Chapter 13 - If There’s No Place To Go Back
There was a love that she couldn’t have even if she gave her everything. To Leticia, the love she spoke of was family.
‘This is how it ended up…’
Not only was she kicked out of the Leroy mansion, she was disowned by her family as well. The fact that all of this had happened in one day still saddened her, she still couldn’t believe it.
Leticia, who was wandering around not knowing where to go, lost strength in her legs and collapsed. As soon as she sat down without making a sound, she burst into despair.
‘You’re such a fool.’
Her eyes were burning because she was so pathetic. Once more she was remembering the moment she was disowned.
She wanted to say something. No, she had to say something.
However, Leticia could not say anything as her father and younger siblings turned their backs on her, as if they didn’t want to see her anymore.
She could only stare at their backs as they walked away.
Only then did she realize she meant nothing to her family. No, in fact she was a pain that they couldn’t wait to get rid of.
At the same time, her heart crumbled once again at the realization that nothing she could say would make a difference.
The misery and sorrow felt at that moment was strangling her. Leticia, who eventually ran away from the mansion, found herself wandering the streets.
‘What should I do now…’
She bit her lip while looking down at the palm of her hand, she’d scraped it when she fell down.
She was so miserable that? she couldn’t even cry. She had nowhere to go, and no one to help her.
Leticia tried to soothe her complicated feelings and wipe away the blood on her palm with a handkerchief. As soon as she found the shape of a four-leaf clover at the bottom, she remembered a deep voice that penetrated her ears.
[This is my lucky charm.]
[It’s very precious to me, so please take good care of it for me.]
“Oh, this is…”
It was the handkerchief she had received last time she had bumped into Enoch.
‘I can’t believe this thing is lucky.’
Leticia laughed helplessly.
It was a handkerchief that she had made herself, but it was not a very pretty handkerchief with many stitches sticking out.
She was grateful to Enoch for saying that such a handkerchief was a lucky gift, but she did not believe him.
Still, she still wanted to hang onto it.
‘What if… If it really is a lucky item’
Can’t you give me that luck too.
‘No, I have to figure it out myself.’
She was kicked out so suddenly that she couldn’t make any plans, but she needed a place to stay tonight.
‘I have to think about what to do in the future too.’
Holding the handkerchief tightly in her hand, Leticia let out a long sigh and stood up again.
It was then that she felt an unfamiliar gaze on her.
The gaze she felt the moment she decided to wander around again made her stop in her tracks.
There must be someone staring at her.
‘Who is it?’
‘Why’
Leticia managed to steady herself and began walking slowly. She was becoming colder with every fearful step she took it.
Then she heard footsteps coming from behind her.
When she walked a little slower, the footsteps behind her slowed down. When she walked a little faster, they became faster as well.
Leticia’s heart sank. It was clear someone was walking at the same speed and beat as her. She didn’t have the confidence to look behind her, so she clenched her fists and walked forward without looking back.
‘First, let’s go where there are more people and bright lights.’
Leticia, who had been walking fast, started to run. If she stopped, she would be caught by her pursuer.
‘Please, please, please…!’
She couldn’t hide anymore and her legs were weakening, but she couldn’t stop.
‘Someone help me.’
Leticia was so scared she felt like she might collapse at any moment.
She pushed herself to keep running as hard as she could.
‘Anyone is fine. Please help me!’
I’m fine with anyone.
“Scream!”
Leticia rushed into an alley and ran into a man coming from the other side. She hit him so hard that she fell backwards.
Just as she was about to get up.
“I’m sorry. Are you injured…. Miss Leroy?”
Leticia quickly raised her head at the familiar voice. She blinked her blue eyes in disbelief.
“Lord Achilles…?”
It seemed like a lie. Letisha stood up as if she had been pinched, wondering if she might be dreaming.
“Is this real…?”
“Yes?”
“You’re the real Achilles?”
The way she looked at him with a half-dazed expression seemed somehow desperate. She looked like she was about to cry if he said no.
Enoch, who was staring at the wonderful sight, nodded lightly.
“Yes, it’s Enoch Achilles.”
“Are you really, really, really Lord Enoch Achilles?”
“Yes, I’m the real Enoch Achilles.”
Even though Leticia repeated the same question several times, Enoch answered calmly without showing any signs of displeasure. Leticia breathed a sigh of relief and murmured quietly.
“Haaa…. I’m glad, I’m glad.”
“Did something happen?”
Leticia’s pink hair was disheveled from her hasty rush. She was breathing irregularly, and her inability to focus on a single point, her eyes wandering from place to place, seemed somehow uneasy.
Leticia slowly answered Enoch’s worried question.
“Oh, that’s… someone was chasing me.”
“Please stay behind me for a moment.”
Enoch quickly stood in front of Leticia and scanned the surroundings.
Fortunately, he didn’t see anyone suspicious.
“Looks like they’re gone.”
“I guess so. That’s a relief. Ah!”
She finally felt relieved, but then her hand started to sting. Leticia quickly lowered her head to check her hand and let out a short sigh.
She could now feel the pain from falling down.
“Are you hurt?”
“It’s nothing. All I have to do is wipe away the blood.”
Leticia quickly shook her hand and tried to clean it with the handkerchief. Enoch was one step faster.
“It’s dark. I’ll take you to the Leroy mansion.”
Enoch said, as he slowly wrapped the handkerchief around her hand, careful that he didn’t hurt her more. Strangely she never answered.
