If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 288

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

Holding the Grand Duchess responsible for ruining the imperial grandson’s birthday banquet and confining her to her residence had been the Empress’s scheme.

Cutting off the supply of goods to Ganam, the territory owned by the Grand Duke, had been Crown Prince Mernich’s plan.

And the ones who had been perfectly used in their plot were Marquis Vernat and Duke Kristin.

By now, every noble in the capital believed that Agatha and Cain had become the Empress’s people.

News that Cain Vernat had aligned himself with the Crown Prince became a grave threat to the Grand Duke and the faction that revered him. Power struggles erupted throughout the capital several times a day.

Because of that, it was only natural that Cain—the acting commander of the capital forces while simultaneously carrying out the Crown Prince’s secret mission—was so busy he barely had time to breathe.

Ethan, who had been just as overwhelmed with work, finally reached his limit and began complaining miserably after suffering a nosebleed.

He groaned that if he kept pulling all-nighters like this, he might die before the mission was finished. And failing to maintain one’s health and falling incapable of serving is also a betrayal of one’s lord.

Cain ignored Ethan’s complaints without the slightest concern.

Even when Lehman scolded him—asking what kind of hidden strength he possessed to remain so energetic—Cain did not so much as flinch.

The truth was that he had been enduring several sleepless nights thanks to a brief but warm memory he shared with Agatha.

Whenever exhaustion threatened him, he recalled the steady rhythm of her breathing. When fatigue weighed on him, he remembered the softness of her hand.

He did feel a pang of guilt for secretly watching her sleep. Still, he swore to himself that he would never repeat the mistakes he had made before.

If he finished his work quickly, he could return home and speak with Agatha.

The thought of wrapping things up with the Crown Prince soon and choosing a name for their child together lifted Cain’s spirits.

Truthfully, he didn’t care who ended up becoming the new master of Nikephos.

Even so, he had accepted the Crown Prince’s mission for three reasons: to take revenge on the Grand Duke, because he could not stand by and watch the most despicable man in the world seize the throne without legitimacy, and because he needed to rescue Esther.

“Commander. A message has arrived from the residence. It’s urgent.”

Ethan called out to him.

Cain had been buried in a mountain of documents, barely moving for hours. When he heard that Head Butler Havel had sent an urgent letter, Cain finally lifted his head.

“Urgent?”

“Yes. Here…”

Inside the envelope was a smaller envelope. At the back was a short note, clearly written by Havel himself.

Cain quickly scanned the few lines of writing and immediately grabbed his coat, rising from his seat.

“I’d like you to handle the remaining paperwork, Ethan.”

“What? Suddenly? Where are you going?”

“It must be finished today. Don’t even think about stopping halfway and leaving early.”

Cain did not look back even when Ethan called after him, asking what was going on.

Why is he acting like that? The puzzled look on Ethan’s face froze cold the moment he checked the contents of the letter Cain had left behind.

To my dear Agatha,
John K.

It was a name Ethan had nearly forgotten amid the endless flood of work—yet now it had appeared again before his eyes.

Even now, Ethan ground his teeth in anger whenever he remembered how they had been ambushed by the Calvino family after agreeing to the Grand Duchess’s sudden request for tea.

So you finally show yourself again. John Calvino.

Cain’s hand as he slammed the door behind him—and Ethan’s hand as he set down the letter—both trembled ever so slightly with rage.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

The master of the house had returned.

He had come back at dawn and left the residence just before daybreak, yet now he had returned again.

As always, his expression was cold and composed, but today there was something else beneath it—an anger that could not quite be hidden.

Whenever he left the residence, he usually didn’t return for two or three days at the earliest. Because of that, the servants were visibly startled by his sudden reappearance.

But there was one exception.

Havel.

The head butler greeted him calmly, without the slightest sign of surprise, as though he had expected Cain to return.

“You have returned, Your Grace.”

“You have something to tell me, Havel.”

“Yes.”

Havel nodded gravely and led Cain further inside.

Even though the servants worked for the Marquis’s household, not everyone could be allowed to know everything.

Especially considering what had happened during Agatha’s birthday celebration. There might very well be someone within the residence secretly assisting the Calvino family.

After all, without help from inside, John Calvino could never have so boldly delivered a letter—and a gift bearing his own name—into the residence.

After dismissing everyone else, Cain entered the study with only Havel beside him.

Havel shut the door firmly and locked it, then carefully checked the entire room to ensure no one else was present. Only after confirming there were no intruders did he return and sit across from Cain.

“When did you obtain it?”

“When the last mail carriage arrived three days ago.”

The mail carriage visited the Marquis’s residence once every three days at dawn.

All incoming letters first passed through the hands of a designated servant before being delivered to Havel. Only after passing Havel’s strict inspection would any letter reach the lord or lady of the house.

Because of this process, only a very small portion of the countless letters sent to the residence ever made it to Cain’s desk.

Most of them were thrown straight into the trash by Havel before the envelopes were even opened.

“If it arrived three days ago, then it must have been written at least half a month earlier.”