The summary of the past week was concise.
“You did fairly well. There was a bit of commotion, but…”
“It would have been perfect if there was no aftermath, uncle.”
Ignoring the slightly irritated tone, Richard kept his gaze fixed on the view in front of him.
A flock of crows was heading towards the horizon in the distance. The sight of their large black wings spread out as they flew was a magnificent sight, even from afar. As his indifferent eyes were tracing their destination, Franz, who had been watching Richard’s broad back, reminded him.
“Uncle, the physician said you shouldn’t be out in the open for too long.”
It wasn’t a genuinely worried statement. The expected response never came. Shrugging his shoulders, Franz added one more comment.
“So I’m free now, right? Since I did as you asked.”
It’s not as if his conscience was bothering him. Thinking of his innocent face made one side of Richard’s chest ache. But what could he do? He hadn’t killed or harmed anyone. And he had clearly tried to give a ‘warning’.
“Give me what I asked for. It’s not a difficult task for you, right uncle?”
“I put it on the top right shelf above the fireplace.”
Slowly turning his body, Richard leaned against the window frame. Even before his illness, he had been an exceptionally aristocratic man, but during his recuperation, he had grown a bit leaner, making his already gloomy and precarious aura more pronounced. Franz, who had jumped up, rummaged through the shelf and found the envelope.
“Thank you, uncle!”
With an excited expression, Franz began to tear open the envelope, only to pause as he realized there was only one sheet inside.
“The promised thing isn’t in here.”
“What?”
Richard tilted his head slightly. His face, calmly spewing lies while fully aware of the situation, was as arrogant and somehow threatening as always. As the baffled Franz struggled to find the words, Richard settled into the familiar armchair in his study, crossing his long legs.
“What I promised was to cover up the incident you caused.”
That was the truth. The paper Franz was holding was a letter Richard Daniel Kensington had written to the headmaster of the school to which he was once indebted, requesting that the punishment be commuted to a commendation, not a suspension.
“But, uncle, you said you’d also give me money to go on vacation for a while.”
“That was just an additional offer, as long as you did well.”
“What did I do wrong?”
“You said something unnecessary.”
“Huh?”
Stunned by the icy remark, the anger on Franz’s face instantly froze. Leaning his elbows on the mahogany desk and interlocking his fingers, Richard fixed him with an indifferent gaze.
“Why did you tell her about my hereditary illness?”
“How did you…!”
“Was it out of some misguided conscience? Or did you think it would be better to run away before the incident blew up?”
A chill ran down his neck. Trembling, Franz struggled to calm his fingertips as he asked hesitantly.
“How…did you know?”
“You didn’t think that you’re the only sly little rat*1T/N: 쥐새끼 (jwi-saekki): literally a rat bastard. It’s slang for a person who is very cunning, shrewd and good at protecting his/her own interests. here now, didn’t you?”
A faint anger could be detected beneath the composed tone.
“…”
“Of course, I didn’t expect you to believe such a pathetic lie.”
Franz swallowed hard.
What he had been instructed to do was merely to ‘stall for time’. Soon, an ‘incident’ would occur, and he just needed to drop a certain remark at the appropriate time.
Though he didn’t know the details, he had an instinctive sense that something was amiss. That’s why he had tried to subtly warn the naive young lady. Little did he expect a gunshot to ring out right then.
“Why are you doing this? What did Charlotte ever do to you, uncle?”
He was a man who had never given his time to anyone but he was oddly obsessed with a certain existence. At first, it was curiosity, then suspicion. Even to the young man, Charlotte Hegel was undoubtedly beautiful. She had the face of a first love from a man’s memory of growing up in the countryside. Her innocent purity was enough to catch the attention of many gentlemen.
“Does that ordinary woman have some kind of value of use?”
But that was not enough. That level of beauty was abundant in high society. The advantage Charlotte Hegel had over the more cultured and refined aristocratic ladies was that she could be easily played with and discarded. So he had not been entirely free of impure thoughts. He had seen his school seniors often toying with and taking maidservants.
If it were just for that reason, it would have been easier to understand his uncle.
However, this strange and twisted obsession was of a kind that could not be explained by that.
“Racking your pathetic brain won’t get you anywhere.”
Unperturbed by his nephew’s defiance, he chuckled deeply.
“That woman is already in my grasp, and if I wish, I can easily break her shallow fear and rationality.”
Franz knew this was no empty boast. In fact, after his return, there had been a young woman who attempted suicide after his persistent courtship. Some lady had even come up and slapped him during a ball after she was coldly refused in a private conversation.
