AFRPR 60

Episode 60

“Let’s look around some other places. Oh, right—where’s Vera’s room?”

“M-Miss Vera’s room is this way.”

The order was given in a voice full of suppressed anger.

The servant quickly led the way, careful not to irritate Lennox further.

“Ha!”

As soon as Lennox opened Vera’s door, he let out a bitter laugh.

The difference was obvious at a glance.

The bed was covered in cute dolls.
The walls were decorated with cheerful portraits of young Vera.
Fresh flowers in a vase sat on the dresser.

Vera had gone abroad to study before Estelle’s wedding—so she had been gone for at least five years.

Yet her room, left unused for years, was in far better condition than Estelle’s room, which had only been vacant for a few months.

“Disgusting.”

Lennox clenched his fist so tightly that veins bulged on the back of his hand. He walked to the window.

When he pulled back the curtains, the sunlight stabbed into his eyes.

Blinking slowly, he took in the garden view—and felt even more displeased.

‘Estelle must have spent her whole life staring at gray brick walls.’

Down in the garden, Glessia was shaking the count by the collar.

Imperial knights stood awkwardly around them, making half-hearted gestures to stop her but not truly intervening.

No one dared to physically step between them.

“Sister.”

After finishing his inspection of the mansion, Lennox came down to the garden.

“Let him go.”

“Are you ordering me?”

“If you keep holding him, we can’t arrest him.”

“…Fair point.”

Glessia accepted her younger brother’s reasoning—and promptly threw the count aside.

“Ugh.”

The count landed hard, falling on his backside.

“F-Father!”

Matthias called out in a small voice, afraid to come too close in case trouble came his way too.

“That day you touched my wife—do you know why I let you live?”

Lennox’s voice was cold.

“Because Estelle was watching. I couldn’t show her something so cruel.”

“D-Duke…”

“This marriage is between me and Estelle.”

“…”

“Which means—”

His words came out like he was biting each one.

“It’s none of your business. Understand?”

“Y-Yes, I understand. Completely!”

Count Bellonsa bowed his head, pale and sweating.

Lennox had clearly overheard his conversation with Estelle—especially when he had tried to pressure her into divorce.

‘It’s certain! He heard it, and that’s why he’s saying this!’

His fears had come true.

“Take him away.”

At Lennox’s order, the knights pulled the count to his feet.

He was dragged away, looking half-conscious.

“F-Father! Where are you taking him?!”

“To prison.”

“…”

“If you want to join him, go ahead,” Glessia threatened.

Matthias instantly backed away without another word, abandoning his father for his own safety.

Lennox gave a short, bitter laugh at such cowardice.

“I’ll make him beg for death instead.”

That was exactly why he hadn’t killed them on the spot.

A few days later, at the Winterlen estate—

Crash!

Startled, a maid dropped the vase she was carrying.

“My lady, you’re awake!”

Estelle was sitting up in bed with her eyes open.

“When did you wake up? Oh, never mind that—please drink some water first.”

The excited maid fussed over her.

Estelle was still groggy from just waking up and followed the maid’s words without resistance.

‘It feels like I had a really long dream.’

The memories were hazy, and she couldn’t remember what the dream was about.

While she was trying to clear her head, the maid mentioned something familiar.

“The duke took such good care of you. He’ll be sad he wasn’t here when you woke up.”

“…Where is the duke?”

Her voice came out dry and raspy.

“Pardon?”

“Where is he now?”

Then, the memories before she collapsed came flooding back.

‘He knows I can use demonic energy.’

And he knew about her dead ex-husbands.

She felt a surge of fear.

“He’s at the palace. He’s been going often lately because of Count Bellonsa.”

“Because of the count?”

“Oh, you wouldn’t know—this happened while you were unconscious. Count Bellonsa was arrested for tax evasion.”

“What?”

Estelle couldn’t make sense of the situation.

“They say the scale of it must be huge, since it’s so rare for the duke to personally step in.”

“How long… have I been unconscious?”

“Ten days.”

Ten days.

Plenty of time for many things to happen.

Just then—

Pat-pat-pat!

A small figure ran up and threw himself into her arms.

“Mamaaa!”

It was Duren.

The warmth of his little body melted Estelle’s heart.

“Duren, you must have been so worried. I’m sorry I slept for so long.”

“It’s okay!”

“It’s okay?”

“Yeah! I’ll grow up fast and protect you, Mama!”

His eyes sparkled.

It was touching, and also a little heartbreaking—he was too young to protect anyone, not even himself.

She gently stroked the soft hair on the back of his head.

“I’ll be your boyfriend, Mama,” he declared with a clenched fist.

“So I can protect you!”

“Hm? Do you even know what a boyfriend is?”

“Yup! A boy friend!” he answered brightly.

For a second, Estelle wondered if she had misunderstood the meaning of “boyfriend.”

‘How do I even explain this?’

Her still-groggy mind struggled to find the right words—

“A married woman can’t have a boyfriend,” a husky voice interrupted.

Startled, Estelle looked up to see Lennox, and her body instantly tensed.

With her secrets exposed, she was at a disadvantage in front of him.

“But they said I can!” Duren protested.

“Who said that?”

“My friends!”

Lennox chuckled softly.

“Who are these friends of yours? Married people can’t have lovers. So don’t go after your father’s wife.”

That was news to Duren. His lips parted in surprise.

While Duren thought it over, Lennox turned to Estelle.

“Estelle.”

“Yes?”

“It’s been ten days since you collapsed.”

“I… heard.”

Was this when he’d bring up her demonic energy?
Or the dead ex-husbands?

Either way, she expected to be interrogated like a criminal.
Surely, being sent to the temple was next.

“Two hundred forty-three hours and twenty-seven minutes,” he said.

“…What?”

“That’s how long it was from the moment you collapsed until I heard you had woken up.”

To be exact, it had been 243 hours, 27 minutes, and 45 seconds—but he didn’t mention the seconds, thinking that might sound excessive.

In truth, even what he said was already excessive—but he was too far gone to realize that.

“I must have been in shock. Even mandrake medicine can’t make someone completely invincible.”

Estelle gave an awkward laugh, sneaking a glance at him.

She also realized she hadn’t told him the medicine hadn’t fully worked.

“Did the doctor say anything while I was unconscious?”

“No.”

“Really?”

“Yes. He just said you’d been overworked and would probably sleep for a while.”

Estelle instantly thought—That doctor is an idiot.

Sleeping for ten days straight and brushing it off as “fatigue” was suspicious to anyone.

But Lennox seemed to take it at face value.

‘He’s never been sick himself, so he’s insensitive to others’ suffering.’

Still, this meant he wasn’t likely to use her health as an excuse to demand divorce anytime soon.

‘Though divorce isn’t really the main issue right now…’

Her face darkened.

“I heard a little about Count Bellonsa just after I woke up.”

“…”

“They say you went to the palace because of my father.”

Estelle spoke the word “father” awkwardly, watching Lennox’s expression.

“What exactly happened?”