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Chapter : 18
Loraina had disappeared.
It was a short, blunt statement—nothing more to explain—but to Leonard, it was anything but simple.
Anxiety surged at the unexpected situation. Still, instead of showing it, Leonard stopped a servant who was passing in front of the drawing room.
It was possible she had merely stepped out briefly; he shouldn’t jump to conclusions.
“Where is Lady Amelio?”
“Uh, I—I believe she was in the drawing room….”
Sensing the ominous air, the servant flinched as he answered, then trailed off.
Through the open door, he had seen that the drawing room was empty.
“…I-I’m not sure. She didn’t say anything about going out.”
“……”
“I’ll hurry and ch-check—”
“Make it quick.”
The moment the order was given, the servant hurried out of Leonard’s sight.
Leonard wanted to search himself, but that wasn’t an option.
He had just seized the throne through rebellion.
He wasn’t foolish enough not to know how it would look for someone like that to be rummaging through a noble family’s estate.
So Leonard waited quietly for the servant, forcing down the strangely swelling unease.
The servant returned just as Leonard had gone through hundreds of thoughts and finally decided he might have to do something foolish.
“I—it seems she’s gone out. We searched all the places she usually goes, but she wasn’t there.”
Gone out? At a time like this? Leaving without a word when a guest had come—completely unlike Loraina.
And hadn’t he clearly told her earlier that the conversation wasn’t over and that she should wait?
“Then she must’ve said where she was going. Is there anyone who knows?”
“N-no, there isn’t.”
“……So Lady Amelio must often go out secretly?”
“N-no. I don’t recall that ever happening.”
Not only did Loraina not go out secretly—she rarely went out at all.
If there was something that needed doing, she sent servants in her place. If she had to go herself, she always went with an escort knight and informed others where she was going.
Leonard, who had stayed at the Amelio estate four years ago, knew that well.
“Then why do you think she went out? You haven’t searched everywhere, have you?”
“Well, that is….”
The servant hesitated, glancing at Leonard, then clenched his trembling hands and spoke.
“Someone said they saw the young lady leaving with her personal maid, carrying a large bag….”
“Kellion.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
At Leonard’s sudden call, a knight appeared behind him—the same one who had spoken about Loraina earlier.
From the moment he heard the servant’s words, Leonard had only one thought. The last things he’d said to her kept echoing in his mind.
‘We’re not done talking yet. We’ll talk again later.’
‘Don’t run away. Stay here.’
Had Loraina even replied to that last line? Leonard scoffed softly at the thought.
What right did he have to keep her there? When, if she wanted to leave, he had been prepared to let her go without protest.
Still, no matter what, Leonard had to see Loraina and talk to her.
Why he had come here. Why he needed her.
At the very least, he had to say that much.
“Find her. If she’s running away, inform me the moment you confirm her location.”
“Yes, understood.”
“And if she’s in danger—”
Leonard stopped mid-sentence. An unreadable light flickered through his red eyes.
“No. I’ll go myself. That’ll be faster.”
“Your Majesty?”
Before the knight could stop him, Leonard turned away. His movements betrayed an urgency he couldn’t hide.
And with every step he took, that feeling only grew.
Leonard didn’t yet understand his own heart. But that didn’t mean this situation felt insignificant to him.
From the moment he met Loraina’s gaze again, he knew better than anyone that he’d been acting unlike himself.
Where should I even look…?
He was anxious. And pathetically so.
Despite believing he knew Loraina fairly well, he couldn’t think of a single place to check first if she went out.
He regretted leaving earlier over something as trivial as the spy issue—something that could have waited.
If Loraina really had run away…
“…Will I never see her again?”
He murmured in a hollow voice, unaware of it himself.
Just then, a loud clatter came from the ceiling, and a ladder dropped down before his eyes.
Before he could even look up in surprise, something fell from above, lightly bonking his head before landing on the floor.
Stunned, Leonard stared blankly at the ground.
“…A letter?”
Yes, that square green envelope was definitely a letter. But why was a letter falling from the sky?
For a brief moment he wondered what it might be, but that wasn’t important right now. It didn’t matter at all.
Creeeak.
At the unfamiliar sound from above, Leonard lifted his head.
First he saw sky-blue shoes with rounded toes. Then a skirt hem trimmed densely with silk lace.
Slender white fingers holding a bag stuffed full of something. And finally, shoulders that felt both familiar and strangely unfamiliar—small and delicate.
When his gaze rose just a little more, Leonard met a pair of round eyes.
Perhaps the vivid blue he had been desperately searching for.
“Ah.”
Loraina let out a small exclamation and brushed back the hair that had fallen forward.
Her eyes, darting about in surprise, soon softened and curved into a gentle smile.
“…Um, could you pick up that letter for me?”
Ha ha ha.
At her awkward laughter, Leonard bent down. His fingertips touched the edge of the letter on the floor.
He clenched and unclenched his trembling fingers once, then picked it up.
Along with his own heart, which he hadn’t realized had fallen and been rolling on the ground all this time.
…What on earth is going on?
Caught in a situation I never expected, I couldn’t bring myself to speak and only darted my eyes around.
I’d stepped away for just a moment, yet somehow the atmosphere had become like this.
Leonard, whom I ran into while coming down from the attic, had worn a strangely sharp expression the entire time until we returned to the drawing room.
