Chapter 31
***
That evening. Aubrey sat quietly on the bed. Instead of drinking the warm milk Trin brought, she held it in her hand, lost in thought.
The afterimage of the nightmare that lasted for several nights remained in every corner of her body. The nightmare that started the day that man came to visit.
She suffered from nightmares at night and was exhausted from looking after Barbara during the day.
Emily's rampage brought her devastated heart to a peak.
When a fidgety Trin opened her door, Aubrey stood up and approached her.
“Is my aunt still awake?”
Trin nodded, Aubrey straightened her clothes and left the room.
She stood in front of Barbara's bedroom and took a moment to catch her breath. Since she’d already come to a conclusion, there was no need to hesitate any longer. She was tired of worrying about this now. Her exhausted brain froze her emotions.
Aubrey dismissed Trin and knocked on the bedroom door herself.
“Auntie, it’s me. I have something to tell you.”
The door opened quickly. Barbara, wearing a silk gown, looked at her with wide, surprised eyes.
“What’s going on, Aubrey?”
“It’s about what you mentioned before. It’s about helping Count Lavonne.”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. I don’t want to burden you.”
"I’ll do it."
Barbara's eyes grew even wider than before. Although it was nice that Aubrey had changed her mind, something was a little off.
“I thought about it carefully and I think it’s right for me to help. It will be a good experience to try something new.”
Aubrey's voice was too calm.
“What’s wrong?” Barbara placed a hand on her shoulder.
Aubrey shook her head.
"Nothing. I was just thinking about it.”
"You don't have to try so hard. I have no intention of forcing you to do something you don’t want to do.”
“I don’t hate it, aunt.”
Aubrey tried to smile.
“How much has my aunt done for me so far? Moreover, it's not someone else's job, it's Count Lavonne's job. As a member of the Ravant family, it’s natural to help him.”
Aubrey was a little embarrassed, but it was an answer she liked. After asking Barbara several times if she was okay, Aubrey finally nodded.
"Okay. I will convey your meaning.”
“Yes, aunt.”
“Thank you for making such a big decision. Sincerely.”
Aubrey smiled brightly, said good night, and left her bedroom. The facial expressions she’d forced completely disappeared by the time she returned to her bedroom.
Aubrey lay in bed, pulled the blanket up to her chin, and stared into the darkness with open eyes.
'I would appreciate it if you could think of something other than that.'
She was the one who said she would give him what he wanted. And what happened recently was his answer.
All she had to do was listen to him. Then everything will be over.
Aubrey closed her eyes, hoping the terrible nightmare that had lasted for several nights would not come again.
****
When Aubrey sent a letter through Barbara saying she would accept the offer, the reply arrived as if he had been waiting for it. Khaled sent his own carriage.
“Miss Sandalwood, good morning."
A man she had seen before greeted her politely.
“My name is Lehman. I’m Count Lavonne’s secretary.”
She knew he wasn't a cafe employee, but he was a secretary. Aubrey nodded lightly.
“Are you okay alone?” Barbara followed Aubrey to the front door.
"I’m okay.”
“Your complexion isn’t good.”
“I guess it’s because I haven’t been able to sleep these days. I'll come back carefully. Don’t worry."
Aubrey greeted the secretary politely and got into the carriage. Lehman followed suit.
“I’ll be back.”
She smiled brightly, but her face hardened as soon as the door closed.
Soon the carriage departed, and Aubrey looked out the window with a stern expression.
She was silent for a while and then asked a question when the carriage took a different route than what she expected.
“The meeting place was somewhere other than Duke Karnus’ residence. Where is it?”
“A townhouse owned by the Count. It’s located directly within sight of the fountain in the square.”
"Is that so?"
An indifferent expression and response. This really bothered Lehman. Even he couldn’t guess his boss's intentions, so how could she be any different? Lehman flashed a professional smile.
“You will never be in a room alone with the Count. I will assist you, so don’t worry.”
But Lehman's words did not come true.
As Lehman said, the townhouse directly overlooked the large fountain in the square. The exterior looked exactly like a hotel. Aubrey held the large notebook she had brought with her tightly to her chest and followed Lemon inside.
The interior was filled with white and dark blue. It reminded her of the color of his eyes.
Aubrey frowned without realizing it.
The two passed by the bare living room, which had no fancy decorations and only the necessary furniture placed in the right places and headed towards the stairs.
Khaled Karnus was in the drawing room on the second floor. The man stood on the uniquely patterned carpet on the floor, watching the square from a floor-to-ceiling window. There was a white table and two sofas near the front of the window.
“I brought you Miss Sandalwood.”
When Lehman spoke, the man who was standing upright turned his head this way. Aubrey bowed slightly and raised an expressionless face.
Emotionless gazes met in the air. The two stared at each other like that for a moment.
“It’s been a while since I saw you, Count Lavonne.”
Aubrey greeted him calmly.
"Get out."
