Coming back to the room, Alessia, whose tone had dramatically changed from moments before, scolded him. It was a far cry from her shy offer to enter first with him.
“Why don’t you just blabber to the whole neighborhood about what happened, huh? Don’t you have any thoughts of your own? Does that thing on your shoulders just serve as decoration?”
Kaon stood there, enduring her nagging. It was true that over the past month, he had been visibly awkward. Consequently, there were occasional rumors about them quarreling, so it wasn’t unreasonable for Alessia to make up stories in his absence.
But Kaon felt unjustly treated as well. He found himself involuntarily involved in deceiving his family. Having lived relatively honestly until then, it was deeply depressing to see all those years go to waste.
Furthermore, adapting to the drastically changed Alessia, who seemed to have switched souls, was difficult. He even entertained absurd fantasies that the Alessia he knew was actually a twin and had been replaced for some reason. Of course, that wasn’t true.
‘I must be losing my mind.’
Amidst this, recalling the past where he naively adored such a first love, and the foolish things he had done, was the most painful.
Him wishing for her to remain in Ferdinand forever, him worrying about the fragile Alessia… Looking back, there wasn’t a shred of sense in it.
Thinking about the past actions, which were nothing but lies to Alessia, and planning a future with excitement, made him shiver uncontrollably.
Even though they were memories better left forgotten, they resurfaced vividly every night and every dawn, keeping him tossing and turning under the blanket and preventing him from getting proper sleep. Thanks to that, he was tired every day.
“Do they look like a decoration to you?”
Kaon responded dismissively, not wanting to engage further. He was already a pensive person, and having to worry about a lifetime’s worth of concerns over the past month had left him with a pounding headache. Engaging in any kind of confrontation with Alessia in this state would surely leave him mentally exhausted.
So, he decided to let it slide for today, to some extent at least…
“A candlestick is a decoration, and that mantlepiece, too. I never realized your head was at that level. No, at least that mantlepiece is impressive to look at.”
Even that was not easy to ignore.
“What? My head? Hey! Am I a bird? Am I a chicken? And what about my face! Why are you so concerned?”
Kaon retorted irritably at Alessia’s cutting criticism. Even though he felt childish engaging in a verbal spat, he couldn’t help but snap back.
Head?! He had never heard such a disgraceful remark in his life. Moreover, what about his face? Kaon didn’t particularly like his own face, but he never thought it was lacking to the point of being considered a decoration.
That was a fact he had learned through experience, not overconfidence. Wherever he went, his presence commanded attention, and more often than not, those glances were mixed with admiration.
However, Alessia chuckled lightly and leisurely countered. Then, as if to show off, she swept her hair behind her ear and propped her chin on her hand.
“But you like my face, don’t you?”
“What…?”
Kaon was about to ask if she was serious, but then he paused. The Alessia Ingelos who was openly pretending to be pretty…was indeed beautiful.
With a naturally beautiful face and mischievous actions, there was no need to say more. The moment Kaon saw her eyes crinkle when she smiled, his heart responded without hesitation. It was horribly fitting to his taste. What was even worse was that she knew it best of all.
“Hmm? Is that a yes, Kaon?”
His jaw tightened at her calm question. The Alessia in front of him now felt just like the old Alessia he had liked.
“…You’re insanely beautiful, just like that.”
Knowing that he couldn’t turn back time, Kaon couldn’t bring himself to deny it to her face. Instead, he threw a sarcastic remark and quickly turned away.
It was unavoidable. Alessia Ingelos was the one who had done wrong, not him, right? Her face wasn’t the problem…
***
“Madeleine? Why all of a sudden?”
“Oh, dear. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What? What is this all about?”
The incident began unexpectedly with Madeleine’s arrival. Holding a tray filled with her…special juice, Madeleine seemed oddly overwhelmed.
“I was so pleased that you cared so much about my feelings, Young Master. If it’s for your health, it’s no trouble at all, so don’t worry about me.”
“Madeleine? I really don’t understand what’s happening right now.”
“You don’t have to pretend not to know. Lady Alessia told me everything. She said you shared the juice I made last time because you didn’t want to inconvenience me. She never thought of troubling poor Madeleine. She knew you would think of her…”
Clearly touched, Madeleine’s eyes even glistened with tears. “I shouldn’t be nervous in front of you, Young Master!” she said, wiping her eyes. Seizing the opportunity while she wiped her tears, Kaon glared at the curtain.
‘Is she for real?’
It turned out that the lunatic scammer had struck again.
