Chapter 96
I clenched my teeth.
Once, I heard a similar story from Cassius… how did I react then? It probably wasn’t that different from how I was now.
Fear, shock and deep despair.
“…Gabriel.”
I carefully uttered his name.
At the same time, I felt like I was about to give up on everything, so I had to keep my head straight.
“Now, you’re admitting it.”
A maniacal grin appeared on Gabriel’s face.
“Yes, Eve. What do you want?”
“You kidnapped me… what were you going to do?”
My voice trembled.
Even though I knew he was Gabriel, my tone of voice didn’t change at all. That was natural. It was because, in the first place, he was the one who took everything from me.
“It’s so obvious, isn’t it?”
Gabriel shook his head in disappointment.
“Of course, I thought Eve would know, but… are you sure you don’t know?”
As he said that, Gabriel’s gaze was blatantly directed only to my stomach. Rather than being insidious, my whole body stiffened under that cruel gaze.
“….!”
There was only one thing I could think of what that gaze could mean.
“No way…”
“What Eve thinks is right.”
Gabriel informed in a sweet voice as he went on.
“Eve will be mine now. I can’t let you bear another man’s child.”
“…You’re insane.”
“Not at all.”
He tilted his head.
“Isn’t this the right thing to do? Eve might be a little upset at first, but you’ll understand soon.”
…Crazy.
Gabriel was truly insane.
I wanted to start crying. What the hell did I do to deserve this… when I’d gotten used to Cassius, and now, I had to suffer from a maniac like Gabriel?
Meanwhile, whether he knew what I was thinking or not, he chuckled and continued.
“Besides, you wanted to get away from him. Oh, don’t tell me… have you changed your mind now?”
“….”
“That’s great. Things haven’t changed anything between Eve and I… you want to escape and I’m here to help you do it.”
“…It has changed.”
Even though admitting it with my own mouth left a bitter taste, I couldn’t just stay still. If he needed a cause, I’d hold them tightly in my hands and never let them go.
“I don’t want to run away now. I am satisfied with my life right now… having a child, too, I wanted to have one. So, don’t talk about such a thing to me anymore, Gabriel Vecchio. Or is that also a fake name?”
“Oh, that’s my real name.”
He responded in an openly sarcastic voice.
“It’s a name I’ve had since I was born. You’re the only one who knows it now, and you’re calling it often. It’s good to hear the name flow from Eve’s voice.”
“….”
“I think I’ve told Eve everything you want to know, so… let’s not waste any more time, shall we?”
“I’m not going.”
I flatly refused.
Wherever Gabriel wanted to take me, it would never be a good place for me.
“You don’t want to?”
Gabriel’s brow furrowed.
“I was going to take you home.”
“….!”
Even though I was surprised at first, a plausible theory soon came to my mind.
‘He must be referring to his newly decorated house.’
As if he had read my thoughts, Gabriel added a word.
“I mean Evelyn’s house. County of Garneid? If you don’t want that, just tell me where you want to go and I’ll take you there.”
“You… said you wouldn’t let go?”
“Do you think I’m a bastard like Cassius Brudenell? That’s disappointing. To think that Eve had been looking at me like that all along…”
Couldn’t he remember what he had just said, that he wasn’t giving up? He even said he couldn’t let me have another man’s child…!
Feeling like the words were going to come out of my mouth, I quietly kept my mouth shut and nodded. Nevertheless, it was a good thing that I was able to go home like this… except for one thing that needed to be pointed out.
“…What about the child?”
“Ah.”
Gabriel exclaimed.
“I’d forgotten about it. Of course, I can’t just send you back. I also have the eyes of my comrades… Eve is also an experienced person, so you must understand that a new body comes with new duties.”
“Tell me the main point.”
“Here.”
Taking something out of his bosom, he set it down on the table. A small vial rolled over and came to a stop on the edge of the table.
“I spent a lot of effort trying to get it. It’s a medicine that wouldn’t do any harm to Eve.”
