If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 117
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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Vaclav, who had come immediately at Agatha’s summons, gave a brief report on the financial status of the Kristin estate, all the while discreetly observing the unusually serious demeanor of his mistress.
“You intend to leave the estate?”
“That’s correct.”
“Do you mean a temporary departure, or…?”
“I mean to leave the Marquis’ estate for good.”
“Does that imply you intend to sever ties with the Marquisate altogether?”
Agatha blinked calmly in affirmation, and Vaclav, clearly searching for the right words, fell silent for a moment before speaking with difficulty.
“Is this because of the Calvino family?”
He seemed worried, as if he had unwittingly become the cause of tension between the couple.
“Partly. You could say it’s about half the reason.”
“Perhaps it’s just a baseless rumor. Even if it were true, Marquis Vernat might have his own reasons.”
“It’s not just hearsay. I saw Count Calvino’s son myself, leaving after meeting with Cain.”
“You mean someone from the Calvino family set foot in this estate?”
Agatha nodded.
“Someone doesn’t invite a person into their home without a close connection. This is more than just a financial matter.”
“I see…”
“As you said, it might be a simple matter of mutual interest. Cain could be pursuing a strategic goal, asserting his influence over the Calvino family. But the real issue doesn’t lie in that. After days of reflection, I’ve come to a realization.”
“And what have you realized, Madam?”
“No matter the reason for joining forces with the Calvino family, Cain should have told me. Before taking such steps, he should have informed me and asked for my understanding—if he truly considered me family.”
Vaclav had no words to offer in reply.
The day he first met Agatha again after 14 years, he had learned the full extent of the Vernat couple’s secrets. Like many others, when he first heard the news of Cain Vernat’s sudden proposal to Lady Kristin, he hadn’t fully understood the reasoning behind it.
So while the details of this secretive marriage arrangement hadn’t shocked him, he had long suspected there was more to the story than Agatha knew.
Vaclav had never quite believed the story that Cain Vernat had proposed to Agatha simply to bring Kristin’s knights into his fold. The logic didn’t add up, no matter how he considered it.
Of course, relationships between men and women can form and change due to the powerful variable of love, but Cain Vernat wasn’t the type to jeopardize his standing with the imperial family for something as whimsical as infatuation.
Even if it risked his trust with the Emperor or severed ties with the royal family, there had to be something deeply hidden behind this marriage, something much greater than merely claiming the legitimacy of Kristin’s name.
And now, was Marquis Vernat truly ready to break this carefully constructed marriage contract over an affair with another woman? Vaclav found that hard to believe.
Of course, even men who seemed unlikely to act foolishly could lose themselves in the delusion of meeting their so-called fated one. Vaclav had seen countless people make such mistakes.
But was Cain Vernat, the cold and calculating ‘Knight of Blood and Ice,’ really one of those foolish men? Vaclav didn’t think so.
Throughout his life, Vaclav had developed a sense for reading people—a feeling that couldn’t always be explained logically but tended to be accurate. And that feeling told him Cain was not the type to act recklessly.
“What do you intend to do, exactly…”
“The time to officially end this marriage contract is approaching. The four years stipulated in the contract are nearly up.”
“Does that mean… you’re planning to divorce?”
For the second time, Agatha nodded.
“I see. I’ll make preparations so you can return to the estate immediately.”
A servant should not question their master’s decisions, so Vaclav refrained from asking further. Instead, he quickly began to mentally organize the steps he would need to take to assist with the divorce.
“No, even if I leave here, I won’t go straight to the Duchy.”
“Then… where do you intend to go?”
“I plan to leave the capital for a while, at least until I’ve gathered Kristin’s knights and built up strength. That way, I’ll be safer from the reach of Calvino’s people.”
“So that’s why you asked me to find the knights. Ah, and is that also why you sent Liana outside the Marquisate?”
“That’s right.”
“Does the Marquis know about all of this?”
“No. Not yet.”
If only there was time to talk. Agatha thought bitterly to herself.
She hadn’t been trying to keep her plan to divorce a secret from him. But after that night when he’d drunkenly went to her, Cain had scarcely returned home.
And on the rare occasion he did come back, he immediately secluded himself in the annex, avoiding her entirely. His actions screamed that he didn’t want to spend even a moment with her sober, and she had no desire to beg him to sit down and talk.
“When do you plan to tell him?”
“I haven’t thought about that yet.”
“You’re not planning to proceed with the divorce without informing him, are you?”
“…I suppose I haven’t ruled it out.”
She truly hadn’t given it much thought. Somewhere along the line, Agatha had stopped thinking about Cain altogether. She no longer bothered to resent him as a cowardly husband.
All the memories they shared were losing their place within her, fading into insignificance.
So much so that even the act of forgetting him was something she had begun to forget. Cain Vernat was slowly becoming nothing to her.
