Misfortune 97

Chapter 97

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***

Roan never left Delnia's side. It was as if he had frozen in place.

His face was so pale that it was impossible to tell who was dying.

His lips, which had not touched a drop of water, remained tightly sealed, and occasionally his Adam's apple would move as if he were swallowing something hot.

But the most heartbreaking thing was his eyes, filled with despair.

The bloodshot eyes were so terrifying and eerie that it was hard to meet their gaze.

The only silver lining was that there was no chance of making eye contact anyway. Those eyes were fixed solely on Delnia, with a gaze so intense and relentless that it was impossible to tell whether he wanted to save her or kill her.

Given the circumstances, no one dared to stop him. Not even the common suggestion to rest for a moment could be made.

Though it was too painful to speak aloud, if Delnia were to remain unconscious, the Barthez mansion would have to hold two funerals. That man would undoubtedly wither away and die alongside her.

"O Lord, please watch over Your lost children."

Leticia, who had been watching the woman struggling between life and death and the man who couldn't take his eyes off her with pity, silently prayed and made the sign of the cross.

May the thin rays of light piercing through the gloomy winter sky guide Delnia back to life.

And may that foolish man also return to life.

Seeing the man refusing to eat or sleep, as if he could not bear to continue the acts necessary for survival, one couldn't help but feel that way.

No matter how terrible his actions were, it was unbearable to watch someone self-harming beside someone who had already self-harmed.

If he were unconscious like Delnia, at least they could slip something into his mouth.

Leticia, who had been glancing sideways at the man who refused even to blink his eyes, fixed his gaze on Delnia, shook her head, and left the room.

Even though Roan would refuse anyway, she couldn't just stand by and watch. She felt she had to offer him something to eat to ease her own mind.

“Leticia.”

At that moment, Milan, who had just entered the mansion, stopped her as she was heading toward the kitchen.

Leticia turned around and approached him.

“Did you speak well to the Admiral?”

Milan nodded slowly in response to her question.

Instead of Roan, who refused to leave Delnia's side, Milan went to see the Admiral. He wanted to briefly explain his condition and ask for the Admiral’s understanding.

“It seems the Admiral had some inkling of this as well.”

Admiral Lasser, who had been silently listening to Milan while holding a pipe in his mouth, dismissed the situation with a single word.

"It ended up that way, after all."

That was all, but Milan understood. Admiral Lasser had also been worried about this situation all along.

After all, Roan's tendency to easily become extreme whenever involved with the slave was clearly visible to the Admiral as well.

Nevertheless, they couldn't properly restrain Roan because no one had accurately grasped the true nature of the two individuals involved.

"From the moment he first brought the slave, it seemed like there was something going on."

"If that weren't the case, he wouldn't have volunteered to go to Belfort in the first place. The problem is, what exactly is the reason behind this?"

"There was something between the two of them that made it hard to intervene. Now I regret not trying harder to stop them."

"Well, I don't think he's the type who would listen to being talked out of it."

Facing Milan, who couldn't deny it, Admiral Lasser puffed on his pipe with a frustrated expression.

"No matter how much I pressed him, he never answered. Maybe I should have realized back then how much that unspeakable matter was weighing on him."

The Admiral sighed lightly, then touched his forehead as if in pain.

Milan, too, finally understood how deep and dark the chasm between them was.

Even if their story were fully revealed, an outsider like himself could never fully comprehend the layers of long-buried emotions that lay at its core.

Then, were they destined to destroy each other like this? Was there truly no other conclusion they could have reached?

Milan, whose mind was in turmoil, exhaled a sigh so deep it felt like the ground was collapsing beneath him.

“You were right, Milan.”

At that moment, Leticia admitted in a gloomy voice.

“What do you mean?”

Milan, who didn't immediately understand what she was saying, asked in return.

“That the Colonel has been pretending everything was fine all this time.”

"Oh."

Milan let out a short sigh. The image of Roan, who had just heard the news of Delnia’s mother’s death, flashed through his mind.

The moment he finally realized he had committed an irreversible mistake.

Surprisingly, the man had the face of a frightened child.

The man who had once roamed the seas with unmatched confidence, sweeping aside any enemy as if they were nothing. The naval hero who had once seemed invincible.

Roan's obsessive attachment to daily life afterward could also be seen as a reaction to that.

Perhaps he had unconsciously realized it. Once it started to crumble, it could never be restored to its former state. It might even be impossible to rebuild it again.

That instinctive sense of crisis must have desperately tried to blind him to reality. Milan now felt certain of that fact.

“The Colonel I knew was all an illusion, I suppose.”

Leticia murmured in a faint voice.

“Even if he made the wrong choice, I’ve never seen him hesitate…”

Even when he was pushing Delnia, it was the same. Though she thought she should stop him, his overwhelming presence left her speechless, and she missed many opportunities to speak up.

However, what remained after the overwhelming, menacing aura had faded was a gaunt man struggling with a sense of loss.

They had to admit it. The indomitable naval hero no longer existed. The dazzling, fiery vitality that had once been beyond doubt had also faded away.

“What on earth should we do now…?”

Leticia’s words trailed off as she muttered in confusion.

The shock of Delnia’s attempted suicide had not yet subsided, and now Roan was like this too—they had no idea what to do.

However, Milan couldn't come up with an answer either.

He silently turned his head toward Delnia’s bedroom. His seasoned eyes roamed over the door, which was closed tightly as if rejecting the world.

***

How many days had passed?

A sudden thought flashed through his mind, only to dissipate like sand blown by the wind.

For some reason, Roan couldn't perceive the passage of time at all. It was as if he had been frozen in that moment when he had pulled the woman out of the horribly red blood.

But it didn't matter.

No matter how much time had passed, the only clear reality was that Delnia still hadn’t opened her eyes.

Instead, he was somewhat dazed by the fact that time was steadily passing even in such circumstances. He couldn't believe that the world was continuing as usual even as she was dying.

He couldn't think at all.

His mind had completely stopped. No, it felt as though his entire body had been paralyzed.

"There are no further measures we can take."

"All that's left is to wait until she regains consciousness."

"It all depends on the patient's will."

Over the past few days, not only Blois but also every doctor living in the vicinity had been summoned to his residence. But like clockwork, everyone repeated the same words.

Will.

Her will.

That a woman who had tried to take her own life must simply wait to rise again of her own volition.

He wanted to grab them by the collar and scream at them for spouting such nonsense.

But despite his intentions, he couldn't even move a finger.

He feared that his loud outburst might reach the unconscious woman. And that it might dampen her resolve to wake up.

So, in the end, he was clinging to those nonsensical words.

“…”

Despite that, he kept staring at the still silent woman without getting tired of it.

Her face was as pale and lifeless as a corpse, her breath as fragile as if it could stop at any moment. Her lips were dry and cracked.

And the serene expression that didn't match any of those outward appearances.

Looking at that innocent face, an indescribable emotion welled up inside him. He felt like shaking her shoulder and demanding an explanation.

How could she have such a face? After doing such a thing, how could she…

It was a question he couldn't understand, but one he couldn't bring himself to ask, and it lingered in his mind, unresolved.

***