The Countess's Body Has Disappeared - Chapter 55

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 55
Several gemstone rings adorned the fingers that twisted the telephone cord over and over, wrapping it into knots.
As the conversation dragged on, Blake had pulled a chair over near the telephone and sat down. When the woman on the other end of the line said something, he chuckled softly and played along.
“Quite right. It’s a relief to know our children have common ground.”
As Blake exchanged words with Rene afterward, he gazed out the window, his eyes narrowing. A large crow perched on a nearby branch, tilting its head with evident curiosity about her.
“Then let’s stay in touch again soon. Yes.”
Click. He set down the receiver.
Blake exhaled the sigh he’d been holding and cast a sharp look around the room.
“What on earth did you discuss with Esmeralda?”
Davion lay sprawled on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling. The baseball he’d been tossing and catching into the air moments before now rolled about in a corner of the room.
‘Cecilia…….’
Even after visiting her several times since then, she’d erased his existence completely—she wouldn’t even spare him a glance.
If anything, her pet crow seemed more welcoming to him. But perhaps it had received a scolding from Cecilia, for even that indifference had turned to cold dismissal within days.
He should have told her long ago…….
I was a fool.
“Davion Sisldown.”
“Mother.”
They spoke simultaneously.
“There’s a woman I like.”
And for several seconds, a dreadful silence fell.
Blake placed her hands on her hips, then, as though a troublesome matter had erupted, she pressed her forehead with one hand and lashed out.
“You’ve been cooped up at home ever since returning from Kalita. Where exactly did you have the opportunity to meet a woman?”
“Fair point.”
Davion appeared like a man who’d already lost his grip on reason. Between Blake’s fingers, which pressed against her forehead, her brow furrowed deeper still.
“Is that why you asked me to postpone the marriage?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you say so from the start? I’ve already met with Esmeralda’s family—how am I supposed to face them now? What house is this girl from? Let me look into it.”
“There’s no need. She’s an entirely ordinary person.”
Blake closed her made-up eyes lightly, then opened them and reached for the receiver again.
“Let’s pretend you didn’t say that.”
The sound of the dial spinning reached Davion’s ears.
As he stared at the ceiling for some time, the edges began to shimmer faintly. He fumbled in his pocket, withdrew a cigarette, and lit it.
“That woman…….”
Listening to the dial tone from the other end of the line, Blake let out a helpless laugh at her wit’s end. Gray smoke spilled from between Davion’s lips as he exhaled.
Blake shook her head. The call connected before she could continue nagging.
“Ah, it’s me.”
She turned and opened the window as she spoke. The crow that had been perched there moments before had flown off somewhere, leaving only the swaying branch.
“I was just wondering whether the letter I sent arrived properly. Theodore may have moved to a new place by now…….”
Then a faint smile spread across Blake’s lips.
“I see. Thank you for checking. By the way, there’s one more thing I wanted to ask…….”
While Blake continued her conversation, Davion rose quietly and left the room. But as he walked aimlessly, smoking his cigarette, a small creature suddenly caught the corner of his eye.
A gray rat holding a coin in its mouth twitched its pea-sized nose and looked at him before scurrying away.
The path to Cecilia was unmistakable. Davion stopped in his tracks and gazed blankly out at the blue sky beyond the window, thinking.
……There’s nothing to do.
Without Cecilia, a single day had stretched unbearably long.
His appetite had vanished with it, so he couldn’t even tell if he was hungry anymore. He rubbed his flattened stomach and reached into his pocket for a fresh cigarette, but when he found one, there were no matches.
Now that he thought of it, Cecilia had promised to find him a lighter within a month…….
Davion laughed hollowly. For so long he hadn’t even thought about cigarettes; he’d completely forgotten that promise as well.
Cecilia was probably no different. Yet somehow, the lingering expectation wouldn’t completely fade away.
So as Davion turned his steps and began to wander through the servants’ hall (the maids who encountered him scattered in panic again), Aileen was in the kitchen chatting away with Kate.
The moment she spotted Davion through the open doorway, she rushed out in alarm.
“Young Master?”
Before closing the door, Davion thought his eyes had met Kate’s, who was leaning against the sink.
“Is something urgent?”
His mind hazy, he stared at dust particles drifting through the air before answering a beat too late.
“……Young Master?”
“Oh, sorry. I was just wondering if anyone had given me my lighter recently.”
“If you mean the lighter you lost, we still haven’t found it.”
“I see.”
Having harbored some vague hope, Davion let his arm drop limply as soon as he heard the answer, his fingers falling away from the back of his head. Aileen, of course, knew nothing of the real situation and merely assumed he was looking for his lighter; she gently grasped his arm briefly in encouragement before letting go.
“Don’t worry. I’ll find him for you, I promise.”
Her throat tightened; she couldn’t bring herself to say thank you.
After that, Davion stumbled away like a phantom, worrying an unlit cigarette between his front teeth.
Had no one called out to him, he would have retreated to his bedroom long ago and buried his face in the pillow.
“Sir.”
After confirming that Aileen had gone into the kitchen, Kate hurried over and spoke to him in hushed tones.
Davion turned his back, hands thrust deep into his pockets. At least the unlit cigarette spared him the trouble of having to discard it.
“Cecilia told me. That man—it’s you, isn’t it? There’s only one soldier from the Kalita deployment living in this mansion.”
Davion’s mouth went dry. He shoved the cigarette, now tattered at the edges, deep into his pocket and muttered a response.
“Did Cecilia… tell you about me?”
“A few days ago. Lately, she barely speaks. During meals, she just sits there like her mind is elsewhere. When I’m gone, she seems to skip eating altogether—the basket comes back half full.”
Kate glanced around before speaking again, her words low but sharp as an awl.
“You made a mistake. She knows nothing about men. The only man she’s ever known is the caretaker of this house. You should have chosen your target more carefully.”
“What?”
Davion bristled at once, his voice sharp. Kate flinched and stepped back.
He fell silent. Now he understood—Kate was gathering courage entirely for Cecilia’s sake.
‘A mistake? Teasing?’
But everything Kate said was painfully, undeniably true. He might believe his own intentions were genuine, yet to a third party’s eyes, he was nothing more than a scoundrel trifling with an innocent maid. Nothing more, nothing less.
And then, as if that weren’t enough, Davion suddenly grasped something he’d overlooked. His hand flew to his forehead.
Wait. What if Cecilia saw it the same way?
That would be catastrophic.
Blood drained from his face, leaving it ashen. His vision swam white.
But if I go to the cottage now to explain myself, will Cecilia even listen? She might not even look at me.
“If you have anything to say to Cecilia, I can pass the message along for you,” Kate said, adjusting the basket on her arm as she faced his ghostly pallor. It was as much a plea for him to apologize through her.
A chance to explain himself had presented itself—perfectly timed.
Yet Davion, who for a moment had glimpsed a ray of hope, quickly changed his mind and shook his head. What he wanted to say to Cecilia was far too heavy to entrust to anyone else.
Instead, a better idea came to him.
“Then, if you don’t mind—could you deliver a letter for me?”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————