The Maid and The Usurper - Chapter 50
Misfortune always struck when least expected. The letter from Count Bard arrived more discreetly and swiftly than ever before. Indeed, it might have been a ruse of Baden’s that the letter should come from Bard. Leopold tapped his fingers nervously on his desk.
[A spy has reported that they plan to accuse you and the maid who’s been helping you of heresy.]
There was no way Baden, who moved so covertly, would let such information slip. He didn’t underestimate Bard, but he couldn’t guess how far Baden’s schemes had spread.
“I’m the only one who needs to be dealt with. Why involve Layla?”
He could almost picture Layla’s indifferent expression as she would have likely said, ‘Isn’t that obvious?’
“Baden fears Bard’s influence. He might be trying to entangle both me and Bard.”
Leopold repeatedly folded and unfolded a corner of the letter. Disturbed, he stood up and leaned against the cool window. In the distance, he saw Layla walking slowly toward him. Since that winter day, he hadn’t received a response from her. Layla acted as if she had forgotten the memories of that day.
He wished he could receive a clear answer. Even a rejection would be fine. The ambiguity was unbearable. Perhaps this too was nothing more than a delusion. After all, wasn’t his silence rooted in the fear of the answer he might receive?
“Why is everything that involves you so difficult?”
Leopold sighed and leaned his forehead against the window. As Layla drew closer, she looked utterly exhausted. He narrowed his eyes and noticed bloodstains on the hem of her clothes. Leopold quickly straightened up from the window.
* * *
“I’ll have to catch you later and bring it to you.”
Layla had spotted a blood-stained briefcase wedged between the rocks as she climbed back up the slope. It seemed to be a belonging that the workers had missed. The day was fading, and knowing Leopold would worry if she was late, she hurried back to the castle. The Rhineland castle looked truly beautiful at the onset of summer. Though she hadn’t stayed there for long, she had grown quite accustomed to Rhineland.
“How did it come to this? I shouldn’t have gotten involved with the bastard prince.”
‘I like you, Layla.’
Leopold’s confession still echoed in her ears. The image of his slightly flushed face, his eyes avoiding hers in embarrassment, was vivid in her mind. She hadn’t been able to respond. Her lips refused to move, her tongue felt tied. Even though she knew she didn’t harbor these feelings alone, she was still scared.
She knew her place better than anyone. Even if their feelings were mutual, she didn’t belong by his side. His life was only protected by his tenuous status. Even if she accepted his feelings, she would only ever be a mistress. She couldn’t help but think of the noble ladies who visited Rhineland.
They were dazzling, beautiful, elegant, and refined, everything she was not. Her rough, calloused hands made her want to hide whenever she saw their white, soft ones. These were emotions she had never felt while in La Ellosa.
“In the end, I have nothing to gain and everything to lose.”
That was what scared her. It wasn’t a noble pride; it was foolish pride. Her pride mattered more than her feelings or his.
“Layla!”
A shout echoed, and her wrist was suddenly grabbed. Layla blinked in surprise to find Leopold standing before her, breathing heavily. He didn’t even seem to catch his breath as he sharply inspected her blood-stained hand.
“Are you hurt? Are you okay?”
“What? No, I’m not hurt. This isn’t my blood.”
“Not your blood?”
Leopold scraped the poor girl’s blood off her clothes.
“There was a carriage accident on the way back. I must have gotten it on me while helping.”
He continued to inspect her carefully, as if he still didn’t trust that she wasn’t hurt.
“You’re too oblivious to your own pain for me to believe you.”
