Chapter 24
Bang!
“That’s absurd!”
Count Leslie shot to his feet, slamming the table so hard the chair toppled backwards and a glass crashed to the floor with a piercing shatter.
Hearing the noise, a staff member rushed to open the terrace door, but Ethan raised a hand, silently signalling them to stay back.
“You, a war hero? A former servant? That’s impossible. Something’s gone wrong!”
The Count’s trembling hand slammed the table again and again, his voice shaking as he repeated his denial like a chant.
Ethan calmly pushed aside the glass shards at his feet, a bitter smile tugging at his lips.
So you really never intended to keep your promise.
The realisation wasn’t new—but it still stung.
It was never pleasant seeing the ugly truth of someone he had once admired.
“I believe I told you,” Ethan said quietly. “I’d do anything—anything—to stay by Elisa’s side.”
“And you’re telling me that kind of resolve… made all this possible?”
The Count scoffed in disbelief.
“To you, it may have sounded like a trivial vow. But to me, it was worth more than my life.”
Ethan had once thought he’d gladly throw his life away for Elisa.
But for that same reason, he had clung to life with everything he had.
He fought like hell to survive.
Maybe the goddess of victory had been moved by that desperation.
Every battle he joined tipped in their favour, as if fate had taken his side.
But it hasn’t been easy.
He’d stared death in the face more times than he could count.
The scars, both on his body and soul, would never truly heal.
A flicker of darkness passed through Ethan’s gaze as the horrors of war flashed across his mind like a grim, unrelenting.
“…I’ve talked more than I meant to.”
Even sitting across from the Count, exchanging words like this, was an ordeal.
Ethan was gently steering the conversation back to what mattered: honouring the promise.
The Count’s face went pale.
His eyes flitted between the ruined table and the shattered glass littering the floor, before returning to Ethan.
“… Have you told Elisa everything?”
“No. Not a word.”
Elisa had begged him more than once, her voice trembling, asking why he left without a word.
And each time, Ethan had wanted to tell her everything.
To confess it all.
But he didn’t—because he feared the Count would use the broken secrecy to nullify the contract.
“I see.”
Relief flickered across the Count’s face, a hint of colour returning to his cheeks.
“Don’t even think of using her engagement as an excuse,” Ethan warned, his voice firm. “If you do, I’ll tell Elisa everything myself. There’ll be no reason to keep the contract anymore.”
He cut off any chance of the Count wriggling free.
At that, the old man flinched, then slowly pulled his chair upright and sat back down.
“Of course.”
He sounded calmer now, as if he’d regained some semblance of control.
“I’ll keep my promise… assuming Elisa’s feelings haven’t changed.”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
He could see it plainly—the Count was trying to use Elisa’s heart as a loophole to void the agreement.
“You’ve already met with her,” the Count added, “so you know she’s still furious that you left without a word.”
“Coming from the man who caused it all, that’s almost funny.”
Ethan’s dry sarcasm landed like a slap.
The Count’s expression twisted, stung by the insolence of someone who once served at his feet.
But Ethan Estevan was no longer someone who had to bow.
He tilted his head, watching the Count with a look that asked, Anything else to say?
The Count cleared his throat, then waved for a staff member to clean up the broken glass.
Hiding behind a servant now?
Ethan nearly laughed.
Elisa was the kind of person who stood in front to face problems head-on.
Her father, on the other hand, cowered behind others.
Though… she’s changed a bit, too, hasn’t she?
And he knew exactly why.
Because of him.
That knowledge twisted in his chest.
If he could just confess everything and ask for her forgiveness, he would.
But he couldn’t.
The only small comfort left… was that she still cared.
Elisa had denied it, of course.
But her eyes—her eyes couldn’t lie to him.
“Relationships, by nature, aren’t built by one side alone.”
The moment the servant left after cleaning, Count Leslie spoke with calculated calm.
“Even if I approve of you and my daughter, if she doesn’t want it, it’s over.”
