Love You, Love You Not (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 009
The hand wrapped around her waist tightened, and just as his tilted head was about to claim her lips, the flustered woman—eyes wide with panic—covered Casar’s fever-glazed eyes with both hands.
“W-wait a moment, Your Grace.”
“……?”
“It seems like you’re acting this way because of the fever… I think it’d be best for both of us to stop here… If you really can’t hold back, should I move to another room instead?”
Ha.
Casar let out a quiet laugh, feeling the small, soft hands covering his eyes. He felt just like the brutish jailer who’d harassed her—except he hadn’t bitten her ear.
He realized he hadn’t made a mistake thanks to her bluntly pointing out his fever-driven, reckless advance—and yet he found himself amused by his own excitement at merely touching her.
“There’s no need for you to move to another room. You’re right—it’s probably just the fever.”
“I’ll sleep on the sofa tonight. You’re the patient, so—ah…!”
Before Scathach could finish her sentence, her vision spun, and she blinked in bewilderment as her back met the soft mattress. At the edge of her sight, the Duke’s crimson eyes—now calm—gazed steadily at her.
“Don’t treat me like a patient. I won’t touch you again, so sleep here.”
The Duke kept his word and didn’t lay a finger on Scathach. It was only natural, considering he’d left the bedroom before dawn and hadn’t shown his face since.
That was for the best. After all, almost kissing the head of House Blachnatt had been so shocking to Scathach that she’d been unable to sleep all night.
It didn’t matter that the Duke was objectively handsome enough to make one swoon—or that her own heart had fluttered in that moment.
If their lips had actually met, she’d have been unable to deny the servants’ accusations that she’d become his mistress.
Left alone in the bedroom, Scathach looked at the fresh bouquet placed on the bed—again. Unlike yesterday, she couldn’t manage a smile today.
Fed up with the noisy bedroom cleaning that clearly showed no consideration for a mistress, Scathach retreated to the bathroom. When she emerged, she found herself all alone—but honestly, she preferred it that way.
Taking a deep breath, Scathach picked up the questionnaire and fountain pen left on the table. The form, supposedly prepared by Sergeant Lakan, contained far more questions than she’d expected.
She answered without hesitation about her tenure at the hospital, the date she’d visited the villa, and her arrival and departure times on the day of the incident—after all, she only needed to state the facts. But then…
While diligently recording answers, Scathach’s eyes widened at the final question, written in elegant script unlike the others.
[Did you truly lose your memory?]…No.
I remember everything.
The injury from the bullet fragment you fired, the blood you shared with me—I remember it all. But that day… that one day… I ran because seeing you, heir of House Blachnatt, would’ve made my stomach turn.
After all, the day I fled was the very day my parents were executed and hung from the walls of the Teshia Empire.
Erasing the honest reply forming in her mind, Scathach moved the pen and wrote a brief response instead.
[Just a little. Enough that it doesn’t interfere with daily life.]Reading it over, she thought it sounded fairly convincing. She hoped he wouldn’t press further—out of wounded pride, if nothing else.
Having finished the questionnaire yet still confined to the bedroom, Scathach asked the butler—who’d come up to serve meals—for some scrap fabric and a sewing kit.
Thus, she spent the entire evening sewing, then soaked her body in a steaming bath. After massaging the stiffness from her neck, she changed into a neat, simple chemise dress the butler had prepared.
Walking back to the bedroom through the corridor connecting the bathroom and dressing room, Scathach swallowed hard at the overwhelming presence filling the space.
“O-oh, you’re back?”
“…….”
Casar, who’d been reading her answers, lifted his crimson eyes to look at her.
“You’re back,” she’d said—as if she’d been waiting for him. The unfamiliar phrasing made him pause, holding his gaze on her a moment longer before replying.
She chewed her lips, looking oddly awkward. It had only been a day since last night, yet the tension between them was unbearable—even though she’d clung to him like a stuffed toy while sleeping just last night.
