Chapter 128
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“Understood.”
Answering at once, as if he’d been waiting for this, Ivan quickly turned and headed for the manor. Even as he stepped away from Ruby’s side, he felt no chill at all.
That probably meant a being even the ghosts that had tormented him would fear had appeared at the ducal house, and Ivan’s eyes glinted sharply.
Count Morado, who had been pacing in front of the back gate, spotted Ivan and hurried over.
“Alpha, what on earth has happened?”
“Count, I have no excuse to offer you. But there’s no time to explain, so let’s talk later.”
“Yes, understood.”
At the news that Alex had collapsed, he had turned his carriage back on his way home to his own domain.
Only yesterday his son had been excited, saying he was full of energy here, which made it hurt all the more.
But to him, the Alpha was as important as Alex. And the one he trusted more than anyone, too. He could only wait, holding a firm expectation that the Alpha would not let this matter slide.
“Father!”
Just then, Isabelle, who had stayed by Alex’s side the whole time, came to find Count Morado. Her face soaked with tears, she asked:
“Our Lex is going to be all right, isn’t he? What did Brother Ivan say?”
“Child, the situation doesn’t seem good right now. In any case, His Grace appears to have decided to act himself, so we’d best wait.”
“Hic, if only I hadn’t suggested the walk…”
“Don’t say such things.”
“Father, I simply can’t believe it. When Alex suddenly collapsed there was nothing around. If it was something invisible to our eyes… then there’s only one person to suspect, isn’t there?”
To Isabelle, it seemed all of this had happened because of Ruby. Ever since she’d arrived, nothing had gone as Isabelle wished, and the woman who kept saying strange things grated on her terribly.
She had no doubt that if only that woman hadn’t appeared, their Wolf tribe would be living as peacefully as before.
“Tsk, don’t go saying such things carelessly.”
Because Count Morado had watched the whole situation a moment ago, he didn’t suspect Ruby was the culprit. Given the circumstances, it couldn’t be her.
Besides, to suspect her was as good as suspecting Ivan, who had been with her.
When even her father seemed to be on Ruby’s side, Isabelle was shocked. Setting herself aside, she knew her father was more sensitive than anyone when it came to Alex, which made it all the more astonished.
But unable to say anything more, Isabelle silently turned and headed for somewhere with no one around. Having run to the most secluded corner of the manor, she leaned against the wall and wept.
It felt as though her place had vanished entirely. She had thought that someday she would naturally take her place at Ivan’s side, and that thereby she would win her father’s favor more than Alex.
But in the few days since she’d come here, everything had gone awry. Trembling with anger, Isabelle was bitter that there was nothing she could do for now.
Just then someone approached her.
“Isabelle.”
“…Leslie.”
Leslie, dressed in a drab maid’s uniform, approached with a thoroughly venomous expression.
“So you couldn’t do anything either.”
“……”
At the sudden provocation, Isabelle was indignant, but since it was true she had nothing to say. At the sight of Isabelle clamping her mouth shut, Leslie poured out a torrent of abuse as if she’d been waiting for it.
“You acted so much like you were already his fiancée, so why can’t you say a single word to an outsider?”
“I never acted like his fiancée.”
“Don’t make me laugh. You behaved as if the seat beside His Grace was naturally yours.”
“I told you I never did.”
“Don’t lie. I’ve known all along, ever since back when you wouldn’t even enter service as a maid. Am I wrong?”
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