“And what exactly are you trying to say?” Ethan asked coolly.
“Derek Grenville will be proposing to Elisa very soon.”
With his colour fully restored, the Count wore a sly, knowing smile.
“If she accepts his proposal—even knowing you’re back—that means she has no intention of being with you. So let’s talk again… once we’ve seen her answer.”
***
Maria probably hadn’t meant anything by it, but her casual remark had shaken Elissa to her core.
That was why she cancelled the weekend trip to the zoo.
She was terrified—terrified that someone like Maria Mott would see the resemblance between Noah and Ethan.
But she couldn’t keep Noah from going outside forever.
Wrestling with the thought, Elisa found herself returning to an idea she’d pushed aside before:
The Kingdom of Tahal.
“If we live there, everything will be solved.”
Leaving her homeland, the place she was born and raised, to start over in a distant, unfamiliar country was no easy choice.
Tahal was a kingdom completely unlike Petra—different customs, a different language, an entirely different world.
And yet… she wanted to go.
Because in Tahal, there might be a way to cure Noah’s illness.
Because there, no one would question his origins or recognise the shadows in his eyes.
Because there, she could raise Noah not as her brother, but as her son, freely and without fear.
“Yes. I have to go to Tahal.”
She worried whether a child as young as Noah could endure the gruelling month-long journey.
But honestly, her parents were the bigger problem.
The last time she brought it up, her mother had flatly refused.
Her father’s reaction would be no better.
Still… I’m going.
For Noah.
For myself.
Heart set and steeled with resolve, Elisa decided to first seek her mother’s approval.
She had just turned to go find the Countess when unexpected news reached her.
“Father’s return?”
He was supposed to come back next week—and even that had been uncertain.
Now, suddenly, Count Leslie had appeared without warning.
It’s because of Ethan, isn’t it?
She had no doubt.
Her father would never have returned unannounced unless something—or someone—compelled him.
If that was true, then she needed to see him.
Immediately.
Elisa headed straight for her father’s chambers.
Her determined strides slowed the closer she got.
By the time she reached his door, her face was ghostly pale, like someone who had never once felt sunlight.
Do it for Noah. Be brave.
She licked her dry lips, knocked softly, and waited.
His reply came at once: “Come in.”
Despite being home for some time, Count Leslie was still seated on the couch, coat and all.
His expression was dark, his eyes a storm of anger, irritation, and disappointment as they pierced through her.
Elisa froze in place, the door closing behind her with a soft click.
“…That bastard came back.”
It wasn’t a question—it was confirmation.
A single sentence that turned her suspicion into fact.
Elisa nodded, her lips cracking from dryness.
“Yes. Just like he left without a word, he returned the same way. Only now… he’s come back a hero—the man who defeated the Empire and led the Allied Forces to victory.”
“A hero, my ass.”
The Count’s fingers tapped the armrest, twitching with barely concealed rage.
“No doubt that damn second prince pulled some strings. There’s no way a man who’s never held a proper sword could become a hero otherwise.”
“Regardless of how it happened, the fact remains—Ethan is a hero. His Majesty the King recognised him as one and awarded him a barony and an estate.”
Elisa fought to keep her voice calm, reining in the storm of emotions inside.
“Why are you defending him?”
The Count’s scowl deepened.
“Don’t tell me you still have feelings for that man. The bastard who abandoned you while you were pregnant?”
The words hit like iron spikes, reviving wounds she had tried so hard to bury.
Her face was drained of all colour.
“Answer me, Elisa. Do you still love that man?”
“…Of course not. How could I?”
Her voice was hoarse, strangled in her throat.
The Count didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t press further.
Instead, he dropped his next bomb with chilling calm:
“Then marry Derek Grenville.”
What…?
The conversation had taken a jarring turn.
Elissa’s brows furrowed.
“Father, I—”
“If you marry him, I’ll allow you and Noah to go to Tahal.”
