93: Fake life for the oblivious 

Fake life for the oblivious 

Adela felt a rush of conflicting emotions as she inhaled Egon's intoxicating scent, her senses overwhelmed by the sensations that enveloped her. His forearm supporting her weight sent a burning sensation through her thighs, while his intense gaze seemed to consume her very being.

The thud of Leopold hitting the ground jolted Adela back to their dire circumstances.

"Your uncle... He would have been subjected to another dose of poison if the trap had closed on his other ankle," she found herself explaining breathlessly to him.

"You're a fool,"

Egon replied, his eyes filled with shades of gratitude as they pierced into her depths. He reluctantly tore his gaze away from her and turned his attention to his unconscious uncle, checking on his condition. "He seems to have passed out,".

Adela's voice trembled as she whispered, "You were supposed to be on your way to Kolhis." 

When her words fell on deaf ears, she felt a twinge of shame for her own joy at his presence.

"Put me down," she demanded, her eyes avoiding his, concealing her true desire to remain in his embrace.

"...Changing our joint weight would trigger the trap. You already have your hands full with one patient,"

Imagining the consequences, Adela tightened her grip on him.

"Yes, stay like this," Egon murmured with satisfaction. His hold on her thighs tightened and his gaze softened as it traced the contours of her face as if trying to carve her features into his memory. 

Adela's heart swelled with conflicting emotions, torn between joy and sorrow.

The Lady — cradled by one of the beast's arms as he stood on a potentially poisoned trap — didn't experience a shred of fear even for the briefest of instants. Her thoughts were divided into three fragments. The foremost part was consumed by concern for Leopold who lay gasping on the ground. Another portion focused on her knight and his young apprentice who had gone to seek aid. And the final fragment was laced with self-reproach, grappling with the unexpected sense of belonging she found in Egon's embrace.

Leopold's voice cut through the fabric of her thoughts, plunging once again into the depths of hallucination.

"Grace…You're my wife…"

Adela stiffened.

"…Did you hear him say anything else?" Egon asked dryly all of a sudden.

"He's hallucinating... Arkin and Bastian went to get help," 

"Arkin... Son... I must... I must follow him," Leopold weakly extended his trembling arm as if reaching for something only he could see before dropping it by his side and losing consciousness completely.

Adela pulled away from Egon, her gaze searching his cold brown eyes, desperation evident in her expression.

"Tell me it isn't true," she pleaded.

Egon stared deeply into her eyes for a prolonged moment, but it was as if he had transformed into someone else.

"Which revelation would you like me to deny? His involvement with the Archduchess, or the fact that he was deprived of his son for years?"

"No," Adela shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "No," she repeated, her voice barely a whisper.

Egon remained silent, his eyes filled with pity as he fixated on his uncle's motionless form. "He relives the past in his sleep... It seems he does the same when he hallucinates,"

Adela found herself with little room to refute the entirety of it, considering her mother's peculiar reaction to Leopold and her own unique lineage. Grace's noble facade had deceived many, but Adela now saw through the charade.

"You're beginning to see the truth," he spoke with a satisfied tone.

"...The Baron and the Baroness... Arkin is their biological son..." she uttered in disbelief.

"It happened before your time, but the memory is etched in my mind as if it were yesterday... Two infants were born on that day, one was mourned and the other was not celebrated,"

"Arkin," she whispered, already familiar with this tale.

"The babies were swapped at birth, a scheme orchestrated by the Archduke and his Commander," 

Adela desperately wanted to reject the notion, to proclaim her father's integrity and honesty. Yet, the weight of knowledge forced her to confront the truth: Her father was capable of deception if the cause was just.

"...Why?" she asked, her voice barely audible.

Egon's expression hardened. "Does it truly matter... Can you imagine yourself in the same position, making your father's choice?"

Adela's stomach churned, the mere thought of being thrust into such a moral dilemma was unfathomable.

"Is that why you distanced yourself from me?" she inquired.

His silence spoke volumes, confirming her suspicions.

"How could you..." 

"Would you have believed me if I had revealed the truth earlier when it was my word against your family's? Hell... I wager you still harbor doubts. But Arkin is my cousin... And your brother," 

"Liar,"

Adela's gaze darted to the right, and she was met with the sight of her knight's face contorted in horror. Her body tensed within Egon's embrace. "Arkin!"

The knight shook his head in disbelief, slowly retreating as if confronted with his worst nightmares brought to life. "Liar..." he muttered, his complexion draining of color. "Liar!" He screamed before turning and vanishing into the surrounding bushes.

"I have to go after him!" Adela pleaded illogically, her desperation evident.

The sternness in Egon's expression brought her back to her senses.

"...You... You and your sensitive ears, you knew he was listening... You knew!" Her glare bore down on him, and he didn't even attempt to deny it. "Put me down!" She struck his shoulder in frustration.

"The trap," he replied with a dry tone.

"You're faster than the trap," Bastian's voice emerged from where Arkin had vanished to. "Why are you manipulating her like this? It's not like you," he questioned Egon as he appeared.

Egon's eyes gleamed dangerously as he shot his brother a silencing glance, but in the blink of an eye, they were two steps away from a trap that clamped down on thin air with a loud screech.

"Put me down!"

He released her when she pushed away from him this time. As soon as her foot touched the ground, she sprinted after Arkin.

"Arkin!"

She ran and ran, continuing for what felt like an eternity. The tormented expression on Arkin's face remained her sole focus.

"Arkin!"

"I'm here," he responded.

She turned around to find him sitting on the ground. "You are a skilled tracker, My Lady," he commanded.

She wasn't. Her sense of direction was barely passable at best. But somehow, his suffering called out to her and guided her steps. 

He looks so broken...

For the first time since they both became adults, she felt that she could hug him without the constraints of social etiquette. After all, Arkin was her brother.

His eyes widened recognizing the intentions reflected in her expression.

"You... You are the last person I can tolerate right now. If you have any respect for me as a human being, you will leave me alone." he pleaded.

"Lady Adelaide!" called one of the arriving knights, coming to offer assistance.0

With a pained expression searing through his resolve, Arkin rose up and turned away.

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