Chapter 29

29. I can’t fake it anymore

“Missing? What do you mean, missing?”

Adelaide jumped to her feet. Jensen answered breathlessly.

“I don’t know the details myself. A knight who went out with His Grace just now returned, saying that His Grace has gone missing and requesting support…”

Adelaide rushed outside, not letting Jensen finish his sentence.

Callion missing? There must be some mistake in what Jensen heard.

She crossed the hall and headed for the front door. The knight, who had alerted Jensen to the urgent news, was standing on the porch, soaked from the rain. When the knight saw Adelaide, he dropped to his knees.

“Your Grace.”

“Is it true that His Grace has gone missing?”

“…I’m sorry, Your Grace.”

The knight bowed his head with a mournful voice. Adelaid leaned against the wall, feeling dizzy.

“Tell me more about what happened.”

“His Highness was chasing a suspicious person this morning and slipped on the wet road, falling off a cliff. Despite searching everywhere, he couldn’t be found…”

Everything seemed distant. Her hand slipped from the wall, and her body swayed.

“Your Grace!”

Zatia, who followed her, was surprised and rushed to support her. Adelaide pushed Zatia away and tried to regain her composure.

‘I need to get a grip.’

It’s just a simple disappearance. With competent knights following him, he’ll be found soon enough.

“Where did he go missing?”

“Near the border guard’s garrison.”

“How long will it take if we set out now?”

“It will take about three hours on horseback.”

‘Three hours. If we set off right away, we should be there before nightfall.’ Adelaide raised her voice.

“Go to the knights’ headquarters and mobilize the knights! Prepare to search for His Grace right away!”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The knights scurried off to the knights’ hall. Adelaide turned to a restless Zatia.

“Zatia, go and fetch my robe.”

“What are you going to do, my lady?”

“I must go, too.”

“Then let me prepare the carriage…”

“We’ll be too late with a carriage!”

Adelaide shouted in frustration at Jensen’s suggestion. She put on the outerwear brought by Zatia and left the mansion.

Knights who heard the news started pouring out of the knights’ headquarters one by one. Ahio, the vice commander of the knights who took over Julian’s command, approached and bowed his head.

“Your Grace”

“Take me to where he is.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

He silently helped Adelaide onto the horse. The horses, prepared and ready, hurriedly left the castle gates.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜

It was not a good day for riding.

The rain didn’t stop, pouring down heavily, and the sky had been dark for a long time.

Her thick cloak was soaking wet and stealing her body heat. Adelaide clenched her teeth and grabbed onto Ahio’s coat.

It felt like it was all her fault.

She shouldn’t have done that. There must have been another way.

If that was the last conversation she ever had with Callion…………

‘No, don’t think about it. It’s not going to happen.’

Nothing will happen; he’ll be safe. Despite trying to think positively, frightening thoughts kept creeping in.

‘Please, as long as he’s safe, I’ll do anything, so please save Callion.’

Adelaide prayed to the unfamiliar gods, murmuring his name.

“Stop!”

A knight leading the way stopped the horses. The knights following behind stopped one by one.

“Here.”

Adelaide dismounted from the horse as quickly as she could. The knight pointed to the spot where Callion had slipped.

The cliff was high, but fortunately, the slope was gentle. The dirt had crumbled, showing where the horse had rolled.

“Spread out and search for His Grace’s traces!”

“I want to go too!”

“Calm down; we’ll find a way down, Your Grace.”

“Hurry, as fast as you can.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The vice commander urged the knights on, but the heavy rain made the road slippery, and it took them a while to find a way down.

Adelaide stamped her feet, watching the silt slide down the slope.

It would be faster to climb down here rather than wait to find a path.

The cliff is high, but the slope is gentle, and with luck, she might be able to reach the spot where he fell.

While Adelaide was thinking recklessly, a knight came running up from the other side, carrying something.

“Sir, I found this at the bottom of the cliff!”

He held out the epaulette that had been pinned to Callion’s knightly robes.

Her barely-held grip on reason snapped. Without hesitation, Adelaide put her foot towards the cliff.

“Your Grace”

“Let go!”

“You’re going to get yourself into trouble with the rain!”

Adelaide struggled, but Ahio didn’t let go of her grip.

“Let go; we need to find Callion!”

“Calm down!”

“Let go!”

Adelaide shouted in a cracked voice.

