Chapter 26
That dreary night was full of darkness. The maids, who gathered in the bathroom, were diligently grooming a voluptuous woman. They washed her fair body in lavender-scented water and applied the perfume extracted from petals on her.
Finally, a bathrobe made of thin cloth was worn to reveal the curves of the woman’s body. The maids took her to the front of Richard’s room and disappeared.
The woman, who hesitated for a while in front of the door, quietly entered the room. Without a single candle lit, it was quite dark. Feeling the presence of someone, the woman approached the bed.
“…..!”
However, Richard, whom she thought had fallen asleep in the dark room, was sitting up on the bed.
‘it’s supposed to be a man…right?’ She looked at the silhouette again. It wasn’t the silhouette of a man. It was the silhouette of a woman, who was as delicate as her.
At that moment, the clouds that were covering the moon shifted away. The moonlight shone into the room. Only then, she could see the woman’s eyes which were watching her intently.
It was Elisha that sat on the bed under the moonlight. Upon making eye contact with Elisha, the woman froze on the spot.
Elisha, who was quietly watching the woman, opened her mouth. “You must’ve been surprised to see me.”
“T-the Young Master…”
“He went out for a walk. I told him to.” Elisha already predicted what Albert would do. That old man, who always urged her to bear Richard’s child, suddenly ordered them to use separate rooms. His order was absolutely suspicious.
Of course, Albert already expected that Elisha would know his plan too. Nonetheless, he didn’t think that Elisha would actually interfere. But there was one thing he overlooked. Elisha would never let him harm Richard.
“I’ll just cut the chase.” Elisha put down a heavy bag, full of gold coins, in front of the woman. “Leave. With this money, you’ll be able to live leisurely for the next 10 years.”
However, the woman didn’t even glance at the bag of gold coins. “Do you think I’ll be swayed by that much money? It’s the seat of the next duchess. If I give birth to his child, the position will be mine.”
“The child. Richard doesn’t want to have it.”
“Isn’t that just your jealousy as his wife?”
‘You’re quite arrogant. You dare to say such things in front of the wife of a man that you’re about to seduce.’
However, Elisha’s voice was calm. There was no sign of anger or ridicule.
“I’m afraid that you’re mistaken. I’m here for you, not for myself. I know the duke very well. He loves and cares about the Rubelin name more than anyone else. Would such a person accept a commoner as his granddaughter-in-law?”
“……”
“He’s just treating you as a mere child-bearing tool.”
The woman bit her lower lip and glared at Elisha. She couldn’t refute Elisha’s pointed comment at all. In fact, she knew that everything Elisha said was true.
But Elisha’s words didn’t end there. “But I don’t think your worth is just that, right?”
“…….”
“With this money, you can do whatever you want. You can buy pretty clothes and eat delicious food. You can even go wherever you want.” Elisha approached the woman and looked into her eyes. She casually handed a gown to that woman. “If you don’t know your value yet, eat what you want, buy what you wish for, and think about your value carefully.”
“…….”
“Not the value set by others who don’t know you, but the value that you set on your own.”
Elisha’s words left the woman in a daze, as if she had been hit on the head by something hard.
Elisha got up after placing the bag of gold coins in that woman’s hand.
*****
The next morning, Elisha woke up in her newly assigned room. It was the first morning she had spent in a different room, without Richard around.
She organized her thoughts over a simple breakfast that Ann brought to her room. ‘First of all, I need to go to Richard.’
Richard still didn’t know what happened last night. She still didn’t tell him the real reason why she sent him out for a walk. It was simply because she didn’t want to make a fuss late at night.
‘But I don’t think I can bribe every woman the Duke sends. I’m sure that there’ll be a woman who won’t accept my method of dissuasion. Albert will use any means until he achieves what he wants. Richard has to know Albert’s plan so he can win against him.’
After finishing the meal, Elisha headed straight to Richard’s room. “Richard.”
After hearing her knocks, Richard opened the door. “Elisha?”
