CH 81

“By the way, why did Sir come by himself instead of the butler?”

“Sir Butler is away because he has something to do, so I took his place… and came. Hahaha.”

She didn’t know if it was just her feeling, but Logan didn’t seem to have any intention of entering. Even more, he wasn’t looking at the Grand Duke at all.

Elusiana knew it but pretended not to know. It was because she was aware of Logan’s dissatisfaction with having an illegitimate son as his master instead of the previous successor. Still, Sir Logan does his best in his duties. Winning his heart was what the Grand Duke had to do from now on.

Elusiana walked to where Logan was standing and stood in front of him. “I think His Excellency is very tired.”

Logan glanced at Aster’s face with a somewhat nervous expression.

Still, I guess he’s worried. It’s okay to express things like this. After thinking about it for a while, she heard Logan’s voice, which seemed shaky.

“Is he… sick?”

Elusiana tilted her head, though she had heard wrong, and answered. “Yes. He also had a seizure a little while ago. Is the carriage outside?”

“…I think so?”

“That’s a relief. I was a little worried. He did a lot of work today. Then, I’d like you to take His Highness, please.”

“…!”

Logan’s face turned contemplative. He looked at Aster reflexively. It felt like his brain was being crushed instantly by the intense pressure from Aster’s red eyes.

Damn it. Wasn’t the calling artifact something the butler gave her to use in case of emergency? That’s why I rushed to prepare the carriage. So why on earth are you telling me to take His Highness on it! Logan felt wronged.

When the butler gave Elusiana the calling artifact a few days ago, he didn’t think much of it. It was the same when he saw the butler who came to him with the flickering calling artifact.

“Sir Logan, it looks like something happened to her. Please hurry up.”

Obviously, it was the case until then. But what on earth is this situation!

Elusiana, who never imagined Logan being threatened in real time, held Aster’s arm. Then Noel, who was quick-witted, quickly came over and held Aster’s arm instead.

“I will help him, Lusi.”

“Oh, will you please?”

“…Enough. I can do it myself.” Aster pulled his arm away from Noel.

“Well, if it’s convenient for you, Your Highness.” Noel, who smiled slyly, stepped back gently. Noel just wanted Elusiana’s hand not to touch Aster in the first place, so he had nothing to regret.  

Aster, who knew what Noel was thinking, stared at Noel once and stood up silently. “I’ll be on my way, Elusiana.”

“Thank you so much for your help today.”

“Then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Get home safely.”

Aster nodded briefly and turned around. Elusiana smiled broadly and said to Logan. “Sir Logan, please be careful not to shake the carriage.”

“…Yes, Lady.”

Damn it. Logan followed Aster with a pale face. Even at that moment, Logan’s lifespan was rapidly decreasing.

As they walked out of the store, Elusiana turned to her side as if she had waited. “What are you doing?”

“Yes?”

“Lord should leave too. Come on, hurry up.”

* * *

Noel, who left the store as if he were being kicked out by Elusiana. Arriving at the mansion, he leaned on the sofa after taking a shower. Perhaps because of the excessive emotional exhaustion, his body was heavy.

“Haa.” With a short sigh, he raised his arms to cover his eyes. Drops of water dripped from his still half-dried hair. Still, when he remembered that moment, his blood seemed to cool down.

It was a little annoying when Elusiana was treated unfairly by the servant of Count Eragost. But when it was repeated several times, he was genuinely upset.  He couldn’t understand why she had to suffer without revealing her identity. However, leaving her alone was an obvious mistake, as he couldn’t hold back his anger.

It was right after the banquet was over that he returned late after taking care of his soaring emotions. The story of what happened to Elusiana pierced his ears.

“Honestly, isn’t it like that? What’s the point in presenting the certification magic from the Sestein family if you mixed  in a problematic flower from the beginning?”

“The store owner was the only  suspicious one.”

“We should have questioned her a little harder, not just made her kneel down. Then we could have obtained her confession.”

Even without hearing more, he could guess what had happened to Elusiana.

They would have tried to pin her down with their status and power. Although the matter has been resolved, I can’t even imagine the humiliation she felt!

Noel cleared his thoughts by letting out a hot, angry breath. Just thinking about who drove Elusiana into a corner made him feel out of control.

