Chapter 46
‘Richard… knows?’
Her eyes shook aimlessly at Richard’s words.
Elisha didn’t expect him to come after the ship. Besides, she didn’t expect him to know that she was pregnant.
Her mind went blank at the unexpected situation and she couldn’t think of what to say.
Richard threatened her with a cold voice.
“As long as you have my child, you can’t go anywhere, Elisha.”
“…”
“If you want to run away again, run away. I’ll follow you to the end of the world.”
A cold river wind blew with his eerie voice. She reflexively closed her eyes as her body trembled.
Richard’s expression as he looked at Elisha was slightly distorted for an instant, and then he took off the robe he was wearing and wrapped it around her shoulders.
“…just go in and talk with me.”
Elisha looked up at him with puzzled eyes.
His long robe, which had his body heat left in it, felt as if it were tying her up.
Like his eyes that couldn’t be taken away from hers.
“Mmmhh.”
After a deep sleep, Anne suddenly woke up. It was still dark at night.
Anne, who was about to go back to sleep, opened her eyes wide when she saw the empty bed next to her.
“Madam?”
Anne got up from bed and looked around the room. Obviously, she couldn’t be inside the bathroom with the lights off.
‘Where did she go at this late hour?’
There’s nowhere else to go on the ship.
Worried about Elisa’s sudden disappearance late at night, Anne put on a robe to go out looking for her.
Suddenly, the door opened and Elisha entered.
“Madam, Where have you been at this…”
Anne, who was approaching Elisha, stopped in surprise when she saw Richard following her from behind.
“Lo, Lord?”
“I just took a walk.”
Elisha answered Anne briefly.
Richard hugged Elisa and took her to the bed and sat her down. He touched her forehead. Fortunately, there was no fever.
At that moment, Richard sighed in relief and got up.
“I’ll be right back.”
Leaving the room, Richard headed for the captain’s office.
The captain’s office was located at the top of the ship’s deck, where the river and sea were best viewed.
After Richard knocked and waited for a while, a young man who appeared to be an apprentice captain came out.
“What’s the matter?”
“I’d like to speak to the Captain for a moment.”
Looking at Richard’s cold eyes, he felt like his throat would be torn out if he said no.
The apprentice hurriedly woke the captain up.
“Ca— Captain.”
“What time is it now, shouldn’t you have sent Tyler back so we can switch.”
The captain, who was forced to get up from the bed while he had been having a good night’s sleep, hit the apprentice and approached the door, after seeing Richard his eyes widened.
Seeing his cold eyes and clothes that looked expensive at first glance, it seemed like he couldn’t refuse, no matter what time it was.
“What’s the matter, sir? Is there anything uncomfortable?”
“I’d like the ship anchored at a nearby dock.”
He could have crossed the river by flying with Elisha, but beyond the river was a barren field and mountains.
He didn’t even know where the nearest village was and the wind was too strong. The wind would not be good for Elisha, who already had a weak complexion.
If it was a dock, there would be a place to rent a wagon or stay until the Rubellin’s wagon came.
“Pardon…?”
At Richard’s absurd request, the captain asked with a puzzled expression.
The ship was not just carrying passengers, but also carried goods from the guild.
Some of those items had to arrive in a hurry, so the ship would go straight to the Arden territory without stopping.
But he wanted to anchor the ship.
“I, I’m sorry, but our ship has some items that need to be delivered urgently, so we won’t stop in the middle.”
“…”
“If we’re late, we could suffer a lot of damage… I’m sorry, but I don’t think anchoring will be possible.”
Richard, who had been quietly listening to the story, opened his mouth and talked in a rather soft voice.
“That damage, I’ll pay you twice as much in the name of Rubellin.”
At Richard’s words, the captain’s mouth as well as the apprentice’s mouth behind him opened wide.
The idea of paying twice as much was surprising, but what was more surprising was the name “Rubellin” that flowed out of his mouth.
