The Voiceless Duchess - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Translator: Yonnee

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“Lady, can you hear me?”

Suddenly regaining her senses, Lohengrin quickly lowered her head. She reached out to check if her hair was still concealed beyond the hood.

Nearly two years had passed, but the fate of the Leinmond Duchy was still undecided. This was due to the strong opposition from her father, Margrave Nordvant.

In many ways, it was clear that Carlisle Ansgar’s sentiments towards the margrave would not be favorable, and it was unknown what attitude the daughter of Nordvant should adopt in this dark and remote place.

Fortunately, her hair was well hidden. Lohengrin lowered her head and pulled her cloak’s hood even deeper.

“Are you not feeling well? If you need an escort…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Lohengrin immediately ducked and tried to escape to the side.

However, the man got in the way.

“Are you truly okay? Your complexion doesn’t look good.”

A voice, full of concern, whispered gently in a low tone, tickling her ear. However, Lohengrin pressed herself against the wall, her guard alert.

The shadow of the man, who again lowered his upper body, drew closer. Before she knew it, he had taken her hand in his.

Lohengrin finally lifted her head abruptly.

Their eyes met. As she was in the grasp of his hand, his fingers gently traced her palm. Even though she wore gloves, the sensation of their contact felt vivid.

Lohengrin blinked her eyes.

What kind of trick was this? Did he not recognize who she was? Or was he intentionally feigning ignorance?

Even as she tried to think this through, she hadn’t yet thought of pulling her hand away. The man, with a slight upturn of his mouth, gave a gentle squeeze to the hand he had captured.

“It’s not safe for you to be alone in such a desolate place when you’re not feeling well.”

The man’s tone as he spoke sounded somewhat sarcastic. In response to his subtly changed attitude, Lohengrin narrowed her eyes.

His golden eyes, meeting hers, seemed to examine her before slowly descending. They remained fixed on her lips, revealed beneath the hood.

Between his long eyelashes, his golden eyes settled deeply.

“Did you forget how to speak, or perhaps…”

As her hand stiffened in his grasp, Baron Ansgar’s eyes, which had been motionless for a while, widened slightly. He firmly held Lohengrin’s hand.

“Could it be that you were unable to speak from the beginning?”

Startled, Lohengrin tried to turn her head to withdraw her hand. However, the man’s firm grip wouldn’t budge.

As Lohengrin’s lips began to stiffen, Carlisle feigned a smile and raised his upper body.

“You don’t need to be so wary. I’m only concerned about your health.”

‘……’

“I’d be happy to escort you.”

The man with a subtle look raised the hand he had been holding. His thumb slowly traced along Lohengrin’s middle finger.

An overt signal. Lohengrin gave the man a cold, calculating look.

Slap!

Simultaneously with a sharp cracking sound, a gasp and a shallow exhale could be heard from elsewhere. There, a man with chestnut hair stood.

Lohengrin glared at both men in turn, then swiftly turned and left her spot.

This time, Carlisle couldn’t catch her before she left.

Lohengrin turned the corner, escaping onto a narrow alley, and quickly picked up her pace. She bit her lips hard as she cursed the man inwardly.

‘Despicable scoundrel!’

The more she mulled over the man’s words and demeanor, the more certain Lohengrin became that he had recognized her.

She was even more shaken by the fact that he had resorted to such a low signal when he knew who she was. No one dared to approach her like that under the name of Nordvant, especially not with such signals.

Not once, not even after she had lost her voice!

Almost running, Lohengrin glanced back at the path she had taken. Thankfully, it seemed like the man hadn’t followed her.

She found an empty alley and leaned against a wall, trying to catch her breath.

Even throwing her gloves into the fire to burn them wouldn’t ease her mind. On her palm, on the back of her hand— these sensations lingering upon her skin felt unsettlingly strange.

Wincing, Lohengrin vigorously rubbed her hand as if trying to erase those traces.

Soon, she adjusted her disheveled hair and clothing, then looked up at the sky. The orange sunset had spread quite extensively.

‘It’s late…’

Lohengrin pressed her hood even deeper to conceal her face and glanced around. After confirming that there were no onlookers nearby, she hid her appearance once more.

The spirit she had summoned, visible only to her, began to circle above her head. Then, it quickly moved ahead of her.

Lohengrin cautiously started to follow.

* * *

Carlisle Ansgar, who had playfully teased her fingers and received a slap on his cheek, let out a short, wry chuckle.

The man who quickly reverted to a stoic expression, however, and clenched his fists and leaned against the wall. A chilly breeze emanated from between the bricks.

Carlisle glanced down briefly. Yellow daffodils lay withered and wilted.

“What happened here? There was clearly no one around, so how… No, more importantly, what in the world was that just now?”

Carlisle’s chief aide, Michael Moyer, inquired with a furrowed brow. Carlisle frowned in response.

“No one around, huh?”

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