~Chapter 84~
I turned to Siela with a cold expression. She looked at me in panic. Siela stood up awkwardly and spoke to me.
“Y-you should go, Your Grace. It would be better for us to talk another time—”
“Yes.”
Even though Gwennolyn was said to have already left, she weighed heavily on my mind.
The path to the bedroom felt strangely long. My lips were dry, so I ran my tongue over them.
Of all places, my bedroom.
My bedroom.
Where was Baldwin right now?
Did Gwennolyn really leave?
My steps grew faster.
I didn’t know what kind of scene I would face. But strangely, my stomach churned. This didn’t feel like a simple theft.
I bit my lip tightly.
Then I flung the bedroom door open.
“Ah!”
What I saw was Gwennolyn trying to kiss Baldwin—only to be grabbed by the collar.
It was an utterly absurd scene.
“Ha.”
So this was the source of my anxiety.
Baldwin’s eyes gleamed with bright red killing intent.
Gwennolyn’s clothes were completely disheveled.
Baldwin threw Gwennolyn to the floor. At his merciless movement, she let out a sharp scream.
“Baldwin!!”
Gwennolyn jumped up and rushed toward Baldwin as if to embrace him. Her white chest spilled out between the loosened dress.
What filled Baldwin’s eyes was deep disgust. He pushed her away, but Gwennolyn clung to his arm.
“It’s me, Baldwin! Wake up! Look at me! It’s Gwen—your Gwennolyn!”
Her wavy hair scattered through the air. It felt distant, like watching a poorly written play. It didn’t feel real.
Baldwin shook his arm to throw her off, but she clung to him like a leech and wouldn’t let go.
“Ha.”
Baldwin turned to me with an uneasy face.
“I love you, Baldwin! I love you! We were good together! You only had me too! I—I planned everything for you! I even planned to bring you an heir! If you just trusted me, everything would have been solved!”
“This lunatic—”
A crude curse slipped out of my mouth. My fingers trembled.
Things that had remained buried deep inside my heart burst out.
“We’re in love, Marchioness. Then what are you? Egbert said it wasn’t you.”
“We even have a child.”
“Don’t interfere. Do you still not know who the intruder is?”
I shut my eyes tightly, then opened them. Past wounds grabbed my ankles. My vision felt red, unlike myself.
Tears gathered.
Don’t cry, you idiot.
I took a step back.
I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t tell what was true.
My strength was this insignificant. It collapsed so easily and made me look like a fool.
I stepped back again.
Baldwin turned his head toward me. His face was pale. It looked twisted with anger.
With Baldwin’s shove, Gwennolyn crashed to the floor. She crawled and clung to his leg.
Her pale white skin disturbed my vision.
The image of Egbert and Sophia tangled on my bed replayed vividly in my mind.
That woman isn’t her.
And he isn’t Egbert.
The Baldwin you know isn’t that kind of person.
Anais, get a grip.
I screamed at myself, but my weakened mind wavered helplessly. It felt like it could shatter at any moment.
My legs shook. I couldn’t breathe.
One more step back.
I wanted to run away from this place.
I blinked. My vision swayed. I turned my body. I didn’t want to see or know anything anymore.
For the first time, I wanted to be a coward.
At the same time, I had to admit it.
To me, Baldwin was not just an ordinary business partner. The one who had placed the greatest expectations on our relationship was me.
“Ugh.”
It felt like everything inside me would come up.
Tears burst out.
Run away, Anais.
Don’t let them see your thoughts—don’t let them see you.
Don’t become pathetic.
You are strong.
Just as I stretched my foot to leave—
“Anna!”
It was a rough, sharp call.
In that moment, cold silence fell over the space that had been filled with tangled emotions and desires.
Only rough breathing could be heard.
It was the very voice I had heard many times in my dreams. A voice especially low, etched clearly into my memory.
The voice I once thought sounded even more attractive because it was hoarse.
The voice I thought suited Baldwin perfectly.
I slowly turned my head.
The expression on Baldwin’s face collapsed as our eyes met. I could see his chest rising and falling violently.
Baldwin took a deep breath.
“……Anna, please.”
His voice was awkward and not smooth.
“……Baldwin?”
My lips moved on their own. The ugly woman clinging to his leg also looked up in shock.
Baldwin came to me and grabbed me. His hands were hot. I could see his Adam’s apple move.
I slowly lifted my gaze to his lips. The lips that were always tightly closed began to move.
“Anna, don’t… let go of me.”
It sounded like the final line ending a ridiculous play.
Tears fell in heavy drops.
He looked at me with desperate eyes.
It really is Baldwin.
He is calling me.
He had been calling me all along.
With those eyes. With that desperation.
Only now did I understand the aching feeling hidden in the voice I heard in my dreams.
It was filled with deep pain, fear, and longing.
Baldwin pulled me into his arms. As I cried into his embrace, I thought—
Ah, thank goodness.
I wrapped my arms around his back.
Thank goodness your world is not completely dark.
This was a miracle.
* * *
Late at night.
The lights of the Constantine mansion did not go out. Like a lighthouse lighting the night sea, they stayed bright.
Siela Sallion, who tried to flee after sensing something was wrong and was caught.
The maid Yuna, who also tried to run and was caught.
And finally, Gwennolyn, in a pitiful state, trembling under a shawl.
Anais looked at the three of them with the eyes of a judge. She was the absolute authority in this small room.
Anais’s gaze first went to Siela Sallion.
“Lady Siela. I won’t speak at length. Do you know anything about this situation?”
“I-I…”
Siela’s eyes darted around.
The Gwennolyn she had admired so much was now a miserable loser, crouched in a chair. Realizing no one would save her, Siela opened her mouth.
“I-I just did what I was told! Gwennolyn claimed that she and the Grand Duke were lovers! I thought it was nonsense too, but how could I doubt a friend!”
She hurriedly added to prove her innocence.
“She asked me to hold the Grand Duchess back for a while! She said that way she could prove her love with the Grand Duke to everyone!”
“It’s hard to believe that you believed that.”
Anais said coldly.
“I-I didn’t want to believe it… but she’s my friend… and they had been close friends for a long time…”
In the end, Siela was just one of the words Gwennolyn moved. Anais clicked her tongue.
“Return to your estate immediately, Lady Siela. And it would be best if you stay away from high society for a while. If you disobey my words, I will have no choice but to doubt your sincerity.”
“Yes! Yes! Grand Duchess, I will follow your will!”
Siela fled from the reception room.
Now Anais’s gaze turned to Yuna. Yuna knelt on the floor and bowed flat.
‘Damn it! I should have run sooner!’
She had planned to gather everything valuable before leaving. There were quite a few expensive items among the Grand Duchess’s belongings.
She thought she would hide, then steal some jewelry after everyone fell asleep.
She thought she wouldn’t get caught.
But the Grand Duchess had a good memory. She immediately picked out Yuna—the maid who had delivered Gwennolyn’s words to her.
That was how she was caught.
“I-I just did as I was told…! What could a maid do, Grand Duchess? I just… couldn’t resist the lady’s threats…”
“What did you receive in return?”
Yuna bit her lip tightly.
Her chest rose and fell violently. Looking at the terrified Yuna, Anais let out a small laugh.
“If you make such a transparent face, how can I pretend not to know? Don’t you think?”
