CH 72

“Your Grace!”

The aide burst through the door and ran in. Kyle, who had been staring out the office window, turned at the urgent voice. 

“Your Grace, it really is Madam.” The heavily breathing aide handed over the documents.

Kyle didn’t take it and just stared at the papers with shaky eyes.

After a while, he stretched out his trembling hand and frowned.

Thump–. His trembling hand missed the document once before he received it.

“Your Grace…” The aide set aside his heartache and posted the report. “According to the investigation, Madam has been staying in the town of Cedria for about half a year. In the meantime, not only did she move around like a vagabond, but it seemed no one recognized her because she covered her face. There’s also a possibility that she used a pseudonym.”

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So, even if there were reports that they saw someone who looked like his wife, it was bound to be denied. The aide caught his breath and continued.

“Also, judging from the villagers’ testimony, Madam was accompanied by a man. Apparently, it’s Takan.”

Kyle’s eyes didn’t shift away from the papers. As he watched the scene, the aide clenched his fists and tightly closed his eyes.

The report felt like proof of his incompetence. If Madam was dead, it was his duty to find out whether she wanted to come back or not.*

He was in a hurry to take care of his master’s safety and assist him, so he missed the most important thing.

The cost of missing it was severe. The aide was deeply concerned as he watched Kyle dry up day by day. It wasn’t just his body.

The Duke wasn’t even a tree, but the aide vividly watched him lose life and dry up. As time passed like a stream, the nobleman’s resoluteness, reason, and cool judgment vanished, leaving only a man who had lost the woman he loved.

He lost his light and dried up in a dark bedroom. He couldn’t sleep without alcohol, and his handsome features wildly praised by society faded.

He gave off an intimidating aura with his beard and black hair that reached his shoulders. Only his splendid and honorable manners and dignity remained.

Although his reputation was reduced by the mouths of aristocrats that held a grudge against his family, he ignored their indulgence.

Nothing but Aelle could provoke him.

Every time he saw his master, the aide wanted to cut off his mouth for talking presumptuously. He regretted admitting the Madam’s death and encouraging the Duke to move forward.

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Every day, he felt like his blood was drying up, thinking Kyle would disappear at any moment.

The aide couldn’t watch anymore and finally asked for medical care, and he persuaded the Duke that they might be able to find Aelle in an unexpected place, so they went down to Cedria for it. 

He never thought that the simple pretext would wield an unexpected harvest. 

The aide widened his eyes, thinking he wouldn’t miss it anymore. “Your Grace, this is your chance to bring the kidnapping case to an end and get Madam. Summon the knights immediately–”

Kyle raised his hand and dismissed the aide’s words.

“Stop.” Kyle sighed. “Just stop.”

Kyle rubbed his forehead, unable to hide his agitation.

There seemed to be a lot of emotion in his voice, so the aide could not say anything and remained silent.

“Leave.”

When Kyle raised his hand, the aide noticed his intention and left the office.

When the aide left, Kyle collapsed onto the cold floor. Desperately holding the papers in his arms, he closed his eyes, his eyelids twitching.

The garden where he found Aelle was where he once made a promise he couldn’t keep. He planned to bring her there when she recovered because Aelle had once said, ‘Let’s go to a place where the flowers I like are in full bloom.’

The place Kyle had visited with Aelle in mind was peaceful.

Facing Aelle felt like a natural progression. He closed his eyes, thinking he wanted to flow along the wind that touched her skin, and she inevitably came to mind like an afterimage–her weeping face filled with pain that robbed him of his breath.

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At that moment, he heard a voice, and he looked away involuntarily.

Hair that flowed with the win, gentle eyes, and a pure expression. He recognized her the moment he saw her, but he wasn’t too surprised. Aelle, who looked at Kyle with unfeeling eyes, was a vision he had seen all over the mansion.

‘Aelle…?’

Then the illusion moved as if it were alive. He hugged the real Aelle instead of her clothes and repeated her name.

‘Aelle.’

