Chapter : 10. We Must Cover Everyone’s Ears
“Sir Harz? He comes every day to help the young master with his work. Maybe something happened at the Imperial Palace?”
“There’s always something happening at the Imperial Palace.”
“Well, it’s not like it’s a problem we can solve anyway. More importantly, I hope the young master’s temper settles down soon. If the young lady gets startled for no reason…”
The maid paused abruptly, noticing Stella standing right in front of her.
Stella leaned against the wall for support and asked them:
“What are you talking about?”
“A-Ah, Lady Stella.”
“Is Sir Castillo in trouble?”
Is it because of me? Is it my fault? She couldn’t ask directly, but her heart was consumed with anxiety.
A night when the shadow of the crow flew in.
Adrian was out of his mind, swamped with the endless work that had piled up.
He could not afford to waste a single moment, as he had to make sure no vulnerability was shown until the Duke of Castillo returned.
“They say they are searching for Lady Bronte.”
Despite the urgent voice of Liam reporting on the situation from the Imperial Palace, Adrian kept his eyes fixed on the document he was processing.
“The Bronte family hasn’t said a word either, as expected. How long do you plan to keep hiding this?”
“Liam.”
“Yes.”
“Be quiet.”
Adrian had no intention of informing anyone from the very beginning.
Shutting his mouth tightly, Liam rolled his eyes back and forth, waiting for Adrian’s next words.
“No matter what you say, if it’s regarding Lady Bronte, I have zero intention of backing down.”
“But…”
“If you’re that worried, come up with a way to make Lady Bronte want to stay in this mansion.”
“How?”
Liam asked, realizing it was impossible to change Adrian’s mind.
Red eyes flashed fiercely.
A chill went down Liam’s spine, making him bow his head.
“If you can’t do that, then we’ll just have to cover everyone’s ears.”
Adrian spat out the cruel words without a single moment of hesitation.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“A half-baked effort won’t do.”
“Then we blow it out of proportion. We can trigger an even more shocking incident so rumors about the Bronte family can’t circulate. If that’s still not enough, leaking a rumor concerning the empire’s security wouldn’t be a bad idea either. Do you understand now?”
If anyone else had heard this, they would have called him a ‘crazy bastard,’ but Liam merely nodded as if he had expected as much.
“Yes. Understood.”
“We’ll stop here for today.”
Adrian stood up and put on the coat hanging on the rack.
Seeing his neat appearance, Liam grumpily added:
“Are you going to see Lady Bronte? Every time something happens, you visit her as if seeking a sliver of forgiveness.”
“Forgiveness?”
“Or not, then.”
Liam flinched and stepped back.
Why was his mouth itching like this when he couldn’t even follow through with provoking his master?
Realizing his mistake late, Liam slapped his own mouth and followed behind his superior.
Then, Adrian suddenly stopped.
“Why are you following me?”
“Leaving work…”
“Then who is going to organize that?”
Adrian blocked Liam’s path and gestured toward the pile of documents towering on the desk.
Looking at the papers that had accumulated over days, Liam closed one eye and shook his head.
“You’re not seriously telling me to organize all those documents by myself, are you? It’s getting very late…”
“Organize them before you leave.”
“Right now?”
“Yes. Right this instant.”
Liam wore a miserable expression.
However, Adrian turned around without a second thought.
From behind, he heard Liam’s voice crying out, “I was wrong!” but it was already too late to turn his heart back.
Another subordinate standing nearby kept teasing him until Liam finally pressed a hand to his forehead, as if he had known this would happen.
Leaving his office, Adrian walked along the gallery corridor to clear his cluttered mind.
‘Prince Theo is looking for Lady Bronte.’
The Emperor, the Empress, the Prince, and everyone associated with the Imperial Palace whirled dizzily inside his mind.
Though he had joined hands with the Empress, he felt utter disgust whenever the Imperial Palace was mentioned.
‘They’re all the same.’
Setting aside how difficult it was to choose who was better or worse, wouldn’t the future of the empire be nothing but dark like this?
‘Fools.’
He knitted his brows tightly.
‘To think they still haven’t found a single trace.’
