Chapter 23
Asilie left Count Bourbon’s house with the excuse that she wasn’t feeling well, then followed the carriage of the new weapon inventor.
The coachman showed concern since she didn’t bring any guards, but she didn’t hesitate at all.
Right now, it was more important to bring the new weapon inventor into the Duke Camédici’s house than to worry about her safety.
Asilie planned to offer him all the support he needed, as long as he agreed to sell the new weapons only to House Camédici for the next five years.
If the guns were only distributed through the Camédici family, no other house would be able to match their military power.
The weapon had terrifying destructive force.
If she could secure it before it fell into the enemy’s hands, it would help them handle their current threats more securely.
“My lady.”
Asilie snapped out of her thoughts at the coachman’s voice from outside.
“What is it?”
“I was wondering if you’d consider returning to the Camédici mansion now.”
“Why are you saying that? Is there a problem?”
“Well… the carriage you told me to follow seems to be heading to the slums outside the capital. But since our carriage is quite fancy…”
Even though the coachman didn’t finish his explanation, Asilie understood what he meant.
If a woman in an expensive dress stepped out of a flashy carriage and looked around in a place full of poor people struggling to live…
She would become an easy target for robbery or worse.
Anyone could predict that.
“Sigh…”
It wasn’t a worry she could ignore. She also realized her actions were a bit reckless.
But asking Count Bourbon about the man’s whereabouts wasn’t an option because of how tense their relationship was.
Asilie thought it wouldn’t help for them to know what she or the Camédici family was interested in.
Besides, the man called himself a “new weapon inventor.”
“It’s fine. Keep going.”
“…Understood.”
In silence, the carriage kept moving.
As the coachman expected, they stopped in a slum where the poorest people in the capital lived.
It smelled like a dirty sewer, and there was trash piled high in the alley.
The coachman thought there was no way the duchess would step into a place like this. But Asilie stepped out of the carriage without hesitation.
“My lady, this place is very dangerous. Are you sure you don’t want to turn back now?”
“It’s fine. I won’t take long. Just wait for me.”
But the coachman still didn’t want to let her go alone.
After a long back-and-forth, Asilie compromised by borrowing his dark cloak. Then she walked quickly to catch up with the man who had gone far ahead during the delay.
She followed him for quite a while, but he didn’t seem to notice that she was behind him.
The man was lost in thought.
He didn’t even notice that a clumsy woman unfamiliar with tailing was following him.
“Damn it!”
When the man cursed and kicked a pile of trash against a wall, Asilie finally realized what had happened.
At today’s tea party at Count Bourbon’s house, he didn’t get any good results. Instead, he became a laughingstock among the nobles and was called a fraud.
If he had pride in his invention, of course he would be angry.
But soon, Asilie realized her guess was wrong.
“Jonathan!”
The man stood in front of a run-down door and shouted so loudly the whole alley echoed. The emotion in his voice was clearly rage.
Asilie held her breath and watched.
Something felt strange.
“Jonathan! You little bastard, where did you run off to?!”
As the man kept yelling and throwing empty liquor bottles lying around the alley, the door opened and a small boy ran out.
“U-uncle, I’m sorry. I was sleeping, so I’m late—”
Smack!
Before the boy could finish, before the man even looked at his face, he punched the boy right away.
The weak boy, hit by an adult man’s brutal punch, was thrown far and collapsed.
If Asilie hadn’t quickly covered her mouth, she might have screamed.
“Uncle, w-why, today…”
So they were blood-related.
Even without the word “uncle,” their faces looked very similar.
But the boy’s voice was full of fear, and yet he didn’t seem surprised by the violence—like it had happened before.
Asilie couldn’t understand this situation at all.
No matter how angry you are, how could you be this cruel to an innocent child?
Smack!
Without any explanation, the man grabbed the boy by the collar and lifted him up, then slapped his cheek hard again.
The already thin boy collapsed after the second blow.
“Do you even know how humiliated I was today because of you?! Aaaah!”
The man screamed in fury.
You’d think a neighbor would come out to see what was happening, but no one did. It seemed like the neighbors were used to this.
Asilie realized this wasn’t the first time.
