If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 122
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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She looked puzzled as to why he was asking such questions. Teschen stood with her hands neatly clasped, her eyes darting around as she tried to recall.
“It seems it was about a month ago.”
Something felt off. Cain took a sip of wine, swirling it in his mouth as he pondered for a moment.
What might seem like inconsequential actions on their own can appear strange when viewed collectively. Agatha’s behavior last night was a case in point.
“Let’s leave it at that for breakfast.”
“Yes, I’ll take care of it.”
He wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up.
“What about tea after the meal?”
“Bring it to the study.”
“Yes, understood.”
He contemplated asking about Agatha’s odd behavior but decided against it. If there was something urgent to report, Teschen would certainly inform him.
Cain made his way upstairs, unaware of what awaited him in the study.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Teschen had just brought a teapot and cups on a trolley.
Noticing that Cain had been particularly irritable lately, likely due to the fatigue from handling official matters, she had visited the tea garden herself to select the finest tea leaves.
She had even paid a premium to the vendor, hoping that the combination of heated milk would help alleviate his exhaustion, even if just for a few minutes.
Despite her role as a spy, Teschen was dedicated to serving her master, Cain Vernat.
This was partly due to a sense of guilt over her espionage, prompting her to excessively attend to his well-being and needs, especially in the days surrounding her visits to the Grand Duchess.
“Oh my!”
Just as she was about to knock on the study door, Teschen almost spilled the tea when Cain suddenly opened it.
Being a seasoned servant, she quickly wiped the surprise from her face and stood tall to meet his gaze.
Cain, however, ignored her and busied himself looking around, his earlier relaxed demeanor replaced by a paleness that made her wonder what was happening.
“Marquis, I’ve brought the tea.”
“Where is Agatha right now?”
“Uh?”
She must be in her bedroom, Teschen thought to herself. Before she could respond, Cain had already stormed out.
Didn’t she just mention at the dining table that the Madam was still asleep? It seemed he hadn’t been paying attention to her casual remark, and Teschen’s expression turned puzzled.
Still, why was he looking for her with such a fearsome expression? She turned to watch Cain’s retreating figure as he strode down the hallway.
For the time she had served the Marquis, whether it felt long or short, she had never seen him looking like that.
He looked shocked, and perhaps even bewildered. The fact that calmness had left Cain Vernat’s face was no trivial matter.
Teschen was so focused on his fierce expression that she didn’t even register that he had referred to Agatha by her name rather than her title for the first time in a long while.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Had this hallway always been so long?
As he walked toward Agatha’s bedroom at the end of the corridor, Cain’s mind was tangled with thoughts. This was the first time since the morning of her birthday celebration that he had come here on foot.
He knew well enough that the distance wasn’t physically far, even if he hadn’t been here frequently.
Yet, as he walked, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the mansion was far too large and the hallway excessively long.
The documents he had discovered upon entering the study lingered in his mind. The signature on that paper, unfamiliar yet eerily familiar, made him wonder if he was still dreaming.
He was far from the type to confuse dreams with reality. As a knight who couldn’t afford to let his guard down, he hadn’t dreamt of anything aside from confronting the nightmares of his past.
The mere thought that he might be dreaming showed how shocking and unexpected the documents Agatha had left behind were.
“…A divorce agreement?”
Who gave you the right? Cain bit his lip.
It’s nice to call it an agreement, but this was merely a notification. An unilateral and coercive notification with no explanations or context whatsoever.
This was unthinkable. He had never dared to imagine such a thing.
“Marquis, the Madam hasn’t woken up yet.”
A maid, who had been sleeping on a chair by the bedroom door, jumped up to greet him. She hadn’t expected the master to visit suddenly, and her face was filled with confusion.
“What brings you here…?”
“Is it unusual for me to go to my wife’s bedroom that you would ask?”
“I-I apologize, Marquis. I misspoke.”
The maid bowed her head deeply, apologizing for her blunder. However, Cain was not in a state to discuss the maid’s manners.
He brushed aside her hand as she reached to open the door and instead grasped the doorknob himself, flinging the door open.
The force with which he opened it was almost destructive, the maid thought as she looked at him.
“…Hah.”
