Chapter 52
Even though Tirzen had seen with his own eyes that the injury wasn’t that serious, seeing the small foot wrapped tightly in bandages didn’t make him feel any better. From the outside, it looked like she was a critically ill patient.
He didn’t like that Berem was holding Elysia’s foot, touching here and there as if kneading it, and he disliked even more the unnecessary remarks about how pretty her feet were.
It was fine that he treated her so thoroughly, but when Berem spent an unnecessarily long time applying the ointment and wrapping the bandages, Tirzen had to work hard to suppress the urge to swing his fist.
“You shouldn’t take a minor wound lightly. No going out for a while.”
Tirzen said naturally, as he would to Roena.
The doctor also said it would be best if she didn’t walk for a few days, so Elysia accepted without objection.
“Thank you… for worrying about me.”
“Isn’t that obvious? You seem to forget often that our contract includes a lot of things.”
“Ah…!”
Elysia was momentarily at a loss for words.
She had thought his concern for her and the way he washed her feet were all natural and kind gestures of goodwill. Realizing that all of it was calculated, done only because of the contract, made the warmth she had felt inside cool down and harden.
Why am I even disappointed? Was I hoping it was for some other reason?
Elysia brushed away the lingering disappointment. Compared to how cold he had been when they first met, this kindness—even if contractual—was much better.
“Since the treatment is done, I’ll be going now.”
“Before you go, we have to finish something.”
“Finish what?”
Tirzen’s casual words gave her a strange sense of dread, triggering her vigilance.
—Knock knock.
Before Tirzen could answer, the butler, Brict, knocked and entered the room.
“It’s ready.”
“Understood. Shall we go?”
“Me too?”
“Of course. It’s your matter.”
Without knowing Elysia’s growing urge to flee, Tirzen picked her up and left the room.
As he passed the lower floor and descended into the basement, her anxiety deepened.
Walking down a dark hallway with no windows, Tirzen entered a room through an open door without hesitation. Inside, a small table and a few chairs cast shadows in the flickering candlelight.
Why do bad premonitions never miss?
Seeing a man kneeling before Kais, Elysia bit her lip in distress.
“Did you find out the motive? Was he hired by someone? Or was he planning to kidnap you for ransom?”
The man, with his head pressed to the floor, lifted his face at Tirzen’s question.
“I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m innocent. That woman was the one tailing me!”
“Your tone is insolent.”
As soon as Tirzen spoke, Kais stretched out his leg and kicked Barus on the shoulder. With a thud, Barus’s body tilted to the side.
“Argh!”
“Does it hurt?”
When Tirzen asked, Barus clutched his struck shoulder and groaned while nodding.
“If you don’t want to bring more punishment upon yourself, watch your mouth.”
“I really am innocent. This happened because the lady was following me.”
Although his tone became a little more obedient, it still didn’t satisfy Tirzen.
Setting Elysia on the table so her feet wouldn’t touch the floor, Tirzen sat beside her.
“A guy claiming he was followed ends up chasing a woman from behind—does that make sense? Kais, have your skills gotten rusty? Why am I listening to this nonsense?”
“I swear it’s true! If the lady hadn’t been following me, there’s no way she would’ve ended up in a secluded alley!”
“You lured her into a dark alley?”
“Gasp!”
When Tirzen leaned forward and let the words slip through his teeth, Barus flinched and scooted backward in terror.
“I’ve already beaten him a few times, but he keeps saying the same thing. Maybe we should hear the lady’s side first.”
At Kais’s suggestion, Barus looked like he’d just been given a new lease on life and nodded eagerly, while Elysia realized she was in a difficult situation.
If she told them she followed Barus because she suspected he would help Gustavo with illegal dealings in the future, they would think she was insane.
Elysia shot Kais a resentful look for dragging Barus here.
“You must have had a good reason to tail him.”
It was nice that Tirzen trusted her, but the reason wasn’t something he would understand.
“Yes… that’s right. I followed him first.”
After hesitating over how to explain, Elysia decided admitting the truth was better than making a clumsy excuse and confessed with her eyes tightly shut.
“See? I told you I wasn’t… wrong…”
Barus, who had been shouting triumphantly, trailed off when he met Tirzen’s sharp gaze.
“Do you think that being followed first excuses your wrongdoing? I said I’d hear the whole story, not forgive you.”
