Inside the library, where Raguel and Leroy waited in silence for the course of events, Yara's voice was heard loud and clear from the other side of the walls near the main windows, requesting her master's attention.
To one side of the library was a small balcony overlooking the mansion's exit. Unconsciously, Cain had remained behind the curtains, unable to make any move. When he had left the dining room, everyone around him had vanished for him, and since then, the atmosphere had turned somber and hostile.
Yara waited. She remained staring at the polished floor, not knowing where to begin or even if she should speak. Cain waited as well. He assumed she had something to report, and for that reason alone, he did not ask her to leave him be. Yara was an extremely disciplined woman. She knew that informing her master about the affairs of other nobles' kin could result in a reprimand. However, she knew the son of Count Salieri perfectly and understood that what was happening had everything to do with him.
At first, Cain did not react. It was impossible for him to find meaning in what Yara began to say. The image of Delilah abandoning the mansion while Eilith tried to prevent it seemed completely unreasonable to him. His face grew even more serious. And soon, he found himself moving of his own volition.
The path to the exit had never felt so long or so tortuous. The library had always been close to the entrance, so he did not understand why it felt impossible to get there in just a few seconds. Naively, he wanted to believe that Neil's proposal had been merely part of a nightmare. How could she leave so soon? What kind of cruel woman was she, truly?
—During our trip to Yuor, he...
Eilith's voice finally reached the senses of a distraught Cain. It was then that the two young women appeared before his eyes exactly as Yara had described. They were outside the mansion. A Bathory family car waited beside Delilah.
—I don't want Cain to make a mistake he will regret for the rest of his life!
Unexpectedly, Cain's feet stopped. Eilith's words immobilized him. Something in them felt painfully familiar, and a sense of shame spread through his chest. He wished to stop her, to prevent her from continuing to speak, but he was not even capable of taking another step.
—That night, when Cain encountered that woman... —Eilith continued— I heard him clearly. And it wasn't the only night. It wasn't the only time Cain wished to see you, even while he slept.
A chill ran through Delilah's body. She tried to attribute it to the coldness of the air. She had heard every word, but she couldn't find a logic to sustain them. She opened her eyes wider, as if she needed to verify that it was indeed Eilith Billeter who had just said that. The very woman of whom she had felt jealous on so many occasions.
—I am sure you know —Eilith finally said—. About Cain's feelings for you.
At that point, Delilah did not want to resort to excuses or feign ignorance. That noble lady was desperate to stop her, even if her efforts proved futile. She diverted her gaze toward the garden, searching for the highest part of the fountain. That had been the only place where she had felt truly comfortable during her stay at the mansion. The sensation of getting wet, of getting dirty with mud without fear of being reprimanded, had been incomparable.
She wondered if she would ever do something like that again living at the Bathory mansion. But she immediately answered herself. Now she had to concentrate on being useful to the house that had chosen her because it considered her valuable.
—Today I will leave the mansion —she finally said— because if I continue in this place, I will only keep making things harder for him.
Eilith furrowed her brow slightly.
—What do you mean?
—Cain will be fine —Delilah responded with serenity—. He surely will not make any mistake.
Then she picked up the small suitcase that had taken her less than half an hour to prepare. In truth, she did not have much to take with her. The dress Neil gave her during the Marquise's party took up most of the space. She placed it in the back of the car and closed the trunk herself, as if she had nothing else to wait for.
—Delilah...
—I have to leave now, Miss Eilith —she said softly—. Please... take care of the man I love.
For the first time, misery was clearly drawn upon her serene face. She turned around, ready to depart. But before Eilith could even think of stopping her a third time, a hand reached hers and prevented her from touching the car's door handle.
Cain's silhouette had appeared behind her. The rest of Delilah's slender body was dragged along by the sudden movement, and in an instant, she stood face to face with Cain's cold visage. The atmosphere created between the two of them seemed to separate them from the world. Despite their normally expressionless countenances, at that moment, both stood exposed as their gazes met.
—Why...? Why is Cain...?
A low and surprised voice rose from behind. Lucrecia had just arrived at the mansion. She had stepped out of the car that stopped right behind the vehicle Bathory had sent for Delilah, but she stood still upon witnessing that incomprehensible scene.
Without saying a single word, Cain took Delilah's hand. And he led her back inside the mansion, completely ignoring the uncertainty of the "porcelain doll."
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