Chapter 6
Since the funeral, Lilia hadn’t had a single restful night. Maybe it was because she kept pushing her body to the limit, she was shivering uncontrollably.
She wondered if she had a fever, but when she touched her forehead with icy-cold fingers, she couldn’t really tell.
“Um, could I get something for a fever?”
“Oh dear. No wonder you look so pale. But what to do? We ran out of medicine just yesterday…”
Lilia offered a faint smile and assured the innkeeper she’d be fine. But her body was at its worst, and despite her protests, the woman insisted she sit down.
Lilia tried to wave her off, but her hands shook.
Like someone on the run, she kept glancing toward the door as she slowly spooned up the tomato soup in front of her. The warmth helped ease her chills just a bit.
“Hello, miss.”
“Yes?”
“I’m a doctor. The innkeeper asked if I could take a look at you.”
Lilia flinched at the unfamiliar man’s approach, but his face seemed kind and harmless. He simply lifted his hands, as if to show he meant nothing by it.
A little reassured, Lilia let the man check her over.
He apologized for not having a thermometer and, asking her pardon, pressed his hand to her forehead. She was burning up.
With a shake of his head, he completed a quick check.
“It’s just a fever. I’ll give you what medicine I have. Finish your soup, take the pills, and get as much rest as you can.”
Lilia nodded in gratitude. Before leaving, the doctor checked her forehead one more time, wishing he had a thermometer. The fever was intense.
But then, the door to the inn burst open with a bang.
Screams rang out. Feverish and dazed, Lilia blinked in confusion. She heard a table crash, and then saw the doctor who had been examining her go sprawling across the floor.
Lilia looked up in a daze—only to meet a pair of red eyes.
* * *
Lilia was dragged away without resistance.
The small bag she’d managed to bring from the mansion dropped to the floor. Lilia tried to fight but Cassis was faster.
“It’s been a while, Sister.”
“Cassis!”
“So, after all that effort, you ended up here?”
Lilia clenched her jaw as her brother blocked her path. Memories of that awful night came rushing back, and fear welled up inside her.
When Cassis took a step toward her, she lashed out wildly.
A loud smack echoed.
“Ow, that actually hurt.”
Unable to hold back, Lilia hit him again. Another sharp slap turned Cassis’s head. He slowly straightened and stepped closer.
“Finished?”
“Why did you come after me? I— I left, just like you wanted!”
But Cassis only shot back with a question.
“Who was that man?”
Who was the bastard who dared to touch his precious sister’s forehead? Cassis tried to sweep Lilia’s bangs aside with his fingers.
But she flinched away, recoiling from his touch, and Cassis reluctantly let his hand drop.
“Why do you care?”
“How do I know Sister is not carrying his child—”
Smack.
“…That one really stung.”
“You’re insane.”
When Cassis’s eyes snapped wide open, those red irises burned. Lilia shrank back.
“If hitting me helps, go ahead. This might be your last act of resistance.”
“I’m not going with you. I won’t go back to the mansion.”
“So what then? Planning to run after that man?”
Lilia knew it was better not to provoke Cassis when he was this far gone, but at this point, there was nothing else she could do. So she just blurted out whatever came to mind.
“What does it matter to you?”
“…You’re right. It shouldn’t matter. Soon a dead person anyway.”
“W-what? Are you going to kill me?”
“No. Not you—the bastard.”
Lilia gasped and frantically shook her hand.
“He has nothing to do with this! He just helped because I was sick!”
“It doesn’t matter.”
The fact that another man had touched you was reason enough, Cassis said in a cold voice.
Even as Cassis drew closer, Lilia just stood there, numb.
“Anyone who helped you will be punished.”
“Why?”
“Because they tried to take what’s mine.”
With empty eyes, Lilia looked up at the man who used to be her brother. When she finally found her voice, it came out almost as a sob.
“Why am I yours?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he gave her a small push, sending her tumbling onto the shabby bed.
Lilia looked up at the man looming over her. Black hair, gem-like eyes, that cold and expressionless face—he really was handsome.
If only he weren’t her brother, she might have fallen for him at least once.
“I never imagined I’d set foot in a filthy place like this.”
“Then you can leave.”
But Cassis simply buried his face against her neck. His breath on her skin made Lilia shudder.
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