If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 164
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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He thought he had nothing left to fear, having already lost the most precious things in his life. He had seen countless comrades die in battle, so he believed he had become immune to the pain of loss.
But that wasn’t true.
He was still a weak human, trembling in fear at the thought of losing someone important to him.
Someone precious.
Yes, the one person who was the most, and the only, precious to him was Agatha.
The rain grew heavier. The downpour became so intense that it couldn’t be stopped by the leaves, quickly soaking his face and body. Cain hastily removed his cloak and draped it over his horse.
Raindrops continued to fall over his head, running down his forehead and soaking his cheeks. In that moment, Cain was reminded of a memory from the past that seemed so similar to the present.
There was a time when he had let his sorrow flow in the rain…
“It’s raining.”
“Even if it rains…”
“Do you like getting wet?”
“You’ll catch a cold.”
The image of young Agatha holding out her raincoat with a flushed face came to his mind.
“…Agatha.”
His voice cracked, and he couldn’t bring himself to say her name aloud.
In the pitch-black night, racing towards her, Cain finally understood the feeling that was tightening his heart.
I love you. I think I love you.
When did this begin?
Perhaps it was when he saw that tiny hand shielding his face from the rain…
Warm tears flowed down his cheek.
Cain clenched his teeth, trying to hold them back, but once the tears started, they didn’t stop.
Hiding his tears in the rain, Cain blamed himself for a long time, caught in regret.
As the rain slowly subsided and his body became drenched, his temperature rapidly dropped. Soon, he heard the sound of hooves from afar. The knights who had been following him arrived, though they were far behind. Cain raised his head.
The knights, noticing their commander had been racing without even a raincoat, hurriedly dismounted. They gathered some firewood they had brought along, chopped it up, added oil, and lit it. Since there were no dry clothes to change into, they aimed to dry what he was wearing.
While Cain slowly warmed his frozen body, the knights sent one of the squires to tend to his horse. The squire led the horse to a nearby stream to let it drink and gave it the feed they had brought.
“Commander.”
Having taken on the task of investigating the Calvino family on behalf of Cain, Ethan asked Lehman, the deputy, to take charge in his absence. When Ethan had heard that his superior had abandoned all duties and rushed out of the capital, Lehman immediately set out with his own horse.
Lately, Cain’s behavior had been odd.
The changes in Cain began more than two years ago, but the recent behavior he exhibited left even the knights who had served him for years struggling to understand him.
He had never been one to be swayed by emotion. But lately, Cain had been slamming his fists in anger and at times, seemed restless, as if chased by something, leaving his place without explanation.
Ethan, who had always been by his side, seemed to know something about Cain’s strange behavior but had not spoken to anyone about it. As a knight, it was his duty to protect his superior’s secrets, so he had refrained from questioning or expressing curiosity.
“We have gathered ten senior knights and twenty junior knights. The second wave will be leaving soon.”
Cain merely nodded in response.
“We will depart again shortly.”
“Yes.”
He couldn’t fathom the plan Cain had in mind for heading to Arta so suddenly. He simply followed his superior’s orders without asking questions. Lehman bowed and returned to his horse.
Cain approached his horse, took out a pouch he had secured on the saddle, and opened it. Inside, there were a few supplies and a small medicine pouch. He swiftly poured some powder from the pouch into his mouth. If one wasn’t paying attention, they wouldn’t have noticed what he had done.
Once the procession was in order, Cain mounted his horse. Other knights followed suit, and the procession resumed its journey towards Arta.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
“I think I’ll go find Charlotte.”
Agatha paused for a long moment, as if searching for the right words to answer Karon’s question.
“Charlotte?”
“Do you mean Charlotte Borgia?”
Both Karon and Ruben replied almost in unison. After hearing the name, Karon immediately thought of the kind-hearted nanny who had served as a mother figure for young Agatha.
“Originally, I came to Arta to see if Cain had dishonored Kristin’s name because of his obsession with a woman.”
She had been worried that Cain, having gained power through Kristin, might have recklessly handed it over to his lover. If that were the case, she had promised to never forgive them in the name of the family. She had come to confirm with her own eyes whether Cain had committed such a betrayal.
Agatha had confirmed that Cain had not dishonored Kristin’s name. At least that was a relief. It wasn’t so much that Cain had refrained from committing such a disgrace, but rather, she found comfort in the fact that he had not tarnished Kristin’s name.
In Arta, the intention had been to remove Cain and his lover, solidifying Kristin’s power in the Duchy.
But after meeting Esther, Agatha realized that her plan had gone astray from the very start.
