It was said that a lie must be mixed with half a truth to sound plausible. He did not say that he was secretly looking into a cure for it. And his hidden greed, too.
“It wasn’t like that from the beginning. Up until a month ago, Charlotte and I were able to have a normal married life. We just couldn’t have children... But now, I’ve completely lost that function. So don’t worry, Angie. Even if I wanted to, there’s nothing I can do about you.”
“...”
“So, we just need to buy ourselves a year or so. During that time, we’ll figure out a way to drive all the helpers out of this place and the capital’s territory.”
“So...? And then what?”
It seemed like the only thing he had told her about his body was the truth. If he had ever intended to rape her, he wouldn't have had to lie about it. But his ultimate goal was still a mystery.
“I understand that you have no reason to turn down the position of the next Duke. Even more so if the Imperial law changes to allow illegitimate children to be recognized as firstborns. But me? I don’t understand why you brought me here and detained me, Michael.”
“...”
“Are you trying to stop me from going to the capital? You’re afraid I’ll testify in Kyle’s favor? But I can’t even guarantee that I’ll actually be able to enter the palace. So send me to Vintergar, please.”
Angie was thinking of going back to the Citadel and discussing with Uncle Willem, Martin, Bryn, and everyone else to see if there was a way to save Kyle. Kyle was Kyle, but Noah's face was flashing before her eyes and she was going crazy.
“I’m sure everyone is worried by now. I said I would send a letter as soon as I got there instead of leaving without saying anything, but there’s been no news.”
And if there was no word for a week, she added that she wanted her to be searched for in accordance with the peace treaty with Trieste. Bryn must have checked that letter. Michael was not with her when she sent the letter through the messenger at the station. He must have known that it was simply an apology for her absence for a few days.
“I’m sorry, Angie. I can’t do that.”
“Michael.”
Angie walked up to the armchair where he was sitting and looked down at Michael with cold eyes. It was creepy and scary, but there was something even scarier than that.
“Why are you doing this to me? Tell me what you really want.”
The fear that he might never let her go, that she might never be able to return to Vintergar and never see Kyle and Noah again, stabbed deep into her lungs. Isolated from the land, in a large forest, floating like a small island in the middle of a lake, this place seemed that escape was that far away.
“Angie, there’s only one thing I want. That you be by my side...”
Kyle's dark blue eyes overlapped Michael's pitiful purple ones. Kyle had once said the same thing.
When the island was burning and she was falling off the cliff, when her adoptive parents died together, and when she was locked in the bedroom of the annex, Kyle was wild and reckless. At the same time, he was pleading with his eyes so sad that it seemed like his heart would burst.
"Angie, all I want is you. Just stay by my side, please."
But Michael was not Kyle. Even though Kyle had brutally shot her adoptive parents to death right before her eyes, she loved him, even though the horrific atrocities of the Blackwells would always haunt her like a hallucination.
She couldn't help but feel that long-standing emotion. She only loved Kai, and she had no doubt that she would continue to love him. Even if, in the worst-case scenario, he disappeared like the morning dew on the execution ground.
“Michael, I...”
“You don’t have to do anything! Just stay by my side and I won’t ask for anything else, Angie.”
He raised his voice a little. And secondly, he confessed his long-held feelings.
“I’ve confessed this before... I love you, Angie.”
“Michael.”
“At that time, when you rejected my feelings because you loved someone, I really thought about giving up. I tried my best, but... I couldn’t do anything about my feelings.”
He was the first to notice the secret meeting with Kyle, and he would look up from the bedroom window of the annex in the Generalife garden. Before that, he had also sneakily stolen a letter that Kyle had sent in Angie's candy box.
"My dear Angie.
I wish I could see you off in person and tell you in words, but I regret that I can't. No matter what you hear about my personal life in the future, don't be shaken. Trust me. I'll reveal all the truth when I get to the capital. Every decision I make is only to protect you, so don't doubt my feelings for you for even a moment. As always, I love only you, Angie. Now, forever, and always.
