“Excuse me, Your Highness. Actually, my lady has been waiting for you for a while. She said she had something to tell you.”
“At this hour? She must be awake until now.”
Like most ladies, Leticia didn't wake up early in the morning. She must have been hanging out with men at the salon all night. Kyle gave Jerome a cold order.
“Say I'm busy. Because I really am busy.”
“I think... She wants to accompany you to Vintergar.”
An annoying glint appeared in Kyle's eyes.
“She's out of her mind. Doesn’t she know that my accompanying His Majesty is an unofficial schedule? My purpose is to tour the Citadel as quietly as possible, if not secretly, and to encourage His Majesty to actively pursue peaceful diplomatic relations. If she thinks it’s sightseeing, then she's mistaken.”
At that moment, someone knocked on the bedroom door beyond the middle door. It seemed that the chambermaid had noticed his cough after seeing the state of the curtains from outside. Kyle nodded to Jerome and finished putting on his clothes.
When he came out of the middle gate, Leticia was standing where Jerome had left off. As expected, the dark circles under her eyes made it seem like she had stayed up all night. The married couple stood facing each other like strangers. Kyle spoke coldly.
“What’s your business?”
“Kyle. I... I will also go with this delegation. I will just stand there quietly as if I were dead. I just want to see for myself what kind of place Vintergar is.”
“I’m not going to play. Even if you follow me, it’ll only increase the number of followers and be a burden.”
“I will accompany you unofficially, only with my dedicated maids. I will remain quiet and not open my mouth, so please let me go, Kyle.”
“...”
“I’ve done everything you asked me to do so far. I’ve kept everything we did secret, even the strange things I said about the child, and...”
“I never asked you to keep it a secret. Feel free to tell them as much as you want.”
Of course, she would have to divorce to deal with the aftermath. Leticia clearly understood even what he did not say out loud.
“You know. I have no intention of telling them.”
Leticia bit her lip. If everything were to come out, it would also reveal that she had been having multiple lovers outside the ducal palace.
Besides, what will people think of me if I get divorced?
Leticia is not even afraid of her uncle excommunicating her from Dervan and throwing her away like an old pair of shoes.
But in this country, covered with the remnants of the feudal system, there was no greater shame than divorce. Especially for women. No matter how much alimony they received, they would not be able to live with their heads held high. Kyle added as if he had read her mind.
“Even if we get divorced, we’ll still be living the same way we are now. I’ll give you land and a mansion anywhere you want outside of the territory.”
Anyway, next year or now, there won't be much difference. The Dervan family will make a fuss and the helpers at Te Deum will try to encourage remarriage, but it will all be in vain.
“No. I don’t want to get a divorce. I just want to... escape this suffocating place and go to the Citadel. No matter how tightly we close the door and don’t communicate, I can’t help but wonder how wonderfully Vintergar has changed. It’s driving me crazy that the world is changing while we’re stuck in the past!”
“For personal reasons, you cannot participate in the state delegation.”
“If you take me with you just this once, I won’t bother you again. I won’t go to the banquet with you, I won’t come to the birthday party, I won’t complain and say I can’t live like this because I’m lonely, and I won’t bother you. I’ll just live quietly as if I’m dead, so please...”
“Also, you shouldn’t touch the innocent maids either.”
Leticia winced and bit her lips. How did you know? In an instant, her heart sank.
“You probably thought I didn’t know. Now that we’re on the subject, I’ll warn you. You’d better stop the habit of carelessly picking on your subordinates when they get on your nerves.”
“Yes. I was... wrong. I won’t... do it again... again.”
Leticia bowed her head like a sinner. Tears fell. More painful than the shame and humiliation of being caught doing something so cruel was the sight of his gaze growing colder.
Kyle looked down at her sad face with an indifferent gaze. The blonde hair, held tightly by jewel pins, and the white skin that the dress could not hide reminded him of someone. It wasn't because they looked alike. It was just that, if there was even the slightest thing that reminded him of that woman, his whole soul would naturally be taken over.
Even when he fell asleep, he could not completely escape the image of Angie Ridsdel. She dominated both his conscious and subconscious mind, alternating between dreams and nightmares.
“I will allow it just this once if you promise not to leave the palace for the entire duration.”
“Me, really?”
Leticia raised her head with a start. Her tear-stained face looked more like that of a child than a mature woman.
“You can only see the city view through the window and you cannot participate in the street procession.”
“Yes, I will! Thank you, Kyle. I really appreciate it!”
Kyle cast his gaze toward the door. At the signal to go out, Leticia walked out with light steps. He stared at it for a moment until the door closed completely, then turned away.
Well, that woman is just a pitiful sacrifice. If he thinks about it, Leticia Dervan was an innocent lamb too. Except for the one time she touched Angie in the chapel on Cullinan Island three years ago.
