Chapter 199: Cinderella’s Glass Slipper
Just from listening to Viscount Arend's description, Leon had already guessed that the Viscount's daughter was planning to seize the opportunity to run away.
He was already quite familiar with the layout of the Viscount's estate.
After giving it a little thought, he realized the only way she could escape was by climbing out the window at the back of the house into the backyard.
If she tried climbing down into the front courtyard instead...
The people waiting in the main hall would spot her immediately.
It was obvious that, aside from horseback riding, Adele had done very little physical exercise.
Climbing down from the second floor using the curtains while carrying a bag proved somewhat difficult for her.
Leon watched her awkwardly inch her way downward.
Overall, things were going fairly smoothly.
But just as Adele's feet were about to touch the ground...
Petra, who had been standing outside the study, suddenly began pounding forcefully on the door.
Hearing the noise, Adele panicked.
She failed to land properly.
With a yelp, she stumbled backward and landed hard on her backside.
“Ow...” Adele clutched her aching backside as she struggled to her feet, forcing herself not to cry out before hurriedly running toward the back door.
Upstairs, Petra had already begun ramming the study door with all her strength.
The sounds frightened Adele into running even faster.
Considering that heading to the stables to fetch a horse would almost certainly be noticed immediately and get her intercepted...
Adele chose to leave directly through the rear exit.
Behind the estate lay nothing but a cliffside and railings atop the hill.
However...
She could circle around outside the estate wall until she reached the front entrance, then escape along the mountain road.
Seeing this, Leon made no move to seize her immediately.
Instead, he quietly followed behind.
Adele's entire attention was focused on her escape route.
She never noticed someone silently following her through the darkness.
Adele carefully crept around to the front of the estate.
Leon likewise followed silently behind her.
For some reason...
The feeling was oddly nostalgic.
It reminded him of when he had first met Rena.
In Leon's opinion...
Adele's escape plan was completely inadequate.
At a time like this, she should have brought a weapon while climbing down, sneaked over to the stables, taken a horse, and injured the remaining horses.
The resulting commotion would certainly draw everyone in the house outside.
But by then...
She could already be charging away on horseback.
If people intended to capture her and force her into marriage...
At the very least, they wouldn't dare shoot at her.
Trying to escape on foot, on the other hand...
Even if she successfully slipped away...
She would soon be caught.
At last...
Adele reached the small road in front of the estate.
So far...
No one had rushed out after her.
She couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief.
Quickly taking advantage of the opportunity, she ran some distance down the path.
Then...
Out of habit...
She glanced back to check behind her.
She immediately regretted it.
The moment she turned around...
She saw a ghostly figure standing before the estate's front gate.
Backlit by the lamps burning at the entrance...
She could only make out a black silhouette.
She couldn't see the person's face at all.
“Ah!”
Before Leon could even speak...
Adele let out a short cry of terror.
She hadn't heard the gate open.
The person had simply appeared there out of nowhere like a ghost.
How could she not be frightened?
Before Leon had done anything...
Adele spun around in panic and fled for her life.
The instant she started running...
One of her shoes flew off.
She didn't dare stop to retrieve it.
Instead...
She continued fleeing barefoot on one foot.
There were very few places to hide along the mountain road.
After estimating Adele's speed, Leon wasn't in any hurry to chase her.
Instead, he walked over, picked up the woman's shoe she had dropped, and examined it.
This young lady...
Didn't even think to change into shoes suitable for running before trying to escape.
Just then...
Petra and the other two guards hurried out through the estate gate.
Seeing Leon standing there...
Expressions of alarm immediately appeared on their faces.
“I'm sorry, Sir! I failed to keep watch over her. I'll go after her immediately!” Petra hurriedly apologized.
Allowing Adele to escape was unquestionably a dereliction of duty on her part.
Fortunately...
Judging by the sound of footsteps, Adele hadn't gotten very far.
They could still catch her.
“It's fine.”
Leon waved his hand.
“Bring me a horse.
“I'll bring her back myself.”
...
“Huff... Huff...”
Adele gasped desperately as she ran along the mountain road.
After passing the fork leading toward the village...
She could no longer keep running.
She could only limp forward, dragging the foot that had lost its shoe.
“Mm... My foot hurts so much...”
Adele lowered her head and looked at her foot.
Although the mountain road had been leveled...
There were still plenty of small stones scattered about.
Running barefoot on one foot had inevitably scraped her skin raw.
Why...
Why did I have to go through all this?
Limping forward, Adele felt utterly aggrieved.
At that moment...
The sound of approaching hoofbeats finally caught up with her.
Adele inhaled sharply.
Only then did she realize...
If someone from the estate pursued her on horseback...
It wouldn't take them long at all.
The village was still a considerable distance away.
One of her feet was already injured.
There was no possible way she could outrun a horse.
Listening as the hoofbeats drew closer and closer...
She turned around and saw the light of a lantern rising and falling along the mountain path.
After frantically looking around...
She hurried behind a nearby tree to hide.
The tree wasn't even large enough to conceal her properly.
But she could only pray that the cover of darkness would prevent the rider from noticing her.
