59. Approaching Danger (1)

The two people standing with their backs to the sunlight turned to look at the suddenly opened door.

In the midday sun, where heat waves shimmered, stood two familiar figures.

Deon and… Isella.

Both of them met my eyes.

Isella, who had been speaking to Deon, stopped and looked at me and the guard.

“Understood. Then let’s proceed as discussed.”

“Yes. We’ll talk more later, Lady Isella.”

She lifted her dress slightly and bowed politely.

The wind blew through the open window, making the white curtains flutter.

Isella slowly walked towards the door where I stood. As she passed by me, she murmured softly.

“Pardon me. I’ll be going now…”

I belatedly offered her a greeting as she walked out. Isella gracefully exited into the mansion’s corridor.

Only then did I understand why the guard had stalled at the door.

This… It looked like I was eavesdropping on a secret meeting.

No. It seemed like I was interrupting a new romance, having lost favor myself.

But when did they become so close? Was it at the welcome banquet?

My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts.

Though the two had been together, they didn’t seem flustered like those caught in a secret meeting. Isella didn’t look at me with any particular wariness either.

So… it purely appeared as though I had intruded on them.

“I’m sorry.”

I belatedly apologized to him.

“For what?”

Deon asked in return.

Indeed. What was I sorry for?

Even so, I was still his official lover. He had promised to protect me and had dragged me to the capital. So, discussing marriage behind my back… it felt like a betrayal.

“For interrupting.”

“You didn’t interrupt anything.”

His indifferent response came back, sounding colder and more distant than usual.

He didn’t seem to realize that I had overheard their conversation.

The door had been closed, and there had been a small commotion outside before the door opened, so they had stopped talking just as I entered.

“Why did you come here for?”

I couldn’t bring myself to speak. This wasn’t the right moment to discuss Elisabeth’s condition.

I shook my head.

“It’s nothing.”

The teacup on the table was cold. This meant they had been talking for a long time before Philip arrived, maybe even before I had come.

I glanced out the window. There was no carriage from the count’s family.

I hadn’t seen a carriage at the front gate either, which meant that Deon had sent a carriage from the prince’s estate for Isella. Why?

He drew his sword. It was the one he would use for the upcoming hunting festival.

The blade glinted sharply, shining even more brilliantly in the sunlight.

He wiped the blade with a dry cloth.

When he turned the sword over, the decoration attached to the hilt flipped over as well.

At the end of the hilt, a cloth embroidered with the Snowa family crest—a deer—was tied.

* * *

I couldn’t shake off my uneasy feeling.

The closeness between Isella and Deon had grown noticeably.

Were they envisioning a future without me?

Of course, he needed to marry soon and have a strong supporter to secure his position as prince. Being twenty-three was considered late in the noble marriage market.

When Viter and I were sorting through marriage proposals, he hadn’t seemed interested, so I hadn’t taken it seriously. I had forgotten that love and marriage among nobles were separate matters, and that if a good match appeared, there was no reason to delay.

No noble would find it strange for him to have a wife while still having a mistress.

Even if I wasn’t the main female lead, the positions of crown princess and other wives would be filled in sequence, carefully chosen by Viter from among the most suitable noble ladies.

The unfortunate truth was that I had no legitimate reason to hold onto him. Being a beloved mistress or having the status of the prince’s secretary were just illusions.

I had long known that I could never become the duchess or the crown princess.

Yet, strangely, it still bothered me and left a dull ache in my heart.

After Isella’s visit, Deon noticeably reduced the frequency of drinking my blood.

Normally, I would have been pleased, but the unease since my encounter with her hadn’t disappeared.

Of course, I might have misunderstood. Their conversation might have been about something else, and I could be overthinking it.

But I felt slighted. No matter what the conversation was about, they didn’t consider the fact that I would be left alone in the social circle to be gossiped about.

Was this feeling I had really just slighted? My thoughts swirled in confusion.

Deon didn’t accompany us to the hunting festival and left at dawn.

When I saw his sword again in the morning, the deer embroidery was still attached to it.

The hunting festival was held in a forest owned by the prince’s estate, where lower-level monsters had been released. Usually, the forest was home to small animals like rabbits and squirrels, but they had been released for the festival.

The prey had no aggression and couldn’t leave the designated area.

Essentially, it was like hunting in an enclosed space.

