A Butterfly Through the Mist - Chapter 85

With trembling hands, she unlocked the door and quickly warned him.

“The investors are supposed to receive all the information on the day the results are announced, so they’ll probably come looking for her this afternoon. This is as much as I can do. Getting Tilia Ambrose out safely is up to you.”

Having already anticipated her decision and prepared in advance, Ilex bolted the moment the door opened.

The first person he sought out was Kevin, who had been locked up elsewhere.

“Young Master, we cannot stand by and let this happen! We must formally protest—!”

“Get train tickets.”

Ilex grabbed Kevin, who was furiously ranting about the injustice of it all, and issued a firm order.

“Find the fastest train to Ontaroa. Also, send telegrams to the estates I’ve prepared. Tell them the owner will be arriving soon, so they need to be ready.”

After giving several more instructions, he left his still-seething attendant behind and sprinted toward the academy.

Bursting into the administration office like a storm, he urgently searched for the teaching assistant—a woman with curly hair and thick glasses.

Soon, he spotted her in a secluded corner. Without hesitation, Ilex approached and demanded Tilia’s diploma and academic transcript. The assistant frowned slightly as she looked at him.

“Those documents can only be issued to the person in question—”

“This is for Tilia Ambrose.”

Knowing that the assistant, much like Tilia, came from a fallen noble family and secretly held some affection for her, Ilex pleaded earnestly.

“I need these to help Tilia escape from the Ambrose estate.”

“……”

“Time is running out. Please.”

The assistant hesitated, watching him as if trying to gauge his sincerity, before muttering, “Oh, to hell with it,” and dashing toward the office.

As she hurried to retrieve the documents, Ilex, wearing an anxious expression, gazed out the window. Then, catching sight of his reflection in the glass beside him, he froze.

“……”

He looked terrible. His skin was rough, and his clothes were wrinkled and unkempt.

Staring blankly at his reflection for a moment, he scowled and hurriedly tidied his hair.

After all this time, he was finally going to see Tilia Ambrose again. The thought of facing her in such a disgraceful state was unbearably frustrating.

“Here!”

Just as he finished composing himself, the assistant came running with the documents.

Grabbing them from her hands, Ilex took off at full speed, not caring that his hair was once again disheveled. He had only one destination—wherever Tilia Ambrose was.

Where is she?

Searching for her within the vast campus grounds was no easy task.

She wasn’t in the library, the dormitory, or the lecture hall—nowhere she would normally be.

Even after checking the central library as a last resort, she was nowhere to be found. Wiping the sweat from his drenched forehead, Ilex let out a white puff of breath.

It was already past noon.

I have to find her. I have to save her, no matter what.

Gritting his teeth, he anxiously glanced at the clock tower before dashing down the stairs two at a time. His heart pounded so violently it felt as if it would burst from his chest, but he was too desperate to notice.

“…Tilia.”

He finally found her standing in front of the main building’s bulletin board—the very place where, three years ago, he had first taken notice of her.

Just like that day, snow was falling from the sky. And just like that day, the woman in the distance had eyes rimmed red with unshed tears.

“Tilia.”

But unlike their first meeting, he felt no sentimental admiration. Seeing her barely holding back her tears made his heart plummet.

Noticing the pack of vultures surrounding her, Ilex immediately stepped in front of her without hesitation.

“Ilex.”

Her eyes widened in surprise, and he found her expression unbearably endearing. He had so much he wanted to say to her. So many things he wanted to tell her.

But for now, there was only one thing that mattered.

“Run.”

At his abrupt command, she looked momentarily bewildered. But even in her confusion, she grasped his outstretched hand and ran with him.

He was afraid. Afraid that her delicate, sweat-slicked hand might slip from his grasp. Afraid that she might trip and fall from the sheer speed of their escape.

Suppressing the overwhelming urge to scoop her up and carry her, Ilex clung to her small hand and sprinted like mad through the snow-covered academy grounds.

“This is a map. It has the address of the house you’ll be living in in Ontaroa. The rent for a year has already been paid in full. Just give them your name when you arrive, and they’ll take care of everything else.”