As he ran a hand through his hair, two maids passing in front of him flinched in surprise and bowed halfway down.
Adrian stopped in his tracks and looked down at the maids.
A cold smile—entirely different from the one he showed when dealing with Stella—drew across his lips.
“What are you doing?”
“We haven’t finished our work yet.”
Adrian looked at the maid’s basket.
Doing laundry for the curtains at this time of night?
What an absurd and insincere excuse.
‘Is having one nearby not enough?’
At this point, it was becoming difficult to keep turning a blind eye to the spies sent by the Empress.
‘I’ll have to send a warning.’
Tell her not to interfere anymore.
Finishing his thoughts, he roughly grabbed the chin of one of the maids and tilted her face up, wearing a fierce smile.
“Didn’t you hear from Owen what happens if you get caught wandering around at night?”
“I-I, well, that is…”
“Don’t bother coming in tomorrow.”
The maid’s face turned pale with shock.
“You may leave right now if you wish. Do as you please.”
The two maids nudged each other, silently begging each other to say something, but under his piercing gaze, they could only lower their heads deeply.
“Ah, I shall personally inform Her Majesty the Empress of your hard work.”
Adrian brushed past the terrified maids and turned the corner of the gallery.
And there, he came face-to-face with Stella, who was standing with a visibly nervous demeanor.
“Lady Bronte?”
“I…”
“Are you unable to sleep?”
His frightened little bird was beautiful.
She was so insanely gorgeous that it felt like a waste to just lock her away somewhere and merely look at her.
Why was this beautiful bird, capable of swallowing even the darkness, wandering around in the middle of the night?
‘Could she have heard the story about the Empress?’
When she didn’t say anything, Adrian quietly looked down at Stella’s legs.
It was only this morning that he had led her to say her leg hadn’t healed yet, but that act had come to an end far too easily.
As his gaze lingered on her feet, she pulled her toes together in embarrassment.
“It seems the wound on your foot is fine now.”
Adrian stood crookedly, quietly staring at Stella.
Perhaps because she was a bird he had not yet tamed, Stella Bronte possessed a free spirit, ready to fly away at any moment.
That appearance ignited his desire even further—to lock Stella up in a cage of his own.
“My foot is fine enough to walk on.”
“Is that so.”
As expected, it seemed impossible to bind that bird forever with mere goodwill alone.
Goodwill was bound to grow tiresome someday.
He leaned obliquely against the wall.
‘What should I do?’
Stella hesitated.
It was obvious she had something to say, but she kept watching his reactions, unable to speak easily.
Looking at her like this, she seemed like nothing more than an endlessly fragile woman; yet when it came to moments where she truly ought to be frightened, she sought her own means of survival without a second thought.
‘Since she’s a young lady who ran away from home, breaking her arms or legs wouldn’t keep her quiet either.’
If she wanted to, she could run away at any time.
Adrian crossed his arms and observed Stella’s constantly changing expressions.
Thinking about what sweet words he should use to persuade her if she had indeed heard the story about the Empress.
She twitched her lips, contemplating as if about to say something, before biting her lower lip.
“Are you alright?”
“…”
“I was worried about you, Sir.”
Adrian’s pupils suddenly dilated.
She said that her anxious gaze was out of concern for him.
She always surprised him with unexpected words, and this time was no exception.
‘Did I ask an impolite question?’
As Stella grew anxious while reading Adrian’s expression, he adjusted his posture to meet her eye level.
As close as the distance had become, his eyes stood out vividly.
Stella forgot to breathe and quietly stared into those red eyes.
Perhaps because they were close enough for their lips to almost touch, she felt terrified, as if she were being sucked into those transparent eyes that resembled pomegranate seeds.
However, she felt as though the world would crumble if she took her eyes off them, so she couldn’t look away.
“Were you worried about me?”
Stella blinked slowly.
Because it was true that she had rushed over out of fear that he might be in trouble because of her.
“Enough to come looking for me in the middle of the night?”
It was a tone entirely different from the one he had used to scold the maid earlier.
Wasn’t a gentle, soft sound echoing sweetly in her ears?