When Kyle heard the report that she had pulled at Angie's pretty hair and bruised her pretty cheek, his blood boiled in his throat. He was so angry that he wanted to run to Leticia and cut off the hand that had touched Angie.
In the end, this marriage on paper was not going to last long. Whether the monarchy was abolished within the next year, or a coup d'état occurred and the country collapsed or rose again, one way or another, a great change was going to come to this poor little country of Trieste. No one could escape the wave.
The blind faith in Black Mass and Eternity would eventually crumble. When that time came, Kyle believed that the illusion of immortality that Rainier VIII and the Helpers so desperately hoped for would completely disappear.
Kyle reached out to the sofa to pick up his jacket. Pain surged through his heart and one knee buckled. After a few coughs, he opened his hand that had been covering his mouth. Blood spurted onto his palm.
Shit...
Kyle clenched his teeth. The pain was fading, but he was still coughing up blood. The frequency of coughing and the frequency of spitting up blood were getting shorter. Jerome had kept it a secret from the medical staff, but if it continued like this, it would be difficult to endure it any longer.
But he has to hold on. He doesn't know why the symptoms are coming back now, but...
Kyle thought he was completely cured, but that wasn't the case. Of the symptoms he had experienced between seventeen and nineteen, only one was slowly reappearing. He was still energetic and unaffected by long exposure to sunlight, but he was occasionally experiencing anemia and hemoptysis.
Why? Why... I believed I could live without Remedy’s blood.
Kyle clutched his head in agony. The side effects of Eternity would soon reappear. If he couldn't bear it any longer, he would have to squeeze out the blood of an animal and swallow it. Then, what was the difference between his grandfather who had become 'that thing' and his father who had bound his limbs and wandered around the dark forest because he couldn't stand his madness?
Kyle swallowed a laugh and wiped his bloody palms on the handkerchief. Then he threw it into the fireplace. Only after he saw the cloth completely burn to ashes did Kyle leave the room.
There was not a single crack or emotion on his face as he returned to being Duke Kyle Roden Blackwell. The waiting attendants followed him in unison.
Leticia, who was standing in front of the window of the Grand Hall, looked at the sight of the man, who was her husband in name only, striding briskly toward the carriage with hazy eyes. The face that had been jumping for joy a moment ago was now deep in thought. She sighed at the sight that was so splendid that it was noticeable even from afar.
On the wall by the window hung a portrait painted by a new artist who was courting her. But now, nothing, no other man, interested her. A thirst grew in her, like a longing to see and desire a treasure that she could not have.
She didn't want to go to banquets anymore. It was hard to pretend not to notice the atmosphere where everyone was expressing sympathy with their eyes, and to force a smile. She was also tired of women who occasionally made her feel a sense of humiliation, like Countess Randolph.
If Kyle would look at me... If he could love me as his wife and live as a real couple, then I wouldn’t have anything more to wish for. If he could just admit that Angie is dead, then it’s not impossible.
As the carriage disappeared, Leticia turned her gaze from the window to the mirror. A lady stood before her, flawless from head to toe. And yet she felt shabby. Her self-loathing seemed to be dragging her down to her feet.
Could it be that Angie is really alive? Somewhere... Not in Vintergar, perhaps? Could it be that...?
Suddenly, her heart sank. The suspicions that had been floating around in her mind suddenly took on a clear form.
But in this country, covered with the remnants of the feudal system, there was no greater shame than divorce. Especially for women. No matter how much alimony they received, they would not be able to live with their heads held high. Kyle added as if he had read her mind.
“Even if we get divorced, we’ll still be living the same way we are now. I’ll give you land and a mansion anywhere you want outside of the territory.”
Anyway, next year or now, there won't be much difference. The Dervan family will make a fuss and the helpers at Te Deum will try to encourage remarriage, but it will all be in vain.
“No. I don’t want to get a divorce. I just want to... escape this suffocating place and go to the Citadel. No matter how tightly we close the door and don’t communicate, I can’t help but wonder how wonderfully Vintergar has changed. It’s driving me crazy that the world is changing while we’re stuck in the past!”
“For personal reasons, you cannot participate in the state delegation.”
“If you take me with you just this once, I won’t bother you again. I won’t go to the banquet with you, I won’t come to the birthday party, I won’t complain and say I can’t live like this because I’m lonely, and I won’t bother you. I’ll just live quietly as if I’m dead, so please...”
“Also, you shouldn’t touch the innocent maids either.”
Leticia winced and bit her lips. How did you know? In an instant, her heart sank.
“You probably thought I didn’t know. Now that we’re on the subject, I’ll warn you. You’d better stop the habit of carelessly picking on your subordinates when they get on your nerves.”