From your Kai"
It was a letter that Kyle had sent in advance, in case Angie found out about his marriage to Leticia. Michael didn't feel any pangs of conscience. He just hoped that the absence of the letter would cause a rift in their relationship even faster.
“Don’t say that. You’ve sorted out your feelings for me and you’ve even married another woman, so why are you saying that now...?”
“I never loved Charlotte, Angie. It wasn’t my intention, it was Kyle’s condition. As an illegitimate child of the family, I had no choice but to settle down by marrying one of the maids to stay in the ducal palace, and I didn’t want to go far away.”
“Michael, I don’t love you. Not ever, not ever.”
Angie clenched her fists. Despite her fear, she spoke clearly. She could have pretended to respond to him and waited for an opportunity to escape, but she didn’t want to. She hated the idea of deceiving someone. Especially when she thought about how much she owed Michael, how he had helped and saved her on Cullinan Island and Revan.
“So please, let me go. If you let me go now, I will never question what happened up until now.”
She hoped that even the good memories that remained would not be tarnished. She had to get out of here and return to the Citadel as soon as possible. The most urgent task was to return to Noah, take care of the child herself, and discuss with the Armitage family whether there was a way to save Kyle.
“It’s okay. Even if you don’t love me, just stay by my side.”
“If you keep holding me back, I won’t just stop loving you... I’ll start hating you, Michael. I’ll start despising and despising you.”
Angie's lips twitched. Even if it hurt, there was nothing she could do. He didn't seem to realize what he was doing. What on earth was going on? He wasn't the Michael Randall she had known before. Was that kind face she had known until now just a mask?
“Angie, I...”
“Actually, even now, I’m afraid of you... Michael, I’m afraid of you.”
“That would be better. If you don’t have any feelings or interest, then that would be better...”
“Is it okay if I look at you and think of Kyle?”
Do you really like seeing you who resembles him and missing him who is not you?
Angie gritted her teeth and forced herself to spit out the harsh words.
“Three years ago, I just thought you were similar, but now I can definitely tell you are brothers.”
“Angie.”
Michael slowly rose from his chair. This time, it seemed he had definitely been hit. At that moment, a dull sound came faintly beyond the window. It was the sound of an oar hitting the side of a ship.
Now!
Angie pushed Michael away before he could say anything else and ran away. The boat was at the end of the mansion steps, at the dock. For several days, while she was locked up, she kept looking out the window at the small boat anchored far away on the other side of the lake.
The boatman, who had his hat pulled down low, would check on the boat only a few times a day to see if there had been any guests coming to the mansion for the past few days, and then disappear somewhere. So she always waited desperately for the boat to come this way.
Angie ran, out of breath. She almost tripped several times as she went down the endless long stairs. She didn't know whether the boatman was one of the Duke's men, a helper, or a village worker. But she had to do something. If she caught him and begged him to take her to shore...
But that wish was in vain, and Angie stopped in front of the dock. A middle-aged woman was getting off the boat, supported by the boatman. And there was another boat in the distance. A large boat with a canopy like a raft was carrying young girls and another boatman. Everyone was exclaiming and chattering as if they were amazed by the view of the Te Deum, a mansion floating like an island in the middle of the lake.
“Wow, this is really cool. I’m so lucky to work in a place like this!”
“That’s right. Even though I have no experience as a maid, I was surprised that they offered me a high salary and even a private room.”
Then Mrs. Dunst, with her back to Angie, whispered softly enough for the boatman to hear.
“Four for now, as instructed by Michael. Depending on the situation, we’ll airlift in a few more next month.”
“Oh, yes. Yes.”
In an instant, Angie's hair turned white. The shock of a large brick hitting her heart struck her. The girls were not hired as maids. The words that just came out of Mrs. Dunst's mouth gave her a strong conviction. Then Mrs. Dunst turned around and looked at Angie with a surprised look on her face.
