CH 75

Chapter 75

Apparently, the letter that had been intact until a while ago had disappeared. She removed the pillows and blankets, yet she couldn’t find it as though it had evaporated.

“Oh, where did it go?”

If she knew it would disappear like this, she would have read it right away. Before she knew it, Elysia trembled in nervousness, biting her fingernails. It seemed that the letter had disappeared as if by magic.

“Magic?”

There was only one person in this castle who could do magic.

“Damon…”

There was only him.

Damon was the only person who could get rid of the letter. As she thought so, Elysia was caught off guard because she did not know that he would take it away. She should have known enough that he was capable of it.

“Your Grace, may I come in?”

Elysia, who was focused on finding the letter, did not hear a knock. She had already lost her letter and could not hear anything else.

“Your Grace…?”

“Where did it go…”

She became more and more anxious about the letter that didn’t appear even after searching her room. The letter certainly had disappeared.

“….”

She should have opened it. Still, no matter how many times she regretted it, it was already too late. This place was not like the attic of the County. Although it was narrow and dark, she forgot it was her safe haven.

“Your Grace, I will go in.”

Elysia stood blankly with a devastated face. She didn’t even notice who was coming in.

“Your Grace?”

“Ah…”

Behind Julia’s back, she saw Chloe and Rachel creeping in with a tray. Seeing the letter on the silver tray, Elysia hurriedly ran away.

“Why is this here?”

“I was looking for Your Grace a little while ago and found this crumpled letter… Since I didn’t have a cutting knife, I didn’t seem to be able to open it so I brought it with me instead.”

Even though the letter may have been changed, it was the same as when she had crumpled it.

“I am sorry for taking the letter without permission. Were you, by chance, looking for this letter? Originally, there was a maid who usually opened letters… I thought you didn’t like the letter.”

Hearing Julia’s words, Elysia flopped down instantly. It seemed that her whole body was so weak that she could not stand up.

With relief came a feeling of helplessness.

“Madam! Are you okay?”

“Ah, it’s okay… I was surprised for a moment…”

“Please, sit here.”

Her body was drained of strength, so she could only remain still, supported by Chloe and Rachel. She was rather grateful. If it weren’t for the two of them, she would have been sitting on the floor for a while.

Elysia was so weak that she couldn’t even lift her hand.

“Are you very surprised? Forgive me… I must have done something wrong.”

“No, no… It’s fine.”

From Julia’s point of view, she might assume that Elysia had crumpled the letter in anger. It was something she hadn’t thought of.

In addition, come to think of it, even the Countess never opened a letter with her bare hands herself. There was always a maid to manage the letters for her, and that maid had also prepared a cutting knife each time.

“I’m sorry… No matter how urgent it was, I should have told you beforehand…”

“No… it’s okay.”

Julia must have been surprised to see the crumpled letter.

Elysia could understand it. The letter and cutting knife was brought neatly on the silver tray in accordance with the formality. Not knowing that, she first suspected Damon as soon as the letters disappeared.

“I think you are very surprised… Shall I bring something?”

Now, Elysia was sitting on the bed, breathing heavily. Her surprised fingertips were white and trembling.

“No. After taking a rest, I will be fine.”

“Shall we put everything away except the letter for now?”

“Could you bring me some cold water?”

She felt like she needed to drink water to calm her stomach as her heart was still beating, and only that strong beating could be heard in her ears. In an instant, Elysia had lost control of her startled body.

“I brought it here.”

Soon, she gulped down the cold water that was pushed in front of her eyes. After the water entered, her trembling body began to calm down little by little. Similarly, her heart, which had been beating wildly, also gradually calmed down.

“Thank you.”

The fact that Damon wasn’t the culprit shocked her more than the missing letter returning. She firmly believed that he had done it. Elysia had always suspected him whenever everything happened.

“Shall we leave now?”

“Ah… Just leave the letter, and you can leave.”

“All right. Rest well.”

What did Julia feel when she brought the letter… It was a tingling sensation as if she had been hit in the back of the head.

“No, I didn’t do anything wrong…”

Naturally, whenever Elysia was in such a situation, she couldn’t help but suspect Damon. That was her way to survive. She doubted him… and she doubted him again so she could prepare. It was because the moment she trusted him, she wouldn’t be able to keep her life.

