The Countess's Body Has Disappeared - Chapter 75

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

Chapter 75
“Cecilia, I’m leaving breakfast here for you this morning. Don’t forget to eat it, all right?”
The following morning, Davion set a tray laden with bread and soup just outside the door. He gripped the doorknob, hesitated for a moment, then forced his hand away.
If he went in, she would only barricade herself in the bathroom again. She wasn’t just wounded—she was frightened. Perhaps she was in there now, struggling desperately to accept the reality of what had happened.
Only two days remained before his departure. The unwelcome premonition crept over him that he might not see Cecilia again before he left.
As Davion leaned his forehead against the door, he caught the sound of familiar footsteps and turned his head.
Blake, dressed in a silk robe, was passing the staircase with a wine bottle in hand.
“Take note. That’s the caliber of woman you’ve married.”
Davion felt rage surge up his throat, but he barely managed to swallow it down for fear the sound would carry through the door.
Regardless of how the situation was deteriorating, he had to begin preparing for his return deployment to Calita.
He revised the will he had written before the previous deployment, sent farewell letters to his household, and out of courtesy, composed a formal letter to Esmerilda, now his former fiancée.
He packed extra uniforms, insignia, and medals into a trunk, maintained his pistol and sword, and later, while dining alone in the dining hall reviewing operational briefings, he hurriedly folded his papers and tucked them into his jacket pocket when he sensed someone’s approach.
“Don’t make things difficult for Cecilia while I’m away.”
Blake, who had settled naturally into the head of the table, poured himself wine before answering.
“Have I ever laid a hand on your wife or spoken ill of her? I’m simply trying to make her a woman befitting this household. Surely you both understood this much when you came back.”
“Yes. I understood. And I made a vow—if anything happens to my wife while she’s in this house, whoever is responsible will pay the price. So leave Cecilia alone.”
As force entered Davion’s voice, Blake’s smile grew thin and tinged with something like unease.
“Very well. Do as you please when you return, but don’t come back dead.”
Under the settled tension, the two of them finally began their meal.
Time slipped through their fingers with startling speed. Before he knew it, the moment of Davion’s departure had arrived almost before him.
And Cecilia never once left her room.
Davion stood before her firmly closed door in full uniform, while the Sergeant, an escort sent by the military, waited beside him with the trunk in hand.
After knocking, he pressed gently against the door and spoke.
“Cecilia, I’m leaving now.”
No answer came.
“Can we at least say goodbye face to face one last time? I might not come back.”
Still only silence.
“My dear, please.”
Davion held onto a threadbare hope and waited. But even after ten minutes passed, the doorknob didn’t stir, and the Sergeant, checking the time and closing his pocket watch with a soft click, finally spoke.
“It appears we must depart now, sir.”
Unable to let go, Davion knocked once more, but ultimately he could only turn away.
Several military vehicles were idling outside, their engines running. The rear door swung open, silently urging him to get in.
As Davion moved to board, he hooked his arm on the door and tried to steal one more moment.
“Just a moment. Give me one more minute.”
He gazed at the bedroom window, hoping against hope to catch a glimpse of her.
One minute passed in an instant. Then, just as he was about to give up and board the vehicle—
“Davion!”
His head snapped up.
He heard bare feet running urgently toward him. Davion pulled off his cap and pressed it into the Sergeant’s hands.
“Davion! Wait, don’t go!”
Cecilia, in her nightgown and weeping, ran toward him and threw herself into his arms.
In that moment, he noticed how noticeably thin she had become. Davion held her with all his strength, burying his cheek in her hair.
“You’ll wait for me, won’t you?”
Trembling, Cecilia lifted a picture frame she had brought with her, holding it up to his chest. She regretted the days she’d spent locked in her room—every moment apart from him now felt unbearable, and fresh tears spilled down her face.
“Take my photograph. Take my photograph with you……”
Davion gripped both the frame and her hand tightly.
He mustn’t imagine a future without him—Cecilia looked up at him, her plea almost a prayer.
“Do you have to come back?”
He kissed her, then closed his eyes and cradled the back of her head.
“Yes. I promise I’ll come back. I love you.”
He released Cecilia and boarded the vehicle. Through the window, as he watched her standing alone in the distance, Davion’s eyes burned with belated tears.
The convoy of vehicles raised clouds of dust as it passed through the manor gates. Behind those wisps of white, Cecilia’s body began to tremble uncontrollably as she watched him vanish.
“Husband, I’m frightened……”
With each passing moment, the presence she felt at her back grew more distinct.
Behind the window of the manor, a hand wearing a ring slowly released the curtain, drawing it inward and out of sight.
Blake stood by the window, holding the receiver to her ear. A regular dial tone repeated as she waited.
She lifted the letter Theodore had sent in reply.
An unfamiliar telephone number was written at the bottom. Presently the dial tone cut off, replaced by a click as someone picked up on the other end.
Blake quietly set down the letter in her hand.
“Theodore?”
About five seconds of silence elapsed.
The man across the line laughed softly.
“Yes, Mother.”
His voice was velvet-soft, refined.
“It’s been twelve years since I’ve heard your voice. How have you been?”
“A welcome question, indeed. But no—I have not been well.”
“Neither have I. I’ve aged terribly from all the hardship. But what is it you want?”
Blake parted the curtain with a single finger and looked down. Below, in front of a line of black vehicles, Davion and Cecilia held each other close.
“Come home.”
Silence returned once more.
Instead of words, a long, hollow breath came through the receiver. Blake assumed it was Theodore’s sigh.
“I won’t. I’m living my own life here now. Should I really come back and say, ‘Yes, very well…’ at this point?”
“Your brother was married. Word of it hasn’t reached you yet, it seems.”
“Mm. How old is Davion now?”
“Twenty-six.”
“Then he’s exactly at marrying age. Tell him that his elder brother, who left home, wishes him well.”
“The woman was a servant in this house.”
A brief cough sounded from the other end of the line.
“I beg your pardon?”
The laughter he’d tried so hard to suppress reached Blake’s ears unfiltered. This time, Blake exhaled a sigh.
Davion was now inside the car. Blake, who had been gazing down at Cecilia’s white nape, slowly withdrew the hand holding the curtain.
“And unfortunately, I won’t be able to deliver your message. Your brother deployed to Calita today. I need to oversee his bride’s training, so I’d be grateful if you came and handled some family matters for me.”
“And if I refuse?”
“If you grant me this one favor, I won’t contact you again. I’ll treat you as though you don’t exist in this world—as a son who is no longer mine.”
“Well. That’s quite an enticing offer.”
Blake stared at the white dust dancing slowly through the sunlight seeping between the curtains. Then, a memory of young Theodore chasing butterflies with hunting dogs came to him, and he quietly closed his eyes.
Below, the sound of the vehicle’s tires crunching on gravel faded as it departed from the Manor.
Breaking the silence that had filled the receiver, Theodore finally left a brief answer.
“I’ll see you next week, Mother.”

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