If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 16
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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“I thought my neck would be numb from waiting. I’m glad you’re back safely. By the way, did you enjoy the birthday celebration? The palace banquet hall must have been incredibly beautiful, just hearing about it.”
As Liana chatted away, speculating how delicious the food must have been and imagining precious jewels adorning the palace banquet hall, Agatha felt her heavy heart lighten slightly.
“Could I ever have a chance to visit the palace before I die?”
It was a moment when Agatha was about to respond with, “Of course.” to Liana’s lifelong wish to see the palace before she died, when something suddenly emerged from the darkness and blocked their path.
“Hey.”
It was John.
“Why are you coming so late when there probably wasn’t anyone you knew at the banquet anyway?”
Agatha didn’t want to respond. Whatever John said would either be snide, profane, or mocking. One of the three, anyway.
“Did you stay late because you wanted to make a good impression on the princess?”
That was about the extent of his thinking. Agatha urged her steps forward. John’s smirking face momentarily froze at her indifferent demeanor.
“Dare you, you insolent wretch. Ignoring my words?”
Muttering to himself, John reached out and grabbed Agatha’s hair.
“Why, why are you doing this, Sir John!”
For the first ball she attended, Liana had carefully styled Agatha’s hair since dawn. Under John’s ruthless hand, it now lay in disarray.
Every time his cruel hands moved, Agatha’s fragile body swayed. Liana clung to John’s arm as if she were about to cry, but he promptly kicked her away, sending her stumbling and falling to the ground.
“How dare you lay your hands on me.”
“Stop it, John!”
Agatha was more concerned about Liana, who was whimpering and stumbling on the ground, than her own hair being held by him. She knew well enough not to respond to John’s relentless torment. As the more she reacted, the more he seemed to relish it. She tried her best to remain silent.
However, when she saw Liana struggling in the dirt, sparks flew from her eyes.
“Why? Are you getting all excited because it’s your first time at a ball? Did you get all tingly inside when you saw those fancy-dressed gentlemen? Tell me!”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Let go of this.”
As John held her hair and pulled her closer, the smell of alcohol wafted from him. Come to think of it, his eyes were bloodshot, and at the end of each word, his pronunciation seemed slurred. Dealing with him was becoming more tiresome. Agatha gritted her teeth and alternated between closing and opening her eyes.
“Even if you do, you’re mine.”
“Quit talking nonsense and go get some sleep. I won’t tolerate drunkenness.”
In front of Stella, she couldn’t raise her voice, but it was different with John. Of course, Agatha had her reasons for not yielding to John’s words. Even though she had come of age and several years had passed, John was still a troublemaker who frequented taverns and brothels without doing anything worthwhile. Even in the County, he had a very limited position.
Particularly, his father, Count Calvino, regarded John, his youngest son, as a great disappointment compared to his well-behaved and successful first and second sons. He didn’t hesitate to use corporal punishment and harsh words with John. Perhaps John’s violent tendencies were inherited from his father.
“Nonsense? You dare talk to the man who’s soon to be your husband like that? Expect me to tear apart that insolent face of yours, Agatha.”
“Let go of this and go get some sleep.”
“Even a feisty wench like you can’t move an inch in bed. I can’t sleep these days because I’m looking forward to the other sounds that will soon come from that pretty mouth of yours, Agatha.”
Could there be anything more repulsive in the world? Agatha gritted her teeth and stared fiercely at the disgusting face right in front of her, barely containing her urge to curse.
“You need to be still all day, so that other men don’t have their eyes on you. I drank like this because of you.”
“Don’t force it. You’re acting like a lunatic…”
“But don’t worry, Agatha. I’ll protect you from the other guys. I’m the only one who can have you.”
Protect? What is he going to protect? He was the most dangerous one here. Agatha pushed John’s arm with all her might, muttering to herself. But the difference in strength was overwhelming. Even though Agatha was about half his size, her relentless pushing and shoving had no effect on John’s unyielding body.
“What the hell are you guys doing!”
At that moment, someone in the garden heard the commotion and opened a window to shout. Half-hanging out of a window on the second floor of the mansion, a blond man, Christian, John’s older brother who had come back home on vacation after a long time, realized what was happening.
