“Good timing. I was just thinking about going to find you right away.”
“I have no business with you. And the Countess, she will not be accepting guests for the time being.”
Gordon's expression hardened for a moment at Eila's cold attitude. But soon he looked at her with a sad expression on his face.
“Oh, poor Eila. I am doing this to help you.”
“What do you mean?”
Helping, anyone who hears that would think she's in trouble. She tried to ignore Gordon, who made cryptic messages, but he again blocked her.
“It won’t take long. There is something you must see.”
Should she just ignore him and leave? But if she does, Gordon will continue to follow her. She wanted to scream for help if he caught her. If that happened here, it was sure that bad gossip would spread.
As Eila hesitated, Gordon spoke again.
“It’s about Leon.”
“……!”
At the mention of Leon, Eila looked at him. The moment Leon's name appeared, she could not ignore it. What on earth is this guy going to do with Leon again? Ella looked around. Luckily there are a lot of people so Gordon won't be able to do anything weird.
“It won’t take long. You just have to see what the others are seeing.”
“Is that really all?”
What on earth is there that she has to see and it has to do with Leon?
"Sure. When you see it, you will have to thank me.”
“…… all right. Once that's done, I will go back."
Thinking so, Eila was forced to follow Gordon. Fortunately, he dug through the people, not anywhere else, and dragged her inside. There were clashing, irritating voices pouring into Gordon and her, but Gordon led her helplessly. Then he pointed inside as if to look.
“Why in the world are you……!”
Eila's eyes widened the moment she passed the people and arrived in front of the store.
Leon was there. More precisely, Leon and a certain woman were together. The store staff next to them were dealing with the woman with their heads bent to the ground.
The woman, who was walking around the store full of luxurious clothes, picked up the things she liked and gave them to Leon, who was standing next to her. Then Leon took the things she had given him and followed after her.
They looked like a couple having a good time no matter who saw. As Eila stared blankly at the figures, she heard sounds around her.
“Oh my God, the princess and Count Leon are together?”
Princess? The woman next to Leon is a Princess? Eila thought about the things she had heard about the Princess. She didn’t know much. But one thing was for sure. The Princess liked Leon quite a bit, so she asked him to marry her a long time ago.
“I guess the rumors were true.”
"I know, right.”
Rumor? What rumors? Then Gordon whispered as he hugged Eila's shoulder.
“Did you see it? How much Leon is clinging to the Princess right now and waving his tail all the way.”
“Why Leon…….”
“It’s natural. If the Crown Prince's law is passed and I become Count Dermund, no matter how good he may be, in the end he’s just a loser. It's been a while since Leon and her highness the Princess have been together, but I guess you didn't know."
At that moment, the Princess approached Leon, and she whispered something in his ear and laughed. Leon nodded silently at her behavior. Then she heard people talking again.
“Oh my God, I heard that the young Count hates being touched...… it must be true that he is the Princess’ lover."
“But the young Count is already married, isn’t he?”
“What does that matter? She doesn't show up anyway, so we don’t know whether she's alive or dead. And I don’t know what kind of woman she is, but honestly, how can she compare to the Princess.”
What am I looking at.
Meanwhile, the princess again grabbed Leon's arm and folded her arms. Leon only glanced at the princess, but he remained still.
I've never been with him like that.
Suddenly, an unbearable shame came over her. She was under a big illusion that she made up herself. He didn't want to get married, and he wouldn't have spent the night with her if the law did not exist. He was only fulfilling his obligation, not because he loved her....….
'Why did I think he loved me?'
Whispering sweetly? Soft touches? Hugging her in his arms until the morning comes? Although he mixed himself to form a successor, he and she were in perfect harmony. Those things did not mean much and he could have done so just because.
It was nice to spend the night with him, even if it was a obligation. But there was something else she really wanted to do with him.
She wanted to go around the capital city together. She wanted to walk leisurely with him in the garden of the mansion under the sun. If that was too difficult, she wanted to spend a relaxing time together sitting quietly in her study and reading books. She wanted to do those little things. Now everything he did with the Imperial Princess was what she wished for.
Drip.
Suddenly, tears ran down her cheeks. The nauseous stomach became more and more suffocating.
“Uh, Eila? Are you okay?”
Seeing Eila like that, Gordon was surprised and called out her. Leon, who had been standing in the distance at the voice, turned his head.
“……!”
At that moment, Leon and her gaze met, Eila felt her chest throb. Leon's expression was that of a person who had been caught and wanted to hide something.
“Eila!”
She seemed to hear Leon's voice calling her, but Eila didn't stop. She had to go back to the mansion quickly. She had to take off all these things that she had bought while thinking about him. An unbearable shame overtook her.
* * * (read on pink-grapes.blogspot.com)
“Miss Eila, please open the door!”
Eila didn't respond to the butler's knock on the door and wiped her tears with her sleeve. The sleeves of the clothes she bought during the day were getting soon getting wet.
'I'm an idiot.'
She couldn't even remember how she got back. She just ran, grabbed any carriage, and shouted like a madman to go to the Countess’ mansion. After she arrived at the mansion, she ran into the room, leaving behind the butler, who was surprised at what was going on. And she buried her face in the bed and wept.
She hoped that Leon would follow her. But no one followed her.
~
How long has it been.
She seemed to have fallen asleep while crying. She struggled to open her swollen eyes to see out the window, which had already been darkened by the setting sun.
“Ugh…….”
As she struggled to get up, she felt something rising from her suffocating chest. It wasn't just that. Maybe it was because she cried so much, but her body didn't feel strong. As she staggered closer to the sofa, she heard a loud noise outside the door. Did the butler come again?
Just as she thought about it, she heard a loud knock on the door.
“Eila, open the door!”
It was Leon's voice. But Eila hid in the corner by the bed, without answering. She didn't want to see Leon now. When she saw Leon, it seemed that she would ask him without realizing it. Are the rumors true? Are you really in love with the princess?
To that question, it Leon answered yes, what would she do?
Eila snorted again from her mouth. If so, what can she say?
Meanwhile, the knock on the door stopped. Did Leon go back? Thinking like that, she moved her body up.
Bang!
Suddenly, the door opened with a loud noise. As she lifted her head in surprise, she saw Leon breathing heavily with her blurred vision covered in tears. Behind her, she could see the butler and servants who were at a loss.
Leon came in, closed the door, and immediately came to Eila and grabbed her arm. His eyes gleamed with anger, enough to be seen in the dark.
“Why were you with Gordon?”
At that question, Eila burst into tears again. Now she wasn’t sad, but she was starting to get angry. She thought he was going to make excuses. Why was he talking like she did something wrong?
"Why? Young Count is with the Princess, is there any reason why I can’t be with Sir Gordon?”
"What?"
Leon's expression turned scary at Eila’s answer. Eila backed away from his explosive expression.
“Don’t, don’t come any closer.”
But Leon ignored her words and approached her.
“Don’t come!”
In the meantime, she remembered him and the Princess standing together again. She suddenly felt sick. In that moment, she felt nauseous. Eila quickly covered her mouth with her hands.
“Ugh!”
Surprised by the sight, Leon stepped back from her, but she kept covering her mouth as she continued to feel like she was going to vomit and gagged. Her body shook greatly, and soon her whole body began to tremble frightfully. She felt like her whole body was coldly cooling down. At the same time, the sound faded away.
Did she faint? She noticed that her face was touching the carpet on the floor, but she couldn't get herself up.
“Eila!”
After she heard Leon calling out to her, her consciousness cut off.