Episode 110. Daniel Bohan (1)

Daniel Bohan’s life had been textbook perfect. Born as the eldest son of the Count Bohan family, he received an education befitting his status from an early age. Once his younger sibling was able to assist with the family affairs, Daniel began learning swordsmanship to prepare for more external duties.

There was only one unexpected event in his life: his engagement to Sienna Liata.

It was an order from the Emperor, and his father, not wanting to offend, didn’t utter a word of refusal. To his son, who strongly objected, his father simply said,

“I swear on my name, it will never lead to marriage. So don’t worry about it.”

Daniel couldn’t understand his father’s words. How could an engagement not lead to marriage?

‘Is the Princess going to break off the engagement as recklessly as she arranged it?’

The rumors about Sienna’s temperament seemed to align with such unpredictability. The Bohan Count had further explained,

“We can gain favor with the Imperial family just by being engaged. It’s a win-win situation. You just need to stay out of it. There’s no need to be overly kind or too harsh.”

However, Daniel couldn’t help but harbor resentment toward Sienna, disliking the idea of having his life dictated by someone else.

Though his father advised against treating her too coldly, Daniel always kept a thorny attitude towards Sienna.

‘A woman with no shame. There couldn’t be anyone more vile in this world.’

It took him a long time to realize how wrong he was.

Had Beth not manipulated him, he might have lived his entire life misunderstanding Sienna. The engagement with Sienna had indeed been forced upon him, but Sienna had never treated him like a puppet.

– “Daniel, hold me.”

“Ugh!”

Daniel woke up in a cold sweat, haunted by the vivid memory of Beth’s voice.

“Haah, haah.”

As he opened his eyes, he found himself in an unfamiliar room. It was unfamiliar for a reason—driven by the tormenting memories of Beth, Daniel had left the Bohan estate in the capital and retreated to their territory.

‘This isn’t the capital. She’s not here…’

Even so, his heart raced uncontrollably. It was a terrifying experience, feeling his mind go hazy, losing his will, and being controlled by someone else’s commands. Being forced to confess love to a woman he didn’t love, to embrace her against his will.

“Sigh…”

Daniel buried his face in his hands, horrified. Ironically, it was Sienna Liata, the woman he had despised, who had saved him from that control.

Somehow, Sienna had broken the spell that Beth had cast on him and had declared with confidence,

“A world where only you are happy deserves to disappear.”

‘What was I even looking at when it came to her?’

Daniel sighed again, but this time it was different. The first sigh was one of relief at no longer being controlled by Beth. This sigh was filled with regret.

‘In the end, I knew nothing.’

He had been a fool who didn’t even understand his own feelings. It was only after she had moved on to someone else that he realized his emotions were more complicated than he had thought.

Why else would the memory of her in that white dress at their first meeting still be so vivid? He had already lost a piece of his heart to her back then.

‘It’s all useless now.’

Daniel ruffled his hair in frustration. His body felt as heavy as lead, but he knew there was no way he could fall back asleep.

‘Maybe I should take a walk.’

The Bohan estate was far quieter than the capital. On nights like this, there wasn’t a single light on in the houses.

Looking out the window, he saw that it was drizzling. He considered taking an umbrella but shook his head—it wasn’t raining hard enough to warrant one.

‘There’s always the chance of encountering wild animals.’

In such a quiet town, it wasn’t uncommon for hungry foxes to wander into the area at night. Daniel, preparing to chase away any potential animals, grabbed his longsword and was putting on his coat when there was a knock on the door.

A moment later, the door opened cautiously, and the butler stepped inside.

“Ah, Master, you’re awake?”

“What is it?”

“I think you should come out.”

The butler bowed his head and added,

“We have a guest.”

“A guest?”

On a rainy night? Daniel tilted his head in puzzlement.

* * *

The reason we ended up staying at the Bohan estate, which wasn’t originally part of our honeymoon plans, was entirely because of Percy. I glared at him and said,

“It’s because you dragged out the schedule. If we had left early in the morning, we would have already passed this place by now.”

“That’s…”

Percy looked a bit aggrieved but then fell silent again. I sighed through my nose.

Of course, it wasn’t entirely Percy’s fault. Although we had left late, what truly delayed our travel was the heavy rain that started shortly after we set off.

With so many carriages and the rain pouring down, we couldn’t speed up on the mountain roads.

By the time the sun had set, the nearest town where we could stay was the Bohan estate.

‘Bohan… that’s Daniel’s territory!’

While it was natural to assume that Daniel would still be in the capital, the situation was still uncomfortable for me.

As I continued to pout and sulk, Percy patted my shoulder with his large hand and said,

“No noble would refuse to host another noble during a journey. Especially since it seems the Bohan Count owes you a debt of gratitude.”

Taking care of guests during a journey is a sort of mutual aid—nobles treat their guests well in hopes of receiving the same treatment when they find themselves in need later.

And yes, Daniel Bohan does owe me quite a bit. If it weren’t for me, he would still be suffering under Beth’s influence.

‘Though it does prick my conscience a bit that I didn’t exactly save him out of concern for him.’

In any case, there was no need to feel burdened about staying at the Bohan estate. But even though it made sense logically, it didn’t mean my emotions were entirely convinced.

I spoke with a pouty face,

“Even so, it still feels awkward. I mean, he’s my ex-fiancé.”

“That’s not even worth calling him.”

Percy cut off my words as soon as I mentioned my ex-fiancé. I blinked, and then a mischievous smile spread across my face as I asked,

“Are you jealous?”

I expected a cute reaction, but instead of being flustered, Percy confidently lifted his head and replied,

“I’m your husband. I have every right to be openly jealous.”

“…Could you not be so unnecessarily confident about that?”

It was frustrating to be the one teasing, yet he didn’t seem flustered at all. Feeling a different kind of frustration now, I puffed out my cheeks, but just then, the butler knocked on the carriage window.

“They’ve opened the gates at Bohan.”

“Alright.”

This meant we’d be staying at the lord’s castle on the Bohan estate. Although I felt a bit uneasy for a moment, I shrugged it off.

‘Daniel won’t be here anyway.’

While Daniel would eventually hear that we had stayed here, I could be shameless enough to not worry about it.

But just as I was trying to convince myself to stay calm as I stepped out of the carriage…

‘Why is Daniel here!’

I was shocked to find Daniel standing there, looking just as surprised as I was.

* * *

Both Percy and I were taken aback by Daniel’s sudden appearance. Percy frowned and asked Daniel,

“What are you doing here?”

“I came down to the Bohan estate with my younger sibling right after the banquet,” Daniel replied.

Hearing his response, I bit my lip.

‘Why didn’t I think of that? It makes perfect sense that he would want to get away from a place filled with bad memories.’

When I last saw Daniel at the banquet, he looked as if he were under some sort of spell. Considering how he had been manipulated by Beth, it was only natural that the capital would have become unbearable for him.

‘I honestly thought it would be years before we met again.’

I had expected that we would eventually cross paths again, being nobles from the same country. But I thought it wouldn’t be until much later, when we could both laugh about what had happened with Beth.

‘This is happening much sooner than I anticipated!’

I wondered if Percy sensed my anxiety. He clicked his tongue and muttered under his breath. I strained to hear what he said.

“Weakling.”

“…”

Percy, aren’t you just a bit tougher than the average person?

I quickly stepped in before Percy, who was clearly irritated, could say anything harsh to someone who had already been through enough.

“It’s nice to see you again, Count Bohan.”

It was just a polite greeting.