Chapter 240: Get Out
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 240: Get Out
The shock left Loik’s entire body frozen.
Annette rejected me?
The finger currently pressed against his lips was an unmistakable sign of refusal.
“Are you awake?”
Annette blinked her sapphire-blue eyes as if trying to shake off the remnants of sleep.
“…Yes, Annette.”
Loik answered in a strained voice, struggling to push back the wave of sorrow crashing over him.
“Then I’ll turn on the light.”
Soon, a magic crystal lantern illuminated the room. Her soft hand moved carefully, checking his forehead, his cheeks, and even the nape of his neck.
“Does it hurt anywhere?”
“Are you really alright? I performed some healing while you were asleep, but… tell me if you feel even the slightest bit of pain.”
“I’m perfectly fine, thanks to your care, Annette.”
Even as he spoke, his heart kept sinking. It wasn’t his imagination. Though he tried his best to meet her eyes, Annette avoided his gaze even as she fussed over him.
He was just about to ask if something was wrong when she spoke.
“Then, would you like to sit up for a moment?”
Unlike her usual self, her tone was strangely cold. Loik, not knowing what to do, sat up in bed.
“You’re thirsty, aren’t you?”
Despite her coldness, Annette kindly brought a glass of water to his lips. Loik held onto her hand tightly, drinking the water like a baby bird. He moved his throat as slowly as possible, trying to hold her attention for just a moment longer.
However, the moment he finished, her heartless hand pulled away.
Clack. Annette set the glass down on the bedside table and sat up straight at the edge of the bed. There was no sign that she intended to embrace him again.
“Annette… are you perhaps angry?”
Loik, fidgeting and reading her expression, finally asked cautiously. Instead of answering, Annette cast her eyes down frostily.
“Did you do something to make me angry?”
Only then did Loik realize the gravity of the situation.
Annette knows everything.
He had suddenly vomited blood and fallen unconscious; she must have been terrified. In the end, the knights must have let their tongues wag.
“Tell me, Loik. What did you do while I was away?”
His heart shriveled at her icy voice. He had to choose his words carefully. The atmosphere surrounding Annette was ominous. Just as Loik awkwardly parted his dry lips to speak—
“…Shall I say it for you?”
Annette took a deep breath and let the words pour out.
“You tricked me into going to the capital, and not content with that, you crawled into a dragon’s lair to fight it. Then you were carried out by your knights after nearly dying. Is that right?”
Loik’s mouth hung open like a fool’s.
“If there’s anything wrong in what I just said, tell me.”
To be honest, nothing she said was factually incorrect, but wasn’t the phrasing a bit too harsh?
“It wasn’t so much tricking you as it was…”
“As it was?”
“I was worried you’d be concerned.”
At those words, Annette bit her lip as if she couldn’t believe her ears.
“So you thought I wouldn’t be concerned about you nearly dying while fighting a dragon?”
“I wasn’t nearly killed!” Loik protested urgently. “I clearly had the upper hand in that fight—!”
“It’s a miracle you lost. Otherwise, I might never have seen my husband’s face again.”
She heard about that, too.
Loik shut his mouth. Seeing Annette’s face flush a deep red, it was clear she wasn’t just a little angry—she was furious.
“In any case, that means everything I heard is true, doesn’t it?”
Somehow, it felt like the more he made excuses, the more he fueled her rage.
“Annette, I was wrong.”
Changing tactics, Loik quickly begged for forgiveness.
“I won’t do it again.”
“Do you truly think you were wrong?”
Fearing it would look like backtalk if he spoke, he kept his lips pressed tight and nodded vigorously.
“Then get out.”
“…What?”
“I’m too angry to be in the same room as you, Loik. Get out.”
Annette pointed a firm finger toward the bedroom door. Loik, blinking in disbelief, was eventually driven out of the bed. Pushed along by her sharp gaze, he gripped the doorknob, hesitated, and asked softly.
“How long should I stay out?”
“Thirty minutes?”
“An hour?”
“Should I come back once you’ve fallen asleep, Annette?”
Annette, her face boiling with frustration, finally let out a shout.
“I’m not sleeping with you tonight!”
“What? No, I don’t want that!”
Loik looked like he was about to cry. He had finally been able to be with her after several days. This felt like far too harsh a punishment.
“Get out before I get even angrier.”
But Annette was firmer than he expected.
“Can’t I at least sleep on the sofa?”
Even drooping his eyes and putting on a pitiful expression was useless.
“Then what about tomorrow? We’ll sleep together tomorrow, right?”
In the end, Annette stood up from the bed and personally shoved him out of the room.