When he looked up, he met a pair of blue eyes filled with tears. Her lips quivered with something to say, and soon he heard a small voice.
“I can’t go…No, I can’t go…”
“…?”
“Well… I… I… ugh…”
She couldn’t get the words out properly, as if a large stone was lodged in her throat. Trying to hold back her tears, Leticia spoke quietly.
“I was chased out.”
“What?”
“There is nowhere for me to return to, Lord Achilles.”
Leticia wasn’t sure she could face him, so she shook her head as soon as she finished her words.
‘You must think I’m pathetic.’
Perhaps he’ll click his tongue at me for being abandoned by my family. So Leticia avoided Enoch’s gaze on her and grasped her fingers.
She waited for him to snub her, but no words came out of Enoch’s mouth.
Leticia’s anxiety grew. She was trying to build up the courage to look up, when Enoch took the suitcase from her hands.
“Lord Achilles?”
Leticia raised her head in surprise and tried to take her suitcase back. Enoch smiled slightly and gently pushed Leticia’s hands away.
“I’m glad, though.”
“What?”
“That you aren’t seriously injured or in danger.”
Enoch breathed a sigh of relief as he spoke.
Leticia was safe now that she had found him, otherwise she would have been wandering alone late at night.
“How about staying at my mansion, if you don’t mind?”
“But…”
“I’d like you to get some rest, even if it’s just for one day.”
Leticia touched the handkerchief wrapped around her hand and considered his offer.
“Then please, Lord Achilles.”
***
When they arrived at the Achilles mansion, Elle and Ian were still awake and talking. As soon as they spotted Letisha, who had arrived in the middle of the night, they approached her with a surprised look on their faces.
“What are you doing here at this hour?”
“That is…”
“There’s a reason for that.”
Enoch answered for the troubled Leticia. They looked like they wanted to ask what was going on, but Elle and Ian simply nodded, without saying anything, and returned to their rooms.
Only then did Enoch show Leticia to the guest room.
The room felt neat and tidy.? Leticia felt? relieved that she could stay here tonight. She opened her mouth with a look of embarrassment.
“I’m sorry… In the middle of the night…”
On one hand, Leticia felt embarrassed that Enoch had to witness the state she was in after being kicked out. On the other hand, she felt grateful that Enoch was willing to take her in.
“You must be tired. You should get some rest tonight.”
“Thank you, Lord Achilles.”
“And.”
“….?”
Enoch carefully set Leticia’s suitcase down and walked closer to her.
“If you have nowhere else to go, you can stay here for a while.”
“What?”
“You can stay as long as you want.”
He didn’t want to put Leticia through something as dangerous as today.
Seeing her injured hand, Enoch didn’t want her to be alone.
“But still…”
Leticia seemed hesitant, worried she was being a nuisance.
Enoch smiled softly at Leticia.
“Let’s talk about this tomorrow after you’ve rested.”
Enoch told her to go to sleep quickly and left the room.
As soon as the door closed, she sighed and felt the tension drain from her body.
‘Thank you.’
I couldn’t keep up with it.
The key was to not think too deeply about the future right now, because there was nowhere to go.
Leticia put her suitcase next to the desk and laid down on the bed weakly. The fact that it had been less than a day since all of this had happened was both disconcerting and complicated.
‘What am I supposed to do now…’
I tried closing my eyes, but it was a sleepless night.
***
It was a particularly sunny day.
Levion, who was worried about the incident from earlier in the week, was planning to visit the Leroy mansion and take Leticia out shopping for a new ribbon. Just as he was about to leave, he ran into an unexpected person.
It was Marquis Leroy.
Marquis Leroy was happy to have run into Levion, and had him accompany him to Marquis El’s office. There he told a shocking story.
“What do you mean? What do you mean she was excommunicated?”
He’d heard him correctly the first time, but couldn’t believe what he was hearing. With a pale face he’d asked again.
“Did you expel Leticia?”
Marquis Leroy nodded decisively, like a confirmation shot.
“I had no choice.”
“However,… Where is Leticia now?”
“I don’t know.”
“Marquis!”
Levion raised his voice, then left with a fierce exhale.
He’d find her himself.
“I hope you understand. We are still like family.”
Marquis Leroy shrugged lightly as Marquis Elle tried to excuse his son’s misbehaviour.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. I understand everything. Come to think of it, have you talked to your son yet?”
“About the engagement to your second daughter? It’s the right time to do that.”
Marquis Elle replied, while taking a leisurely sip of tea.
Now that Levion is out of the room, the two men agreed to set the engagement date soon.
After some idle chit chat, Marquis Leroy put down his half-finished tea and stood up.
“I have to go. I have some work to do.”
“I’ve heard a lot about your business these days. It seems to be going well.”
“Well, I guess I’m lucky.”
Marquis of Leroy told his friend he would see him again soon, stepped out of the El home and climbed into his carriage.
‘Things are going well these days.’
As soon as he restarted a business that he had to suspend previously, aristocrats of all ages began to show interest. Marquis Leroy had a good feeling this business would succeed, the corners of his mouth began to curl up in a smile.
That was when…
The carriage jolted to one side and came to a stop.
“What’s going on?”
The Marquis asked angrily, the coachman managed to stammer out an answer.
“Well… that’s… the wheel suddenly broke…”
“What?”
Marquis Leroy quickly got down from the carriage and checked the wheel. As the coachman said, the wheel was broken and it was too badly damaged to keep using.
“How did this happen to a wheel that had been fine?”
The Marquis let out an irritated sigh and kicked the broken wheel.
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