If We Had Known Each Other a Little Earlier (4)

Though she had done nothing wrong, her mind went blank. Elkius interrogated her with a sharp gaze.

“Who were you with until this hour?”

“I, I met someone I owed a favor to.”

“Someone you owed a favor to? That sounds plausible.”

Elkius snorted. Adelaide swallowed dryly and cleared her throat.

Though it made sense for him to be angry since she had met Callion without saying anything, she thought Elkius would understand if she explained well why she had met him.

“Please don’t misunderstand, let me explain what happened…”

“Shut up.”

Her body shrank at his threatening tone. Elkius snapped at her harshly:

“I know exactly what kind of man Danny McKinnon is, and you’re telling me not to misunderstand? Don’t be ridiculous.”

‘…Danny McKinnon? Not Callion?’

Adelaide closed her mouth, speechless at Elkius’s misunderstanding. He continued to pour out abusive words:

“If you’re a commoner, act like one and stay quietly at home. Don’t go around showing your face everywhere.”

“…”

“You seem to think you’re a real noble lady because people flatter you, but they’re just toying with you because you’re easy. Don’t be deluded—come to your senses.”

“How can you say such…”

Her voice failed her due to the terrible humiliation. She knew Elkius had a rough and hot-tempered side, but such shocking language was unprecedented.

“Did I say anything wrong? If you don’t want to be called a face with no substance, behave properly.”

“…”

“And don’t go around using my name elsewhere. Don’t go around claiming to be my woman when you have nothing to show for yourself except your face. Understood?”

Unable to bear it any longer, Adelaide lowered her head. Tears fell drop by drop onto the marble floor.

“If I catch you with Danny McKinnon one more time, I’ll k*ll that bastard with my own hands. Remember that.”

—

Adelaide buried her face in her pillow and cried all night.

The words she had heard from Elkius echoed in her ears like auditory hallucinations.

Though she had thought him warm-hearted despite his occasional outbursts, after today’s incident, everything he had shown her before felt like a lie.

‘Was that his true feelings?’

Each word was too hurtful to dismiss as something said in anger. With a sorrowful and frightened heart, Adelaide wiped away the tears flowing from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve.

She considered telling her father, but doubted he would take her word seriously when he regarded Duke Roxus as his benefactor.

Adelaide abandoned the thought with a sense of helplessness.

‘See you next Wednesday.’

Suddenly, Callion’s image flickered before her eyes.

‘What am I expecting from someone I’ve just met once? Even if he is the Crown Prince, he can’t help with this, nor does he have any reason to.’

It was obvious that involving an unrelated person would only complicate matters if Elkius found out the truth.

No matter how much she pondered, there seemed to be no option but to follow Elkius’s words. Adelaide let go of all her slender hopes.

“I should cancel the appointment…”

The day’s events seemed like a dream. She stared endlessly at the handkerchief she had received from Callion before picking up her pen.

—

“She canceled the appointment?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Callion snatched the handkerchief and letter that Danny McKinnon held out. Even without looking closely, it was definitely the handkerchief he had lent her that day.

The letter, written in a neat handwriting, contained only an apology that she wouldn’t be able to keep their appointment and thanks for his kindness.

Given that she had canceled rather than postponed the appointment, something must have happened.

“Did you find out what happened?”

“This isn’t confirmed information, but I heard that the Grand Duke visited the Cornwall household on the day Lady Cornwall returned from her date with Your Highness. Judging by the fact that she’s been secluded since then…”

“It’s because of my uncle.”

If Elkius had noticed that she had met with him and had pressured her, Adelaide would have had no choice.

After carefully examining the letter to see if she had left any other message, Callion bit his lip upon discovering a faintly wet mark.

‘I need to meet her and talk somehow.’

Although Adelaide had broken the appointment, Callion had no intention of letting her go so easily. After pondering methods, he asked Danny McKinnon:

“Is she religious?”

“I hear she’s quite devout.”

“I should go pray after all this time.”

—

The temple was very crowded on the weekend. Adelaide quietly prayed from the very back row of the chapel. As she recited prayers following the priest, she swallowed her surging emotions several times.

She had subtly conveyed the commotion of that day to her father, but he had scolded her instead and imposed a ban on going out.

Fortunately, he didn’t prevent her from going to the temple, so she could still attend services, but it was unbearably sad to confirm that she had no one truly on her side.

Adelaide, who had been sitting quietly in the chapel until everyone left, finally removed her veil and stood up.

