try begging
The dynamite canisters were welded to the chains, but with enough strength, Dave could havebroken free in five minutes. If he had the courage, he could have removed the bomb himself. Leonhad even added a final loophole: the timer on the bombs could be stopped by exposing them towater, which would disable the device.
If they had simply dunked the bombs in the river, theywould've been safe.Campbell had worried that they might escape, but Leon had been confident all along.
"If only Dave had been willing to sacrifice himself, like Sinclair and I had done, he would'vesurvived. Or if he had been smarter, at least his head wouldn't have exploded."
With that, Leon stood and clicked his tongue in disapproval.
"This really was a waste of time."
He started walking away from the dock, then paused and looked around, taking in the view.
"The scenery is nice, though. I should bring my daughter here for a picnic on Sunday."
Leon slipped the baby pacifier back into his pocket, smiling.
It was a serene smile, one thatreflected the peaceful forest around them — a forest that had quietly swallowed up all humanugliness.
-------
"Mom."
"Hmm?"
Grace, sitting on the sofa, was interrupted by Ellie pulling at her sleeve.
"Ellie wants cloud cake."
Cloud cake was what Ellie called Madame Benoit's almond cake, with its thick layers of cream thatEllie thought looked like clouds.When she had been pregnant, Grace had craved that very same cake. Now, Ellie insisted on havingit at every tea time.
Grace cut two pieces of the cake and placed them on small plates, preparing one for Ellie andanother for her friend Benny. But Ellie, as usual, insisted on having the biggest piece.
"Ellie gets the biggest one!"
"Greedy girl."
"Daddy says he likes that I'm a greedy girl."
Ellie puffed out her chest and beamed with pride.A spoiled child and now greedy, too. Grace sighed inwardly, thinking how Leon encouraged Ellie'sbad habits.That morning, Ellie had been sitting on Leon's lap, eating like a baby bird while he fed her. But bylunchtime, she was feeding herself just fine.
Grace realized the pattern: Ellie only behaved like a baby when Leon was around. Without him, sheacted her age.Ellie's continued baby-like behavior was entirely due to how much Leon indulged her.I'm going to have to say something to him when he gets home, Grace thought.Grace stood up, carrying the two plates of almond cake.
She set them down on the small children'stable by the playroom window. Ellie quickly ran over and sat down on her stuffed toy horse, whileBenny, her friend, sat across from her."Ellie, Benny, enjoy your cake," Grace said with a smile.
As Ellie began to eat her cake, Grace returned to the sofa, turning on the radio in the playroom asbackground noise. She sat down and sipped her tea, watching the children play.
"No, Benny! That's not how you say it."
Ellie's voice sounded firm. Grace looked over and saw Ellie, her arms crossed, shaking her head atBenny.
"You have to roll your tongue. Softly. And then make the ending long."
Ellie was mimicking the way Leon corrected Benny's speech, trying to make him sound more likean aristocrat.
"Chocolat parfait."
"Choco-lat parfait."
"No, that's wrong!"
Grace smiled, amused by the interaction. In reality, Ellie's pronunciation wasn't that different fromBenny's. Sitting across from Grace was Benny's mother, Martha. Grace smiled apologetically at her friend asshe lifted her teacup.Benny, Martha's second child, was a sweet-natured boy, much like his mother.
He was the completeopposite of Ellie, who dominated their little playgroup like a lion among lambs.Watching Ellie boss Benny around made Grace feel a bit embarrassed. She wasn't sure if she shouldapologize to Martha.
After all, it wasn't Benny's fault, and Ellie's behavior was... well, it could beworse.
It had been Leon who insisted that Ellie needed a playmate after consulting with a psychologist.That part had been fine. What Grace hadn't expected was for Leon to hire Martha as Ellie's nanny.Hiring Martha, a family member, was awkward. It was the sort of thing only a man like Leon, whoviewed all relationships through a hierarchy, would do.
Martha, being easygoing, didn't seem to mind. She saw it as a way to make money while watchingover Benny, so she assured Grace that it wasn't a problem. But Grace wasn't so sure how Martha'shusband, Joe, felt about the arrangement.
----
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Grace placed her teacup back on the table and asked Martha directly.Martha had been staring at Grace with an unusually concerned expression. It wasn't just curiosity— there was worry behind her eyes.
