Chapter 82
Tap, tap, tap—
Click, click, click—
The sound of high heels followed him at a steady pace. Bern ignored it entirely, despite knowing that someone was persistently trailing him.
“Bern, I’m tired.”
The voice behind him made Bern flinch slightly.
“Bern, I said I’m tired! Go a little slower.”
Now the sounds of hurried footsteps ran alongside him. Bern frowned and turned around.
There stood Celine, beautifully dressed.
Since the day she had visited the Marquis, Celine had constantly lingered around Bern. At first, her attempts were limited to letters, gifts, and requests for meetings, all of which Bern ignored.
Eventually, realizing that her usual advances weren’t working, Celine had resorted to following Bern wherever he went.
Of course, she made sure not to interfere with his schedule.
But today, she was bolder than ever. Unlike the last time, when they had merely crossed paths at a café, this time she had spoken to him.
If her goal was to get under his skin, she had succeeded completely.
From the moment she appeared, all of Bern’s attention was on her—though he hid it well.
He instinctively knew that if he responded even once, it would all collapse immediately. So he resolved to show no reaction at all.
“She’ll get tired and give up soon enough.”
Bern quickened his pace, ignoring Celine’s voice behind him.
As Bern increased his speed, Celine hurried to keep up. The height difference made it slightly difficult to catch him.
Watching Bern’s figure gradually receding, Celine bit her lower lip hard.
“I can’t give up like this.”
She couldn’t let this opportunity slip away.
Just as she was about to run in her impatience, her foot caught on a stone.
“Ah!”
Celine let out a short scream and fell to the ground.
“Ugh…”
A sharp sting ran across her palms and knees. Worse, her ankle began to throb painfully.
Lifting the hem of her dress, she saw her shoe had come off, revealing scratches across her foot. Touching her ankle, she felt heat and swelling spreading gradually.
Her ankle had twisted during the fall.
Celine stifled a groan and tried to get up, but she couldn’t stand properly.
The chaos of her body and the pain surging from all directions almost made her burst into tears. But more than anything, she feared losing Bern.
Just as she anxiously lifted her head, wondering if Bern had left, a shadow loomed directly in front of her.
“Celine! Are you okay?”
Bern had come running from afar.
Seeing his urgent expression, when he usually ignored her, left Celine speechless.
“Let me see your hands! They’re scraped all over! What happened to your feet? Did you twist your ankle?”
Before Celine could speak, Bern carefully examined her condition.
The concern in his eyes, the restless worry—everything mirrored how he had been when they were lovers.
Through his glasses, Celine saw the green in his eyes and bit her lower lip.
“Thank goodness. He still cares about me…”
Though she had boasted that she would make him come back, seeing Bern ignore her completely had filled her with anxiety.
Had he really forgotten her? Was she nothing to him now?
But he hadn’t forgotten. She could tell just by looking into his eyes.
Relief washed over her, and the tension she had held back broke, bringing tears she hadn’t expected.
Seeing Celine cry, Bern looked visibly flustered, unsure what to do.
“Does it hurt a lot? Where exactly?”
“It’s not… that…”
Celine couldn’t control her tears and couldn’t continue speaking, making Bern even more anxious.
Unable to bear it any longer, Bern lifted her into his arms.
“Be-Bern!”
The tears stopped instantly. Startled to be in his arms, Celine instinctively hugged him back.
“There’s a carriage nearby. Let’s go there first.”
Bern’s tone was firm as he quickly moved.
Even though Celine was hurt, this scene could easily be misunderstood by others.
Celine didn’t want to embarrass him, even though she wanted him back.
She looked around quickly—fortunately, there was no one nearby. Feeling relieved, she cautiously lifted her head.
Bern’s face was set and stern, and noticing his anger, Celine quietly closed her mouth.
Sniff—
Just a small sniffle. Bern, hearing it silently, frowned further and quickened his pace.
Finally, the two got into the carriage. Bern immediately instructed the coachman to go to the hospital.
“Let me see your ankle.”
He tried to check her condition again, but Celine hesitated to speak.
When she had been annoyingly chatty, Bern had tolerated it. Now, in silence, he grabbed her foot.
“W-Wait!”
Before Celine could stop him, Bern lifted her small foot.
Though it risked revealing her petticoat, Bern focused solely on her ankle.
