Everyone was stunned, their eyes fixed on one place. Was there even a single person whose mouth wasn’t agape? Probably not.
It was because of the small woman who had appeared behind Jamie.
“How did you….”
Even after rubbing his eyes in disbelief, it was unmistakably Angela. When Kalian, more surprised than anyone, finally managed to speak, Angela quickly stepped forward as if to prove she wasn’t an illusion.
Even though she stood so close in front of him, Kalian still couldn’t believe the woman before him was truly Angela.
This place… How did she… The distance from the Bilton estate to here was enormous—how did she find her way here?
Kalian’s bewildered gaze, which had been fixed on Angela, suddenly shifted toward Jamie. His eyes were practically glaring. Jamie flinched and quickly raised both hands in protest, pleading his innocence.
He had been on watch at the Bilton estate. Suddenly, a horse had burst out through the gates, so he’d observed closely—and to his shock, Angela was riding it.
Jamie had immediately signaled to the other guards that he would follow her and began tailing her. After stopping by the Florence estate to confirm Kalian’s whereabouts, she had ridden westward without pause.
Of course, he had thought she would stop somewhere along the way. He hadn’t expected a young lady to have the strength to ride a horse alone for such a long time.
‘Lady Bilton…!’
After much hesitation, Jamie had finally revealed his identity. He blocked her path and suggested she return to the estate.
But instead—
‘You’re one of Kalian’s knights? Then you must know his travel route. Take me to where he is—immediately.’
Angela had issued her demand as if she’d been waiting for just such an opportunity.
Trying to persuade a noblewoman who had made up her mind with words alone was far too difficult a task for a knight. And so, things had come to this.
Still, concerned that something might happen along the way, Jamie had even given her his own horse, which had good night vision. Of course he felt wronged.
Yet Kalian’s gaze remained sharp. Jamie now shook his head along with his hands. It was Angela who came to his rescue.
“Don’t blame him. He only did as I asked.”
At the sound of Angela’s voice, Kalian’s gaze returned to her. It was a movement as natural as being drawn by a magnet.
“I came because I needed to confirm something. I heard something so outrageous today, I couldn’t ignore it.”
Angela looked up at Kalian with her fists tightly clenched. Her eyes brimmed with tears, and for a moment, Kalian found it hard to breathe.
“I heard you said you’d break off our engagement. Is it true?”
When Kalian stood frozen in silence, Angela’s voice rose without her realizing it.
“Answer me! Did you really say you would end our engagement?!”
“Who told you that? Don’t tell me… was it Lady Yvonne?”
“Just answer the question. Are you planning to break off our engagement and marry Beatrice, that girl?”
“Angela—”
“You think I’ll just stand by and watch that happen? Don’t even dream of it! You’re mine! From the moment we first met, you were mine! Did you really think I’d just hand you over to someone else? Never…!”
As she shouted desperately, her body suddenly wavered dangerously. Clutching her chest as if in pain, Angela staggered as though about to collapse. Kalian reached out to steady her, but Angela slapped his hand away.
“I will never… never let you go. You are mine. You know that. Don’t you? You…”
Her voice, strained and trembling, couldn’t last. Gasping for air and gripping her chest as if her heart were about to burst, Angela finally lost her strength and collapsed. Kalian caught her swiftly, holding her close in his arms.
The moment Angela’s voice faded, silence fell around them as if nothing else existed. The knights, startled by the intensity radiating from her small frame, were at a loss for words and could only stand frozen.
Kalian looked down at Angela’s face. She was pale as if gravely ill, yet strangely burning with fever. It was unbelievable she had made it this far in such a state. There had to be a limit to how much someone could surprise him.
“Haa…”
Kalian let out a deep sigh. Only then did the others begin to move, as if awakened from sleep.
“Shouldn’t we bring the young lady to the tent?”
Viego approached and suggested.
“That would be best.”
Jamie rushed over and added his agreement.
“……”
Without a word, Kalian nodded and lifted Angela into his arms.
Every time he held her, he was surprised at how light she was. It was hard to believe she’d aged at all—she was so slight, it made one question whether she had grown at all. And yet, the emotions contained within her were unfathomably heavy.
Kalian laid Angela down in one corner of his own tent and ordered clean water to be brought.
Once it arrived, and everyone else had been dismissed, Kalian dipped his handkerchief in the water and carefully began to wipe the fever from Angela’s flushed face.
As the cold cloth touched the back of her neck, Angela flinched slightly in her sleep.
“It’s okay…”
Kalian murmured in a voice barely audible, as he gently worked to cool the burning heat. All the while, what burned even hotter was his own chest.
If Angela had properly received the proposal letter he’d sent, she would not have ended up like this in front of him. Even if she couldn’t be happy, she shouldn’t have been so crushed, so broken.
It must have been Yvonne’s doing.
If that were true, then Kalian had no right to be angry. This was a situation Angela had brought upon herself. The seed she’d sown had grown into a poisonous weed.
And yet, his heart kept leaning toward her. The thought that she had been deceived by a lie and had come this far, filled with anxiety—it tore at him inside.
He shouldn’t have let this happen. Resentment toward Yvonne began to rise once again.
“Umm.”
“Are you awake? Are you alright?”
