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Translator and Editor: Lea and Aki

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Chapter 23

‘The thing that happened 10 years ago…..’

Ian seemed to have already noticed a little, but he didn’t know the whole story.

The first thing he would know is that she was the daughter of a murderer. She hated herself for not being able to clear her mother’s name yet.

‘Where did it go wrong?’

All kinds of thoughts crossed through her mind, but she could find no answer. Her arms and feet were trembling, and she felt weak. She took long shuddering breaths as if her lungs had forgotten to draw in air and something heavy was pressing against her chest. She felt like a fugitive in an instant.

“What? Still trying to endure through your relationship with him?”“No.”“The Marquis gave the murderer’s child such a good commandment, I assume? What do you think he’ll do when he gets to know about you?”“……What-do-you-want?”“Accept the contract of guardianship. Politely return to Carleva and stay beside me.”

His rough hand lifted her face, holding her chin between his thumb and index finger. She had no choice but to glare at him. His eyes reflected back her small, shaking figure.

“Never.”

As she forcefully stuttered out, his expression got grimly distorted. When she tried to turn away from him, he violently grabbed her by the cheek, turning her face back to him.

“You think you have a choice? Because of you, I…..!”

His breathing became heavy. She didn’t even want to know what happened to the man who fell silent all of a sudden.

His hand, which was covering April’s cheek, seemed to travel down to her slender neck and eventually, gripped it.

“Come back, April. Come back to me!”“N-No……I don’t…..want to die.….with you. Kyaack!”“Why?! Why did you run away from me?!”“You let me….go. Didn’t you?”“That’s–!”

She struggled to get out of his grasp, but she was no stronger than a trained man.

His fingers pressed harder on her throat, which slowly drew out the air left in her, leaving her suffocated, nauseated, and teary. Her face seemed to swell up under the pressure.

‘Mother……’

When her vision was about to fade into nothingness, the wooden door broke open with a loud ‘thud’. Carl reflexively looked back.

A dark silhouette, a little smaller than Ian’s, appeared at the door.

“Ha!”

As Carl released his grip from her throat, cool air filled up her lungs. The shock caused her to fall to the floor along with the chair.

Agitated, she violently coughed up, trying to recover her senses.

“Hey, who are you?!”

Drawing his sword from its sheath, Carl attacked the man, but it was useless. The man grabbed his sword, blocking the attack and twisting Carl’s arm.

“Argh!”“I’m afraid there’s something missing in you.”

Carl, struggling under the pain of his arm being strangled, collapsed on the spot when the man hit his vital point hard. But, April couldn’t be relieved at all.

“Miss April.”

The man walked to her side, pulling out his dagger and cutting all the complicated knots of her bounds. She quivered, sitting up weakly. Red bruises already tainted her thin wrists and ankles.

“The Marquis is waiting.”

She looked up at him weakly, rubbing her numb hands together. A man with very short shaved black hair and muddy eyes, of course, was a stranger to her.

“W-Who are you?”“Ah, pardon me for the late introduction. I’m Yuri Gray, Deputy Commander of the Reykis Army.”

As the word ‘Reykis’ fell from his lips, she collapsed to the ground. He hastily pulled her up.

“Are you all right, Miss?”“Yes, I’m okay.”

Whatever her situation was, she was relieved that she could go back to a familiar place. But at the same time, she felt anxious about things getting changed.

Yuri supported April, who was struggling with such complex emotions, and safely took her to the Marquis.

***

The deep darkness of the night had already crawled in when the two arrived. On their way, April figured she was being dragged to the outskirts of the capital. The detached annex was covered in complete darkness except for her room.

When Yuri stepped in with April, Leonore hurried to help her get into her room. The maid laid April on her warm bed, took off her shoes, and covered her with a blanket.

“Drink some water, Miss.”

Weakly lifting her head and holding the glass with trembling hands, she swallowed on the liquid. She wanted to thank her, but words decided not to escape from her dry throat.

“You didn’t have dinner, did you, Miss? I’ll get you something.”“N-No.”

