Ch#97
Chapter 97"If you have any questions, please ask. I will answer everything honestly."
"Really? Truly?"
"I swear on my honor and my life. If that's not trustworthy enough..."
As Edel hesitated, wondering if she needed to stake even more, Laslo waved his hand dismissively, as if it were all unnecessary.
"Since you've said that much, I'll ask. Answer honestly, as you promised."
"Please ask."
"What kind of existence were you in House Canian?"
Edel froze at the very first question. There were so many possible directions for her answer.
"On the surface, I was the eldest daughter among two sons and two daughters, and in terms of utility, I was the daughter they invested much effort into marrying off to one of the Four Great Families... but I don't think that's anything the Count doesn't already know."
"Right. I've long heard about it. Count Canian raised you meticulously to marry into one of the Four Great Families. Rumors spread that you were the perfect bride candidate."
Edel averted her gaze, somehow embarrassed to hear her past from Laslo's lips.
However, Laslo's gaze toward her grew somehow more persistent.
"But somehow... the father-daughter relationship seems different from what the world knows."
"Pardon? I'm not sure exactly what you're asking..."
"Did that 'meticulous education' toward you include beatings and abuse?"
Edel's eyes widened at the sharp question that pierced like a thrust. As if anticipating her shock, Laslo said,
"You promised to answer honestly, remember?"
He was right. To dispel Laslo's suspicions, she needed to appeal to her innocence with the truth.
Edel nodded slowly.
.
"The beatings were inflicted more on my younger sister than me, but educating my sister and me itself bordered on abuse... That's true. I didn't realize it fully at the time."
Laslo unwittingly clenched his fist.
The scene of the assault he'd watched through the small hole still flickered before his eyes.
Dustin Canian savagely striking only the hidden spots on such a frail woman. And Edel, unable even to scream despite the unjust violence.
It was the appearance of long-sustained abuse.
Even in his excitement, Dustin knew exactly where to hit, and was certain Edel wouldn't cry out. Unless he'd done it many times before, he wouldn't dare such brazen acts in a place like this, no different from enemy territory.
"I don't trust a word Dustin Canian says. And yet I let him meet you... To be honest, it was because I wanted to confirm if you'd betray me."
Edel drew in a breath and tried to shake her head at his words, but he wasn't demanding her response.
"But instead, I learned something completely unexpected. That you're a person with nowhere in the world to rely on!"
Edel was more startled by Laslo stating the obvious in an angry tone than by the fact that he knew of her conversation with Dustin.
"That's... true, yes..."
"Oh, really? I was idiot enough to think I was that 'place to rely on' for you. So I was a bit shocked."
Laslo snorted and reached out, slowly stroking her upper arm.
"In my house, as one of my people, you got beaten like that and couldn't even scream once. Even knowing I was right in the next room."
Only then did Edel realize Laslo had been watching her and Dustin.
"C-Count..."
"It made me reflect. On how untrustworthy I'd been toward you. So it made sense—you must see me, Dustin Canian, and Duke Lancaster as all the same kind of person."
Edel hurriedly shook her head.
"No, that's not true! It's not like that!"
"If not, you should have screamed earlier. Believing I'd naturally come running and protect you from that man—you should have screamed!"
- 3 -
Laslo was angry.
The reason for his anger? He couldn't put it into words right now. But it was surely a valid one, just or otherwise. He wasn't the type to get this furious lightly.
Edel seemed at a loss for words too, her red lips trembling anxiously as she faltered.
Laslo let out a long sigh and bowed his head.
"Sorry. It's not your fault."
"I... I deeply trust you, Count. I'm always grateful for everything you've given me. I hold no grudges against you, and I'm happy with life here. I just want you to understand that much about my feelings."
Laslo nodded weakly, his demeanor suggesting he didn't quite believe her words.
"I got heated and lashed out at the wrong person. Don't worry because of me—rest well today. I'll have Margaret send some ointment, so apply it properly."
Edel seemed about to say more but let out a small sigh and bowed to him instead.
Once she left the study, Laslo sank into deep regret.
'Thinking about it properly, Edel has been a victim swept up in Count Canian's ambitions from the start. My failure to realize that was due to my own prejudices.'
Seeing Edel married to the much older Duke Lancaster, he'd thought, 'That woman traded her beauty and body for power too.'
He'd even thought, 'If she hated it, she could have run away.'
Noble women had few choices to begin with—they could only live as someone's daughter or wife. It was obvious to nobles, but as a commoner origin, he hadn't known.
Besides, Edel had smiled happily every time marriage talks arose back then.
*How many nights must that woman have spent crying, to smile like that.
Edel's silent screams echoed in his ears again.
"I fulfilled the duty you imposed on me by being sold to Duke Lancaster. That should be enough."
"Do you remember when I knelt and begged you for the first time in my life? Pleading for you to let me go, starving and crying for days!"
Why had all the puzzle pieces only fallen into place now?
.
The greedy Count Canian, the marriage with its abnormal age gap, the duchess abandoned alone in the ducal residence, House Canian swiftly cutting ties with Edel and making no contact for over a year, Edel who seemed to lock herself away here, Edel who said she was content with her current life...
'That's why she could say her life now is happy. It wasn't a lie!'
There had been ample opportunities to instill complete trust in Edel, who claimed happiness even while doing menial labor she'd never done before as a captive.
But he'd pitied her at times, admired her often, felt grateful on one hand, yet never fully opened his heart to her.
Perhaps that sliver of suspicion—that rebel remnants might seek his weakness through her—had left Edel with nowhere in the world to rely on.
He recalled words once exchanged with her. Probably when he'd made her steward.
"Someone with nothing left turns out to be surprisingly trustworthy. As long as I become their sole support."
"Does that mean you'll be my sole support, Count?"
Back then, he hadn't given a firm yes. He'd just joked, asking if it wasn't to her liking.
'What an idiot.'
How hurt must Edel have been by his irresponsible words.
Laslo sighed deeply.
Just then, someone knocked on the study door.
For a moment he thought it was Edel, but she wouldn't have more to say.
"Come in."
After his weary response, Linia promptly opened the door and peeked through the crack at her brother.
"Brother, you okay?"
"Okay? With what?"
Reassured by his usual tone, Linia entered the study.
"Well, I heard you yelled loudly at Edel earlier..."
"You have spies around me now?"
"You'd be the one to do that."
Pouting, Linia plopped down across from him. Despite her training under Edel, her tomboyish attitude remained.
"It was nothing."
"Then it shouldn't be hard to tell me. What trivial thing made you drag Edel off and yell at her? I'm dying to know."
Linia never let go easily once she latched on. Laslo regretted losing his composure, but it was too late.
It felt awkward sharing Edel's personal history, but Linia had misunderstood her too.
"Fine, you should know to some extent."
Laslo sighed again and told her that Edel had grown up abused by her father—no, perhaps her entire family—and that her marriage to Duke Lancaster had been entirely against her will.
"You overheard their conversation and found out?"
"Better to confirm everything and eliminate suspicion. I didn't expect to witness that scene."
"What scene?"
.
