Chapter 104
“No matter how much you monitor Jane all day, you can’t speak to her. Since there’s information that comes from conversations with people, Becky would be better for that aspect.”
“Becky is indeed very reliable in that regard.”
As Riina watched Lione nodding, her head tilted to one side, and half her face was immersed in shadow.
But Lione could see clearly.
The playful smile lingering at the corners of “that” Young Miss’s lips.
Though they had accidentally met a few times before this relationship, and he thought he had served the Young Miss for quite some time since becoming her servant.
This kind of smile was the first…
Staring at Riina with dazed eyes, Lione was startled by her next words.
“It seems you and Becky have become close.”
Looking at the words alone, it sounded as if colleagues’ conflict had been well mended, resulting in a relationship where they could smile and put their arms around each other’s shoulders.
But there’s a certain nuance that comes from a person’s voice, isn’t there?
Lione waved his hands in alarm.
“You know well that I’m disgusted by such things!”
“That’s true.”
Riina nodded readily, then tilted her head a bit more as she observed the sweat rolling down Lione’s temple.
“But was it necessary to deny it so vehemently? As the old saying goes, a strong denial is a confirmation…”
“Becky and I are very good colleagues.”
He committed the outrageous discourtesy of cutting off his mistress’s words, but neither Lione nor Riina paid attention to it.
Instead, Riina stared at Lione, but Lione’s eyes were simply wandering in empty space.
Well, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
He had seemed to like Becky quite a bit from the beginning.
Becky had called him a sly fellow and such, but now she seemed to have softened somewhat.
It probably wasn’t the feeling of a racing heart or excitement like when they were being teased.
But just removing the negative emotions associated with people or love was a significant development.
As she had told Lione, she had only promised him one year.
Though he could stay like this now as her personal serv— well, anyway, as her servant, after a year, he would have to make a choice.
‘A genius, I said. Undoubtedly a genius. He absorbed all the Akendel secret arts in just a few hours.’
‘So that means he can have what he wants…’
‘Yes. Now Lione can mingle with people only when he wishes. If he desires, he could live forever without being noticed by anyone’s eyes.’
This is excellent for Lione.
Though he may not realize it, he has obtained perfect freedom from the things that had driven him to a miserable death.
But Riina couldn’t simply nod and say it was good.
“Lione.”
“Yes.”
“Have you encountered anyone while doing this work?”
“Not at all!”
Seeing Lione thrust out his chest confidently as if asking to be believed, Riina’s expression grew lukewarm.
He is a fugitive.
He had fled not only from love, which had tormented him his whole life, but from human relationships themselves.
And Riina, too, is a fugitive.
Because she wants to escape all the incidents and accidents caused by her innate misfortune.
But his escape and hers were completely different in texture.
That’s not to say either one is wrong.
Riina can live without misfortune.
No, her life would be better without it.
But what about Lione?
People cannot live alone forever, can they?
‘All I need is the Third Prince. Just him.’
Before her regression, Riina had been isolated.
No, to be precise, she had isolated herself.
Though she was obsessed, even then, one fact was engraved in her bones:
Her terrible misfortune would drag others down with her.
That’s why, even when her vision blurred and the whole world seemed to be spinning madly, she never created anything that would become a disgrace to her family.
Well, was it fortunate that she alone was executed and her family remained safe?
And after her death, Jane… no, she wasn’t sure about that part anymore.
Jane had taken over most of the family duties since before Riina completely lost her mind, but had she really inherited Bolshevik?
Now she would never know.
She had no hobby of expending mental energy on things she couldn’t know or find out.
Riina briefly shook her head to bring back her thoughts that had wandered elsewhere.
Well, some people might be able to live alone, but Lione probably wasn’t one of them.
If he had been someone who could live alone, he wouldn’t have met such an end after experiencing all those past events and accidents while holding his position to the end.
Looking at Lione’s stained cheek, Riina exhaled a faint sigh.
For now, there was no choice but to watch over him.
“Lione.”
“Yes.”
“From today, make sure to greet everyone at least once in the morning and evening.”
“Yes. What?”
