My Former Lover Didn't Die And Came Back - Chapter 22

“What are you doing right now!”

Theo approached them. The scene before them was unmistakably Cedric tormenting Blair. He was straddling her, her eyes were bloodshot and watery. Her hair was disheveled, and the hem of her skirt was pulled up to her thighs.

“…Who told you to come in.”

There was anger in his soft voice.

When he lightly touched the door before Blair came down, he must have opened it then. Damn it… Cedric frowned. From what they could see and hear through the slightly open door, it might have seemed like he might kill her. Did they come in to prevent their superior from committing a crime?

…No. From what Cedric could see, that guy clearly had a liking for Blair. He remembered how his ears perked up when she lowered the front of her dress.

Cedric drew his sword. The well-forged long blade was pointed at Theo’s neck.

“…!”

“I made it clear you were never to set foot inside the mansion. Your permitted space is outside the mansion only.”

“….”

Theo swallowed hard.

“Are you disobeying your superior’s orders, Lieutenant Theo?”

Tension filled the mansion. Those who entered with Theo were also frozen like stones.

Blair struggled to lift her upper body. She hoped he wouldn’t commit more sins because of her. She wanted to say, ‘Cedric, stop,’ but her throat seemed to be blocked from crying earlier, and no sound came out.

Cedric’s gaze was fixed on Theo. He seemed completely unrestrained, like he was furious about something. His eyes, which were glaring at Theo, seemed to be burning with fire. So he didn’t see Blair slowly raising her upper body.

Swish!

Cedric swung his arm.

Theo tightly closed his eyes. He hesitated before entering the mansion, knowing that he might lose an arm or so as a punishment for obeying his superior’s orders. But he couldn’t let that poor woman die.

“…Cedric, no…!”

The woman’s voice burst out from the silence, echoing through the mansion.

When Cedric stopped, both of Blair’s palms were touching the blade.

Blair tried to grab Cedric’s wrist. But his movements were too fast. She tightly closed her eyes and tried to grab his wrist, but she suddenly felt a burning pain in her palm.

“Ugh…!”

Blair slowly examined her palm. There was a long, blade-like cut on both of her palms. Blood was dripping. She had caught the lower part of the blade while she was trying to grab Cedric’s wrist.

Belatedly realizing her movement, Cedric quickly stopped moving, but the problem was that his sword was too well-forged. Cedric immediately dropped the sword and grabbed her palm.

“Ah!”

Perhaps he gripped her too tightly, because she groaned in pain. When Cedric checked the wound, there were cuts on both palms, but they weren’t severe. Such wounds were common on the battlefield, and it seemed like they would heal on their own in a few days.

“Blair, where are the bandages and medicine?”

When she answered, Theo quickly went to fetch the necessary items for treatment. When he offered bandages and scissors, Cedric gestured towards the mansion door to Theo and his group. It meant they should leave.

Cedric disinfected her wound, applied medicine, and wrapped it with bandages. Each time he touched her for treatment, she winced slightly, but that was it. It was he who was grimacing throughout the treatment.

“Promise me not to hold your subordinates accountable.”

“Are you talking about Theo?”

“They came in because they heard a loud noise. Don’t say anything.”

He sighed.

“Do you like that guy?”

“Ha,”

This time, a sarcastic laugh came from her. Why does this man always view her in this way?

“…When I found Mary’s body.”

He paused, his hand wrapping the bandage stopped.

“I wished anyone would come into the mansion.”

“…”

He remained silent.

“…But even when I waited, no one came in.”

“…”

The knot of the bandage was tied. He gently stroked the knot with his finger.

“I used to be scared that the mansion door might open when you weren’t there… How ridiculous.”

“…”

His lips remained tightly closed. His face, meticulously carved by God, showed no expression.

But his mind remained in a state of confusion. It had been like this since he returned. He didn’t assign a maid to Blair because he was afraid she might run away. There was no way a person of her rank—a viscountess—wouldn’t have any jewelry. This was because she could have provided the maid with some jewelry and helped her disappear outside the mansion.

There was also the option of using mute or blind maids. He could find a woman with some kind of weakness to attach to her. But he wanted to block the possibility of them escaping altogether.

…No. Let’s be more honest.

He wanted her to go a whole day without seeing anyone, without speaking to anyone. He hoped that the only living person she would come into contact with during the day would be him. Even if she was lonely, she didn’t know if she would wait for his return.

