Chapter 114
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Chapter 114
"I intend to send Lucella and Lucian to a place from which they can never return. But must Edwin be involved in this? It would only complicate matters."
The Mysterious Man placed his hands on both of Edwin's shoulders.
"All you need do is hold your tongue. Pretend your leg hurts and say you'll stay home. That's all there is to it."
"But...."
"Amelia."
At the mention of that name, Edwin's shoulders tensed.
"If you remain silent, you can have both the position of family head and Amelia, whom you love so dearly."
"...."
"But if you reveal the secret we share, you'll gain nothing. You might even lose what you already possess."
Edwin's pupils trembled at the Mysterious Man's words.
The family he'd worked so hard to obtain, precious Amelia.
He couldn't bear to lose the most important things in his life.
The Mysterious Man withdrew his hands from Edwin's shoulders. In the distance, the Tutor was returning with the Physician.
"I do hope you'll consider what the right course of action truly is."
With that admonishing remark, the Mysterious Man vanished in an instant.
"Young Master, are you all right?"
Soon the Tutor and Physician came rushing over and stopped before Edwin.
"We heard you fell hard on your backside."
"Are you injured anywhere else?"
Edwin opened his mouth as he met the concerned gazes of two pairs of eyes fixed upon him.
"My leg seems to hurt a bit...."
* * *
The time I'd arranged with Claude had arrived. I brought the prepared Lucian downstairs to the first floor of the Bellomen Mansion.
"Where is Edwin?"
"It seems the injured areas are quite painful. He said he'd rest today."
Edwin was a child who couldn't resist Amelia. Yet he was declining to see Amelia and choosing to rest instead.
The Physician had reported there were no serious injuries and there was no need to worry, but one could never be too careful.
Wasn't it always the case that traffic accidents hurt worse the day after the injury?
Unable to suppress my concern, I headed straight to Edwin's room.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Edwin. It's me."
I spoke to the door, but no answer came.
"Are you asleep?"
"...No."
The response came only after a long pause. The door remained closed.
"I thought you might be in considerable pain."
"It's just my leg aching a little. It doesn't hurt much."
"Well, that's a relief, but...."
Edwin's voice lacked its usual strength today.
Were you startled badly when you fell from the horse? Or did something else happen?
"Should I just not go?"
I felt uneasy about leaving a sick child behind.
I could always reschedule the appointment for another time.
"I'm really fine. Please don't worry and go ahead."
Yet Edwin insisted he was well.
"My leg doesn't hurt much, and I'm just tired from the shock, that's all."
"Is that so?"
Since he kept saying he was fine, I had no choice but to relent.
"If you feel any worse, call the Physician right away. Understood?"
"Yes."
"And contact me immediately. I'm worried."
"I will."
Throughout our conversation, Edwin never stepped foot outside his room.
'He must be quite exhausted.'
In the end, I had no choice but to leave the mansion, leaving Edwin behind.
* * *
The carriage carrying Lucian and me raced swiftly toward our meeting place.
"We've arrived."
At the Coachman's announcement, Lucian and I stepped out of the carriage.
"It seems the Duke hasn't arrived yet."
Only our carriage was parked in the lot.
"We must have arrived early."
With that thought, I entered the café building.
"Why is no one here?"
"Indeed."
Strangely, the café was completely empty. Not a single customer, and not even a Waiter in sight.
"Could it be...."
Had he rented out the entire café for me?
While it might seem presumptuous to assume, given Claude's recent behavior, it wasn't entirely impossible.
'This makes it difficult to refuse.'
I sighed deeply and climbed to the second floor of the café where we were supposed to meet. I had no idea what to even say to him.
"Aunt, there's no one on the second floor either."
"I know, so stop running around and sit quietly."
After briefly looking around with curiosity, Lucian promptly sat down beside me.
"Aunt, when is Amelia coming?"
"It's almost time, so she should be here soon."
"I want to drink orange juice."
"Just a moment."
I looked around. Even on the second floor, there was no Waiter to be seen.
