Please Support My Revenge - Chapter 52

Up until now, Lobelia’s demeanor towards Jade had always been stiff and formal. Even the brief conversation they had at the opera house was only ‘relatively’ comfortable; it didn’t evolve into a genuinely pleasant atmosphere. Suddenly, Jade felt uneasy. It dawned on him that he knew almost nothing about Lobelia.

Everything he knew was solely what she had disclosed. The fact that Marlon had labeled her as a bastard, and that Evelentia’s wealth originally belonged to her. However, these facts were woefully inadequate to describe Lobelia as a person.

Jade had never seen her genuinely smile until today. His throat felt dry. Jade continuously emptied two glasses of beer, which he didn’t enjoy in the first place.

As Jade started drinking, Silveston also gulped down his beer. Soon, Silveston’s face turned flush. The wife of the innkeeper, who had come into the dining room to replenish snacks, was surprised and approached her husband.

“Oh my, this person looks intoxicated.”

Observing Silveston, who burst into laughter with a sob, the innkeeper’s wife commented, “I’m sorry. He’s not usually like this, but I don’t know why he’s acting like this today, maybe…”

The innkeeper’s wife was puzzled and didn’t know how to handle the situation.Lobelia replied politely, “It’s okay. Since it’s a joyful day, Silveston should be able to relax today.”

But the innkeeper’s wife still couldn’t hide her apologetic expression. “I can’t keep holding onto a drunken guest… What should I do if he wakes up? Would you mind leaving once he’s sober?”

Lobelia looked out the window in response to the innkeeper’s wife’s words. The darkened sky indicated that it was late. It seemed reasonable to leave at this point. However…

“If we part ways today, it might be a while before we see each other again. I’d like to say our goodbyes.”

Lobelia expressed to the innkeeper’s wife, looking at Silveston with hopeful eyes.

It would take a long time before she could return to Merdanion. If she failed to reclaim Evelentia, she might never come back here again. Therefore, before that happened, she wanted to bid Silveston a proper farewell.

“Oh my.”

The innkeeper’s wife widened her eyes in surprise, then soon smiled warmly.

“Thank you, miss.”

The innkeeper’s wife didn’t know that Lobelia was James’s daughter. Still, somehow, she seemed to have a vague idea about Lobelia’s identity. That’s probably why, despite knowing it was against etiquette, she asked them to wait until her husband sobered up.

The innkeeper’s wife seated Silveston in a comfortable chair in a corner of the dining room and guided the two of them outside. However, unfortunately, there was no suitable place outside the restaurant for Lobelia and Jade to spend time.

The parlor was already occupied by Joel and Joachim, and the other rooms were taken by Joel’s four sisters who were already asleep. Jade attempted to squeeze into the parlor somehow, but it was too small to accommodate three people comfortably.

Although the innkeeper’s wife apologized and offered her own bedroom, Lobelia declined. It didn’t feel right to seize the host’s bedroom as guests.

“I’ll take a stroll. We’ve had our share of beer, and it would be nice to feel the cool breeze.”

In the end, Lobelia suggested an alternative.

“Are you sure?”

The innkeeper’s wife visibly sighed in relief.

“If you follow the road outside, there’s a trail that circles around this area. It would be about an hour’s walk, and the scenery is worth it.”

The innkeeper’s wife provided detailed directions for the walking path.

“Just a moment before you go…”

Lobelia stopped Jade, who was about to leave, and borrowed a mirror from the innkeeper’s wife.

“I need to take off my lenses. I’ve been wearing them for too long, and my eyes feel stiff.”

Lobelia, now back to her original green eyes, blinked.

“It’s night, so even if we come across someone, they won’t recognize our eye colors.”

With that, Lobelia and Jade left Silveston’s house and began walking along the trail next to it. As the innkeeper’s wife had mentioned, the surrounding landscape was quite scenic.

Unlike the messy and bustling Merdanion city, this place was tranquil. Moreover, in the distance, the flickering lights from the mines resembled a cluster of fireflies, adding a romantic touch.

The problem, however, was the awkward atmosphere. Jade and Lobelia, who were laughing and chatting at the table just a while ago, now walked in complete silence, almost as if the earlier joviality had been a dream.

After ten minutes of silence, Jade, who had been walking without saying a word, stole a glance at Lobelia’s profile. Thanks to the moonlight, the lines of her features shone in a bright ivory color.

Suddenly, Jade was plagued by the urge to start a conversation with Lobelia. There wasn’t anything specific he wanted to say; he just wanted to hear her voice in response to a simple greeting.

“Is this impulse also because I find her likable?” Jade wondered. Since reuniting with Lobelia in Merdanion, his emotions were as erratic as a malfunctioning clock pointing in random directions.

But the impulse that the malfunctioning hour hand indicated was too powerful to ignore.

In the end, Jade committed the worst mistake that a man enchanted by a woman often makes.

“No. It’s not a big deal to exchange a few words,” he reassured himself, rationalizing his own impulse.

Jade glanced once again at Lobelia’s side profile. Seeing her soft cheek and delicate jawline intensified his desire to strike up a conversation.

