If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 280

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

Cain’s expression grew steadily more rigid. Only Agatha understood that his silent, tight-lipped look meant his anger had reached its peak.

“Was it the Grand Duchess who did this to you?”

Cain finally spoke after a long explanation from Liana, his voice icy cold. It looked as if he might storm over to the Grand Duke’s residence and turn everything upside down at any moment.

“Agatha.”

When Agatha didn’t respond right away, Cain kept asking the same question, determined not to give up until she admitted it herself.

Agatha wondered what exactly had made Cain so angry. Was it because his wife had returned home, publicly humiliated by the Grand Duchess in front of everyone? Or was it something else…?

Time had blurred her memories, but Agatha had seen this look on Cain’s face before—when he found her groaning after being struck by Stella’s whip, or when she was being strangled by John Calvino.

“Yes.”

She didn’t really want to defend the Grand Duchess. Agatha answered Cain’s question honestly. After all, even if she refused to answer, he would soon hear every detail from Liana.

“It really wasn’t as serious as it looks.”

“You call a wound like this on your face ‘not serious’?”

Cain stepped closer and gently placed his hand under Agatha’s chin. As she let him tilt her face up, his worried gaze settled on her injury. He examined her face, checking for other scratches.

“I knew this was bound to happen sooner or later. The Grand Duchess has always harbored a strange hostility toward Kristin. It wasn’t as if I didn’t expect something like this.”

“So you expected it… That almost sounds like you arranged for it to happen.”

Cain’s intuition was sharp as ever. He picked up on the fact that Agatha had acted more provocatively than usual, just to meet the Empress’s unspoken expectations.

“I suppose I owe you an explanation. Everyone, please leave us for a moment.”

Agatha dismissed the others. She’d already been debating whether to tell Cain about her conversation with the Empress, and having too many ears around would only complicate matters. She made sure even Charlotte and Liana left the room.

“Did you provoke the Grand Duchess on purpose?”

“Yes.”

Once the last servant had left, Cain immediately asked what he wanted to know. He doubted the Grand Duchess, as reckless as she was, would have struck out so suddenly without provocation.

Unless Agatha herself had pushed her. And if that was the case, Cain suspected it was less Agatha’s own will and more someone else’s.

“Why…?”

“The moment I arrived at the palace, Her Majesty summoned me to the toilette room.”

Cain’s brow twitched. He knew enough about court life to realize how significant it was for the Empress—famous for keeping everyone at a distance—to invite Agatha alone to her toilette room.

“She asked me to become one of her people.”

<I’ll get straight to the point. Help me.>

At that, Cain was reminded of Mernich. Both the son and mother had asked this couple to side with them. He was sure this wasn’t a coincidence.

“The reason I provoked the Grand Duchess is because Her Majesty wanted me to. His Majesty has been bedridden for months now. In the meantime, Grand Duke Norfolk has been doing as he pleases, with no thought for tomorrow. The Empress must be desperate for any pretext—no matter how small—to rein them in.”

“So you let yourself be slapped to give her that pretext?”

“I didn’t think it would come to that.”

Agatha shrugged. She’d meant to provoke the Grand Duchess, but she’d only expected maybe a glass of wine to be thrown in her face, or a few harsh words at most.

She realized she’d be struck only when she saw the Grand Duchess’s hand trembling with rage after Agatha called out her rudeness in public.

“I see.”

Cain seemed as if he wanted to say more, but surprisingly, he fell silent. A few seconds of quiet passed. Even though she had done nothing wrong, Agatha felt uncomfortable in that brief pause.

“That must have hurt.”

Cain finally said, picking up the tin of ointment Liana had brought earlier.

“I can put it on myself. There’s a mirror, or I could call Liana back—”

“Hush. Stay still.”

Without hesitation, Cain opened the tin and dabbed a bit of ointment onto his fingertip. He gently cupped Agatha’s chin and began to carefully spread the ointment over the long scratch on her right cheek.

Agatha instinctively flinched when his finger touched the wound, but his touch was surprisingly gentle. She gradually began to relax.

But Cain’s face was so close. His entire focus and attention seemed to be on her injury, but Agatha couldn’t help feeling self-conscious.

His hand on her chin, his breath so close—she was uncomfortably aware of it all, and didn’t even dare to breathe too deeply, afraid her breath might brush against him.