb up in order to live, words flowed out of my mouth.

“You have no choice but to trust me, right?

I raised my chin slightly.

“Or do you think you can get Eleanor out without a hitch?”

After I became Duke of Baloa, my lips twisted up with a smile that I had never made before.

“No matter how much I lost my memory,I’m the Duke of Baloa.”

At this moment, I didn’t even know if I really believed it.

I’m the Duke of Baloa.

“There is only one way to ensure Eleanor’s safety.”

So I hardened my face more coldly.

Like I’m the kind of person who can kill someone if I’m really twisted.

“To ensure my safety.”

Cardan burst into a wild laugh.

“Yes, that’s how you became the Duke of Baloa.”

“Thank you.”

I bowed down exaggeratingly.

“I’ll be right back at the Imperial Palace.”

I came all the way to the duke to avoid Cardan, but now I know for sure.

That everything was my misunderstanding.

Cardan may have deliberately instigated my misunderstanding, but he couldn’t have touched my body.

“I’ll ask the servants to take good care of Eleanor, so don’t worry.”

In a moment, a complex look flashed across Cardan’s face.

“It will have to be.”

The tendon stood out in his hand holding the candle.

“I’ll be the first to slice your throat when this candle goes out.”

☆*: .｡.  .｡.:*☆

After returning to the castle and informing the maid of the situation, I prepared to return to the palace. As soon as I got into the carriage, I slumped into the chair.

My composure, which I had been firmly maintaining in front of Cardan and the servants, quickly collapsed when I was left alone.

My hands were still shaking terribly.

As expected, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t be the ‘real’ Baloa Duke.

“Haa…Haaa…….”

Breathing and pulling the collar of my shirt, the carriage door burst open.

Cardan strode into the carriage.

“Ah.”

I sprang to my feet.

“Well, if you need anything else…….”

Cardan sat across from me in a smooth motion as if it was his carriage.

Then he crossed his legs and beckoned at me.

“I’m going to the palace anyway. I’ll ride with you.”

Ah, shi—t.

I bowed politely with a clear smile.

“Sure. Feel free to use it.”

Cardan looked out of the window as if it was no longer worth answering.

I sat back with my trembling knees hidden.

My whole body throbbed as if I had been beaten.

I wanted to lie down on the carriage, but I couldn’t lean on my back comfortably because of the Cardan sitting opposite me.

Let’s hang in there, let’s hang in there for a few hours.

I repeated myself again and again, gritting my teeth in the heavy strain of the shoulder.

☆*: .｡.  .｡.:*☆

Cardan glared at Erina, who was asleep as if she fainted on the other side.

The first few minutes, she seemed to hold out with a firm face, but it didn’t last long and she fell to her side.

Cardan’s gaze slowly ran down the Duke of Baloa.

Her skin was all stained with heat flowers, and she was suffering with a frown as if full of nightmares.

It was unexpected.

He knew she wouldn’t be in a good shape because she was given the right way to live, but as always, he thought she should endure it strongly until the end.

It was a little futile to fall down so easily.

Cardan clicked his tongue once and turned his eyes away to cut off his nerves.

But the flow of thought continued to return to the Duke of Baloa.

‘No more, I will no longer attempt to manipulate your Majesty.’

‘No more, for personal gain, I will no longer threaten you.’

Cardan swept away his hair with an angry gesture.

In the first place, the Duke took Eleanor to hold and shake the emperor himself at will.

But you’re giving up now?

It was beyond belief.

Maybe at other times, she thought she was trying to fool him with a clever lie…….

Cardan’s eyes fell on the candle in his hand.

‘I promise you I’ll take good care of Eleanor instead.’

And the voice of Duke Baloa, who was rarely sincere, lingered in his ears.

But Cardan shook his head soon.

“I’m sure you’re doing something else.”

A low murmur

“Ugh… I’m sorry.”

I thought I heard it wrong at first.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…….”

However, a few more sobbing broke out between Erina’s dry lips, and Cardan had no choice but to admit it.

The Duke of Baloa was crying.

The Duke of Baloa was crying, saying she was sorry.

☆*: .｡.  .｡.:*☆

A hazy dream ensued.

When I came to my senses, I was watching a blurry scene like an old movie.

A middle-aged man and a young white-haired girl stood in a study.

The man turned his back to the girl and only looked at the window, but the girl was politely putting her hands together in a straight posture regardless of whether the man was watching or not.

I instinctively recognized their identity.

The Duke and the Little Erina.

Perhaps I was looking into the memory of the Duke of Baloa.

“Useless.”

The duke spoke first.

It was a quiet voice, but Erina’s hands shrank.

“I’m sorry….”

The duke still pulled a cigar case out of his pocket without looking at Erina.

“Why are you sorry? It’s not your fault that the empress sent the prince to the battlefield as soon as she got pregnant. If you want to be blamed for it, you have to blame the prince who’s born with a lowly blood.”

Having been born from a lowly blood herself, Erina shrank her shoulders even more.

“I’m just telling the truth. You are no longer useful.”

The duke, who lit the cigar with an elegant gesture, dropped the used match and stepped on it well with his shoes.

Erina stared at the black-dried match for a long time.

“It’s obvious that the prince will die. Your age is a stumbling block for bringing back the relationship with the Empress back to life.”

The duke took a sip of the cigar.

“It’s a waste of money for your mother’s medicine.”

The heartless words scattered with strong smoke.

Erina’s hands began to tremble altogether.

“I…!”

Only then did the Duke look back at Erina.

Her hands trembled even more horribly at the sharp gaze falling over her head, but she continued to speak.

“How can I be useful? H, how can I pay for my mother’s medication…….”

The duke threw the newspaper on the desk at Erina’s feet.

Erina quickly picked up the newspaper.

The front page contained the story of a commoner businessman who recently hit the jackpot with a new drug.

“Find out how to make a new medicine.”

The impertinent Duke’s orders fell over her head, as if with a well-trained scolding.