“Yes. I was... wrong. I won’t... do it again... again.”
Leticia bowed her head like a sinner. Tears fell. More painful than the shame and humiliation of being caught doing something so cruel was the sight of his gaze growing colder.
Kyle looked down at her sad face with an indifferent gaze. The blonde hair, held tightly by jewel pins, and the white skin that the dress could not hide reminded him of someone. It wasn't because they looked alike. It was just that, if there was even the slightest thing that reminded him of that woman, his whole soul would naturally be taken over.
Even when he fell asleep, he could not completely escape the image of Angie Ridsdel. She dominated both his conscious and subconscious mind, alternating between dreams and nightmares.
“I will allow it just this once if you promise not to leave the palace for the entire duration.”
“Me, really?”
Leticia raised her head with a start. Her tear-stained face looked more like that of a child than a mature woman.
“You can only see the city view through the window and you cannot participate in the street procession.”
“Yes, I will! Thank you, Kyle. I really appreciate it!”
Kyle cast his gaze toward the door. At the signal to go out, Leticia walked out with light steps. He stared at it for a moment until the door closed completely, then turned away.
Well, that woman is just a pitiful sacrifice. If he thinks about it, Leticia Dervan was an innocent lamb too. Except for the one time she touched Angie in the chapel on Cullinan Island three years ago.
When Kyle heard the report that she had pulled at Angie's pretty hair and bruised her pretty cheek, his blood boiled in his throat. He was so angry that he wanted to run to Leticia and cut off the hand that had touched Angie.
In the end, this marriage on paper was not going to last long. Whether the monarchy was abolished within the next year, or a coup d'état occurred and the country collapsed or rose again, one way or another, a great change was going to come to this poor little country of Trieste. No one could escape the wave.
The blind faith in Black Mass and Eternity would eventually crumble. When that time came, Kyle believed that the illusion of immortality that Rainier VIII and the Helpers so desperately hoped for would completely disappear.
Kyle reached out to the sofa to pick up his jacket. Pain surged through his heart and one knee buckled. After a few coughs, he opened his hand that had been covering his mouth. Blood spurted onto his palm.
Shit...
Kyle clenched his teeth. The pain was fading, but he was still coughing up blood. The frequency of coughing and the frequency of spitting up blood were getting shorter. Jerome had kept it a secret from the medical staff, but if it continued like this, it would be difficult to endure it any longer.
But he has to hold on. He doesn't know why the symptoms are coming back now, but...
Kyle thought he was completely cured, but that wasn't the case. Of the symptoms he had experienced between seventeen and nineteen, only one was slowly reappearing. He was still energetic and unaffected by long exposure to sunlight, but he was occasionally experiencing anemia and hemoptysis.
Why? Why... I believed I could live without Remedy’s blood.
Kyle clutched his head in agony. The side effects of Eternity would soon reappear. If he couldn't bear it any longer, he would have to squeeze out the blood of an animal and swallow it. Then, what was the difference between his grandfather who had become 'that thing' and his father who had bound his limbs and wandered around the dark forest because he couldn't stand his madness?
Kyle swallowed a laugh and wiped his bloody palms on the handkerchief. Then he threw it into the fireplace. Only after he saw the cloth completely burn to ashes did Kyle leave the room.
There was not a single crack or emotion on his face as he returned to being Duke Kyle Roden Blackwell. The waiting attendants followed him in unison.
Leticia, who was standing in front of the window of the Grand Hall, looked at the sight of the man, who was her husband in name only, striding briskly toward the carriage with hazy eyes. The face that had been jumping for joy a moment ago was now deep in thought. She sighed at the sight that was so splendid that it was noticeable even from afar.
On the wall by the window hung a portrait painted by a new artist who was courting her. But now, nothing, no other man, interested her. A thirst grew in her, like a longing to see and desire a treasure that she could not have.
She didn't want to go to banquets anymore. It was hard to pretend not to notice the atmosphere where everyone was expressing sympathy with their eyes, and to force a smile. She was also tired of women who occasionally made her feel a sense of humiliation, like Countess Randolph.
If Kyle would look at me... If he could love me as his wife and live as a real couple, then I wouldn’t have anything more to wish for. If he could just admit that Angie is dead, then it’s not impossible.
As the carriage disappeared, Leticia turned her gaze from the window to the mirror. A lady stood before her, flawless from head to toe. And yet she felt shabby. Her self-loathing seemed to be dragging her down to her feet.
Could it be that Angie is really alive? Somewhere... Not in Vintergar, perhaps? Could it be that...?
Suddenly, her heart sank. The suspicions that had been floating around in her mind suddenly took on a clear form.
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