Chapter 3
After he became blind, he gave up on his life.
He was skilled enough to throw a dagger and hit the target even with his eyes closed.
Eleon could not accept the fact that his honor as the most powerful knight in the Empire was being thrown into the gutter.
He lived like a wounded beast crouching in a cave. So he didn’t know how much time had passed.
No servant wanted to serve him. They trembled and ran away every time they saw him as if they had seen a terrible monster. When a new maid came, they never stepped into his room twice.
But Rona was different. Twice, three times, four times.
She greeted him indifferently, and without hesitation, she came in and cleaned his messy room.
He wasn’t embarrassed by showing off his private parts to strangers. They weren’t going to see each other again anyway.
It didn’t matter to me if I showed a disgraceful appearance to someone because I knew they would run away.
Later, I found out that the new maid’s name was Rona. Also, she’s a pretty young woman. And she doesn’t run away when she sees his bottom every day.
As those days piled up, she pulled him out of his dark daily life.
She was a surprisingly smart woman. Rona taught him the way to the sofa, to the bed, and to the bathroom with only tiles on the floor.
That’s how he was able to live a decent life to some extent after a year and a half of frustration. But that was it.
He waved his palm to himself in front of my face. There was no end to the terrifying darkness, not even allowing the slightest amount of light.
Eleon often thinks that he is just closing his eyes instead of being blind. He tricked himself to make himself feel a little better.
“Didn’t you want to go to that cafe?”
Rona was no longer the maid cleaning the room. She became Eleon’s exclusive maid.
Every day, Eleon ate with Rona. She would first serve his meal, and then she would eat her share.
Before, Bernard would get furious if she sits at the same table as the master. Now the butler also loves her by calling her Miss Rona.
When they ate together, she talked about this and that. And every time he asked, she would explain it to him. But recently, only once, Rona asked me first.
“Have you ever been to Café Cardinal?”
Of course, I’ve never been here.
I asked Bernard, he said it was a famous cafe not far from the residence.
“Is it a popular dating spot for couples?”
“Yes, my lord. A lot of young lovers go there. It’s not a place you’d like to go. But how do you know about such a place?”
Can’t believe it’s a place where lovers go. Why did she ask me if I’ve been to such a place?
Perhaps…. Does Rona want to go there with me? A cafe called the Sanctuary for Lovers?
My heart was pounding.
After Eleon lost his sight, he never went outside.
However, he went out for the first time, as he was called by the Imperial Palace, to confirm that his condition had stabilized.
He went directly to find Rona in Café Cardinal. The reason he got more confident, was because Rona sighed more and more these days.
“I might be bothering you.”
He relied a lot on her when she became his eyes and hands.
As he sat down in the cafe, he felt the gazes pouring toward him and Rona.
That’s what Eleon was concerned about because he wondered if he and Rona didn’t look like a couple.
Then I suddenly wondered what Rona looked like.
“It’s because I stand out.”
On the excuse of checking what she looked like, I stretched out my hand with self-interest.
And she casually placed her face forward.
My heart pounded when my hands touched her soft cheek. My rough hands didn’t seem worthy of caressing her delicate skin.
Still, I couldn’t take my hand off her.
He pretended to be calm and tried to remember Rona’s face with his hands.
His hand touched her soft and plump lips.
But Rona didn’t get flustered as if nothing had happened. And that upset Eleon.
He realized that the excitement he had been expecting a little bit was an illusion. And his heart crumbled away.
“A blind man like me.”
Rona won’t see him as a man.
His colorless eyes widened just at the thought of her.
“It’s pathetic.”
Eleon blamed himself.
KNOCK KNOCK
There was the smell of food.
“It’s time for dinner.”
Eleon’s heart fluttered just hearing Rona’s voice.
“Come on in”
She opened the door, pushing the tray inside.
Eleon was in the usual outfit he wears at home.
“It smells good.”
Rona smiled, as she watched him sit quietly in his usual chair, waiting for her.
“What’s on the menu today?”
Rona thought it was cute when she saw the big man sitting obediently like a child waiting for her.
She dragged the table in front of Eleon’s chair, arranging the meal. Suddenly, Rona carefully spoke to him.
“Can you guess, My Lord? It’s something you like.”
The man who had been paying attention to the tip of his nose replied immediately.
“It smells like sausage and spices.”
“That’s right. It’s vegetables and grilled sausages. Also, there are baked beans.”
