Conquering His Cold Heart

Even after Lorenzo explained that he was innocent, Cillian viewed him as someone with a shady personality and didn’t want to apologize until he heard from the others that the man indeed had nothing to do with the murder of Slayer.

After rolling his eyes at Lorenzo and throwing the grasping hands of the servant away, he finally walked out of the room.

However, just when he stepped out, he almost stumbled into someone who was walking down the corridor in a hurry.

Cillian didn’t even bother lifting his head up to see who it was. He simply wanted to go around that person and go back to his room.

But he stopped when he heard a sweet voice addressing him.

“Cillian?”

His face suddenly lighted up.

It was Ruby who had decided to step out of the room to check what the noises were all about. Since her room was only a few rooms away from Lorenzo’s room, she was able to hear the commotion earlier.

.....

However, she didn’t want to step out to check until the commotion died down. She didn’t want to get entangled in unnecessary things again.

But her curiosity didn’t allow her to stay still in her room either.

Ruby darted her eyes inside Lorenzo’s room, wondering if Cillian had gotten himself in trouble. And when she saw the person she was extremely familiar with, her eyes widened in shock.

‘Isn’t that…’ she thought to herself after seeing the man with visible bruises on his face as well as hands.

She drew in a deep breath to call Lorenzo’s name. However, she didn’t speak when Lorenzo gave her a warning glare and shook his head very subtly.

Ruby gulped and looked at Cillian again, who, by now, was staring at her. And she asked with a voice full of worry, “Is everything alright?”

Cillian’s expression stiffened. He looked at the floor and answered monotonously, “I’m not hurt, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Ruby furrowed her brows in worry. “Were you the one who got into a fight just now?” she asked, hoping that Cillian wasn’t the one to beat Lorenzo up.

However, Cillian’s reply made her feel a sting in her heart.

“Yes. I heard that they had caught someone who might have had a hand in the death of Lord Slayer. So, I attacked him.”

Ruby, not knowing anything about the subject, looked at Lorenzo with eyes full of questions. She even wondered if Lorenzo was indeed the killer they were searching for. With the killer still at large, everybody was suspecting each other at this point. And Ruby wasn’t any different.

However, Lorenzo quickly defended himself, hoping Ruby wouldn’t blurt out any unnecessary details that might drag the King into the conversation.

“Lord Romulus interrogated me and I have already proven my innocence to him. If he doesn’t believe the Lord’s judgment and still thinks that I am the killer then there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Cillian slowly turned his head around and gave a side-glare to Lorenzo as if he was about to do something again.

Ruby could see the evident bad blood between the two men. She didn’t want the matter to escalate once more.

Thus, she quickly stood behind Cillian and said while pushing him away, “I think you should head for your room, Cillian. If you don’t believe this man then you can directly ask Lord Romulus about it when the dawn comes.”

Though initially, Cillian didn’t have a good relationship with Ruby after hearing that the latter was under suspicion, the two of them slowly established a bond after Ruby clearly explained her circumstances to the boy.

And since Ruby was the one asking him to calm down, Cillian thought that what she said was reasonable enough.

He decided to sleep on the matter for tonight and then said to Ruby, “Okay, I will do as you say.” He pointed his brows at Lorenzo and further warned her, “But stay alert of this man. You should also head back to your room.”

Ruby smiled and gave a nod. But she didn’t actually follow Cillian because she wanted to ask Lorenzo what he was doing there and how he ended up in the situation he currently was in.

Cillian, on the other hand, wanted to escort Ruby back to her room. And when he didn’t hear any footsteps behind him, he turned around and waited for Ruby to join him.

“Aren’t you coming?” he asked.

“Er…” Ruby pursed her lips and quickly gave him an excuse, “I was going to take a stroll.”

“Couldn’t sleep?” Cillian wondered. He was aware that Ruby wasn’t exactly comfortable continuing her stay in the manor, and would often wander around alone.

Ruby gave a nod and replied, “Yeah, something like that.”

“Okay then. But don’t stay out for long. Cold weather isn’t that suitable for us.” Cillian gave a soft smile to Ruby and then finally walked away from there.

Ruby took a glance inside Lorenzo’s room. Since the servants and the maid were still inside, she decided to go for a short walk.

As soon as she stepped out of the guest quarter, the cold wind hit her face a little too hard. She closed her eyes tightly and immediately folded her arms in front of her chest.

She looked up at the sky covered with fog and clouds and thought to herself, ‘It’s not snowing and yet I feel like the cold is piercing deep down into my bones.’

She rubbed her shoulders and blew out hot air from her mouth. She looked around at the surrounding that was void of any people at the moment.

Her face suddenly turned sad when it hit her that her life had become a complete mess. Just like this quiet night, her life had also become very lonely. The more she thought about it, the more she began remembering the blissful days that she had spent together with Everard.

A sudden and sharp sting in her heart made her crouch a little. “Ouch!!!” She grabbed her chest and coughed a few times to ease the pain in her heart.

After a while, the pain stopped. And she sighed and wiped her glassy eyes.

“Ugh! I should stop thinking about him and causing pain to myself.” She reminded herself yet again.

She then swiftly turned her head around to look back at the guest quarter that she had left behind her. “I think I should go back. Lorenzo must be alone by now.”

Ruby turned on her heels and before heading back, she cautioned herself, “Don’t ask anything about… the King. Just ask how he ended up here and leave. And… don’t give away much information about yourself. He is the King’s friend after all.”

She heaved a sigh and mumbled with a determined look on her face, “I don’t want the King to know about my whereabouts or the situation that I am currently in. I’m done receiving his pity and his help.”