If You Wish to Have Me - Chapter 144

At those words, Kisa felt a shock as if she had been struck on the head and hastily inquired.

“People who were close to me? Who exactly?”

“There might be others who haven’t contacted Lady Manoa, but from what I’ve heard…”

The few names Gale mentioned left Kisa feeling stunned.

“Good heavens, Seyard.”

To be honest, except for Aria, none of them could really be considered close to her.

Of course, when they met at gatherings, they would exchange greetings and converse on various topics, but that was all it ever was.

They had never met privately even once, and she had always maintained only appropriate acquaintanceship with them.

To begin with, Kisa was someone who found it difficult to become close to others in a short period unless it was an extremely exceptional case, and after experiencing Daniel and Melissa’s betrayal, she had become even more cautious.

She hadn’t even kept her escape plan secret from Aria, who was the closest to her among them all.

If Seyard had also investigated Kisa’s relationships, he would surely have surmised this much.

‘I never imagined he would go around asking each of them about my whereabouts.’

Investigation from behind the scenes would be one thing, but acting so openly was quite unlike him in many ways.

Gale’s earlier description of Seyard as someone who seemed completely unconcerned with rumors now hit home vividly.

“…If he goes around asking like that, people would naturally find it suspicious. Haven’t there been any rumors spreading?”

At Kisa’s question, Gale slowly shook his head.

“Not yet. Everyone seemed to be careful with their words, worried they might fall out of the Duke’s favor. Lady Manoa also learned about it when she happened to hear about it from a close acquaintance and then contacted others to test the waters.”

Indeed, it was an unprecedented incident where the prospective bride of no less than Duke Hillan failed to appear on the wedding day, causing the ceremony to fall through. And on top of that, the Duke seemed to be searching for her.

For now, it was appropriate judgment to be cautious and carefully observe the situation.

“…”

But how long could that last?

It was impossible for multiple people to keep quiet forever, so Seyard’s suspicious movements would inevitably leak out someday.

Anyone would be incredibly curious about what had happened between Duke Hillan and Kisa.

Kisa unconsciously brought her thumb to her mouth and bit her nail, furrowing her brow.

She couldn’t grasp at all what thoughts Seyard harbored.

He actively appeared in public settings to calm the rumors, yet on the other hand, he acted as if he wasn’t afraid of rumors spreading.

‘If the fact that I ran away is revealed, it won’t be good for him either.’

Count Vansfelt, who failed to properly keep watch over his daughter, goes without saying, but he too would lose considerable face.

With a grand wedding ceremony that even invited the royal couple about to take place, the bride ran away—what could possibly be the reason?

Not only the people of Sorbi but even foreigners would gossip about it, and for the Hillan family, who had proudly maintained their honor for hundreds of years, it would be an indescribable disgrace.

Nevertheless, Seyard was acting as if he wouldn’t care even if the truth were revealed immediately.

Why? What on earth for?

Had the fact that he was rejected by Kisa wounded his pride so deeply?

Was that why he was trying to get her back into his hands by any means necessary?

‘Or perhaps he… me that much…’

Kisa, who had been silent for a moment, quickly shook her head. Having already left, it was a pointless thought.

Currently, what was most important was not letting Seyard discover where she was.

Just then, Gale spoke up, reassuring Kisa.

“As expected, Lady Manoa firmly insisted that she knew nothing about it.”

“I see. What was his reaction?”

“According to her, he didn’t seem to believe her readily. But seeing that he visited others as well, we’re not the only ones he suspects. There’s no concrete evidence either.”

Kisa thought for a moment before answering.

“After all, Miss Manoa and I never showed intimate behavior in front of others.”

In fact, Kisa had never had a private conversation with Manoa until the day before the gathering was held at her residence.

‘At that time, Aria and several others certainly witnessed her calling me aside to the second floor.’

Seyard must have visited Manoa after noting this information and the fact that, given her position running a trading company, it would be easy for her to help Kisa escape.

‘But that doesn’t mean the others couldn’t hide me if they set their minds to it.’

Many of them were well-off upper class, so even if they couldn’t put her on a merchant ship like Manoa, providing Kisa with money and a suitable hiding place would be nothing to them.

The problem was that all of them, including Manoa, had no obligation to go that far for Kisa.