“Umm… So, were you very busy today?”
“I went on a tour of the territory.”
“Oh….”
“Why?”
Her expression seemed to darken for an instant—but before he could ask why, she smiled brightly, as if nothing were wrong.
“I was just… curious. You weren’t here all day, so I wondered.”
“……I see you’ve finished the questionnaire.”
Setting the document down on the table, Casar chuckled as his eyes fell on the neatly stacked, colorful little rabbit plushies in the wicker basket.
“What’s this? Did you make them?”
“I had some free time….”
And hadn’t she gone and made ones that looked just like him? He picked up a pale gray rabbit from the basket—its hue amusingly reminiscent of her subtle hair color.
“Planning to sell them?”
“N-no… I used to give one to each child who came to the hospital….”
Scathach blinked, watching the gray rabbit held hostage in his large hand.
Perhaps because his hand was so big, the little rabbit looked even smaller and more pitiful. Held like that, it almost felt like she ought to rescue it….
“From tomorrow, make them in my office.”
“I’ve already finished the questionnaire… Does that mean I’m still under suspicion? You said you met Director Loegal.”
Displeased by her prolonged reply to his simple instruction, Casar frowned. Seeing his grim expression and his silence, she hesitated, then asked again.
“And… when will I get my necklace back…?”
“I believe I said I’d return it if you cooperated.”
She hadn’t been particularly uncooperative—but neither had she been cooperative enough to warrant its return. When he pointed this out, she quickly stepped closer to him.
“But I am cooperating! I answered the questions diligently, and even though you didn’t handcuff me, I didn’t run away…!”
She was right. After skimming her answers, Casar acknowledged it was unreasonable to keep treating her as a suspect—her statements aligned with those from Director Loegal, the nuns at the convent, and the patients.
Moreover, it was clear the Security Force had botched the investigation.
Although Security Force members were dispatched by the Imperial Correction Bureau, they were still under the jurisdiction of the local lord.
But by the time he’d finished touring the territory with his retainers and gone to deal with the Security Force, all personnel involved in the case had already been taken to the Imperial Palace, replaced by entirely new staff.
Had Attila moved first to avoid criticism for their shoddy investigation? He knew how much Casar hated such underhanded interference…
Or perhaps Attila had discovered something—like why Emperor Pobgen, who despite his dementia had been physically robust, had suddenly died of a heart attack.
But what truly irritated him at this very moment was the last line she’d written on the document.
“Enough that it doesn’t interfere with daily life….”
Convents lay outside the judicial authority of both the Imperial Palace and local lords. Naturally, Casar—who hadn’t even been the lord at the time—couldn’t find her no matter how thoroughly he searched Lindkoem.
Afterward, occupied with the military academy, he’d had no chance to look for her outside of holidays—and now this girl, who’d vanished without a trace, claimed she’d forgotten only him.
At first, he’d assumed she was lying—but on reflection, she had no reason to lie. In fact, from her perspective, it’d be far more advantageous to cling to their past connection and appeal to his sympathy.
That she’d genuinely forgotten only him—that was what rankled. It wasn’t as if he wanted her to remember anything specific—it just felt ungrateful and infuriating.
“I’ve already told you how to leave here: don’t stray from my side for even a moment. I’ll return your necklace once you keep your promise.”
For Nemed, this was his final holiday before graduating from Merton College, the prestigious university in Corbe, with a law degree. Facing his son, the father anxiously tapped his foot.
“Something feels wrong. Scathach isn’t the type to skip work without notice…”
“Why worry so much? Maybe she’s just unwell?”
Unaware of the errand his father had sent Scathach on, Nemed replied carelessly. Loegal sighed, gazing at the unexpectedly clear sky.
The gloomy weather earlier had already felt ominous—was something truly amiss?
“I’d prefer it if that were the case.”
Seeing his father’s unease was serious, Nemed spoke first.