Just as she was leaving the chapel, trudging weakly, someone grabbed her wrist.

“Adelaide.”

“…Callion?”

‘Why is this man here?’

“I need to talk to you. Please spare me some time.”

“I need to go back.”

“It will only take a moment.”

He pleaded with desperate eyes. Though she knew she shouldn’t, she couldn’t refuse.

Interpreting her silence as consent, Callion took her to the back door and put her in a waiting carriage.

Adelaide kept her head down, looking only at the floor. Callion, sitting opposite her, also occasionally sighed but didn’t speak.

After traveling for quite some time, they arrived at a nobles-only café operated on a membership basis. Perhaps because it was the weekend, there were quite a few carriages parked in front of the establishment.

“Get out.”

Callion spoke for the first time after getting out of the carriage. As if afraid she might run away, he firmly grasped Adelaide’s hand and headed toward the café.

Upon entering, a thick smoke and foul smell greeted them. It was the smell of Velido.

‘Danny McKinnon, you bastard.’

‘He said it was a good place for a comfortable conversation.’

Seeing that there were rooms with doors rather than tables in an open space like a typical café, it was clear that all sorts of things were happening inside those rooms.

‘I’ll have to deal with him properly soon.’

Though he didn’t like it, there was nowhere else suitable to go, so Callion reluctantly called an employee.

“What is your name, sir?”

“Danny McKinnon.”

“This way, please.”

The employee guided the two to an inner room. As they passed through the narrow, long corridor, the voices of drunkards intoxicated with alcohol and Velido could be heard occasionally.

“Please pull the cord if you need anything.”

The employee placed two glasses of alcohol on the table and went outside. After waiting for the surroundings to quiet down, Callion hastily brought up the main point:

“What happened?”

“…”

“Did I make some mistake with you?”

Adelaide shook her head.

“Did you get scolded by your father for returning home late?”

“…No.”

“Then, did my uncle find out we met?”

Her eyes instantly welled up with tears. Adelaide tried to appear normal as she opened her mouth:

“It’s not that. I just thought we shouldn’t meet anymore, so I told you.”

“What shouldn’t be?”

“A commoner like me meeting with the Crown Prince doesn’t look good… and if others find out, it could cause trouble for Your Highness…”

“What kind of talk is that? Who cares about such things when people meet people?”

Callion’s voice rose. Adelaide silently avoided his gaze.

She knew his words were sincere, but sometimes there are things that sincerity alone cannot resolve.

Though their acquaintance was brief, it had been enough to understand what kind of person Callion was. That’s why she didn’t want to be a stumbling block for him.

“…I know Your Highness is a good person, but the world is different from you.”

“Adelaide.”

“No matter how much I pretend to be a noble, the fact that I’m the daughter of a merchant who bought his title with money doesn’t change.”

“I don’t think that way.”

Callion said firmly.

“Your father received his title legitimately for his service to the empire. Not only your father, but many nobles received their titles in this way. So there’s no particular reason for you to be ashamed.”

Adelaide took great comfort in the words of none other than the Crown Prince. However, that didn’t change anything.

“Thank you for your words. My father would be proud to hear that. But… what’s not right is not right.”

“Adelaide.”

Callion called her name emphatically. Adelaide barely steadied her trembling voice.

He wouldn’t know. Why her father, Earl Cornwall, had been so desperate to obtain a title.

“Your Highness may not know, but my father…”

“Did you see how that merchant acts like an Earl despite being just a shopkeeper?”

“I did. The sight of him wagging his tail next to Duke Roxus was truly disgusting.”

Adelaide stopped speaking at the conversation coming from the next room.

The voices, heavily intoxicated with Velido, penetrated through the wall. Merchant, fake earl, Duke Roxus’s dog—all the words that kept coming through referred to her father.

‘Who could it be…?’

As she rose with a pale face, Callion restrained her and whispered:

“Wait, let’s listen more.”

Adelaide bit her trembling lips and sat back in the chair. The pungent smell of Velido seeped through the door crack. The conversation, which had briefly stopped, soon resumed:

“What about Duke Roxus? I don’t understand why he keeps that merchant close, no matter how much he likes money.”

“He must have something to extract from him.”

“I’m saying there’s no need to be so complicated. He could just quietly k*ll him and divert his assets.”

“Don’t be stupid. Would His Majesty the Emperor let that pass? And if he dies, his assets would go to his daughter, so killing him would be pointless.”

“Obviously, that daughter should be killed too.”

“…!”