Translator and Editor: Lea and Aki
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Chapter 21
“Be careful, lady.”
The young man, who was dressed in an all-black attire, said in a low raspy voice.
She had never met him before. A dirty scar ran vertically from his left eye to his cheek, and it seemed to have been cut by something very sharp. His hands were covered in black leather gloves.
“Pardon me, sir.”
April bowed before him before walking past him. After she took a few steps, something in her told her to glance back at him, but he had already disappeared.
April was relieved by the time she deliberately turned to the corners of the streets until she was finally away from the entrance of the market.
“Greetings, Miss April.”
Klaus, who was chatting with the gardener, welcomed April. She smiled bitterly, thinking that this mansion, which seemed huge and daunting, might now be the safest place for her.
“Master just went to attend to a business. He’ll be back before dinner.”“He must be busy…….”“He had to receive a sudden visitor from a faraway place.”
She was a little disappointed by his absence. But to avoid revealing such a trivial feeling, she bowed to Klaus with an expressionless face and turned away.
And Klaus did not hear him muttering “Carleva” with a sickly face.
***
Meanwhile, at Grand Fabian Augustije’s mansion.
“It’s been a long time, Marquis Ian Reykis.”
As soon as he entered the drawing room, a stout man greeted him. He had short blond hair and blue eyes like any other man, but Ian could recognize him at once, thanks to his Langian ability.
“It’s such an honor to meet the Marquis of Reykis. This is Orville Gridler.”
An old, haggard man, who appeared to be accompanied by Carl Liszt, greeted him. There was a long scar on one of his forearms that, more or less, looked like a burn. When Ian’s eyes fell on it, he hurriedly covered it.
“The Marquis hasn’t changed.”“Is that so? How about you, Carl….”
Ian’s eyes scanned Carl’s cheek. Perhaps because of the scar that was vertically carved from under his eye, the impression he gave off was quite different from when he was young. It wouldn’t have been a minor injury if the scar was left open, he thought.
“T-This, it happened during the battle.”“Fortunately, you’re not avoiding my eyes anymore.”
Carl smiled, gently rubbing his cheek, but Ian shifted to the document in front of him without paying attention to him.
“So, the North-Eastern Defense Line is on the agenda, and if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t have brought us all this way.”“As expected, you’re sharp, Marquis. I’d like to congratulate the Marquis and His Highness on their return…..”
The knight’s voice trailed on, and soon, he smiled slightly. Originally, he was an introvert, but now, the change in his facial expressions was more pronounced.
‘I don’t think this is the only reason you’re here.’
Ian was bothered when he stopped talking without saying anything else, but he didn’t inquire further. Something told him that April would get more depressed. Their uncomfortable encounter ended with Fabian busily entering the room.
“It’s late. So, let’s get started.”
As Ian predicted, the establishment of the North-Eastern defense line was not an urgent matter and thus, was not dealt with in-depth. The rest of the time had to be spent on listening to the fervor of how much the two men from Carleva respected the great courage of the other two for restoring peace in the north.
“I thank you for journeying this far. And Sir Gridler, I’ll review the development plan of the mine.”“Yes, Your Highness.”“Then, you can go now. I have an appointment I have to attend to.”
As Fabian got up, Ian began wearing his jacket without sparing a glance at the other two men. However, Carl didn’t miss a chance and approached Ian.
“It’s my first visit to the capital since I was ten. I remember being beaten up in a fight with the Marquis.”
He spoke while walking alongside Ian. Fifteen years ago, Carl was ten and Ian was twelve. It was until now that Count Liszt had minimal interaction with other Lang families.
“A lot has happened since then, Count Liszt-to-be.”“Yeah, well, that is correct.”“I’ve heard that spending has caused a dent in the joining forces. Is everything all right these days?”“Haha, s-seems like you don’t need me to notify you about anything. Don’t worry.”
When Ian scratched on the sore spot, Carl’s voice shook a little. Carl gritted his teeth, his clenched fists hidden behind him, but Ian felt no pity for him.