Barus’s fleeting hope turned to despair, but Elysia wasn’t paying attention to his misery or Tirzen’s cold warning.
Her mind was racing, searching for a plausible lie mixed with truth—something everyone would believe.
“That man seemed very suspicious.”
“What did I do to seem suspicious… Ugh!”
Barus, failing to know when to keep his mouth shut, was struck again by Kais and went silent.
“Did he steal something from the marketplace?”
“No, Kais. If it were something as simple as theft, I’d have shouted to draw attention.”
“Then what made him suspicious?”
“He’s close to Gustavo, so I wondered if he might have been involved in Roena’s kidnapping.”
Barus flinched visibly at that. Elysia’s eyes narrowed sharply.
She hadn’t seriously thought he was involved, but his reaction made her words seem spot-on.
Kais let out an exclamation of admiration.
“Wow! Lady Mares, your instincts are incredible. This guy did play a part when Roena was kidnapped. The kidnappers had left their flyers at the brokerage he runs.”
“As I thought… my intuition wasn’t wrong.”
Of course, there was no such intuition, but Elysia hid her relief behind a sharp glare at Barus.
“Should we just let someone like this go?”
“There wasn’t enough proof of direct involvement in the kidnapping, so we didn’t punish him before… but now I think my investigation was lacking.”
“I really didn’t know anything about that! There are many who leave flyers, and I don’t even handle those requests myself!”
As the blame shifted, Barus crawled on his knees to grab Kais’s feet, pleading desperately.
After the kidnapping incident, his business had plummeted, and only recently had things begun to recover. Another investigation could ruin him completely.
“While you’re at it, check for other illegal dealings. See if he’s hiding any assets. And if there are unpaid taxes, make sure not a single coin goes unpaid.”
“By the Grand Duke’s command, it will be done. What should we do about him for now? Just let him go?”
“If someone does wrong without punishment, they’ll just think it’s fine to repeat it. He deserves a fitting penalty.”
Elysia grew curious about what punishment Tirzen would impose, while Barus clung to a thread of hope. That hope was crushed in an instant.
“Make sure he can never run again.”
“W-what… You’re not planning to break my ankles… are you?”
“Should I add your wrists to the list too?”
Realizing that one more word might worsen his fate, Barus turned pale and trembled silently, too scared to beg.
If Barus couldn’t use his legs, he would never dare chase after Elysia again—perfectly reasonable in Tirzen’s eyes. The only reason his hands were spared was because he hadn’t managed to grab Elysia before.
Barus counted himself lucky that Tirzen didn’t know he had grabbed her arm when she tried to run earlier.
“I have something to say too.”
Elysia tapped Tirzen’s arm, signaling that she wanted to get down from the table.
Tirzen frowned, displeased at the thought of her feet touching the floor and hurting. Elysia misunderstood his expression.
“That man tried to harm me, so I think I have the right to say a word or two.”
“Say it while sitting here.”
“The distance is too far.”
Elysia wanted her words to sound threatening, and speaking from this far wouldn’t be effective. She shook her head firmly.
“If distance is the issue, I’ll fix that.”
With a gesture and a nod from Tirzen, Barus was made to sit on a chair, facing Elysia. Sitting on the table above him gave her the perfect vantage point.
When Elysia leaned forward, Tirzen wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her from falling. Resting an arm on his shoulder for balance, she locked eyes with Barus and spoke.
“I’ll give you a piece of advice for the rest of your life. Just because something glitters doesn’t mean it’s gold. If you can’t tell whether the rope you’re holding is rotten or golden, it’s because greed has blinded you.”
“…”
“You can’t have everything just because you want it, and not everyone gets to climb high just because they wish to. No matter how greedy you are, if your vessel is small, there’s a limit to what you can hold. If you’re on a sinking ship, your life will sink with it. Take my words to heart and find your own way before it’s too late.”
Every word stung Barus like a lash.
It felt as if she knew all about his connection with Gustavo, as if she were predicting his doomed future.
When she finished, Elysia smiled sweetly at the dazed Barus. She didn’t expect him to cut ties with Gustavo immediately, but she no longer worried.
After Kais stripped him of everything, Barus wouldn’t have much left to offer Gustavo anyway. Considering he had played a big role in her past death, this revenge wasn’t excessive in the least.
Elysia left in Tirzen’s arms, and not long after, Barus’s desperate screams echoed from the room.
