The Beast Who Has Returned Obsesses Over Me - Chapter 17

When she entered the bedroom, Leon, who seemed to be lost in thought, looked at her with a serious expression.  His eyes lit up as he looked at her.  He did this often.

“I thought you might be thirsty.”

She handed the cup directly to Leon.  Leon, leaning against the headboard, looked at her for a moment and took a sip.  But he didn’t gulp it down like she did.  Wasn’t he that thirsty?  That couldn’t be…… He hated the old duchess even more than she did.

She didn’t know what Leon was thinking, staring at her quietly.

“Do you know why I didn’t call you to the Duke’s mansion?”

Huh?  Her eyes widened at the sudden question.  

“You would have seen grandmother more often.  Wouldn’t you?”

Ah…… So he was saying that he came here so that she wouldn’t have to see the difficult old duchess often for her sake.  Geez.  Lies.  He came here to avoid her for his own sake, so why was he using her as an excuse?

“And it’s more comfortable for you here.”

That was true…… Then…… If he had called her to the Duke’s mansion, was he going to keep her there for days?  Now that she thought about it, he would have.  He could have trapped her there, making her nurse him.  She didn’t even have her own room there, so how uncomfortable would it have been?  It was horrible just thinking about it.  So he was saying he didn’t call her to the Duke’s mansion.  But wasn’t it better that he came to the Count’s mansion than her sacrificing herself alone?  She didn’t know anymore.

“And you won’t be able to see Emil.”

That was a problem.  She would die of withdrawal symptoms if she didn’t see the angelic Emil for even a day.  Her affection for Emil was immense.

“Thank you.”

She gave a soulless greeting.  It seemed like he kept saying these uncharacteristic things because he wanted to hear this.

He chuckled and turned his gaze out the window.  His face looked more at ease than she expected.  It was unexpected that he was like this, not twisted, even though he had met the old duchess.  He had never been like this before.  

Only he would know if his words were true or not.  Actually, she didn’t believe him.  Still…… it was a relief that his expression wasn’t bad.

Yes.  That was enough.

Yvonne’s tense expression finally relaxed slowly.

***

The next day, Leon, who had gone out, was on his way back.

A few hours ago, Leon, who seemed to have recovered a lot, said he would go out today.  He looked very well.  She didn’t stop him because the doctor had allowed it.  She didn’t even ask where he was going.  It was his business.  

“Don’t go to the Duke’s mansion.”

Leon told her before getting into the carriage, even though she didn’t ask.  She would have preferred not to know.  She hoped nothing would happen.  

A sense of anxiety that something bad was going to happen came over her.  

After seeing him off, he came back a few hours later.  Fortunately, Leon’s expression as he sat down on the chair with the help of the servants was not bad.  

It was a relief anyway.

She was so nervous, but she couldn’t help it.  The main cause of Leon’s anger was the Duke’s mansion.  Leon had always come to her with a sour look on his face after visiting the mansion.  So she couldn’t help but be nervous now.  

“You seem worried.”

He gave a rare smile.  She couldn’t remember when he last smiled like this.

She didn’t say anything.  She was so relieved that all the anxiety and worry she had felt drained away.  His expression was one of amusement, as if he had interpreted her concern in a different way.  As if she had been worried about his health.

Honestly, that wasn’t it.  She had been worried about the aftermath if he got angry.  But she kept her mouth shut.  The important thing was to keep him from getting angry, to keep him from being angry.

Thank goodness.  Thank goodness.  

She muttered to herself several times and patted her startled chest. 

***

Luke was quietly trying to control his anger in the study of the Duke’s mansion.  

He was so indignant at Leon’s audacity in coming to see him first thing in the morning, looking the way he did.  He didn’t think Leon would come to the Duke’s mansion in person, so he was surprised when he suddenly showed up.  He wondered how fast his recovery was.  Although he came in a wheelchair, his face was very much alive.  He recovered faster than he thought.  

“You look very well after only a few days?  You have the recovery of a beast.”

“You’re the beast.”

Leon didn’t back down either.

Luke gritted his teeth.  

He couldn’t help but listen to what Leon was asking of him.  

Having achieved his goal, Leon immediately left the study.  Luke took a deep breath and tried to control his emotions.  Trying hard to suppress his anger, he picked up the long quill pen next to the paper with a restrained gesture.

Snap.

He broke the quill pen in half and finally let out a breath.  He felt like he had to break this at least to feel a little better.

It would be better if such a being didn’t exist at all.  He was a nuisance to the end.

Luke opened a drawer and took out one of the many pen nibs in the box.  He felt like he was going to die from overwork, and now this.

Luke, who had replaced the nib with a new one, spent his time in such agony.

***

Leon went to see his father before returning to the Count’s mansion.  He didn’t know when he would see him again if he didn’t see him now.

Leon had mixed feelings in the Duke’s bedroom, which was shrouded in darkness.  Until he went to war, he never missed a day of seeing his father before going to bed.  He felt so sorry that he was only now coming to see him after returning.  He was finally able to move around, but the guilt didn’t go away.