“I’ll go check on her.”
Nemed immediately went to Payone Convent to look for Scathach. Even before stepping inside, he sensed something was wrong.
Security Force officers surrounded the convent buildings, citing that the inner areas fell under church jurisdiction and couldn’t be entered freely.
When one officer learned Nemed had come looking for Scathach, he approached and began interrogating him—asking if he knew a woman named Scathach who lived there, what their relationship was, and so on.
Soon after, many residents of Lindkoem underwent repeated questioning. As a result, word spread rapidly through the village that Scathach had murdered someone and been dragged off to prison.
Not long afterward, news arrived that Duke Blachnatt had died—and naturally, Lindkoem villagers began whispering sordid rumors that the beautiful Scathach had been involved with the late Duke and that their relationship had collapsed when he refused to promise her a future.
Nonsense!
That was what people who didn’t know Scathach would say. The nuns of Payone Convent, Nemed and his family, and even patients who frequented Loegal’s hospital all submitted weekly petitions on Scathach’s behalf.
His father declared it was all his fault and insisted he’d resolve the matter himself, as Scathach was innocent. Though uneasy, Nemed returned to Merton College, trusting his father’s word.
About a month passed.
Convinced Scathach would be back by now, Nemed made time to visit Lindkoem—and as he arrived directly at his father’s hospital, he dropped his bag upon hearing an old man’s cry.
“Our nurse has become the new lord’s mistress!”
The old man—who’d always slipped candies into Scathach’s apron pocket—beat his chest in despair.
He kept repeating how his daughter, who worked in the royal palace—though it wasn’t called that anymore—had seen Nurse Scathach and heard she’d become the new lord’s mistress.
Pale with shock, Nemed immediately headed for the Lindkoem manor.
“I saw the lord myself not long ago! He said if my testimony checks out, she’ll be released!”
His father shouted after him, trying to stop him—but Nemed heard nothing.
A mistress?!
To him, Scathach was irreplaceably precious.
It had been when Nemed was sixteen and Scathach fourteen. After losing his younger sibling to an epidemic, Nemed had accompanied his father—who’d partnered with Payone Convent for medical volunteer work—in hopes of calming his heart.
Apparently, he hadn’t been able to hide his gloom.
After each volunteer session, Scathach—his sister’s age—would awkwardly comfort him as he cried shamelessly behind the building. She’d also lost family, and there’d been days when they both broke down sobbing together.
Ever since, he’d cared for Scathach like a younger sister.
Even the time he learned Scathach had been shot by some noble while searching the forest for her dog, Nix, who’d run off during a hunt—Nemed had been the one to dump every bouquet that “shooting bastard” sent daily to her hospital room.
“That jerk shot her and thinks flowers will make it better?!”
“But he doesn’t seem like a bad person…”
“Scathach, didn’t I tell you? All men are rotten to the core!”
“Is Nemed rotten too?”
“Honestly, I’m not—but once you start making exceptions, there’s no end to it, so I guess I should suspect myself too…”
At his uncertain reply, Scathach had laughed brightly.
When he’d half-jokingly suggested they live together in the capital after his graduation—sharing an office, half for his law practice and half for her clinic—it had never been a marriage proposal or a promise of forever.
He hadn’t intended it that way—and if he had, Scathach would’ve drawn a firm line and run far away.
And now this? Scathach would never willingly become anyone’s mistress. Clearly, that bastard new lord had taken advantage of her under the false accusation of murder.
She was so undeniably lovely that he’d always worried about leaving her behind—and now this had happened!
Determined to bring Scathach away immediately, Nemed headed straight for the Lindkoem manor. With his “little sister” touched by one of the Ten Houses, rational thought was the last thing on his mind.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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I see. So that was why he said he didn’t love her 😭
Now they are best friends hahaha so ezra is end now?
Haaah, can understand the reason for this novel is “love you, love you not” it was so hard for that words to be spoken