The Fastest Way to Become a Successful Fan (12)
Once again, silence filled the dining room.
The countess was the first to break the silence.
She seemed infuriated that Abel had chosen to speak out against her.
Her face contorted in disbelief as if she’d witnessed a mouse who dared to bite a cat.
“How dare you….”
“Countess!”
This time, I yelled.
The countess flinched at my voice.
“Please excuse us.
I will see you again during your stay.
Please enjoy your meal.
Let’s go, Childe Louvremont.”
I couldn’t expose Abel to her derogatory remarks.
The countess muttered something, but I ignored her and turned around.
I quickly left the dining room with Abel, who was still holding onto my skirt.
* * *
With trembling hands, Countess Agatha Gasfelle picked up the glass of water before her and gulped it down.
The cold water finally brought her back to her senses.
She’d been swamped recently.
Out of the blue, Hades announced his marriage to his loyal vassals.
He was so adamant about seeing it through that he’d already sent the marriage documents before she even learned of the news.
His soon-to-be wife was a country bumpkin noblewoman from a lowly barony, without the financial ability to even hire servants or bodyguards.
When Agatha heard that such a girl traveled all the way to the North basically by herself, she became extremely furious.
To her, it was clear what Aisha was after.
“Are you out of your mind?
Do you not know what you should and should not say?
And why did you just sit there and do nothing, Count?”
“Well, you see, Your Grace, I’m the type who naturally agrees with my wife.”
Mason scratched the tip of his nose with his finger, feigning innocence.
Hades clenched his teeth and shouted.
“God damn it!
Agatha, I demand you make a formal apology to Lady Heathcliff.
I shall not overlook this, even if it’s you.”
Agatha stared at Hades coldly.
Her brother was smart and competent, and she had never regretted leaving Louvremont in his hands.
The Shield of the Empire, the Guardian of the North; he bore the weight of the Louvremont name on his back without so much as a single complaint and would continue to do so without a doubt.
Everything was and would always be perfect — if it wasn’t for his problem with women.
“Not only have you laid with a dirty peasant and produced an offspring, but now, you dare to bring a beggar before me and present her as your bride?
If this is not madness, then what is?
Aren’t you the least bit worried about the Louvremont name?”
“I suggest you watch your mouth.
You might be the sister who raised me, but you’ve no right to dictate my life.
And it’s especially not up to you to decide who I choose as my bride.
So I urge you to seek Lady Aisha and apologize at once.”
Agatha was astounded.
Apologize?
Her brother was talking more nonsense than when he brought Abel to the house.
As expected, he was blinded by lust.
She recalled Aisha’s face.
She’d wondered how a country girl with nothing to show for herself was able to seduce Hades.
Now, at last, she had her answer.
She had to admit, the girl was quite a beauty.
But Agatha despised women who didn’t hesitate to crawl into men’s beds to climb the hierarchy, and it made her sick to her stomach.
“You are a man that lacks nothing.
Yet, how could you let yourself be swindled by all these harlots?!” She clenched her jaw so hard that her chin trembled.
He was already used to hearing his sister’s demeaning insults.
Also, there was no reason to waste his energy on what he knew wasn’t true.
“Allow me to remind you that you are insulting my son and my bride-to-be.
If you don’t treat them with respect, I see no reason to treat you the same.
This will be my last warning,” he growled before turning around to leave.
* * *
I walked Abel to his room and said goodbye at the door, but he grabbed my hand before I could leave.
“Don’t leave.”
“Pardon?”
“Please don’t leave.
If the countess says anything mean towards you again, I promise I’ll protect you.
I’ll plead with her to stop.
So please….”
The tears he had tried so hard to keep in finally rolled down Abel’s face.
He mumbled, hurriedly wiping his tears with the back of his hands.
All the while, he kept clutching and tugging at my skirt with his wet hands, worried that I would leave.
I didn’t know what to say.
In the novel, Abel never rebelled against the relentless abuse he suffered at the countess’ hands.
Yet, today he decided to speak up for me.
I could only imagine how much courage it took him to do so.
We didn’t have much chance to get to know each other yet, so how could he be so kind to me?
“Childe Louvremont.” I crouched down to Abel’s height and looked him straight in the eye.
My heart ached at his flushed cheeks and teary eyes, but at the same time, I found him adorable.
Slowly, I moved my thumb across Abel’s cheek to wipe away the tears he’d missed.
“I’m not going anywhere.
Why would you think that?”
“But… y-you’re hurt, aren’t you…?”
He seemed to think that the countess’s malicious remarks would have shocked me.
And while he wasn’t entirely wrong, I was more worried about him than myself.
To think that every time he met Countess Gasfelle, he had to suffer this level of abuse….
I couldn’t even begin to gauge the damage she must have caused this little boy, and it made me angry.
Is this a kind of sin that can be forgiven?