There was also a bit of a vengeful meaning to it. Instead of assigning a maid to do kitchen work, he sent a food package once a week. It was obvious that there would be many problems if a noblewoman herself prepared and cleaned up her meals. But he hoped she would endure that much suffering.

At their first reunion, he truly couldn’t contain his anger. When he kneeled without being asked and heard her say that everything was her fault and she would do anything to apologize, he felt like he was going crazy. He didn’t even know exactly which part of her words angered him the most.

And the thought of her showing this obedient attitude to her husband made his blood boil.

For the three years he was on the battlefield, he lived every moment under threat of his life, behaving like a dog. That’s why he treated her like a street beggar. He undressed her without asking how her day went or uttering a word. During the day, when he was away, she must have done things no different from a maid to avoid losing her life. And so the seasons passed.

As Cedric continued to silently tend to the bandages, she sighed. Perhaps due to the wound on her hand, or maybe due to the rising fever in her body, she just wanted to lie down.

“…Aren’t you leaving?”

“Would you like me to leave?”

“Promise me before you go. Promise not to harass your subordinate, Theo.”

“When did you even memorize his name?”

Snickering, a laugh that sounded like mockery escaped from Cedric’s lips.

Theo was infatuated with Blair, and she was unaware of it. She lacked the ability to read such an atmosphere. Sometimes she knew things others didn’t, but often she didn’t know things everyone else did. Not knowing that she could inadvertently bewitch men, she unknowingly drove people crazy.

Come to think of it, when they first met three years ago, Blair was the one who initiated conversations with him. And with pure kindness, she smiled brightly like sunshine. That night when he returned home, he thought of her until dawn. That night, he just hoped she wouldn’t find out about his fantasies.

Blair hoped that Theo wouldn’t be harmed. Of course, he was the one who aimed a gun at Blair’s cheek, and the scar on her cheek had only recently faded. So that wound lingered for quite some time. When they crossed paths while she was strolling in the garden or hanging laundry, he always gazed at her cheek.

The way Theo looked at her was of a familiar kind. Her husband used to look at her like that occasionally.

“Yeah, having Theo around has been a comfort sometimes.”

“…”

“Because he seems like the most trustworthy among your subordinates…”

There were days that were hard to bear. Even when the sun shone brightly overhead, an unbearable loneliness and sadness surged in. It was difficult to trust the man who only took her body every night and left. Blair knew he could abandon her at any moment.

Among those guarding the main gate, Theo’s gaze towards her was the most pure. He was somewhat trustworthy. In the worst-case scenario, he seemed like someone who would offer her at least a piece of help. When she felt too lonely, knowing that such a person was outside the building gave her some comfort.

Cedric continued to tie the knot silently. Part of him wanted to touch her, to hold her, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He couldn’t even look into her eyes.

“You won’t punish Theo, right?”

“…”

The man remained silent.

He slowly rose to his feet. As his large body unfolded, the cloak that had been folded up flowed down with a rustle, making a sound.

He placed one hand between her knees and the other on her back. He lifted her up and moved her to the bed. Without a word, he pulled up the blanket to cover her and then turned away.

The man left the mansion. The path to the parked carriage was covered with white snow. With each step, black footprints were left behind. Every single step left scorched marks in the pure white snow.

A cold wind brushed against the tip of his nose. It seemed like a cold wave was coming towards Eleanor.

* * *

Theodore Bresburne was a typical noble-born soldier.

Like his friends, he volunteered for the army when the war broke out. For those born with much privilege, they had a duty to protect the country and its people.

After the war that lasted for three years ended, his friends temporarily released their positions and returned to govern their territories. Everyone knew that the ceasefire with Litunia was not a true ceasefire. It was like temporarily covering something that could erupt at any moment. But they also had a duty to carefully manage and protect their territories, and there was also the fact that life as a soldier without war was endlessly boring. The remaining soldiers were usually engaged in training recruits or various odd jobs. Depending on the situation, they also had to do their superiors’ dirty work.

For example… monitoring their superior’s former lover.

Phew, Theodore Bresburne sighed. Then he turned his head and looked out at the second-floor window of Cavendish Mansion. Around this time every day, that window would open, and a blonde beauty would lean out to catch some sunlight.