If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 197

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

“Agatha. I won’t ask you to understand me. I just want to say this because I want you to know that all the responsibility for my past mistakes lies solely with me.”

“……”

“I deceived you, someone who waited for me without knowing anything, someone who trusted me and gave everything. Now that I’ve lost you, I realize how foolish I was, and the shame of it is driving me mad.”

The sound of insects ceased for a moment. In the now quiet room, only the steady rhythm of Agatha’s breathing could be heard.

“Agatha…”

How could he express this overwhelming feeling, this emotion that filled his chest? Cain struggled to convey his sincerity, even though he wasn’t entirely sure of the exact nature of the heaviness in his heart.

Though Agatha, deep in her sleep, couldn’t hear him, Cain, feeling cowardly, used this time to reveal the deep feelings he had kept hidden. He hoped that, in some way, her wounds would begin to heal, and that she might place the full responsibility for the hurt on him.

After some time, as Cain gently tucked Agatha’s feet under the covers, he noticed her eyelids fluttering slightly, but he didn’t see it.

He carefully brushed back the stray hairs from her forehead, and then, silently, Cain left the room.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

The Grand Duke had sent someone to convey his message, but had never come down to the south himself. Count Schuck, rising with his heavy body, hurriedly prepared to greet his guest.

It had been exactly 20 years since the two men had last seen each other. It was around the time when the war of conquest, led by Vlahova to claim the throne, had just ended, and shortly after the Grand Duke had led the complete destruction of Amasril with Duke Kristin at the helm.

It had been 20 years since that day when they had met to conduct a particular transaction. Of course, they had never lost contact during that time, but the fact that the Grand Duke had come down here personally meant something serious had occurred.

The Count’s face turned tense.

“It’s been a long time, Count.”

“I am honored by your visit, Your Grace.”

He was supposed to bow respectfully, but with his belly as big as a hill, it was difficult to bend at the waist. After struggling to lower his head, the Count let out a grunt and awkwardly straightened up.

“Let’s skip the formalities and get to the point. I came because it’s urgent.”

“Please, sit, Your Grace. What is so urgent?”

The Count’s mind briefly flickered to Cain Vernat.

“It’s about Cain Vernat. The arrogant knight who’s earned the favor of my brother.”

As expected, when the Grand Duke spoke Cain’s name, the count was stunned.

“Marquis Vernat? What’s he got to do with this?”

“Ah, you know him. Well, this conversation will be faster then.”

“Yes, I do. He visited here not long ago.”

“What? He visited here? Who?”

The Grand Duke’s voice became tense with agitation.

“Marquis Vernat. He tried to secretly enter here in Pahel recently, but he was caught by the mercenaries I hired. When he came here, he looked down at me with those sharp eyes… Wait, did the Emperor actually give him orders?”

The seed of doubt, which had been gnawing at the back of the Count’s mind, began to sprout. Sweat began to bead on his forehead, trickling down his face.

“This is maddening. Why the hell would he come here? Does he actually know something?”

“Please, speak plainly. What is going on?”

“He requested the right to investigate the death of the late Grand Duke Kristin. He asked my brother for investigative authority.”

“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”

The Count’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head. He seemed unable to believe the words he had just heard.

“It seems like he’s sniffing something out. After getting the investigative authority from my brother, he came here…”

The Grand Duke’s voice lowered ominously.

“So, His Majesty must know something?”

“I don’t think so. If my brother knew something, he wouldn’t have stayed silent until Vernat asked for investigative authority. He would have pushed me out completely if given the chance.”

“So, His Majesty doesn’t know yet, but Marquis Vernat seems to have noticed something?”

“If only I could confirm what he knows…”

“From what we know, at least he must have figured out that the late Grand Duke Kristin and we are somehow involved.”

“What did he say when he got here?”

“There wasn’t much. He just looked at me with a smug face, like he was pleased with himself, and left after looking down on me.”

“No other special events?”

“Well… there is something else. The late Grand Duke’s daughter is here as well.”

“Daughter of Kristin?”

The Grand Duke’s face shifted with surprise. An unexpected person had joined what he initially thought was just Vernat’s unilateral actions down to the south.

Agatha Kristin. If she came along…

“So, it seems she’s been hiding here, as there was no news from the capital.”

It had been over half a year since he last received any news from the Marquis’s estate through the Duchess. Despite his growing suspicions about the fact that Vernat had let his people into the estate so carelessly, the Grand Duke only thought that the time had finally come for the servants to be expelled.