Chapter 22
****
"What is it that you want to tell me?"
At Blake's question, Lily looked around the dining room from the high podium. From somewhere, spaghetti was thrown over someone's head and down it went.
Oh my goodness.
"Before that, I should say thank you first. Thank you for inviting me, it's a fun banquet." (Lily)
"In answer to your belated greeting, 'it’s too late’, there's a beer showdown over there that I think just opened, but you'll have to check it out later." (Blake)
"I guess what I'm trying to say is..." (Lily)
"Exactly my point. So what the hell is it?" (Blake)
Lily smiled elegantly, as always.
"Don't blame Sebastian too much." (Lily)
"Excuse me?" (Blake)
Blake's face turned grim.
Of course it was natural for him to look that way. The boy was no longer just a teenager. He was a criminal who tried to kill Lily.
“You don't have the authority to punish him. I am the decision maker.” (Blake)
“As a victim, I can appeal to the decision maker, or as a benefactor who saved the lives of many people. I heard that all the surgeries on the injured people went well?" (Lily)
"...... That boy should get a heavy punishment." (Blake)
"I'm going to leave anyway." (Lily)
Lily was considerate of Blake. At least she thought so herself.
If it hadn't been for her, Sebastian would have been the loved child of the winter castle.
Lily was an outsider.
It felt uncomfortable to see an insider take so much punishment because of an outsider.
She was also somewhat aware of what big things Sebastian had done.
“I'm going back to the capital in a year. So if you really must punish the boy, it will be enough to keep him from coming to Winter Castle during that time." (Lily)
For a moment, the man felt as if his reason was cut off.
"I didn't know it if you’re pretending to be clever, but you are stupid!" (Blake)
It all happened in an instant.
Blake was about to ask her to stay longer.
Honestly, he thought Lily would have wanted that suggestion too. It wasn't simply because she didn't want to return to the capital.
He thought she liked the winter castle.
And d*mn it, what the hell was those laughter?
What is the reason for taking Dominic II for a walk in her spare time?
Didn’t she enjoy it when she and the servants worked together to spill a bucket of snow on a man's head? But now Lily seemed to have no love for the winter castle.
“Did you think I would be grateful if you said that? Do you think you’re a nice person? An innocent person who forgives evil people?" (Blake)
Lily was perplexed by the sudden harsh words.
“Why do you think that way? Don't talk to me like that. I was just giving the Duchy some consideration, Lord Blake."
“The Lady is acting like an idiot, stupid, foolish and frustrated.”
Concessions were a virtue in the world around her.
The upper classes, in particular, preferred to act in direct opposition to the commoners.
She hated it when commoner maids had to live in squalor to feed their children. They were greedy.
So Lily couldn't want for anything more.
When she was a child, she used to get whipped for wanting more dessert and her legs would swell up.
Thanks to that, she now had no appetite and no desire.
There was also a lack of human defense mechanisms to protect her body to the extent that she escaped from the capital just before her husband would kill her.
“An employee’s mistake can damage his master's reputation. So the act of punishing Sebastian would be a clear proof that "the employee has made a mistake.” When that happens, for example, in our society......." (Lily)
"This is not that d*mn society!" (Blake)
As their argument grew more and more heated, few people around them began to look at each other.
Even Lily's voice, always supple and elegant, sped up with a bit of anger.
“Please don't overreact! I am merely a lodger who will return to the capital in a year's time, and it is only for your honor........" (Lily)
“From what I've heard, you're calculating when the year will end. Is the capital that good? If so, don't touch anything from the dukedom! I'll send a messenger to the capital to purchase what you need, if you request it in the report. Just use the capital stuff!" (Blake)
When Lily became quiet, Blake was like “Oh, no”.
He didn’t mean to insult her like this.
It was just surprising to him that things went so wrong.
His plan was simple. He thought if he asked her to stay longer, Lily would reply, ‘Yes, thank you for your consideration.’
He got it all wrong.........
'I shouldn't have been as cynical as I am now.'
There was something he should have protested.
'Still, it's awful to defend a pre-murderer who tried to kill you.’
His chest tickled sometimes when he looked at Lily.
