[CHAPTER 109]
The interrogation specialist reported that a poison capsule had been found in Ethan’s molars.
“Tell them to pull out all his teeth.”
Everything felt unbearably exhausting.
They had only just achieved independence as a duchy, yet not a single internal matter had been properly resolved.
Harvich let out a long sigh.
“They say nothing suspicious was found even after thoroughly searching the Chaester territory.”
Hugh handed Harvich the documents he had received from the courier earlier that morning.
As the man flipped through the pages, he spoke.
“Tell them to return. And say that we will hold a belated victory banquet once they’re back.”
“……They will understand even if it is after all the traitors within are dealt with.”
The beginning and the end of a war mattered.
Even more so when there were casualties caused by the war.
“Then it will be too late. Everything must be finished within five days.”
Five days.
There was no further explanation, but Hugh understood.
It was to return to the Grand Duchess.
When Harvich pulled the cord, an aide who had been waiting outside entered.
“Pass this on to the head butler.”
After handing the documents to the aide, Harvich immediately shifted his gaze to another stack of papers.
Since returning to the ducal castle, he had worked nonstop for two full days.
Without eating or sleeping, the man buried himself in work as though he were being chased by time itself.
Hugh watched him quietly before finally speaking.
“Would it not be better to bring Her Highness to the castle instead?”
Harvich lifted his eyes from the papers and looked at Hugh.
“No.”
He did not want to force Lincia to do something she did not want.
“She is the woman who bore Your Highness’s child.”
“So what.”
Harvich sounded genuinely puzzled.
“If it were you, would you want to come back?”
What did it matter that she bore his child.
If merely giving birth to his child would have changed how Lincia was treated in this castle, it would have changed back when Harvich first loved her.
“To call Lincia back to a place filled with nothing but bad memories.”
Harvich let out a long sigh.
He looked at Hugh, who could not even part his lips, then turned his gaze away.
A woman bound to Harvich as his wife, unable to leave the duchy.
Even if, far in the future, his relationship with Lincia were to recover, he would never bring her to the ducal castle.
This castle would forever remain the worst memory in Lincia’s mind.
Even if Lincia said she wanted to stay in the castle, Harvich would stop her.
That choice would surely be for his sake alone.
To Lincia, this castle was nothing but harm itself.
How could they hate a woman so deeply, a woman who was nothing except for having Durand blood flowing through her veins.
Even Lincia coming to the duchy had been solely because of Harvich.
Because he had been careless with the fact that he loved her.
Without realizing it, his unguarded feelings had created this situation.
It was all his fault.
Ever since his conversation with Ethan, Harvich felt as though something were lodged in his chest, making it hard to breathe.
His stomach churned uneasily.
Even now, he had committed countless wrongs against Lincia, and the realization that it all began with his own feelings made his chest feel unbearably tight.
The guilt of a sin he could never repay even in a lifetime, intertwined with the shame of his incompetence in failing to manage even his own retainers.
After a long silence, Hugh finally spoke with difficulty.
“I… spoke out of turn.”
Seeing Harvich’s constantly shifting expression, Hugh lowered his head.
“What about Derek’s whereabouts?”
Instead of reproaching Hugh further, Harvich changed the subject.
No one here was a greater sinner to Lincia than Harvich himself.
Because he had been foolishly affectionate, because Ethan had noticed his love, she had suffered such hardships.
He only grew to despise himself more.
“We have not found him yet.”
“Is his survival confirmed?”
“Yes.”
Derek was a knight who, during the war, had been ordered by Harvich to monitor Count Chaester.
Letters had returned, but the man himself had vanished.
At the time, there had been too many urgent matters to address, but once evidence emerged that Ethan had intercepted the letters, Derek’s disappearance became significant.
Either he had been killed by Ethan, or he had been one of his confidants.
Circumstances clearly pointed to his death, but nothing was certain yet.
“Leave.”
Harvich returned his gaze to the documents.
As a throbbing headache surged, he habitually pressed his temple, then stopped himself.
Ever since quitting the medicine Ethan had prepared for his chronic headaches, Harvich had been suffering intermittent migraines.
No medicine eased the pain, and even painkillers were useless.
It was better this way.
A headache he would carry for life would serve as a reminder, one he could never forget, of the life of a woman he had ruined.
As soon as the knight order returned, a victory banquet was held.
The first banquet since resolving the food autonomy issue was lavish beyond measure.
After praising achievements and holding a title conferment ceremony, pride filled the knights’ faces.
That same night, a report arrived stating that traces of the long-missing Derek had been found.
A knight’s insignia, clearly carried by the river, had been caught on a rock.
“What is the likelihood of it being a trap?”
“None.”
The river’s origin lay in the south.
Tracing where his trail lay would take considerable time, as it required crossing a rugged mountain range along the river’s path.
If he were to receive all the reports, he would return later than he had promised Lincia.
But now, Harvich no longer wished to be late.
“Send the reports to the villa. I will review them there.”
* * *
Harvich returned sooner than Lincia had expected.
Jumping down from his horse, reins in hand, he strode straight toward her.
“Lincia.”
He must have ridden hard, because his ragged breathing was clearly audible even to her.
Had the man dismounting not been Harvich, Lincia might have thought he was someone rushing off to capture a criminal.
“I am back. I saw you from afar and…”
Though he tried to steady his breathing, his breath remained uneven.
Harvich was openly showing his joy, but Lincia unconsciously took a step back.
“I am not running away.”
The body of Harvich, who had been striding toward her, stiffened.
“You were worried I might run, weren’t you?”
Otherwise, there was no way he would have arrived even earlier than the day he had promised.
His urgency only deepened her suspicion.
“I missed you.”
Lincia was left speechless by his gentle words.
“I wanted to see you even a little sooner.”
At the same time, she noticed how bloodshot his eyes were.
The unmistakable look of someone who had not slept properly rendered her completely silent.
Why did he act so foolishly, to the point that it robbed her even of the will to be angry.
When Lincia reached out her hand, Harvich bent at the waist.
Removing her glove, she gently touched his cheek.
His face, having ridden straight through the winter wind, was cold.
“Did you sleep?”
Harvich’s body stiffened again.
He asked back,
“Is it that obvious?”
Was that even something to ask.
Lincia frowned.
“Yes.”
She withdrew the hand that had been caressing his cheek.
Harvich’s gaze clung to her hand, unwilling to let go.
“Were you out for a walk?”
Instead of answering, Lincia simply nodded.
“Where is Tereo?”
“I didn’t go far, so I left him behind. He will be watching from the window.”
“Whoever came up with that idea, it was quite wise.”
Harvich muttered softly.
“Will you go inside?”
“I haven’t been out long. You should go rest now.”
After saying that, Lincia took Anna’s hand.
Harvich caught the tips of Lincia’s fingers.
“Please, speak with me just a little longer.”
Ah.
Harvich let out a short sigh.
He looked almost surprised, as if he himself had not expected such words to leave his mouth.
“I am sorry.”
Harvich fumbled at his lips.
“……You look tired, so get plenty of rest first. Then come see me.”
