The Countess's Body Has Disappeared - Chapter 69

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 69
“I deliberately crashed into the row of trees. I thought it would give us a better chance of getting Mother’s blessing for our marriage. At the time, I convinced myself it was a kind of shock therapy, getting ahead of the blow.”
Davion watched Cecilia’s reaction, his expression tight with dread, like a man standing in the eye of an approaching storm.
Sure enough, a flush crept upward from her neck, spreading across her face like fire licking through her white hair. Anger blazed in her eyes.
“You…….”
She fell silent for a long moment, then squeezed out a single word.
“Are you completely insane?”
Davion kept his hands clasped tightly beneath the table, not daring to meet her gaze. Cecilia’s breathing grew sharper and sharper until she finally buried her face in her hands.
Davion’s heart sank. Uncertain what to do, he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her from behind and drew her toward him.
Cecilia pressed her nose against his chest and whispered.
“You bastard. Do you have any idea how much I worried about you……?”
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I’ll never do anything like that again.”
When Cecilia lifted her head, Davion gently brushed the hair from her cheek and looked at her pleadingly, seeking forgiveness.
Cecilia shook her head. There was something more important they needed to settle first.
“So what would happen to you if I refused to marry you in the end?”
“I’d become a fool with black-market funds squirreled away and engaged to the wrong woman. But what of it? I can dispose of the funds, and I can call off the engagement. So for now…… I just want to focus on you.”
Davion took her hand and pressed it against his cheek, speaking softly.
“Cecilia. If we were to marry, what would you want me to do for you?”
Cecilia turned over the black-market funds, Esmerelda, and everything he had said thus far in her mind. Only then did it feel real—that Davion was preparing for this marriage with genuine seriousness. It wasn’t some passing fancy or childish whim.
Her throat tightened again. The image of Mother’s silhouette disappearing into the snowstorm felt as vivid as yesterday.
Back then, I never dared imagine that someone would want me so desperately…….
“No matter what happens, you have to stay right by my side. If you promise me that, I’m terrified, but…… I think I could do this.”
Davion smiled and rubbed his cheek gently against her palm.
“Where else would I go? I’m marrying you so we can be together, Cecilia.”
“In that case…… I’ll think about it.”
A “no” had transformed into “I’ll think about it.” It was a tremendous leap forward.
Davion then pushed the plate of fruit far aside and, grasping the back of her chair, dragged it sharply closer to him. Cecilia flinched with a start, her shoulders hunching before her brow furrowed.
“What is it? Don’t tell me you haven’t told me everything yet?”
“Yeah. Sitting like this reminded me of something from the past.”
Davion tilted his head toward the living room with a mischievous smile. The revolver that Cecilia had once left on the windowsill gleamed softly in the distance.
“I’m only saying this now, but honestly, this is what I wanted from the very beginning.”
Without giving her time to answer, he pulled her waist toward him and kissed her fiercely.
2-7. A Mad Marriage
Davion swept the disheveled hair from his forehead and exhaled sharply, releasing a breath he’d been holding.
Beads of sweat rolled down across his tattoo. He finally set down the wrench he’d been gripping so hard it had left imprints on his palm.
When he turned the faucet on the bathtub, water poured out in a satisfying rush at last.
“That’s it? From now on, no more washing outside.”
Cecilia, who had been watching him from beside the tub, let out an admiring sound and clapped her hands.
She turned off the faucet and crouched down on the bathroom floor to help him organize the tools. As she did, she mulled over the conversation she’d had with Davion moments before, then frowned and asked.
“So when are you planning to come back?”
“Sunday evening. I don’t want to go, but it’s Captain Miller’s wedding, so I can’t possibly skip it.”
Today was Wednesday. Since he’d said they’d leave early tomorrow morning, that meant he’d be away from home for about four days.
Cecilia rummaged silently through the toolbox while Davion caught her eye. A pleased smile played at his lips.
“Want to come with me?”
Cecilia snorted dismissively.
“Don’t talk nonsense. How could I possibly go with you?”
“There are ways. It’s all about how you frame it.”
But since she needed to stay by Betty’s side, Cecilia shook her head firmly.
Davion picked up the toolbox and opened the bathroom door. He’d wrestled with the plumbing for so long that the window, which had been bright with sunlight when he entered, was now shrouded in deep darkness.
“I’ll bring back a gift for you.”
Davion kissed her forehead tenderly as he spoke.
He left the cottage despite her farewell, but within a few steps he turned back and set the toolbox down at her feet.
“Cecilia.”
He cupped her face in his large hands and kissed her softly.
“Think of me. Think of me often.”
He smiled and tapped her cheek lightly with his fingertips, then picked up the toolbox again and headed toward the Manor.
Cecilia felt a sharp, uncomfortable gaze boring into her profile and cautiously turned her head. Nagi and Ruby sat side by side on the sofa, staring intently at her.
“W-what……are you two gawking at?”
Cecilia rubbed her burning cheeks and snapped out the words irritably, at which Ruby muttered darkly.
“You told us to stay away, and now this……”
“Quite right.”
“Now I’m the fool.”
Cecilia cleared her throat with a small cough. The two pairs of eyes that had been fixed on her gradually withdrew, though it took them a long moment to do so.
After taking one last look at the field where Davion had gone, Cecilia carefully drew the living room curtains shut. Then, gathering warm water and a cloth, she entered the girl’s bedroom—only to nearly stumble backward in shock.
Betty was awake at this hour.
“Who just left?”
Cecilia set the water basin on the bedside table and, perching on the edge of the bed, began wiping Betty’s face while lying with practiced ease.
“I was talking with Ruby.”
“Was that so? It sounded just like a person’s voice, though…….”
Yet Betty herself knew well enough that her hearing was poor, so she pressed the matter no further. She kept her eyes closed for a long while, feeling the touch of Cecilia’s hand, then pressed a small memo into her palm.
Cecilia set down the cloth and hastily rubbed her damp hands against her skirts. The memo she received bore an address written in careful script.
“Where is this, Grandmother?”
“A church I used to take Master Theodore to long ago. When I die, cremate me and scatter my ashes on the hillside behind that church.”
“……I beg your pardon?”
Cecilia could perfectly picture the expression her face must be wearing at this moment. Never had the bright light of the room felt so unbearably cruel.
When she swallowed, the saliva in her mouth felt like swallowing thorns—each one drawing blood. Afraid she might crumple it by accident, Cecilia set the trembling memo down on the bedside table with shaking hands.
“But wouldn’t it be better to have a proper grave? For the sake of family who might visit someday…….”
“What family do I have? Both my husbands have long since passed from this world.”
“I’m here! And there are the other staff members at the Manor who worked alongside me! And perhaps one day the eldest young master will return to this place, as if by magic, yes?”
“Master Theodore will not return.”
Betty turned her head toward the dark window. She closed her eyes, quietly tracing the contours of memories long gone.
“He left without taking so much as a single change of clothes……. Those who flee like that rarely find their way home.”

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