My Vengeful Former Lover - Chapter 109

“It must’ve been hard on her.”

“True. She had always been weak from the start.” Raymond suddenly threw his cigarette and said, “I should probably go in now.”

Nodding his head and watching him leave, Lucius decided to go horse riding to kill time and strode towards the stables.

He didn’t want to go back to the mansion. He didn’t want to be in the same room with Deatrice, nor did he want to dazedly stare at the stairs whenever he was informed on whatever it was she was doing in the confines of her chamber.

However, try as he might, Lucius couldn’t escape her shadow even in this remote stable. His mood worsened when he saw Atkins and remembered that the knight had been too close to her for his liking and whispered to her ear.

There was no way that the escort would be here without the escortee.

Thinking that she might be around too, he asked if she’d be here with his muscles tensed. “Will Deatrice go out riding?”

However, Atkins looked at Lucius with a slightly bewildered expression and only responded with a greeting slower than usual.

“Ah… no, Commander. But I do recall the lady saying that she wanted to try horseback riding during her leisure time, so I thought about finding a gentle horse for her just in case.”

“Oh…” Lucius stood still.

If Deatrice didn’t tell him to choose a horse for her, then it only meant he wasn’t given money to purchase them. Then there was no reason for Atkins to be wandering here right now.

So why is he here then?

Glancing at the horse that Atkins was looking at just now, Lucius thought.

Was he going to use his meager salary as a knight to buy this expensive breed for Deatrice?

When Lucius fell into silence with his head half bowed, Atkins waited for him to speak after a while, unsure of what to do. Eventually, he bowed his head and took his leave.

Lucius tightened his fists inside his leather gloves and made his way to his stable. When he thought about it some more as he mounted a stallion, he felt more pity for the man than jealousy.

Deatrice already had such a fine mare that it could not be compared with any of the middling horses that Atkins visited here. Despite his unsavory character, the duke definitely wouldn’t want to see his only daughter with inferior goods, lest it would harm his reputation.

He didn’t even recognize the value of the horse the lady had with her, and yet he still thinks he could find a suitable horse for her.

But if it had been Prince Edi—

Lucius’ eyes narrowed in disgust, but he continued his train of thought anyway.

If it had been Prince Edin, he certainly would have been able to procure a better horse than the one Deatrice has because he had connections and wealth.

But Atkins is nothing but a mere junior knight who can’t even recognize the value of what’s in front of him…

Riding his horse for a long time until he was out of breath, Lucius suddenly stopped in a meadow covered with violets.

Small, purple flowers with dark leaves and the occasional long grass jutting out. It was very beautiful, and the mist in the surroundings made it look even more ethereal. But he stopped not because he marveled at nature, but because some terrible realization somewhat stupefied him.

A materialistic mindset was one of the things he hated about the duke. Yet here he was, acting in the same manner as the person he dislikes.

A sense of shame and guilt enveloped his being.

Maybe—maybe—Deatrice would really choose Atkins, just as she had chosen him in the past.

As Lucius thought about that possibility, a cool sensation came rushing out of his body as if his lifeblood was being drained.

His attitude toward her thus far was strikingly similar to the duke’s. It wasn’t that he felt guilty about it, but the story becomes different if she chooses Atkins to spite Lucius, because doing so would also mean to spite her father.

Lucius hurriedly turned around and rushed back to the manor, as if hoping to undo something.

As he rode his horse at breakneck speed, Lucius’s mind kept repeating the image of Atkins talking to Deatrice in her room over and over again.

The sunlight against Deatrice’s gray eyes as she sat by the window while holding her chin, and Atkins standing beside her as he looked at her with an affectionate smile…

Of course, such was only a figment of his imagination. But even if that was the case, Lucius still couldn’t stand the fact that Atkins had taken his place beside her.

When the master returned less than thirty minutes after he left, the servants looked at him in surprise. But Lucius ignored their gaze and walked to Deatrice’s room with big strides. He knocked on the door and, without waiting for an answer, opened the door and entered.

His blonde hair reflected his current mood, messy and disheveled. Lucius ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to look more presentable and put on a confident smile on his face.

Fortunately, he saw that she was alone, holding a newspaper in front of a steaming teacup.

Deatrice was about to take a sip of her tea when she was stopped halfway by the man’s sudden intrusion. She looked at Lucius with sheer surprise in her eyes.