Although the Earl had investigated these unusual incidents, the only thing that came up was that they had simply crossed paths a few times at social events. And after that, the women’s health had gradually declined.
The man before him possessed the power to captivate someone instantly. It wasn’t just his appearance that drew gazes from afar, but a mysterious aura about him. As if some invisible force was moving at his will.
Unbeknownst to himself, Franz had already reached the truth. He stepped closer towards the desk.
“Then why go through all this trouble?”
He shouted forcefully, but soon found himself unable to breathe, like a fish pierced by a spear.
The predatory violet gaze of the beast within the cage swept over the young boy. Cowering under the overwhelming pressure on his shoulders, Franz trembled.
“Why?”
Drawing the word leisurely, as if toying with his prey, the man spoke softly.
“Shall I tell you?”
For a moment, he saw a hallucination—a savage beast crouching in the deep shadows, baring its fangs. The feeling of standing in front of a gun barrel. An urgent warning siren that had never rung before kept blaring in his head. Before he could catch his breath, Franz frantically shook his head.
The heated atmosphere suddenly turned icy cold.
“Leave.”
Only after being dismissed and leaving the room did the youth vomit. His pent-up breath burst out in lumps.
***
The security guard, whose hearing seemed not so good, furrowed his brow as he heard the name again.
“Jamie Linton?”
“Yes. I was told he’d be detained here.”
“He is, but… What’s this about?”
“I just want to visit him for a moment.”
Moistening her parched lips with her tongue, Charlotte gripped the hem of her dress with one hand. The guard found the sight of this young woman suddenly appearing in this bleak temporary prison both suspicious and intriguing.
“Why? Are you acquainted with that person?”
“Well…”
Although Jamie Linton had not yet been tried and sentenced, he was already being treated as a criminal for shooting a prominent figure from the Earl’s family. In cases of heinous crimes, even direct family members were restricted from visiting. His mother, who had come a few days ago, had been chased out after just 30 minutes, and his wife had met the same fate.
“Leave while I’m being nice, miss.”
Curiosity fleeting, the guard quickly regained focus on his duties and firmly rejected Charlotte’s request. After a moment of hesitation, Charlotte presented the bribe she had brought, just in case.
“You always work so hard, sir. This is nothing much, but…”
The guard’s expression softened momentarily. Seizing the opportunity, Charlotte immediately opened the small box’s lid. It was the gloves Felix had once given her. She never thought she’d end up using them this way to give to someone else.
“I’ve never used them. Your wife would be delighted to have them.”
“Hmm…”
Scratching the back of his head, as if savoring the idea, the guard’s expression turned slightly sly.
“So, you’re that kind of woman, aren’t you?”
Before she could even express her confusion, an insulting remark followed.
“You must be Jamie Linton’s ‘mistress’ or something, right?”
Overwhelmed by shame, the tips of her ears flushed scarlet. She wanted to shout that it wasn’t true, but she couldn’t. Interpreting Charlotte’s reddened face as confirmation, the guard grinned.
“You don’t look the type, but you never know with people.”
“…”
“Alright, you seem so desperate that I’ll let you see him just this once. But you have to be out in 15 minutes.”
It was a stingy reward for the bribe she had offered, but she hadn’t planned to stay long anyway.
“Understood. Thank you so much.”
Mustering a faint smile, Charlotte expressed her gratitude.
The reason she had taken the hired carriage all the way here was simple—she needed to find out precisely what had transpired between Richard and Jamie.
At the same time, Jamie Linton clutched the bars with a frantic expression.
“This can’t be happening!”
One of the guards, tired of his constant shouting, clicked his tongue.
“What’s there to complain about? Sounds like it’s your fault, isn’t it?”
“Shut up! You don’t know anything!”
Snapping sharply, Jamie overturned the tray in front of him. It only contained a watery, tasteless porridge for lunch.
“I don’t remember! Why would I have shot that man if I was in my right mind!”
“Oh, come on, you just had a bit to drink, that’s why you don’t remember, right?”
It was true that he had had a drink before going to see that woman with the intention of catching her like a daytime prostitute. But it was only one drink. Even for someone with a strong tolerance, the lapse in his memory made no sense.
Fuming, Jamie eventually slumped down on the makeshift bed. Whenever he tried to retrace his memories, his head throbbed as if something was preventing him from recalling that moment. Only vague snippets would surface, as if something were blocking his recollection.
🍉🍉🍉
