I Will End My 10-Year Unrequited Love - Chapter 21

Elia dragged her battered body back home. Her thighs, still trembling from being gripped by Cyrone’s hands all night, shuddered uncontrollably. Slowly, Elia looked down at herself. Every secret place on her body bore his marks.

In her mind, the image of herself crying out, writhing uncontrollably, floated persistently. The heat that still clung to her body hadn’t faded. Cyrone hadn’t released her even after several climaxes. It felt as if he was intent on releasing all his anger there, vowing never to let her go again.

Elia screamed and passed out; she twisted her body and passed out again. Only when dawn broke did that feverish night come to an end.

“Crazy. This is insane.”

Elia clutched her head, her hands trembling uncontrollably. No matter how much she tried to resist, it was useless. Her body was already conditioned by Cyrone and blatantly sought him out. When Cyrone’s manhood pierced her, ravaging her most intimate parts, Elia forgot everything once again.

For the past ten years, her body and soul had been conditioned by Cyrone. It had become both instinct and habit. Elia grew more fearful. If this continued, she would never escape from him.

She looked down at the letter before her. It was from Duke Reiffers, informing her that he would be returning to the capital soon. It seemed to have arrived late in the night, judging by the timing. It was something that hadn’t been there earlier in the morning.

Elia quickly wrote a reply, urging him to return as soon as possible since the marriage seal had not yet been received.

“…When father arrives.”

Elia knew all too well how much Reiffers and Cyrone clashed. But she also knew there was no way out of this situation on her own.

She gazed out of the window as dawn broke. It seemed like a storm was about to hit.

* * *

Elia moved hurriedly. She felt like if she didn’t act quickly, the memories from the previous night would flood her mind. And with Duke Reiffers soon arriving in the capital, she planned to tidy up the mansion in preparation.

The servants rushed around, bringing in hot water, busy with their tasks. The curtains shifted with the breeze, and the texture of the carpet seemed to change with every step.

“Ah, right.”

Elia, standing at the top of the stairs and looking down at the mansion, seemed to remember something, then moved quickly. She walked to the farthest end of the second floor and stopped in front of a door that seemed unusually untouched by light.

“When was it locked?”

Her face froze in confusion as she turned the doorknob. The clicking sound suggested it had been locked from the inside, and the door wouldn’t open. After searching through the mansion’s common keys, Elia found the one that fit and opened the locked door.

The heavy door creaked open with a sharp sound. Perhaps because it hadn’t been used in a while, the air inside was chilly.

This was the space where Duke Reiffers used as his office and study. Perhaps due to the duke’s obsessive neatness, even though no one had entered in some time, there was little to organize.

Elia gazed around the room. Even while the Duke had been away at his estate, letters from the duchy continued to arrive at the mansion in the capital without pause. Elia had intended to go through the pile of letters that had accumulated.

“Where did he put them?”

Elia’s confused gaze searched through the empty drawer for a long time. The steward, Nastan, always kept the letters in this drawer. Elia, knowing this, opened it right away, but there was nothing inside.

As she looked around the office in confusion, Elia’s eyes fell on the study. As she traced her hand over the numerous books piled there, her hand stopped suddenly.

In a corner, nearly unnoticed unless you were looking closely, a bundle of letters was wedged in, as if it had been shoved in forcefully and abandoned. It was strange. Nastan, who had managed the mansion for generations, wouldn’t have treated things like this.

The fact that Nastan had left it untouched meant that it was likely her father who had done so…

It took a while for her to reach the letters, and Elia had to kneel to pull them out. They seemed to be quite old, as a cloud of dust rose when she moved them.

The letter was unusual, and Elia frowned briefly. The envelope had no trace of a sender. It appeared as if it had never been written on, not even an address or stamp.

“What is this?”

Elia tilted her head, puzzled. There was no sender, no recipient, and no stamp, just a blank envelope. She couldn’t open it carelessly, so Elia held the letter up to the window to catch some light.

“A deer…?”

On the surface, clearly illuminated, was the image of a deer. Elia’s eyes narrowed for a moment. A deer between two swords, that was the emblem of the Damon family.

“I already have all the letters from the Damon family.”

Elia had kept all the recent letters exchanged with the Damon family regarding the marriage arrangements. Moreover, her dealings with them had only started after the marriage was confirmed.

But this letter was clearly aged, noticeably old.

Elia, with a firm expression on her face, was about to read the letter again when—click—the thick door opened.

The person who entered was Madam Estine. Startled, Elia looked at her mother while holding the mysterious letter in her hand.