Love Doesn’t Matter - Chapter 67 – Bodhi Tree

Chapter 67 – Bodhi Tree

The night was ripe. Under the calm moonlight, Grozhang and other servants were very busy. The mercenaries were more vigilant than ever, and Pip was busy moving food from the farm to the kitchen. Not long after Pip entered the villa, Beppy rushed out. As he hurried to the carriage, all he could think of was that he had to hurry to the Zelkova Forest quickly.

“Emilia met Laura. Emilia met Laura… ”

Beppy muttered frantically and pulled the reins. Eeeiiing~! The horse let out a long cry and slammed the ground with all its might and ran into the darkness.

A long sigh escaped from Grozhang’s mouth as he watched the wagon moving away.

‘Now what should I do with all this?’ Unable to deal with his troubled heart, he fumbled for a cigarette again. After a tak- and the sound of matches lit up, a bright red flame flashed. After a while, a thick cloud of smoke rose from the cigarette in his mouth. The gray, hazy trail was carried by the night breeze and reached the dimly lit terrace on the second floor in the distance. Grozhang’s gaze had been fixed there for a while. What happened there, only God and two people knew. But one thing was clear. Hadius Meyer just did what countless noblemen did before. And yet, if the woman in there were his daughter, he would have just shot and killed him regardless of whether Hadius was his master or whatever.

Glaring, Grozhang let out a long sigh and sucked the cigarette once more. As always, the anger and irritation toward the young Meyer were quickly quenched by strange compassion boiling from the bottom.

‘Isn’t it said that your arms will always bend inward?’ Knowing better than anyone what craziness Hadius Meyer had been scheming for his fiancée, Grozhang had no choice but to side with his master.

[tl/n: idiom meaning you will always side in favor of someone. Probably the one you know better]

“He’s completely a ‘child.’ Just a five-year-old kid.”

[tl/n: this is the author trying to justify Hadius’ actions in the last chapter. He’s just a ‘child’ not wanting to lose his toy- I mean girl so let’s hurt her and destroy her life :)]

Grozhang tapped his chest as if frustrated.

“I only know that everything in the world will work out the way you planned it. Ha! Absurd. There’s fate, and some lines shouldn’t be crossed…”

Hadius Meyer should have married Bianca Reinen, according to fate. He finished the military academy safely, jumped into the battlefield, acquired mines, and even got Meyer Steel from his mother. The opposing forces were voicing their wrath now, but in the end, he will win. By keeping his mother and allies in check, he will be able to slowly become independent and achieve what he wants.

If he could just close his eyes and marry the woman his mother decided…

“She’s a commoner woman, isn’t it enough if he gently coaxes and appeases everyone by making her his mistress?” Grozhang muttered in frustration, completely forgetting his previous thought of killing him if it had been his daughter.

Archduke Reinen would absolutely oppose it, but Lady Bianca might be able to accept it to some extent. Haven’t they known each other since childhood, and both are at the top of the noble world. From an early age, Lady Bianca seemed to have accepted the fact that love and marriage were separate matters. It was the same with the Young Master, but the answer became clouded after some point.

“If you put a button in the wrong place, you should think about taking it away right away… I mean, why are you willingly going to the doors of hell…”

Tsk. Grozhang clicked his tongue and sucked the burning cigarette for one last time.

* * * 

The moonlight pouring down on the villa slipped along the ridge, and in an instant, the rich dawn completely devoured it. A faint ray of light crossed the vineyards and gardens and reached the villa’s bedroom. Emilia’s eyes, which had been closed as if dead, opened.

An unfamiliar room, an unfamiliar bed, an unfamiliar self. Memories of the night before came flooding in one by one along with aching pain. Emilia was curled up like a fetus and froze once more in that position. Unlike her hardened body, her heart melted like a furnace. A hot lump clogged her throat, and it looked as if tears were about to pour out of her. Her nails dug into her flesh. Her lips curled up covering her teeth. Emilia swallowed over and over again, trying to control her broken heart. As the beating heart calmed down, other sensations slowly returned. Unfamiliar areas started to sting.

‘Have I ever welcomed pain?’ Emilia enjoyed the aching pain that drove all the vague and unnecessary emotions out of her head.

‘Nothing. Forget it. Erase it all.’ She didn’t want to cry over the milk that had already been spilled, like a child. Rather than sighing and weeping, she was willing to burn with pure anger.

Did the sound of her burning soul leak out?

“Did you sleep well?”

The man standing by the window asked without turning his head. Hadius Meyer was perfect again. His hair was neatly combed, his shirt was clean and wrinkle-free. He was still cold; he was still calm.

“Are you in pain?”

Hadius slowly turned his head, asking that question, and Emilia did not avoid him. The moment their eyes finally met, her eyes quivered like a sandcastle in front of waves.

Why did she think of him as the same man as before? The look in his eyes was completely different. His gray eyes, drowsy and dark, were burning like those of an animal with its prey in front of it.

As the sensation of being licked thoroughly by his tongue came to mind, she choked again. Emilia clenched her fists tightly so that her nails could dig into her nails, accusing herself of getting weak.

She was no longer a girl. The simple hot-tempered child who laughed and forgot easily was no more. That man killed it all.

Emilia slowly got up. As she lowered her feet under the bed, the cold air of the marble floor came up to her body. Standing upright, she suddenly let go of strength in her hands. A soft cloth slid down, revealing her naked body. Unlike the woman’s cold gaze, the man’s pupils responded immediately and became darker. Emilia coldly passed by such a man.

She wanted to show him. She wasn’t shaken, she wasn’t broken, she wouldn’t collapse. She didn’t care about it a little bit.

Hadius had to cross his arms while clenching his fists as the pale naked body roamed around the dimly lit room.

“…What are you looking for like that?”

“My clothes.”

As soon as she answered, a pile of neatly folded clothes caught her eyes on top of the console. Emilia started dressing right on the spot. She pulled up the drawers, tied the waist strap, and put a chemise over her.

She knew the man’s gaze never fell off her, but Emilia felt herself becoming more terrifyingly calm than before. Finally, when she buttoned all the buttons, she felt the same as when she looked at the ledger books with Mr. Haspel.

“Since it’s all over, can I go home now?”

Her dead, emotionless voice broke the silence and echoed hollowly. Hadius glared at her coldly. Obviously, he had no intention of doing so, but a completely different word came out of his mouth.

“Come right away when I call you. Day or night, rain or snow.”

Her blue eyes fluttered for an instant and burned with fury.

“Don’t test my patience. I gave you an excuse to work on the farm. Do whatever you are told.”

“…Sure thing.”

The sarcastic Emilia passed him coldly. Her shaky legs ran from the bedroom and down the stairs.

The farther she got away from him, the more her body trembled.

To forget the memories of the previous night that kept coming and torturing her, Emilia tried her best to completely empty her head.