Only Aria, who had been closest to Kisa, might be an exception, but her circumstances weren’t very favorable.

Although her husband was a palace administrator, administrators didn’t earn much unless they held high positions, and how much could a young couple have saved?

Moreover, from what she had heard before, Aria’s family didn’t seem wealthy enough to give large sums of spending money to their daughter who had married abroad.

In other words, none of them were perfect candidates to help with Kisa’s escape.

‘It’s fine. Seyard must be confused too. After all, running away doesn’t necessarily require others’ help.’

Since Gale had also told her not to worry too much, there was no need to be afraid unnecessarily.

Kisa took a deep breath and desperately suppressed the anxiety settling in her heart.

Then she turned her gaze to the man who had been watching her with serious eyes all this time.

“Well then, shall we go inside?”

She smiled her usual smile as if the conversation up to now had been nothing significant.

“If we both remain out of sight for too long, Mana and Daisy might find it strange.”

Whether it was an unnatural change, she could clearly see him hesitate for a moment.

However, contrary to his appearance, being a considerate person, he nodded without saying anything particular.

“You’re right. The evening wind has grown cold too.”

The chilly wind blowing from the west brushed past Kisa and headed toward the towering mountain behind them.

Kisa turned her steps toward the house, leaving behind the mountain that groaned low with a “wooong” sound.

After letting Gale enter first, she didn’t forget to lock the door securely.

So that nothing—the cold wind or anything else—could intrude into this cozy house uninvited.

****

“Your Grace?”

Gilliam, who had entered the bedroom filled with luxurious furniture, looked around.

“Are you here, Your Grace?”

He called out his master’s name once more, but no answer came back.

Should he look elsewhere? Just as he was pondering this, he heard the sound of water.

Following that splashing sound to the bathroom connected to the bedroom, he finally found the person he was looking for.

“…So you were here.”

As he approached the side of the large bathtub and spoke quietly, the man’s closed eyes opened.

“Welcome, Gilliam. How did the task I asked you to handle go?”

“Everything has been completed well according to your instructions, so please don’t worry about it.”

“Thank you. I’ve been imposing on you lately.”

“Not at all. You’ve nearly finished everything yourself, and I’m just helping a little. More than that…”

The old aide’s gaze turned to the shirt soaked through with water.

Water dripped steadily from the Duke’s arms and sleeves that protruded from the bathtub, wetting the floor.

“You’re bathing before dinner? And without even removing your clothes?”

Even for Gilliam, who had been by his side since he was a young master rather than the head of the family, this was the first time he had seen such a sight.

Even when he was very young, he had been a mature boy who never engaged in childish pranks, yet now he was playing in water.

But contrary to Gilliam’s concerns, the Duke shrugged his shoulders with a nonchalant attitude as if it were nothing.

“I just felt like washing early today. And somehow I found it bothersome to undress. Calling the servants too. Sometimes it’s not bad to act differently from usual.”

Gilliam didn’t know how to respond to those words and decided to quickly change the subject.

“Ah, news has come from the informant we had attached to that man according to your previous instructions.”

A gleam suddenly appeared in his reddish-brown eyes.

“What kind of news?”

“I had told you before that the man had left the country by merchant ship, right?”

“You did.”

Since it was a ship used only by people from Manoa’s trading company, they had lost track of their target at the time, but Gilliam’s master hadn’t given up the pursuit.

“Although it took some time because the ship makes stops at several places, we managed to obtain the trading company’s internal records and discovered where his destination was.”

The Duke simply urged him to continue with his gaze.

“It’s called Octava. From what we found out, he disembarked there with several people.”

“Octava.”

“Um, Your Grace.”

Watching his master quietly tap the edge of the bathtub with his index finger, Gilliam added his personal question.

“May I ask why you’ve taken interest in that man called Gale? Honestly… to me, he just seemed like an ordinary trading company employee. Though he holds a fairly high position, he didn’t seem like someone noteworthy enough to attach a person to monitor his every move.”

The Duke, who had been blinking silently for a while, answered briefly.

“Just because.”

“Pardon? Just because?”

“The way he looked at me was insolent.”

One corner of the man’s mouth curved up slightly in a crooked manner.

“Yes, truly insolent.”