Chapter 13: Found Out

Clea regretted it.

She should have completely ignored him.

She thought she should have gotten away from Oberon sooner.

At least while talking with Edmund, her condition had been at its best.

Clearly, she was feeling less dizzy, and warmth had returned to her cold hands and feet.

But after exchanging a few words with Oberon, her mood, which had been at its peak, completely plummeted.

She belatedly escaped from that place.

But she was the only one who thought she had escaped. Somehow, Oberon had followed and was behind her.

“How long have you been like this?”

Clea sat down, unable to walk further. She and Oberon were in a secluded spot.

Clea looked at Oberon before her.

His gaze had changed from before.

The cold and fierce energy had somewhat faded.

‘Should I be happy?’

It seemed he wouldn’t press further for more evidence. Perhaps it would be better to take it positively that they had moved away from an uncomfortable topic.

After all, this was Oberon, who was notorious for never letting go once he became suspicious.

But her mood was already at its worst.

“Would anything change if you knew?”

She never wanted to show such a state to others again.

Though this was the first time she had shown blood, when she first showed weakness in front of others, she too held some hope.

That perhaps their gazes would be mixed with pity. Hope that they would recognize that she too could feel pain just like others.

But what came back was an even colder response, seemingly delighted mockery.

After that, Clea never showed weakness to others again.

She learned that showing weakness would never make others pity her.

“Is that all you have to say right now?”

Oberon showed his anger again.

It was different from the hateful gaze when they first met.

“Then what should I do?”

“I’ll call the imperial physician immediately.”

“How bothersome.”

“Don’t dismiss this with just saying it’s bothersome.”

Oberon had already pulled out a white handkerchief and was wiping the blood from her mouth.

The blood she had spilled on the floor could be cleaned up by someone later.

Thinking she was the priority right now, Oberon looked at Clea.

But Clea met his gaze and asked,

“I’m saying it’s pointless to waste skilled personnel on me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I wonder why our brilliant Count Philip has been playing dumb this whole time.”

Oberon frowned.

His hand wiping her mouth fell limply.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll disappear on my own soon enough anyway.”

A silence followed. Though they just stared at each other without speaking, the atmosphere was suffocating.

As Clea had said, Oberon wasn’t a fool.

After pondering her words, he soon understood what they meant.

“Is that why you left the Odoi family?”

“Odoi, Odoi. I’m sick of even hearing that name.”

Though she had left home to shake off these tiresome feelings, constantly hearing that name was nauseating.

She smiled brightly with blood still not fully wiped from her face.

Oberon’s heart sank at that smile spreading across her pale face.

“Tell me.”

Still, he was curious.

Nobles want to be valued by their family.

They hope to be recognized as members, receive appropriate treatment, and die bearing their family name.

At least all the nobles he had known were like that.

But the Clea before him was different.

“Isn’t there nothing more cruel than being controlled by that cursed family until the moment of death?”

“……”

“Think about it. Being manipulated like a doll by others and dying completely against my own will.”

Though she was aware that she was approaching death, she was relaxed, like she was talking about someone else.

Even after hearing her answer, Oberon’s curiosity wasn’t satisfied.

Rather, the more he heard, the more his mind seemed lost in a complex maze, making him wonder if he shouldn’t have asked.

“I should at least make one good memory.”

“…So that’s why you left the Odoi family?”

“Now you believe me?”

Clea had consistently stood by her claim all along.

But only now did he hear the supporting evidence behind that claim.

In truth, there were still many things Oberon couldn’t understand.

Nevertheless, his mind slowly began to accept it.

That this woman, Clea, was facing death, and had truly abandoned the Odoi family.

“Your love was Lloyd Persi, wasn’t it?”

To this final question, Clea decided to be kind enough to answer, just for today. More precisely, to leave no room for further questions.

“People aren’t such perfect beings. Whether it’s the Crown Prince over there, me, or you, anyone can break.”

Broken.

She described herself as broken.

“Since I’ve answered everything, I suppose borrowing this much is fine?”

Clea took the handkerchief from Oberon’s hand.

It slipped weakly from his grasp.