It was maddening to watch the knights search the crash site. Her stomach hurt, and it was difficult to breathe.

‘Please don’t do this; this is all my fault.’

She clutched her chest and forced out a breath.

‘It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t hurt him, he would never have left the castle.’

As she struggled in despair, a familiar voice cut through the rain and pierced her ears.

“Adele?”

“……!”

The familiar voice broke through the sound of rain and reached her ears.

“Cal…lion…?”

“Your Grace, are you okay?”

“Ahio? What’s going on? Why are you all here…”

Shaking off her captor’s grip, Adelaide rushed to Callion and hugged him desperately.

His dirt-stained knight’s robes were torn in several places, but no major wounds were visible.

She frantically searched Callion’s red cheeks with her trembling hands.

“Adele?”

“Are you hurt? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine. What on earth is going on? Why are you here?”

“My lord, you fell off a cliff…….”

“Who told you that……?”

Callion furrowed his brows. Adelaide blinked, her expression dazed.

“I fell off a cliff, yes, but I didn’t hurt myself because I tripped over an overhanging branch. I was just a little slow finding my way back up.”

“Oh…….”

As the tension released, her legs, barely holding her up, gave out. Adelaide sat down where she stood, trembling.

“I thought… I thought something terrible had happened to you…”

Tears mixed with rain blurred her vision.

“Adele.”

Callion lowered himself to eye level. She burst into tears as she heard a voice calling her affectionately.

“Hmph…….”

With a gentle touch, he pulled Adelaide into a hug. The tears didn’t stop easily, perhaps because of the relief.

Adelaide cried like a child in his arms.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜

The rain did not stop until the sun had completely set.

It was too late to return to the castle, and Adelaide’s body was too cold from being out in the rain for so long, so Callion carried her back to the inn where they were staying.

She was sobbing like she was about to collapse, her face a mask of distress. She didn’t respond as he removed her soaked coat and wrapped her in a fur blanket.

He asked the innkeeper to bring her hot tea, and he placed the cup in Adelaide’s hands.

The droplets of water that hung from her long lashes dripped into the cup. Callion sighed and opened his mouth.

“Why did you come all the way here in this heavy rain?”

“…….”

“Did you really worry about me that much?”

“…….”

“That day, you acted like you would never see me again.”

It was childish sulking.

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t resent her for pushing him away so painfully. So he tried to be grumpy but before he could finish, tears were streaming down her face.

Callion, with a bewildered look, knelt down beside her. Adelaide, with her head bowed, cried quietly. No matter how much he tried to comfort her, the tears wouldn’t stop.

It would be bad if she exhausted herself.

Looking up at her with concern, Callion gently stroked her wet cheek and asked,

“Why are you crying again?”

Just today, he thought he could have called it quits.

Looking at her, he felt like his four days of trying to clear his mind of all thoughts would be for naught.

“Don’t cry,” he said, “If you cry like this…… I might misinterpret it.”

“…….”

Her drenched lips pursed pitifully. He felt sorry for her face, white from the rain, and wanted to hug her.

‘I thought it was going to be like this.’

The regret she couldn’t shake reared its ugly head again. Callion grabbed her once more.

“Am I not?”

The mesmerized focus returned. Adelaide, her gaze locked, answered in a small voice.

“You’ll …… regret it.”

“If my heart were that light, I wouldn’t have said anything to you.”

Her delicate face was wet with tears. Her blue eyes swirled like a stormy lake without direction.

He didn’t know how to erase the guilt from those beautiful eyes.

“I can’t let you go, no matter how hard I try.”

“…….”

“So, tell me honestly, why did you come all the way here?”

The corners of Adelaide’s mouth curled upward wordlessly.

She looked at him with an expression he couldn’t tell if she was laughing or crying, and then she cupped her hands around Callion’s cheeks.

Hot and soft lips overlapped the rough lips. The salty liquid tantalized the tip of his tongue.

He gently explored her parted lips. Each time he licked, a bitter taste of blood emanated.

Callion embraced her tightly, trying to comfort her trembling body.

“Ah…”

The tears that wouldn’t stop flowed between their lips.

His hand, holding her cheeks, lost strength as if lacking oxygen. Callion embraced her collapsing body.

“This is your answer, I suppose.”

“…….”

“Promise me you’ll stay by my side, no matter what happens.”

Adelaide slowly nodded her head.

That was enough.