Alessia surely knew why he hadn’t drunk the juice. She even looked at him with compassionate eyes, as if understanding his plight, so there was no way she didn’t know.
But to twist it around like this and pass it on to Madeleine, it was truly maddening.
Unable to ignore Madeleine’s hopeful gaze, Kaon reluctantly forced himself to finish the drink. Even though he held his breath while drinking it, the lingering taste made him feel nauseous.
“How is it, Young Master? I made it a little stronger than last time. It should give you a real boost.”
He wasn’t sure about the energy, but his temper was definitely rising. To have Madeleine, who genuinely cared for him, be used like this was beyond despicable.
“Ah, my lady…”
That was too much. Showing affection too openly could easily catch someone’s attention. In fact, was it not poison disguised as health juice? Judging by the taste, it seemed closer to the latter.
Kaon, who had been enduring the bitter taste, suddenly lifted his head.
“…Wait a moment, Madeleine.”
“Yes?”
“I feel a bit bad just drinking it alone. Alessia must also be tired from her recent inspections.”
Kaon covered up with the curtain forcing a smile despite his unmoving mouth from enduring the bitterness. When serving someone else trouble, one must be prepared to receive it themselves.
‘Why don’t you try it too?’
“Oh my, the Young Master has grown up so much, taking care of others!”
Seeing Madeleine look at him with pride as if she were looking at her own child, Kaon felt a pang of guilt, but conscience didn’t help with revenge.
“But what should I do with this? Lady Alessia said she doesn’t tolerate herbs well. Especially, she has allergies to wild fruits…”
“…Is that so?”
Madeleine’s words, filled with genuine pity, caused Kaon’s expression to crumple.
Wild fruit trees primarily grew in warmer regions. It was impossible for them to tolerate the climate where Alessia came from, let alone survive. But Alessia had an allergy to those fruits? That was simply impossible.
“Yes, yes. She said she also wanted to try it, but since she can’t, she felt bad for you.”
A cunning Alessia Ingelos had already prepared for every eventuality. Considering her confident acting, it was undoubtedly a premeditated plan.
“If she can’t drink it, there’s nothing we can do. Please, Young Master, have hers too and stay healthy. It will make everyone happy.”
He’s not happy at all…
Excluded lightly from the group, Kaon swallowed his tears.
***
“What? An allergy to wild fruits? Have you ever even tried eating wild fruits?”
After Madeleine left, Kaon stood in front of the curtain with determination.
Just watching Kaon drink was enough to make her full, and knowing that he was so well-grown would surely make the late duchess pleased, but in front of Madeleine, who was crying with tears of joy, Kaon had to drink two glasses in a row.
“It’s a juice made for you. It’s good for your health. Why are you acting like this?”
The response from behind the curtain infuriated Kaon even more. If it was so good, why didn’t she drink it herself?
“Stop bothering over nothing and go do something useful. Read another page of a book or something.”
“Nothing?”
Kaon, who had been simmering with anger, burst into a hollow laughter at the following words. Even if he drank something bitter, it was like pouring cold water on him.
“Alessia Ingelos, do you really think this is nothing?”
“Then is getting all worked up over some bitter drink a big deal?”
“This isn’t just about this incident. You…”
As he hesitated for a moment, thinking he might raise his voice, the curtain was pushed aside and Alessia appeared.
Leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, she looked at him as if she were bored. Even if the room was pitch black and mosquitoes were buzzing, she seemed more interested in observing them.
“Do you want to marry me and live like this? Do you really think so?”
Marriage with Alessia. A lifelong commitment.
He once sincerely hoped for all of that, but now that the situation had come to this, it seemed like an impossible dream.
“What else can’t you do?”
“Why do you want to do this?”
Kaon was genuinely curious. Ferdinand had always been antagonistic toward Ingelos. Was it really necessary to remain in enemy territory like this?
There were still issues to resolve between the families, but even so, marriage hadn’t been confirmed yet. There was still room for reconciliation within certain boundaries.
So, it might be best to end things here, keeping each other’s secrets and saying goodbye.
‘If she leaves, everything will be resolved.’
As he thought that, somehow a corner of his heart felt uneasy, but Kaon pretended not to notice. It seemed that his gullible nature was stronger than he thought.
“If I return,” Alessia spoke, silently watching him for a while, “I’m going to die.”
And that statement shook Kaon to his core.
🍉🍉🍉
T/N: things are getting more interesting. poor Madeleine. she’s so clueless and she just wants to help XD