“Greetings, I mean. Not just me, but Becky and Sebastian too.”
People who hadn’t lost their minds despite having him nearby.
As Lione merely blinked, Riina said with a deliberately stern face:
“It’s an order.”
“Yes. I will do as you command, Young Miss.”
Unfortunate accidents arising from something as short and simple as greetings would be something Lione could easily avoid.
She needed to do what she could for now.
Sometimes even passing greetings and trivial chatter can become happiness.
So yes, Lione was on her mind.
Riina mocked herself for meddling when she had enough problems of her own, but since she had already pulled him out of the water, she wanted to help him collect his bundle too.
“Excuse my impertinence, Young Miss, but I’d like to ask one thing.”
“Go ahead.”
With her ready permission, Lione asked without delay:
“Why did you bring in the shadow?”
But Riina couldn’t readily provide an answer.
Why had she brought in the shadow?
Well, as the family’s heir, when every task she undertook resulted in failure, or incidents comparable to failure, naturally someone to assist would…
Huh?
Something creaked in Riina’s mind.
The thought she just had was entirely about the time before her regression.
Her past, when she had tried various things to become a perfect heir fitting for her family and struggled desperately not to fail.
But now?
Had there been any major failures in what she was doing now?
From the beginning, she hadn’t actively tried to do anything like before her regression.
She merely did what needed to be done, going with the flow.
Moreover, since being with Einar, even minor accidents had long ceased to occur.
As Riina’s expression hardened, seemingly lost in thought, Lione bowed his head.
“Young Miss, may I withdraw?”
Of course, he could have simply seeped into the shadows without saying this, without disturbing Riina’s thoughts.
But she had told him to “greet” people.
Though it came with the qualification of morning and evening.
Riina nodded to Lione, who was timing his withdrawal well.
“Yes. Thank you for your hard work. I won’t be startled anymore, so you can leave however you prefer.”
At this, Lione’s form gradually began to be sucked into the shadow.
“You seem to be doing well.”
At the casual remark, Lione smiled while half-submerged in the shadow.
It was quite a bizarre scene, but the smile that spread across his face was nothing but genuinely pleasant, without a trace of falsehood.
“Yes. I am doing well.”
A similar smile spread across Riina’s lips.
Riina, who hadn’t taken her eyes off Lione until he completely disappeared, pressed her stirring chest.
Not bad.
Yes, it wasn’t bad at all.
This thing, rising from deep within and subtly warming her chest…
It was something she hadn’t dared to feel even after several days of facing Lione, whose problem had been resolved and who had become her personal servant, alive and well.
The realization that she had prevented his miserable death, which was her past but would have been his future that now would never come.
The realization that the person she had reached out to might have a happy future.
The sunlight streaming in was somehow too dazzling, and tears welled up in Riina’s eyes.
After sending Lione away, Riina immediately called for Sebastian.
“Where is Father?”
“He is in his office, but he’s about to leave for the Imperial Palace on business.”
“I see. Then I should see him right away.”
Suddenly, she had many questions to ask her father.
Why had he brought in the shadow, and could the shadow really substitute for the heir?
Riina’s steps, which had been quickly heading toward the Duke’s office, gradually slowed.
She suddenly recalled the words she had uttered.
‘You don’t… need me anyway.’
When she had announced she would leave the family, she had definitely said that.
And before her father could speak, she had fled.
Was it because of me? Because I told him to find someone to replace me?
No, that’s backwards. I said that because I thought he was already preparing someone to replace me.
No matter how she thought about it, it didn’t make sense.
In the end, she had no choice but to ask directly.
But meetings with her father were always awkward, so Riina hesitated to step forward.
As she wavered, Sebastian spoke with his usual calm expression:
“Young Miss, I’m informed that the Duke has left for the Imperial Palace a little earlier.”
“Ah, I was late…”
“No. The Duke was unnecessarily early.”
Did she just hear something Sebastian would never normally say?
That loyal head steward using the word “unnecessary” about his master?
“Sebastian? What did you just…”
But Sebastian, still with a proper expression, conveyed different information instead of answering:
“And you have guests.”
“Guests?”
