LADAD Chapter 18

"How are things lately?"

Aaron asked while neatly arranging and tying his long hair. It was such an ordinary voice that it seemed like he was asking about something he wasn't particularly interested in.

"She seems very shocked and is just staying quietly in her bedroom. She doesn't go out either."

However, Aaron was not someone who asked about things he wasn't interested in. Rather, considering the degree of interest he often showed in Amelia, Aaron's interest was close to sinister obsession.

"She doesn't go out either?"

"Yes. Since such a thing happened..."

Louise, who knew this fact, answered carefully. It was to avoid going against Aaron's mood. Usually he wasn't particularly cruel to people other than Amelia, but she was still cautious.

"That's true."

Aaron readily accepted Louise's answer. There was no suspicion. Since she wasn't going out or meeting anyone, she couldn't be having any foolish thoughts.

"Cousin."

The wind had become cold at some point. It was when Aaron was closing the window with an indifferent touch that Louise hesitantly spoke up. Aaron's gaze naturally turned to Louise.

"That fire—it was an accident, wasn't it?"

At Louise's question, Aaron slowly blinked. His expression suggested he had never even thought he would hear such a question, so Louise felt awkward for having thrown out such an unexpected question.

"Yes. Unfortunately."

Though his expression alone seemed to be sufficient answer, Aaron kindly gave a verbal response.

"That's right. It's such a tragic thing."

"Tragic?"

When Louis, who had not grasped the meaning behind Aaron's "unfortunately," let slip words tinged with sympathy, Aaron seized upon what Louis had said. Louis's face showed bewilderment at being unexpectedly called out.

"I mean..."

"Surely you don't mean it's tragic that the impious man who tried to violate the sacred maiden died, Louise Skipper?"

Aaron asked with an expressionless face. Since he usually always wore a faint smile, the difference felt particularly large. Louise was flustered and only moved her lips.

"I'm joking. Surely as a member of the Skipper family, you wouldn't have such thoughts."

Aaron's expression softened as he stared at such a Louise. It was the same gentle face as always.

"Isn't that right?"

"Of, of course."

Louise hurriedly answered.

"You look tired. Go ahead and leave now."

Then Aaron, as if all his questions had been resolved, told her to go ahead and leave. Louise hastily got up from her seat, greeted Aaron, and left the room.

"......"

At the same time, Aaron's face, which had been smiling until the door closed, turned cold. His gaze was already directed through the window toward the palace where Amelia stayed.

"There is someone who visits the prayer room in the annex once a week."

Louise had said that Amelia seemed to have simply given up everything and become docile. Aaron tried to believe that story, but a handful of suspicion remained. So when he called in a guard to find out if there was anything suspicious about Amelia's behavior, he heard such words.

"The prayer room in the annex? You mean the prayer room near the north gate?"

The guard in Aaron's memory nodded.

"Yes. Actually, since it's where the Sacred Maiden resides, everyone tacitly refrains from approaching, but it's not as if there's an explicit rule forbidding it..."

Perhaps surprised by Aaron's questioning expression, the guard answered while reading his mood.

"Usually he stays for about an hour and comes out before the curfew is imposed, and there has never been any particular disturbance."

And he hastily added explanation, worried that he might be scolded for working lazily.

"What is the name of the person who entered the prayer room?"

Of course, Aaron was inclined to do just that. However, he couldn't very well seize and execute someone merely for entering a prayer room. Such were the constraints of the devout clergyman's mask, the reasonable nobleman's facade that Aaron donned.

"It's Ricky. He's a commoner, so he has no surname."

However, when the name he heard was not unfamiliar, things became different. Aaron's eyebrows bent at a sharp angle, which was rare.

"Who did you say it was?"

"I, I said Ricky..."

That sharp atmosphere instantly overwhelmed the guard. Without realizing it, the guard stammered as he repeated the short two-syllable name. Because he had never seen Aaron look so serious.

"Were the dates when he came to the prayer room fixed?"

The apprentice priest who was about to be expelled for going astray.

"It was every Friday. Recently, there was one time he didn't come."