“Anyway, I’m looking forward to the visit. Let’s see what happens if I stop by the last minute tomorrow.”“It won’t be much different.”“Well, I doubt it will.”
The smile on Carl’s face was too bright to be ominous. Ian stared briefly at his face that seemed to say something before turning his head away. April would be worried the most, he thought.
Ian hurried his steps. After a while, he thought of asking Carl if he had any relationship with April.
“My house was destroyed by the nobles. One of those families was of Lang origin.”
Just how many things were hidden in her words? Ian was lost in thought on his way back to the mansion.
“My Lord, you’re here.”“Where’s April?”“She’s in the lab.”“I’ll be right back.”
Ian asked where April was as soon as came back and walked straight there. He didn’t have an appointment with her, but he wanted to see her for some reason. After opening the door of the annex, he went straight to the second floor and knocked on the door of the lab without having an idea on how to start a conversation.
“Marquis? What brings you here?”
April, who opened the door, looked up at him with round eyes. He gave her an awkward smile, unable to find any excuses.
“I was about to step out of here anyway.”“Let’s walk together, then.”“Ah, yes.”
Perhaps because of the tightening feeling in her chest, April wasn’t very lively as usual. Concerned that he might have put too much pressure on her, Ian gazed at ner with worried eyes.
As April took out the key to lock the door, Ian noticed a scar on her index finger.
“April.”
As she was startled, she hid her hand as he called out to her, his eyes focused on her injury. Ian reached out his hand to her, asking her to show her hand.
“Marquis, it’s……”“Come on.”
He spat out when she hesitated. She stared at his palm momentarily before slowly sliding her arm to him.
Whether Leonore helped or it was handled alone, the wound was well wrapped in a clean cloth. Judging from the slight reflection of the blood, it did not seem to be a shallow wound.
“How did this happen?”“It happened when I was cutting the leaves.”
It felt like his heart sank into the wound. Ian gently stroked her palm with his thumb before letting it rest on his.
“If it’s because you’re tired, you can take it easy.”“No! It’s fine. I can take care of myself.”
April cut off his words. Ian couldn’t hide his uneasiness as she hurriedly pulled out her hand.
***
“We’ll have some guests from Carleva this afternoon.”
Ian said to April, who had come to take a note of his temperature, the next morning. She stopped what she was doing and looked up at him.
She clasped the thermometer tightly as her hands began shaking. The area around her wound ached a little as her fingers pressed in.
“They’re nobles.”
He said while staring at her as if to note the slight drop in her expression. She nodded hesitantly.
“Did you know?”“I heard from Dalia that they came, but I didn’t know they were coming here.”“I see.”
She had been like that since yesterday. Throughout the evening, she had stayed silent and absent-minded, even while she ate or while she walked along a hallway. She had never made a mistake before, so it was easy to guess what had happened.
Should he be concerned that April didn’t tell him in advance because she was afraid, or should he have dealt with it sooner? He was confused.
“They’ll be here a few times while they’re in the capital.”“It would be rude of me to ask who they are, but……”“Count Liszt and Count Gridler, do you know them?”
The moment the names popped out of his mouth, April stumbled back. Her heart hammered against her chest, her stomach lurched, and her face was covered in a cold sweat.
“April! Are you okay?”
Her trembling hand barely touched the table in front of her to prevent herself from collapsing. Surprised, Ian hurried to catch her, his eyes searching for her pain.
“It’s them….”“Them?”
April couldn’t speak out. The more she tried to utter, the clearer her nightmare about the day she ran away became. It sounded so foreign to hear the names from a man who happened to be entangled in her life.
April was reticent, but Ian could figure out who they were by her reaction alone.
“April, do you still want to run away from them?”“Huh?”
Ian carefully took away the thermometer from her hand and placed it on the table. After a long pause, he wrapped his hands around hers, and the tremor gradually subsided from her thin fingers. April stared at him with tearful eyes.
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