Something Edwin couldn't understand
[Funny. The dog that growls at the whole world becomes tame as soon as only one person appears...]
Edwin couldn't understand it.
[The woman who lied to you all your life could only leave you feeling defeated and empty.]
[Shane lost her and became an empty shell himself. He was just waiting for the body to collapse.]
[And Adaline...she didn't even turn around.]
[Why?]
[What is it about her that makes Shane literally burn with thirst for her love?]
[Yes, she was beautiful, smart, open and bright in her own way. But there were many of them.]
[And he was certainly not the only one fascinated by her.]
[However, it was she who awakened Genevieve, the Saint who had been tormented for many years by her own “uselessness.”]
And Edwin's curiosity reached its limit.
[He's going back to his old ways again.] - he chuckled to himself. [I always fall in love with those who already have suitors.]
“I may not be able to return to the estate soon...what if I become uneasy? Maybe we should give Adaline a room? Let him live in the palace for now.” - he suggested casually.
“My room is enough.” - Shane answered categorically.
“Adaline may be uncomfortable. I also think about the comfort of my friend.”
“I didn’t intend to bring her here at all. After this incident, she became too vulnerable a target.”
He nodded towards Genevieve.
“I can’t put her at risk, especially around someone with danger swirling around her.”
“Genevieve...why did you do that?” - Edwin sighed tiredly, turning his gaze to the Saint.
"Lady Adaline constantly finds herself in the middle." - she said quietly.
"What?"
“I thought... if the attention turns to me, His Lordship will send Lady Adaline away. And then it will be possible to calmly clear everything.”
"..."
“You sent her back to her family, right, Your Grace?”
Shane smiled faintly.
"I was thinking about sending her to a shelter."
“If you do that, Lady Adaline will go hungry. She already eats through force, even when you feed her yourself.”
"Right. In a confined space, she refuses to eat at all.”
"And he will be angry."
“Lately things have become calmer between us.” - Shane noted. “I think she just feels sorry for me. Tries to be more accommodating. It’s stupid to miss the chance to evoke at least some emotion in her.”
“Please make her angry. Someone is hunting me, I will have to interrupt my treatment.”
"Don't even think about going near Adaline."
“Yes, yes, I understand. I won’t come..."
Edwin glanced at Harrison's face.
"Genevieve, look at your husband's expression."
He was clearly in slight shock; the conversation about shelters, force-feeding and isolation was too unnatural. Genevieve squeezed Harrison's hand tightly.
“Harrison, this is not about me... These are all the circumstances of His Lordship. I don’t keep my loved one locked up - that’s not my thing.”
“Uh...Zhenya, everything is fine. I don't need to know anything. I didn’t hear anything at all...”
Edwin laughed loudly:
“This is what I understand - the ideal Royal Guardsman.”
"Thank you." - Harrison thanked honestly.
“Was that… a compliment?” - he clarified suspiciously.
Genevieve glared angrily at Edwin.
"Don't mock my husband, Your Highness."
“Oh, how scary!” - Edwin shrugged his shoulders exaggeratedly.
Shane calmly intervened:
“Take your husband by the hand and walk along the lake every day.”
“Wonderful thought. Harrison, let's go on a date."
[Oh, that means I can be kept locked up under the pretext of safety... Oh, no one cares about Genevieve’s husband.]
Edwin snorted to himself.
He was the only one who really cared about poor Harrison.
---Meanwhile, in the other wing of the palace...
Gregory came in, gloomy and quick. Next came Patrick, who carefully closed the door behind him.
Jeff silently raised his hand to greet his father and brother.
Emma, sitting by the window, looked at her husband and eldest son with a slight smile.
“Did something happen again?”
Her voice was even, calm. No emotions.
But her green eyes, exactly like her daughter’s, sparkled with wet anxiety.
“They say an ogre appeared in the hall.” - Jeff answered. “Shane and Saint dealt with it together.”
“Did he appear on his own or was he summoned?”
“Of course, they called. There are no miracles in logic; a monster doesn’t just appear in the middle of a building. An investigation team is already being assembled.”
Adalyn, who had been silent until now, raised her hand:
“Dad...why am I here?”
The atmosphere instantly changed. Gregory blinked and looked at his daughter.
“Adaline...They said you weren’t hurt, but only after seeing you alive and unharmed did I breathe out.”
He did not specify who exactly told him and when.
Adaline decided long ago that in some cases it is better not to know the truth.
[Sometimes ignorance is truly a blessing.]
[If knowledge doesn't change anything, what's it for?]
"But...shouldn't I be at the Blanchard estate right now?"
“You will stay here. Until the Duke returns."
“Nobody told me about this. Jeff just came and..."
“We couldn’t leave you alone. Not in this situation."
Adaline understood everything.
Soft wording, behind which one thing was hidden: her trustee had changed.
“Well...all we can do is wait.” - she said quietly.
[Do you want to stay here next to me?]
[…]
[Are you really so reluctant to leave?]
[…]
[I love you, Adaline. I'll miss you.]
[As if under the tutelage not of a duke, but of...an overseer.]
That same night, Adaline called Lucian, through Lloyd.