If Only I Could Have Saved You Sooner

Creed couldn’t possibly not know what the black piercing embedded in the back of his hand meant.

It was proof that he was a member of the Dawn’s Eye.

And it was one of the marks that only those who had earned considerable trust within the Dawn’s Eye could obtain.

In fact, the reason Creed didn’t have the same mark on the back of his hand was because he hadn’t fully earned their trust yet, as he hadn’t offered his daughter, Sylvia.

“I, I have no idea what you’re talking about…”

But Creed feigned ignorance upon seeing the piercing in Kyle’s hand.

Anyone could tell it was an awkward act. Just moments ago, he had glared at the piercing with wide eyes, but belatedly realizing the situation, he began to deny it.

In response, Kyle wore a faint sneer and cast a soundproof barrier around them before speaking.

It was both a consideration and an urging, telling him to speak freely now that there were no ears to hear.

“There’s no need to pretend you don’t know. Eleanor-gyeong, you know very well what this means, don’t you?”

“…So, you too?”

“Yes, I am also a member of the Dawn’s Eye.”

“……!”

At his confirmation, Creed’s eyes flashed.

To think that this man, barely of age, was a member of the Dawn’s Eye, and an individual who had built such strong trust with them as to have this mark engraved.

“I apologize for not acknowledging you last time. As Eleanor-gyeong knows, we must tacitly pretend not to know each other, even when we know we are comrades…”

“So it was true.”

When Kyle mentioned the iron rule among the Dawn’s Eye members that Vermillion had told him about, even the slightest doubt that had lingered on Creed’s face disappeared.

However, one question remained.

If he really was a member of the Dawn’s Eye, why reveal that fact at such a strange time?

“I understand why you hid the fact. But why reveal it at this point? That’s still puzzling to me.”

“It’s simple. To help Eleanor-gyeong.”

“Help me?”

“Aren’t you trying to save your wife?”

“…So you knew that much.”

Creed nodded, cautiously guessing that they had told him everything from above.

In fact, the reason he joined hands with the Dawn’s Eye was indeed to save the wife he had vowed to love for a lifetime.

No, to be precise, it ‘was’ right.

That was somewhat in the past.

“Alright, it’s as you say. But how are you going to help me?”

“It’s simple. Eleanor-gyeong, aren’t you trying to obtain what you desire from them by offering your daughter as a price?”

“That’s right.”

Watching him nod indifferently, as if readily acknowledging his unfilial behavior, Kyle felt a surge of anger but suppressed his emotions and added.

“But from what I see, your daughter seems to distrust Eleanor-gyeong quite a bit. That’s probably why she wanted to stay in our castle longer.”

“…Wait, what are you talking about? Wasn’t it because an important appointment came up that she couldn’t return?”

Creed frowned as he listened to Kyle’s words.

According to what he had been told, Sylvia had no choice but to stay at Frieh Castle for a few more days because of an urgent appointment there.

But Kyle’s words made it sound as if Sylvia was refusing to return to Kaintreche Castle and had decided to stay there on her own.

“That’s the point. In fact, nothing special came up for your daughter. She simply chose to stay with our family a little longer because she was afraid of returning to Kaintreche Castle.”

“So that means she told you that?”

“Yes. I don’t know what Eleanor-gyeong thinks, but it seems your daughter trusts me quite a bit. She even brings up things from her heart without much hesitation.”

“Keuk….”

No wonder she hadn’t returned for so long, even though any urgent business should have been over by now. To think she was badmouthing her own father behind his back.

Kung.

Thinking of her as a useless bitch, Creed slammed his fist on the table.

Kyle merely maintained a nonchalant expression as he watched the scene.

“But I’ve already decided to be on the same boat as Eleanor-gyeong, haven’t I? Furthermore, I’m also a member of the Dawn’s Eye.”

“So you’re saying you’ve decided to help me on your own.”

“That’s right. It’s just pure goodwill, unrelated to where I belong.”

“Keuheu.”

Creed managed to calm his rising anger and wore a satisfied smile at the rather convincing words.

If he had decided to help Creed as a member of the Dawn’s Eye, Creed would have felt uneasy, as he would have ended up completing the order with their help.

But if he was helping with this out of personal goodwill, the story was different.

When everything was perfectly resolved, Creed could boast that he had accomplished this entirely with his own strength.

If that were the case, he could laugh off the incidents that occurred along the way.

“Good, very good. But what method are you going to use to help?”

“It’s simple. As I said before, your daughter trusts me quite a bit.”

“She does.”

“I’ll use that to put her to sleep for a while, and in the meantime, you can bring in the sorcerer. If I leave my post, those above will be sure to think that Eleanor-gyeong accomplished it alone.”

