Chapter 16

“Lady April, dinner is almost ready.”

Leonore’s voice came from outside of the door when April was sitting alone. Seemingly, the library was not a place where the servants were allowed to enter.

“Yes, Leonore, I’ll be coming in just a minute.”

She slapped her cheeks, clearing her mind of Ian’s thoughts before hurrying towards the dining hall.

***

“Could you please give me a moment, Marquis?”

After putting down the glass on the table, April carefully asked him. It was unusual for her to ask like that, so Ian curiously lifted up his eyes at her.

“There’s something I want to ask you, but it’ll be a bit weird here. Would you like to take a walk?”
“That would be fine.”

Ian responded readily to her request. He stood up first and reached out his arm to April.

“Would you like to walk by the lake? It’s a pretty good stargazing spot.”
“Yes, sure.”

The two walked side by side in silence. The chirping of the autumn crickets was heard from time to time, and the lake, where darkness had fallen, looked serene under the moonlight.

“You must have noticed that after you met me at the library, didn’t you?”

He was quick-witted.

She swallowed a lump in her throat and spoke in a calm voice.

“I’ve seen a line in a book just a few days ago that said the heat has to be controlled by another fever.”
“I see.”
“And thanks to you, I came across its meaning today.”

April glanced at his countenance before she spoke, but she could hardly read his expression in the dark.

She waited until they slowly moved from under the shade of the tree.

“You’re not looking for a companion……are you, Marquis?”

Ian turned to her at the question. A long silence followed as they stared at each other’s eyes.

‘Did I say something wrong?’

He gazed down at April with a hard look on his face. His mouth opened a few times, but he couldn’t easily spit out what he wanted to say.

She also couldn’t read his face. His expressionless look seemed boundless, but a thin, trembling look of his revealed his feelings.

“Why are you asking me this all of a sudden?”
“It’s not a disease that I can completely cure. It cannot be fixed unless you find a companion.”
“I have already told you. I don’t want to fix it.”
“But Marquis, if you rely on the drugs for the rest of your life…..”
“That’s for me to decide.”

It was the first time when he cut off her words. Each syllable of his contained a force.

And that caused her to zip her lips. One side of his mouth went up obliquely as he noticed it.

“Hmm, a companion.”

He thought over her words with a smirk on his face. She looked up at his eyes, which were gazing down at hers. Her violet eyes shook violently as if they were frightened.

“Is it that easy for you to say that?”

Was it an injustice for her to say that or did it make him angry?

Ian couldn’t tell the true nature of the feeling that was creeping out of him. April, who brought up the word “companion” with that red lips of hers so calmly, was upbraided. It was as if her whole body was rejecting his words.

‘Why does the Marquis look so intimidating all of a sudden?’

Gazing down at April with sharp eyes, Ian slowly took half a step closer to her. At the same time, she took a step back. His golden eyes, which were similar to that of a beast’s, looked threatening and seemed capable of harming her at any moment.

“P-Pardon me, Marquis. I said something presumptuous.”

She carefully picked up her words and hurriedly bowed her head in an apology. She should have known that a companion was never achieved only through marriage.

“April.”

She heard his voice above her head. Soon, his hand came up to her chin, raising her head up.

Their eyes met again. His expression seemed more subdued, but it was still cold.

“It’s useless for me to get a companion without a second thought. It’ll only hurt my opponent.”
“Forgive me, but if you don’t find a companion, I’m afraid you’ll have to live like this forever, Marquis…….”
“Even if so, I don’t want to hear it from you.”

He said, looking straight at her. She gazed at him in silence, listening to the words of unknown origin. Ian kept staring straight at April with his mouth shut tight.

‘What’s wrong with him?…..It’s so difficult for me to read his face.’

Her heart burned as she stared up at his shadowy face.

“Can I tell you something, April?”
“Yes.”
“My father once said he almost committed a crime against my mother. It happened just a few days before their wedding.”
“Pardon? Was it because of the fever?”

As he nodded, April swallowed a dry lump. It was supposed to be a secret behind the prestigious late Marquis of Reykis.