Angela’s faint groan was immediately met with a response. She flinched and turned to the side. Kalian’s worried face was looking down at her.
Only then did Angela recall what she had done to see Kalian, and she quickly raised her upper body. Kalian, treating her as if she were a critically ill patient, helped her move.
“I’m not alright. You didn’t answer me.”
Angela’s pale voice was directed at Kalian.
“Do you really need an answer to know?”
Kalian responded as if it wasn’t even worth answering. As he spoke, he gently brushed her cheek with his hand—her hair had apparently stuck there.
Normally, that would have been answer enough. But in a state of emotional turmoil, no one wants to leave room for even the smallest doubt. Angela once again pressed him for a clear answer.
“Yes. I need to hear it to know.” “It seems there was a misunderstanding.”
Since she wanted it that badly, there was no reason not to say it. Kalian calmly opened his mouth.
“There will never be a breakup between me and Angela. I’ve never once thought about it.” “But you said you would break off the engagement…”
Angela mumbled, still unconvinced.
“I didn’t mean it.”
Kalian’s voice grew more solemn.
“I said something I didn’t mean. Please forgive me. I was wrong at the time.”
It was a belated apology. But even if it came late, it was like rain in a drought—Angela accepted it gratefully.
Soon, round droplets began falling onto her hand. For a moment, Angela thought it was raining. She looked up, wondering if there was a hole in the tent ceiling.
“An… Angela?”
It was only after seeing the bewildered look on Kalian’s face that Angela realized she was crying.
“Why… why…”
Kalian’s pitch-black eyes trembled violently. It was like the night sky itself was shaking. Wanting to see that face, shaken because of her, more clearly, Angela wiped her eyes.
But the clarity was only momentary. Her vision quickly blurred again with the constant stream of tears. Along with it, Kalian’s face vanished once more. Disappointed, Angela kept wiping her tears.
Meanwhile, Kalian could only stand there helplessly, watching Angela cry. She didn’t even sniffle or swallow her sobs, just quietly wiped away the streaming tears. If not for her hands constantly reaching toward her eyes, Kalian might not have even realized she was crying.
The wet eyes of a woman unaccustomed to tears were strange to see. It was a side of her he had never witnessed before.
Even at her mother’s funeral, she had stood firm. She would get angry, but she never cried. Seeing her like this now left Kalian in a daze.
Then it happened.
“Don’t you know how to comfort a woman who’s crying?”
Angela’s chiding words pierced him like a switch. Kalian snapped out of it as if struck with a cane.
But even after hearing that, he didn’t know what to do. Angela was right—Kalian had no idea how to comfort a crying woman.
“The only woman I needed to comfort never cried.”
That was the reason. Angela had never cried, so he had no memory of consoling her. The only time he’d soothed anyone was Beatrice—but comforting a crying child was entirely different from comforting a woman.
Unable to find the right answer, Kalian cautiously reached out and brushed her wet cheek. Then, in a low voice, he whispered:
“Please don’t cry. I don’t know what to do.”
His voice was close to pleading. Angela, staring at him intently, wiped the tears from her eyes with determination. Then, in the next moment—
“Hold me.”
She said it with unmistakable resolve. Like an obedient servant following an order, Kalian immediately embraced her.
Though she had ridden a long distance and collapsed from a fever, sweating profusely, Angela strangely gave off a pleasant scent. Kalian’s arms around her tightened slightly.
But then—what went wrong? Instead of hugging him back, Angela forcefully pushed Kalian away.
Her tear-streaked face had turned sharp. It was a far more composed expression than when she was crying, though Kalian had no idea why. Confused, he stood there while Angela, frustrated by his lack of understanding, turned her head with a pout and spoke.
“I meant hold me as a woman.”
It took quite a while for Kalian to fully grasp the meaning of Angela’s words. No, it would be more accurate to say he understood from the moment she said it—but it took time for him to accept that those words had truly come out of Angela’s mouth.
This was a temporary tent set up during a reconnaissance mission, meant for a moment’s rest. The only thing on the floor was a sleeping bag, and the only light came from a small oil lamp. Outside were the knights who still hadn’t gone to sleep.
In many ways, it was the worst possible situation to give Angela what she wanted.
“We’re not married yet.”
So, a voice firmer than expected came out. Angela’s nape flushed red.
“Don’t be so uptight. You’re old enough to have seen plenty by now. Surely you know how men have fun with women.”
Even as she spoke stubbornly with her head turned, Angela’s voice didn’t sound the least bit annoying.
“You said you wouldn’t break off our engagement. Then give me undeniable proof you won’t.”
Kalian stared gently at the stubborn Angela. Then, in one swift motion, he pushed her down onto the sleeping bag and moved over her.
Angela, suddenly falling backward, looked up at him in surprise. She had asked for this, yet now, with Kalian this close, she looked like she might faint.
As Kalian raised a hand and brushed her hair, Angela swallowed hard. The sound was loud enough to echo in the quiet tent.
Kalian let out a small chuckle. It struck him anew how unfamiliar Angela was with men.
It made sense. Just as Kalian had chased after Angela since childhood, Angela had only ever stood before him.
Kalian knew better than anyone that there had never been another man for her. He used to think her clingy obsession was a burden—so why did it feel so welcome now?
What had changed?
─── ･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ───
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