Inside the rough-moving carriage, where she bounced like a child, Ilex pinned Tilia down and quickly explained.

“Here’s the money. It’s first-class, so there will be guards, but there might still be pickpockets. Keep this in your handbag.”

Tilia still looked completely dazed. Seeing her small face filled with nothing but confusion made his heart ache.

This wasn’t how he wanted to send her off. He had wanted to dress her in the finest clothes, put the best shoes on her feet, kiss her flushed cheeks full of hope for the future, and go to Ontaroa together.

Barely suppressing the lump in his throat, he tightly grasped Tilia’s hand, which had begun to tremble slightly. Then, once again, he leapt from the carriage into the chaos of the world.

Tilia, unable to keep up with his speed, stumbled several times. Unable to watch her struggle, Ilex picked her up and ran. Tilia offered no resistance—she simply held onto his hand tightly.

If he admitted that, for just a moment, the thought of being responsible for this woman filled him with a fleeting sense of exhilaration, how wretched would that make him?

By the time they arrived at the platform, gasping for breath, the train had already pulled in.

But the fact that it had not yet departed filled him with relief. His face, drenched in exhaustion, softened as he lifted her up.

Tilia’s small feet safely landed on the train’s steps. Just like in the fairy tale he had always dreamed of.

Soon, she would leave him behind and find happiness.

Murmuring the words silently to himself, Ilex let out a faint laugh as he reached out to fix her disheveled hair.

Only then did he feel as if he had returned to the true purpose of love.

Tilia Ambrose would be happy. She would no longer cry while eating chocolate. Whether or not he was by her side no longer mattered.

“Why?”

But just as he finally managed to shove aside his lingering greed, Tilia grabbed him by the collar and yanked it back up.

“Why are you being so kind to me?”

Her green eyes trembled like a small sailboat caught in a violent storm. The hand gripping him quivered as if she had been struck by a fever.

“Why are you doing all this for me? Answer me. Why?”

It was only when he met her gaze that he realized—he wasn’t the only one who had been waiting for a confession. He wasn’t the only one who had noticed the confusion within and hoped for the truth to be spoken aloud.

“Tell me, why on earth—”

The moment the realization struck, his body moved before his mind could catch up.

In an instant, his lips met hers.

The world fell silent. Not even his own heartbeat could be heard.

All he could feel was the searing heat where their lips touched, the taste of her tears.

“Sir, the train is about to depart!”

But parting was inevitable.

Summoning all his strength, Ilex tore himself away from her and whispered softly.

“Wait for me. Understand? You must…”

Before he could finish his sentence, the doors closed.

As the train carried Tilia farther and farther away, Ilex stood in a daze, murmuring to himself.

“You must wait, Tilia.”

Because I love you.

The train released a plume of white steam as it disappeared into the distance.

Suppressing the urge to chase after her, Ilex whispered inwardly.

Because I love you. That’s why. That’s why I did all this crazy nonsense.

“Until the day I come to confess, you must wait for me.”

Ilex stood frozen like a signpost, watching until the train vanished completely from sight.

“There he is!”

Suddenly, his arm was wrenched back. In an instant, he was forced to his knees.

“Pitiful fool.”

Dazed, he lifted his head—only to see his father, Duke Edmund Davenport, standing before him.

“So you really did manipulate Cecilia Clayton into freeing you? Hah. I must admit, your cunning is commendable.”

He had expected to run into Gilbert. But seeing his father’s icy blue eyes, Ilex realized something.

At the end of this entire scheme, his father had been the mastermind.

“No matter what you do, you will never defeat Gilbert. Accept your fate and live as the house’s discard.”

His father’s inferiority complex ran deeper than he had expected. The way he looked at Ilex, as if seeing someone else’s shadow over him, made Ilex smirk internally.

‘Wait for me, Tilia.’

He bid farewell to the powerless version of himself. He also revoked the foolish promise he had made as a child.

‘Until the day I come for you. Until the day I confess my love to you.’

He would take back what was his. He would claim everything he had ever wanted.

‘…Do not let another man take you.’

Even if he had to trample every spider in his way, he would definitely bring back his butterfly.