The hunting festival had originally been created during a time of famine to ensure that nobles didn’t starve while maintaining their pride. Nowadays, it had turned into a social event for nobles who could handle a sword, along with their waiting families or lovers.

The horn at the front blew. As the long, resonant sound echoed through the forest, the waiting nobles set off. The clatter of hooves echoed in the woods.

I looked up at the sky.

The weather was humid despite the clear sky. The dampness of the forest sent a chill through me. Moisture like this in the forest was a dangerous sign.

There was an old saying that mutated monsters appear in environments where moss thrives.

The sky darkened.

I had a feeling of déjà vu. It was just like when I was waiting for rescue in the cave, a premonition of something big about to happen.

Although I planned to stay at the resting area with the other ladies, I had brought a gun just in case.

It had only one bullet… I hoped it would be enough. Philip’s visit was taking longer than expected.

The tent where the horses were tied was crowded with nobles waiting for the second group to depart.

Mostly men, but occasionally a woman with braided and tied hair could be seen among them. And among them, I saw a familiar face.

“It’s been a while, Count Arin.”

He still had his neatly combed hair swept back. Despite the impending hunt that would soon mess up his hair, he maintained his tidy style, missing no detail of neatness.

“Hello, Lady Leonie.”

He pulled on the reins of his horse.

“Did you come to the hunting festival with your wife?”

“Yes. Are you looking for her? She’s likely asleep on the bench in the resting area. The doctor said it’s good for her to get some sunlight occasionally. If you call a maid to wake her…”

I shook my head.

“No. I came to see you, Count.”

“Me?”

He turned back, surprised.

“If you’re not too busy, could we talk for a moment?”

He looked slightly taken aback by the sudden request but soon replied.

“Of course.”

He stepped out of the tent.

He tied his horse to a sturdy tree. The horse, shaking its head side to side, began to graze on the grass.

“Your wife’s condition is worsening. Are you aware of this?”

“Yes. The doctor is closely monitoring her.”

He answered calmly. His composure irritated me. Even if he didn’t fully understand his wife’s condition, there was not a hint of anxiety on his face.

“Are you just going to watch? Don’t you love her?”

“How could I not? Do I seem that way to you?”

He paused, his hand still on the horse’s mane.

“Even if there’s no love, there’s loyalty. I intend to fulfill my duty.”

“What does your duty entail?”

He ran a hand through his hair, dislodging a strand from his otherwise perfect hairstyle.

“Why… are you bringing this up all of a sudden?”

“You know that I come from the same lineage as your wife, right?”

“Yes. I’ve heard.”

“Our people believe that a child with strong blood can endanger the mother’s health. In severe cases… it can be fatal. This is an old story passed down through generations. I suspect your wife’s child has inherited this strong bloodline.”

“What?”

His eyes widened. Seeing his expression, I felt even more anxious.

“It might be hard to believe, but I felt I had to tell you. Your wife probably hasn’t heard of this since she’s not a direct descendant.”

“Are you saying this is true, Lady Leonie?”

Even to me, it sounded like an absurd tale. He would be hard-pressed to believe it.

“It’s quite perplexing, Lady Leonie. This is something that needs careful consideration. I’ll need to consult several doctors as well.”

“Of course. I understand that it’s difficult to make a decision right now, especially since this concerns your first heir.”

It seemed unlikely that I could persuade him to prioritize his wife’s safety. In the noble world, the heir in the womb was more important than the mother’s well-being.

“Count, please don’t keep this to yourself. It’s best to discuss it with your wife.”

I felt a lump in my throat as I spoke. The loathsome nobility game. Even the countess was a sacrificial lamb in this narrative.

Thud, thud.

As soon as our conversation ended, a few drops of rain began to fall.

What started as a light drizzle quickly grew heavier. My bangs were damp within moments.

“It’s raining. Let’s get inside the tent.”

He lifted the tent’s flap.

The rain was sticky and clammy.

I extended my hand to catch the falling drops. Rubbing the collected rainwater between my fingers, I felt its sticky, viscous texture.

Tl/N: Guys, is it just me or is there something wrong with our ml. Like he is not….. Being the ml. I feel there is something missing in these chapters. Something about Deon not having a POV is unsettling like didn’t you guys read the last banquet episode? There Leonie was drunk, and he came to rescue her, then the scene was cut off?? Like what happened?. I think im the only one.