My Disfigured Duke Husband Helps Me Plot My Revenge
Chapter 129: Irreversible Mistake

Chapter 129: Irreversible Mistake

Eve would not come to her.

No matter how much Leonor called, her familiar wouldn’t appear.

Logically it made sense.

The cat was likely the reason Leonor wasn’t in much worse shape. Their duty as familiars was to lend their mana in case of emergency. Considering they were made entirely of mana, they would disappear until their master became stable enough to expend mana.

Unable to reason, at that moment, Leonor cried until the sun was in the sky. She held the locket in her hands and curled up in a ball next to the door of her room.

A maid came to her first and she forbade her from entering.

A short while later, it was Desmond who tried to see her but she said she was feeling unwell and didn’t want to see anyone.

When a shred of sanity returned to the girl, she dragged herself to the door and locked it. Hopefully, everyone took a hint and left her alone.

She was panicking.

It felt like she had forsaken the memory of Valerio.

To heal Desmond instead of the flower was the same as turning her back on a person she promised to love and wait for.

As much as she had fallen for Desmond, she felt awful for forgetting to heal the flower. She chose Desmond over Valerio.

And she wasn’t even sure he wanted her in such a way.

She felt like she had committed an unforgivable sin.

An invisible illness befell the duchess and no one was entirely sure what had happened to her.

For over a day, she refused all meals and any help. The following morning, she finally allowed Beth inside her room to help her bathe.

When Beth was cornered by Desmond, all she could say was Leonor seemed lethargic and blamed it on being under the weather. She had no further information than that.

Even though it was daytime, the maid helped Leonor back into a nightgown and the duchess went back to bed.

However, despite spending an entire day in bed, sleep didn’t come to her. She was torn up over betraying Valerio.

She wasn’t entirely sure how much time passed since her bath but the room was shadowed. She heard a knock at the door and decided to ignore it. Most everyone should have known by that time she was uninterested in seeing anyone.

To her surprise, Stephano’s voice rang through.

"If you don’t open this door I’m going to burn it down myself," he snapped. "This is an order from the king, Leonor, not your friend. Open the door."

Leonor stood up and she stared at the door. She considered ignoring him again, but she knew his pension for violence and decided not to risk ruining her beautiful room.

When the door was only a crack open, Stephano wrenched it open the rest of the way. He slammed the door shut and stood before Leonor with crossed arms.

"My aides have found me," he began. "I’ve already pushed my trip forward twice now. Tell me what’s going on."

His tone was harsh and his eyes were narrowed. He wasn’t expecting to be met with watery blue eyes and a trembling chin the moment the last sentence left his mouth.

Even though he was less familiar with gentleness, he pushed Leonor towards the sitting area and sat across from her after helping her to a couch.

"You must tell me what happened," he said. "As your friend and not the king."

Leonor hugged her rib cage and her fingers scratched her sides as if it would help her get a grip of the situation. The locket was no longer on her neck but in one of her hands.

It had been that way since she took the locket off and tried to rejuvenate the flower. She used all other types. Healing was what she needed the most but it was hard to summon considering how much she had used on Desmond.

"I made a mistake," Leonor explained, her meek voice barely reaching the king. "I betrayed Valerio."

Stephano was tight-lipped and his eyes fell to the ground between his feet.

Leonor slept in Desmond’s bed for two nights. Stephano assumed that something happened between the two of them. Perhaps a kiss? Perhaps something more. Even though they were married and justified in their actions, he could understand how she might feel guilty towards Valerio.

It also further twisted the blade in his side that Desmond created by not telling Leonor and allowing her to live in a state of limbo where she didn’t know if Valerio was alive or if she was betraying him the more she fell for the duke.

"What happened, Leonor?" Stephano asked hesitantly.

The duchess sighed and leaned forward until her elbows were on her knees. The locket necklace she normally wore slid out from her hands until only the chain was caught on her finger. It slowly swayed and she looked down at it in misery.

Stephano had seen the necklace before and wondered if it had something to do with Valerio. She wore it so loyally he figured the man gave it to her. However, when Desmond approached him and asked about the necklace, Stephano’s curiosity only grew.

"When Valerio left for Letum, he gave me lilacs," she began quietly, her voice heavy with emotion. "Each night I healed them so they wouldn’t die. When I realized I was going to the Magic Academy, I took one of the blooms and put it in this locket. The rest I pressed in various books so I could still save them."

She put a hand over her mouth when it was hard to go forward. A few more tears fell from her eyes as if she hadn’t cried enough the past couple of days.

"I healed Desmond instead of the flower," she gasped. "I missed two nights and it turned to dust."

Seeing that she was reduced to tears, Stephano rushed around the table separating the two couches and next to Leonor. He wrapped his arms around her and she covered her face as she leaned into him and cried.

His anger was growing.

"You held onto that flower for over six years," Stephano whispered in disbelief.

"I healed it every night," Leonor said. "Until I started falling for Desmond. Now I have nothing left of Valerio. Only memories."

Stephano didn’t know his heart could break for someone he wasn’t in love with but each time Leonor spoke another word with a shattered heart, his heart started to crack and he felt as angry as he was sad. He helplessly held onto Leonor until he tears slowed and she seemed tired.

A few blankets were organized near the fireplace so they would stay warm. Although it was late spring and the fire wasn’t on, he still grabbed her a blanket and covered her with it as she lay on the couch.

The king crouched next to Leonor.

"Please, Leonor," he begged. "Follow where your heart is going. Believe it’s the best path for you. If you love Desmond, you must tell him."

Otherwise, he would never tell her the truth.

"It’s so hard," Leonor whispered but her eyes were closed and she clutched the blanket with a fist holding the necklace underneath her chin.

"I know..." Stephano trailed off. "I will let you rest."

Leonor nodded. It felt like all she had done was rest but she found sleep so easily at that moment.

Stephano left the room but his anger had reached new heights.

It seemed he let Desmond get too comfortable in his lie.