Chapter 31
Killian did exactly that, he abandoned Adelaide.
Detailed reports came in from the servants he had planted in the Eport household, documenting how often Elise visited her. Still, he waited patiently for his birthday.
Only after falling from a great height does one truly understand how much it hurts.
After his birthday, Adelaide would never see Roem or his wife again.
That was the punishment he had decided for daring to give her heart to someone else without his permission. He had done it once before, why wouldn’t he be able to do it again?
Compared to some insignificant minor noble he had once driven out to the border, this would require a bit more care, but it was nothing difficult.
From time to time, letters arrived from Adelaide. They all asked the same thing, when he would come to see her. Each time, Killian replied that it would be difficult, enclosing some trivial gift along with his letter.
Be kind, but never give them what they want most. That was how the Eport family treated Adelaide.
Of course, in their case, it wasn’t that they wouldn’t, but that they couldn’t. Either way, Killian knew exactly how such treatment drove Adelaide into desperation.
And yet, fully aware of it, he deliberately left her alone.
As his birthday drew closer, her letters became more and more desperate. Each time she wrote that she wanted to see him. He would reply, once again, that he couldn’t come.
A crooked smile lingered on his lips as he wrote those replies.
And finally, the day before his birthday arrived.
As expected, another letter came from Adelaide.
[Killi. If you see this letter, could you come and see me, even just for a moment? I have something I really want to give you. And something I need to tell you. I know you’re busy, but I’m asking you like this.]
A quiet chuckle slipped from his lips. Trying to get his attention, was she? And all she could come up with was a birthday present?
And that something to tell him, surely it was just to wish him a happy birthday. In a way, it was a rather cute attempt. But it had worked.
He found himself curious about what she had chosen as a gift for his twentieth birthday.
Originally, he had planned to leave her alone for some time even after Roem departed for Clayton. Only then will he go to see her. But that earnest little letter softened his mood.
He glanced at the clock. Two in the afternoon.
Roem and Elise would be boarding a ship for Clayton at dawn tomorrow. Though he hadn’t managed to send them away before his birthday as planned, by the time he woke up tomorrow, Adelaide would once again be alone. Waiting for him. Thinking only of him. A docile, isolated creature.
As a twentieth birthday gift, nothing could be more perfect.
‘…Maybe I’ll go see her once.’
He had intended to thoroughly correct her behavior, but comforting Adelaide after she fell into despair from losing her brother and his wife wasn’t such a bad option either.
Now that everyone—even her family—was leaving her, she would have no choice but to cling to him even more. Imagining her grabbing onto his sleeve like a lifeline, carefully watching his every expression, afraid of upsetting him, only made his mood improve further.
Killian set down his pen on the documents he had been reviewing.
“I’ll be stepping out for a while. Make preparations. Send word to the Eport estate in advance that I’ll be visiting.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The attendant waiting in the corner bowed deeply.
Left alone, Killian gazed out the window. The sky was thick with dark clouds.
It looked like rain, or perhaps snow, would soon pour down.
* * *
A reply had come.
Adelaide, who had been anxiously fearing it would once again say he couldn’t meet her, visibly brightened.
Letting out a deep breath, she looked toward the package placed on her dressing table.
Last year, for her birthday, Killian had given her a beautiful brooch. A rose-shaped brooch made of black gemstones. At a glance, it looked incredibly expensive.
But he had said it was only imitation jewelry.
“Do you really think someone who hasn’t even come of age would give such an expensive gift? What exactly are you expecting from a young boy, Lady Eport?”
Teasing her, he had asked if she even knew how much a real diamond like that would cost.
Remembering that moment, a small smile unconsciously spread across Adelaide’s face.
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