Chapter 22

The death of Count Heliosen was surrounded by many doubts. After the imperial knight order and the expeditionary force suppressed the Rindell rebels, they had almost vanished from sight. But suddenly, after nearly a year of absence, the they reappeared and started abducting elderly people and children.

Count Heliosen, who had set out with the knight order to rescue the inhabitants of the territory, perished. The Rindell rebels relentlessly targeted only Count Heliosen, as if someone had received a prophecy to kill him.

Lariana hurriedly returned to Heline, but she couldn’t attend her father’s funeral. She was currently trapped in the tower, her hands and feet bound with iron chains like a slave.

“Sigh…”

Her lips had long dried up, cracked and unable to take even a sip of water, causing dry coughs to escape incessantly.

Had the wedding already taken place? Had Cain Delacroix not come to find her? The thoughts of Cain churned in Lariana’s mind like a sharpened blade.

The rusty iron door creaked open, breaking the oppressive silence. Only the sound of footsteps echoed in the space.

“Oh… Lariana Heliosen. Still haven’t eaten anything?”

Lariana blankly stared at the man’s well-polished leather boots. The tip of the boot lightly tapped her cheek.

“Do you really intend to starve yourself to death?”

In a situation that didn’t warrant such gentle words, Lariana snorted.

Having returned to Heline after two years, it was desolate and bleak. Even though it had been harsh, her hometown used to be filled with warm affection. Now, it was eerily silent and tranquil.

Occasionally, when she made eye contact with the inhabitants of the territory, they didn’t say a word. However, there were fearful gazes in their eyes as they shouted at Lariana.

“Lady, please run away.”

“Heline is hell now.”

“Escape from the new lord as soon as possible!”

As soon as she realized this, she was dragged to the tower by the new lord, without a chance to resist. Being alone in the tower, it was difficult to gauge how much time had passed.

“Can’t you behave a little?”

The new lord sat down and grabbed Lariana by her hair, forcing her to stand up.

Contrary to his vile actions, his light brown hair and olive-colored eyes appeared surprisingly gentle.

Lariana’s teeth trembled. Disgust surged within her, and she felt like vomiting despite having nothing to eat.

“Now is the era of intelligence. I will engage in lucrative trade with Davask. I have confidence that I can bring prosperity to Heline far more than your ignorant sword-wielding father, so don’t worry.”

“You killed my father, didn’t you?”

“It was the Rindell rebels from your mother’s homeland who killed him.”

Spitting at Jenox’s face, which came dangerously close as if to strike her, Lariana couldn’t bear it any longer. The mention of her late mother’s story made it impossible to endure.

He wiped away the saliva that Lariana spat out with gloved hands and licked the black leather glove with his tongue. Seeing him, Lariana couldn’t hold back and retched in disgust.

“Bein is already dead. If you just wait, the title will be yours anyway. Did you really need to go this far?”

Her younger brother Bein had died a few years ago from the Fermar epidemic, and there was no successor to Count Heliosen other than his nephew, Jenox.

“I couldn’t just sit and wait for the day when the Count would pass away.”

“Why?”

“Because of you.”

“What?”

“If I had just let it be, you would have ended up marrying Cain Delacroix, right? How could I wait?”

That’s right. Lariana pondered over her memories. Her late mother was a pure and lovely person who often told playful and mischievous stories. Among the stories she always told, there was one phrase she particularly emphasized to Lariana.

“Be careful of touching others affectionately.”

During her lifetime, her mother had always warned Lariana to be cautious about touching or making contact with others.

“So, did you listen well to the Countess’ words? After you saved me with your damn hands filled with affection, I ended up falling in love with you.”

“You’re saying nonsense.”

“If you hadn’t saved me from the swamp… we wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

The swamp. Ah, it seemed like the memory was coming back.

It was when Jenox came to Heline after his parents passed away. There was a time when she saved him when he was struggling in the swamp. Despite being covered in mud, I grabbed on Jenox with my bare hands and stumbled his way back to the castle. Now that she thought about it, her mother’s expression wasn’t good at that time…

“How many days are left until the wedding?”

“It’s tomorrow. Are you still not over it? Duke Delacroix seems to be quiet. Cain Delacroix must have forgotten about someone like you.”

“Yes, I’m so pitiful. I kept getting entangled with all these trash-like people.”

“What?”

“Among them, the biggest trash is you, Jenox Heliosen.”