I tried my best to feign shock. While it was a very difficult performance, it seemed to be successful in its own way.
“You don’t like it?”
Gabriel bowed his head.
“What should I do, I don’t think Eve will like it any other way…”
“What is it?”
“Come with me.”
Gabriel whispered.
“Then, I’ll let you have the child.”
“….”
I narrowed my eyes and stared at him as all kinds of thoughts rushed through my head.
‘If it was Lucifer Bynell, it might have been worth it to follow him. We might have been able to find a clue that could save Cassius. But, now that he is in this person’s body…’
I purposely pressed myself closer to the chair.
“I want to know where you’re going.”
“Mmm.”
Gabriel made a sound as if he was thinking for a moment.
“Since Eve is so famous, it’s impossible within the Empire… I have to go back to my hometown.”
“The Kingdom of Bynell?”
When I asked furtively, he nodded his head and added.
“Yes. My dear parents have laid the foundation for me to manage my wealth without difficulty even if I changed my body many times, isn’t that tear-jerking?”
As I tapped the vial, the small vial made of glass shattered as soon as it fell to the floor.
“…I’ll follow you, but there’s one condition.”
“What is it?”
“My family will be worried if I disappear like this. I’m sure you don’t want to get in trouble for looking for me, do you? So, before you go to the Kingdom of Bynell, let me see Ophelia.”
There was silence for a moment.
“I must look like an idiot in Eve’s eyes.”
“…I don’t think it’s such an unreasonable request to let me meet my sister.”
Gabriel shook his head.
“I’m sure you’ll inform your sister at all costs. And now, isn’t Eve’s sister Sir David’s wife, who has access to the Duke’s private troops?”
“….”
“Drink.”
Saying that, he pulled a vial from her bosom once more. It was a glass vial, no different from before.
“I knew Eve would break them, so I prepared ten.”
I stared at the vial.
On the surface, it would seem like I was refusing, but in reality, I was thinking about whether it would be beneficial for me to follow Gabriel to the Kingdom of Bynell.
‘Even when he was Lucifer Bynell, his identity was Gabriel, so of course, there must be clues in his old house where he originally lived.’
The problem was, if I stayed at Gabriel’s house, my false pregnancy would be exposed in no time… no, I would already be caught during the trip.
Having finally come to a conclusion, I looked straight at Gabriel.
“I won’t drink it.”
Gabriel nodded.
“I thought you’d say that, Eve.”
“You’ll let me leave at least one letter, right?”
“Of course.”
At my question, he burst out laughing.
“If Eve wasn’t going to write it, I was thinking of writing it instead.”
You madman—!
“Still, there’s one condition.”
“…Only write what you tell me?”
“I don’t think that’s quite right, but…”
Gabriel paused for a moment before opening his mouth again, “Let’s write something that me and Eve can agree on, what do you think?”
I nodded.
Well, what could I do? I didn’t have a choice.
“This is ridiculous, sister is…!”
When Ophelia heard that Evelyn Garneid had abruptly left the house, she staggered in shock.
All that was left was a letter.
It only contained an unfulfilled promise that she was thankful for the time being, and that she’d return one day.
“As expected, you haven’t heard anything either.”
Count Garneid nodded grimly.
“I thought maybe she might have contacted you separately, but she didn’t…”
“No, I also heard about this for the first time. Sister…”
“By any chance, have you ever heard anything before? It’s okay to talk to me about anything. I know you’ve been through a lot, but if you know anything… please tell me.”
“….”
Ophelia swallowed dry saliva.
After her marriage, Count and Countess Garneid treated her like their own. In other words, even if she called Evelyn her older sister, she was treated with no restraint.
“Sister didn’t want to leave, and there’s a reason for her not to leave.”
“What is that?”
Ophelia lowered her head.
‘…Should I tell them?’
Even Evelyn herself didn’t seem to be aware of it, so should she dare say it?
“Sister truly loves… Lord Cassius with all her heart.”
Ophelia’s trembling trailed off into thin air.
“So… she’d never have left on her own accord.”
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