In the Grand Duchy, the person she should be most wary of and least trusted was Damon.

“…I shouldn’t trust anyone.”

That was the only way she could survive in the Grand Duchy. She shouldn’t forget that even though they seemed kind to her, they were all on the same side after all.

* * *

It wasn’t until her body stopped shaking that the letter caught her eye. Elysia was about to laugh at the letter on the fancy silver tray. It was funny that she didn’t know that this was a normal thing and got terrified.

It was so embarrassing that she was afraid of mere assumptions. Less than a week had passed since she entered the Grand Duchy, and it was felt that she was falling apart little by little.

She had no choice but to doubt everything in order to live, and that doubt gnawed away at Elysia herself. She was caught up in a victim mentality and couldn’t keep her mind intact. At this point, she might beg him to kill her first. His methods of drying humans to death were varied.

Elysia hadn’t thought she’d raise the white flag herself in just a few days.

“I’m scared…”

In this situation where she had to doubt everyone in a situation where everything was uncertain was difficult. She had no idea it was so painful not to be able to rely on anyone. It was better when she was at the County.

At that time, one thing was certain—that she was being hated.

The harassment from the Countess and Rowena did not threaten her life. Compared to Damon, it was just child’s play.

Of course, she wasn’t saying that the Countess was a good person. When she remembered what the Countess had done to Edward, it was right to run away. Nonetheless, the problem was that the place she ran away from there was a more dangerous place.

“Oh, Edward…”

It wasn’t the time for this. She had to read Edward’s letter quickly. Thinking so, Elysia hurriedly tore the letter with the cutting knife.

—Elysia, I arrived safely in the Logan Empire. I am worried if this letter will reach you safely. I believe that it will be conveyed at once. My thoughts still don’t change. I’ll start my investigation here, too.

Please, take care of yourself.

In the letter, many intentions were abbreviated. It seemed that it was because he was afraid that someone would find out about the contents of the letter.

Reading the letter revealing Edward’s caution, Elysia smiled softly. Even the letter was just like him. On the one hand, she was also sad. She had never had this concern before, even as she shared letters with Edward.

Fortunately, the Countess had no interest in their letters.

“I wonder if Damon saw…?”

The handwriting was Edward’s, which she had seen so far. However, his handwriting was something that could be imitated in no time. It wasn’t about getting caught, although Damon did see her trying to get away that day. The content of this letter could be inferred in that way.

“No… It won’t be.”

Unless he had heard the entire conversation between her and Edward, Damon would never have noticed from this alone. The future letters from Edward seemed to be something she would have to open on her own. She didn’t have the confidence to manage her expression while reading the letter with Damon.

If she showed anything suspicious, he’d know right away.

“This… I have to hide it.”

Still, where can she hide it…?

This room was not her room. No matter where she hid, it’d be found out. Hiding was one matter, but what if she got caught right away? It was dangerous to hide in the room. She had no idea where to hide it.

“Where should I hide it?”

As she was looking around her room, a candle lit up in Elysia’s eyes. Come to think of it, there were not only cutting knives on the tray but also candles.

“Why are there candles?”

Even matches and gloves were with it. She thought she would have to cut with a cutting knife while wearing gloves at first. It seemed that the actual Countess did too…

“Ah…!”

At that moment, she remembered that sometimes when the Countess received a letter she could not show to anyone, the Countess would burn it on the spot.

Only then did Elysia realize why there were candles. They had brought it with her to use when burning the letter. The life of the nobles was tiring. All sorts of bravado and ostentation were overflowing even when she was checking only one letter.

Regardless, it was nice that she could burn the letter. It was better to burn it than to hide it somewhere. This part would not go unnoticed by anyone so she shouldn’t have made any excuses to get caught.

Flick.

As she lit the match, in an instant, the candle burned.

The matches also seemed to be of high quality. It didn’t even compare to the matches she used to use in the attic. The difference was stark even from these little things. Elysia really felt that she had come to the Grand Duchy.

As she watched the slowly burning letter, she wondered what to do to reply. If he managed the letters coming to the Grand Duchess, it meant that he would also manage the letters to be sent.

“Elysia, can I come in?”

The letter was almost burned when she heard a voice outside the door.