CHAPTER 108
“Understand?”
“……”
“Did you say understand?”
Harvich felt an impulse to twist Ethan’s neck and snap it.
If he followed his heart, he would have done so long ago.
There was only one reason Harvich had kept Ethan alive until now.
If he killed him like that, it would be far too merciful.
Both he and Ethan knew it.
At certain moments, death could become an escape.
Harvich did not want to let this man go so easily.
If he had to kill him, he wanted it to be in the most painful way possible.
It was not even himself who had been dragged into this, but Lincia.
Only now did Harvich realize that making her happy was nearly impossible.
That was why, at the very least, he wanted to repay this grudge properly.
He ground his words into the prisoner.
“How am I supposed to understand you?”
Whatever feelings Ethan held toward the North, Harvich honestly did not care.
Even if he had poisoned the land and turned it into ruins, he would have dismissed it as a disaster, nothing more.
Harvich was not naïve enough to think he was the only one who hated this land.
But.
“Unlike the previous Grand Duke, everything I do is truly for the North.”
The things Ethan babbled made less and less sense the more he spoke.
Unable to restrain his rising anger, Harvich raised his voice.
“If you really cared about the North, you should never have touched Lincia!”
Any desire for revenge should have been directed solely at the bloodline of Cassius.
“Have I ever failed to put food in your mouths?”
“Have I ever let you freeze to death in the dead of winter?”
When his father, the former Grand Duke, ruled the Cassius territory, such tragedies were frequent.
Inheriting a land left in tatters, Harvich had relentlessly tried to live differently from his father.
Because he loved this land?
That could not be further from the truth.
If he could have, he would have abandoned it and left long ago.
Harvich even doubted whether anyone in this world truly loved the Cassius territory.
There was only one reason he endured days that gave him no satisfaction, no hope.
“Of course… I took responsibility for this land…….”
Because he had to bear it.
Because it was the fate of one who inherited the blood of Cassius.
Because he did not want to sink as low as his father, who fled through death.
It was precisely what Ethan, who was spewing nonsense in front of him now, had wanted.
And it was why Harvich regarded Ethan’s claim that he had tormented Lincia solely for the North as utter sophistry.
This land was his responsibility.
And just the thought that Lincia had suffered because of him was enough to make Harvich want to die.
Harvich knew that even if the plan had succeeded, Ethan Chaester would not have wanted him dead immediately.
At least not until the child was officially declared his successor…….
Ah.
The child.
Thinking of a son who looked exactly like himself, Harvich suddenly thought, without realizing it, that it might have been better if he had never existed at all.
If that were the case, Lincia would not have had to suffer like that…….
The more he thought about it, the more unreal everything that had happened to Lincia felt.
Marrying him, and suffering such humiliation for no reason other than being his wife…….
“Let’s separate.”
It was only natural that Lincia would say something like that.
He, too, did not want to leave her in a land like this.
“I suppose so.”
Ethan lowered his gaze.
Looking down at his own wretched self, worn down by brutal hardships in prison, he then raised his eyes to Harvich.
“Didn’t your father act sane as well, only to wander cliffs after losing his wife?”
Harvich’s face twisted.
Ethan stared blankly at the man who could not hide his murderous intent, bordering on pain, and muttered.
“You really resemble your father.”
As if watching him suffer was enough.
“Perhaps… this is what I wanted to see…….”
The sight of someone with that man’s face being tormented this badly.
Harvich, who had been glaring at the emaciated man as if he wanted to kill him, dragged a hand down his face.
“Hugh already found out.”
“Say it yourself.”
“I made her lose her memory.”
Since there was nothing left to hide now, the man muttered dully.
“I mixed in a truth serum too.”
“It draws out the feelings buried deep inside, and by the next day, she remembers nothing.”
It meant that none of this would have happened if he had not dared to harbor feelings for Lincia.
Hearing that, Harvich’s vision truly went dark.
All of this tragedy stemmed from his own heart.
Because he had set his eyes on Lincia, Yulias had tried to control Cassius by using her.
Because he had held Lincia in his heart, he had taken her that night.
Perhaps the one who should disappear from Lincia’s life was not Ethan, but Harvich himself.
The thought struck him sharply, but Harvich knew.
Running away through death was the height of irresponsibility.
Turning his back at the prison where Ethan was confined, he gave an order to the guard.
“Make sure he cannot kill himself.”
His blood-red eyes coldly swept over the prisoner’s vacant face.
“Burn him alive.”
* * *
Had time always flowed this slowly?
Lincia sat on the bed, resting her chin on her knees as she gazed at the sky.
Ten days had already passed since Harvich left the villa.
He had said it would take about two weeks, but Lincia did not believe his words.
Even so, as the time drew nearer, she could not understand her own heart that waited for him to return.
Even if he came back early, she would not welcome him.
Then was she waiting for him to be late instead?
Was she looking for reasons to resent and blame him, just so she could pour them all out?
He had told her to resent and blame him without reason, but she could not bring herself to be that kind of person.
At the same time, she could not laugh and talk with him as if nothing had happened.
She wanted him by her side, yet did not want to see him.
She wanted to talk, yet did not want to open her mouth.
Would it have been easier if she had simply ignored his pleas and left?
If asked whether she had given nine months because she loved Harvich, even that answer felt unclear.
Was this love?
Could something filled only with resentment and a desire to hate still be called love?
A knock sounded at the door.
Anna entered through the door as it opened cautiously.
“Your Highness, would you like to go for a walk?”
She had originally hated even moving under the sunlight, but Lincia decided not to sink further.
After lunch, she made a point of going outside whenever possible.
“Sure.”
“Yes, I’ll get ready right away!”
Smiling brightly, Anna left the bedroom and soon returned with Lincia’s outerwear.
“I’ll bring Sir Tereo as well.”
At Lincia’s words, Anna widened her eyes.
“It’s just some fresh air nearby. Wouldn’t it be fine?”
Unlike the Grand Duke’s castle, this was a place where no one disliked Lincia.
And since the villa was tucked away on the outskirts, there were hardly any people around.
“Alright! I’ll tell Sir Tereo not to follow us!”
Through the door, the sound of Anna and Tereo bickering could be heard.
Anna soon returned with a satisfied smile.
“I won! We agreed that Sir Tereo will just watch from the window.”
“Okay.”
For the first time in a while, Lincia walked around the villa alone with Anna.
“Ugh, I was half joking about just watching, but I guess he’s really keeping an eye on us.”
At Anna’s whisper, Lincia lifted her head.
From afar, the faint outline of a man standing still could be seen.
“That’s his job.”
“That’s true, but…… it feels like a nice place to live.”
“It’s warm, and the neighbors are kind.”
Anna chattered endlessly at Lincia’s side.
She seemed quite fond of the Marquess of Wellston and his wife.
Every time she learned something new from them, she would run over and excitedly talk about it.
“Next time, I’ll knit gloves for you, Your Highness.”
“You’ve already made plenty.”
“Still! I want to make them for you myself.”
At Anna’s words, Lincia smiled faintly.
It was when she was crossing the bridge that connected the hot spring waters.
Anna suddenly grabbed the hem of Lincia’s clothes.
“Anna?”
When she turned her head, a cloud of dust could be seen far in the distance.
Lincia’s lips stiffened tightly.