Aelle. Aelle. She was alive. He repeated her name over and over again as he held her in his arms. He no longer had to call her name in the empty cold.

Kyle didn’t care if she killed him then. He didn’t mind if she swore, spit on him, beat him, or grabbed his hair.

He didn’t care if he was humiliated, shamed, teased, or mocked. Whatever she’d do, he was prepared to receive it sweetly. 

He was full of thoughts of daring to kneel at her feet, beg desperately for forgiveness, and look up earnestly at her.

Just as Kyle buried his face in the crook of her neck and breathed in joy and relief, her cold voice pierced his heart.

‘Who…are you?’

In an instant, his heart crashed at his feet. He forgot to breathe, and his mind went blank.

He had hoped she’d be resentful and say words to hurt him, but instead, she stared at Kyle with blank eyes and a calm expression.

There was nothing in her eyes except the fear of seeing a stranger. Nothing else.

He was helpless, unable to accept or deny the situation that had occurred.

The paper crumpled in his arms just like his heart. He didn’t even dare to ask for forgiveness.

I cradled the basket in my arms and climbed the steep uphill. Unlike climbing an uphill barefoot, my breathing quickened.

I crossed the hill, hearing the sound of my breathing vividly in my ears. The peaceful scenery unfolded as usual when I looked up after looking at the bridge the whole time.

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When I saw the leaves in the tree had become reddish, I realized that autumn had arrived.

I glanced around the peaceful surroundings, and my eyes widened. I stopped in my tracks and looked at the cabin in bewilderment.

“Oppa?”

A person stood in front of the fence. He passed by the village not too long ago, so it seemed his job was finished quickly.

I smiled brightly and quickened my steps. Unlike before, both the basket full of work and my tired body felt light.

If my arms were free, I would have sneaked up behind Oppa and surprised him. While thinking about other things, I bravely crossed the hill.

As I approached the cabin, I stopped walking when I was almost there. I saw black hair, not Oppa‘s, that was as blue as the clear autumn sky.

That man. He was the same man I ran into yesterday.

Shwaa– The wind that passed by the meadow ruffled the man’s hair, and he turned around, brushing his hair. The eyes of the man who saw me widened dramatically.

“Ha, Aelle.” The man laughed, unable to hide his joy. When I winced and looked wearily at him, his expression hardened.

“How did you know this place?”

The man was silent for a while, seemingly thinking carefully about his answer. 

Soon, he slowly answered, “I had it investigated.”

The man spoke openly with an innocent face, and I knew he didn’t lie. On the contrary, he was so impudent that I was embarrassed I had asked the question.

“…You had it investigated?”

The man nodded.

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“This is the closest place to where we met yesterday.”

“…”

He had it investigated. It wasn’t something that would come out of a normal person’s mouth. I blinked without saying a word, and the man lowered his eyes before slowly raising them as if he was paying attention.

“Are…you angry?”

Rather than angry, I was reluctant to face this man and have a conversation with him.

At that moment, his eyes fell on the basket.

“That’s.”

I gripped the basket tighter.

It was strange. The man had hugged me on his own when we first met, but now, like a dog watching his owner, he couldn’t even approach me and stayed where he was.

This man knew me, and after less than a day since he met, he even found my residence. He looked shabby at first glance, but his strong gaze and high-handed words were proof that he was an unusual person.

I had a hunch that I shouldn’t be involved any more than this.

Whether this person was my lover, partner, or friend… Whatever he was, there was nothing wrong with staying vigilant. At least until Oppa returned.

I ignored the man and passed the fence before stopping. I had to put this meeting to an end.

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I hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at him. As I let out a shallow sigh before speaking, I felt the man flinch.

“I’m sorry, as I said before, but I don’t remember who you are.”

Who you were to me. I swallowed the rest of my words.

At the same time, I was wary and afraid of the stranger who might be related to the incident and felt sorry that I couldn’t remember him. But I also didn’t want to remember him because I thought he was dangerous.

Even I was confused.