Chapter 24
****
Instead of waiting for an answer, Caius held out a hand.
The uneven stone path was hard enough to climb, but it was even harder to descend. Louise couldn't help but take his hand.
His hand was warm, almost scalding.
For the first time, she realized that maybe the man she had feared so much was just a normal person with a warm heart like hers.
He let go of her hand as soon as they reached the bottom of the hill, but her cheeks, flushed by the heat of his body, refused to cool down. Her lone hand fluttered awkwardly in the air.
Returning to the garden, the man paused before the third pond. He was about to tell her the story of Melk that he had been putting off.
Louise waited patiently for the man's lips to open.
Patience was one of the few things she had a little more of than most, and she could afford to be patient, knowing that his reasons for delaying the trip to Melk were more his than hers.
"Last time, didn't you say that the pawnbroker stole your borrowed money, though I was lucky enough to get it back into my hands."
She wondered if he's bringing up the loan note again to ask her to marry him again.
But if that's the case, it's something they had talked about many times before, and never once had he seemed so uncomfortable. He always came across as if he's asking for what he deserved.
As Louise wondered, he continued.
"From what I've heard, I'm concerned about public safety, so I've been speaking to the Burg police department. It turns out that the police department is divided into different jurisdictions, so even Melk falls under urg."
"Ah................"
Louise was a little nervous at the unexpected turn of events. Why would she need to know about police and jurisdictions, she wondered.
Caius let out an uncharacteristic sigh.
"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry, but since you're going to Melk, I thought you should know."
Louise finally relaxed and looked up at him.
"By any chance, is there something going on in Melk?"
The man shrugged.
"Yes, naturally, I was briefed on Melk's affairs, and it turns out there's been another burglary, in your house."
"What? But my house has....................."
There was nothing to steal anymore.
Perhaps reading Louise's mind, Caius asked instead.
"Did someone have a grudge against you, because it looks like someone broke in and destroyed your house, and not just any thief..................?"
"Oh, no, of course not, I don't hold grudges.............."
He smiled and tilted his head, his shadowed face momentarily caught in the light, his pale gold eyes glinting brightly as if absorbing it all.
"In fact, if you take me up on my offer, you'll never have to worry about your home again..................."
The man was easygoing, even when he was telling stories of burglars in other people's homes and asking about grudges. He stopped joking when he saw Louise's face harden.
"You'd still be worried, so I used a little more force. I shouldn't have."
"What?"
Louise repeated, unable to understand, and the corners of Caius's mouth curled upward.
The shade of the leaves swaying in the breeze cast patterns across his face. It didn't hide his handsome features, but Louise could only watch the man's lips nervously.
"I told Melk to increase patrols and keep an eye out, and the captain there seems to have taken notice. He says they caught the thief."
Her eyes widened in disbelief, and he took a step forward.
The yellow light flickered once more on the man's face, now completely out of the shadows. His golden eyes, the ones she kept avoiding, held a hint of mischief.
"Why, you know what they say, the killer always reappears at the scene of the crime."
In other words, he had been keeping an eye on Melk, and when he told her that her house had been burglarized, he had increased patrols, and then the thief came back, unafraid, and finally was caught.
It was a coincidence, but the man's power was enough to make it all happen. Caius took a step closer.
"So, in conclusion, it seems to have served you well, any compliments?"
"Ah................"
What compliment should she give a man of his status?
Louise hesitated, then lowered her head. She didn't forget to take a step back, worried about how close they had gotten.
"Thank you ................... For caring."
On second thought, he had done her a favor.
It hurt to hear that her house was broken into, but there was nothing to steal. Thank goodness she brought her mother's urn with her last time.
Still, she might need a little more time to go through and organize the house when she got to Melk.
That was when acaius suggested.
"I'll send someone out to see how badly the house is broken, since you won't be able to fix it yourself."
Louise shook her head in dismay.
"No, Your Excellency. It's a shabby house, so it won't take much to fix it. I'll just go and tidy it up."
"Well, can't you give my offer a little more serious consideration while you're tidying up the house?"
The sky grew darker and darker by the minute.
The golden eyes shone like tiny beacons against the layers of night. Like a small but great sun, like a lantern to illuminate a hard life.
Her heart fluttered unexpectedly at the sight of those eyes.
"But I feel like I owe you too much..................."
Louise managed to add, but he turned and resumed the walk as if the conversation had already ended.
"Wouldn't it be nice if I was the one who owed you?"
Despite his wry joke, he stood as steadfast as a tall tree, waiting for Louise to walk ahead of him.
Louise began to walk slowly in the direction Caius led.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, dimming the nearby lights all at once.
But she wasn't afraid of the pitch-black darkness. He was half a step behind her.
Trusting that someone had her back was something she hadn't had since her father died.
Only then did she realize she didn't hate the faint scent of his cigar.
****
Once again, Louise had dinner with Caius, even though she was told that her house had been burglarized and broken into.
She thought it was because she was comforted by his outrageous joke that if she took him up on his offer, she'd never have to worry about her house again.
He was so nonchalant about the whole thing that it was almost as if the house was no big deal.
When she returned to her room after the meal, having resisted her offer of a drink, she was surprised to see the butler.
"Hello, Martin. Have you been waiting for me?"
Louise greeted him politely, and Martin smiled at her with a friendly smile and held out a letter.
"I didn't wait long, the mail came earlier, and there was a letter for you."
"For me?"
Louise took the letter in surprise.
She had left a note for Mr. and Mrs. Smith on her way to work in Burg. But neither of them knew how to write, so they couldn't have written to her.
Louise's eyes widened as she studied the name on the envelope.
Sebastian Bernd de Engel.
The name of Viscount Engel was written on the flimsy envelope. The hastily scribbled handwriting was so unlike the usual Viscount.
"Thank you, Martin."
Louise bowed politely, then added rather snidely.
"This is from a viscount I used to work for, and I didn't even ask if I could get the mail here, so I'm sorry, perhaps you have some urgent business."
"You're welcome to the mail, Miss."
The butler waved her off and joked.
"I am concerned, however, that this is where you used to work. I hope you're not going back there?"
This time, Louise waved him off.
"Of course not, don't worry."
She was confident, but inwardly she was worried.
Of course, the Viscount had told her to leave his family so surely they would understand that she had found a new job. But she couldn't imagine why he would bother to write to her.
As soon as she entered her room, she sat down at her desk and opened the letter.
Her round eyes grew wider and wider as she hastily traced the scribbled words.
***
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Write a comment
Eris_chan (Sunday, 29 September 2024 15:25)
Ele está enganando ela direitinho.