Rona wrapped a large napkin around Eleon’s neck. The handsome, long-legged man looked like a high fashion model, even with his bib.
“It’s hot, so eat it slowly.”
He quietly opened his mouth and Rona started to feed him.
“Sigh.”
I sighed unconsciously.
“What’s with the sigh?”
“Did I sigh?”
“It’s the second time you sighed.”
“I didn’t sigh. I was trying to blow it cause it’s hot.”
“Excuses.”
Eleon laughed.
“Oops!”
The wrongly timed spoon hit his lips.
Rona got up, wiping Eleon’s lips with a small towel.
“Sorry, sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
Rona smiled awkwardly and tore the bread to put it into Eleon’s mouth.
“Ok, it’s enough, you should eat too.”
“Thank you”
Rona sat across from Eleon and started eating her share of food.
“Sigh.”
She sighed for the third time unconsciously, she covered her mouth in surprise.
Without a doubt, he began to worry again.
When she first started working at the Grand Duke’s mansion, Eleon was faithful to the concept of a ‘blind beast‘.
His hair was always messy because he didn’t wash it. He wore ripped clothes and cried like a beast refusing to eat.
What a pity I felt when I first saw Eleon like that.
She was hungry and with nowhere to go. Rona did her best for Eleon, and he started changing little by little.
She puts up with Eleon’s looks. Perhaps it was thanks to the fact that she’s obviously a thoughtful and helpful person.
As Rona continued working, he gradually became ashamed of his actions.
The beast recovered his human side bit by bit.
His hair was tangled with food splattered from the dishes he had overturned, returning to his black hair with a fragrant sandalwood scent.
Eleon regained the same intelligence as before.
He raised her salary several times, which was originally quite high. That’s how Rona became the only maid at the Grand Duke’s residence.
“Is work stressful?”
It was a great comfort for Rona when Eleon started taking care of her. She had no place to lean in this world because she had lost her memory.
She was grateful for his kindness.
“If there’s anything I can help with, you can always talk to me.”
“No, it’s ok.”
I can’t believe I’m getting help from Eleon to find the female lead.
It would have been an accomplished fact to see Karina in the reception room of the mansion after sending a letter in the name of Grand Duke, but it was roughly a disintegration of the original . And that was never going to happen.
“I guess I made you worry. It was personal…. Apart from that, do you feel uncomfortable?”
Rona looked at him. After going to the cafe, he was strangely gloomy.
Eleon was originally a man of great pride. Never saying or doing anything he would regret, with outstanding and superior abilities that knew no failure.
That’s why he was disappointed when he realized there’s nothing he could do.
Rona blamed the author of for misusing Eleon’s habit.
She needs to add reality appropriately. Since he’s the main character, he is set up to be good at everything.
Isn’t it sad that Eleon’s life was falling apart just because he spilled soup?
What the hell is wrong with Eleon?
He should feel some self-satisfaction. It was the first time he had been out to the Imperial Palace and a cafe.
“Didn’t you want to go to Café Cardinal?”
“Yes. I wanted to go.”
“But you didn’t seem to like it that much. You were distracted.”
Ha, did he notice?
She talked a little indifferent, focusing on whether Karina would pass by or not.
It was something anyone would feel bad about. Since Eleon couldn’t see, he just focused on her.
No matter how important it is to find Karina, however…..
Rona felt sorry for him.
“It’s my first outing in the capital. The outside was interesting… I’m sorry.”
“That’s how it was. I again… … .”
He tried to leave out what he was going to say.
“Did you like The Capital?”
“Of course. Compared to the country I used to live in, this place is completely different.”
Anyway, when Rona opened her eyes for the first time, she felt exhausted.
She was lying on the shore of a lake deep in the woods.
Was she trying to commit suicide?
I have thought about it once.
You were so pretty and young. Did she try to drown in a lake?
Luckily for her, an elderly couple saved her. When she said she had no memory, they felt sorry for her and even took her to the city.
In any case, Rona must have lived far from the capital.
“How is it different?”
“The road is much wider and paved with stones. The area I lived in had muddy ground, and yellow dust rises from the ground.”
Rona remembered when she briefly was at Eleon’s castle, before coming to the capital together with Eleon.
“I think all the people in the capital are stylish and pretty cool. There are so many beautiful women, and the men are very handsome.”
“Was there many handsome men?”
“Yeah, I was busy enjoying the view.”
Once again, she realized Eleon was feeling down.