“I heard there were many events in Merdanion earlier…”

“Ah…”

Jade, who mustered the courage to speak even as he tried to rationalize himself, was left colorless when Lobelia let out a short sigh without responding.

Feeling uneasy, Jade cleared his throat and turned his head.

“Oh, sorry. It’s not that I was trying to ignore you… I just have something to think about.”

Only belatedly did Lobelia, noticing Jade’s unease, speak up.

“Something to think about?”

“Yes.”

Lobelia nodded her head. As much as Jade was contemplating, Lobelia, in her own way, was also reflecting on her feelings towards him. When the events concerning Mine No. 9 were unfolding, she was tense and preoccupied, overlooking many things in the process, including Jade Ferrado.

‘If this is just a flutter because I’m seeing a normal man for the first time, I should stop and handle this normally.’

Lobelia assumed she was a normal woman and made an effort to think rationally.

If she were a woman who hadn’t suffered abuse, who had met many good men, and who had grown up healthily, how would she handle the situation?

‘Let’s wrap this up neatly.’

If it were the usual Lobelia, she might have avoided the issue with Jade altogether, telling him it didn’t matter, reminding him of their contractual relationship, and warning him not to cross the drawn line.

But now, Lobelia was different.

She had reclaimed her father’s fortune and witnessed dozens of laborers willing to work for her. The achievements she made while staying in Merdaneon had transformed her into a different person.

She had grown a bit more and become a bit more forgiving towards herself.

Most importantly, the beers they shared at Silveston’s table were loosening her heart.

After all, many unexpected things often happened under the influence of alcohol.

“Back then, I’m sorry for saying that.”

“Back then?”

Jade arched an eyebrow at Lobelia’s words.

Lobelia stopped in her tracks. The two stood in the moonlit trail, facing each other.

Jade felt a surreal sensation as he watched Lobelia’s small, red lips slowly part.

“When the Duke expressed concern for me.”

“Wait, are we discussing our arguments while thugs were attacking?” Jade asked, surprised.

Lobelia nodded with a serious expression.

“He went out of his way to worry about me, and I just brushed it off as if it were nothing. I’m sorry.”

“That’s…”

Jade, who didn’t expect an apology for what happened back then, was taken aback. While he struggled to find the right words Lobelia continued speaking beneath the moonlight.

“I could have been in serious trouble. Yet, I acted indifferent… it was because I didn’t want to reveal my vulnerability.”

Yes, she didn’t want to reveal her vulnerability. Lobelia once believed that relying on others’ kindness was a sign of weakness and that accepting others’ goodwill created vulnerabilities. However, after going through trials with Silveston, Joel, Maxwell, and the other miners, her perspective changed.

And after spending a night in the office with the miners following the trial, her thoughts shifted.

“Is it okay to have some expectations? Just a bit, if it doesn’t interfere with revenge.”

In the short time she managed the mine, Lobelia learned that running a business was not a solitary endeavor. Especially for someone like her with no background or power, it required an open-minded approach to accepting people.

She used to think of trust as a debt, but in retrospect, it was an asset.

“I was rude to the Duke.”

Lobelia lowered her head and offered a polite apology.

“No need to apologize. I was irritable, too.”

At Jade’s words, Lobelia looked up. Seeing her face blur, as if she sensed Jade drawing a line, he hurriedly added, “No, don’t make that expression.”

Jade, seeing Lobelia looking confused, reached to touch his own cheek.

“What kind of expression did I make?”

“So, um…”

Jade tried, but he couldn’t explain it well. In the end, he gave up and shrugged his shoulders.

“Never mind. What does a small thing like that matter? I appreciate your apology. So, will you accept mine as well?”

Lobelia nodded.

“Does this mean we’ve become a bit friendlier?”

Jade tossed out a light-hearted joke.

Lobelia, unable to believe he was joking, widened her eyes for a moment and hastily covered her mouth.

“Lobelia?”

Jade called, but Lobelia couldn’t respond. Her shoulders shook slightly.

“Lobelia? What’s wrong? Is something bothering you?”

In an instant, Lobelia couldn’t contain her laughter.

“Throughout my life, I never thought I’d ‘become friends’ with someone, and it’s amusing that the Duke is the first candidate.”

Lobelia lowered the hand that covered her mouth. When Jade saw her bright smile and her emerald green eyes sparkling like jewels under the moonlight, his heart sank into a distant place.

‘Couldn’t recognize eye color because it’s night?’

No, that wasn’t it. Lobelia’s turquoise eyes, resembling the ocean, were clearly visible even in the midnight darkness. Like stars…

‘Stars? Did I just say stars?’

Jade couldn’t believe how serious his condition was becoming.

‘I’m not even drunk…’

He had a couple of beers, but he was perfectly sober. Yet, he couldn’t understand why everything felt so dizzy and unsettling.

“Lobelia, I…”

“Let’s head back now. Silveston should be awake from his drink by now.”

Jade couldn’t comprehend how innocent Lobelia, who had no idea about what he had just experienced, spoke so casually.