In truth, he wasn’t concerned about the handkerchief at all right now.

Even as she took his handkerchief, Oberon found himself studying Clea’s expression.

“It would be best to keep this matter quiet from everyone.”

Including Edmund.

With those final words, Clea walked away.

Oberon only followed her with his eyes.

Watching Clea wipe the remaining blood with his handkerchief, Oberon felt something heavy in his chest.

“Can someone who’s facing death be so relaxed?”

Oberon was someone who never revealed his inner thoughts, no matter how unpleasant others might be.

Yet uniquely, in front of Clea, his feelings seemed impossible to hide.

Just as he had felt something strange about Clea when she was signing the contract, he felt the same emotion now.

Looking at her felt like watching someone about to disappear. Looking into her eyes revealed an unmistakable emptiness.

Unlike his usual self who constantly questioned everything, Oberon found himself naturally accepting this for some reason.

He couldn’t understand how she could be so different from the people he had known.

Was it because it would be realistically impossible to fake coughing up blood with such timing? Or was he instinctively sensing the truth?

Oberon still stood there, unable to find answers to his emotions.

* * *

Only by evening had the papers requiring attention almost disappeared from Edmund’s desk.

He sighed and thought of Clea.

His mind still warned him that their relationship was dangerous.

As Oberon had said, she was someone with a fiancé.

He could easily imagine someone pointing fingers at him, criticizing how a Crown Prince could steal another man’s woman.

But Edmund had no intention of letting Clea go despite this.

‘That night wasn’t a coincidence.’

Meeting her again on the bridge after being drawn to her and going to the bedroom. And bringing her into the palace at the same time.

Edmund could confidently say these were all his decisions.

He was someone who possessed a sense of responsibility.

He knew that if there was something he wanted to take, he must bear the corresponding responsibility.

“Oberon.”

He looked at Oberon who had entered the office.

Oberon, who had seemed lost in thought all day, raised his head at Edmund’s call.

Meeting his gaze, Edmund asked him the same question.

Even though the answer would likely be the same as before. Still, he wanted to firmly bring his person to his side first.

“If she abandons the Odoi name, would there be any problem with me taking her?”

What would Oberon say here?

In Edmund’s mind, there wasn’t particularly a problem.

If she had been cast out by her family or abandoned the family name, she would just become Clea.

Just Clea would not be a noble, and therefore her engagement with the Grand Ducal family would naturally become void.

But Oberon, who valued principles, would likely argue that one shouldn’t get close to someone who could potentially cause problems in the first place.

He had always been that way, and even when Clea said she had abandoned the Odoi name, he continued to insist she should be kept at a distance.

Therefore, he was prepared for the same answer this time too.

But he soon found it difficult to hide his surprise at Oberon’s indifferent response.

“If she truly gave up being an Odoi, who could say anything? However, I’m concerned about others’ perceptions.”

These words came from the mouth of someone who had firmly opposed until now.

Edmund even doubted if this was the Oberon he knew.

Oberon met Edmund’s gaze and spoke.

“Are you prepared to take responsibility, Your Highness?”

In his eyes resided something both empty and dark.

Though Edmund was immediately concerned about his condition, he contemplated Oberon’s question.

Oberon quietly waited for an answer.

The answer came from Edmund.

“I have no intention of letting her go from my embrace.”

He had absolutely no intention of letting go.

Hearing Edmund’s answer, Oberon furrowed his brow.

Watching Edmund smile as if something was so pleasant, Oberon contemplated whether to reveal what had happened today.

Normally, he would certainly have told Edmund everything he had seen.

However, since Clea had specifically asked him not to tell Edmund, he found it difficult to speak.

Even for Oberon, what he had seen today was too shocking to bring up carelessly.

‘If His Highness has made up his mind so firmly, I won’t interfere.’

Oberon too had changed his mind.

But he could predict how things would end between them.

That prediction was decidedly tragic, and he bit his lip.

“Your Highness.”

“What is it?”

“…His Majesty has requested to dine together today.”

“His Majesty?”

Unable to make a decision, Oberon postponed it.