90. Injured Leg

My face flushed with embarrassment.

I had made a clumsy lie, but I didn’t expect it to be caught so quickly. Moreover, I hadn’t anticipated that he would actually come down to this abandoned estate himself.

When I entered the mansion, I had completely forgotten that I had written a letter about injuring my foot.

If he was going to check personally, I should have at least wrapped it in a bandage. Or maybe I should have had Suren help me in.

The Butler had backed up my story, but anyone could see that my legs were perfectly fine.

I wiggled my toes awkwardly, then quickly tucked my feet under my skirt. My shoes were damp from the dew.

“It looks fine on the outside, but it’s not fully healed yet.”

“And someone with an injury like that climbs a mountain?”

“…I was just feeling cooped up staying inside.”

His piercing gaze bore into me. I managed to stammer out an excuse.

“I only walked a little. I felt I should check on the estate.”

“Why would you?”

“Because of the severe drought.”

“And why would that concern you? From what the Butler tells me, you’ve been showing kindness to the villagers. There’s no need for that.”

Was I supposed to ignore everything happening in the estate? Should I just stay locked up in the mansion even if children outside the walls were dying?

I couldn’t understand his reasoning.

“Leonie, I told you, you only need to take care of yourself.”

Deon continued. He was as cold and firm as ever. His low voice was more intimidating than if he had shouted.

“I only opened the well and drew some water for them.”

“That’s not your responsibility. The master of this mansion is me. Everything that happens here is my responsibility.”

His words struck a nerve. It felt as though he was telling me not to touch anything that belonged to him.

That there was nothing in this mansion that was mine. That I was just temporarily placed here and should not act as if I were the lady of the house.

Was he suggesting I had overstepped my bounds?

“You’re right. It wasn’t my responsibility. But could I ignore it? Unfortunately, the master was absent, and I was the highest authority in the estate. As long as I’m here, everyone seeks my permission. They thought I had decision-making power, so I had no choice.”

I gave a long explanation, feeling a deep sense of despair as I spoke.

Moreover, the presence of his attendants standing behind him with a medical bag caught my attention. They seemed uneasy, unable to find a place for their eyes amidst the tense exchange.

One of his attendants was holding a large medical bag, almost the size of a small child. It seemed Deon had taken my excuse seriously enough to bring someone to treat my supposed injury.

I thought I was cleverly finding an excuse not to attend the party, but at times like this, he had no sense of subtlety.

“I haven’t caused any harm to the estate, so please understand.”

Deon stared at me intently before responding.

“Since I’ve confirmed your foot is fine, there’s no need for further discussion. I’ve brought a carriage, so it would be best for you to come to the capital with me.”

He stood up as he spoke.

“I’m sorry, but I still can’t go.”

He paused in the act of buttoning his suit. I continued without hesitation.

“My foot is in such a condition that I can’t dance. And a partner needs to dance, right?”

“That’s fine. You just need to stand by my side. You don’t have to dance. Just accept the greetings.”

He remained stubborn. But I had no intention of being dragged along so easily.

“I can’t stand for long periods.”

“Then I’ll arrange for a chair for you to sit on.”

“I can’t wear shoes. It wouldn’t be proper, so I can’t attend.”

“You can wear flats. Just wear a long dress to hide them.”

He countered every excuse I made.

I was at a loss for words. His persistent responses left me feeling even more uncomfortable.

Why was he suddenly so insistent on having me there? What was his reason for needing me so desperately?

Even though it was now known why he had taken a mistress, there had to be a specific purpose for him to call me back to the capital now.

“Why… do you suddenly need me? Aren’t you still engaged to Lady Isella?”

His engagement hadn’t ended. I had clearly heard at the trial that the Snowa family’s rejection of him was based on false information.

Although some time had passed, those words still echoed in my mind. Now he wanted to bring back his mistress?

Especially after being labeled as a substitute for Isella, I had no desire to step foot in the capital.

All the nobles present at the trial heard it. I was taken in as a strategic mistress to protect his fiancée.

Though not many nobles attended due to the trial being hastily arranged, rumors spread quickly. They might have even embellished the story, painting Deon as a great romantic.

And I was likely branded as the ignorant, brazen mistress who had overstepped her bounds.

I rubbed my arms. The Butler had lit a fire with all the wood he could gather because Deon was here, but there was still a chill in the air.

The fireplace contained a single thick log. We had used a broken chair leg from the second floor as kindling. The thin kindling revealed the mansion’s poor state.

He probably hadn’t noticed.

