While You're In Love

Even the way it addressed him was different.

Aslan Tordell had various titles he could be addressed by, but the difference between “My dear Aslan” and “Duke Tordell” was drastic.

At least he could easily tell how the person addressing him perceived him.

Therefore, even without opening the letter he held in his hand, Aslan knew what must be written inside.

This was Lyla’s last farewell to him as his wife.

“….”

With trembling hands, he opened the letter.

In truth, he didn’t want to read it. He was afraid. He wanted to avoid it.

But this was something left by Lyla for him.

There was no way he could ignore what she’d left for him to read, handwritten on hand-picked stationery, with love and care.

Aslan endured the rising fear and began reading the letter.

{TL/N : There’s typing error in the 3rd line please forgive me for that 🙁 (it’s found out that I’ve left) }

For such a short letter, it took a long time to read. Aslan stopped reading several times along the way.

The more he read, the more distressed he became.

The sentences were polite, but they were devoid of any affectionate words. Dry sentences that didn’t reveal any feelings towards him struck him like thorns.

The contents of the letter also tormented Aslan’s mind.

She had left.

She left him behind and disappeared.

Aslan closed his eyes tightly. He couldn’t bring himself to crumple the letter she had left behind, so he couldn’t put any strength into his hands.

His breathing became erratic. It was hard to breathe. He couldn’t even remember the most natural way of breathing that he knew.

“Haaa!”

Aslan clenched his chest. Drops of sweat fell from his anguished face.

An unbearable pain shook him to the core.

He had lost her again. The woman he desperately wanted to protect…!

“No.”

…This time, he wouldn’t lose her.

Intense determination flashed in Aslan’s slightly widened eyes.

He pulled the rope beside the bed. Fast and nervously, he repeated it several times until the maid arrived at the constant sound of the bell.

The maid who hurriedly came up due to the incessant ringing was someone Aslan didn’t even know.

Where was Jenna, Lyla’s exclusive maid, who always stayed by her side?

Could Jenna possibly know Lyla’s whereabouts? Or did Jenna, who had always been by Lyla’s side, realize her lady’s intentions and followed her?

While Aslan was lost in his thoughts, the maid peered over his shoulder and scanned the room.

The Duchess’s chambers which were always so neatly organized were in disarray. It looked as if a thief had entered and turned everything upside down.

“Did, did a thief come in?”

The startled maid asked with a trembling voice.

Only then did Aslan turn his head to glare at the maid. She was in a state of bewilderment, not knowing anything.

She knows nothing. She doesn’t know that the Duchess, whom she serves, has left and won’t be coming back here.

Anger welled up inside him.

Just then, Dalton hurriedly arrived in front of the Duchess’s room. Jenna, the Duchess’s exclusive maid, followed closely behind him.

“My lord, what brings you here…… ah. My lady said she would be going to bed early.”

It seemed that Dalton had come to this part of the mansion while carrying out Aslan’s order to find the Duchess.

But it was too late. It was way too late.

“….”

Aslan didn’t say anything and just glared at them. Jenna stepped forward from behind Dalton and added more explanation.

“Milady said she was feeling quite tired today and would retire early.”

“Ha.”

Aslan let out a hollow laugh. She said she was tired and would retire early…

Dalton and Jenna looked at Aslan with puzzled expressions since they couldn’t understand what was happening.

Aslan realized from their reactions that they had no clue that Lyla had left.

Aslan wiped away the smile from his face and spoke in a cold voice.

“You’re the Duchess’s exclusive maid, and yet you didn’t stay by her side and didn’t respond when called. What were you doing?”

“I apologize,”

Jenna quickly admitted her fault and then tried to explain.

“I was out running errands for milady during the day, so I wasn’t at the mansion.”

“…What errands?”

He became curious about what errands she was sent on while Lyla was leaving.

“It’s…….”

Jenna hesitated to answer. She thought it was a secret since it was a gift that the Duchess had prepared secretly.

“It’s okay, go ahead and tell me.”

With Aslan pushing her like this, Jenna couldn’t keep her mouth shut any longer.

She spoke carefully,

“It was to pick up the birthday present that the lady had ordered for you.”

Aslan pursed his lips.

This time, there was no laughter.

The last thing she prepared before leaving was his birthday present.

Aslan closed his eyes tightly and asked,

“Where is the gift?”

“It’s not yet finished, so I plan to go back next week to check on it again.”

Jenna, who thought she would tell the Duchess tomorrow, briefly glanced at Lyla’s open room.

“Should I tell her now if she’s awake?”

Aslan slightly moved aside in the doorway without saying a word. The inside of the room was a complete mess, as if a thief had ransacked it. Dalton and Jenna’s jaws dropped.

“What is this…”

“Hurry and find her!”

Aslan ordered in a voice filled with suppressed emotions. Dalton, who was interrupted in the middle of speaking, looked at Aslan with surprise.

Aslan did not elaborate further. He simply stared at the empty room and repeated his orders.

“The Duchess has disappeared. Find her!”

---

Tordell Manor was in turmoil. Even the servants who had retired for the night were all awakened, and the extinguished lights were lit one by one.

People were bustling all around the brightly lit manor.

“Duchess!”

“Madam! Where are you?”

They searched every nook and cranny, from the floor where the Duchess’s bedroom was located to the remote corners where she rarely visited. However, not a single strand of Lyla’s brown hair could be found.

The commotion was not limited to just the manor. The knights who received Aslan’s command started searching the entire city.

They wandered the streets, stopping people and asking if they had seen the Duchess.

People were taken aback by the sudden questioning, but the knights were focused only on carrying out the Duke’s orders, paying no attention to the reactions of those they stopped. All that mattered to them right now was Aslan’s command.

However, until the night grew deep and dawn approached, they couldn’t find Helena.

The day had dawned. The manor, which had been bustling all night, was now eerily quiet.

The servants who had been busy searching for the Duchess, unable to even sleep, were exhausted. They were all on edge, constantly aware of their master’s gaze.

Bang!

Blood trickled from Aslan’s trembling fist. He had struck a sturdy statue, and his flesh split open. The servants looked at the bloodied Duke Tordell with fearful eyes. It was the first time they had seen their master like this.

No matter what happened, he never lost his composure. Even when his father passed away or his mother succumbed to mental illness and was taken to a monastery, Aslan Tordell always remained a perfectly composed and calm person.

But now, he looked nothing like that.

Aslan, breathing heavily, expressed his emotions as they were something unfamiliar to him. It was so unfamiliar that it was frightening.

Amidst the trembling servants, Dalton stepped forward.

“I apologize. It’s all my fault.”

Aslan’s cold gaze fell upon him. Dalton, who had served Aslan for a long time, flinched this time.

Under the blade-like gaze, Dalton felt small. Aslan pursed his lips and continued to glare at the empty room.

“If my wife is even a little bit hurt …”

Aslan couldn’t finish his sentence and gritted his teeth. It was a horrifying thought.

Closing his eyes tightly, Aslan spoke again.

“All of you who failed to properly serve your mistress will have to bear the consequences.”

It was a heavy declaration.

They already knew how merciless Aslan could be if it was related to Helena Tordell.

Hadn’t they experienced it once in the past?

The servants all recalled the past incident in unison.