Chapter 12

Chapter 12

“Good God. So... What happened to Karina?”

“We can’t track her anymore. The tracker said she has taken a carriage heading to the capital.”

Count Leopold rubbed his furrowed brows. Over the previous week, he had deeply thought about why Karina would be upset. He had concluded that she was angry, so he was planning to teach her a hard lesson but also throw her a birthday party when she returned.

“Not even children behave so immaturely. And she is not a commoner, either. How dare she step outside of the southern lands! Does she not even know what trouble she could run into?”

What an insolent child! His anger at her actions grew as he understood that she wanted him to suffer the consequences. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. “How could she treat her own parents like this?!”

“Please calm down. We must find her first. Whether you teach her a lesson or not, let’s think about it after we bring her home,” the countess countered.

“What do you mean bring her home? Whatever! If she doesn’t like her home that much, then she can stay away. She has left of her own accord, so she shall not be allowed to set foot inside this house until she bows down and apologizes properly,” the count said sternly.

Hearing these words, the countess cried in alarm. “Darling!” She was deeply upset.

“How will we fix her horrendous behavior if we don’t act now?” Count Leopold crossed his arms dismissively. “Cassis. Pay the trackers to continue tracking her further. We can pay double the amount they asked for if they give us a consistent update.”

“Understood, my lord,” the butler, Cassis, replied, bowing briefly before leaving the office in a hurry.

Count Leopold dropped to his leather chair and shook his head.

“Karina did act rashly this time, but she must have done so because she felt like she had been wronged,” offered the countess.

“She should’ve said so if that’s how she felt. Does it make sense to run away from home because of that? You should stop defending her. She is in the wrong. How could she run away…” Feeling lost for words, Count Leopold didn’t even finish his sentence. When he turned to his wife, he looked calmer. “You know how embarrassing this would be if the word got out?”

“She is a smart girl, so she’ll think of our family’s reputation and come back before the matter gets out of hand.”

The count’s reply was cold. “How long could she keep it up, anyway?” The countess could see the anxiety in his eyes despite the coldness of the words. “How is Lia doing? She loves her sister so dearly. She was always at Karina’s side. Doesn’t she feel lonely?”

“I think she spends time in Karina’s room from time to time. But I think she keeps to herself because she knows things are not going well,” the countess answered calmly. She was trying to assuage his worries.

“She’s more mature than her older sister.”

“Abelia may act like a child but she is thoughtful and considerate. And Karina must have acted out like this because she’d had a hard time too.”

Frowning, the count barked back. “What hard time?”

To this question, the countess didn’t have an answer. She herself didn’t really understand how Karina could have felt wronged. She had no idea why her daughter would have had a hard time.

Count Leopold sighed seeing his wife’s struggle to come up with an answer. “I understand you are trying to defend her as a mother, but it is a parent’s duty to say ‘no’ when things aren’t right.”

The countess’ answer was but a whisper. “I agree but… I wonder why she would act out like this when she has never done anything like it?” Karina had never caused any problems. The countess could not fathom the reason why her oldest daughter would cause such chaos.

“What does Karina lack? Was her allowance too low? Have we not bought her the things she wanted?” the count asked. His voice was hard. “She is throwing a tantrum because she has never had to suffer one day in her life.”

Once again, the countess had nothing to say. She agreed with her husband. Karina lacked nothing. They had given her everything she had ever asked for.

“Anyhow, let’s stop talking about this. Let’s wait for her to get tired and come back home on her own accord.”

While his words were meant to console the countess, Count Leopold sounded unsure. With a sigh, he tried to figure out when Karina would come back.

“I’d say it’d be a month at the longest.” The count thought that the money Karina had taken would not afford her anything that she was accustomed to at home. “I really can’t fathom why she would run away.” He was fiddling with the tracker’s letter. Eventually, he grabbed his pen, and the office filled with the sound of fluttering papers.

* * *

When Karina—who had been struggling and in pain—opened her eyes, her body was covered in sweat. She felt disgusting and cold. To warm her shivering body, she wrapped a thick comforter around herself.

I’m in… An elegant, old-fashioned chandelier caught her eye. She took a breath and then slowly buried her face in the comforter. Even wrapped tight, the cold seemed to seep into her bones. Ah…

Karina started to remember what had transpired before she had fallen asleep. Fang had escorted her to the annex just as her fever got worse. She had collapsed as soon as he had left. She looked outside the window to gauge the time. It looked like it was close to dawn.

The lights are still on over there. It looked like the mansion’s office, so it was obviously the hard-working man, Milian, who was still awake. What a nightmare.

She was thirsty too, but pushed it away—she didn’t want to move even an inch because of how cold she was. Hesitatingly, she closed her eyes again and let the darkness overtake her.

After a couple of hours, Karina opened her eyes again. She kept waking up because she wasn’t used to the bed and she was sick; but above all, her nightmares kept waking her up. Still, having slept a little, she was able to move around.

Let’s get a towel and some hot water while I can still move. She had medicine she could take but the doctor had told her to take it every two days. She had to wait until tomorrow. Karina let out a short sigh and slowly crawled out of the comforter.

“It’s so cold…” Her voice was hoarse from the freezing temperature and her teeth clattered. She hurriedly went through her luggage in the corner of the room, pulled out an extra robe, and wrapped it around her body.

If a maid were here, she would call a doctor..… She didn’t want anyone to know about her situation. Karina let out a short breath. Blinking slowly, she grabbed the railing and slowly descended to the first floor.

Although she wanted to be left alone, it was impossible for her to take care of such a big house by herself. A maid or a servant was scheduled to come to tend to the rooms every day. She couldn’t do much about that so she accepted it without further struggle.

Was the kitchen that way? Holding up an oil lamp, she walked forward cautiously, trying to counteract her blurry vision with intense focus.

Suddenly, she heard a rustle that sent shivers down her spine. The building had far fewer lamps than the count’s mansion, making everything look scarier. A drop of sweat trickled down her back. She swallowed her fear and looked around. Standing in the dark in the middle of the unfamiliar halls was terrifying. She thought she heard a footstep and jerked in surprise. This time, she definitely heard the sound of heavy footsteps.

“My lady?”

Karina let out a scream and the oil lamp almost fell from her shaking hand. The man who had addressed her took a step back. A moment later, Karina realized that the voice that had terrified her sounded rather familiar, and opened her eyes slowly.

“M-my lord?”