“I was laughed at by those stuck-up women, huh?! I saved your life when you were about to be sold off as a worker, fed you, gave you a place to sleep—and this is how you repay me?! You ungrateful brat! Aaaah!”
He didn’t seem to feel sorry at all for the boy groaning on the ground. Instead, he grabbed the boy’s ear roughly and shook him hard.
The boy cried like he’d been wronged, but the man didn’t show a hint of guilt.
“P-please stop, Uncle. It’s my fault. I’m sorry…”
Thud!
“Shut your mouth!”
Asilie still couldn’t understand.
Maybe today had been a humiliating and painful day for him, but the boy had done nothing wrong.
Why was he blaming him like this?
Even if someone could create a great invention, that didn’t mean they were a good person. And Asilie thought a person this cruel couldn’t be allowed into the duke’s house.
Should I go back?
She no longer had any reason to be here.
There was no point staying in a place this dangerous.
Asilie turned her body away from them. But she couldn’t take a step.
“Ugh…”
She could hear the boy sobbing right behind her.
She couldn’t pretend not to hear it. The guilt was too heavy.
“Uncle, please…”
The boy, hit with fists and kicks full of emotion, begged in pain, but the man didn’t flinch.
“You think I’m going to let this go?!”
“I didn’t do anything. I really didn’t.”
“No, you did something sneaky behind my back. On purpose! Answer me, Jonathan! Why did the gun that worked fine when you used it not work when I did?! Why?!”
“I-I don’t know either, Uncle.”
“You made it! How can you not know?!”
Smack!
Asilie’s eyes widened.
She finally understood what was happening.
The boy was the one who actually invented the new weapon. The man had tried to use that invention to get rich, and when he failed, he took it out on the boy.
No wonder their conversation felt strange…
How many terrible things has that man done until now?
Asilie knew he wasn’t a fraud because she had seen him before her regression.
At the annual hunting competition, the man demonstrated the gun and managed to take down a huge bear.
Since then, his weapon had sold rapidly, and he had gained an enormous fortune.
But that success wasn’t his. He stole the glory that should have belonged to the boy by abusing him.
Then what happened to the boy before the regression?
Was he locked away somewhere, forced to keep making weapons for the man, or was he killed to keep the secret?
Asilie felt chills all over. Either way, the man had done terrible things to his nephew for a long time.
How could a person who looked human commit such horrible crimes?
“Oh my god…”
“Who’s there?! I said, who’s there?!”
The man must have heard the sound Asilie couldn’t hold back. He started looking around.
Luckily, she was hidden in a dark shadow behind a big box, so he didn’t see her right away. But if he came closer, he would eventually find her.
Her heart pounded loudly.
Asilie tried to move her stiff body and slowly stepped back.
Clatter!
“You little brat! Where do you think you’re going?! Damn it!”
From the sound of footsteps and the man’s voice, it seemed the boy had escaped in another direction while the man was distracted.
Asilie felt relief that the boy wouldn’t be hit anymore, but she couldn’t feel safe yet. The man was still getting closer, trying to find where the noise had come from.
His footsteps were getting louder.
What do I do?
If it had been earlier, she might have been able to persuade him with a promise of support from the Duke’s family. But now that she knew the man’s secret, she wasn’t sure if the negotiation would go smoothly.
‘I broke my promise to Sir Villian.’
Ironically, that was the first thought that crossed her mind.
Right after, she thought of Esperad’s face, who had been so worried about her.
‘He’ll be angry, won’t he?’
She didn’t even realize it, but tears were already gathering in her eyes.
It was out of fear of what might happen to her and sadness at the thought that she might never see her loved ones again.
‘What do I do……?’
Asilie squeezed her eyes shut as she heard footsteps coming closer.
At that moment, a large and strong hand grabbed her slender wrist hard.
“Mmgh!”
She almost screamed in surprise, but the man quickly covered her mouth, so no sound came out into the air.
The tears that had built up slowly fell down her cheeks.
Her heart pounded like crazy. She thought something terrible was really happening.
There was no one here to save her. That meant the man who covered her mouth probably wasn’t helping her with good intentions either.
‘Am I not going to be safe?’
It was a mistake to ignore the coachman’s warning.