What she didn't know...
Was that Leon had already seen exactly where she hid thanks to his exceptional night vision.
Leon rode to the spot where Adele had disappeared and reined in his horse.
Adele's heart immediately leaped into her throat.
“Who's hiding over there?”
Leon deliberately turned toward the tree and called out.
Leon Set!?
Adele instantly recognized his voice.
Shock filled her heart.
Why was Leon here?
Had he also come along with them?
Realizing that she had already been discovered...
Adele stood there helplessly for a moment before finally stooping over, lowering her head, and walking out.
She deliberately deepened her voice.
“Ah... Sir, I'm just a nearby villager taking a walk. Please don't mind me...”
Seeing Adele's terrible acting...
Leon couldn't help laughing.
“Miss Adele...
What are you doing here?”
I was recognized anyway!
Adele silently lamented her misfortune.
Just as she still didn't know what to do...
Leon glanced down at her foot.
“You injured your foot.”
He dismounted before asking,
“How did you end up like this?”
Adele looked at Leon in surprise.
Judging from his tone...
He didn't seem...
Like he had come to capture her.
“Inquisitor Set... why are you here?” she asked softly.
“I came to take care of some business.”
Leon looked at her.
“Have you run into some kind of trouble?”
“I...” Adele hesitated briefly.
“My father is forcing me to marry someone to repay our family's debts.
“May I ask...
Do you know about this?”
“I've heard Father Auden mention it,” Leon answered after a moment's thought.
“Then... you and that man...” Adele cautiously probed.
“Oh, the man planning to marry you and I aren't partners.”
Leon calmly explained.
Because...
He was that man.
Hearing that...
Adele finally relaxed a little.
During all the times they had met, Leon had never shown the slightest personal interest in her.
As a result...
She had never even considered the possibility that Leon himself was the man intending to marry her.
She had merely suspected that he might somehow be connected to the matter.
“Inquisitor, the five hundred thousand Fenni you invested in me is progressing extremely well.
“But today, out of nowhere, my father suddenly came back saying he'd brought someone to meet me.
“He wants me to marry him.
“And then he'll repay our family's debts.
“Doesn't that sound suspicious no matter how you look at it?”
Adele began explaining everything from beginning to end.
“Mhm.
“No matter how you look at it...
That man definitely has ulterior motives.”
Leon nodded in agreement.
“Exactly!
“If I'm forced into marriage like this, the five hundred thousand Fenni you've invested in me might even end up being treated as part of the assets used to settle our debts.
“That would make everything incredibly troublesome!
“So...
Could you...
Help me?”
Adele looked at Leon with pleading eyes.
At this point...
She had no other option.
People from the estate could arrive at any moment.
Aside from asking Leon for help...
She had no one else to turn to.
Leon raised an eyebrow before nodding.
“All right.
“I can indeed help you with this matter.
“Get on the horse first.
“I'll bandage your foot.”
“That's wonderful! Thank you!”
The moment Leon agreed...
Adele felt as though she had been granted a pardon.
With Leon supporting her...
She carefully climbed onto the horse.
Leon then took out clean water and gauze, washed away the dirt from her foot, carefully dried it, and applied a little iodine.
Adele winced in pain.
Watching Leon carefully wrap the bandages around her foot...
She suddenly felt somewhat embarrassed.
“Thank you...” she murmured softly.
For the first time since meeting Leon...
Her impression of the Inquisitor she had always found so frightening softened slightly.
“You don't have to thank me.
“After all...
I'm partially responsible for your injured foot.”
Leon skillfully finished wrapping the bandage.
“What... do you mean by that?”
Adele asked in confusion.
Suddenly...
She felt something being slipped onto her foot.
Lowering her head...
She discovered that Leon had put a shoe back onto her freshly bandaged foot.
It perfectly matched the one on her other foot.
It fit flawlessly.
At that moment...
Leon also climbed onto the horse.
His arms encircled her as he reached past to grasp the reins.
In effect...
He had completely enclosed her within his embrace atop the horse.
Then...
Leon turned the horse around and started riding back.
“...”
Adele stared blankly at the shoe on her foot before stiffly turning her head toward Leon behind her.
“Inquisitor...
May I ask something?
“Where...
Did you get this shoe?”
“From the place where you dropped it, of course.”
Leon answered as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Th-Then...
The person standing there at that time...”
Adele suddenly remembered the dark silhouette.
Looking back...
Its build had actually been exactly the same as Leon's.
“That was me,” Leon replied.
“Y-You're with them!? You lied to me!!”
At last...
Adele realized she had been tricked.
“I didn't lie to you, Miss Adele.”
Leon paused before continuing,
“The man who's planning to marry you and I aren't partners.
“I am that man.”
“What did you say!?”
Adele suffered another devastating blow.
“What I mean is...
The person your father intended to introduce to you today...
The one willing to repay your family's debts...
Was me.
“I'm the one who's going to marry you.
“I'm your future husband.”
Leon explained slowly.
“...”
After a brief moment of stunned silence...
Adele suddenly began struggling violently as she screamed,
“Nooooooo!!”