CH 54

I hurriedly followed Eliana to Duke Clifford’s room. But as I followed her, I wondered why it became more pronounced.

‘…That smell.’

It was getting stronger. It was the same scent that I smelled in the morning and the one I smelled from Chloe a while ago. 

Belatedly, Richard ran behind me.

“Madam!”

When I saw him coming, I paused for a moment. 

“Richard. Have you looked into it?”

“Ah, yes. There were no signs of burning inside or outside the castle. Madam, did you really smell something burning? I asked around, but neither I nor others smelled anything weird.”

“…”

Richard looked cautious as he said it. He didn’t outright accuse me of being mistaken, but it didn’t feel like he believed what I said. The investigation must have been done just out of respect for his superiors’ opinion.

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I looked at Eliana’s face just in case. She didn’t seem to know what I was talking about either.

Anyway, it was useless to explain it to someone who didn’t smell it. So I gave up trying to persuade him and headed back to the Duke’s room.

And just as I was opening the door, Enoch made his way from the other side of the hallway. He, too, seemed to have just arrived after hearing the news.

“Your Highness.”

“Let’s go in.”

Enoch looked at me, nodded, opened the door and entered the room. 

Eliana ran to the Duke as soon as we entered, her tears falling.

“…Your Grace.”

I also approached and saw him lying in bed. His face had turned dark blue, and he looked as if his life was fading right before us. 

He still looked fine in the morning. How did it get so bad in such a short time? 

I looked around. Again, a thick, burning smell filled the room. Did no one really smell this? 

Unintentionally, her eyes met Enoch’s, who was standing next to her. I tried to ask him about the smell with my eyes, but he glanced away, looking troubled.

Instead of asking more about the smell, I said, “…Your Highness, I have a favor to ask you.” 

“Tell me.” 

“I would like you to call the priest.”

Yesterday, he said he would call for one personally, so I knew he wouldn’t refuse. As expected, Enoch nodded slowly. 

“Okay. But let’s wait one more day.”

“Will it be okay?” I asked, looking at Enoch anxiously. 

Enoch took one good look around the room and said, “Maybe. Please stay in this room for a while. You, follow me for a while.” 

Enoch pointed to Eliana with his chin. 

“Yes, Your Highness. Madam, please take good care of His Grace.” 

Even though the order was sudden, Eliana obeyed the Crown Prince. She seemed thrilled by Enoch’s promise to call for a priest.

Enoch looked at me for a moment, greeted me with a wink, then went out with Eliana. 

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I didn’t know why he took Eliana with him, but I’ll ask when they get back. 

Left alone with the suffering Duke, I stared blankly at him, then suddenly realized what I had to do–let this turbid air out of the room.

I went to the window and opened it wide. Cool air rushed into the room. 

“Huu, I think I’m going to live a little now.” 

Since there was a patient in the room, they probably kept the window closed to keep it warm. 

After that, I slowly made my way to the bed where the Duke was lying. The dark blue complexion had subtly faded from before. I looked around.

Did the ventilation have anything to do with his complexion? 

However, his condition was still not good, and his forehead was covered with cold sweat.

I glanced at him and wiped his face with the towel on the side table.

Rupert’s father, Duke Clifford.

Truthfully, there might be no reason for me, who would soon divorce Rupert, to do this. But I had a hunch that the drastic change in his condition wasn’t natural.

“No matter how foolish you are…”

And Chloe’s smile I saw earlier. It was very subtle, so there’s a possibility that I saw it wrong. After all, she fainted.

Enoch seemed to know the truth of the situation to some extent. However, he, who was usually favorable in most cases, did not even give a clue about this.

Just thinking about it made me sad. 

“…Should I say it’s sad?” 

In my head, I thought it was sad, but my heart wasn’t convinced. 

When I thought the air in the room had changed considerably, I got up again and closed the window. I pulled the duvet to the end of His Grace’s neck, and he slowly opened his eyes.

“Your Grace? Are you awake?”