At that, I reached over and rang the bell placed at the edge of the table.
Not long after, a neatly dressed Waiter walked toward our table.
"Lucian, you wanted orange juice, didn't you?"
"Yeah. And I want cheesecake too."
"Let's have the drinks first, and we'll share dessert when Amelia arrives."
"Okay."
After gently patting Lucian's head, I turned to address the waiting Waiter.
"One cold orange juice and one warm chamomile tea, please. We'll order the rest once our party arrives."
"Understood."
The Waiter, who had noted the order in his notebook, bowed respectfully.
I continued with a question that had been nagging at me.
"By the way, is it usually empty at this hour?"
The Waiter answered with a good-natured smile.
"One of our guests has rented out the entire shop today."
As I suspected.
"...I see."
Having grasped the situation, I dismissed the Waiter.
Well, I suppose this works out for the best.
It would be far less embarrassing for Claude to be refused when we're alone than in front of a crowd of listeners.
"Aunt, Aunt. What does 'rent out' mean?"
"It means to lease a building."
"So the Marquis rented out this entire building?"
"...Probably."
"Wow, that's amazing!"
While exchanging light conversation with Lucian, the drinks I'd ordered arrived—orange juice with ice floating in it and steaming chamomile tea.
"Looks delicious!"
Lucian began gulping down the juice eagerly. I could see beads of sweat forming at his temples, suggesting he'd been quite warm.
"It was hot, but drinking this is so refreshing!"
"That's why I told you to sit still and stop fidgeting. You'd be so much cooler if you just stayed put."
It was early autumn, after all—cool enough that one could even feel a slight chill.
I wiped away the sweat on Lucian's nape with my handkerchief, then took a sip of my tea.
Perhaps it was the tea's calming properties—my anxiously racing heart seemed to settle.
So effective was it that drowsiness began to overwhelm me.
"Aunt, I'm getting sleepy..."
"Me too... I'm suddenly drowsy."
"I'll just sleep for a moment. Just an hour..."
"Lucian, you can't fall asleep outside..."
That was where it ended.
I couldn't finish my sentence before I sank into a deep slumber.
* * *
"Why hasn't she come?"
Claude furrowed his brow as he stared at the empty seat across from him.
The clock already pointed to one o'clock. Over an hour had passed since the appointed time.
"Did something happen on the way?"
"If that were the case, she would have sent someone immediately. You know how meticulous Sister Lucella is."
"If that's not it, then...."
A sinister thought suddenly crossed Claude's mind, and he bit his lip.
"Could she be rejecting me in this manner?"
Considering how Lucella had refused his gifts until now, it wasn't an impossible scenario.
"Uncle, don't think such dark thoughts. Sister Lucella isn't the kind of person to be so discourteous."
"That's true."
"Rather than continue waiting here, why don't we send someone to the Duke's Mansion? Perhaps the message was delivered incorrectly."
"You're right."
Claude immediately instructed the Guard Knight waiting outside to go to the Bellomen Duchy and return.
"My Lord!"
The knight who had left the café returned to Claude in haste, breathless.
"What is it?"
At this, Claude shot to his feet. A premonition that something had gone wrong struck him like a hammer.
"Miss Rilprey is waiting at Cafe Bonita on the outskirts of the Capital."
"Bonita?"
"Yes. She said you had arranged to meet her there, my Lord."
"I clearly told her to meet me here, at Rosteria."
"All the servants at the Duke's Mansion believed the meeting place was Bonita. Miss Rilprey and the young master left for Bonita some time ago."
"...."
"My Lord?"
"Has there been no contact from Bonita? I've been here for over an hour, so Miss Rilprey must have been waiting for me quite a while as well."
"There was no other message, they said. That's why everyone thought you had safely met them...."
The knight's words trailed off as he sensed the ominous aura emanating from Claude.
"Uncle."
At Amelia's call, Claude shut his eyes tightly.
"I see."
When he opened them again, his gaze had transformed.
"Someone's played a prank on us. How audacious."
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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