Chapter 135
After an emergency first-aid to recharge her magic, Eugenie, utterly exhausted, was carried on Percival’s back. His coat easily concealed the gaping holes in her blouse from popped buttons.
Still, her condition wasn’t great.
“Percival, could you please go a little slower… just a bit more?”
“Sorry. But Madam, are you really alright?”
“I’m feeling dizzy… ugh.”
“You don’t have to hold it in. If it’s too much, just throw up—”
“No, I can’t.”
His words were incredibly considerate, but there was no way she could bring herself to vomit on the Northern Duke’s shoulder. It was just… Percival has a high alcohol taste.
“Percival, do you know where we should go?”
“Hm.”
While Eugenie clutched the lamp nervously in the darkness, Percival took each step without hesitation.
“Even like this, my sense of smell remains that of a monster. I’m checking where the other two are, so don’t worry.”
“Y-yes…”
True to his word, Percival navigated the darkness with ease. While carrying her, he climbed over rocks and soon faint voices could be heard.
“…Eugenie! Eugenie, are you there?!”
“Ah, Carter!”
Eugenie waved her hand energetically, relieved to see the blond man shining in the lamp’s glow. But Carter frowned the moment he approached the two.
“Duke, that on your neck…”
“Oh.”
Percival’s face turned red to his forehead. Even after the monster transformation faded, the leash Eugenie made remained like an amber tattoo on his neck.
Carter raised one eyebrow, and Percival cleared his throat lightly.
“My apologies, Livingston. I’ll have to tell Lysander about this later.”
“…Has this happened before?”
Though Carter seemed to understand what had happened below, he wasn’t in the mood to press with jokes. He had vowed not to care about Eugenie’s other relationships and had come here with that resolve, but somehow it felt pointless.
That frustration sharpened his tone.
‘Why now…’
He told himself not to get needlessly possessive. If he starts caring, it would only tire himself out.
But Percival shook his head. Given the situation, he had no choice but to be honest about it, even if it meant confiding in a man from another family.
“No, since Mrs. Norton helped me, never. It’s never been this bad.”
“Let’s get moving first. The woman Eugenie woke is still in there.”
Eugenie struggled to keep dizziness from the hangover at bay and opened her eyes wide.
“Carter… is she alive?”
“Yes. But she hasn’t regained consciousness yet. Lysander is watching her now.”
“Cassius alone? I thought he hurt his foot earlier.”
“Hah. His spine isn’t broken, so what’s to worry about, Eugenie?”
Carter’s sharp reproach silenced Eugenie. She had slept with Percival below to survive and had nothing to be ashamed of. Still, the cold atmosphere made her fidget with the coat’s hem.
Meanwhile, Cassius waited inside, sitting by the sealed coffin. Judging by his posture, one ankle was definitely broken.
“Lady! Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. But you—”
“My foot. Something this little…? Ah.”
Cassius broke off his answer, glancing alternately at Percival and Eugenie. Then, covering his mouth with one hand as if embarrassed, he said,
“Oh my, how scandalous.”
“Cassius…”
“How inappropriate… Good grief, to wake up to such lewdness in this situation!”
“Enough already.”
Eugenie shook her head at Cassius’s fuss, feeling somewhat relieved after Carter’s sharp tone had earlier made her shrink back.
But her frown deepened as she looked at the sleeping woman inside the seal.
A woman with distinct lavender-colored bobbed hair lay unaware, asleep. She would only know who she was if she woke up, but there was a faint resemblance to Cassius.
“Do you remember who this is, Cassius?”
“Hm… yes. That should be Elaine Sabnac. She was about seven years older than me…”
“So, about twenty, then? Do you know what kind of person she is?”
“Well, judging by her being sealed here, you can guess.”
Cassius looked at the survivor of the family with indifferent eyes. Though it had been a long time since he’d seen her, he showed little emotion.
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