novelraw Chapter 366: She Doesn’t Want Ignatius Leclair to Intrude into the Last Sanctuary of Her Heart
Chapter 366: She Doesn’t Want Ignatius Leclair to Intrude into the Last Sanctuary of Her Heart
As the New Year approached, every household was festively preparing for the celebrations. The woman he admired, however, was in this secluded Old Town, wielding a pair of scissors to snip waist-high wild grass.
Ignatius Leclair’s lips curved into a faint smile. Amid the opulence and vanity of the Imperial City’s social scene, she remained unmoved. Despite the boundless glamour of the Entertainment Sector, she showed no attachment. So this was Delphine Carter—at her core, still a pure and innocent young girl.
He could roughly imagine the tranquil life she had led for the first fifteen years, alongside that elderly man he had never met.
The man took a long stride and entered through the gate.
The wild greens in the yard were dense and overgrown. Delphine was considering using a hoe to clear them all when suddenly, her pores stirred open. The crisp and familiar scent of pine from the man behind her wafted over.
Ignatius Leclair handed her a clean grey-blue handkerchief and said in a low voice, "If you sweat and catch a chill from the cold wind, it’s easy to fall ill."
Delphine’s expression changed, her body stiffening slightly. She turned around and said coolly, "Why are you here?"
The man lowered his face, reached out, and held her arm firmly—not too tight, not too loose—and without a word, he started wiping the grime from her face and the sweat from her forehead.
Ignatius worked meticulously, his focus unwavering.
Gregory Walker, who had rushed over, saw the intimate interaction between the two. The man was noble and striking, the woman refined yet aloof. A peculiar atmosphere arose, one that seemed impenetrable to outsiders.
"Delphine, are you alright?" Gregory’s heart sank as he called out anxiously, "You, don’t be afraid. If he dares try anything, the neighbors here won’t stand idly by."
As Gregory spoke, he was about to step outside and shout at the top of his lungs.
"Sir, this is the Walker Family’s fifth Miss. We’ve come to bring her back," the assistant—his face a mask of exasperation—grabbed Gregory’s arm and sent a pleading look toward Delphine. "Miss Delphine, say something, won’t you?"
Only when Ignatius had carefully cleaned her small face did he put away the handkerchief with satisfaction. He cast a glance toward the young man who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, and said coolly, "Delphine has no familial bond with you. Isn’t your behavior a bit presumptuous and lacking in propriety?"
His voice was sharp and refreshing like a mountain spring. Whether it was his use of "sir" or words like "presumptuous" and "improper," everything about him exuded his extraordinary background and long-standing position in high society.
The young man of the Walker Family was instantly crushed, left in shambles.
He had spent over a decade studying diligently, earning a place at a prestigious university envied by many. After graduating, he entered a Fortune 500 company. Handsome and employed in a high-paying industry, he even owned an ancestral home in the Old Town and had already made a down payment on a house in the Imperial City. On the marriage market, he was highly sought after. Yet standing before this man, a single glance or an effortlessly spoken sentence was enough to sink him into the depths of insecurity.
Gregory opened his mouth, not a single word managing to escape.
"Mr. Walker, they’re my friends." Delphine, seeing his pale expression, rushed to offer an apologetic explanation.
She gathered up the scissors, broom, and other tools, brought them inside, and shut the door. Slinging a bag over her shoulder, she faced the three men in the yard and said, "If there’s anything to discuss, let’s do it outside."
"But weren’t you going to honor your ancestors?" Gregory asked, unwilling to relent. This man was clearly not from their world in the small town. If Delphine were to return here, then she and he might still belong to the same world.
"I’ve been paying my respects elsewhere each year. Since I haven’t returned for so long, it hardly matters to skip another year or two," Delphine replied flatly. The man stood in the courtyard, making its run-down and cramped state appear even more pronounced. This yard was the last sanctuary of her inner self, and she did not wish for Ignatius Leclair to intrude upon it.