And Amelia, who spent time alone in the prayer room every Friday.

"These bastards..."

"Excuse me?"

How dare they try to deceive his eyes with such pathetic tricks. The moment he realized this fact, fire sparked in Aaron's eyes. Like a cat just before hunting a mouse, he crouched low and waited for that Friday.

And as planned, he caught that low-quality bastard by the neck and threw him into prison.

"It's regrettable that he died so easily, but..."

However, there was something regrettable. In fact, Aaron had no intention of letting that worthless creature go so easily. Until Friday came, he had endlessly pondered how to tear apart and kill the bastard who had approached Amelia and tried tricks, but it had all become useless.

But somehow or another, this incident seemed certain to shake Amelia's entire life.

"......"

The image of Amelia crumbling before the flames that blazed crimson and writhed was vivid in his mind. It was the second most despairing expression he had ever witnessed on Amelia's face.

"...Now she won't be able to think of anything else."

That was enough. That was enough.

Even while thinking this, the strength in Aaron's grip on the window frame never relaxed.

After the night of the great fire that completely burned down one building, Amelia became quiet.

When it was mealtime, she ate, and when it was time to sleep, she slept. The only thing that disappeared was doing anything of her own will.

"Won't you go for a walk?"

She didn't take walks, didn't chat, and didn't insist on not being called the Sacred Maiden.

"Really?"

Louis confirmed Amelia's intentions several times. From Louis's perspective, managing Amelia had become much easier, but seeing her so unlike her usual self made unease take precedence. Perhaps Louis was thinking this was how previous troubles had begun as well.

"For the next three days, even if you want to go out..."

So she seemed to be suggesting unwanted walks for no reason. Amelia shook her head before Louise could even finish speaking.

"I understand. Please rest until the bath water is prepared."

"Okay."

"And don't go anywhere."

"I won't go."

Amelia answered firmly. Louise, who had been about to tell her to stop if she was thinking of pulling any other tricks, moved her mouth awkwardly with an embarrassed face.

"Where would I go?"

In a place where Aaron's gaze doesn't reach anywhere.

The omitted words were clear. Louise could not deny this fact either, so she just rolled her eyes for a moment before greeting and leaving.

"......"

As soon as Louise left her bedroom, Amelia lay down on the bed. Her eyes were closed listlessly as if she were about to fall asleep again.

"The bath is ready."

How much time had passed? At the time when sunset light was gently settling into the room, Louise came again.

"I'll go."

Amelia followed Louise to the bathroom. Perhaps herbs had been added to calm her nerves, as the heated water gave off a fragrant smell. But that couldn't make the matter of mixing bodies with a man whose face she didn't know any lighter.

Of course, that didn't mean there was anything she could do about it either. Amelia slowly dipped her feet into the bath first, following the hands of the mute maids with an expressionless face.

"Louise, go ahead and leave. These people haven't been attending to me for just a day or two."

Louise nodded and quietly withdrew. Only then did Amelia begin to immerse her body in the bath. Her generous chemise nightgown briefly puffed up with the movement, then gradually clung to her body as she became submerged.

When Amelia was completely in a sitting position, the maids carefully began to attend to Amelia's bath. Amelia watched the water rippling each time their hands moved underwater, then closed her eyes. It was because even her chest felt queasy and nauseous.

Then careful hands tilted Amelia's head toward the edge of the bathtub and began massaging her scalp.

"......"

Wet hands passed through the air, leaving traces of water on Amelia's face. So she could cry with peace of mind.

Water droplets flowed long down Amelia's temples. Continuously until the bath was finished.

When she returned to her bedroom after cleansing her body, the veil of night had already descended.

Amelia moved toward the bed, relying on the weak light from several lit candles. This night was merely given grand names like "night of coming of age," but it was no different from base rutting, so there were no special decorations in the room.

The sound of people could be heard beyond the bedroom door. It was the footsteps of roughly two people.

Had the time come?

Amelia looked at the door with a resigned face. At the same time, the door opened, and a knight of sturdy build whose clothing showed only his eyes and a man with some cloth thrown over his head to block his vision were led inside.