He approached the bed where his father was lying and gently took his limp hand.  His father’s eyes were tightly closed.  He could never tell if he was awake or asleep.  He had been losing his strength for some time now, and his eyes were always closed like this.  He was thinner and more gaunt than he had been before Leon left.  His eyelids were sunken, and age spots were more prominent on his face.

Leon held his father’s withered, branch-like hand and moved his lips silently.

“Father.”

It didn’t matter if he couldn’t hear him.  As he always did, he held his hand and quietly called out to his father.  His condition had worsened since his mother’s death, and he had been like this ever since.  

This place, lit only by a small lamp in the corner of the large bedroom, always filled him with sadness.  His heart grew heavy.

He didn’t know when he would be able to visit again after seeing him like this.  His hand, holding his father’s hand, began to tremble slightly.  But then.

Ah….

Leon kept his eyes fixed on his father and exclaimed in surprise.

A tear was flowing from his father’s tightly closed eyes.  Father….  His heart ached.  He noticed his father’s lips moving faintly.  

It was as if his father was trying to say something.  But he hadn’t heard his father’s voice in years.  

Leon leaned closer to his father’s face.  Soon, only the sound of his father’s heavy breathing could be heard faintly, and there was no other sound.  Still, he waited.  He waited, thinking that his father might say something.  As time went on, Leon tried to give up.  However, just as he was about to get up again, he heard it clearly.

Ah…… Father.

“Make sure… to… live…”

His father said clearly and then became quiet as if he had fallen asleep again.  Tears welled up in his eyes.  He clenched his jaw.

You were waiting for me.  

Leon, who had caused him such anxiety and worry, lowered his head.  

Father.  I’m sorry.  I’ll be sure to come back and see you.  So please… hold on until then.  

Leon gripped his father’s hand more tightly and made that vow.  As he slowly raised his head, his face showed more strength and determination than ever before.

Leon’s mind was racing as he returned to the Count’s mansion.

***

Yvonne stood there again, staring blankly at Leon.

After returning from the Duke’s mansion, Leon placed a money bag in front of her again.  Did he bring more money?  If so, why did he……?

“So you’re saying you want me to use this money to build a new gate?”

“That’s right.  It’s an eyesore.”

Why… now? The gate to the mansion had been rusty and warped for years, to the point where it was an embarrassment to even call it a gate.  But he never said anything about it before, so why was he suddenly complaining now?  Was he saying that it suddenly become an eyesore?  

“As long as I’m living here, I won’t tolerate a gate like that.”

So… it sounded like he was saying that he wanted her to replace the gate because his pride was hurt.  He didn’t care before because he wasn’t living here.  He must have meant it literally, right?

Of course, she wanted to replace the gate first if she had the money.  The creaking sound every time she opened and closed it was creepy.  That shabby gate was one of the reasons why she couldn’t invite anyone.  She couldn’t even visit anyone else.

But even if he was offended, there was no need to give her money like this.  

“Make it top-of-the-line so it doesn’t hurt my pride.”

He was telling her to replace it to his standards.  She could tell just by looking at it that the money bag contained a considerable amount of money.

Still, she couldn’t readily accept the money bag.  It was too much money to be spending on his pride alone.  Was this really just for Leon?  

Like last time, it was strangely both good for Leon and beneficial to her.  She wouldn’t have cared if he had spent lavishly on something that only he would enjoy.  But this was a bit… strange.

As she tilted her head and just stood there, Leon’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“It would be nice if you could save me the embarrassment.”

At his firm voice, she nodded slowly.  Pride.  Right.  That was what Leon valued most.  Then this situation made a little more sense.

She agreed and came out with the money bag.  But her heart was as heavy as the weight of the money she felt in her hand.  This way, it was a series of things that would continue to benefit the Count’s mansion.  He wasn’t the kind of person to do that……  It wasn’t all that pleasant, but she had no choice but to do as he said.  She just shrugged and got ready to go out to meet the contractor.

***

He looked around the empty garden.  There was really nothing there.  The wind blew coolly through the wide-open space.

He soon began to picture a different landscape in his mind.  The fact that there was nothing there made it easier to imagine.

He picked up a small twig that was rolling around and drew something on the ground.  Was this better than that?

His lips curled into a slight smile as he imagined things.

He enjoyed spending his time like this.  The shabby gate would now be replaced with a new one.  He felt relieved.

Then he looked at the mansion, which was falling into ruin.  He could picture what kind of life Yvonne must have lived in such a place.

Naturally, his brow furrowed.  

Still, it was much better when Yvonne was a child.

He remembered the first time he met Yvonne.  She must have been about ten years old.  He was sixteen.

His parents were close friends with the Count and Countess, so they often visited the Duke’s mansion.  But that day, his parents had taken their siblings with them to visit the Count’s mansion.  It was because a baby had been born at the Count’s mansion.  And it was a son who would carry on the family name.  He had already heard that there was a daughter ten years older than him.  That was when he first met her.

He still vividly remembered the sight of the girl greeting him politely, seemingly shy.  

Back then, the Count’s mansion was different from what it was now.

Yvonne….

His eyes, staring blankly at her name, were swaying in the wind.