You Said You Wanted Us to Break Up - Chapter 81

That day, Sioden took me to the bedroom and said,

“The door to this room is always open.”

“But if an instrument gets damaged again… That is my fault for not managing it properly.”

It seemed there was no need to worry further, so I walked on in silence, but he added,

“If you wish to close it, with the key you possess…”

“No, I think it would be better to leave it open.”

The key he mentioned then always occupied a corner of my jewelry box.

Today, while Apple was briefly out on an errand, I took out that key and looked at it for a moment.

The key, decorated with silver and a blue gem, sparkled as brightly as when I first saw it. Nevertheless, it now stirred no sentiment in me.

I had only used this key in the annex, but it could also open and close the main building’s doors. I had been told they were made as twin doors from the beginning.

While I briefly recalled this piece of information, which I would likely never use again, I heard the sound of a door opening. I turned my head toward it, and a brightly smiling Apple entered.

“Milady.”

“You’re back?”

Apple gave a small nod and took off her coat. She placed the sugared tea leaves, which had been her excuse for going out, onto the table.

Apple sat down on the chair beside the bed. Her voice, unable to hide its delight, rang out.

“It’s in two weeks.”

I knew what that deadline meant without having to be told.

With a rare, bright smile, Apple said,

“We might even be able to move it up a little, but for now, we’ve set it for then.”

“Goodness…”

Unable to finish my sentence, I couldn’t contain my joy and looked around the room.

Finally, I hugged a pillow tightly and let out a happy sigh.

“This is unbelievably good.”

Apple let out a small laugh watching me.

“I’m so happy to see Milady smile again, too.”

Gazing at her, who was radiating rare joy, I was reminded that I, too, had a mission for our goal.

I couldn’t arouse anyone’s suspicion if I were to go out to board the ship.

I spoke to Apple, who was looking at me with a bright smile.

“I need to change my clothes.”

Wearing an outfit that wasn’t too extravagant but certainly brightened my complexion, I headed toward the room with the organ.

Before stepping into the room, I stopped one of the servants passing in the hallway and ordered,

“Bring a chair in here.”

After the chair was brought in, I left the door slightly ajar. The inside of the room wasn’t visible, but the music flowing out of it could be heard.

I didn’t need much preparation. After all, everything that happened in this castle was bound to reach Sioden’s ears.

There was only one thing I had to do.

I took a small breath and sat down in front of the instrument I hadn’t faced in a long time.

The keys beneath my fingertips were cold, but I didn’t mind.

It wasn’t long before I got the reaction I wanted.

“I was just going to close the door and pass by.”

Sioden looked down at me from beyond the door gap, wearing an awkward expression.

“I apologize if I interrupted your performance.”

I slightly curled the corner of my mouth and shook my head.

“You didn’t interrupt.”

Sioden narrowed his brow as if doubting his own vision. Observing his reaction without missing a beat, I grasped the doorknob.

“I left the door open on purpose.”

With that, I widened the gap in the door a little more—enough to reveal the other chair placed close to the organ.

His deep-blue gaze involuntarily shifted toward the scene beyond me.

A brief flicker of surprise soon crossed his face.

To the man who looked back at me with disbelief, I spoke in the same gentle tone he had recently used.

“If you wish, you may come back and listen again.”

* * *

However, the next evening, Sioden asked if he could join me for dinner and then announced right there and then.

“I will be leaving the castle for a few days.”

He said this while cutting the food in front of him with the same indifferent manner he’d used when often seeing his meals.

“In the meantime, it would be best for you, including your maid, to refrain from going out. I will leave people behind to ensure nothing goes wrong, but just in case…”

I asked him without waiting for him to finish his sentence.

“Where are you going?”

Perhaps not expecting me to be so impatient, Sioden raised one eyebrow. He spoke in the soft tone he had consistently been using lately.

“I have some business to attend to.”

“What kind of business?”

“It’s a minor issue.”

A minor issue?

The intentionally vague statement naturally brought to mind the ship passage Apple had secured.

Perhaps Sioden was going to investigate me.

If it wasn’t related to me, there would be no reason for him to conceal it.

Anxiety slowly crept up inside me. Noticing this, Sioden spoke.

“It is not a major issue. There is nothing for you to concern yourself with, so please don’t worry.”

But if it was neither a major issue nor one for me to worry about, there was no reason for him to be evasive.

