Chapter 89
***
As the Sunday morning sun—the quiet finale of the week—rose over the horizon, Ethan prepared to leave for Karsten, just as planned.
“Don’t go. Don’t go…”
When Noah finally realized that his father was really leaving, he clung to Ethan’s pants, fat tears rolling down his cheeks.
Ethan already didn’t want to leave—but seeing his son sob like that made his heart ache all the more.
“Daddy’s not going far. See that mountain outside the window? I’m just going to the other side of it.”
But he couldn’t defy the royal order. He had to go.
Ethan hugged his crying son tightly, murmuring soft reassurances.
“Just ten nights. After ten nights, I’ll be back.”
“No! Nooo!”
“Alright, alright—seven nights then. Just one week. Don’t cry, okay?”
No matter what he said, Noah only cried harder, begging him not to go. Ethan had to work up a sweat to calm the boy down, while Elisa, watching beside them, looked just as helpless.
She tried everything—his favorite wolf plushie, a pile of snacks—but the tears wouldn’t stop. Then word arrived from Karsten: someone had come to fetch Ethan.
While Ethan was still struggling with his tearful son, Elisa went out to greet the visitors in his stead.
“It’s been a while, Sir Rector.”
The man from Karsten was none other than Sir Rector, accompanied by a knight Elisa vaguely remembered—the same one who had helped stage the fake kidnapping of Derek Grenville.
“It’s an honor to see you again, my lady. Have you been well?”
“Thanks to you. And I should thank you again for last time—you played your part so well.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”
Despite his large frame and rough features, Rector scratched his head bashfully, face reddening. The knight beside him looked exasperated.
“No, really. You were impressive. Have you ever taken acting lessons?”
“Ah, no, that’s all from experience.”
Elisa blinked, half amused, half horrified. What kind of experience could possibly prepare a man for pretending to be a kidnapper?
“It’s been a while since we last met, my lady. You look much brighter now.”
Her mind instantly filled with embarrassing possibilities. Smiling awkwardly, Elisa quickly changed the subject. Unaware of her discomfort, Rector gave a hearty laugh and brushed a scar across his cheek.
“It’s all thanks to you and Baron Estevan.”
“That’s right,” the knight chimed in suddenly.
“Thanks to your generous guidance and support, the situation in Karsten has improved tremendously. And ours along with it.”
“Max, don’t interrupt.”
“Why not? I just wanted to join the conversation.”
Their bickering was harmless, and Elisa simply watched with quiet amusement.
“Is the baron still getting ready?”
“No, he’s been ready for a while…” Elisa trailed off, smiling awkwardly.
Max seemed to catch on immediately.
“Let me guess—young master Noah won’t let him leave?”
“What? How do you know that?”
“It’d be strange if you didn’t.”
“Alright, alright, that’s enough.”
When they looked ready to argue again, Elisa gently caught Rector’s arm to stop him. At that moment, Ethan appeared, holding a bag in one hand and a teary Noah in the other.
Then Noah saw it—his mother’s hand on another man’s arm.
“Look, Mommy’s touching another man,” he whispered loudly—so loudly that everyone in the area heard it.
Rector immediately jumped back in alarm. Elisa stared at her son, utterly dumbfounded, while even Max looked startled.
Ethan, meanwhile, approached with complete nonchalance and set Noah down in front of her. The boy, tear-streaked and sniffling, immediately buried himself in her arms.
“Have you both been well?” Ethan asked.
“Yes, Baron! We’ve been well, thanks to your concern!”
Rector and Max snapped to attention, answering like soldiers before a commander.
“I’ll take the bag, sir.”
Max took Ethan’s luggage and loaded it into the carriage, while Rector gave final orders to the coachman to check the wheels.
It’s really time for him to go.
The thought struck Elisa hard. She had almost forgotten in the chaos of comforting Noah, but now her chest tightened.
She held back tears—if she cried, Noah would start all over again.
“Seems Noah takes after you,” Ethan murmured, brushing a thumb gently beneath her reddened eyes.
