Predatory Marriage — Chapter 242. Precipitated Meeting (4)
Translator: Atlas / Editor: Regan
She didn’t know why this had occurred to her and instantly regretted it, but Leah had no choice but to press on.
“…I ate almost all the dates you gave me.”
“I’ll send you more.” Ishakan turned away. “I’ll send them with Haban.”
Looking at his back, her heart raced. This wasn’t enough, she wanted to see him more. She didn’t want to say goodbye like this. But it was embarrassing to ask him to stay when she had been the one to leave him behind in the peach orchard. She should satisfy herself with this limited conversation, she knew it, but she couldn’t restrain herself.
“Besides…” The word burst out impulsively, and her voice sounded very faint and small even in the silent alley. Ishakan stopped, and Leah pursed her lips. She had expected him to keep going.
“Besides?” He asked shortly.
If she hesitated, he would disappear. She had one chance, and this time she wanted to say something that came from her heart, but her mind was blank. She didn’t know what to say.
“I miss you…” She mumbled. Simple, nervous words. It was coherent, but so embarrassing, it would be a miracle if no one laughed.
But Ishakan didn’t laugh. His eyes softened, and Leah steeled herself.
“I’m trying to find my memories,” she said, rushing to explain herself even though he hadn’t asked. “I came here because I saw…something.”
She glanced at Haban, who was waving his arm in the air behind Ishakan and mouthing exaggerated words.
Ask him for help!
She hesitated. She had been trying to do it herself, without his help. But this time, it might be better to take Haban’s advice.
“I think it’s too much to do alone,” she mumbled. “It’s overwhelming…without you, Ishakan…”
Haban nodded enthusiastically. Beside him, Genin echoed the gesture silently.
“Can you help me?” Leah asked, picking out each word, and Ishakan nodded.
“Tell me what you want.”
Leah had been curious about many things, but given the opportunity, she began with the issue that troubled her most.
“Are there any Tomaris casting spells inside the palace?”
“The Queen Mother.”
That was unexpected. Leah blinked.
“Her Majesty the Queen Mother?” She asked, bewildered. That meant Cerdina was a Toma woman. “Cerdina is a Tomari?”
The words struck her like lightning. So many speculations linked together and so many things were instantly clear, as soon as she had this crucial piece. Had Cerdina hidden her true identity? Or had Leah’s father accepted her, knowing this fact? – Posted only on Novel Utopia
Leah bit her lower lip, trying to organize her thoughts and prioritize her questions.
“I have to meet with Count Weddleton,” she said. Count Weddleton was Cerdina’s father. He was not involved in politics, but thanks to her influence, he had amassed an enormous fortune. And surely Cerdina would not have ensorcelled her own father.
If she could get the count to reveal that Cerdina was a Tomari, that might shake up the people in the palace enough to wake them up.
“How do you plan to persuade him?” Ishakan asked, after she had explained her plan.
“First, I will summon him to my palace to open a conversation with him…” she began.
“No way he’s going to do it that easily.”
Of course, she wanted to find a way to intimidate Count Weddleton, but Leah knew nothing she came up with would compare to Ishakan’s ideas. And sure enough, Ishakan jerked his chin toward Byun Gyeongbaek.
“Fortunately, there is someone we can use as an example.”
All the Kurkans who had been watching with bated breath immediately surged toward Ishakan, surrounding him and clamoring a protest.
“…You have to think about the baby…”
“You shouldn’t cut off his head now!”
“You might scare her!”
Baby? Scare her?
Ishakan scowled at Leah’s confusion and the Kurkans scattered, even though he hadn’t said a word.
“You’ve been so angry lately,” some of them murmured. “So…”
Ishakan ignored them. Approaching Leah, he held out his hand.
“We’re going to visit Count Wedleton.”
“Now?”
Of course, an unannounced visit in the middle of the night would successfully intimidate him, but this was too sudden. Ishakan paused at her sudden silence.
“You don’t want to?”
“It’s not that.”
She grabbed his hand. A faint smile appeared on his face, which had been expressionless until that moment.
“I’ve thought it through,” she said. “It’s better that you’re by my side.”
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