Odalisque - Chapter 190

“The Marquis hasn’t lost interest in me yet, so I have to avoid his eyes if I want to leave.”

As Camille said, no painter would escape the Marquis’ wrath for submitting such a nude painting for the outdoor exhibition. However, Liv didn’t think this would be a one-off incident.

Moreover, the fact that the culprit was so bold as to publicly display the nude painting without fear of repercussion meant that whether it was resentment or jealousy, their feelings were profound.

It was unknown whether the emotions were directed at the Marquis or at Liv, the one who was the center of the Marquis’ attention. But either way, it was Liv who would end up being directly harassed. After all, it would be easier to mess with Liv than it would be to mess with the Marquis.

For now, Liv didn’t have enough trust in the Marquis to rely on his protection only and stay in Buerno. All this time, he had been arbitrarily…

Liv shook her head at the thought. Even though she could think of a million excuses, she realized there was only one reason.

“I can’t stand everything… until he loses interest in me.”

She simply found everything unbearable.

Her feelings for the Marquis, which made her disappointment in him grow…

She was utterly exhausted by the whole situation, no longer able to use Coryda as an excuse. So, she wanted to let it all go.

“Will you be okay? Your relationship with the Marquis is—”

“Our relationship is not as great as the world makes it out to be. If I disappear, he’ll be furious at first, but since he’s a capricious man by nature, he’ll soon find that he can’t be bothered to be angry.”

“I see.”

Camille observed Liv’s lifeless face and nodded with a dark expression.

“I understand. I’ll help you.”

And so, with Camille’s help, Liv found some men’s clothing to hide from the Marquis, got some advice, and made a plan to escape.

She picked the day the Marquis would be attending a prayer of blessing as the day of her escape. The reason was that she needed the Marquis to hear about her whereabouts as late as possible, and according to Camille, a meeting between the Cardinal and the Marquis was scheduled after the Benediction.

Since it was a special day, there would be a lot of people everywhere in Buerno that day, and it would be easy to get lost in the crowd.

She also heard that the transportation system would be temporarily expanded for the event. This was proven by the larger-than-usual number of train departures and tighter schedules.

With Coryda’s hand clasped tightly in hers, the carriage arrived safely at the train station. Liv, glancing at the clock tower that stood tall in the center of the station, made her way to the ticket office.

***

“Did you contact the guys stationed near the train station?”

“Yes, we informed them right away. I’m sure they launched a search immediately.”

They weren’t stationed in anticipation of Liv’s escape, yet circumstances unfolded this way. Should he be glad for that?

Feeling the wind hit him hard in the face, Demus stared straight ahead, his eyes cold and hollow.

[Pardon my unbearable fear, which makes me back away.]

Such despicable words were written there. She said fear?

She must have been scheming for this ever since she randomly did something she normally wouldn’t do in his office. That must be why she refused the carriage and coachman Demus had arranged for her. To hide her tracks.

She had done well enough, but there was no way she could have done it alone in a short time. Someone must have helped her. Who could it be?

It didn’t take long for Demus to come up with a name.

He already knew who she’d met before she came to his office.

“Find the brat of Eleanor. Bring him in front of me.”

“But that person is…”

The reason he hadn’t been able to do anything to Camille before now was because of the family behind him. The power of the House of Eleanor was so great that even Demus, with his temper, was willing to hold back.

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