Chapter 33
She hadn’t.
The mere fact that she had escaped those enormous flames alive had sent her into a panic. Even now, merely remembering the fire was enough to make her hands and feet tremble.
As Layla shivered with her face drained of color, Kallion stepped between the two women.
“Rest first. We’ll talk about this again later.”
There was little point in immediately arguing over who was at fault when they had only just escaped the fire alive.
But Juliana seemed to interpret his words differently and replied coldly.
“Why? You can’t stand watching your secretary be questioned?”
“This whole mess happened because you did whatever you pleased in the first place.”
“If I hadn’t stayed, the orphanage would have suffered an even greater disaster.”
“Do you think you’re that important?”
She couldn’t reveal here that she had saved the children with her ability.
She’d had no choice but to use it, but Kallion was the one person she couldn’t allow to find out.
In the end, Juliana pressed her lips tightly together.
Kallion took her reaction as proof that she had nothing to say in response. He swept back his hair wearily and ended the conversation.
“Layla and you both need to rest for now. We’ll discuss the details again later.”
Juliana didn’t want to speak with Kallion any longer either, so she replied coldly.
“That would be best.”
* * *
Kallion’s expression remained rigid throughout Layla’s report.
After calming the anger that had clouded his mind and thinking about the situation rationally, there were too many things that didn’t make sense.
“Fortunately, most of our people were staying at the inn, so we suffered little damage. The carriage was damaged somewhat, but it should be repaired and ready to depart within a day.”
“No damage, you say.”
Kallion’s level voice fell calmly.
Misunderstanding what he meant, Layla gave an awkward smile and rubbed the burn on the back of her hand.
“This much is fine. Contrary to what you feared, the injury isn’t particularly severe…”
But what came from Kallion’s mouth was entirely different from what she had expected.
“The lady of Baldomer nearly came to harm, and you’re saying there was no problem?”
Layla’s expression instantly stiffened.
“What? Ah…”
Startled, Layla quickly composed herself.
Even if Juliana was the lady of Baldomer in name only, if something happened to her, it could potentially damage Baldomer’s standing.
Layla knew better than anyone how ruthlessly rational Kallion was when it came to his house, so she quickly bowed her head.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
But even after Layla immediately corrected herself, Kallion’s expression didn’t soften.
“Is there anything else to report?”
He deliberately lowered his voice and kept it calm. Layla, who had been cautiously watching his expression, continued in a composed manner.
“While monitoring the Madam as you instructed, I noticed several suspicious things.”
“Suspicious things…?”
“The Madam was looking through the orphanage’s registry. Perhaps there’s someone here she’s searching for. And…”
“And?”
“You’ve heard that Madam was trapped inside the burning orphanage with one of the girls, haven’t you?”
It was nothing more than Layla’s thoroughly businesslike report, but Kallion frowned as though he didn’t even want to think about the situation itself.
“Thanks to the blizzard, the fire was extinguished fairly easily. But when we checked inside afterward, Madam was lying there in far too good a condition.”
“……”
“That would be absolutely impossible for an ordinary person. Unless she possessed an ability like you do, Lord Kallion—”
Bang!
Kallion, who had been silently listening, suddenly slammed his hand down hard on the table.
Layla flinched violently and stared at him in shock.
Kallion had never once behaved like this toward her before.
And now he was glaring at her with undisguised displeasure.
“Are you trying to say that it would’ve been normal for the lady of Baldomer to burn to death in there?”
Layla was bewildered by Kallion’s question, his anger plainly visible.
“No, what I mean is…”
As though he had no need to hear any more, Kallion pressed a hand to his forehead.
“I’ve never once been disappointed in you before.”
At those words, Layla’s heart dropped.
“Lord Kallion…”
“I will hear the rest of the report later. In detail. How the situation ended up that way, and where the people I assigned to protect the lady were and what they were doing.”
At Kallion’s expression, his disappointment plain to see, the color steadily drained from Layla’s face.
Never once until now had he looked at her that way.
How hard had she worked and worked all this time to become someone important to Kallion, to prove that she was useful?
“I’m tired. You may leave.”
At those cold words, Layla could only bite her lip hard and turn away.
Right, this was her mistake.
No matter how hollow their marriage was, Juliana was still the lady of Baldomer.
Considering that he placed his house above all else, perhaps it was only natural for him to be angry.
Even if she was his wife in name only, Juliana was still his wife.
Right, that had to be all it was.
That had to be the only reason he was this angry.
Layla anxiously gnawed at her lip as she stepped out through the door.
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