“Angie?”
“It wasn’t like that from the beginning. Up until a month ago, Charlotte and I were able to have a normal married life. We just couldn’t have children... But now, I’ve completely lost that function. So don’t worry, Angie. Even if I wanted to, there’s nothing I can do about you.”
“...”
“So, we just need to buy ourselves a year or so. During that time, we’ll figure out a way to drive all the helpers out of this place and the capital’s territory.”
“So...? And then what?”
It seemed like the only thing he had told her about his body was the truth. If he had ever intended to rape her, he wouldn't have had to lie about it. But his ultimate goal was still a mystery.
“I understand that you have no reason to turn down the position of the next Duke. Even more so if the Imperial law changes to allow illegitimate children to be recognized as firstborns. But me? I don’t understand why you brought me here and detained me, Michael.”
“...”
“Are you trying to stop me from going to the capital? You’re afraid I’ll testify in Kyle’s favor? But I can’t even guarantee that I’ll actually be able to enter the palace. So send me to Vintergar, please.”
Angie was thinking of going back to the Citadel and discussing with Uncle Willem, Martin, Bryn, and everyone else to see if there was a way to save Kyle. Kyle was Kyle, but Noah's face was flashing before her eyes and she was going crazy.
“I’m sure everyone is worried by now. I said I would send a letter as soon as I got there instead of leaving without saying anything, but there’s been no news.”
And if there was no word for a week, she added that she wanted her to be searched for in accordance with the peace treaty with Trieste. Bryn must have checked that letter. Michael was not with her when she sent the letter through the messenger at the station. He must have known that it was simply an apology for her absence for a few days.
“I’m sorry, Angie. I can’t do that.”
“Michael.”
Angie walked up to the armchair where he was sitting and looked down at Michael with cold eyes. It was creepy and scary, but there was something even scarier than that.
“Why are you doing this to me? Tell me what you really want.”
The fear that he might never let her go, that she might never be able to return to Vintergar and never see Kyle and Noah again, stabbed deep into her lungs. Isolated from the land, in a large forest, floating like a small island in the middle of a lake, this place seemed that escape was that far away.
“Angie, there’s only one thing I want. That you be by my side...”
Kyle's dark blue eyes overlapped Michael's pitiful purple ones. Kyle had once said the same thing.
When the island was burning and she was falling off the cliff, when her adoptive parents died together, and when she was locked in the bedroom of the annex, Kyle was wild and reckless. At the same time, he was pleading with his eyes so sad that it seemed like his heart would burst.
"Angie, all I want is you. Just stay by my side, please."
But Michael was not Kyle. Even though Kyle had brutally shot her adoptive parents to death right before her eyes, she loved him, even though the horrific atrocities of the Blackwells would always haunt her like a hallucination.
She couldn't help but feel that long-standing emotion. She only loved Kai, and she had no doubt that she would continue to love him. Even if, in the worst-case scenario, he disappeared like the morning dew on the execution ground.
“Michael, I...”
“You don’t have to do anything! Just stay by my side and I won’t ask for anything else, Angie.”
He raised his voice a little. And secondly, he confessed his long-held feelings.
“I’ve confessed this before... I love you, Angie.”
“Michael.”
“At that time, when you rejected my feelings because you loved someone, I really thought about giving up. I tried my best, but... I couldn’t do anything about my feelings.”
He was the first to notice the secret meeting with Kyle, and he would look up from the bedroom window of the annex in the Generalife garden. Before that, he had also sneakily stolen a letter that Kyle had sent in Angie's candy box.
"My dear Angie.
I wish I could see you off in person and tell you in words, but I regret that I can't. No matter what you hear about my personal life in the future, don't be shaken. Trust me. I'll reveal all the truth when I get to the capital. Every decision I make is only to protect you, so don't doubt my feelings for you for even a moment. As always, I love only you, Angie. Now, forever, and always.