Khaled gave instructions to Lehman, lightly skipping the greeting to Aubrey. Lehman rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“I told you to leave, Lehman.”
“Yes."
He couldn't stay. Lehman went down the stairs after giving Aubrey some reassuring words, telling her he would be waiting downstairs.
“Sit down.”
Khaled said as he sat down on the left sofa. Aubrey slowly walked over and sat down across from him.
"First of all….”
Aubrey, who had been fiddling with the notebook she had been holding in her hand, began to speak. She didn't forget to raise her head and look directly at him.
“Thank you for the good opportunity.”
Khaled leaned back deeper into the sofa. He focused on her.
“I hope I can be of help, even if I lack the skill.”
The formal greetings ended like that. Because she had no words or feelings to add.
“Are you ill?”
Khaled narrowed his eyebrows slightly. Aubrey's face, seen under the window with dazzling sunlight pouring in, was different from the last time he saw it.
Her bloodless face turns white every time Khaled met her, but what are these puffy eyes and swollen lips?
“What is it?”
“I can’t sleep.”
Aubrey, as expected, had no expression. Her reply was detached, as if the words were being spit out mechanically.
“Can’t sleep? Why?"
Despite Khaled's question, Aubrey opened her notebook without saying a word. She grabbed the pencil that was between the two. She stared at him.
Are you saying we should just shut up and get on with work? Khaled took a deep breath.
A strange, unknown scent lingered at the tip of his nose. The faint scent was just like the scent of flowers.
“Before we begin, I have a question.”
It was really strange. She speaks clearly and carefully, but I feel like something is broken. Khaled answered, narrowing his eyes as if looking at something far away.
"Ask."
“Is the theme of the play you had in mind related to that island?”
Khaled frowned.
He didn't answer. Aubrey waited. A long silence followed. Khaled took a close look at the woman who was looking at me with an undisturbed attitude.
The straight green eyes didn’t show the slightest tremor. The woman, who had been startled just by looking at him, now stared at him calmly. Even more so when mentioning that island.
His eyes scanned the face and then turned downward. He could see the back of her hand turning white from gripping the pencil. She gripped it so tightly he thought she might break it.
He realized it wasn’t that she was unmoved, it was now she was able to endure him.
"Tell me please. Is my guess correct?”
Khaled let out a short laugh.
“You were thinking about me like that?”
“….”
“As someone planning to make money with the story of your time on the island?”
“Do you deny it?”
“I told you I’m not interested in your past.”
Aubrey sighed softly. She angled the pencil, pressing the lead against the paper.
“Then please tell me the topic you were thinking about.”
“First, tell me why you can’t sleep.”
Why was he so obsessed with her wellbeing? Aubrey frowned without realizing.
Now that she looks a bit more like a person, Khaled asks once more.
“Is it because of that guy Nicholas?”
“Why does Master Artherton suddenly appear?”
“Then what is it?”
Aubrey let out an exasperated sigh, put down the pencil, and responded calmly.
“I can’t sleep because I have nightmares.”
"Nightmares?"
“Should I tell you what I dream about?”
“Yes, thank you.”
A strange person after all. Aubrey looked at him resentfully for a moment, then briefly shook her head.
She hated useless arguing. Especially if the opponent was Khaled Karnus.
She couldn't possibly guess his intentions. So, this was the conclusion she came to whatever it is he wants to hear, she’ll tell him and put an end to this awful debt.
Aubrey closed her eyes tightly and spoke.
“I dream the Count arrives wherever I am...”
Khaled narrowed his eyes when he heard that he had had a nightmare.
“He appears over and over again no matter where I am.”
“….”
“The Count in my dreams reveals my secrets. No matter how much I beg, he shakes off my hand with a sneer on his face.”
“….”
“He tells everyone I’m an escaped slave raised on an island. That I’ve had a bad life from birth. He ruins me.”
His eyes, who had been listening quietly, opened. The cold aura that most people fear, especially Lehman, was in his eyes.
“It never seems like it’s just a dream. It feels very real.”
“…”
“After the first nightmare, I shivered all day. I was afraid of night coming. I pinched my thighs to not sleep. But, I fell asleep in the end.”
Aubrey smiled bitterly. The thigh that was pinched like that ended up with a blue bruise. She rested her hand on her thigh covered by the hem of the dress.
“I held on as long as I could but finally I couldn’t stay awake any longer. Fortunately, I didn’t have any nightmares that night. From then on, I worked hard to stay awake. If I don’t rest, I won’t meet the Count in my nightmare.”
“….”
"Ah. Still, there was one benefit. Thanks to meeting you in a nightmare...”
Aubrey smiled.
“I’m not scared of you anymore.”
She was no longer the one who couldn't laugh.
***
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Write a comment
Romy (Monday, 13 May 2024 01:17)
Ouch. Well what could he expect after being so mean to her and wanting her gone for no good reason, specially when she is the one that looses the most if their previous connection is exposed, like how is she a threat.