“But of course, it didn’t happen. He called in a servant and asked him to rope his entire body.”
“Oh my…..!”
“Father regretted that moment all his life. He even asked me not to do anything like he did, to a woman I love, that would make me regret it for the rest of my life.”

Listening to the story of his predecessor, who once belonged to the Languan tribe known for their exceptionally strong blood, she understood why Ian always stayed far away from women.

He wouldn’t have wanted to hurt her. No, before that, he wouldn’t have wanted to scare her.

“So the Marquis stays away from women because he is afraid of hurting them?”

Ian nodded. Even if it made his condition worse, he desperately kept holding out.

“Now you know how terrible this disease can be, and how much I regret what I did to you at the Duke’s banquet.”

Ian clenched his fist with his eyes on the shivering April. He wanted to comfort her by touching her shoulders and tell her that she didn’t need to be afraid, but Ian knew better than anyone that he was now in no condition to do so.

“I’ve called you here out of my own greed, but I’ll let you go anytime you want.”

To his words that would block all possibilities that would put her in danger, she shook her head.

She seemed confident. She was willing to help Ian, who had hoped to be all alone.

“No, Marquis, I’d rather choose to stay. I’m your doctor.”
“April…..”
“I’m not that easy to get carried away. Do you know I even used to light a fire with my bare hands?”
“Fine- With your……bare hands?”
“That’s a story for another time. Promise me instead. If the Marquis loses his mind, he wouldn’t say anything no matter what I do.”

She declared, lifting up her left hand. The blue jewel of her bracelet shone in the moonlight. With April’s full-blown voice, Ian released his guard and smiled. But behind it was a certain feeling of bitterness.

The two turned around and headed to the detached building, which was lit. Neither of them dared to speak out during their walk. The moment of silence was not uncomfortable either.

“Excuse me, Marquis, but what did you mean by that?”
“What do you mean?”
“When I talked about a companion, you said you didn’t want to hear that from me.”

He glanced at her as she asked innocently. He wasn’t prepared to explain those words to April.

“I won’t tell you.”
“What?! You’re making me more curious about it, Marquis.”
“Perhaps, you’ll find out about it someday, just like you did today. But for now, please get some rest.”
“Yes…..”

She gave a slight nod before she entered the building.

Ian stood there silently, gazing at her from behind. When her figure completely disappeared from his view, he let out a sigh and swept his palm across his chest.

‘Why do I get so intemperate whenever I hear that you’re here for me?’

These days, Ian couldn’t fully recognize the sudden orientation in his feelings.

***

“Ian, you’re not interested in the North, are you?”

By the end of the meeting at the grand mansion, Fabian asked Ian implicitly. The question had nothing to do with military affairs.

“The mining district in Carleva will be auctioned around next year. So, would you like to buy it before then? The nobles of the capital have their eyes on it, and I heard the original owner was a great family.”
“I see, but I’m not interested……”
“I thought you would be. Ah, speaking of Carleva, do you know about the family of Count Liszt?”
“Yes, they are one of the descendants of the Langs who have rarely been raised into a noble family. I had often interacted with them during my childhood.”

Ian suppressed his smirk as he thought that the Liszt family was such a presence in the Lang community.

Even though they had the Lang blood running in their veins, they went on a journey to leave their superior descendants. Ian could not acknowledge Count Liszt, who had struggled up with so many tears and sacrifices.

“Anyway, he’s coming to the capital. Looks like the northern battlefield has calmed down.”
“From Carleva to the capital?”
“Yes, he’s coming with his acquaintance, Count Gridler. I heard they want to celebrate our return.”

Ian was convinced that the reason they had to come all the way here would not just be for the celebration. If he had his eyes on the mines, he would have aimed for Fabian, who was the easiest to approach as a warrior.

“Please send me a word if you face any trouble.”
“It’s reassuring for you to say so. Anyway, go and have a rest now.”

After greeting Fabian, Ian left the mansion and got into his carriage.

“Carleva, Carleva…..”

The name of the place, which was unusually repeated a few times today, was not something to be looked down on. He had once heard from April that she had escaped from that certain place with all her might.