Chapter 54

The place they went into was a bathroom. Fortunately, there was no maid there, but the large marble bath was filled with warm water. As if a maid had poured hot water in there to cool it down, their view was blurred because of the water vapor in the bathroom.

“Damn it! How come she walked so fast? Are you sure she went this way?”

In the meantime, somebody’s footsteps in the distance were heard closer. That was the noise of a couple of men walking with heavy steps and Ober’s displeased voice.

Marianne managed to come to her senses. As there was only one she could turn to at that moment, she desperately held the hem of his robe.

Her exposed neck and shoulders trembled bitterly like herbivorous animals. She felt cold even though she was in the warm bathroom.

The moment she curled up her shoulder, Eckart quietly raised her arm.

“You are really bugging me. Giyom, are you sure you didn’t meet Marianne? Was there any news that she had a big quarrel with my mother today?”

“Nope. I haven’t heard anything about the marquise.”

“Then, why did you suddenly get scared and run away? You were just fine until then. What’s unusual was that you appeared suddenly and my mother was talked about. What the hell made you scared? Did a monster with ten eyes stand behind you? Why didn’t I see that?”

Although she heard Ober’s sharp voice in front of the bathroom door, Marianne managed to stand right there without collapsing because that golden cloak covered her shoulders.

Eckart held her with one arm while his other arm was grabbed by her. That was it. They didn’t make any eye contact, whisper words of comfort, or tap their shoulders.

Nevertheless, she felt she was completely protected.

She did not refuse his favor, nor did she want to. Of course, he protected her out of considerations as a gentleman or out of patience for the hostage, but it didn’t matter.

The thin cloth of cloak was her biggest and strongest shield at this moment.

Marian closed her eyes while leaning her forehead on her tight chest.

Only after Ober and Giyom disappeared in the distance did she burst into tears, which she had been holding back.

“O my….Your Excellency.”

“Tell me anything.”

“I was done crying now.”

Marianne stared at him her swollen red eyes. His blue irises slanted toward her.

“So?”

“You can let me go now.”

Only then did Eckart pulled away his arm around her shoulders. The warmth that covered her shoulder disappeared.

He stood like a statue while Marianne cried without asking her to stop crying or even ask why. This helped Marianne to have her cry out. After she had a good cry, she suddenly felt embarrassed without any reason.

“I’m sorry. Your ceremonial clothes got wet because I shed tears… ”

“I don’t care because the deputy chamberlain has brought spare clothes.”

His cold voice echoed through the steam in the bathroom. Eckart moved back a couple of steps from his spot.

“Have you calmed down now?”

“Pardon? Oh, yes. Thank you,” Marianne nodded quickly.

“Then, can I ask you a question now?”

“What question…? ”

Eckart bit his lips as if hesitating for a moment, but then opened his mouth as if he were determined.

“When you were in Lennox, were you ever abused by Ober or his deputies? Or were you exposed to his one-time violence?” he asked with a calm look. But she felt a terrible suppression of anger in his voice.

“Not necessarily…”

“Violence is the crime of the oppressor, not the oppressed. I won’t let anybody blame you. So, please be honest with me.”

Eckart seemed to regard her excessive alertness as proof of somebody’s abuse of her. It was a reasonable guess of the third party who didn’t know her situation.

“Of course I felt bad every time I bumped into him, but I’ve never been physically harassed.”

At least during her lifetime in this life.

Marianne held back her breath for a moment while slurring. What she suffered at the end of her previous life was much more severe than violence or abuse, but she could not tell him about it.

“Why were you so scared a minute ago?” he asked.

Marianne couldn’t open her heart to him at that moment.

“I know you were not scared that much when you dealt with Ober as a rule. Is it because of his deputy at hand?”

“Well…”

His blue eyes showed he was determined to get her answer. Marianne desperately put her brain to work to find the answer that didn’t look like a lie but very close to the truth.

“I sometimes have a nightmare.”

“…”

“The guy in my nightmare looks exactly like Ober’s deputy.”

He was seen twisting his eyes in the blurry steam.

“Seriously. Ober also looks like another guy in my nightmare. But he is not the same man. How can I describe him? Have you never had a nightmare like mine? A familiar face appears in your dream, but he is not the same person in the real world, but just looks the same…”

She felt she was babbling incoherently while talking. She rolled her eyes back and forth in anxiety. There was no chance that the emperor could buy her poor excuses, given his meticulous character.

“Got it.” His reply was too unexpected, though.

“Pardon?”

“I got you. I don’t want to talk to you anymore, so you can stop.”

She was embarrassed by his sudden chilly tone, which made her really feel resentful.

“I know you also have something you find hard to tell me, right?”

“Ah, are you going to get even with me this time, too?”

“You didn’t tell me why you were angry that day…”

While sweeping up his golden hair, he stopped.

“And you didn’t say you were coming today…”

“…”

“Thank you for bringing this necklace to me. But you didn’t say anything when you asked for it. I knew you accepted my request only when I met Sir Jed today.”

She touched the emerald necklace around her neck. When she grabbed a tangled pendant with diamonds, its corner pierced her palm sharply. It hurt. That pain led her to ask him lots of things she felt suspicious about him up to now.

“Don’t you like me a lot?”

“…Marianne. ”

“Why didn’t you come to the party? Did I make a big mistake that day? Did you ever worry about me?”

“…”

Eckart did not answer.

As the water got cold, the steam disappeared quite a bit. Now, their view became clear. His blue eyes which were transparent like colored glass sparkled. She was fully reflected in his eyes.

“I know you’re treating me well as a hostage against your will, but you don’t have to do so. Even if you treat me cruelly, I won’t run away or break my promise to you.”

She realized suddenly.

She felt heartbroken when she said that. She realized why he figure reflected in his eyes was so small and pitiable, and why she didn’t want to hear at all when, in fact, she wanted to hear any reply from him.

“I get confused about you because you often have mercy on me. I just wonder if I can ask you personal questions as a hostage.”

Her eyes were quickly wet with tears when she said that. She rubbed her eyes in no time, and she raised her head, pretending to be calm.

“Because I was busy with handling a lot of state affairs,” Eckart answered belatedly.

“I see.”

Though she was eager for his reply, she felt miserable rather than happy when she heard his curt reply. She couldn’t even feel sad.

He clearly told her before that if she didn’t hide anything, he wouldn’t hide, either. How deceitful and cunning were his words?

“And I’ve never shown you any favor against my will.”

He gave her another room for hope, but she knew his intangible promises would disappear like a dream tomorrow.

“… you are so cruel.”

Marianne took a deep breath. The feeling of moist air filling her lungs was much better than her sucking moisture in the water.

It was that sense she felt when she was alive. Even though she rolled in the mud and tolerated sheer shame, she could feel it because she was alive. She decided she would be grateful for that. She decided to believe it was enough.

“Thanks for helping me a little, even though you’re treating a hostage like me with respect.

Sorry for showing you my terrible look. I won’t do it again.”

“…”

“Let me head out first. I think I need to fix my makeup.”

Marianne put her hands on her chest and slightly lifted the hem of her dress. With light golden ruffles swayed like a wave, she slowly left the room.

Bang.

Eckart stood long looking at the closed door.

After she left, there was a faint, sweet smell of flowers in his arms and lapel that Marianne had left behind. Words that he couldn’t bring himself to utter stirred his mind like a storm.