“…Even with empty words, I can’t say it wasn’t something you did.”

Noel got up and trudged over to his desk. He opened the drawer and took out the worn-out papers buried deep inside. Rustle, rustle, rustle. With each page turned, someones meticulously concealed evil deeds were all fully revealed.

“Camilla. How far are you going to go? How much uglier will you get before you stop?”

It was common in society to persecute and harass a young lady. In particular, most of Camilla’s work was done by borrowing the hands of others. It could be said to be more vicious because she achieved what she wanted by instigating people to avoid being punished.

“But if I leave you as you’re, you will be more dangerous than now.”

If Camilla didn’t know about their relationship, it would be one thing, but now that she did, there was no way to leave her alone. She would try to destroy Elusiana no matter what and get her out of his sight. In that case, it would be better to—

Crumple. The papers in his hand were crumpled mercilessly. Noel’s purple eyes sank drearily. “I have no choice but to make you realize I’m watching. So she won’t dare to touch her recklessly.”

And that night, an anonymous letter about Lady Eragost’s shameless act was delivered to two of the empire’s newspapers. As Noel expected, it wasn’t published in the newspaper. Still, Count Eragost, who heard the news, ordered Camilla to self-reflect.

* * *

Shrak— Dozens of papers fluttered before Camilla’s eyes and fell on the floor of the office. Camilla’s jet-black eyes, chasing the paper, shook mercilessly. She opened her mouth as she stiffened her body.

“F-Father.”

“Quiet. Shut your mouth, Camilla.”

Count Eragost, whose back rested heavily on the back of his chair, closed his eyes in silence. For a moment, as if lost in thought, he said nothing.

Camilla desperately scanned the paper that had fallen on the floor with a pale face. Even though she only read a few lines, she could tell enough of what was written on the paper.

I can’t believe it! Each page was a letter that accused her of misdeeds.

Camilla gritted her teeth. I already made sure to clean up the mess well. Knowing that if her tail was caught, she would become a burden to the family’s honor, she meticulously took care of that part. If Count Eragost found out about her misdeeds, he would always turn cruel.

For Count Eragost, who pursued perfectionism to the point of sickness, faults were not something to be shown for a moment and overlooked. He regarded it as a big shame to betray his family. He would inflict severe physical punishment that left scars no matter how close they were. 

While Camilla clenched her firsts tightly and struggled to control her rising fear, Count Eragost slowly opened his eyes and stared at her. He felt sorry for his frightened daughter, but his blue eyes were cold.

“The reason I turned a blind eye to your misdeeds was because the way you handled it was pretty good. However, seeing that you let this thing end up known everywhere, it seems I trusted you too much.”

“F-Father, t-this rumor is spread maliciously by someone who was targeting me.”

“My daughter, that’s not the point— Don’t you know it better than anyone else?”

“B-But…!”

Count Eragost’s eyes, which were still staring at Camilla, became fierce. “Is that your only fault?”

“Yes?”

“If you borrowed the name of Eragost, you shouldn’t have looked ridiculous. You threw a banquet to catch a lady from a fallen family, but you scratched our family’s name.”

“I-I’m sorry, Father. But, Grand Duke Sestein suddenly stepped forward, and I couldn’t help it either.”

“Still, you don’t know your fault. If you’ve made up your mind, you should’ve grabbed hold of her somehow. How can you say you’re the bloodline of Eragost, Camilla?”

“Hu.”

Camilla was overcome by her sorrow and let out sobs, looking down and covering her mouth. Her jet-black eyes, shaking wildly, staring at the blue pupils of Count Eragost, which were as dry as a desert. At that moment, she realized once again. That she would be punished without mercy.

“Go down to the punishment chamber, Camilla.”

“Huhu… Yes, yes, Father.” Camilla, who was walking like a doll with a fallen string, soon left the office.

After she went out, Count Eragost’s mouth twitched slightly. “Daughter of the Waieos family… Does a bad relationship remain a bad relationship? That’s funny, right? Verias.”

“I don’t love you, Patrick. My heart belongs entirely to him!”

Count Eragost’s smile twisted grotesquely at the thought of his dead wife, who had shouted with a terribly distorted face.