Chapter 67

It was windy.

Even though the sun was scorching hot, it felt cool because of the sea breeze.

I thought blankly.

I wanted to run away from this reality where Cassius Brudenell desperately showed me his true feelings towards me. However, this was an uninhabited island where you could go around the entire island in two hours at a fast pace. There was nowhere to escape. It means that I have to face him.

“…Lord.”

I slowly opened my mouth.

“Do you know why I reject you?”

“Isn’t it because you don’t love me?”

Was that really the case…?

I pondered his words. Although I refused to get married even before I met Cassius, it was not because I did not particularly like my future husband candidates.

In the first place, it is not like I had no intention of marrying or dating for the rest of my life. Even in this era of marrying without love, I was not a carefree romantic. However, at the time, not long after I became Evelyn Garneid, there was no way I could afford to get married or have a relationship.

The reason was simple.

I have to escape the fate of dying at the hands of Cassius Brudenell.

Things changed when Cassius fell in love with me. I wanted to run away from the fate that Ophelia in the original story had to go through, not my fate. Though this problem has also been resolved because Cassius did not put his finger on me.

It was like that right now, too.

Even though he was locking me up on an uninhabited island completely separated from my family, there seemed to be no intention of taking me by force. Nevertheless, I had always rejected Cassius…

“…I hate the Lord. The reason I’ve been by the Lord’s side all this time is because you’d tied me up in various ways. Sometimes you use Ophelia, sometimes you use me… and sometimes, you even used your own body.”

Silence passed.

I thought there would be a rebuttal immediately, but Cassius did not say a word.

He just followed me with a relentless gaze.

“Sometimes, I was afraid. What’ll I do if I try to get away from the Lord, what’ll I do if I refuse the Lord’s request…”

“….”

“What was even more terrifying was that it wasn’t just up to me. You don’t leave those who offended you alone, right?”

“….”

“If I were to live with the Lord, I’d live with my heart pounding in a panic every moment, not knowing what you’d do. I didn’t want to live like that… Is this wrong?”

I strode towards Cassius. Now, our distance was reduced to a piece of paper, and I could feel his breathing and even his heartbeat. He was considerably out of breath.

…Like me right now.

With the thought that Cassius Brudenell was also a human being, I raised my head, brimming with courage. His handsome jawline, sculpted nose, and gleaming golden eyes caught my eye.

“I could’ve not hated the Lord.”

I whispered to Cassius.

“Even if it wasn’t the first time we met, even after that… How many times…”

…But each time, he only awakened my fears by showing a journey beyond my imagination.

“Even right now, I’m also very scared. All of your actions make me scared. How could I be with you for the rest of my life…?”

“Evelyn.”

“Didn’t you know that? The fact that I had never tolerated the Lord’s actions and never wished for it in the first place…”

“….”

I stepped back a bit from Cassius. He still did not come up with a proper answer, still, just telling him my true feelings made me feel a bit relieved. Nonetheless, I knew that this was never going to be a solution. It was just pouring out our emotions, nothing more, nothing less.

“You’ve been asking me why I don’t love you? I hope this is the answer you’ve been looking for.”

“…I’m sorry.”

A brief apology came out of Cassius’ mouth.

“For… for everything.”

“….”

I glanced up at him before opening my mouth. If he really thought I would accept this apology, he was several times more foolish than I thought, “What do you want, Lord? Can you really be satisfied with just having me by your side, no matter what state I’m in?”

This time, it seems that Cassius also had something to say.

A lot of that, too.

“…Evelyn, I wish you good health and happiness so I wanted to let you get whatever you want.”

“What I want is freedom.”

I answered without hesitation.

“The freedom to go anywhere I want and to do what I want. Wasn’t it the Lord who stopped this freedom?”

“…If you do that, don’t you intend to completely walk away from me?”

“That’s also my freedom.”

I bit my lip.

As soon as I could feel the pain from doing that, Cassius’ hand touched my lips. His big hand gently caressed my dried lips.

“Don’t punish yourself.”

“…I didn’t mean to.”

“You’re bleeding, Evelyn.”

“….”

