It Seems Like The Infamous Trash Can is Right Here! - Chapter 117
Lionel had said he had lived through countless lives. The scars covering his upper body were proof of that.
All that accumulated experience should have saved him from danger, and yet, even in this life, he had been wounded.
Then what must his very first life have been like, when he knew nothing?
When a boy not yet prepared to inherit the family lost his parents in an accident and was forced to shoulder the great house of Luanax.
How cruel must Lionel’s days have been?
I looked down at his hand, entwined with mine.
It was a calloused, rough hand.
So large and warm now, but surely once smaller, softer than this. Just like the hands of young noble sons raised with overflowing love.
Just as I had once longed for a strong wall to hide behind, surely there must have been a time he too wished to be protected. Who had been by Lionel’s side then?
Unable to shake the weight pressing on my chest, I could only fidget with his large, coarse hand. Lionel and Halid remained silent.
All the while, the carriage was pulling into the Calitas estate.
* * *
A loud crash of something shattering spilled out from the open crack of a door, echoing down the corridor.
The maids who had been lingering in front of the door flinched and bowed hurriedly when they saw Axion.
“Why are you out in the hallway instead of stopping this?”
“Th-the Princess ordered us to leave…”
“And you just left her alone like that?”
Clicking his tongue, Axion pushed the door wide open.
“If she ends up hurt while throwing a fit like that, what then?”
Just as the Princess was about to throw a flower vase, she stopped the moment she saw Axion.
“Brother…!”
Axion strode inside, took the vase from her hand, and placed it back in its place.
Then he gently cupped her face, checking for any visible wounds.
“Thank goodness, you’re not cut, but you still need to be careful.”
He leaned close, whispering by her ear.
“Did you forget? We can’t call a priest for healing.”
“…I’m sorry. But I was just so angry, I couldn’t hold it in.”
Shrinking momentarily at Axion’s appearance, the Princess began fuming again.
“How could he choose that kind of wench? Lionel must have lost his mind!”
“He never was quite right in the head to begin with, was he.”
Axion scoffed, voice thick with disdain.
“You were so confident you’d make him yours, and now look where we are.”
“I haven’t failed yet!”
Dana grabbed Axion’s arm and cried out.
“If that woman disappears, everything becomes easier. It’s actually a good thing.”
Axion glanced back at the still-open door, then gestured to a servant to close it and clear the area.
Only when the two of them were alone did he speak again.
“So? What are you planning?”
“I’ll borrow a shadow from His Majesty and have the woman kidnapped. Lionel may not ever truly love her, but he’ll care about the child in her womb.”
“And then?”
“Once the child is born, I’ll kill her. Then I’ll become the Duchess as the woman who saved the heir to Luanax.”
Axion let out a dry laugh.
Lionel might appear to live by instinct, doing whatever he pleased, but in truth, he was a deeply calculating man.
He wasn’t the type to fall for shallow tricks, nor would he ever easily comply with the will of the Imperial Family.
Even so, Axion decided to help his naïve youngest sister.
“I’ll get His Majesty’s permission to borrow a shadow.”
“Really?”
Dana’s face lit up.
She might have been turned down if she asked alone, but if the Crown Prince Axion requested it, the Emperor would surely approve.
“But in exchange, hand her over to me. I will do as I please with her.”
“…What do you mean? Why would you want her, Brother?”
“There’s something I want to test.”