My head throbbed. As I pressed my hand to my forehead, he asked quietly,

“Why do you keep bringing her into this?”

“Isn’t it natural to question it? A partner should logically be your fiancée.”

I bit my lip. I no longer wanted to converse with him. There was a time when I missed his face deeply, but now it just made me uncomfortable.

I searched for the right words to send him away.

“Congratulations on your victory, belatedly. I’ll send a gift through a servant. It won’t be right away, but by the time of the banquet…”

I trailed off.

Could I even afford to send a gift? The mansion had no money left. Every penny had gone to keeping the household running, and all that was left was enough to buy food for the servants.

I couldn’t let the people who had followed me here starve. At this rate, I’d need to find work myself.

And now that Deon was recognized as a full-fledged prince, he would be showered with precious gifts. Anything I gave would be insignificant.

Nobles would eagerly present him with expensive items and eligible daughters.

He would be surrounded by all things beautiful. My gift would be meaningless.

“Do you think I came here just to receive a gift?”

I kept my head down, calculating the remaining assets in the estate, when his angry voice cut through my thoughts.

I looked up.

His usually composed face showed cracks. His jaw was clenched, the muscles twitching, a stark contrast to his typical stoic demeanor. He was visibly showing his emotions, which was unlike him.

I paused and removed my hand from my forehead. He let out a short, derisive laugh, then roughly pulled at his shirt collar as if it were choking him. One of the buttons on his collar popped off due to his rough handling.

The golden button rolled towards me. It looked like solid gold, not just gold-plated.

That button alone could cover three months’ worth of groceries. I hoped he wouldn’t pick it up.

“I don’t even have a dress to wear.”

I spoke, still fixated on the button lying on the floor.

“Where did they all go?”

“…I sold them.”

“All of them?”

“Yes.”

He let out a disbelieving chuckle, which quickly faded as his expression turned serious. One of his eyebrows raised skeptically.

“Then you must have had money.”

“I spent it all.”

“All that money? Even if it wasn’t enough to buy a mansion, it should have been more than enough to buy whatever you wanted.”

He was right. The money from selling my jewelry and dresses wasn’t a small amount.

It wasn’t enough to fully rescue him like Isella, but the jewels and dresses I had bought over time were worth enough to buy a small estate.

But how could I tell him I spent it all trying to escape with him? I never wanted him to find out that I even hired people through Philip. It would be more humiliating than kneeling before Isella.

It was a foolish act, I had told myself repeatedly. I couldn’t let him discover it now.

I kept my mouth shut, and he asked again.

“Where did you spend it?”

“On necessary things.”

His brows furrowed deeply. His blue eyes narrowed, and his forehead creased.

“Still, I apologize for selling the items you gave me without your permission. But what I wanted to buy was very expensive. So, I can’t attend the banquet.”

I tried to speak calmly, but a hint of sarcasm slipped in. He didn’t bother pointing it out.

“You’re saying you can’t go just because you don’t have a dress?”

“You say ‘just’ like it’s nothing. With an important banquet coming up, designers are incredibly busy. Saying ‘just’ is an insult.”

He leaned back into the sofa. This wasn’t going to end with a small argument. For some reason, he wasn’t giving up easily.

Could it be that he needed my blood again now?

As unease began to creep in, he spoke again.

“There should be money I sent for the mansion’s upkeep.”

“…I spent all of that too.”

“All of it?”

Thankfully, he didn’t know I had touched the jewelry. That was a relief. If he knew, he’d immediately demand to know where all that money went.

“I was living as you desired, spending the money you provided. Did you forget our agreement? You told me to eat and spend freely once I came to the capital. So why are you surprised? Suddenly running out of funds meant I had to sell my clothes to keep up my spending habits.”

It was a plausible excuse, but he didn’t buy it.

“For all that spending, this mansion looks rather shabby.”

The word “shabby” coming from his mouth stung. Knowing how run-down the place was, he still left me here. How shameless.

“Did you think I would spend my money on decorating this mansion? As you said earlier, this is your mansion, not mine. Why would I spend my money here?”

A sharp look shot my way.

“So, did you buy what you wanted?”

He seemed to have a vague suspicion that I spent the money elsewhere.

He kept asking where the money went but still looked doubtful. It seemed he thought I had hidden the money instead of spending it.

Was he worried I might have converted it to cash for an escape fund?

But unfortunately, I was entirely penniless. Even if he suspected me, calling in knights to search the mansion and my belongings would yield nothing.

“I didn’t get to buy anything. I wasted all the money.”