Chapter 60
“…”
Theodore lowered his gaze, his trembling eyes hidden beneath a curtain of silver lashes like a quaking aspen.
He’d been found out.
The shameful desire he’d most wanted to keep hidden had been laid bare before her.
As he remained silent, eyes downcast, Daphne’s expression grew visibly harder. She crossed her arms and pressed him again.
“Theodore.”
Her voice was laced with unwavering resolve. She demanded an answer — an explanation for this bizarre and grotesque room. And that was precisely why Theodore could not speak.
How could he? No matter what he said, it wouldn’t reach her.
With such damning evidence before her, any truth he offered would sound like nothing more than a sick excuse, the delusions of a depraved stalker. He knew it. She knew it.
So what was there to say, even if he had ten mouths?
‘Holy Father…’
She would never understand why he had done this — why, even knowing it was wrong, he had not been able to stop.
‘If she hates me…’
If those beautiful turquoise eyes were to look upon him with contempt, he didn’t think he could go on breathing.
That’s how tightly strung he was. The blade-sharp glare had already made his palms clammy with sweat.
“When exactly did all of this start?”
“…”
“Not going to say anything?”
Daphne sighed as she looked at Theodore, who still couldn’t bring himself to meet her eyes.
‘I didn’t think he’d be this speechless.’
She had expected him to push back like he did in the shed. She thought he’d accuse her instead — demand to know how she even got in here, flipping the blame without shame. She never imagined he’d just sit there, paralyzed, frightened, and completely lost. He appeared so scared and helpless…
The sort of look that made her resolve waver.
“Haa…”
Flinch.
At her sigh, his large frame gave a visible jolt. His head bowed low, as if he knew full well he had done wrong. He looked just like a frightened child caught in the act.
‘Not that any child would have a body like that.’
Daphne never pretended to be a proper lady. She was raised in the streets and was often late to her liturgical studies. Even so, she knew enough to understand that this wasn’t normal. Gathering someone else’s belongings and putting them on display like this? That wasn’t something a normal person brushed off.
This was pxrversion. And it shouldn’t be excused.
But still, seeing that beautiful face so pale, trembling like a leaf… It was hard not to feel her heart soften, just a little.
‘Get a grip, Daphne! It doesn’t matter how pretty he is; you’re not going to be swayed by that.’
Steeling herself again, she looked around the room. No matter how many times she saw it, the sheer scale of the collection was absurd. Even setting aside how he’d managed to gather all of this, the fact that the entire room was filled with items she thought she’d lost would be enough to send any sane person running.
“I never imagined Your Eminence would use the inner sanctuary for something so… personal.”
Daphne made sure her voice was cold.
“And those things — those are all items I lost. What happened to following the Father’s commandment not to steal?”
Wiping her forehead in disbelief, Daphne turned away.
“This isn’t something I can simply overlook. I’m going to report this to the College of Cardinals.”
“…No, please, no!”
Thud!
Theodore, who had been pale and silent until now, suddenly dropped to his knees and grabbed her wrist.
“W-What…!”
“I didn’t steal them…!”
Startled, Daphne tried to shake his hand off, but Theodore cried out in a desperate voice. When she winced from the strength of his grip, he quickly let go. Yet he still clung to the hem of her skirt, as if trying to keep her from turning away completely.
“I… I didn’t steal anything.”
“Wait.”
“I just… I only gathered the things you dropped… things you no longer needed!”
He pleaded with her, insisting that he had merely picked up what she had lost. The coming-of-age dress, the undergarment that had flown away in the wind, the handkerchief that had vanished one day…
He claimed he had kept them only because they were things Daphne had lost or discarded, because she didn’t need them anymore.
“They had no more use to you… so wasn’t it no trouble… if I kept them…?”
His voice was nearly a whimper, and Daphne felt a headache coming on.
So what he meant was… because they were no longer of use to their original owner, he thought it was fine to take them?
“Did it never occur to you to return them to me?”
Rubbing her temple, Daphne looked at him, and Theodore averted his gaze. His tear-brimmed golden eyes flickered uneasily.
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