If I Disobey the Duke

Sowed (3)

Vlad did not return to the room for a while after Dandelion went off. Because the administrators and vassals never let him go.

Lily was able to spend some time alone before he returned. Thoughts flooded in when there was a gap. She should have thought of things sooner.

She remembered Vlad.

[I want you to not waste any effort worrying about me. You are suffering… That’s the most difficult part for me.]

That iron-clad man. Those eyes and face seemed to have been lifeless.

He was the man who kept by her side for a little over two weeks. While he prayed even to that god whom he did not hesitate to curse.

The broad back that had stood over her father came to mind. The wide back that seemed to be willing to block whatever was in front of her.

“Vlad…” His name rolled out of her tongue.

She missed him just across the door. Her consciousness had forgotten over the period she was unwell, but the feeling of being together with him seemed to remain.

Why did my father come to see me, why didn’t Rocus die?

She could easily infer.

Vlad took revenge. Unbeknownst to her, on her behalf.

In an instant, her father’s voice, like ice, came up.

[How miserable it is to have someone else’s heart to lean on.]

Lily flinched for a moment, as if he was actually whispering in front of her eyes.

Her head was heavy, as if an iron ball was attached to a thin wire. She leaned back against the head of the bed.

Yes. All in all, it was what she did all day. She didn’t do anything this time either.

[If you feel like you have something over me, it’s all hallucinations.]

“No… no.”

She shook her head violently. Her body wasn’t completely healed, and that alone made her quite dizzy.

Lily mumbled, draping her long silver hair as a curtain, obscuring her view, “I am not to be deceived anymore, Father.”

It was their father’s way of manipulating others.

He, the cause of the catastrophe, always stepped back and threw small feuds between people like seeds.

What was the revenge, what he had done? Did he do it just for me?

Vlad broke the glass dome that she thought was the sky for the rest of her life. He had first removed the glass wall so that one day she could walk out on her own.

If he hadn’t, she would have lived her whole life thinking that it was really my place.

“I am sorry for being late, Lily.” Vlad hurriedly opened the door and entered.

The first thing that caught her eye were the black bangs that covered his forehead and the button on the shirt that had been loosened. He was a man whose clothes did not wrinkle even after working all day.

Maybe she was exaggerating a little.

He seemed like a neat person from birth, and now he looked so disheveled.

Vlad approached quickly and stopped at her bedside.

Lily stretched out an arm towards him, who was naturally going to sit on the chair. “Don’t sit down, come up here.”

Then she also got up and sat leaning on him. He casually placed her on her lap.

As they touched, the anxiety that had been gnawing at her skin like an insect slowly subsided. The warmth seeped into her veins.

She touched his eyelids with her fingertips. She swept his eyelashes.

“Vlad. Now close your eyes.”

Instead of answering, he covered one of her cheeks with a wide hand. His chest clenched once more as her slender chin touched his wide palm. He stroked her cheek with his thumb.

“Let’s stay like this for a while.”

That’s what he craved now. If he could, he even wanted to stick her to his body.

She closed her eyes and her half-moon eyelashes cast long shadows.

Even the peach-colored cheeks and rose-like lips had a little color returning. Her face was lovely like that.

She slowly opened her eyes. Refocused and clear green eyes. It wasn’t a dull light as if life would be lost, but it was clear and refreshing like a young shoot in early spring.

“Vlad. My father… What happened?”

His body stiffened.

It was a question that could be postponed, but ultimately could not be ignored. He rolled his eyes and confessed.

“He was imprisoned for two days, and then, as I ordered, he was transferred to the territory.  It is a city near Ataka.”

“And what about the Isles?”

“…”

“Can you tell me what happened? Just… I’m curious too.”

His countenance darkened. “…We made it possible for you to run the Isles.”

And soon, he took the time to explain how he cornered Shylock.

Lily quickly recognized the strategy he was using. “You have blocked distribution. To make my father lose credibility with the nobles. My father is a commoner, so if he collapses once, it is difficult to restore credit…”

Credibility was the lifeblood of business for nobles. For the price, the cheaper it was, the better.