From your Kai"
It was a letter that Kyle had sent in advance, in case Angie found out about his marriage to Leticia. Michael didn't feel any pangs of conscience. He just hoped that the absence of the letter would cause a rift in their relationship even faster.
“Don’t say that. You’ve sorted out your feelings for me and you’ve even married another woman, so why are you saying that now...?”
“I never loved Charlotte, Angie. It wasn’t my intention, it was Kyle’s condition. As an illegitimate child of the family, I had no choice but to settle down by marrying one of the maids to stay in the ducal palace, and I didn’t want to go far away.”
“Michael, I don’t love you. Not ever, not ever.”
Angie clenched her fists. Despite her fear, she spoke clearly. She could have pretended to respond to him and waited for an opportunity to escape, but she didn’t want to. She hated the idea of deceiving someone. Especially when she thought about how much she owed Michael, how he had helped and saved her on Cullinan Island and Revan.
“So please, let me go. If you let me go now, I will never question what happened up until now.”
She hoped that even the good memories that remained would not be tarnished. She had to get out of here and return to the Citadel as soon as possible. The most urgent task was to return to Noah, take care of the child herself, and discuss with the Armitage family whether there was a way to save Kyle.
“It’s okay. Even if you don’t love me, just stay by my side.”
“If you keep holding me back, I won’t just stop loving you... I’ll start hating you, Michael. I’ll start despising and despising you.”
Angie's lips twitched. Even if it hurt, there was nothing she could do. He didn't seem to realize what he was doing. What on earth was going on? He wasn't the Michael Randall she had known before. Was that kind face she had known until now just a mask?
“Angie, I...”
“Actually, even now, I’m afraid of you... Michael, I’m afraid of you.”
“That would be better. If you don’t have any feelings or interest, then that would be better...”
“Is it okay if I look at you and think of Kyle?”
Do you really like seeing you who resembles him and missing him who is not you?
Angie gritted her teeth and forced herself to spit out the harsh words.
“Three years ago, I just thought you were similar, but now I can definitely tell you are brothers.”
“Angie.”
Michael slowly rose from his chair. This time, it seemed he had definitely been hit. At that moment, a dull sound came faintly beyond the window. It was the sound of an oar hitting the side of a ship.
Now!
Angie pushed Michael away before he could say anything else and ran away. The boat was at the end of the mansion steps, at the dock. For several days, while she was locked up, she kept looking out the window at the small boat anchored far away on the other side of the lake.
The boatman, who had his hat pulled down low, would check on the boat only a few times a day to see if there had been any guests coming to the mansion for the past few days, and then disappear somewhere. So she always waited desperately for the boat to come this way.
Angie ran, out of breath. She almost tripped several times as she went down the endless long stairs. She didn't know whether the boatman was one of the Duke's men, a helper, or a village worker. But she had to do something. If she caught him and begged him to take her to shore...
But that wish was in vain, and Angie stopped in front of the dock. A middle-aged woman was getting off the boat, supported by the boatman. And there was another boat in the distance. A large boat with a canopy like a raft was carrying young girls and another boatman. Everyone was exclaiming and chattering as if they were amazed by the view of the Te Deum, a mansion floating like an island in the middle of the lake.
“Wow, this is really cool. I’m so lucky to work in a place like this!”
“That’s right. Even though I have no experience as a maid, I was surprised that they offered me a high salary and even a private room.”
Then Mrs. Dunst, with her back to Angie, whispered softly enough for the boatman to hear.
“Four for now, as instructed by Michael. Depending on the situation, we’ll airlift in a few more next month.”
“Oh, yes. Yes.”
In an instant, Angie's hair turned white. The shock of a large brick hitting her heart struck her. The girls were not hired as maids. The words that just came out of Mrs. Dunst's mouth gave her a strong conviction. Then Mrs. Dunst turned around and looked at Angie with a surprised look on her face.
“Angie?”
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