Countess Dermund looked at Eila and Leon with a happy face. Although her body was uncomfortable because she was lying down, looking at the two people sitting in front of her now made her smile. The children she brought. How did these children grow up so well?
“I don’t know how long it has been since I’ve seen you two together like this.”
It was a mixture of reproach and affection.
“…….”
“…… ”
After that, the two looked at each other and then turned their heads. Unable to bear the silence, Eila spoke to the Countess first.
“I heard from the doctor. Get some rest and you'll be fine soon...….”
"No way. I know my body well. This is not something that can be cured. The older you get, the weaker your body becomes. It's just the difference in how quickly you decay."
“…….”
“I wouldn’t make a face like that. In fact, I am a person who has little regrets even if I die tomorrow.”
“Don’t say that.”
This time, Leon, with a hardened face, answered. The Countess, who had been smiling at Leon's worried face, sighed briefly.
“If there’s only one thing I regret, there’s only one.”
Having said that, the Countess let out a long sigh.
“You two have no children yet.”
At the Countess's words, Eila didn't know what to say to her.
Although they had known each other for 12 years, they barely met face to face. All exchanges were the short cards that came once a year. She hadn't even responded to the card that he seemed to send out of obligation. Had they even held hands? The closest they got was when Leon grabbed her as she was about to fall in the study a while ago.
How could they have a child when she can count the number of days they see each other in a year. The Countess expected the impossible.
As the two of them remained silent, the Countess spoke in a hoarse voice.
“I didn’t mean to rush it, but…… How about thinking about it now?”
The Countess’ gaze turned to Eila.
“Twelve years have passed. Eila, I have been waiting for you to graduate from the academy. After that, you are going to be here right?”
Eila couldn't answer the Countess’ words.
She had no intention of returning. In fact, she had already decided where she would work after graduation. It is a city very far from the capital.
It was also a place se had been looking for with the hope that there would be no problems after her graduation since the Countess had not said anything to her. She intended to repay what she owed to the Countess as she earned money working alone.
As she hesitated because she could not answer, suddenly, Leon took her hand. Then he said to the Countess.
“Eila will continue to be here. Don't worry.”
It was a calm voice, as if talking about something that had been decided a long time ago.
A bewildered Eila tried to release her hand, but Leon would not let go. He then looked at her quietly, as if to stay still for now.
"Oh my. I didn't notice. Have you already discussed talking about coming back as soon as you graduate? I was worried that you were still going to live outside the mansion because you didn't say anything."
There was a bright smile on her sick face. So Eila nodded, unable to answer no.
“Right, I’m a little more relieved now. Then…… Cough! Cough!”
Suddenly, the Countess’ body trembled and she began to dry cough. At that sound, the doctor waiting in the next room ran, and after a long commotion, the Countess barely managed to take medicine and fall asleep.
The doctor approached Eila, who was watching it with worried eyes.
“I am very relieved that you have decided to come back. The Countess has been waiting for you. To be honest, she has never been in such a good mood as she was today. If she’s happy like this, I think she will get better. However, if she goes through a big emotional change like just now, it is difficult for the Countess’ body to withstand. So, as much as possible, please help the Countess to rest.”
What do you she looks a lot better. Even after hearing that she got better thanks to her, Eila's face did not brighten. After listening to the doctor for a long time after that, she left the room with Leon. Eila, who saw him walking ahead, asked cautiously.
“…… Why did you say that?”
When Eila asked him, Leon, who was walking ahead of her, turned her back and looked at her.
“That?”
“To the Countess, that I’ll come back here…….”
Eila will continue to be here. The words he had said in the Countess’ room continued to linger in Eila's mind. He must have said something he didn't mean to reassure the Countess, but somehow it seemed that she had to ask.
“Ah, that.”
At that moment, there was a loud noise from the front door and a loud voice echoed through the hall.
“Let me go! How dare a mere butler try to stop me?”
It was the voice of a very angry man. Eila's face hardened at that voice. It was a voice she remembered, and it was an unwelcome voice. Soon the owner of the voice appeared in the hall.
“Come on, tell the Countess that I am here. No matter what anyone says, I am her closest relative. The elder in the family is ill, how can I not see her?”
He was a man who was dressed with fancy clothes from his colorful hat to his clothes.
Gordon. Eila muttered his name into her mouth. Had it not been for Leon and Eila, he would have inherited the House of Dermund under the laws of the Empire. As Gordon entered the hall, he lifted his head and found the two people watching him from the railing of the hallway on the floor. He waved his hand to Eila to greet her.
“It’s been a while, Eila. About three months? Have you become more beautiful in the meantime?”
At his words, Leon looked back at her. Eila’z shoulders shrunk without realizing it, as Leon's sharp eyes seemed to ask her to explain what happened.
“It was just that he suddenly came to the academy a few months ago so I met him.”
She didn’t know why, but she felt like she should emphasize the face that she didn’t meet Gordon because she wanted to.
She really didn’t want to meet him. When she heard that there was a guest visiting her, she went to the break room without much thought and Gordon was waiting for her. At first, she couldn't even remember who he was. It wasn't until she heard him introduce himself that she remembered. When she was a child, he was the person who sat in front of her at a wedding and looked at her with eerie eyes.
‘I didn’t know you were using your old surname other than Dermund. Thanks to that, I’ve been looking for you for a long time.’
After saying that, he started talking about nonsense.
'By the way, I thought you were pretty even when you were young, but now that you have grown up like this, you are even more beautiful. Without Leon, I would have married you, right? That guy is so lucky. He inherited the count as a young man, and he even got such a pretty wife.’
She was able to endure it somehow. However, he soon asked if she was keeping in touch with Leon, and in the end he even asked whether they were having marital relations.
As he was a relative of the Countess, she could not tell him to go away immediately, but Eila left, saying she had an urgent matter. And she asked the people at the academy to tell him that she wasn't there if he came back. Fortunately, they haven't met since then, so she has forgotten, but she didn't know they would meet here like this.
“The Countess must rest, so she cannot receive guests. So please go back.”
At Leon's words, Gordon glared at him.
"Damn you, it’s not long before you can’t show off anymore. Let's see how long you can hold your head up so stiffly!"
“Butler, the guest is leaving. Please see him off.”
It was an order to get that guest out quickly. As soon as Leon's command was given, the butler and the servants standing next to him grabbed Gordon's arm and dragged him as if they were waiting.
“Let go, you lowly ones! How dare you touch this body! When I become Count Dermund, I will not leave you alone!”
Eila, who heard that, was stunned. Maybe Gordon is crazy. What does he mean Count Dermund. How could Gordon become Count Dermund when Leon is standing perfectly healthy here? Then Gordon shouted again.
“As long as the law promoted by the First Prince is passed, Count Dermund is mine! It's been 12 years since you guys got married! If there is no successor in the meantime! Your marriage can be annulled!”
Gordon, who was shouting at the top of his lungs while being dragged by the servants. looked at Eila.
“Don’t worry, Eila! You can stay here! I know that Leon didn't touch it anyway...….”
“Hurry up and get him out!”
Leon roared at Gordon's continued words. Only after Gordon was dragged out the door and his carriage pulled away did the mansion regain its tranquility. But Eila was not tranquil.
"Excuse me…… What was Gordon talking about?”
Leon pondered for a moment and then spoke to her with a complicated face.