Already, her ankle was bruised and swollen.
“It’s swelling already.”
“Ugh…”
The brief embarrassment faded, replaced by the dull pain when Bern’s hands touched her ankle.
Her soft moans made Bern even more careful.
“Haah, why did you chase after me? You should have given up by now.”
“…I didn’t want to lose you like this.”
Her sad voice made Bern glance up. Her eyes were slightly red from crying.
He clenched his fists instinctively, feeling the urge to reach out.
“This is the last time. Next time, even if you get hurt or chase after me, I won’t respond. So stop here.”
“No.”
“Celine!”
“No! This is my chance to reset everything. I’m not letting this pass. You might think I’m reckless, but I’m desperate.”
Looking into Celine’s eyes, Bern turned his head quickly to avoid being swayed.
“It’s useless. I’m engaged to Lucia now.”
Celine’s heart sank. She spoke urgently.
“What? B-But last time, the engagement wasn’t even finalized…!”
“…It was decided after you left. We’re just arranging the wedding date, so it can’t be undone.”
“You… decided that after I left?”
“Yes.”
Seeing his cold, indifferent golden eyes, Celine doubted if this was really the Bern she knew.
“How… how could he do this right after I left…?”
Being engaged to Lucia wasn’t shocking, but confirming it after their meeting was.
Why had he chosen another woman?
“And I’m right here in front of him…”
The pain in her chest was greater than the scraped hands or twisted ankle.
“Marquis, we’ve arrived at the hospital.”
After a suffocating silence, the carriage stopped.
“Let’s deal with this later and focus on treatment first.”
Bern tried to support her, but she instinctively pushed his hand away.
“I-I can do it myself.”
Pale-faced, she rose unsteadily without meeting his eyes. Bern quickly held her.
“Stop being stubborn and take my hand. You can barely stand.”
Celine looked at Bern silently.
Though there were no tears, her eyes looked like they might.
“You’re so kind even now. I’m completely helpless to your words…”
Bern relaxed his grip as Celine left him in the carriage, limping forward.
Just before entering the hospital, she lowered her head for a moment, rubbed her eyes, and looked back.
“Still… I won’t give up on you.”
She looked pitiful, and Bern instinctively reached out, only realizing it after the hospital door closed.
The engagement news was meant to push Celine away. He shouldn’t be swayed and had to end their relationship coldly.
But her wounded face kept appearing in his mind.
“…Damn it!”
Bern muttered a rare curse and ruffled his hair.
Meanwhile…
“Haah…”
A heavy sigh echoed in the office.
“Haah…”
Arista put down the documents and looked toward the source of the sound.
Lucas was slumped over, carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“Why am I still employing that guy?”
Not far from Lucas was Ares, glaring at him with cold eyes.
Ares was frustrated by Lucas’s constant sighing over the past few days.
Even when he didn’t do his work properly, he somehow managed to accomplish it while looking miserable.
Asking what was wrong could have solved it easily, but if asked wrongly, Lucas would pester someone for days. So Ares didn’t want to speak to him at all.
Eventually, the stress pushed Ares to consider seriously firing Lucas.
Arista noticed Ares’s feelings immediately and rolled her eyes, then subtly approached him.
“I’ll talk to brother. Go outside and take a breather.”
Ares glanced at her briefly, then nodded while glaring at the absent-minded Lucas.
“…Yeah, that’ll be better for my sanity.”
Ares stood up slowly, warning,
“Don’t indulge him too much. Just let things slide. Otherwise, he’ll get used to it.”
“I’ve got it under control.”
Feeling a strange sympathy for Arista, Ares clicked his tongue at Lucas and left.
Lucas, lost in his own world, sighed again.
“Ahem!”
Arista cleared her throat and tapped Lucas’s desk. Lucas, snapping out of his thoughts, looked up.
“Brother, have you been worrying about something lately?”
“Nothing…”
“Nothing? You’ve been sighing every day.”
Lucas awkwardly scratched the back of his head, sighing.
“See, you’re doing it again.”
Noticing it, Lucas realized he had been sighing.
“Right… when did I start doing this?”
“It’s been a while. If you have worries, share them. I might be able to help.”
“But…”
“One more sigh and Ares will fire you.”
Ares was that kind of person. Lucas scanned the room to make sure he wasn’t there and, after hesitating, finally spoke.
Update soon!~