Can someone emotionally abuse a child and still be forgiven just because she repents it afterward?
I was confused as to how I should treat the countess from here on out.
“It’s okay, I’m all right.
And how about you, Childe Louvremont?
She has always spoken to you in that manner, am I right?” I asked, stroking Abel’s head.
Abel quickly shook his head.
“You don’t have to worry about me.
I’m fine.
But Lady Heathcliff, you are….”
“Mm.
But I’m fine as well.
A few insults aren’t going to scare me away.
And besides, we haven’t gotten closer yet, so why would I leave?”
“R-really…?”
“Of course.”
“Lady Heathcliff!”
“Oh!”
Abel jumped into my arms without warning.
His arms wrapped around me while I was crouching, and I stumbled once before regaining my balance.
Oh my god….
What is happeni….
“C-Childe Louvremont?”
I was about to raise my arms to hug the precious little boy before me when suddenly Abel pulled away in surprise.
“Ah… I-I’m sorry!
I-I was rude to you again.”
“Not at all!”
‘Should I hug him again?’
My patience did not last long.
I carefully pulled Abel towards me, and he hesitantly hugged me back.
I was almost moved to tears.
“Lady Heathcliff…, don’t you hate me?”
Was this the kind of question a mature boy who never did anything wrong should be asking?
“Why would I hate you?
Anyone who hates you is the strange one.
It’s my first time meeting a child as adorable as you.
I couldn’t possibly hate you.
I genuinely like you.
You are precious.”
“Thank you…,” Abel said in a teary voice and hugged me even tighter.
I was starting to understand.
‘His childhood was rather unfortunate.’ That simple sentence wasn’t enough to do his past justice, nor did it shed light on just how serious his circumstances were.
I didn’t know any of this before because the novel never talked about Abel’s childhood in detail, but time in this world flowed regularly, unlike in the novel.
Under normal circumstances, the Abel of this world would have no choice but to grow up with this kind of mistreatment for the entirety of his childhood.
It saddened me to see him so accustomed to the countess’s abuse.
I was finally starting to realize what I should do for Abel here, in this world, at this exact time frame.
“Aren’t you hungry?
You barely got to eat.”
Abel shook his head as he hugged my neck tighter.
He seemed exhausted now that he could finally relax after crying for so long.
I patted him on the back.
“Then we’ll find something good to eat after you’ve had a nice sleep.
You should head inside.”
“L-Lady Heathcliff!”
Just as I was about to stand up, Abel grabbed me and looked at me with desperate eyes.
“You’re… really not going to leave, right?”
Again, my heart ached for him.
“Of course not.
If you’re that worried about me leaving, then how about I stay by your side until you fall asleep?” I asked, hoping to catch a glimpse of Abel’s precious sleeping face to fulfill one of my inner desires.
Abel’s face instantly lit up, and he nodded enthusiastically.
“Okay!”
* * *
Hades couldn’t bring himself to see Aisha right away.
Filled with guilt, he carefully prepared an excuse before finally mustering up the courage to visit her, only to find out that she wasn’t in her room.
It was then he remembered that Aisha had left with Abel.
So he headed to his son’s room, and when he opened the door, Aisha was indeed there, asleep on a chair next to Abel’s moonlit bed in what looked like an uncomfortable position.
He stared at Aisha’s sleeping face, and suddenly, he felt a surge of indescribable emotion.
“Lady Heathcliff.”
Aisha seemed to be in a deep sleep, even in her uncomfortable position, so there came no answer.
Hades awkwardly rubbed the tip of his eyebrow before taking off his coat and placing it carefully around Aisha’s shoulders.
“I came here because I wanted to see him.”
Suddenly, he remembered what Aisha had said earlier in the dining room to Agatha, and his face became flushed.
He already knew the reason for her venture, but still….
With a sigh, Hades quietly pulled a chair next to Aisha and settled into it.
She was sound asleep, and he thought that her sleeping face didn’t look much different from his 10-year-old son.
Hades let out a small chuckle.
Aisha had silently endured Agatha’s harsh words without even rebelling once all throughout the evening.
She probably feigned composure because she didn’t want to worry him, even though she was hurt.
In some ways, she was a foolish woman.
She was even taking such good care of Abel.
Hades leaned forward onto the bed, rested his chin on the knuckles of his fist, and stared at Aisha’s face.
“I came here because I wanted to see him.”
She really was a strange one.
Honestly, did she not feel any shame saying that?
It was Hades who was flustered.
Even his hands were red as he rubbed under his nose.
“Mmm….”
Just then.
Aisha’s long eyelashes trembled faintly, and she opened her eyes with a small groan.
Her pale blue eyes sparkled like jewels under the moonlight, and Hades couldn’t help but stare into them as if he was under some sort of spell, forgetting that their faces were but mere inches apart.