When he said that, I could taste the blood. Meanwhile, Cassius had a bewildered look, not knowing what to do.

“I’d rather you punish me, Evelyn. This…”

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing!”

He suddenly shouted before slowly lowering his volume.

“Don’t hurt yourself… Please.”

I was speechless for a moment.

Cassius Brudenell

The man who had put a knife in his chest to make me take care of him begged me because he could not see my lips get torn a little. Even though it was just a little bit, it felt like something was beating in my chest.

I gulped down my dry saliva.

Doing this now would not change anything. Right now, even if I feel something for him… What would be the point of all that? Both Cassius and I have already walked a path of no return. The gap between me and him was the sort of thing that nothing could fill.

​​

I took a deep breath and calmed my body.

The trembling caused by the realization had not yet subsided, so my voice was also trembling.

“…Lord Cassius.”

“Yes. You can say anything.”

“Thank you for bringing me the supplies.”

“….!”

Cassius’ eyes widened. It was a rare sign of surprise.

“It seems like we’re done talking, so I’ll be going in first.”

“Evel—”

“Don’t follow me.”

I interrupted his words quickly before heading home with Arfie. Immediately, the maid—no, according to Cassius, Kitty, to me.

“Young Lady!”

I stared at her. Cassius chose this child himself, thinking that I am going to get attached. I was tempted to ask what she would get from him, though something totally out of the blue came out of my mouth instead.

“…Your name.”

“It’s Kitty. It’s a cute name, isn’t it?”

“It’s the first time I’ve ever heard someone say something like that about their name.”

“Well, there’re very few people with cute names.”

Somehow, I felt a little better after having a frivolous conversation with Kitty. I then lifted Arfie, who was licking my feet.

“You must be hungry.”

Arrf, arf.

“Toys and snacks will be coming soon. Are you happy?”

Arrf, arf.

At that, Arfie licked the back of my hand nimbly. It was so cute that it made me smile.

“I live because of you, Arfie.”

The thought of him bringing these cute little guy toys seemed to soften my anger towards Cassius.

The next moment, I entered the bedroom with Arfie in my arms. I needed time to organize my complicated thoughts first. As I was half lying on the soft sofa, it could not be more peaceful than lying down while feeling the warm body temperature of Arfie.

‘…It is impossible to run away.’

Just by looking at the fact that he had brought a warship, I could feel his will not to give me even a second chance. So, the way to get out of this island is to deceive or persuade Cassius. It would be one of the two. And, neither method seemed to work with him…

“…Ha.”

A sigh came out of my mouth on its own. It felt like I was trapped in a labyrinth without a single ray of light. At the same time, Arfie was a friend who protected me.

I closed my eyes.

It felt like the fatigue accumulated due to the verbal battle with Cassius was rushing into me at once. Well, taking a short break here would not make anything worse or make it better.

How long has it been…?

‘….?’

I blinked my eyes slowly.

Meanwhile, the bright sun outside the window had disappeared beyond the horizon before I knew it.

‘…I slept too much.’

As I raised my head, calling out to Arfie.

“Arfie.”

However, it did not run to me or bark as usual, and there was only a strange feeling of silence. At that moment, it felt as if I had been covered in cold water.

“Arfie!”

I jumped off the sofa and ran out barefoot.

“Young Lady, what are you doing? Oh, my God. You don’t have shoes! I’ll bring you slippers.”

“Arfie, did you see it?”

As I asked Kitty, holding my breath, she questioned back in a confused voice after hearing my words.

“Wasn’t it with the Young Lady? I haven’t seen you since daytime…”

“….”

My head was spinning.

Arfie never left my side, even for a moment. Even if it did leave, that would only happen when Kitty lured it in for a snack.

Kitty looked at me.

“I’ll look for it, Young Lady. Do you have any guesses where it might’ve gone? Since Arfie followed the Young Lady well…”

“Cassius Brudenell.”

A cold voice came out of my mouth.

The tortoise, which Ophelia loved and raised, met a tragic end in the original story…at the hands of Cassius Brudenell

Kitty blinked in surprise.

“Yes…?”

“Where is he?”