3.

Leon finished his walk as usual and entered the study.  He was thinking of reading in a sunny spot.  But there he found Yvonne groaning as if something had happened.

“What’s going on?”

Yvonne, who had been holding her head in her hands, immediately straightened up at the sound of Leon’s voice.  She wondered why he was back so soon.  She was upset that he had caught her like this.

The tax notice from the royal family was nothing.  Her father had passed away, so there was room for a little more grace period.  But the letter from her uncle was the problem.

[I’ve said it before, but you can’t leave the Count’s seat vacant for too long.  I’ll have to step in as Emil’s guardian and fill the position.  I’ll be there soon, so please be ready to welcome me.  Wesley Heywood.]

He was really coming.  She had flatly refused, but he had ruthlessly dismissed and ignored her words, simply because Yvonne was a daughter, not a son.  Judging from the date on the letter, it seemed that her uncle would arrive within a few days.  First Leon, and now her uncle.  Ugh.  She had a splitting headache.

She had been happy to have a little breathing room, but now she felt like a heavy stone was weighing on her chest.  She wondered if she was destined to never have a moment’s peace.  All she could manage was a sigh.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

He pushed back his chair impatiently and started to approach her.  She quickly cleared her desk and stood up.

“It’s nothing.”

He didn’t believe her answer.  She felt like she would be interrogated if she stayed with him any longer.  His expression was getting worse and worse.

“Get some… rest.  I have… a lot to do….”

Once again, she hurried out of the study as if she were running away.  She felt his sharp gaze on the back of her head, but she tried to ignore it.

But as soon as she left the study, Yvonne put her hand to her head.  It was one headache after another.  Her throbbing head felt heavy.

Oh… what was she going to do about her uncle?  He was more of a headache than Leon right now.

Her face was gloomy all day long.

***

“I’ll have dinner in my study.  Come to the study after dinner.”

Leon had called for her a little while ago and said that to her abruptly.

Ugh.  There were signs that something was wrong.  That was why she didn’t want to have dinner with him.  But she didn’t know the exact reason why he was acting like this.  She had only mumbled and avoided answering him earlier.  Was he that upset?  Or was there something else?  She didn’t know.  Still, she was relieved to be able to have a quiet dinner with Emil.  If Leon had been sitting at the dining room table with a grim look on his face, Emil would have noticed and looked sad.  

“Eve.  Sir Leon isn’t feeling worse, is he?”

Emil, the angel, seemed worried about him when Leon didn’t show up for dinner.  Emil wasn’t on very good terms with him either, but he was still always concerned and considerate of everyone.

“He’s fine.”

“Still, just in case, I should go and see….”

“Emil.  I’ll go.  So please eat your dinner.”

It was another beautifully prepared dinner.  

“If Sir Leon is sick, maybe he’s eating alone because he doesn’t want us to see him like that.”

Emil continued with his thoughts as he ate diligently.

“He’s probably avoiding us so we can eat comfortably.”

Emil… if everyone were as kind as you, how nice would it be?  Absolutely not.  Leon is someone I know well.  He’s just making himself comfortable right now.

Yvonne decided not to think about Leon at least while she was eating.  Food was innocent.  It was only polite to eat it with gusto.  She had to eat well and gain strength to endure Leon.  She smiled kindly at Emil and began to eat the rest of her food.

***

“What’s that?”

Yvonne, who was on her way to the study, asked, seeing a servant entering the hall with something in his hand.

She wasn’t really curious, but she turned her eyes to the servant to delay entering the study for a while.

“The Young Master asked for it.”

The servant lifted it up with both hands to show her in detail. It was a crutch. It was very sturdy, made from thick branches left over from cleaning the garden. He was a talented servant. It was a very convenient and well-made crutch, with even the edges rounded.

But the fact that he was asked to make this…… meant that he was recovering quickly. Her feelings were complicated. The image of his healthy body harming her overlapped. She quickly shook her head to erase the afterimage. She thought it was because she was facing a bad situation right now.

“I’ll take it.”

The servant obediently handed her the two crutches and went outside.

Whew….

She took a deep breath first. Leon is in there, and he’s not in a good mood. So she had to make up her mind.

Strangely, Leon, who was usually so kind, had been acting differently for quite some time. She thought it was because of his body. So he might not be able to get angry like he used to.

Yvonne cheered up.

As soon as she entered the study, the air told her how angry Leon was. It was so heavy and oppressive inside the study that it was hard to breathe. The pressure was immense. He wasn’t usually like this. Even though she was afraid of how badly she would be beaten, she had never felt this kind of pressure. So, even though she had entered with a firm resolve, her mouth was getting dry.

Leon, who was sitting on the sofa, staring at Yvonne without a word, became more and more frightening. It took even more courage to approach him.

Why was he so angry? She still didn’t know.

“Why did you hide this from me?”

His low voice added to the pressure.

Ah. In his hand was the letter from her uncle that she had hidden earlier. Leon would have found out when her uncle arrived, but he had seen it without her permission. She remembered organizing it well under other letters. That meant he had rummaged through them all. Why? It didn’t make sense that Leon, who hated troublesome things, would be interested in the affairs of the Count’s family.

And she hadn’t hidden it, she just hadn’t said anything. It was none of his business.

“Why…… did you see that?”

At her small question, his expression hardened even more.

“Then who would see it if I didn’t?”

Yvonne stared at him with an expression of incomprehension. She didn’t understand why he wanted to know about her family affairs.

“If there’s something like this, shouldn’t you discuss it with me first?”

Was he this angry because she didn’t discuss it with him? She still didn’t understand.

“Why……?”

This was her problem. It was her family’s business. She just couldn’t understand why he was angry that she didn’t discuss it with him. She had never discussed anything with Leon.

Her question added fuel to the fire. His eyes were filled with anger and astonishment, and his gaze became even more fierce.

“You still don’t seem to realize that you’re my fiancée.”

She didn’t know why he was bringing that up again. She didn’t know what she had done wrong to deserve to hear such a thing.

“Your problem is my problem. Isn’t it?”

Is…… that so? We weren’t like that. The changed him was demanding something different, and she, who had been dominated by him, was thinking the way she used to. So when they talked like this, it felt like they were talking past each other. She was really confused about who was thinking wrong.

“I can’t believe you’re worrying about this alone.”

His face hardened considerably, as if he was very offended.

“I could have solved it easily.”

Uh…… so.

It was as if he was scolding her, not for not telling him, but for going through all that trouble alone, wondering why she was doing this to herself. It felt like he was telling her off for not relying on him in this situation.

She had never relied on him even once. Far from relying on him, she hadn’t even waited for him.

“Ea……sily?”

His eyes changed strangely as if he knew that her question, as if she didn’t know what he meant, was her true intention. It was as if he was looking at her like she was an idiot.

She had been called naive for being too nice, but other than that, she had never been treated like an idiot. She had her own beliefs and was treated fairly by others. Except for Leon. So, she was a little offended.