He nodded slowly and took a deep breath. Still, I was relieved to see him awake. 

Just in time, Eliana returned. 

“Ah, you’re awake.” 

“Oh! Your Grace!” Her eyes wide, Eliana rushed towards the Duke. “That’s a relief, really… I was so surprised earlier.” 

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As soon as she saw the Duke open his eyes, relief washed over her face. Seeing that proved Eliana’s sincerity towards the Duke. 

“What did His Highness see you for?”

“…Um, that’s…” 

If she’s hesitating to speak, did Enoch swear her to secrecy? 

“Eliana, you belong to the Clifford family. Of course, he’s the Crown Prince…”

“I-it’s not that. It’s just that it’s a little vague.” Eliana understood what I was saying and hurriedly shook her hand to deny it. “His Highness just asked if I was tired these days, and when I said I was fine, he took me to the drawing room and told me to drink a cup of tea before going back.” 

“…Tea?”

“Yes. I wondered if he’d say something during tea, but I drank tea by myself…”

“He didn’t say anything else?” 

“He told me I should rest properly to take good care of the patient.” 

That’s true, but it was too out of the blue. Was it just to get Eliana to rest? It’s too much attention to detail, and Enoch didn’t seem like he could afford to even think about that. 

I had my doubts, but Eliana was oblivious to it. Before leaving the room, I asked her to keep the room ventilated often and take care of His Grace. 

Enoch left Eliana in the drawing room and walked down the hallway. As he went down the stairs to his room on the first floor, he saw Rupert coming up. 

Rupert paused when he saw Enoch, then bowed briefly.

“Are you on your way back from seeing Father?” 

“Yes. He looked worse than the last time I saw him. I’m going to call for a priest tomorrow to check his condition.” 

“…”

“You look as if you don’t want to,” Enoch said, questioning Rupert’s expression.

“No, I appreciate your concern.” Rupert rushed to say. 

Enoch shook his head, passed him, and muttered to himself, “Are you really ignorant, or are you pretending not to know…”

Rupert paused in his steps when he heard him, but Enoch didn’t look back and continued walking down the stairs with an elegant pace, neither slow nor fast. 

When Enoch reached his room, it was still dark with only a sliver of light. The musk had long since disappeared as if it had been washed away. 

Someone was already in the room.

He went down on one knee when he saw Enoch and bowed deeply. Enoch merely glanced at him and sat on the sofa. 

“Tell me.” 

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Viscount Therien, still kneeling, stood and came to his side. 

“It’s too easy. The source is over there,” Therien said, pointing a finger towards the other building. 

Enoch nodded, his expression not changing. 

“Will you leave it as it is?” 

“It’s nothing special; it’s insignificant. And it’s still useful.” 

Viscount Therien didn’t refute him, although he looked at Enoch with a slightly incomprehensible look. Instead, he changed the topic. 

“You haven’t told her yet… Is it because you don’t trust her?” 

Enoch’s eyes trembled when Therien mentioned ‘her[1].’ He got up from his seat and walked towards the window. 

A thick curtain still hung over the window. 

“Have you seen me trust anyone else?” 

There was no way he could see outside, but Enoch stood there with his back turned against Therien. He seemed to be hiding his expression.

He took a few deep breaths then looked back at Therien. 

“I trust you because I’ve been watching you for so long.” 

“But… Don’t you like her?” 

“Liking someone and trusting them is different.” 

Enoch opened the curtain and stared out the window, his gaze on Erin’s room. 

Contrary to his cold words, Enoch’s eyes gave him away. Therien wanted to call him out on it but stopped. 

Even if he did, it was obvious that he would melt down in front of Count Spillet as if he had never done so.*

Enoch, who had been quiet for a while, said, “I need to speed up the time.” 

Anyway, he had many opportunities to be with Erin for the time being. He would have to pull her towards himself step by step.

[1] Therien used 그분, a polite form of a pronoun. It’s typically used for men, but could be used for men or women. 

*Not 100% sure about this translation. Please take with a grain of salt