Deceived, Yet Drawn to You - Chapter 139

“It’s useless.”

Isabelle’s voice from behind him was as calm as a priest reciting a prayer. Edmund, who had been listening to the sounds beyond the door, slowly turned around. Isabelle stood with her hands neatly clasped, gazing at him with a composed expression.

“The door locked from the outside won’t open.”

“I’m surprised there’s still someone who follows your orders.”

“It’s not loyalty. It’s greed. That child was blinded by a scrap of false hope I tossed her. Desire is the cheapest and easiest commodity to handle, isn’t it?”

Sticky oil that had seeped in through the crack beneath the door spread long across the chapel floor. The foul stench now hung thick in the air. The trail of oil crept like a black serpent all the way to Isabelle’s feet. Even as the filthy liquid soaked the hem of her dress, she didn’t care. She already looked as if she’d accepted death.

“It’s a Libert-style funeral I prepared for you. Think of it as my final gift, since I never once accepted you as a true member of this family.”

“How ridiculous.”

“By meeting your end in this sacred place, you’ll remain a son of Libert forever. Even in death, you won’t escape the name you longed for.”

Isabelle reached toward the altar and picked up a candlestick. The woman’s face, lit by the flickering flame before her, shimmered with madness and elation.

“I won’t send you alone. Let’s all go together, so our Rufus won’t be lonely.”

Without hesitation, she hurled the candlestick to the floor.

Clang!

As the silver candlestick struck the stone, the flame leapt onto the oil with a roar. A thunderous explosion followed, and scarlet fire shot upward.

The blaze spread fiercely along the dry wooden pews. Acrid smoke began to fill the air, and the sacred space turned into a red hell in an instant. Edmund glared at Isabelle through the rising flames and spat out his words as if grinding them between his teeth.

“Unfortunately, I have no intention of going to hell just yet.”

Without hesitation, he tore his shirt sleeve and covered his face, then threw himself behind a pillar. The sacred oil paintings decorating the walls twisted in the fire and crashed down, and as if waiting for that moment, another explosion rang out.

***

Blair, who had been sunk in deep sleep, suddenly came to her senses. She stared at the ceiling for a moment, then reached out to the space beside her. From the sheet that had lost its warmth, she felt no trace of the man.

“…Edmund?”

Did he step out for a moment? Still, tonight he looked like he would stay with her.

Letting out a small groan, Blair pushed herself upright and rubbed her heavy eyes. Outside the window, the darkness remained pitch black, yet a strange sense of unease prickled at her senses. A faint noise drifting from far away, a smell of something burning whose source she couldn’t identify.

“…?”

As if possessed, Blair climbed out of bed and walked to the window. The moment she pulled back the curtain covering the glass, her eyes filled with horror. The chapel in the rear garden was engulfed in towering flames.

What on earth is happening? Her pounding heart felt as if it dropped straight into a bottomless pit. In that instant, the fire that spewed sparks roared up and clung to the chapel’s roof. Without hesitation, Blair flung open the bedroom door and ran out.

Only then did the commotion swell, bells and shouts mixing together in chaos. Guards who seemed to have appeared from nowhere were rushing about in front of the bedroom. Just as Blair moved to push past them and run down the corridor,

“It’s dangerous, madam! Please go back inside.”

When the guard blocked her path in a flash, Blair’s brows shot up.

“There’s a fire in the chapel! And my husband… where on earth is Edmund?”

“Please calm yourself. The fire brigade has already been contacted, and the servants are doing everything they can to contain the blaze. It’s too dangerous, so you must return to the bedroom. There may even be an intruder inside the mansion….”

“I asked where my husband is.”

Cutting him off as she repeated herself, the guard fell silent. Watching him hesitate to answer, Blair’s frown deepened. Something was terribly wrong.

“Move!”

Blair snapped sharply and shoved aside the man blocking her. The guard flinched at the fierce momentum that bore no trace of her usual gentleness.

“Edmund might be in there, and you’re telling me to stand here guarding this place? This is a situation where even one more person needs to help put out the fire!”

“It was His Grace’s strict order. In any situation, the Duchess’s safety must come first….”

“Take me there yourself. Or I’ll go alone.”

“But….”

“I have no intention of returning to the bedroom and waiting quietly. So choose.”

At the blade-sharp edge in Blair’s expression, the guards exchanged flustered glances. In the end, one of the men made up his mind and bowed.

“…I will accompany you, madam. But the smoke is severe, so you must not go near it.”

Instead of answering, Blair ran down the corridor barefoot. The closer she drew to the chapel, the burning stench that stabbed her lungs and the screams in the air gnawed at her sanity. A death-like terror enveloped her entire body, but it wasn’t from the flames. An ominous premonition that she might lose Edmund was squeezing the life out of her.

When she finally reached the front of the chapel, Blair couldn’t suppress her horror. Red flames were swallowing the stone building and raging at a terrifying speed, showing no sign of being subdued. When even a corner of the roof collapsed, sharp cries erupted from every direction.

At that moment, what entered Blair’s sight was the servants supporting a fallen Albert. She rushed straight to the butler.

“Albert! Where is Edmund?”

“The Duke….”

The old butler couldn’t continue. Blood was spreading from the back of his head as if he’d been struck from behind, staining his white hair red. Even with unfocused eyes, Albert couldn’t tear his gaze away from the burning chapel.

“The Dowager Duchess… she finally… His Grace… Sam, Sam….”

“Sam?”

“Ugh… he struck from behind. And so he couldn’t come out, the bolt….”

Blair turned her eyes to the crowd scrambling in confusion and looked at the entrance leading into the chapel. The massive doors were tightly secured with thick bolts and a lock.

If Edmund was inside, rescue had to come before extinguishing the fire, and that was precisely why no one could step forward.

Just then, firefighters dispatched from downtown Eldenvale arrived on the scene, but they couldn’t enter the chapel either. No matter how many times they struck the doors with axes, the sturdy bolts didn’t budge.

Amid the chaos, a loud voice suddenly burst out.

“Let me go! I, I didn’t know it would turn out like this!”

A man struggling wildly while being held by guards came into view. He fought desperately, but he couldn’t withstand the strength of several men.

“The Dowager Duchess deceived even me! She, she said it was only to scare him…!”

“…That man.”

Even through the thick smoke, Blair clearly recognized who he was. He was once a guard at the ducal residence, the very man who helped Isabelle and Rufus flee in the dead of night before disappearing himself.

Then he must be carrying a key of some sort.

The moment that thought struck, Blair rushed to the subdued Sam and began searching his pockets herself. Someone tried to stop her, warning it was dangerous, but she paid no heed. Roughly tearing at his clothing, her fingertips finally felt cold metal. After a struggle, an iron key fell from Sam’s inner pocket.

“Quickly, quickly, you have to open the door!”

A guard snatched up the key and ran toward the firefighters at terrifying speed. One of the men in thick leather protective gear hurriedly took the key and sprinted to the door. Someone grabbed Blair and pulled her back.

“You must step back now!”

At last, when the tightly sealed doors were thrown open, the scorching heat trapped inside burst out with a roar like an enraged beast. Boom, with a terrifying crash, blazing flames surged forward like a tidal wave.

Her vision flashed white. Black smoke poured out like a waterfall and completely swallowed her sight, and the fierce blast of heat slashed across her cheeks.