WBSML 08

Chapter 8

The duel with Charles had also ended in Leopold’s victory.

It was only natural. Once he had a sword in his hand, there was no way he could lose to anyone else.

The problem was what was going on inside Leopold’s head. Layers upon layers of pain had coiled themselves up inside his mind, relentlessly stabbing at his thoughts.

Irritated by it, he had pressed Charles a little harder, and the duel had ended rather anticlimactically.

Before he could even satisfy the heat boiling in his blood, the emptiness that followed made him lose his patience.

And so, Leopold, who had blindly chased after Eliza’s whereabouts, finally found her—and stopped in his tracks.

“After going all this way to find you, and this is what I get to see…”

The corner of Leopold’s mouth twisted in displeasure.

The dim corridor was illuminated by the soft flickering of candlelight.

Transparent jewels embedded between the white lace draped along the walls sparkled like stars.

Amidst that romantic atmosphere, two figures were quietly walking toward him.

A man courteously escorting a beautifully dressed lady.

It was a scene straight out of a painting.

“Your Highness.”

“You must be Sir Leopold Hagen.”

Magnus showed no sign of being shaken, even after seeing Leopold in such a battered state.

The only reaction came from the woman beside him, whose eyelashes fluttered like butterflies when she spotted Leopold.

When Leopold stared intently at Eliza, Magnus stepped in front of her as if to shield her from his gaze.

Suppressing the instinctive urge to rush forward, Leopold belatedly composed himself and offered a proper greeting.

“I greet Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

“Yes.”

After accepting the greeting rather casually, Magnus glanced at Eliza.

Although she had managed to erase most of her expression by then, she still couldn’t hide how stiff she had become.

It was understandable. The heir of the family she had just reported had suddenly appeared right in front of her.

“Do you have some other business?”

“Would it be all right if I took my friend with me?”

“That is a matter for the lady to decide.”

The two men looked at Eliza at the same time.

She stared at Leopold with narrowed eyes, thinking:

Is that his blood? No way… right?

Her startled heart was pounding wildly. At first, she had been shocked simply by recognizing Leopold. Then, upon noticing his injuries, her heart began to race even more violently.

“I’m hurt, Illi.”

Oblivious to what was going on inside Eliza’s head, Leopold whined.

He even deliberately slumped his shoulders as much as possible, clearly with an ulterior motive.

No matter how many days he spent thinking about it, Leopold still couldn’t figure out what kind of whim had suddenly taken hold of her heart.

So he had decided it would be better to ask her directly, which was why he had come looking for her himself.

He had even deliberately put his face in the path of the sword and gotten himself scratched.

“…Your Highness, I apologize, but may I leave for a moment?”

“Go ahead.”

Magnus willingly let Eliza go.

The moment he left first, Eliza roughly grabbed Leopold by the sleeve and dragged him toward an empty space.

“What happened to you?”

“That’s how duels are, isn’t it? When you’re fighting with your life on the line…”

The moment they were alone, Leopold flashed her another playful smile.

His voice was shamelessly casual.

Eliza silently examined his face in detail.

When she noticed his injuries, her brows furrowed.

Compared to the blood smeared all over him, thankfully, the cut on his cheek didn’t look very deep.

“I’m leaving.”

“I’m hurt. You’re really going to leave me here?”

Eliza stopped.

She bit her lip lightly.

Then, unconsciously, she looked around as though searching for somewhere that might have medicine or medical supplies.

Leopold’s long, narrow eyes curved into a smile again.

“See? You do care about me.”

That girl couldn’t abandon someone who was hurt.

No matter how much she pretended to put up her guard, she couldn’t help but become soft-hearted.

That particular habit of hers sometimes made Leopold’s heart ache.

“…Put some medicine on it or disinfect it or whatever. Take care of it yourself.”

Eliza shook her head dismissively.

But just as she turned to leave, Leopold suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

Eliza tried to shake him off, but remembering that he was injured, she couldn’t bring herself to use much force.

Leopold buried his face against the small hand that fit perfectly into his palm.

“What are you doing…?”

“It was hard when you wouldn’t see me.”

Leopold pressed his face into her palm and inhaled deeply.

Only now did he finally feel like he could breathe again.

His low voice carried a strangely childish whine that didn’t suit him at all.

“Why did you suddenly start avoiding me? Before we’re fiancés, we’re friends.”