He was not in the mood to deny it. He couldn't believe how much he had to hold back a smile at the sight of Lily's traditional dress.
Also, how angry she made him feel.
He even had the boy who had grown up here for over a decade shoved in the dungeon. It was embarrassing to think that all Lily could think about was leaving.
Thinking about it, the man surrendered to the uncomfortable feeling that came over him again.
"That’s enough. I’m leaving.” (Blake)
I seem to be the only one who cares about you.
It was a fact that I knew.
The man suddenly felt the leather belt around his waist tighten. He took it off roughly, messed up his hair, and returned to a bad look as usual.
"Enjoy the feast well, but do as you please. As you know, the next banquet is a year later, and the lady will not be able to attend."
The huge dining room was crowded with people, and it was hot from the heat of the alcohol. Still, everyone overheard the fight between them despite how loud the noise was.
“What's wrong?"
“I'm not sure, but it seems that your Master has gone mad......"
When Blake disappeared with a rough gait, the maid, Gianna, approached Lily.
“My goodness. What happened? Why did Master suddenly get mad?"
"I know."
Lily smiled a little weakly.
"I was being considerate, but he got angry."
Lily was speechless too. How could he tell her that the capital was good? When he heard the situation directly from her mouth.
She knew he was rude, but he had gone too far.
‘He's such a stubborn man. I wonder if he was a little less stubborn when he was little.'
Fortunately, he had noticed his mistake. Lily could see the dismay in Blake’s eyes earlier.
Lily decided to make up another nickname that he would not like. Only then did it seem to loosen her mood.
“I must go after him and calmly clear up this misunderstanding. I'll be right back.”
***
Blake was sitting in his office.
He sighed as he swept his face with his calloused hands.
“Hmmmph.”
He glanced at the window through his stiff fingers. It was so cold outside that even the window frame was frozen.
He was still angry.
But he already regretted his anger.
“I really shouldn't have done that.”
What if Lily was scared?
‘Her weak body would have been weaker, but I don't think I can give in.’
‘And I don't think she even knew what Sebastian did to her.’
All the employees hid the truth from Lily. Maybe she thought it was just a small mistake, because Sebastian was just a boy.
It was enough for her to be considerate….......... ‘Oh, crap, I see. Why did I do that?’
He didn't often make such fatal mistakes, and even then he had to go back six years to remember them.
It was a certain Young Lady who had confessed her love to him.
“Lord Blake. Even though we met for the first time, I felt like fate. Will you propose to me when you go back to the duchy?”
The woman was the eldest daughter of a family that owned at least ten luxurious hotels, and it was a good resort. So her family had contacts with most of the nobility.
“Me? Do I have to?” (Young Blake)
Blake didn't find it necessary to refuse in a roundabout way. Feeling great disdain, the woman vented her grief to many nobles.
The House of Upus, which people hated even just for that, was increasingly despised based on that day.
'After all kinds of maneuvering, the hotel of that family owed me a huge debt, and then the case was closed.’
Looking back on that time, Blake's choice to marry her properly would have been the right one instead. Moreover, Lily, who was younger than Blake, was already married.
It was a time when he was of marriageable age. But he didn't marry because he found the opposite sex troublesome.
The more he did, the more fascinating it was. He couldn’t believe there was a woman who was already involved with him since he was a child.
Little and cute Lily laughed in his head and disappeared.
"..."
Anyway, just like with the hotel's family, he had to fix his mistake this time too. But how?
Blake couldn't even see the papers on his desk.
Still, he flipped through some of them to regain consciousness. He immediately regretted it...
"Tsk, that's it.”
It was a bundle of papers from the capital.
Originally, he had burned almost everything that came from the capital. As a result, he didn't even know that Lily was a sorceress.
So this time, he ordered the employees to keep them.
“Now I don't want to see anything from the capital, but I'm out of luck. ............... Wait.”
Blake spotted a familiar face on a piece of paper.
It was a piece of paper with a yellow string strung across it.
It had a portrait of Lily on it.
The first phrase that caught his eye was, [Looking for a missing person.]
"You know why Lily Hedwick disappeared. What do you mean ‘missing’?"
Blake’s lips twisted roughly.
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