Two weeks after setting out for Bellum, the group returned to Ferdinand. They barely made it back to Ferdinand Castle before sunset. Exhausted from the long journey, everyone had a quick dinner and then retreated to their rooms.
“……”
“……”
Kaon and Alessia didn’t say a word to each other on their way to the same room. They avoided eye contact and acted as if the other didn’t exist. They maintained this silence even as they entered their separate doors leading to the connected rooms.
Kaon, feeling agitated, started unbuttoning his shirt and ruffled his hair. Though he hadn’t eaten much, he felt a tightness in his chest, as if something was blocking his breath.
“Why does it matter to you who I meet? Are we really at that point where we care about such things?”
“You and I. We’re just holding each other’s weaknesses. Don’t kid yourself.”
The cause of his irritation was clear. Alessia’s whispers from the banquet that day kept replaying in his mind.
Their relationship was complicated. They were engaged, but it was more a bond of mutual blackmail than romance, at least according to Alessia. The engagement was almost forced by their families, but keeping secrets was a matter of their personal choice.
‘What delusion am I under? Can’t I at least ask about that much?’
Despite how it started, Kaon felt that, as Alessia’s fiancé, he had the right to ask such questions. He might have pushed too hard in his questioning, but he couldn’t understand why it had to be such a big deal.
Moreover, Alessia never answered. Because of this, the princess’s comment about Alessia being with some man had tormented him ever since.
‘It’s not like it’s something unusual.’
Kaon sighed. It was something entirely possible. Before meeting him, Alessia surely went out and attended many gatherings where she could have met someone.
Even during court banquets, there were always people trying to approach her when he wasn’t around. Thinking that there had never been anyone would be foolish, and hoping for it was even more so.
Even if Alessia had someone in her life now, Kaon couldn’t object. Secret liaisons were common, especially among the nobility.
Having a lover was more unusual than not in their era, whether for men or women. Kaon and Alessia’s engagement was a strategic arrangement, not one based on affection, so there was no reason for him to interfere.
Yet Kaon couldn’t help himself. He was obsessed with knowing who the man was, constantly wanting to find out and confirm that there was nothing between them.
‘Enough. What’s the point?’
But Kaon had his pride. Even if he wished otherwise deep down, he didn’t want to admit it outwardly.
Instead, he tried to distract himself with another bothersome topic.
‘Why is she so unpredictable?’
People should be consistent, but Alessia Ingelos had none of that. She’d talk to him when she felt like it and then ignore him the moment things didn’t go her way.
Because of this, Kaon felt unsettled every day. Sharing a room with her was already uncomfortable, and the awkward silence in the carriage almost suffocated him.
In contrast, Alessia seemed perfectly at ease. She acted as if she could live her whole life pretending he didn’t exist, as if she had already prepared herself for that.
Kaon hated this. He didn’t mind if Alessia was annoying, nagged him, or even looked down on him a bit, but he couldn’t stand being ignored. He also disliked how she seemed perfectly fine on her own.
‘So that’s how it is.’
If the problem was her ignoring him whenever she felt like it, then he just needed to make it impossible for her to ignore him, right?
As he pondered a plan, Kaon’s eyes suddenly lit up.
***
Alessia lay on her bed with a stiff expression. Since the banquet on the second night in Bellum, she hadn’t had a moment of restful sleep.
That night, she saw Richard.
The sight of his red eyes, so similar to her own, watching her from a distance made her heart drop. He signaled with his finger for her to come up to the second floor. She hurried after him, and he stepped onto the balcony.
Alessia hesitated countless times before drawing back the curtain and stepping in. She was anxious and uneasy, fearing that Richard had come to take her back to Ingelos.
Soon, a familiar fear washed over her, and its strangeness startled her. It was absurd for fear to feel strange, but she couldn’t adjust to it.
“You look like you’re living well.”
When she finally faced him, Richard spoke, looking down at her with indifferent eyes. It was then that Alessia realized she had become too comfortable in Ferdinand. Meeting Richard made her blood run cold and her hair stand on end, just as it had always been in Ingelos.
“…I’m just doing my best not to bring disgrace to Ingelos.”
“Do you think someone like you could disgrace the family?”
Richard merely stared at her. She almost wished he would mock her or strike her, but he did nothing.
However, whenever he looked at her like that, something bad always happened. On those days, her cousins would gleefully torment her more than usual, as if they had found a new reason to do so.
“I was presumptuous. I didn’t mean it that way. I’m really sorry. I must have gotten lax while I was away.”
Her head bowed instinctively out of fear. Her shoulders hunched, and she began to tremble. After a moment, she heard a small click of his tongue. Alessia secretly sighed in relief. That small sound of disdain indicated he was somewhat appeased.
“Any abnormal symptoms from the ring?”
“Not yet. If anything happens, I’ll send a letter immediately.”
“You haven’t been found out, have you?”
“If I had been, I wouldn’t be here now. No one knows.”
“I suppose.”
Lying to Richard was so nerve-wracking that she could barely breathe, but he didn’t find it unusual. She always reacted like this when he was angry.
Besides, he had no idea there were invisible eyes in Ferdinand watching her.
If he knew, he wouldn’t have sent her there in the first place, and he certainly wouldn’t think she was still living there after being discovered.
“The magic in that ring won’t last a full year. Return to Ingelos before next summer. There are many things to check.”
“Understood. I won’t forget. If anything happens before then, I’ll report it immediately.”
Next summer. Those words felt like a death sentence, tightening her chest with pain. Even though he wasn’t telling her to leave Ferdinand right away, she felt like she was going crazy with uncertainty.
She thought she had at least two years left, but now it seemed that time might be shorter. Alessia wondered if she had been too complacent.
‘I need to think faster. I should find out where to go next…’
Remembering that night made her breath catch again. Alessia forced herself to take deep breaths and closed her eyes.
Despite her physical training, her stamina had always been lacking. She had barely managed to improve it through sheer willpower, but the long journey and sleepless nights had left her exhausted.
Returning to Ferdinand at least made her feel sleepy, which was a relief. Alessia was surprised to find herself feeling much more at ease. It was almost as if Ferdinand was telling her how comfortable it was. It was absurd to feel this way about a place she had to leave.
Lying still, she felt drowsiness come over her. It seemed like she could finally get a good night’s sleep.
Just as she was about to drift off,
Bang, bang!
A noise came from beyond the curtains.
At first, Alessia tried to ignore it. She thought whatever it was would stop soon.
But the strange noise persisted. It sounded like someone hitting a cloth or drying laundry, and it relentlessly disrupted her attempt to sleep.
“Kaon Ferdinand.”
Finally, Alessia got out of bed, yanked open the curtains, and called out forcefully. She soon let out a disbelieving laugh.
“What? Why?”
Kaon Ferdinand was shaking out a blanket with the window wide open.
🍉🍉🍉
