~CHAPTER 77~
In truth, Harbirich did not want to abandon his manor.
Even if the distance between the main residence and the outer estate was short, it made no difference.
Even if it was close enough to touch his nose if he fell, as long as Lincia was in the main residence, Harbirich did not want to set foot in the outer estate.
Avoidance was not possible even if he did not wish it.
“Lincia.”
Standing before the firmly closed bedroom door today as well, Harbirich called out to her.
“I have something to say.”
The words urging him to see her face just once welled up in his throat. He pressed them down firmly. His desire to feel reassured by seeing her face was his own, and it was her freedom not to open the door.
“I understand if you do not want to see me.”
What was there not to understand? Even he, were he Lincia, would want to reject such a deceiver.
“If you do not want to see my face…”
He almost let slip the pitiful words to tell her he would simply leave her standing at the wall.
Just then, the door swung open.
Harbirich looked at Lincia as she appeared beyond the opened door.
It had only been a day since he last saw her face, yet it seemed she had wasted away overnight, and it hurt his heart.
Lincia stared at him for a moment before turning her back.
“…Come in.”
She immediately sat on the edge of the bed. Harbirich closed the door but remained standing at a distance, unable to approach her.
“So, what did you want to say?”
“…Do you no longer want the sketches?”
It wasnât what he intended to ask, but the question came out the moment he had the chance.
Until recently, Lincia had cherished the fragments of emotion he had spilled. But nowâŚ
“The lady has instructed me to return them all.”
Before his thoughts could wander further, Lincia replied coldly.
“Yes.”
This meant that his lies were strong enough to conceal even the sincerity that a woman could detect.
He could have let her keep the sketchbook; the novel might have been worth reading. He might have wanted to give her a small joy. Yet the words he wished she would not hear kept pressing against his mind. Harbirich pushed them aside and spoke.
“I will be leaving for the outer estate for a short while.”
Why must he confirm so many things with his own eyes? Harbirich could not understand.
“I will return as soon as possible. However, I am concerned about you being alone…”
“You do not need to worry. I am not particularly important in this castle anyway.”
“Lincia, this is all my fault. So…”
Please, must she say such self-harming words?
“So, do you regret it?” Lincia asked, staring straight at him.
“If you could go back, would you act differently?”
Harbirich hesitated.
Though it seemed like a simple binary choice, he actually had three options in the past:
He could marry her and let a woman with no place to lean in the North feel, “Even I do not welcome you.”
Or he could fabricate lies that would satisfy her and hand them over.
Or he could admit his incompetence and confess that she did not receive proper treatment as a mistress due to his own failings.
He chose the second. After all, he had intended to eventually let Lincia go. A woman from Durand could not live on Cassiusâs land, and Lincia, being from the South, would not want to remain in the North anyway.
He preferred to confess incompetence rather than assume a scenario of separation.
Yet he could not immediately answer that he would make a different choice to Linciaâs question. One reason was obvious: the next question was already anticipated.
âThen why did you deceive me in the past?â
Harbirich could not answer that.
He needed to avoid telling the angry Lincia that he had anticipated parting ways with her.
If she learned his true intentions, she might ask him to let her go.
âYou planned to do so anyway.â
Harbirich wished to avoid that thought.
Lincia waited a moment before speaking bitterly.
“You cannot answer, can you?”
She lowered her gaze.
“Go. You never needed my permission to go out. The outer estate is not far, after all.”
“Lincia.”
“Why?”
He wanted to embrace her even for a moment. It was just a short absence, and nothing would happen in that brief time, yet he felt an inexplicable anxiety.
Harbirich carefully expressed his troubled heart.
“Stay safe. Always have Hue accompany you when you go out…”
“Yes.”
Lincia did not listen until the end before replying.
Harbirich stared at the woman who had sealed her lips with a distant expression filled with emotion.
Strangelyâor perhaps naturallyâthe words âI love youâ thumped in his chest. They felt almost identical to anxiety, and he wanted to shout them out immediately.
But if he did, she would likely ignore him even more, so he remained silent.
“I will return soon.”
Harbirich finally said that before turning away.
He did not know what he would experience before he could say âI love youâ again.
***
Few had easy access to the underground prison.
Officially, only Ethan and the knight who served the prisonersâ meals could enter.
Occasionally, the torturer or Harbirich would visit, but these two were the main comings and goings.
Harbirich first excluded the knight as a suspect. If the knight wanted to kill Oberock, he would have found a better method than reporting with a nauseated face.
The second suspect, Ethan, fainted as soon as he saw Oberockâs body in the prison.
Even brought in for verification, Ethan Chester could not maintain his composure when he saw blood. His reaction was the same as when taken to the hunting ground.
Harbirich told them to remove the unhelpful Ethan and looked into the prison.
The official suspects were eliminated, leaving only the unofficial ones.
Due to the cold weather, the corpse had decayed slowly. Harbirich examined it and concluded:
“Someone has a filthy habit.”
Oberockâs corpse had been severely mutilated.
Normally, crimes not driven by deep hatred did not go this far.
This meant that if Harbirich himself had killed Oberock, he would have done it this way, but unfortunately, he was not the culprit.
And aside from him, who could have such hatred toward OberockâŚ
“Ah, I was just about to return to the palace.”
“I would be satisfied if we took this one.”
Yulias.
Harbirich frowned.
Yulias had also shown strong hostility toward Oberock. Harbirich did not think his anger was misplaced, as Oberock deserved death.
But if Yulias dared to interfere inside his castle and disturb the relationship of vengeance, and if that was certain, Harbirich would not stand idly by.
“Call Tereo.”
