Misfortune 57

Chapter 57

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***

"Pretend you didn’t hear that.”

Margaret quickly changed the subject, and Delnia's face, which had been cloudy, became calm once more.

"It's Delnia."

"Delnia, that's a pretty name."

Delnia smiled brightly at the simple but sincere compliment.

Margaret couldn't help but marvel at Delnia's smile for the first time. It was amazing that she could be so beautiful with her dry lips and pale face from the fever.

"Then you can leave everything to me for the time being. After all, I'm the eldest of six brothers and sisters. I'm pretty good at taking care of people."

Margaret assured her, her voice full of strength, and true to her word, she began to care for Delnia in earnest.

She cleared the table after meals and even caught Delnia when she was about to go to the servants’ bathroom and put her in the private one in the guest room.

For a moment, Delnia felt uncomfortable at the thought of being pampered, but then the warm water, flavored with scented oils, made her body feel like melted butter.

When she returned to her room after bath, Margaret had changed her sweaty sheets and pillowcases.

Delnia, half-forced to lie down on the fluffier bed, gazed up at the ornate ceiling.

It was almost like she was back in the days of her youth.

Delnia smiled at the ridiculousness of the thought, but the smile quickly vanished without a trace.

The vision of the past paradoxically reminded her that she could never return to that time again.

She had fallen so far.

The realization scattered beyond her consciousness, and she surrendered herself to the drowsiness.

***

When Delnia awoke again, Margaret was not in her vision, but the familiar man she could recognize anywhere.

She didn't know why Roan was here, but she had no illusions of dreaming.

Her vision was clear, her consciousness lucid, thanks to a deep, dreamless sleep.

Judging by the darkened room, lit only by a couple of candles, it must be night, and the man in the azure light was not the boy who had once been her servant, but the man who had become her master.

"Don't get up."

Roan's words stopped Delnia as she tried to push herself to her feet.

Delnia, who could only manage to raise her upper body, leaned her back against the head of the bed.

Roan, on the other hand, stood alone, like a man being punished. It was hard to tell who was master and who was slave.

The yellow light gently enveloped the man, who stood stiffly silent. But the other half of his face was bathed in an equally deep shadow.

The man who had always been so incredibly strong seemed somehow vulnerable.

Deciding it must be an optical illusion, Delnia squeezed her eyelids shut. Then she opened her eyes again and stared straight at him.

It was the first time she had seen him in her right mind since that day.

She wondered what it would feel like to see him again, what she would say.

It was surprisingly easy for Delnia to find the answer to the question that had always occupied the back of her mind since waking up.

"I'm sorry."

She lowered her head as if she was ashamed. Her hand involuntarily tightened around the overly soft comforter.

What could she say but an apology?

She could now not only tolerate Roan's hatred, but truly understand it. And any understanding inevitably undermines itself.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

The question came as a surprise to Delnia, who was still spitting out words of apology.

"It's..................."

Delnia was speechless, not because she was innocent, but because there was too much to even put into words.

She was sorry for everything.

For daring to open her heart to him on a subject she knew nothing about. That she'd thought he was cruel for not liking her. For hating poor Lena.

That Lena had died because of her, and that he had finally lost the only family he had left.

That her father was the one who had taken his family away from him in the first place.

She was even sorry that she was Eperne. Even the flesh and blood that made up her body.

"It's just, everything..................."

Roan watched Delnia mumble incoherently, a sneer tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"I'll do anything."

Delnia blurted out. Unlike earlier, when she hadn't been able to keep her words together, her voice was firm and strong.

"Anything?"

Roan repeated her words verbatim, and Delnia nodded.

"Yes. Anything my master asks."

The title that had always been so difficult for her to utter now flowed effortlessly.

Roan's normally straight brow twitched for a moment, but she didn't notice.

"You know what I want you to do."

"I can do anything."

Delnia didn't waver at the implying threat.

His eyes took in the woman's strangely assertive demeanor, and a sudden realization dawned on him.

"Really?"

With that, he strode toward her without hesitation, his shadow swallowing her up, but Delnia remained as still as a breathless beast.

Roan reached out to her. Instead of shying away, Delnia accepted his touch.

The heat of his body trickling down her neck, where the residual fever still lingered, was somehow not unfamiliar.

“Then should I really brand you this time?”

Delnia lifted her head and faced him for a moment.

Then she lowered her eyes slowly. She was still allowing herself to be touched.

The implications of that attitude were clear. Roan chuckled to himself.

The woman wasn't angry like the last time when he said the same thing. It was different from the time when she spent all her effort to get her money back.

She was willing to do whatever he said. No, she seemed to want him to do something.

As if she wanted to atone for this.

At this point, she would gladly accept even the pain of having her flesh burned. Roan recognized it instinctively.

Perhaps this time she would be willing to give him her body if he asked.

It was ridiculous to think that she could lessen her sins by offering up her body as a sacrifice. But what was truly funny was that his body was yearning for her.

How far was this woman willing to take him?

Swallowing the question, which he had grown tired of asking himself, Roan removed his hand from around the woman's neck. He tossed the pouch he'd been holding onto the blanket.

The heavy weight on her lap made her open her closed eyes. Her pupils fluttered slightly as she realized what it was.

“Get rid of the illusion that you can atone for your sins in such an easy way.”

He snapped, his voice flat. The woman looked like she wanted to retort, but Roan didn't allow her the chance.

"You will pay for your sins for the rest of your life."

With that, he turned and walked away.

Left alone, Delnia lowered her gaze, which until then had been fixed on the doorway.

She stared at the pouch lying on the bed and reached for it. It contained the eleven coins she hadn't gotten back along with the coins she had spent.

***

“They say he will live to be a hundred years old, but I guess His Majesty is not the type of person to die easily.”

The Admiral spoke happily in the presence of his lieutenant, his face still beaming.

Fortunately, the Emperor's chest pain had subsided somewhat. The doctor's conclusion was that if it didn't get worse, it wouldn't cause any major problems.

Though he would never be the same, the good news lightened the Admiral's step as he made his way back to Blois.

"Now we just need to finalize a date to go. When would be a good time?"

The Admiral asked Roan. He had told him to be ready, so he didn't expect it to take long.

Still, the answer surprised him.

"Two days should be enough."

"Two days?"

The Admiral had expected at least four days at the earliest, so he couldn't help but question when Roan only needed half of that time.

That was just enough time for the Admiral to rush to the Emperor and give him unilateral notice of his immediate departure, without being able to ask for an audience.

The schedule would be even tighter for the soldiers, who would have to end their long stay in the capital.

Even more so for Roan, whose mansion had recently been disorganized by his servants. He would be leaving before the chaos was organized.

The Admiral didn't say yes immediately, but instead scanned Roan slowly, his eyes wary.

***

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