"Do you have something to say?"
"Uh... oh!"
Martha exclaimed, suddenly remembering something. She clapped her hands andreached for a small gift box she had set aside earlier.
"Here, this is for you. Joe wanted me to congratulate you as well."
Grace smiled as she opened the box. Inside was a beautifully crafted leather-bound journal.
"It's beautiful."
"Joe and I thought you might like it. You always enjoyed writing in your journals, right?""Yes, I did,"
Grace replied, her eyes softening as she ran her fingers over the smooth leather.It had been years since she had last written in a journal. After infiltrating this place undercover, shehad stopped journaling completely.
"Thank you."
Inside the box, along with the journal, was a travel guide to Columbia and a book about its culture— a not-so-subtle reminder from Joe about their plan to escape.
"Tell Joe thank you as well."
Martha nodded, smiling, though her expression remained slightly awkward. After a brief pause, sheadded,
"It's not as impressive as the gifts from the Count, I'm sure..."
Grace chuckled softly and shook her head.
"No, I haven't received anything from him yet."
"Oh..."
Martha covered her mouth, as if she had said something wrong. Grace realized that herwords might have caused a misunderstanding.
"It's not like that,"
Grace quickly explained.
"He doesn't know what today is. I never told him."
She hadn't shared her special day with Leon, so he had no way of knowing.
"Ah, that makes sense," Martha said, smiling in relief.
"He is a noble, after all. They don't usuallyremember those kinds of things on their own."
Grace tried to clarify.
"No, it's not that. Actually, despite how he seems on the outside, he can be... surprisinglythoughtful sometimes."
As soon as she said it, Grace found herself laughing.I can't believe I'm defending him, she thought. How absurd.
"Right, right, of course,"
Martha replied, laughing along, though it was clear she didn't fullyunderstand. To Martha, Leon was still an enigmatic and distant figure. She was only nodding to bepolite.Grace realized that Martha, and likely everyone else, could never truly comprehend Leon.
To them,he was still:The vampire of Camden, obsessed with blood.An inscrutable madman.A prideful man who saw everyone else as beneath him.A man capable of making anyone tremble with fear — and doing so without hesitation.And most of all, a shameless man who had the audacity to demand love from the woman he hadonce mercilessly tormented.
This was the image the world had of Leon Winston, and it had once been Grace's view of him too.He was a monster — incomprehensible and dangerous. Yet, somehow, over time, he had become amonster she could understand. And eventually, he had revealed himself to be simply a flawed,incomplete human being, much like herself.
But that side of him was something only she could see. No one else could understand it.
"Oh, did you hear about the fire at the gunpowder factory last night?"
Grace, looking to change the topic, pointed to the news report coming from the radio.
"There were no casualties, but the property damage was significant..."
"I heard it on the radio this morning,"
Martha replied, shaking her head.
"At least it happened whenno one was there."
The news continued:
"Police are investigating the possibility that the fire is related to the ongoing labor dispute withCroft Gunpowder..."
Grace snorted at the mention of Croft.
"They'll probably try to blame it on Blanchard, too."
Croft Gunpowder was notorious for frequent accidents and poor labor conditions. Just last year, anexplosion at the factory had sparked the formation of a labor union in the gunpowder industry.
"Things were different when Sinclair was in charge."
Before the Sinclair family's downfall, they had owned the gunpowder company. After Sinclair's fallfrom grace, a pro-royalist company, Croft, had acquired it at a low price. That's how CroftGunpowder came to be what it was today.
Sinclair.
The Sinclair name was rarely mentioned in the media anymore, but Grace found herself typing itover and over again on her typewriter, day after day.
-------
"Can you make a copy of this document?"
Not long after returning to the annex, Leon had given Grace an envelope filled with documents.I
nside was the full story of Sinclair's downfall.Why had Leon suddenly asked for a copy of such dangerous information?Why now, of all times? What was he planning?
What are you up to, Leon Winston?
Grace's thoughts were interrupted by Martha.
"But Joe says..."
"Hm?"
"That the recent strikes and riots seem a bit... suspicious. The way the strikes are organized andfunded feels like someone's secretly directing them."
"But it's not Blanchard, despite what everyone thinks."
