Chapter 40
“How could you send Ethan to the battlefield when he’d never even held a weapon, let alone a sword? And to do it… using me as a bargaining chip?”
The thought of what Ethan must have endured on that battlefield—the struggle to survive, the sheer intensity of the fights—made her chest ache as if it were being ripped apart, and her eyes burned hot with unshed tears.
“How could you hide something like that for four whole years? You know, you know how much I suffered, how miserable I was when Ethan left—and yet you did nothing!”
Her voice, trembling with rage, echoed through the study.
Count Leslie looked startled at first, but quickly regained his composure.
“So, you were worried I wouldn’t tell, but in the end, I did. That’s why you can never trust someone of humble origin. Can’t even keep such a simple promise.”
“Is that… what you’re saying right now?”
“Oh? And why not?”
The Count’s face was composed, almost indifferent, as if her fury was nothing but an inconvenience.
Elisa’s eyes widened in disbelief.
She had not expected her father to admit wrongdoing easily, but she had assumed at least the smallest shred of excuse—I had no choice, it was for your sake, something like that.
Yet his brazen audacity left her speechless.
Of course.
That’s why he could commit such acts without remorse.
It explains why he could deceive someone like Ethan, who survived hell itself, rather than pity him.
Count Leslie let out a short, irritated sigh, as if his daughter’s blazing resentment was just a nuisance, then glanced at Derek Grenville.
“I have urgent matters to discuss with my daughter. Will you excuse us for a moment?”
“No need,” Derek answered, but Elisa spoke first.
“I’m going to break off my engagement with Sir Grenville. I think you should hear this too.”
“What?”
Startled, Count Leslie jumped to his feet.
“Elisa.”
Derek’s hand gripped her arm in shock, but Elisa faced him directly for the first time since arriving.
“What do you mean, break off the engagement?”
She wasn’t particularly fond of Derek, either.
Even if he had considered her and Noah, the fact that he’d forced her into a semi-coerced proposal hadn’t changed.
But seeing his bewildered expression stirred more guilt than anger.
After all, Derek was also a victim here. Had her father not acted so absurdly, she would never have been entangled with him this way.
“I’m truly sorry,” Elisa said, voice sincere.
“But… now that I know everything, I can’t marry you.”
“And what exactly do you plan to do?”
Count Leslie’s voice sharpened like a blade.
“Are you seriously saying you’d marry that man?”
“Yes, Father. That ‘what if’ is exactly right.”
“Elisa Leslie!”
His roar thundered through the study.
Even Derek flinched at the sheer force of it—but Elisa didn’t so much as blink.
“You think I would ever allow that? Absurd! Not in my lifetime!”
“I don’t need your permission. I’m an adult, and I have the right to marry the person I love.”
Ethan had risked the battlefield to protect the family she held dear, yet Elisa never wanted that.
A fence could always be rebuilt.
The one she would build with Ethan might not be as solid, but she believed it would be far happier.
“You are my daughter!”
Count Leslie gripped her shoulders as if he could crush them.
“As your father, I cannot watch my child make such a reckless, wrong choice!”
Elisa, exhausted by the same words she’d heard over and over, shook her head violently, her hair coming undone.
“And why exactly is marrying Ethan the wrong choice? Is it because of his social standing? That can’t be it—he’s been made a baron, so that shouldn’t matter!”
“Becoming a baron doesn’t change his lowly blood! Have you forgotten the origins of his father?”
Impossible.
When it came to Ethan, Count Leslie remembered every detail, however small.
Elisa had always assumed Ethan’s mother, Lady Grace, was simply a widow.
In reality, she had fallen in love with Ethan’s father, who had once been a slave of the family, and fled in the dead of night to be with him.
When Count Leslie learned the truth, his fury flared, and he wanted to replace the household staff immediately.
But by then, Elisa had grown fond of both of them, and Ethan had nearly died at the jaws of a mad dog in her place.
Reluctantly, the Count had no choice but to relent.
“I will never tolerate lowborn blood mixing into our lineage!”
That explained why Ethan was unacceptable while Derek Grenville was allowed—even though Derek was an illegitimate child, his mother was of noble birth.
Elisa smiled bitterly, stepping back a pace, suddenly understanding how her father had likely viewed Noah all this time.
“Then I suppose I should leave the family.”
“Elisa!”
“I’ll take Noah with me, so don’t worry.”
From the start, Elisa had never intended to persuade her father.
She knew better than anyone that he would never acknowledge Ethan—especially since he hadn’t even honoured the contract.
Still, the only reason she had gone to see him was to hear the truth directly from his own mouth, to confirm what she had heard.
She had even nursed the faintest hope that, faced with the full revelation, her father might repent and honour the contract.
But now that the truth was out, and the last sliver of hope extinguished, there was no longer any reason to continue the conversation.
“Excuse me, I don’t mean to interrupt…”
A new voice cut in before the meaningless dialogue could continue.
Colin Dudley, Count Leslie’s aide, spoke cautiously.
“I have urgent news for you, Count.”
“What is it?”
“Well…”
Colin glanced at Elisa before speaking carefully.
“Baron Ethan Estevan has gone missing at Sailport.”
***
At the same time, Howard was heading toward the train station, having heard the news of Ethan’s disappearance.
He had been uneasy from the start, ever since Ethan—who was barely sociable—was included in the delegation teeming with Prince Alex’s entourage.
That unease had only deepened after Derek Grenville proposed to Elisa.
Howard had always feared some accident might befall Ethan—and now, his fear had come true.
“To think he’s gone missing in the sea instead of Camilla…”
Howard muttered in disbelief.
His aide, sitting opposite, nodded gravely.
The incident had occurred the previous night.
The ship was originally scheduled to depart that afternoon, but inclement weather forced a one-day delay.
The delegation stayed the night at Sailport, and that evening, Princess Camilla, furious, had summoned Ethan to the harbour.
Shortly afterwards, her screams pierced the night. When others rushed to the scene, Ethan was nowhere to be seen.
Camilla had collapsed near a cliff, crying.
According to her testimony, she had slipped and was about to fall, but Ethan had grabbed her just in time.
Camilla had been saved, but in the process, Ethan had plunged into the frigid sea.
Search parties were dispatched, but with darkness falling and heavy rain soon pouring down, the efforts proved futile.
In the end, no one could locate him.
If it had been Princess Camilla who fell into the sea, her position might have forced immediate action. But the missing person was merely a baron.
Even as a hero who had saved the allied nations, finding him could not possibly take precedence over attending the diplomatic conference.
The delegation’s ship departed as scheduled, and news of Ethan’s disappearance only reached the capital that afternoon.
“They said the search is ongoing, right?”
“Yes. But judging by the fact that he hasn’t been found so far… Baron Estevan may already be—”
“No. Ethan is alive, I swear it.”
Howard cut off his aide sharply, his tone resolute.
“He’s survived far worse than this, clawing his way through hell itself.”
Even without that, Howard was certain: Ethan Estevan would never die leaving Elisa Leslie behind.
He would live, no matter what.
