If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 279

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

To Agatha, who never cared for glittering things, necklaces and rings made from some rare gem from some distant mine meant nothing. They were nothing but obstacles, restricting her movement and grating on her nerves.

As she shed all those accessories from her body, all she felt was relief.

“I’m tired. I think I’ll rest now.”

She shook her head. The smell of all that rich food in the banquet hall had left her feeling sick. With her small appetite, just being surrounded by the aroma was enough to make her feel like she’d eaten a full meal.

While she removed her jewelry and outer layers, Liana returned with hot water and some ointment. Agatha’s gaze briefly landed on a familiar item—it was an ointment tin Cain had once given her.

‘It’s made from crushed Befri leaves.’

Cain had told her it was a rare medicinal herb, used sparingly even by knights during wartime. Agatha wasn’t sure why she suddenly remembered him tending to her wounds like that.

Liana gently wiped her face with a cloth soaked in hot water. The touch stung a little, making Agatha wince, though the pain was minor. Still, she dreaded the hassle that would come with a visible wound on her face—she knew it would attract more attention than she wanted.

Knock, knock.

Just as Liana finished disinfecting the wound and began applying ointment, someone knocked on the bedroom door. Agatha assumed it was a maid bringing something she’d forgotten, but when she saw who entered, she quickly raised the cloth to cover her face.

It was Cain.

“Did you have a good time at the prince’s birthday celebration?”

He must have been worried about Agatha attending such a long event without him—especially since she’d come home so much earlier than usual. Cain’s expression was as unreadable as ever, but those who knew him well could see he was actually more anxious, more concerned, than he usually let on.

“Yes.”

“It sounds like the party ran late.”

“It was unusually lavish this time, so I expected it might go on longer than usual.”

“Aren’t you tired?”

“A little, but I’ll be fine.”

As the maid undid her outer dress and started loosening her undergarments, Cain hurriedly turned his back. The servants, unaware of the real dynamics between them, found it amusing—why act so bashful when they already had a child together?

“Would you like some dinner?”

Cain asked, still facing away, perhaps just to fill the awkward silence caused by the rustling of clothes.

“No, I don’t feel well.”

“You don’t feel well?”

All she’d said was that her stomach was upset, but Cain, momentarily forgetting why he’d turned away, looked straight at her. Thankfully, Liana was quick, and Agatha was not caught in just her undergarments.

“Why? Did something happen?”

Cain crossed the room in a few long strides.

“…Wait.”

As she slipped her arms into a fresh gown, Agatha hurried to bring the cloth back up to her face, but not before Cain caught a glimpse of her injury.

“What happened to your cheek?”

His voice dropped, low and chilling, a commanding, almost intimidating tone.

“It’s nothing.”

“The head of the Kristin family comes home with a wound like that on her face, and you say it’s nothing?”

She tried to brush it off, but Cain reached out and gently but firmly pulled her hand away from her face. His grip wasn’t forceful, but it left no room for resistance.

“Ah—”

Even a brief touch was enough to see that blood had stuck to the cloth. When Agatha winced in pain as she pulled her hand away, Cain’s face hardened.

“Who did this to you?”

“I told you, it’s nothing. Just an accident.”

“There are no accidents at a palace banquet. Agatha, I may not have attended many social gatherings, but I’m not so foolish as to believe that. You return from a party hosted by the Empress with a wound like that, and you expect me to believe it was an accident? What really happened?”

“It was… truly just a minor—”

She didn’t want to stir up more trouble. Especially since, after what had happened in Arta, just mentioning the Grand Duke put Cain on edge. The last thing she wanted was to involve him in today’s drama with the Grand Duchess.

She tried to steer the conversation away, but it was no use. Seeing that Agatha wasn’t going to tell him, Cain immediately turned to another source.

“You accompanied Agatha to the party today, didn’t you? Tell me what happened.”

The new target was Liana. The other maids, caught between a man desperate for answers and a woman determined not to give them, silently rejoiced that they had been spared.

“Who dared do this to the head of Kristin?”

“…It was Grand Duchess Norfolk, Your Grace.”

Agatha tried to glare a warning at Liana not to say anything, but Liana missed it. Faced with Cain’s piercing gaze, she began recounting in detail everything that had happened at the prince’s birthday celebration.