I sat there, unable to shake off my suspicion, when Sioden put down his cutlery. He stood up from his seat.

“I will take my leave first. Please enjoy your meal at your leisure.”

It seemed he was mindful that nine times out of ten, I would suffer indigestion when we talked during a meal.

I watched the back of the man, who was leaving the dining hall without even finishing his own meal, for a moment before turning my attention to my plate.

In any case, nothing would change by worrying about it right now.

Afterward, I chewed and swallowed the planned amount of food for the day carefully, making sure not to get indigestion, and rose from my seat.

I was tired of crying and worrying.

It was much better to grasp the situation and react quickly than to fail to observe my surroundings properly while wiping away tears.

* * *

Milady’s expression was not bright after returning from the dining hall.

After a brief explanation of the situation, Apple understood why her lady looked troubled. It was due to the anxiety that their plan might have been discovered.

“Could Sioden have found something out?”

But every time she went in and out, she confirmed she wasn’t being followed.

Yet, could the lord of the castle have found something out? Apple frowned.

There had been a similar incident before. And at that time, Milady was so heartbroken that she just stayed in her room and cried without budging.

Apple did not want to go through the same situation again.

Therefore, she would check on anything bothersome beforehand and resolve it before Milady could find out. Apple strode quickly down the hallway. The most unfortunate doctor in the castle returned along this path after dispensing medicine to a child outside the castle once a week.

Today, he had gone out somewhat later than usual, so he would be returning soon.

Soon, Apple witnessed the same scene that was repeated every week.

“Miss Letta.”

The doctor, whose face was still smiling but had abandoned the familiar, smooth-talking honorific he had used previously, walked toward her from the opposite direction. Apple raised one eyebrow.

“What a coincidence.”

“Well, to my eyes, it seems less like a coincidence and more like an inevitability.”

Luke, who stopped in front of her, bowed his head.

“An inevitability orchestrated by man, not by God.”

“Your interpretation is excessive.”

Yet, despite saying so, Apple Letta didn’t avoid his gaze. Luke asked the woman who was staring intently at him.

“Did you have something you wanted to say?”

“I was just curious about the face of a man who thinks he knows everything.”

Luke blinked at the cutting remark. In that moment, having obtained the information she wanted, Apple tried to walk past him.

“I don’t wish to speak long with a man whose self-consciousness is excessive, so I’ll be going.”

Luke grabbed the wrist of the woman, who seemed not to know how to speak without sarcasm, and asked mockingly.

“Oh, was I mistaken?”

Of course, Apple Letta did not retreat a single step, even while being forcibly stopped.

“It would be fortunate that you’ve realized it now, but I don’t feel like congratulating you.”

Luke knew that even so, the woman would not miss this opportunity.

Apple Letta had waited for him to find something out. She was pretending otherwise now, but if an opportunity arose, she would seize it instantly.

That was when Apple took his hand. Luke’s eyes widened slightly at the unexpectedly high body temperature.

That was when the woman spoke with a crooked smile.

“I hope this unwelcome coincidence comes to an end now.”

Apple yanked her hand away from Luke’s and walked past him.

“Let’s part ways now. Though I can’t bring myself to say goodbye.”

As she took rapid strides, Apple was certain.

The doctor did not know about her and Milady’s plan.

A person who knows someone else’s secret and is preparing to mock them usually shows it on their face, but the doctor merely looked as irritating and foolish as ever; he didn’t seem to be hiding anything else.

The doctor was the castle lord’s close associate, so if the doctor didn’t know about the ship to Emerta, the castle lord was likely just as ignorant.

Luke called out to Apple, who was walking more lightly than before.

“Miss Letta, arranged by God.”

The woman’s steps halted. Luke spoke to her back.

“Since we met by chance, I’ll offer one piece of advice.”

“…”

“It would be best not to do things that you cannot excuse as a coincidence if you are discovered.”

A small sound of laughter was heard. It was a scoff that could have sounded lighthearted, but Luke did not miss the fact that the woman was laughing at him.

The woman said without turning back to him.

“Start by curing your habit of reading every coincidence as inevitability.”

Luke smiled crookedly.

Assuming his instincts had dulled considerably, it might have been a coincidence this time.

However, it would truly be best for Apple Letta to be cautious.

Her superior would likely know more than she predicted.

Luke scratched the back of his neck, thinking of his superior, who had been even hiding things from him lately.

In any case, if he followed him out of the castle this time, he would find something out.