Lariana muttered quietly. She felt relieved after saying what she wanted to say. She should have said this to Cain, to Lejandro, and even to Count Beckdel.

“It’s not Cain Delacroix but it’s me?”

Jenox’s entire face, full of anger, wrinkled uncontrollably.

When Lariana raised her hand, the sound of chains followed. With the smell of iron and the noise, Lariana lightly tapped Jenox’s cheek several times.

“Jenox, my contemptible cousin. No, are you now Count Heliosen?”

“Yes, I am Count Heliosen. So, how about realizing your position and acting all humble?”

“Please release me.”

“Not until tomorrow.”

“I won’t leave the tower. Just release these chains.”

“Hmm…”

As Jenox hesitated, Lariana rested her head on his chest. She lightly patted his cheek several times with her hand, which made the chains rattle. She smiled softly.

“If you release this, I might just agree to marry you willingly.”

A crack appeared on Jenox’s face, and he exhaled heavily.

“Fine.”

? ? ?

The sound of retching filled the tower. After Jenox released her arms and legs from the chains and left, a sense of dizziness overcame Lariana.

Her hands and feet, freed after a long time, didn’t listen to her. She tried to stand up several times, but her legs wouldn’t support her, and she barely leaned against the wall.

If she stayed like this, she would be at Jenox’s mercy. She had to leave the tower. But no matter how hard she thought, there was no way.

“Moon. That d*mn moon.”

Beyond the iron bars, a large round moon was visible. Looking at the moon, she remembered the day when Cain proposed, and Lariana became irritated.

If only these bars weren’t here, she would have jumped out without hesitation…

“That scoundrel. He didn’t even come to find me.”

Once her father’s funeral was over, Lariana had made up her mind to go to her aunt in Davask. She would leave behind someone like Cain Delacroix and the idea of marriage. Tears welled up in Lariana’s eyes, which had lost their sparkle and had turned a dull.

Scratching sounds could be heard, as if a rat was scurrying around or the walls were being scraped. Irritated, Lariana used her fingernails to scrape off the dried crumbs of bread stuck to her nails and threw them in the direction of the sound, making a noise. But the scratching sound continued unabated.

“Eat this and be quiet.”

Lariana nervously turned to look at the window, only to be startled and hold her breath. There was a hand on the iron bars. A large, pale hand, bathed in moonlight, gently shook the bars. Weakened and with a limp body, she forced herself up and approached the window. When she reached the window, the iron bars kept giving an unpleasant sound.

Startled, she tightly closed her eyes. She heard the sound as if the unfamiliar intruder was settling on the window ledge. There was no threatening or attacking presence, just a refreshing fragrance carried by the wind that reached her.

Surprised by the familiar scent tickling her nose, Lariana opened her eyes and saw the figure of a black silhouette in front of her. The man, with his black hair fluttering in the night breeze, smiled enchantingly like a painting.

“Ha, why are you here?”

Oh, how tiresome. It was Cain Delacroix again.

Lariana had to admit that he was insane. Without being insane, he wouldn’t have been able to climb up the high tower walls like this.

“I came to find you.”

“So you climbed up the wall for that?”

“Yes.”

She threw away the dried bread stuck to her nails with her fingernails and nervously brushed off his hand that was reaching for her. Lariana pushed him away irritably.

“Let go!”

“Were you tied up?”

“It’s none of your business!”

“Why doesn’t it concern me? I’m going to be your husband.”

“Look, Your Excellency!”

“…Didn’t we agree to call me Cain?”

“Is that important right now?”

“It is important to me.”

Ignoring the woman who called him that, Cain glanced down at her wrist. Her pale skin was flushed as if blood could burst out at any moment.

“Your father’s…”

“Don’t talk about my father. I don’t want you even mentioning it.”

“I have secured the body.”

“Ha…”

Lariana couldn’t stand up against Cain’s words any longer. Cain gently lifted her as she slumped down and patted her back soothingly.

Lariana wanted to see her father’s final appearance. Even after begging and pleading with Jenox for days, she couldn’t see her father. But Cain, so effortlessly, had managed to obtain her father’s body.

“I have also secured your mother’s and brother’s remains. I took Jena as well. You are the last one.”

This madman had already saved her family, and now he was trying to rescue her as well. Why had he gone mad? If only he hadn’t gone mad… Read ahead here.