“Can I come in for a second?” Elisha strode into his room before Richard gave his permission.
Richard closed the door. He was wearing only a bathrobe since he had just finished taking his bath.
Elisha didn’t notice that at first because she was engrossed in her thoughts. Her gaze was instinctively drawn toward his muscular chest.
‘Ahem, ahem…’ She quickly diverted her eyes to Richard’s face as she started talking, “Richard, actually last night, when I asked you to go for a walk all of sudden-”
Before Elisha could finish her words, they heard the loud footsteps of someone running in the hallway and they were soon followed by urgent knocks.
“Yo-young Master Richard, are you inside?”
It was the voice of a servant. His voice sounded unusually urgent. Elisha had an ominous feeling. She wasn’t the only one who sensed the foreboding atmosphere.
Richard’s expression was also subtly hardened. He immediately walked to the door and opened it. “What’s going on?”
“Yo-young Master needs to go and see His Grace now…” The servant took a short breath for a moment and continued, “His Grace is…in critical condition…”
As soon as Elisha and Richard heard the servant’s words, they headed straight to Albert’s room. Albert was accompanied by his doctor, butler Grayson, and aide Aaron.
“Young Master, Milady.” The three bowed respectfully to Richard and Elisha and stood back.
In the meantime, Elisha and Richard approached Albert. He was breathing heavily, as if he were about to be out of breath. His eyes used to appear fierce even when he was bedridden. But now, those eyes looked lifeless and out of focus. Like a dying flame that would go out at any moment.
The doctor, who was watching Albert’s worsening condition, said with a miserable look. “It seems like……it’s better to prepare for the worst.”
Since the doctor could do nothing more to help Albert, Richard just sent him back. Soon after, the vassals who heard the news arrived one by one. They greeted Albert for the last time and went back.
Now, only Elisha, Richard, Aaron and Grayson were left in the room. Only Albert’s breath, which seemed to be fading away, could be heard in the quiet room.
Elisha looked at Richard’s expression. He just stared at Albert with emotionless eyes, like he always did. Then, he opened his mouth, “…I want to be alone with my grandfather until his last moment.”
Knowing that Richard was signaling them to leave, Aaron and Grayson stood in front of Albert to bid their last farewell.
“It has been a lifelong honor for me to serve Your Grace.”
“May everlasting glory be with Your Grace.”
Next was Elisha’s turn. She couldn’t utter any word easily as she watched Albert’s face. She didn’t feel sad at all. She just thought that he was a pitiful person. After spending his whole life protecting the Rubelin house, he was left with nothing. In the end, he was just a human that would turn into ashes and disappear after his death.
“Rest in peace.” She gave her last greeting with compassion toward Albert, who lived his whole life determinedly. And as Richard wished, she left the room with Aaron and Grayson.
Click. When Richard heard the door closing, he turned his head to Albert. A man, who once tried to kill him and would constantly treat him like a breeding stallion instead of as a grandson, was dying in front of his eyes.
“Actually, I wish you could live a bit longer.”
Albert’s eyes seemed to regain focus at Richard’s words. They were like a fire, which was about to flicker out.
Richard looked into Albert’s eyes and continued, “So you can suffer more from frustration and disappointment. Since I’ll never allow you to reach your goal.”
“…….”
“It’s a pity that you’re leaving so soon…”
It was creepier since Richard said those cruel words in a calm voice.
Albert’s eyes shook in distress while listening to it. His weak breathing also became a little rougher.
At that moment, Richard revealed his true feelings. Deep hatred and disgust. His voice was full of emotions. “Now, Rubelin is mine.”
Looking at Richard, Albert’s eyes shook violently. “Th-this…brat…” He tried to finished his words with his fading voice, but he suddenly gasped and could no longer speak. His eyes had become bloodshot and his dry lips stopped moving. At the same time, his hand dropped helplessly onto the bed.
Richard closed Albert’s eyes, murmuring, “Please watch us from hell…”