“Ha…”

Eliza sighed and squeezed her eyes shut.

Only after the flashing strands of his hair disappeared from her vision did it seem like her mind could finally regain its composure.

When she opened her eyes again, Eliza coldly pulled her hand away.

Then, as she walked toward the door, she spat out the words as if chewing them to pieces.

“It’s because you keep acting like this.”

“So I’m the one at fault?”

“Yes.”

To be honest, Eliza had expected Leopold to simply become annoyed when she announced the usual broken engagement.

He was a simple-minded man, after all. She had thought he would openly get angry, and that his pride would be hurt enough for him to let her go soon enough.

But when Leopold tried to hold on to her far more desperately than she had expected, her heart began pounding.

What should I do? This is… a little scary.

Liking obsessive men was something she had done in her previous life.

And even then, she had only enjoyed such things because they were in novels. In real life, she had no desire whatsoever to become entangled with a lunatic like that.

Even if she was merely a temporary stand-in until the heroine appeared, what if his obsession ended up hurting her?

“Treat yourself and leave.”

“Eliza. You can’t leave me behind.”

With his long legs, Leopold quickly caught up to Eliza.

Blocking her escape, he reached out and slid the lock into place.

Click.

An inexplicable tension filled the air.

Leopold lowered his face close to hers and whispered.

“Breaking off our engagement? Fine. I can do that. If my father gives his permission. But even after we break off the engagement, we’re still friends.”

“Then I suppose we have to stop being friends too.”

The veins on the back of the man’s hand in front of her eyes suddenly stood out.

Seeing the hand tense with force, Eliza swallowed nervously and pushed against his shoulder.

“Move.”

Leopold watched Eliza slip out from beneath his arm, and the corner of his mouth twisted.

“Ah, this is annoying.”

Eliza desperately tried to hide her tension.

But her hands trembled slightly as she unlocked the door and turned the handle.

“If you run away like this without even telling me why…”

She stepped outside and closed the door with Leopold still inside.

His figure slowly disappeared behind the door.

Only then did Eliza finally release the breath she had been holding.

The reason?

What could Eliza possibly tell Leopold Hagen?

That I know what your family is plotting?

That I was afraid the Hagen family would kill me, so I reported you to the Crown Prince first?

“Either way, it ends in disaster…”

She had made the decision she needed to make.

Eliza repeated those words to herself as she walked away with heavy steps.

That day, after returning to the mansion, Eliza had to wash her hands for a long time.

Leopold’s blood was still on her palms.

But even long after a bloodstain has been washed away, if you look at the place where it once was, sometimes it seems to leave behind a dark shadow, almost like a hallucination.

Even now.

“Is there something in your hand?”

“Ah.”

Oh no.

Eliza groaned inwardly.

Before her eyes, Magnus elegantly lifted his teacup.

This was her third meeting with him.

Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince’s side had summoned her first this time, and Eliza had willingly accepted the invitation.

“It looked like there was something on it.”

“Now that you’ve checked, I’d like to get to the main point.”

“Of course.”

Eliza clenched and unclenched her fist, trying to dispel the illusion lingering in her palm.

For now, facing that blunt, taciturn man was actually preferable.

Compared to the dull, sticky traces of blood, the red of his eyes—glittering as though they held rubies within them—was far more beautiful.

“Your words sounded absurd at first…”

His deep voice continued slowly.

Eliza didn’t avert her gaze from the eyes staring directly at her.

“But I have judged that there is some merit to what you said.”

“I’m glad you believe me.”

“What I don’t understand, however, is why you are so desperate.”

Eliza blinked silently, as if she didn’t understand what he meant.

She hid the momentary hesitation by burying it inside her tightly clenched fist.

“Everyone knows of the friendship between Valour and Hagen. So why would the sole daughter of Valour report the Hagen family?”

Magnus thought of her as a woman made of glass.

It wasn’t simply because of the shimmering colors she possessed, but because she looked so fragile that it seemed as though the slightest shock could shatter her.

Yet every now and then, she would put on a strong front and reveal a face that completely concealed what she was thinking inside.

Unexpectedly, that was what drew his attention.

She was doing it again now.

Her delicate features remained silent as she blinked several times before forming a quiet smile.

“Is there something you haven’t told me? About what the Hagen family is planning?”