Dirty Heart - Chapter 46

The iron door that had been tightly shut opened, and a single beam of light seeped into the darkness.

“Alex.”

Alex, reduced to a wreck, barely lifted his head. His blood-soaked appearance, proof of the brutal torture, was nothing short of miserable.

“So it’s true that you’ve decided to receive a pig heart transplant?” Lionel asked in a low, sunken voice.

“Don’t worry about me. It’s already an experiment that’s been proven safe.”

“And if something goes wrong? Are you saying it’s fine even if you die?”

Alex answered with great effort in a severely cracked voice, “It’s a life that should’ve ended long ago anyway. I’m supposed to be an escort knight, and I couldn’t even properly protect the Young Duke.”

“I’m fine. I am.”

“If it weren’t for Miss Courtney, who knows what would’ve happened. I’m beyond saving.”

With a face stained with blood, Alex gave a lonely smile.

“Young Duke.”

“…Go on.”

“You love Miss Courtney, don’t you?”

Lionel’s expression stiffened.

“While I was locked up in here, I thought about it a lot. At first, I couldn’t understand. Why you were insisting on keeping a woman you don’t even love by your side?”

Raising his tattered hands bound in chains, he continued calmly, “Then I learned the truth and thought, ‘Wow, I knew our Young Duke was unpleasant to begin with, but he’s really trash.’ But no matter how much I thought about it, it still didn’t make sense.”

“What do you mean it doesn’t make sense?”

Alex barely lifted his face, smeared with blood and sweat.

“The look in your eyes when Miss Courtney ended up like that. You looked like someone whose entire world had collapsed.”

“That’s because,”

“Young Duke.”

Alex cut Lionel off at once. Normally, he would’ve been reprimanded, but this time Lionel held his breath and listened to him.

“We’ve been together for ten years now, after all. I can tell just by looking at your eyes.”

After a brief silence, Alex spoke quietly.

“That was unmistakably love.”

“…The fact that you’re talking nonsense like this means you’re in better shape than I thought.”

“Yes. I’m perfectly fine. So don’t worry about me, and please, Young Duke, just regain your health. And make sure you protect Miss Courtney.”

“And why do you want that?”

Lionel asked in a low voice through clenched teeth. Every word Alex said felt like a farewell.

“Well, you could call it a kind of confession of conscience. The truth is, I ended up liking Miss Courtney too. Don’t ask me since when. I’d like to keep my last bit of pride as a man.”

“You really are something else.”

Letting out a hollow laugh, Lionel began unfastening the chains binding Alex’s hands.

“Think it over again, even now. I’ll help you escape.”

“I’m a knight in name, I can’t do that. I don’t want to lose face.”

Even though he had said himself that it was a proven safe experiment, perhaps he sensed his fate. His voice was now thick with emotion.

“Of course, there’s no chance of that happening, but we have to prepare for any possibility, so I’ll leave one last will.”

“Go on. I’ll listen.”

“Please be happy, Young Duke.”

That was the final farewell he could leave as a loyal knight.

***

After finishing his visit with Alex, Lionel returned to his room and first took out the wooden box containing his mother’s locket.

Lionel’s hand trembled slightly, unlike usual, as he picked up the locket, but he barely managed to steady himself. Soon, he carefully opened it and stared for a long time at the portrait of his mother inside.

“Mother. You must celebrate my birthday this time.”

After carefully calling out to his mother, he finally hung the locket around his neck. As the cold metal touched his chest, the anxiety that had been restlessly stirring settled in an instant.

Taking a deep breath, Lionel soon left the room with a resolute expression.

Late at night. The Duke quietly watched his son’s face as he entered the room without hesitation.

“Please perform the pig heart transplant on Alex Lanchester first.”

Facing his father’s wrinkled face directly, Lionel made his request calmly.

“If the surgery is completed successfully and Alex is confirmed to be safe, then I will receive the transplant immediately afterward.”

The Duke nodded as if satisfied. “Good. I’ll do that. A wise decision.”

“But you must absolutely save Courtney’s life.”

“Of course. Didn’t I promise that long ago?”

The Duke, forcing a kindly smile that didn’t suit him, added in a gentle voice, “As long as you undergo the surgery and become healthy, it doesn’t matter if that mere maid lives. Whether you take that child in as a mistress or not is up to you.”

Silently listening to his father’s words, Lionel unconsciously fiddled with the locket. It felt as if his mother was protecting him, and that made him feel at ease.

“When will Alex’s surgery take place?”

“I’ve already made all the preparations. Pig hearts are plentiful, so we can proceed with the surgery immediately.”

The Duke added quickly, “After Alex’s surgery, we’ll observe his condition for about a week. Once it’s proven that this surgery is safe, we’ll proceed with your surgery right away. What do you think?”

This timing, too, was meticulously calculated. The plan was to show Alex surviving perfectly fine for a week, then carry out Lionel’s surgery on his birthday.

“So in the end, the surgery being on my birthday hasn’t changed.”

“It’s a date that was chosen in advance. There’s no reason to go out of our way to break it.”

Wondering if his son might be suspicious, the Duke examined his face with a sharp gaze. However, aside from being stiff, Lionel’s expression showed no particular change.

“I understand. Until the surgery, please take the utmost care of Alex’s condition. I’m concerned since he’s been subjected to severe torture.”

“Ah, yes. Don’t worry about that either.”

“Sorry for disturbing you so late. Please rest well.”

Just as his well-mannered son was about to leave the office, the Duke called out to Lionel.

“Lionel. Remember this one thing. This father is always on your side.”

At his father’s warm words, Lionel paused for a moment. Then he turned back, gave a faint smile, and nodded.

“I’m always grateful, Father.”

***

“Damn it, seriously.”

Late at night, Courtney tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

As Lionel’s birthday drew closer, each passing day felt like her blood was drying up. Every time she shifted in bed, the wound at her side throbbed unpleasantly, but what tormented her even more were the questions that refused to leave her mind.

“A pig heart transplant. Is that really medically possible?”

Something that couldn’t even be done in 21st-century South Korea, and they’re doing it in this medieval fantasy world? Well, since it’s a novel and a world where mages exist, maybe it isn’t impossible, but even so, it felt incredibly suspicious.

“Did the original story really change…? Can I survive now…?”

Her face, muttering to herself, looked endlessly desperate.

Well, if it were according to the original story, she should have already gone to the villa by now to prepare for the surgery. Around this time was exactly when Courtney, who left for the villa with a fluttering heart, realized Lionel’s true nature. But instead of the villa, she was trapped in this bleak infirmary.

“Should I run away even now?”

But she knew it was impossible. Her body wasn’t in good condition, and more than anything, armed knights were guarding the infirmary entrance like an iron wall. No one was allowed in or out except Bailey, who was in charge of her care, and Lionel.

Even as the absurd thought of jumping out the window crossed her mind, she heard the door open carefully. Lionel had returned.

Courtney quickly closed her eyes to pretend to be asleep. Soon, footsteps drew closer, and a gentle voice clung to her ear.

“Courtney. Are you asleep?”

As a warm hand brushed through her hair, her tactless heart thumped wildly.

“So you’re not asleep.”

Anyway, he was like a ghost.