“…I was worried that something troubling might have happened because of me. I-I heard that you weren’t in a good mood.”
Feeling that eavesdropping on someone else’s conversation without permission was unpleasant, she had briefly covered her ears upon hearing his voice scolding the maid.
Because of that, she hadn’t heard the rest of the conversation, but even from the earlier dialogue, she could tell that he was not in a pleasant mood.
“Is that so?”
“Fortunately, it seems you’re feeling better now.”
Stella took half a step back.
At her action, Adrian’s brows furrowed slightly, but he soon raised the corners of his mouth neatly.
He straightened his back and smiled brightly, as if he had never been angry at the maid in the first place.
“It was nothing major. And above all, looking at the stars put me in a better mood.”
Though it was a night where the stars shone exceptionally bright in the night sky, his words felt as though he were referring to Stella herself, making her feel embarrassed.
“I-I’m glad.”
At that moment, stars poured down from the night sky.
Mesmerized by the sight of dozens of stars falling in succession, she turned her head toward him with a thoroughly frightened face.
“What should we do? A star fell.”
The sight of falling stars was wondrous, but in the empire, a falling star signified someone’s death.
Even though she had lost her memories, the belief she had heard since childhood remained ingrained in her mind, leaving Stella with no choice but to tremble in fear.
“It seems a new star is about to be born.”
However, Adrian merely spoke peacefully, as if he wasn’t afraid of the falling stars at all—even though he, too, was born and raised in this empire.
“Are you not afraid of falling stars, Sir?”
“Death is what I see the most on the battlefield. Compared to that, a star shows its end while emitting a bright light, so why would I be afraid?”
“…”
“Rather, it just feels beautiful.”
A soft smile spread across Adrian’s lips as he looked up at the sky.
Stella followed his gaze and looked at the sky.
She had always thought stars in the sky were terrifying because they were associated with death, but looking at them now, the end of a star was nothing short of beautiful.
Only after the meteor shower covering the dark night sky disappeared did her eyes turn back to him.
“Are you afraid of dying?”
“I suppose so.”
“To what extent?”
Stella clenched her fists tightly.
Then, looking at Adrian with unwavering eyes, she stated her resolve.
“I will do whatever it takes to survive.”
Even if this world was terribly cruel and harsh to her, she wanted to live through it proudly.
Until she learned what happiness was.
Even if everyone in the world said she could never be happy, she wanted to prove that she could survive and find happiness.
“Does that sound pathetic?”
“Not at all.”
“Even while running away with lost memories, I’ve never once forgotten the sole thought that I want to live.”
Whenever she looked at the sky dyed in vibrant colors, she often thought it was a good thing she had survived.
She did not want to disappear like a meteor shower burning its last moments while emitting light in the dark.
“I know it’s an undeserving greed, but strangely, I can’t let go of it.”
“It’s not undeserving at all.”
Adrian breathed heavily as he stroked Stella’s cheek while she spoke.
At his touch, her cheeks flushed red.
“You may be greedy for even more things, Lady Bronte. Whatever you want, do it.”
blending with the quiet of the dark night, Adrian’s voice wrapped around her ears.
Even though he was right in front of her eyes, strangely, she couldn’t see ahead.
Was it because his voice was too sweet? It felt as if all her other senses were paralyzed.
“You may do so.”
Her eyes stung as emotions welled up inside her.
Yet strangely, no tears fell.
Only her heated eye rims were flushing red.
Unable to withstand the overwhelming emotion, Stella hung her head down.
Overcome with deep emotion at his words that she could be greedy for even more, her heart pounded erratically.
Before her heart could settle down, his gentle voice penetrated her heart once again.
“Because I will become your strength, My Lady. Is there perhaps anything you wish to do?”
“I haven’t thought about it yet…”
“If there’s nothing you want to do right this moment, take your time to think about it. I will help you with whatever it is.”
A bright lunar halo appeared around Adrian.
At the same time, seeing him shine brilliantly under the moonlight, Stella fell deep into thought.
Up until now, she had endured solely with the thought that she had to survive.
Because she had never thought about what lay beyond that, she couldn’t wake up from her dazed state for a while.