The Rubellin family was the household with the largest number of mines on the continent, so it wasn’t a lie if he said he would pay twice the amount.
His will was as absolute as an imperial order.
“So anchor the ship.”
The captain and the apprentice couldn’t say anything to Richard’s back as he turned around and slowly walked away.
After Richard left the room, Elisha sat dazed in thought.
Anne, who was looking at Elisha, quietly knelt in front of her.
“I’m sorry, madam. I… sent a letter to His Excellency.”
When Elisha lay ill with a high fever, Anne was afraid that something might go wrong with Elisha.
At that moment, while she was rolling her feet without being able to do anything, Elisha, who was ill in public, struggled to open her parched lips.
“Richard…”
A name that flowed out like a moan, like salvation.
The moment she heard the name, Anne sent him a letter without hesitation. If he came, she thought this whole situation would be solved.
Anyway, the only family Elisha had now was Richard.
“I’m so sorry I broke my promise with you…”
Anne burst into tears and pleaded to Elisha for forgiveness.
Elisha stared at Anne quietly.
Eventually, the whole plan fell through. She was trying to get away from him, and she was trying to hide the existence of the child.
But why?
Rather than being angry, she felt relieved. It was strange.
“That must have been the best choice for you at the time.”
“…”
“But, it’s only this one time. Next time, please discuss it with me first.”
“Yes…”
As Anne was shedding tears, Richard returned to the room.
Anne noticed the atmosphere between the two and quietly walked away.
Richard approached and sat in front of Elisha with his knees on the floor and looked up at her.
When he found out that she had run away from him with his child, he was outraged.
‘Do you want to divorce me enough to run away with my child?’
‘Do you hate me that much?’
However, when he saw Elisha looking at him with fearful eyes, the anger that seemed to be unbearable was suppressed.
Instead, an emotion greater than anger welled up.
A sense of relief that he got her back, and a terrible feeling towards her.
A tragic love that has no choice but to turn to her even though she has run away from him.
After staring at Elisha quietly for a moment, Richard grabbed her hand and asked in a soft voice.
“Why did you run away?”
“…”
“With my child, too.”
Elisha tried to find the right words.
She couldn’t tell him that this was a world inside a novel, and she was trying to avoid death.
Elisha covered her belly with her other hand, which was not caught by him. As if to protect the child from danger.
At Elisa’s actions, Richard’s eyes shook.
“I know you hate kids.”
“…”
“I’ll go to a place no one knows about and I’ll raise this child well. So—”
“…I don’t hate it.”
At Richard’s reaction different from the previous one, Elisha looked at him startled.
His eyes showed a strange mixture of relief and regret at the same time.
It was the relief that she didn’t run away because she hated him, and the guilt he felt for giving her reasons to run away.
Richard, who had let out a painful sigh as he lowered his gaze, opened his mouth again.
“I’m sorry. I was wrong, Elisha.”
Richard looked at Elisha who was looking down at him with bewildered eyes, then got up and held her in his arms.
His eyes, as he held her in his arms, were tinged with obsession.
“So, don’t run away again.”
It was a desperate voice, as if he was begging.
Elisha blinked blankly in his arms.
‘Didn’t you hate children?’
Contrary to the previous answer, he didn’t seem to avoid children. In the original novel, Richard hated the existence of children.
‘Is it different from the original?’
So, even if we’re together, we don’t have to face such an unfortunate ending?
‘Can I look forward to that possibility?’
‘Because we still have a few years before we die…’
If I don’t love Richard, I won’t get obsessed with him and he won’t hate me.
‘If I see any signs of him turning similar to the original at any time, it won’t be too late to run away.’
When she thought of that, she burst into tears as her heart that had been burdened by all those worries was released.
The truth was, even if she promised herself that she would be able to raise the child by herself, at the same time, she was terrified.
Relief came to her at the thought of not having to deal with that fear alone.
“I’m sorry.”
Richard quietly soothed Elisha, who burst into tears.
While holding her in his arms, the black energy that had been creeping up from his body had faded away.