“Indeed, simple.”

Although he expressed it that way, it was a plan that Creed liked very much.

Above all, he was extremely pleased to see his admirable heart in leaving his post so as not to steal the credit.

Where did such a lucky guy come from, really.

“Then what do you want? I don’t think you’re going to say it’s pure goodwill, even while going through this much trouble.”

However, that’s that, and what needs to be calculated must be done thoroughly.

As he held the belief that there was no such thing as goodwill without a price in the world as his own creed, he believed that Kyle must have something he wanted in order to be so benevolent.

And this was what Kyle had been waiting for the most.

Usually, in times like these, it’s a good way to increase trust by bowing down and saying that you don’t need any favors, but Kyle had no intention of doing so.

No, to be precise, such a method could be poisonous to the man sitting in front of him.

Even if he couldn’t pay the full price, demanding even a small price was a good way to relieve the burden on a man like Creed Eleanor, who believed that there was no such thing as pure goodwill.

“Then, may I ask for just two things?”

“I’ll listen and decide. Tell me.”

Creed tilted his head with a somewhat passive attitude, as if he was bothered by the fact that there were two things.

In response, Kyle tilted the teacup in front of him and opened his mouth softly.

“The first is more of a pathetic request than a favor… There was a price I offered as a condition for giving me your daughter, wasn’t there?”

“There was. I clearly agreed to give you 10% of the Lyaird County tax as a price, didn’t I?”

“I would like to revise that a little. Because I don’t know much about the world, I spoke a little excessively at the time.”

“Keu keu, so you had that side to you too. I thought you were calling for it too strongly.”

As Kyle scratched his cheek with an embarrassed expression, Creed burst into laughter that was close to ridicule.

Logically speaking, it was such an absurd amount that Creed thought this guy was crazy at the time.

Of course, the position of head of the Lyaird family was heavy, but even so, it felt like he was calling for it too strongly from the beginning.

Usually, in such negotiations, the basic thing is to present a small level at first and gradually raise it to find a point of agreement with the other party.

“Alright, how much are you going to lower it?”

“5 pun. Exactly half.”

“Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. Even that much isn’t a small amount.”

Although it was cut more than he thought, Creed was still able to nod cheerfully.

From the beginning, 10% was an absurdly large amount, but even 5 pun is not a small amount.

Moreover, considering that this is not strictly attributed to the Eleanor family, but rather goes into his secret back pocket, it is more than enough.

“And the second is just that you answer what I ask.”

“Oho, what is it?”

A question out of the blue. Is it such an important content that he has to use one of the negotiation proposals?

As Creed expressed interest as if he was intrigued, Kyle erased the kind smile he had been wearing until just now and asked in a subdued voice.

“…Eleanor-gyeong, if your wife’s body were to recover right now, and you could return to a good relationship with your daughter again, would you go back to the past?”

As the answer to that followed without the slightest hesitation, Kyle nodded, pretending to be calm.

Maybe he had known it all along.

It was just a truth he didn’t want to face.

＊＊＊

Sylvia waited for the two to finish their conversation, and upon hearing the news delivered by Mel, her mother’s maid, she hurriedly moved her steps to the drawing room.

When she arrived, Creed had already left, and only Kyle, left alone in the drawing room, was standing on the balcony with a somewhat bitter expression.

Watching that figure, Sylvia cautiously took a step towards him.

“Lyaird-gongja…?”

“…Ah, I’m sorry. Gongnyeo. I didn’t even know you were here.”

“Ah, no, it’s okay. More than that, did you finish talking with my father well?”

“Yes, I finished well. He’s a pleasant person.”

He’s saying that, but his eyes aren’t smiling.

Sylvia, who intuitively sensed that whatever story was exchanged in this room, it wasn’t a very welcome one, was about to part her lips.

Seueuk.

“L, Lyaird-gongja…!? T, this hand…?”

Sylvia stopped her approaching steps and stood there blankly, blushing, at his hand that suddenly came up over her head.

What kind of sudden mental attack is this?

Just as she was about to express her bewilderment, wondering if something was stuck to her head, Kyle’s hand came down sideways and gently stroked her from the crown of her head to the side of her hair.

“I’m sorry, Gongnyeo. I just felt like doing this.”

Sylvia could only nod blankly, looking up at him, at the voice that was released with the gesture, which felt somewhat bitter.

She didn’t know what kind of conversation took place here just now, but she could tell that it wasn’t a very welcome content for Kyle.

At the same time, she also knew that the emotion he was feeling towards her now was pity.

However, if there was one thing that Sylvia failed to realize in the end, it was that the emotion of love was underlying the base of that emotion of pity.