As Leonore was turning around, April grabbed her skirt with her weak hand and shook her head. The maid turned to her, seemingly worried. After silently watching the scene, Yuri excused himself and descended down the stairs of the house.

“Yuri.”

As a quiet voice called him, Yuri turned to face the man emerging from a pitch black region. Under the stairs leading to the second floor, Ian stood, his arms crossed over his chest. His expression was very dark and grim.

“It was like an abduction. It was the guy with short blonde hair and a scar on his cheek. I followed him, and it seemed he was acting alone.”“Carl……”

Ian murmured the name of the man that immediately crossed his mind. But, he was more concerned about April than his anger.

“How is she doing?”“I don’t think she’s fine. She just had a sip of water, and she refused to eat.”

Ian gnashed on his teeth to the point where his jaw muscles twitched.

Yuri could easily interpret the rage in his eyes. It was the same look he gave when he wanted to trample upon his enemies on a battlefield.

That expression had never been seen outside the battlefield.

“What does she mean to you, Marquis?”

The question remained unanswered. Though a storm began stirring inside him on the fact that she almost lost her life, Ian could not tell anyone what he felt.

“Anyway, what shall we do with him?”“Leave him alone. I’ll take care of him myself.”

And then, with a flip of his heel, he strode to the second floor and stood in front of April’s room. The door was half open, and Leonore was seen sitting by the bedside. As Ian gave a small knock, the maid quickly got up and opened the door.

“She can’t talk, she just shakes her head whenever I offer her something to eat. I brought medicine for her wounds, but…..”“I’ll do it.”“Pardon?”“Come on.”

He snatched the bottle from her hands, gestured her to leave, and carefully entered April’s room. He locked the door, closed the window, and drew the white curtains to prevent the darkness and coldness from seeping inside. Then, he moved to sit on the chair beside the bed.

“April.”

He swallowed hard on the dry lump forming in his throat as his eyes drifted to the shivering frame of April. He decided not to express his anger before her, who was already startled by his presence.

“I’m so sorry. I should’ve kept you here.”“…..The Marquis shouldn’t be the one to apologize.”

She replied in a hoarse voice. Ian shook his head as she tried to lift the quilt to sit up.

“Here, give me your hand.”

He gently held one of her hands that was slightly peeking out of her blanket and began dabbing the cotton, which was dipped in the said medicine, lightly over her bruises. He did not care how his hands tingled as they touched her smooth skin.

“Ah…..!”

She winced every time his fingers swept past the wounds. As expected of the tight knots, the wounds were much deeper.

“Won’t you ask me anything?”“I heard some from Yuri. It was the knight from the house of Liszt.”

Closing the lid and putting the bottle of medicine aside, he silently looked down at her. She stared at him for a moment, then forced herself to sit up and meet him at his eye level.

“Keep lying–”“You can just break our contract or get rid of me, Marquis. But, please don’t hand me over to them. I beg of you.”“What do you mean? Why would I hand you over? And, why would I get rid of you in the first place?”“You’ve come to know about me, about my past.”

She bit on her lips, silently brooding over Carl’s words. However, Ian only frowned at her as if he didn’t understand what she just said.

“What does it have to do with me? If I cared about that, I would’ve done a thorough check on your background even before I made the contract.”

Ian said in correspondence with his usual attitude, grateful that he didn’t accidentally express his feelings. It made him feel as though he was back where he really needed to be.

“April, you can use this contract as a fence to protect yourself.”“How can I—?”“It’s the duty of an employer. A good employer never wants his people to be ruined by others.”

Ian was adamant. Determined, his words seemed like an order of infinite trust and close consideration.

April thought this would be the right moment to set the route of their relationship before she could spend a longer time with him, so she forced her lips open, uttering the truth she thought she’d never tell anyone else.

“My name is April Witzer.”“Witzer? If you’re a Witzer, then…….!”“I am the daughter of a murder, a fugitive from Carleva. And, the heiress to the land they’re yearning to possess.”

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