Blanchard's movement had died out long ago.
"Exactly. It's like they're trying to resurrect a dead man and put him back on the gallows for allthis."
Grace laughed lightly at Martha's sharp observation.
"You're absolutely right, Martha..."
Grace raised her cup to her lips but suddenly stopped mid-sentence.-The voice on the radio shifted to a new report.
"Yesterday, there was quite a stir caused by the *Morning Sun* newspaper. According to ananonymous source within the army, it was revealed that Major Leon Winston, the hero of the rebelsuppression, has been involved with a former rebel, with whom he shares an illegitimate child..."
Martha cautiously watched Grace's reaction, unsure of what to say.
"You didn't know?"
Grace shook her head slowly, her mind racing.
She turned toward the pile of newspapers andtabloids neatly stacked on the coffee table. All the papers were from media outlets owned by theWinston family, which is why none of them had mentioned the scandal.
"I thought you already knew about it, so I was worried."
That explained Martha's concerned expression from earlier.
"The Winston family's official stance is that it's nothing more than a baseless, slanderous rumorspread by the yellow press..."
"And Leon hasn't said anything?"
Grace's voice was faint, still trying to process everything.Martha shook her head.Grace felt a chill run through her. A scandal that had been kept hidden for so long was now out inthe open.
What are you doing, Leon Winston?
-------
A loud whistle pierced the air as the train pulled into the platform.
The man, dressed in the livery of the Winston family, adjusted his uniform once more. He hadreceived an urgent call just before lunch and had dropped everything to rush to the WinstonfordCentral Station.When the train came to a complete stop, he hurried to the first-class carriage and opened the door.
"Welcome back from your journey..."
The man's voice trailed off as he froze in shock. The usual serene smile of Lady Elizabeth, Leon'smother, was gone, replaced by a severe, stony expression.
"Are you tired from the trip...?"
"Take me to the car immediately," she ordered, cutting him off.
In the ten years that the man had served the Winston family, he had never seen her this angry.
Could it be because of that newspaper article? Wasn't that just a silly rumor?
Elizabeth had dismissed it as nonsense at first. After all, there had always been envious peoplewho spread rumors about the powerful Winston family.But this morning, when she met with Grand Duke Aldrich, her world came crashing down.
"It's not just a rumor, Lady Elizabeth. It's true."
"You've got to be joking, Your Highness. Surely, you haven't fallen for such a petty piece ofslander."
Elizabeth had always thought of the Grand Duke as a somewhat naïve old man, but today, sherealized how utterly wrong she had been.
"I've known for a long time, Lady Elizabeth. For your sake and my daughter's honor, I've keptquiet until now. Leon knows I've turned a blind eye to it."
"Wait... that child...?"
"I asked Leon to cut ties with the woman before the engagement to my daughter. But he didn'tlisten."
Elizabeth's mind raced.So, Leon had a mistress. That wasn't unheard of for noblemen. Many had mistresses, and it wasusually something that could be overlooked.But as she replayed the exact phrasing of the tabloid's headline in her mind, her panic deepened.
She had dismissed the scandal earlier, thinking it was just gossip.But now she had to ask the question directly.
"The woman... is it true that she's... a rebel?"
Her worst fears were confirmed when the Grand Duke nodded solemnly.
Now everything made sense.
That's why the Grand Duke had hinted at breaking off theengagement. If the engagement were called off now, it would be seen as an admission that therumors were true.But that wasn't the worst of it.The scandal went beyond just Leon having a mistress.
Leon had been hiding this woman and her child under Elizabeth's own roof.
"Drive faster. Don't stop until we get to the estate. No, to the annex. Right now."
Elizabeth's voice was sharp as she barked the order to the driver. Her hands clenched tightly in herlap, her mind swirling with outrage and disbelief.We need to get rid of them. Now.As the car approached the estate, the butler stood waiting. He raised his hat slightly as the carapproached the main house.
The car came to a halt in front of the grand entrance. Without wasting a moment, the butlerinformed her:
"My Lady, the Count departed for the train station five minutes ago."
Leon remained as calm as ever, barely reacting as the car continued toward the annex.Inside the car, a low chuckle escaped his lips.
"The Grand Duke plays the puppet well."