She finally started to regret it. If she had known he was like this, she wouldn’t have followed him.
A sob escaped her lips, even though the man still had his hand over her mouth.
“Sniff…”
The quiet whimper, breaking the silence, seemed to make the man realize she was crying.
He gently rubbed her back, trying to comfort her.
“Don’t cry, Asilie.”
It was a familiar voice. Asilie opened her eyes wide in shock and turned her head.
“Sorry for scaring you.”
The moonlight that had slowly risen now dimly lit his face.
It was just as she had hoped — it was really Esperad.
How in the world was he here?
There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but as soon as she opened her mouth, only sobs came out.
“H-How… sniff… I was so scared.”
“It’s okay now, Asilie. You’re safe now.”
Esperad hugged her tightly, as if trying to calm her.
Asilie buried her face in his broad chest, sobbing, unable even to think of wiping the tears that kept falling from her eyes.
His warm hand patting her back, the gentle comfort she had never felt before, made her crumble even more.
The meeting ended earlier than expected.
Since the meal with the progressive nobles also finished earlier, Esperad was able to end his schedule for the day sooner than he thought.
He got on his horse, thinking he should head home, but then remembered a short message he received from Edgar.
It said there had been an urgent situation, so he had asked Sir Gaut to escort Asilie, and asked for understanding.
Sir Gaut was a knight even Esperad trusted, but he still couldn’t shake off a bad feeling.
The tea party at Count Bourbon’s house probably wasn’t over yet.
‘Should I wait and go back home with her?’
He wondered if he was being overprotective, but no one could blame a man for worrying about his wife’s safety.
Esperad made up his mind and headed straight to Count Bourbon’s mansion.
“You may go now, Sir.”
“Yes, Your Grace. I’ll see you at the mansion.”
After sending Sir Gaut away, Esperad was about to enter the mansion when he saw the family’s carriage leaving in the distance.
The family carriage wouldn’t move on its own. That meant Asilie must be inside.
‘Is she already heading back to the mansion?’
But she wouldn’t leave without Sir Gaut. Something must have happened.
Once he realized that, he acted quickly.
Esperad sent Asilie ahead into the slums just in time, and after hearing the whole story from the coachman, he ran straight into the alleys.
But no matter where he looked in the dark alley, he couldn’t find her.
That was when he heard some low-life men talking nearby.
“That girl, she’s new around here, right?”
“Should we follow her?”
“If she’s a noble girl, we can ask for ransom at least.”
“Would be nice if we can enjoy her before that.”
“She needs to learn how dangerous running away can be. Heh.”
Esperad instinctively knew they were talking about Asilie.
His blood boiled, and he wanted to draw his sword and deal with them right away. But to find where Asilie was, he had to use them for now.
He held back his anger and followed the men.
Thanks to his patience, it didn’t take long to find Asilie.
“Even from the back, she looks lovely. Heh.”
“What kind of spoiled noble girl do you think she is?”
Esperad couldn’t listen to any more of their sick talk about Asilie.
He dealt with them just enough not to kill them, then rushed to her.
Then he covered her mouth, trying to keep her from making a sound as she moved like she was trying to avoid something.
While holding the sobbing Asilie in his arms, Esperad looked around. He saw a shabby man slowly backing away after making eye contact with him.
He didn’t know who that man was, but if he was the reason Asilie was this scared, Esperad couldn’t just let it go.
He memorized the man’s face carefully.
“I’m really sorry… for causing trouble with my foolish actions. Sniff.”
After a while, Asilie finally calmed down. She wiped her tears with her sleeve and apologized.
He had been terrified when he realized she was in danger, but he hadn’t wanted an apology.
Esperad shook his head and brushed away the damp hair stuck to her forehead.
“No, it’s not your fault.”
But Esperad knew—if he hadn’t followed her, Asilie would’ve really been in danger.
Even though nothing actually happened, the thought that someone had almost hurt her chilled his heart.
What if he hadn’t come in time?
What if he had just assumed she went to the mansion and didn’t check?
The terrible thoughts made him feel cold inside.
Esperad held Asilie even tighter in his arms.
Even though he felt her gaze looking up at him in surprise from the sudden pressure.
