CH 285

Theon, who had been silent the whole time, slowly opened his mouth.

“You asked for a private meeting?”

“… I want to apologize for what happened with Ayla.”

“I don’t think that’s something you should apologize for to me. What in the world was Duke Daniel thinking…”

“…”

“I’m also curious about your thoughts, Secretary Louis Daniel. Do you think your father was really trying to kill Ayla?”

Louis bit his lips silently at Theon’s interrogation.

His gray eyes, which sank darkly, showed that he seemed to know everything already.

He felt like he was suffocating under the silent pressure that wrapped around his whole body.

Enough to want to get out of here right away.

“He’s someone who accomplishes what he plans, no matter what. That’s why it’s even worse.”

Louis’ cloudy blue eyes turned down. Then, he continued with a calm voice.

“I know that Your Highness is helping Ayla. You must have played a big role in clearing the false charges against Count Serdian.”

“Seeing that you know, it seems I don’t need to tell you what I think about Ayla.”

Theon’s low sinking voice contained a small warning directed at the Duke’s family.

“…”

Theon’s gaze was fixed on the top of Louis’ head, who was mashing his lips without a word.

The slightly shaking gray eyes were filled with hostility towards the person he was facing.

“But why did you come to me?”

Louis’ mouth, which was firmly closed, hesitated for a moment, then slowly opened.

“That child… Please protect her.”

“Why should I do that?”

“…”

“It seems you don’t know that that child, Lily, got Ayla in trouble… You want me to protect a child who can abruptly change? That’s too much to ask.”

“She also risked her life to save Ayla.”

“How can I believe that? What if she planned this with Duke Daniel and is trying to fool us?”

Theon’s reaction was only cynical.

Restoring the trust that was once broken was not an easy matter.

“I will uncover… my father’s sins. I will help everyone to the best of my capacity.”

At Louis’ low voice, Theon rolled up one corner of his mouth and smiled coldly.

Just how many people would trust right away someone who abandoned their own family and said they would cooperate?

It was an extremely natural reaction.

Louis held both hands together and waited for Theon’s next words.

“I wonder why you’re doing this all of a sudden.”

“I can’t sit by and watch… these sacrifices anymore.”

“Sacrifices…”

“I believed that if I turned a blind eye just once… everything would be solved. I knew about my sister’s last moment. Because I heard all of my father’s plans.”

Louis blurred his words and dropped his head down. Small tears fell slowly over his large hands.

“So?”

“?”

“Don’t you think you can keep turning a blind eye to it? It’s what you’ve been doing until now anyway.”

Louis’ shoulders shook slightly at Theon’s cold voice.

“I felt it only today. What a disgusting thing I’ve been doing.”

“…”

“I’m ashamed of myself for pretending to be noble on my own and ignoring it. I… want to get rid of my guilt.”

Ah.

A deep sigh burst out of Theon’s mouth.

As if he could understand even if he didn’t say it, compassion stood at the end of Theon’s gaze as he looked at Louis.

“I was weak and cowardly at that time.”

“And you were young.”

“Yes. Your Highness is right. I was heartbroken about my sister’s death, but… there was really nothing I could do. I loathed my father, but I was afraid that, on the other hand, I would be abandoned like my sister.”

Louis continued with a trembling voice, keeping his gaze down.

“As you would expect… Delia didn’t take her own life.”

It was all his father’s doing.

After speaking, Louis’ blue eyes turned to Theon.

***

‘Delia, I need to get rid of that child.’

‘But, my Lord, how can you do that to your only daughter…’

The Duke’s cold gaze was fixed on Milton, who was close to tears. Duke Daniel, who stood facing him, seemed to have already made up his mind.

The Duke rolled up one corner of his mouth and continued.

‘Thanks to that foolish girl and those two stupid royal children, our family’s honor is falling to the ground.’

‘It’s just a rumor, isn’t it? The Crown Princess Consort also said that it wasn’t true.’

‘Who do you think will believe that?’

‘…’

Milton remained silent at Duke Daniel’s pitchless voice, unable to find an answer.

The heavy atmosphere that filled the interior was broken by Duke Daniel’s voice.

‘She found the ledger.’

‘The ledger?’

‘Not long ago, it seems she saw the ledger with the list of tributes we stole and sold here.’

Milton’s gaze narrowed as he looked at Duke Daniel. Immediately, Delia’s image, smiling brightly at him, flashed through his mind.

‘My father’s study is a mess, I need to clean it up for him.’

‘The Lord may get upset.’

‘Am I going to get scolded? This place… It’s still the same. Not a single thing has changed.’

He didn’t think that there would be a problem on that day, when she was doing a favor by cleaning up the mansion she had visited after a long time.