Chapter 16
“Rein, how did you get into my room?”
Layla looked up at the ceiling in surprise. Did he really come down from there?
But the teacup he was holding was filled to the brim with tea. There was no way he could’ve jumped from the ceiling with that in hand.
Even if he was a Sword Master and the strongest man in the Empire, that was just ridiculous.
“I came down from the ceiling.”
“You’re saying that just because I looked up, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
He answered instinctively as Layla stared straight at him.
“Why are you crying?”
“What are you talking about?”
He casually placed the teacup on the nearby table. Layla recognized it as one of the tea sets used in the dining room.
He was dressed exactly as he had been before.
“You hardly ate anything earlier.”
“…Don’t change the subject. How did you get in here?”
“You were crying, so I came.”
“I’m not crying.”
Layla rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, just in case. But her eyes were perfectly dry.
“Yes, you are.”
“I’m not crying.”
“You are.”
He stepped closer and stood before her. Layla looked at him, wondering if he was just saying nonsense because he was nervous. But his expression looked more somber than tense.
“You’re upset.”
“Are you a mind reader or something?”
“No. I just know because of what happened earlier.”
“Ah.”
Layla bitterly realized again that there was truly no one on her side in this household. Her so-called father didn’t care about her at all.
“See, you are crying.”
“I’m not. I don’t even have tears in my eyes—why do you keep saying I’m crying?”
Despite her denial, she did feel suffocated inside.
“You’ll feel better if you’re with me.”
He said that as he gently tucked her hair behind her ear. Layla was startled by the gesture but didn’t pull away.
Their eyes met. This time, he seemed startled by her reaction, eyes widening before he quickly looked away.
“Miss Layla.”
“Yes?”
“Why don’t we go outside for a bit? Consider it a bit of convalescence.”
“I don’t think I have the strength to go outside.”
“You will if you’re with me.”
Layla figured he must not understand how bad her condition really was.
Still, she didn’t want to stay cooped up inside the house. Her condition had been relatively stable lately—as long as she didn’t run, she probably wouldn’t faint or cough up blood.
“Where would we be going?”
“Will you come with me?”
“No. I don’t trust you, Rein.”
Layla wanted to leave the room, but she couldn’t fully trust Reinier. Even though he had tried to help her during the meal, she couldn’t be sure if even that wasn’t part of some scheme to win her over and use her.
“Then I’ll just have to make myself trustworthy.”
With that, he slowly took her hand. When he gently led her to the bed, Layla allowed her feet to move.
Reinier sat her down on the bed and took a seat next to her.
Layla looked him straight in the eye as he smiled at her. Then, once again, he averted his gaze.
People who lie don’t meet your eyes.
It was a sign she’d seen many times in people who deceived her in her previous life—signs she ignored back then.
Now, Reinier, who kept avoiding her gaze, overlapped in her mind with all those people who had betrayed her. It made her feel miserable.
She had known all along that no one was on her side. But the weight of that knowledge in the mind was different from the weight of realizing it with the heart.
“Enough.”
“Pardon?”
Layla looked at Reinier in surprise as he suddenly said something strange. He turned his gaze from the door back to her.
“The Countess sent me here to spy on you.”
“What?”
“And I am one of the Countess’s people.”
“What?”
“But now, I’m thinking of becoming your person instead.”
Layla was left speechless, mouth agape. Reinier looked at her and sighed, scratching the back of his neck like even he didn’t know why he had said that.
“Do you believe me now?”
“Uh… um… I guess.”
Layla couldn’t understand his true intentions at all. If he had come to kill her, why would he confess this?
“I’m glad you’ve stopped crying.”
“Ah… yeah.”
Seeing Reinier finally look relieved only confused her more.
“Can you trust me now?”
“You just said you work for my stepmother.”
“That means I’m a double agent.”
“I don’t want anything from you, so why would you be a double agent?”
“You think I don’t want anything?”
Reinier gave her a crooked smile. In that moment, Layla was reminded of his character in the original story. That made her want to put some distance between them.
In the original story, he was only kind to Sibere. The rest of the time, he was intimidating.
Of course, if she wanted his blood, she needed to get close to him. But it would be best to become just close enough to avoid consequences—then quietly distance herself.
“Do you really not want anything from me?”
He leaned in close. Layla wondered if perhaps he knew about her illness and was planning to trade something in exchange for his blood.
“There is something.”
“What is it?”
He leaned back, his expression softening as he looked at her.
“Something only you can give me.”
She needed his blood, after all.
“I see.”
Finally satisfied, he smiled and stood up from the bed first.
“Then let’s go together.”
She decided to follow him. She didn’t want to die, but it was a life she’d already died once before. This level of resolve was necessary.
She took his extended hand, and somehow it all felt so absurd that she couldn’t help but laugh quietly.
* * *
“This place is…”
Layla followed Reinier outside the mansion. She didn’t know how he managed it, but he had a horse ready. They rode it together toward the village.
She wasn’t surprised. She’d snuck out like this more than once before.
And with the black robe Reinier had prepared draped over her clothes, they didn’t look like nobles at all.
“This is the Eclair Shop.”
Layla knew where they were.
The Eclair Shop was the first place that stocked goods from the Ethan Merchant Guild, which was run by Hugo. Since the Count Ronald family was involved in trade, Hugo had ties to them as well.
Hugo had recently lost a lot of money due to merchandise shipped by sea. A ship he forced to sail during a typhoon to meet an auction date had sunk in the storm.
“The main customers here are young noble ladies.”
Layla glanced at him. As he helped her off the horse, she took his hand and dismounted.
“Those noble ladies are the most sensitive to social gossip.”
“What are you getting at?”
“Didn’t I say I’d make you feel better?”
Layla didn’t understand what he meant. How would coming to Hugo’s store lift her mood?
Still, she was willing to help if it meant putting Hugo in trouble.
“I get why I’d do this, but why are you?”
“So that you’ll stop crying.”
He said it with a slight frown. Layla couldn’t understand—she hadn’t cried in front of him.
“I’m not crying.”
“Yes, of course.”
Whenever he said nonsense like that, it usually meant he was nervous.
But his expression was calm.
“Sonnet…”
At the mention of Sonnet, his frown deepened as he looked at her.
“Sonnet’s going to help Hugo. Then whatever we do won’t matter.”
“Then stop him, Miss Layla.”
“You think he’ll listen to me?”
“If he doesn’t, say you won’t marry him. Pretend you’ll accept the engagement, then reject him at the end.”
Layla stared at Reinier, thinking he was talking nonsense, only to realize he was completely serious. She was speechless.
“Why that face?”
She felt like he could see right through her—like he knew she intended to use Sonnet to prolong her life.
“I might end up marrying Sonnet. It’s too heavy to use him like that.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want to deceive someone I might end up marrying.”
“You really want to marry a guy like that?”
She found his constant interruptions frustrating.
Well, from his perspective, it probably was strange to see her trying to marry Sonnet—the guy who didn’t even take her side at the dinner table.
But she planned to use Sonnet, then hand him off to Sibere.
That way, once they broke off the engagement, she’d stay alive and get away from the family.
In the process, she’d take some money, get Reinier’s blood, and leave both healthy and rich.
“Why don’t you look for someone else?”
Looking at Reinier’s overly confident face, Layla felt a bit lost.
“I don’t want to be with anyone.”
Was it because of those red eyes? Without meaning to, she blurted out something she didn’t truly mean.
So she quickly added,
“Except for Sonnet.”