“I’ll be back next weekend. So no crying—just wait for me.”
“Who says I’m crying?” Elisa retorted gruffly, swatting his hand away.
“I’m just… worried about whether you can handle being a lord. You, a lord—honestly, it’s still hard to believe. I almost pity the people of your estate.”
Her tone grew sharper the more she tried to suppress her emotions, but Ethan only smiled.
You’ve always been like this, she thought bitterly. No matter what harsh thing I said, you’d just smile like a fool and say you didn’t mind.
Memories of the many times she’d hurt him pricked at her conscience, and her gaze dimmed.
“…But you’ll do well,” she said quietly, gripping his hand tightly.
“You came back alive from that brutal battlefield. You came back a hero. You’ll manage this, too.”
I believe in you.
She didn’t say it aloud—too many people were watching, and it sounded too sentimental—but the look in her eyes said enough.
Ethan must have felt it, because his dimples deepened as he pulled her into a warm embrace.
“I’ll do my best—not to disappoint you, and not to be a father Noah can’t be proud of.”
***
Late that night, long after the moon had climbed and begun to fade, Elisa stirred awake.
She reached out beside her out of habit—but her hand met only cold sheets.
“…Ethan?”
Where…?
Ah, right. He left for Karsten this morning.
It took less than a minute for the fog of sleep to clear, and when it did, the emptiness in her chest spread wide and deep.
She sat up and glanced at the other side of the bed, where Noah slept curled around his wolf plushie, tear tracks still faint on his cheeks.
Her heart clenched painfully.
Moving carefully not to wake him, Elisa stepped out of bed, slipped onto the terrace, and opened the glass doors. The cool night breeze brushed against her thin nightgown.
Though summer was near, the nights in Ronfay were still chilly.
“You’ll catch a cold if you don’t wear a coat.”
For a fleeting moment, she could almost hear Ethan’s voice. Startled, she turned around—only to be met by the still, empty room.
The realization that he wasn’t there hit harder than she expected. The silence wrapped around her like a weight.
He hadn’t even been gone a full day, yet the emptiness already felt unbearable.
“…I’m such an idiot.”
This wasn’t like four years ago, when Ethan had vanished without a word, leaving her to wonder if he’d ever come back. She knew exactly when he’d return this time. Just one week.
Just seven days.
It’s nothing, she told herself. I waited four years—what’s one week?
But it wasn’t the same. Somehow, this short separation hurt more than those long years apart.
Maybe that’s what people mean when they say humans are creatures of forgetfulness.
Elisa let out a bitter laugh and sank to the cold tiled floor, pulling her knees to her chest. She buried her face between them, shoulders trembling as she exhaled a shaky breath.
“…I hope this week passes fast.”
More than that, she hoped the dreadful matter with Derek Grenville would end soon. Only then could she join Ethan in Karsten.
She had made an offer to Prince Alex, but she hadn’t truly decided anything that day. She’d simply wanted to see how the prince would react.
Now, though, she was sure of her choice.
Let’s end this. Finish everything—and go to him.
Her longing for Ethan had grown stronger than any resentment she still held toward Derek Grenville or Princess Camilla.
***
Five days later, Prince Alex’s aide returned—this time with a lawyer in tow.
And not just him. Conrad, Prince Howard’s aide, and another royal lawyer came as well.
“His Highness Prince Alex has agreed to all of Lady Leslie’s terms.”
Elisa blinked. She had expected negotiations, adjustments, maybe even protests about the cost—but not this.
“Here are the finalized contracts.”
Alex’s aide laid two documents before her.
The first detailed Karsten’s tax reductions and Derek Grenville’s punishment.
The second listed the compensation Elisa had requested.
Why two separate contracts? she wondered briefly, but decided not to ask. The sooner this ended, the better.
Conrad’s lawyer reviewed the documents and confirmed that both were authentic, bearing genuine royal seals.
That’s when Elisa noticed—the first contract bore the king’s seal, and the second… bore Prince Alex’s.
