Living as the Villain’s Stepmother - Chapter 210

Hizette would have pressed on about the matter but something made him back off. “Master is coming soon. Then can I meet you personally after dinner?”

“For me, a newly-wed wife, to stay alone in a room with a knight of similar age would be the best way to bring shame to Lacias.”

“…I haven’t thought that far. My apologies.”

“I’ll go on a walk at night. I’ll see you then.”

“Alright.”

She didn’t really have the intention to tell him about her plans of leaving. Lila was just trying to buy time and get rid of Hizette’s stubbornness.

All she had to say was that she didn’t feel like going for a walk and Hizette couldn’t say anything. She was hoping he would let it go after that so she could think about how she was going to leave after getting back to her room.

Right now, her mind was in shambles and she couldn’t think straight, she needed to rest a bit to get through this.

The moment Hizette nodded his head in agreement Lila’s necklace started to shake, Lacias arrived. Hizette stepped out of her way and whispered into her ear as she was passing by. “I’ll explain to the master as roughly as possible. So you can leave and not worry too much.”

This confused Lila a little. Why would Hizette keep a secret from his own master?

From what she saw in the original book, Hizette would report everything directly to Lacias with no exceptions. He was the most loyal knight.

Lila was wondering what he had to gain by lying for her but it was too late to ask him as Lacias was nearby. With that, she left the dark room with Hizette following her.

Even though not much time has passed, to Lila it felt like an eternity.  It was probably because she was given so much information to hold onto.

I feel tired. It’s been a while since I felt this.

Usually, Lila would work very late and feel completely fine. This was because she enjoyed working and being tired was a very unfamiliar feeling.

What was just some weariness quickly grew into an irritating headache, Lila pressed on her temple and sure enough, it was growing hotter.

Lacias, who was walking over appeared as elegant as ever.

That face… It’s been a while.

However, he looked unhappy. Lacias was always smiling at Lila, so it felt unfamiliar to see him frowning. When she focused on his gaze she saw that he wasn’t looking at her.

What is he looking for? Why is he not looking at me?

A new feeling brewed up inside of her. She was not used to his expressionless face.

Does he know that I dug up his secret? Is that disappointing him?

Although she planned on leaving him, Lila’s heart couldn’t take not seeing him happy. It felt painful like someone was squeezing her heart out. Lila grabbed the left side of her chest to ease the pain when she heard someone call out her name.

“Lila!” The calm Lacias was gone, he was now running towards her with his eyes full of worry. “Are you hurt? What’s wrong? Should I call the doctor? Tell me where you’re hurt.”

Lila looked up and tried to fake a smile. “I-I’m not hurt.”

He held her arm with one hand and brushed her hair away from her face with the other. “Then why is your face like that?”

“I just felt a bit of pain…”

“Doesn’t that mean you might be hurt?” He asked while touching her forehead.

“I think we should call the doctor. Let’s go rest now.”

“I think you’re overreacting.”

“You can’t express something wrong with your body like that. I’ll take you to the bedroom now.”

“…? Thank you.” Lila was caught off guard by his sudden change in personality; she couldn’t understand how he switched from having such a cold expression to being so warm towards her so quickly. But she couldn’t say anything with Lacias’s nagging as he dragged her to the bedroom.

*

The moment Lacias closed the bedroom door behind him the emotion in his features disappeared and the face that made Lila clench her heart returned. His gaze went to the knight following him, Hizette.

Lacias signaled to the knight to follow him until they were out of earshot from Lila’s bedroom.

Hizette opened the window to mask their voice even further and bowed to his master.

“Report on what you discussed,” said Lacias.

Hizette already knew his master was going to ask that. But his throat felt weird at such odd anxiety. His voice wouldn’t come out so he coughed a few times to get it out.

“She found the prisoner alone so she asked about what it was. I just gave her a rough explanation that it displayed the previous Duke Wipere’s ring but she didn’t seem to believe me. If it was true, then we would’ve displayed it out in the open, not in the basement armory. I believe Lila is too quick-witted but it happened so fast that this was the best excuse I could come up with. My apologies.”

Lying to his superior was certainly new grounds for Hizette but he tried to give his report in his calmest tone.

“Lila?” replied Lacias chillingly.

“…Pardon?”

“Did you just call the Duchess, Lila?”

“Sorry. Must be a habit.” Hizette bowed apologetically. He really needed to fix the way he addressed her.