If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 281

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

Whether Cain realized how tense and uneasy Agatha’s shallow breathing had become, his touch as he applied the ointment remained delicate and gentle.

“Still…”

Just as Agatha thought he must have finished tending her wound, Cain quietly spoke up.

“Still, I hope you won’t get hurt again, Agatha.”

This time, his voice wasn’t that of a man holding back his anger. Was it just her imagination? To Agatha, Cain’s tone suddenly sounded sad.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

The Empress had asked Agatha to take her side. As Cain left the mansion, he couldn’t stop replaying Agatha’s story in his mind.

Call it a request, but it was nothing short of a command. The Empress had barely finished asking Agatha to become her ally before using her as a tool to provoke the Grand Duchess.

To have Agatha publicly slapped in front of so many nobles of Leden was outrageous. The Empress could now confidently suppress the Grand Duchess, but Cain found the whole thing intolerable.

Even if it had been an unspoken imperial order, Agatha was still the head of Kristin—one of the most distinguished families of Nikephos. Forcing her to endure such humiliation in front of an audience—was that really acceptable behavior?

“…Well. There’s probably nothing she wouldn’t do.”

Given his knowledge of the Empress and her family, Cain realized this was hardly out of character. After all, even the Emperor himself had slaughtered hundreds, thousands, invading neighboring nations simply to secure his own throne.

It hadn’t been long since Crown Prince Mernich had asked him to become an ally. And today, Mernich’s mother, the Empress, had personally reached out to Agatha.

Cain fell into deep thought. Was Mernich truly so different from his parents—a strange anomaly who’d inherited none of their ruthless nature? Was he really as gentle as he appeared? Could he be trusted? Was it safe to join hands with him? Even after days of sleepless deliberation, Cain still had no clear answer.

Strictly speaking, Mernich was the son of Cain’s family’s greatest enemy—the very people who had destroyed his homeland and killed his parents.

To serve the child of his enemies… No matter how little direct involvement Mernich himself had, Cain couldn’t help but feel uneasy whenever he caught traces of Vlahova in the prince’s features.

“Yes? What did you say?”

Cain’s muttered thoughts were interrupted by Ethan, who quickly struck up a conversation. Cain brushed aside his curiosity, telling him it was nothing, and instructed him to hurry up.

The deadline he’d negotiated from Mernich—time to think things over—was nearly up. Cain was now on his way to the slums, ready to give the crown prince his answer.

As a subject, he couldn’t outright refuse the command of the future emperor, but whether or not he could truly pledge his loyalty—that was for him to decide.

“By the way, did you get hurt somewhere?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I smell befri leaf. I just wondered if you weren’t feeling well.”

A faint scent of befri leaf ointment lingered on Cain—likely from when he’d applied it to Agatha’s wound.

When he’d first discovered the cut on her soft cheek, it was as if all the blood had drained from his body. He’d desperately wanted to find whoever had dared harm her and wring their neck, but he hadn’t acted on it.

What’s more, for just a single slap, the wound was surprisingly deep. Cain could easily sympathize with Charlotte’s panicking over the possibility of a scar marring Agatha’s beautiful face. Remembering the scene, he clenched his hand tightly.

It had been so long since he’d touched her. Applying the ointment hadn’t been meant as anything more, but when he felt her soft skin beneath his fingertips, a jumble of confusing thoughts had filled his mind before he could stop them. He tried not to show it, but his clumsy touch probably betrayed his embarrassment.

While Cain and Ethan exchanged a few more words, their carriage arrived at the destination—a tavern owned by the one-eyed innkeeper they’d visited in secret just days earlier.

The innkeeper recognized Cain and his party at once and ushered them to a private room inside. The chilly air of the early morning stung their cheeks.

Ethan asked nothing further about the befri leaf ointment, nor did he urge Cain for his decision about the crown prince’s proposal, though one might have expected him to.

Pulling aside a curtain that shielded the interior from outside view, Cain spotted a familiar figure—Christian. He was standing openly in a new location, making no attempt to hide himself.

Seeing him there, Cain quickly realized the crown prince was not present. No matter how well disguised, a future emperor wouldn’t be left unattended. If Christian was moving about so freely, it was clear the crown prince wasn’t with him.

“You took longer to reply than I expected.”

Cain walked silently up to Christian. The two men met each other’s gaze, skipping any pleasantries, gazing up at each other for a moment.

It was Christian who finally broke the silence, but his words, which bordered on provocative, made Ethan’s brow furrow.