CH:18
“How have you been lately?”
Aaron asked as he neatly tied up his long hair. His tone was casual, as if he wasn’t really interested in the answer.
“She’s been staying quietly in her bedroom. She doesn’t go out at all.”
However, Aaron wasn’t the type to ask questions without a reason. In fact, considering how much attention he paid to Amelia, his concern often bordered on something like sinister obsession.
“She doesn’t go out at all?”
“No. I guess, considering what happened…”
Louis answered carefully, aware of that fact. Aaron rarely treated anyone cruelly unless it involved Amelia, but still, caution was always best.
“I suppose so.”
Aaron accepted Louis’s answer quickly, showing no signs of doubt. If she wasn’t going out or meeting anyone, there was no room for mischief.
“Brother…”
By now, the wind had grown chilly. Just as Aaron was shutting the window with an indifferent hand, Louis hesitantly spoke. Aaron naturally turned his gaze to her.
“That fire… It was an accident, right?”
Aaron slowly blinked. His expression said he hadn’t even considered such a question before, making Louis feel awkward for asking something so out of the blue.
“Yes. Unfortunately.”
Aaron answered verbally, even though his expression alone would’ve sufficed.
“I know. It was such a shame.”
“A shame?”
Aaron picked up on Louis’s choice of words just as she said it, her voice tinged with sympathy. His tone sharpened, and Louis’s face visibly fell at the unexpected reaction.
“I mean…”
“You don’t mean it’s a shame that the wretched man who tried to assault the priestess died, do you, Louis Skipper?”
Aaron asked, expressionless. Normally, his face carried a gentle smile, so the stark difference now felt even more chilling. Louis fumbled, unable to speak.
“Just joking. Surely someone from the Skipper family like you wouldn’t think such a thing.”
Aaron’s expression softened into the same kind smile he usually wore as he stared at her.
“Right?”
“O-of course.”
Louis quickly answered.
“You must be tired. You may leave now.”
As if he had resolved all his questions, Aaron dismissed her. Louis hurried to her feet, bowed, and left the room.
“……”
As the door shut, Aaron’s smiling face turned cold. His eyes had already shifted toward the palace where Amelia was staying.
“There is someone who visits the annex chapel once a week.”
Louis had said Amelia seemed to have given up and calmed down. Aaron wanted to believe it too, but a sliver of doubt lingered. So he called in a guard to discreetly check her activities—and heard something surprising.
“The annex chapel? The one near the north gate?”
The guard nodded at Aaron’s question.
“Yes. Since it’s where the priestess resides, most people avoid it out of respect. It’s not officially off-limits though…”
The guard hesitated, sensing Aaron’s surprise, and quickly added an explanation.
“He usually stays for about an hour and leaves before the curfew. There’s never been any trouble.”
He rushed to add the details, worried he’d be scolded for neglecting his duty.
“What is the name of the person entering the chapel?”
Aaron didn’t particularly want to punish someone over a simple visit to the chapel. After all, the mask he wore as a devout clergyman and respectable nobleman wouldn’t allow it.
“Ricky. A commoner, no last name.”
But when the name wasn’t unfamiliar, the situation changed. Aaron’s eyebrows sharply arched.
“What did you say his name was?”
“R-Ricky, sir…”
The guard stuttered the short name, overwhelmed by Aaron’s sudden intensity. He had never seen Aaron react like this before.
“Does he come on the same day each week?”
The soon-to-be-disgraced trainee priest.
“Every Friday. Although he did miss once recently.”
And Amelia, who spent every Friday alone in that chapel.
“Those little…”
“Sir?”
So they thought they could deceive him with such a cheap trick. The moment Aaron realized that, fury sparked in his eyes. Like a cat crouched before the kill, he waited patiently for that Friday.
And just as planned, he grabbed the lowly bastard by the neck and threw him in prison.
“It’s a shame he died so easily, though…”
There was one regret. Aaron hadn’t planned on letting that bastard die quickly. He had spent days thinking of exactly how to tear him apart after he tried to get close to Amelia—but it had all gone to waste.
Still, one thing was certain: this incident would shake Amelia’s life to its core.
“……”
He recalled Amelia’s face, crumbling in despair under the glow of the flames. It was the second-most desperate expression he had ever seen on her.
“…She won’t be thinking of anything else now.”
That was enough. That was all he needed.
Even so, Aaron’s grip on the windowsill never loosened.
After the fire that burned down an entire building, Amelia became quiet. She ate when it was time to eat, and slept when it was time to sleep. The only thing missing was her own will.
“Won’t you go for a walk?”
She didn’t go on walks, didn’t chat, and no longer insisted on not being called a priestess.
“Really?”
Louis confirmed Amelia’s intent multiple times. It was certainly easier to manage her this way, but the change made her uneasy. She likely feared Amelia might pull another stunt, like before.
“For the next three days, even if you wanted to go out…”
That’s why she tried to encourage a walk. But Amelia shook her head before Louis could finish.
“Understood. Please rest until your bath is ready.”
“Okay.”
“Please don’t go anywhere.”
“I won’t.”
Amelia answered firmly. Louis had been about to warn her not to try anything funny, but shut her mouth awkwardly.
“Where would I go, anyway?”
In a place where there’s no escaping Aaron’s gaze.
The unspoken words were clear. Louis didn’t deny it either—she just rolled her eyes and left the room.
“……”
As soon as Louis left, Amelia lay down on her bed. Her eyes closed as if she might fall asleep, weighed down by lethargy.
“Your bath is ready.”
Some time passed. The room now glowed with the light of sunset when Louis returned.
“I’ll go.”
Amelia followed her to the bath. The water gave off a fragrant scent, probably from herbs meant to calm her nerves. But no matter how fragrant the bath, it couldn’t wash away the weight of what had happened.
Still, there was nothing she could do. With a blank expression, Amelia slowly dipped her feet into the water as silent maids helped her.
“Louis, wait outside. These maids have served me long enough.”
Louis nodded and quietly exited. Only then did Amelia start to fully lower herself into the tub. Her roomy chemise floated briefly before clinging to her body as she submerged.
Once she sat down fully, the maids began to carefully assist with her bath. Amelia watched the rippling water as their hands moved beneath the surface, then closed her eyes. Her chest churned as if she were seasick.
One maid gently tilted Amelia’s head against the edge of the tub and began massaging her scalp.
“……”
Wet hands moved through the air, tracing water across her face. That’s when she finally allowed herself to cry.
A long trail of water ran from her temple.
It kept dripping until the bath was over.
After cleansing herself, Amelia returned to her bedroom, now veiled in darkness. She relied on a few dim candle flames to find her way to the bed. Though they called it a “coming-of-age night,” the reality was no more than forced consummation, and so the room had no decoration.
Footsteps approached beyond the door—at least two people.
Was it time?
Amelia stared at the door with a resigned expression. The door opened.
In came a broad-shouldered knight with only his eyes visible and a man with a cloth draped over his head, blinded.
