IWMHWD 55

<Chapter 55> Forecast: Delim

“You can’t take your eyes off her.”

“What?”

“I mean Cordelia.”

Until Lydia pointed it out, Leonard hadn’t even realized he had been watching Cordelia. Casually, he turned to Lydia.

“She’s a troublemaker. If I take my eyes off her for a second, she’ll end up in some ridiculous situation.”

“Who? Cordelia? No way. She looks so gentle and sweet.”

“Gentle? At Abrams, she—never mind.”

“What? What happened?”

Lydia pressed, but Leonard only gave a faint laugh and shook his head.

“Anyway, she’s the strangest and most incomprehensible woman I’ve ever met. When I first saw her, I thought she was suspicious as hell, and yet somehow, here we are…”

“How did you even meet her? What business did you have in the Abrams estate?”

Before she could get an answer, they had to part momentarily to dance with different partners.

“I had something to take care of in the north. I stopped by the estate by chance and met Cordelia.”

“And you figured out right away that she had talent as a mage?”

“Well, something like that.”

“Sounds like fate.”

Lydia forced a smile. Her lips quivered. The word “fate” lingered on the tip of her tongue.

Fate. Why couldn’t she be his fate?

“That yellow dress… doesn’t it make her look a bit childish?”

“Why? It suits her well.”

“She’d look better in green tones.”

“Like her eyes?”

Leonard nodded absentmindedly.

The more they talked, the more Lydia was overtaken by a fierce anxiety. She’d known Leonard for nearly twenty years, and she’d never seen him take this much interest in anyone.

Unless it was about magic.

Leonard had always been remarkably indifferent to anything not related to magic. Lydia, being an Elfenbaum, had been the exception to some extent. She’d accepted that distance between them.

He didn’t take on disciples or a wife. So she thought—hoped—that someday, she might stay by his side forever.

“Leo.”

“What?”

“I understand everything.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“That you only spend five days a year in the capital and live the rest in Wilas. That your only interest is magic.”

She gripped his hand tightly and looked straight into his eyes.

“So marry me.”

“…Lydia.”

“No one in this world understands you better than I do. I’m the only one who knows what you like, what you hate, what makes you comfortable or uncomfortable.”

“Didn’t we already finish this conversation?”

His voice was laced with exhaustion. It was a discussion they’d had countless times. He thought he’d put an end to it—but apparently, that had been a mistake.

“To me, you’re just Blaise’s sister. The younger sister of Rosenbluh Elfenbaum. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Think of it that way if you want. Even if that’s all you feel for me, I don’t care. As long as I can be your wife.”

“Get a grip, Lydia Elfenbaum. You’re the daughter of Elfenbaum. Why would you lower yourself to marry a man who doesn’t even love you?”

“Because I love you.”

The music ended. Everyone bowed and smiled. But Leonard and Lydia did neither. They just stared at each other.

Leonard was the first to look away.

“I have no intention of marrying. Not you, not anyone.”

“Leo!”

As Lydia called out to him, her voice filled with desperation, a slow minuet began to play. People tilted their heads at the sudden shift in music—until Rosenbluh and Cordelia appeared and drew everyone’s attention.

Leonard was no exception.

“You’re quite good.”

“If I couldn’t even do this, I’d never be able to dance in a ballroom again.”

The slow rhythm and simple steps of the minuet allowed Cordelia to speak as she danced.

Rosenbluh chuckled.

“It’s because it’s your first time. When I first danced the minuet, I was sweating bullets from confusion.”

“You, Lord Rosenbluh? I find that hard to believe.”

“I was clumsy and foolish once, too.”

Cordelia tried to imagine a younger, clumsier version of Rosenbluh, but it was difficult.

“Come to think of it, if this is your first ball, then this must be your first time dancing too, right?”

“Yes. It’s all my first time. Wearing such a pretty dress, attending a ball, and dancing with a man.”

“I’m honored—to be your first partner.”

When Cordelia turned and met his gaze, she nearly forgot to breathe. Seeing his handsome face up close wasn’t good for her heart.

Then Rosenbluh noticed something and let out a low, amused sigh.

“Someone’s glaring at us like we just insulted their ancestors.”

“Who? Don’t tell me… my teacher?”

As they turned, Cordelia spotted Leonard standing among the crowd with his arms crossed and a fierce scowl on his face. She laughed.

“You’re right. Once this dance is over, I should go back to—”

And then, just a little off to the side from Leonard, she saw someone she never expected to see here. Her breath caught.

“Cordelia?”

“…Sorry. I got distracted for a moment.”

Thankfully, the music was almost over. From the moment she saw that person, Cordelia’s mind went blank. Rosenbluh’s concerned words barely registered.

As soon as the music ended, she bowed quickly and turned to run.

Rosenbluh called her name, but she didn’t look back. All she could think about was getting away.

“You!”

“Eep.”

“Come here. Now.”

A rough, firm hand seized her wrist. She struggled, but it was no use.

“Let go of me, Father!”

“Shut your mouth.”

How had her father, Pablo Vasquez, come to this banquet?

Cordelia was half-dragged into the dark garden.

“Ow!”

Wearing heels, she had to walk carefully, but being pulled like that made her ankle twist as her heel buckled. But her father didn’t care.

He pulled her into a secluded corner of the garden and roughly released her arm.

“What is all this? A disciple of Atillei? You’re a mage?”

“…Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?! Do you know how shocked I was to hear it from the Margrave of Saracen?”

Cordelia recalled what Diana had said earlier. Diana, unaware of the situation, must’ve thought her father was a welcome guest.

“To think you kept that hidden from your father. Just like your scheming mother!”

“Why should I have told you? Was selling me to Abrams not enough for you? Planning to sell off your mage daughter now too?”

“Shut your mouth!”

Smack—
Her body reeled from the blow. Cordelia gritted her teeth. She had forgotten for a while just how quick her father’s hand was.

She clutched her rapidly swelling cheek.

“And what about your husband? Flirting with another man and dancing like that? Shameless girl. If Count Abrams were to cast you out right now, I wouldn’t blame him.”

“Don’t worry. Even if I get cast out or die—just like you said—I won’t go back to the Vasquez family.”

“Don’t test my patience.”

His clenched teeth hissed the words. If they had been at home, he probably would’ve grabbed a belt. Only the Saracen townhouse’s location stopped him.

“Go back to Abrams. Stop shaming me.”

“Shaming you? I’m a mage’s disciple! The only disciple of Atillei! Everyone else talks about how amazing I am—and yet you, you treat me like this?”

She screamed, not caring if someone in the garden overheard.

Deep down, she had hoped that her father would feel a little pride knowing she was a mage.

But here he was—in the flesh—crushing that fragile hope underfoot.

“Lower your voice. Honestly, your manners get worse every time I see you. The one daughter I have, and she’s a disgrace. Tsk tsk.”

“Sorry, Father. I must’ve lacked proper home training.”

Her cheek burned, but Cordelia refused to yield. At her sarcasm, Vasquez’s face turned a furious red.

“Yes, I must have done a poor job raising you. You don’t even reply to the letters I send.”

“Letters? Oh, not this again. You mean about money? Where did all the money go that you got from selling me off? Do you even know how humiliated I was in Abrams because of your letters?”

“If you weren’t such a failure, none of that would’ve happened. You can’t even win your husband’s heart. No wonder you’re still childless.”

Every word from her father was a dagger to the chest. She suddenly found it hard to breathe. It felt like someone had reached inside and was twisting her gut.