If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 17
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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It was fortunate that Christian, the most reasonable person in the Calvino family, had noticed the commotion. In front of his older brother, John, who couldn’t say a word, quickly released Agatha’s hair and exclaimed, “Ah, it’s nothing, brother,” before retreating into the mansion.
“Miss, are you alright?”
Without even thinking about dusting off her clothes, Liana immediately checked Agatha’s condition. She was naturally a teary-eyed person, and she looked worried about whether her precious lady had been hurt in any way.
“I’m fine, Liana. What about you? Are you injured?”
“Please don’t worry about me. Oh, really. There’s no one here except Lord Christian who is sane. It’s dreadful.”
As she combed Agatha’s hair with her hand, her whispered voice was filled with moisture. Agatha took Liana’s hand, tapped it a couple of times, and then resumed her steps towards the mansion.
<“I will protect you, my lady.”>
At that moment, Agatha suddenly remembered the words Cain had said to her. She couldn’t help but chuckle.
He’s a liar. Nine years ago, he promised to protect her, today he claims to love her. Hasn’t he lied to her twice already? He’s no different from John, either.
As the maids didn’t open the door and Agatha pushed it open herself, her face darkened.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Before the day had even broken, a letter sent from the palace arrived at the Count’s mansion. It contained a punishment for submitting a request for approval of John Calvino’s marriage to Lady Kristin, without any knowledge of the prior engagement.
The letter also hinted at severe consequences for any deception involving the aristocracy, leaving no room for trivializing the offense. Stella, trembling, read the furious words written by the Empress and couldn’t contain her anger.
“Kristin!”
She’s here. She had been awake since dawn. Agatha swallowed hard. She was ready for Stella to unleash her immense anger once she found out about last night’s incident. However, that didn’t mean Agatha wasn’t afraid, even though she had prepared herself for what was to come.
Thud, thud, thud.
As the footsteps drew closer, Agatha’s fear grew.
“Kristin!”
Stella burst into the room with her maids, seemingly ready to break down the door if needed.
She already had a leather whip clenched in her hand. Stella had used the excuse of education to whip Agatha once a month since her coming-of-age ceremony. However, the moment she saw Stella’s face turning red from the tip of her head, she sensed that today’s punishment would be far more horrific than before.
Since Agatha would eventually have to leave the County, she knew she had to confront Stella head-on at least once. Agatha mustered up all her strength in her trembling legs and stood up.
“Aunt, you’re awake.”
“What? You’re awake? After causing such trouble, you’re sleeping so peacefully?”
Stella kicked the table, sending it crashing to the floor. Her behavior was a far cry from the usual ‘dignity of a lady’ she carried herself with.
It was amusing how someone who valued the opinions of others and her reputation so highly could act no differently from street ruffians and troublemakers in front of servants.
“You were sent to obtain marriage approval from the Princess, and yet, what on earth have you done?!”
Even though she never quite got used to the whipping, over the years, she had developed an immunity to Stella’s consistent irrational behavior. So as Stella walked over, kicking tables, throwing books, and spilling tea cups, Agatha remained unfazed.
In every moment of pain, there is an end. From the moment she became part of the Calvino household until now, there had been countless such moments. No matter how endless the suffering might seem, it eventually came to an end.
“How dare you, of all people, disgrace me and our family?” Stella exclaimed.
Agatha knew that Stella had put in immense effort to secure a place at the imperial court. It was only last year that she had the opportunity to catch the attention of the Empress by lavishing expensive jewelry upon Countess Kirillovna, a close relative of the Empress.
Since ordinary treasures could not even pique the Empress’ interest, Stella had gone to great lengths, searching for family heirlooms or relics from long-lost, conquered nations with intriguing histories.
The rumors even suggested that because of the foolish and extravagant Countess, the fortune of the Calvino estate had plummeted significantly within just one year. It seemed that Stella was willing to endure some financial losses to establish connections with the nobility. If she could use those nobles to elevate her troublesome son John to the position of Duke Kristin, she might have calculated that the gains would outweigh the losses she had suffered so far.
