130: [Bonus chapter]Dangerous words (part 3)

[Bonus chapter]Dangerous words (part 3)

He took a deep breath and shook his head as if to dismiss the last thing she said to him.0

"Don't do this to me, Adela," Egon said, his sudden pacing adding to the tension in the room. "Do you realize the consequences if you leave Lanark?"

Adela held his gaze, her mind pondering the intertwining of their fates. Were they bound to each other to such a degree that separation was impossible?

Would you come with me? It was a question she would never dare to ask aloud.

Egon paused, his brow furrowing in confusion. "What's going through your mind?"

"...I'm contemplating your words... the consequences of me leaving Lanark. What precisely do they entail?" She inquired, a sudden strange hope blooming in her heart, a strong desire for him to make an effort to dissuade her, to provide a compelling reason to reconsider.

Egon tightened his jaw twice, "You can't betray these lands and go to another." 

Betray?

"What do you want from me? Who took my father's lands away in the first place?" Adela's nightgown crumpled in her tightly clenched fists. "Who is threatening to sell them and reduce the Archduke to a struggle, forcing him to buy back his ancestral lands from his own vessels?"

"Damn it!" Egon's anger flared as he ran his hands through his dark hair. "For once in your life, ask me for help! Just once! Put aside that pride of yours that knows no bounds and trust me, instead of constantly testing me and waiting for me to fail! Enough of that!" 

Adela stood tall, her gaze fiery as she locked eyes with him, "I don't want your help! Take everything, even this manor that you freely enter... Take it all! It's yours!" Her whispered protests rang with a high pitch, and her own ears recoiled at the absurdity of her words.

"Understood," Egon calmly concluded, "You're seeking reasons to create distance rather than searching for a solution to stay."

Adela tilted her head, contemplating his words. There wasn't a bone within her that could deny the truth in what he had just expressed.

"We can begin afresh in Destan," she murmured softly, more as a reflection to herself than a direct response to him.

Disappointment flickered in Egon's eyes, yet his expression retained its calmness. "And what about everything you'll be leaving behind here?" 

Everything. She repeated silently in her mind, contemplating whether he considered himself a part of that encompassing word. She chose to respond as though everything could be encapsulated within a single person, as if Egon von Conradie embodied her entire world.

A tired smile crossed her face as she replied, "Everything will be fine without me, just as it was before."

"Adelaide..." Egon moved closer, his body exuding warmth, "What is it that you truly want?"

She turned her head away, aware deep down of her true desire but unwilling to admit it. She secretly wished for him to fight for her, to wholeheartedly choose her side.

"Adelaide," he called her name once more.

Her eyes responded, her stomach tightening as her full name rolled off his tongue, "Yes..." she breathed out.

His eyes, dark as obsidian, smoldered, "Close your eyes and make one wish."

She continued to stare at him, unwilling to play along with a game that toyed with her emotions.

"Will you, for once, do as I say without exhausting both of us?"

"...I will close my eyes and make a wish, only if you do the same," she responded with a touch of sarcasm.

He nodded firmly in agreement.

She shut her eyes with a grimace as he kept his gaze fixed on her, completely disregarding her request.

"Now... take a deep breath and make a wish," he commanded.

It was silly at first, but after a moment, she found herself obeying his childlike order and allowing herself to genuinely make a wish.

"...What did you wish for?" he asked, noticing the ghost of a genuine smile on her face.

She bit her lip to suppress a laugh as she discreetly opened one eye to steal a glimpse of him. "You go first," she said, fully aware that he hadn't truly participated in the game.

"I don't have to wish. I'm looking at what I want," 

Adela's heart stuttered along with her widening eyes.

"Tell me what you wished for," he softly urged.

She hugged herself, "...It wasn't a wish, but rather a memory... I am on a hill overlooking our lands, Kannon soaring in the sky, and Father joining me soon to share stories about his day... It's the middle of spring, and the breeze carries the scent of pine..." she shared, her voice trailing off.

Like your scent, she thought to herself. In her imagination, he seamlessly became a part of that memory, standing beside her and the Archduke, even though he had never been present in any of those moments.

"...I envy that breeze in your imagination," he said, his words startling her. "What will become of a Lanarkian spring when you're far away in Destan?"

Adela took a few weary steps backward, her fingers tightly gripping the wooden bedpost, the tension evident in her white-knuckled grip. Egon silently materialized behind her, his touch gentle as he delicately held her wrist, his caress easing the tightness in her fingers and loosening her grip on the bedpost. With a gentle tug, he turned her around to face him, bringing her hand to rest against his cheek. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, feeling the rapid rhythm of her pulse beneath his touch.

"Can't we stay like this forever?" he murmured into the palm of her hand.

As sweet as the moment was, she couldn't ignore his indecisiveness. It wasn't something she wanted to endure indefinitely.

"...The King is expecting an answer in ten days," she informed him with a cold voice.

"Another time frame," he murmured, a cynical smile tugging at his lips as he glanced towards her bed. "...I'll leave so you can sleep."

Desiring him to stay, all Adela could manage was a nod. The subtle breeze that brushed against her face as he disappeared from her sight sent a shiver through her heart, while the lingering warmth from his cheek in her tingling palm felt unjust.

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