Expelled into the cold hallway, Loik stood there for a moment, denying reality. He hoped that Annette might soften her heart and reopen the door, but the firmly shut door showed no sign of budging.
Resigned, Loik slumped down in front of the door.
“Your Highness, why are you sitting here?”
A moment later, Whitley, who was passing through the hallway, spotted him and ran over with wide eyes.
“…I was kicked out.”
A self-deprecating voice escaped his lips before he could stop it. Whitley’s lips twitched at the blunt admission, and he quickly averted his gaze.
“I will prepare the room next door.”
“Forget it.”
It was unthinkable to sleep comfortably in the next room while Annette was angry.
“The hallway is cold.”
“And your body hasn’t fully recovered yet…”
Whitley tried to dissuade him again, but eventually backed down at Loik’s stubborn expression.
“I will dismiss the servants from this area.”
It was a gesture to save the Grand Duke’s dignity by preventing the maids from passing by.
Honestly, you should have told her before you left.
Whitley muttered under his breath as if scolding him before turning to disappear. Listening to the old butler’s sigh-filled grumbling, Loik leaned helplessly against the door.
It was a very sorrowful night.
* * *
“Hurry up and knock!”
“What if the lady-in-waiting doesn’t like it?”
Perel, who was heading to his own room, stopped when he spotted young maids bickering near Cecilia’s room.
“What are you doing here?”
At Perel’s voice, the maids jumped in surprise, their faces flushing.
“Chief Aide.”
Looking closely, each of the maids was clutching the same book to their chest. It was the standalone volume of Cecil’s Recipe, which had recently been published as a collection of monthly pamphlets.
“Are you here to see Lady Cecilia?”
Among the hesitating maids, one who seemed particularly bold spoke up.
“We were wondering if we could get an autograph from her.”
It was a familiar sight to Perel. Even at the Grand Duke’s Castle, there wasn’t a single maid who hadn’t received an autograph from Cecilia.
“But why are you standing out here? Is she not in her room?”
At Perel’s question, a hesitant maid confessed in a tiny voice that they ‘hadn’t decided who would knock yet.’
“We were worried she might find it unpleasant…”
Unpleasant? Lady Cecilia?
Where on earth did they get that idea about such a bright and cheerful person? Moreover, she was famous for being as informal with the maids as the Consort was.
“The lady-in-waiting seems so refined and quiet, so if she dislikes this sort of thing…”
“We won’t get in a lot of trouble, will we?”
“But I really want her autograph.”
Perel furrowed his brows at the maids’ absurd worries, but then he realized the reason. Unlike the Grand Duke’s Castle, the maids at the townhouse were seeing Cecilia for the first time, so it wasn’t entirely unreasonable for them to find her difficult to approach.
Come to think of it, she had changed a lot since she started receiving etiquette lessons from Countess Asellino. These days, she didn’t come up with eccentric plans like she used to. Nor did she say strange things that left Perel flustered.
…I don’t like it.
He didn’t know what the problem was, but for some reason, he didn’t feel very pleasant about it.
It was not long ago, when they were traveling up to the capital together. While they were resting outdoors, Cecilia had been playing around, rolling up fallen leaves. She looked so peaceful that he was watching her from a distance, when the Countess appeared out of nowhere and tapped Cecilia’s hand to discipline her.
Ever since he witnessed that by chance, Perel had felt uncomfortable around Countess Asellino.
A “Dream Chaperone,” they call her.
Was she planning to turn the young lady into a doll under the guise of teaching etiquette?
It’s her own choice, so it’s not my place to interfere, but…
Perel swallowed a sigh. The Consort’s lady-in-waiting had nearly faced a terrible ordeal today. The shock might have been great, and she might need rest.
But if it’s Lady Cecilia, she might actually be happy to have the maids visit.
“I’ll knock for you.”
He knocked on behalf of the tense maids, but Cecilia was not in her room. The maids left, unable to hide their disappointment.
Where did she go at this hour?
Feeling strangely worried, Perel went down to the lobby, where he happened to run into Cecilia just as she was coming in from outside.
“Where have you been?”
“I heard Countess Asellino was startled by the news.”
Cecilia, her nose red from the cold wind, walked up the stairs.
“I went to see her for a moment because I was worried she might be anxious.”
If she was that worried, she should have come herself.
Why was she making a young lady who had just gone through a major incident come and go? Regardless, she was an unpleasant woman.
“I will escort you to your room.”
Cecilia was just about to decline, saying her room was right there, when Perel reflexively grabbed the end of her sleeve.
“Lady Cecilia, what is this?”