He kept letting out deep, heavy sighs, and every time he did, I flinched.
…Isn’t it kind of unfair for someone who just staged a rebellion to look like that? I’m an extra whose life is already hanging by a thread, you know.
And even if I knew Leonard was Zen, this appearance still made him feel like a stranger—it was our first meeting like this, after all.
Should I apologize first?
Yes. Even if I had my reasons, leaving without a word while a guest was present was my fault.
I cautiously watched Leonard’s mood, then quickly bowed my head.
The pressure radiating from him was no joke.
It was sharp enough to cut, suffocating—I felt like something truly bad would happen if this continued.
Apologize. Now.
After quietly taking a deep breath, I opened my mouth to apologize.
“Um, Leonard.”
It was softer than I expected, but Leonard lifted his head immediately, as if he’d been waiting for it.
Feeling a little embarrassed, I cleared my throat again and continued.
“Are you very angry? I’m sorry. I had a good reason for stepping away—”
As I spoke, carefully watching his reaction, Leonard asked,
“Am I angry?”
“…Aren’t you?”
When I tilted my head in confusion, Leonard let out a quiet sigh.
What is it now? And that wasn’t even my point. The point wasn’t ‘you’re angry’—it was ‘I had a reason.’
Please focus on the latter.
Of course, I couldn’t actually say that, so I closed my mouth and smiled politely.
Leonard looked at me for a moment, then shook his head.
“I’m not angry.”
“Then what?”
“Do you really not know why you’re asking—”
He stopped mid-sentence, as if realizing something. A faint sigh followed.
“That’s not something I should be saying.”
“……”
“So why did you suddenly go to the attic?”
“Oh, that’s because—”
Relieved by the sudden change of topic, I brought over a bag.
It was the bag I’d taken from the attic earlier—the reason I’d had to leave.
“Because of this.”
With that, I tipped the bag over and spilled its contents.
Inside were letters, identical to the one that had fallen in front of Leonard earlier.
Caught by a slight breeze, the loose papers floated briefly before settling across the floor.
Leonard’s brow furrowed as he scanned the letters now covering the ground.
It was because of the name written on every single one.
“…Enoch Odelia Defron.”
“Um, could you listen to what I have to say first?”
Sensing the shift in the air, I hurriedly spoke.
Please listen to the end. I’m not done yet.
I didn’t expect him to look like that.
Sure, it was understandable for him to be upset since I’d left without a word. But I hadn’t had a choice.
Letters exchanged with Enoch—the ‘former crown prince’ who could contribute to a dead ending—were better kept out of sight.
That was why I’d stored them in the attic, a place I rarely visited. For secrecy’s sake, only Mary and I knew about it.
And there was no way I could make Mary carry all that by herself, so of course I had to go with her.
I’d planned to go quietly to avoid causing a fuss.
I never imagined it would turn into this. The large bag I’d taken to carry the letters must have been the problem.
“Well, um, for now, please read the letters. Just a few should be enough.”
“Loraina.”
Leonard lifted his gaze from the letters and looked at me. His eyes seemed oddly hurt, making me flinch.
“If you have something to say, just say it. Don’t beat around the bush.”
“……”
“These things right in front of me—I’m holding myself back from tearing them all apart.”
It wasn’t an empty threat. The back of his hand gripping the armrest had gone white. At this rate, the chair might actually break.
I guess I have no choice but to say it directly.
Leonard was misunderstanding my relationship with Enoch. He probably suspected I’d already chosen Enoch’s side.
I thought letting him read the letters would be the fastest way to clear it up.
But asking him to read them had apparently caused another misunderstanding instead.
If this keeps up, I might really die just like in the original story.
This couldn’t be the end.
I hadn’t dragged myself up to the attic I hated so much for this.
“Leonard… are you thinking this because you believe I’m going to marry Enoch?”
Startled by my bluntness, Leonard flinched. Then, just as expected, came his reply.
“So you’re saying that’s not the case?”
“Of course not! I haven’t even seen him in four years!”
“But the letter that came to the imperial palace clearly said—”
So he’d seen the letter I sent to the emperor—no, to Isaac.
My luck really was terrible. Of all the timing.
“If I refused to go to the palace, he said he’d come here. What was I supposed to do? I just said that for now and planned to talk it out together once Enoch returned.”
“……”
“If you read the letters, you’ll see there’s nothing special in them. It’s just everyday correspondence.”
I spread my arms wide, inviting him to look as much as he wanted.
Of course, I knew it wasn’t proper to show someone else’s letters like this.
Enoch, I’m sorry. But I have to survive somehow.
Contrary to my expectation, though, Leonard didn’t even look at the letters anymore.
No—more accurately, he turned his gaze away as if he couldn’t stand the sight of them.
Still, my explanation seemed to have had some effect. The sharp edge in the air around him had softened somewhat.
“But then, why did you really go to the attic?”
“I told you. I went to get the letters.”
Why was he asking again?
“Are you still not convinced? Then I can show you something else—”
“No, that’s not it.”
Leonard stopped me hastily. After hesitating for a moment, he asked,
“Don’t you hate going to the attic to the point of shuddering?”
“Yes. I hate it. A lot.”
“Then why did you do it?”
He looked unusually tense as he asked.
Seeing the strange urgency on his face, I replied calmly,
“Because I hate being misunderstood by you even more.”
