337: Torn by doubts (part 2)

Torn by doubts (part 2)

Once again, the mate bond provided her with a precise sense of her husband's location as she moved confidently toward the boundary separating the Archduke's estate from the one owned by House von Conradie. Egon trailed closely behind her, his presence emitting an aura that kept her father's knights at a distance.2

"Stop right there," he ordered just as her foot hovered on the threshold between his estate and her father's.

She obeyed, torn by doubts about her decision. Neither of them was in the right frame of mind for a productive conversation. As she glanced back at him maintaining a considerable distance, she questioned whether she had made the right choice by halting her steps once more.

"Why did my brother claim you don't feel safe around him?" he inquired with a fake neutral tone. "What transpired between the two of you during my absence?"

Frustration welled up inside her, causing her to bite her lip before releasing it in exasperation.

"I've already shared the relevant information. He offered me his oath of fealty, and I declined."

"Why did you refuse his oath? Was it because of his scar that you considered him unworthy?"

She locked her gaze with his, perplexed by his apparent forgetfulness regarding the circumstances of Bastian's knighthood. Her chin lifted with determination. "A knight's oath entails a lifelong commitment. It should not be taken lightly."

Egon's gloved hands clenched and unclenched in the empty space, his red eyes darting around, searching for something elusive and coming up empty.

"Are you denying that you told him you didn't feel safe around him!" He exclaimed.

While she hadn't directly expressed those exact words to Bastian, she had spoken them to Andreas on her departure, and Bastian might have overheard.

"I don't deny it."

"So, he extends his oath to you, and in response, you not only decline but also accuse him of posing a threat to you?"

He seemed to be distorting her words, fixating on a couple of lines from a letter and unfairly placing the blame on her. And for that, the urge to defend herself against those unjust accusations was strangely absent.

As if on the brink of exploding, he raked his hands through his tousled hair.

"Say something! Do you truly believe I would place you in an unsafe situation? Do you view me as that untrustworthy?" 

Adela remained silent, attempting to emotionally distance herself from the verbal battle she knew she wouldn't win.

"You never had faith in me, just as Larissa never trusted Andreas," he continued, invoking her sister in a manner that felt like a low blow.

"Don't bring Larissa into this, Egon. Who knows what transformed those creatures and what Andreas might still be hiding!"

"Hiding! Do you and your sister take pleasure in tormenting us?"

How unfair... 

"...Is that truly your perception of me? As someone who revels in causing you pain?"

"Is it so difficult to accept? Did you consider that it was equally challenging for me to accept when you held such a low opinion of me?"

"When?" she demanded in a low, probing tone.

His face dripped with disdain.

"Did you conveniently forget that moment when you assumed the simple telepathic connection I maintain with my family was some form of mind control? That you viewed me as a spineless, voiceless monster, trying to manipulate you instead of merely persuading you." 

Adela had secretly come to appreciate the moments of intimacy when she heard Egon's voice in her head during their telepathic exchanges. However, her initial reservations about it remained unchanged, especially after one of Aldric's rare sincere revelations to her.

"...What about the Archduke, Egon? Have you ever used mind control on him?"

In an instant, Egon's demeanor underwent a transformation. His face took on a completely serene expression, his muscles relaxed, and their mate bond had never pushed her further away from him than it did at that moment.

"How did you come by this information?" he asked.

So, it's true...

Egon raised a hand and closed his eyes. "No, don't answer that question." When he opened his eyes again, she was surprised to see them back to their usual brown color. "Answer this... Back in Varinthia, between you and him..." His stoic face briefly took on a greenish hue before he swallowed both his emotions and his question.

Larissa had been right. Unlike Bastian, Egon did not doubt Adela's honor, for he had other dark doubts in his mind.

"...Nothing happened. But even if it had, it counts for nothing in the absence of consent. To think that you would put distance between us when your suspicion was this, instead of being there for me..."

What a disappointment.

"You jumped off a cliff, why? Did he do something to you while you were asleep?"

Her shock deepened, and she shook her head in both disbelief at how far his doubts had taken him and to provide a negative answer to his question.

"I should have crushed his skull right there. If only killing him once would satisfy me," he muttered with chilling detachment.

Adela rested her hand on her aching heart, "You're not a murderer. He will be brought to justice, and he will pay for what he did to me... All of them will."

Egon shook his head, his eyes distant. "When you were taken to Varinthia, I followed Bastian, thinking he would lead me to you. But he just ended up wasting my time in Kolhis. I even wondered if he was intentionally trying to distract me, but I couldn't understand. Why would he do that, Adelaide?"

His question lingered in the air, but Adela had already made up her mind. If anyone was to repeat the vile accusations Bastian had made against her, it should be Bastian himself.

"I see." Egon muttered disapprovingly when she remained silent. "You accuse me of prioritizing my family over you, yet your pride will always come before us."

She prepared herself for the sting of his words, but all she felt was numbness.

"...Even if you were the soul inside of me, it's time for you to get out." He said heartlessly.

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A/N: Dear readers, one major event will take place before a timeshift occurs in our story. Please know that everything these two experienced, no matter how painful, happened for a better future. Thank you for trusting my narration <3

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