I am living unmarried with my terminally ill lover.
Episode 9
The room fell silent for a moment.
The corners of Ines’s mouth curved upward as she locked eyes with Kalad.
Now that Kalad has finally made up his mind, I’m going to have to go along with it.
Ines, her expression now composed, turned to Dihas with her chin raised.
“Hearing you say that in the presence of my lover, I’m not too pleased.”
“……yes?”
“But I’ll let you off the hook for this one, seeing the look on my lover’s face.”
“Oh, no…… lover…….”
Dihas stuttered.
He looked shocked and dumbfounded.
“Have you forgotten that the last time I visited you at Asdeon’s mansion, we decided to start dating to get engaged?”
The lie slipped out of Ines’s mouth.
“That never happened, did it?”
Dijas had distorted the events of that day all by himself.
Ines had proposed, Khalad had refused, and that was the end of it.
That was true, of course.
Ines glanced at Kalad again.
He looked very tired, and Kalad furrowed his brow.
He already looked regretful.
But Ines had no intention of letting go.
“There’s nothing more I want to say, so I’ll get up.”
Ines rose to her feet first, her gaze fixed on Khalad.
Kalad slowly rose to his feet.
“Come on, wait……!”
Dihas shouted, trying to catch Ines.
Before he started walking, Ines glanced at him and said.
“Next time this happens, I’ll see you in court.”
Ines left Dihas alone with his jaw clenched and exited the guardhouse with Khalad.
When they were sure no one was around, Khalad spoke first.
“You did this, did you do this?”
“No. I knew what your brother was going to do and prepared for it.”
“Foreknowledge?”
Ines thought for a moment.
She had never really told Kalad about her powers.
She’d only mentioned that she could prevent misfortune.
It seemed the time had come to reveal her ability to see misfortune since she would never gain his trust if she kept it hidden.
Ines lowered her eyes, then looked straight at Kalad and answered.
“I have a special ability.”
She was a little nervous about revealing it to anyone outside of her family and Shamor.
“The ability to see the misfortune that will happen to those I come in contact with.”
Immediately, Khalad’s face crumpled.
He looked incredulous, like someone who’d been told a lie.
“Where in the world is such an ability?”
“You’ve seen it a few times, I can show you more if you want.”
Ines replied lazily to Khalad’s denial.
“By declaring yourself my lover, I assume you mean you accept my proposal?”
Kalad bit his lip.
He must have realized it was too late to turn back.
Calad looked down at Ines, his eyes tired.
Ines stared back at him, then slowly lowered her eyes.
Having gotten the hang of it, she spoke quietly.
“I have suffered because of this ability.”
Suddenly having so much money was hard.
Swallowing hard, Ines smiled wistfully.
“My parents didn’t believe me, or they thought it was sinister and kept me away.”
“…….”
“Seeing other people’s misery. It’s not normal.”
Khalad said nothing.
But Ines saw his eyes flutter briefly.
Sympathy, identification, anything was good.
If it meant that Khalad’s boundaries would relax a little.
“That’s why I decided not to marry and live alone.”
“…….”
“You know, it’s hard to stay unmarried at your age, isn’t it? You can’t just take anyone as a lover, and…….”
The corners of Ines’s eyes twitched.
“I thought you might be someone I could share my secret with since we have similar heartaches.”
“Still, isn’t that too much of an advantage for me?”
Khalad hadn’t completely let go of his suspicions.
Objectively speaking, Ines had lost.
But with Kalad’s presence, her ability to see misfortune was restored, so Ines was a windfall.
“Because you’re my gold.
Of course, I wasn’t going to tell him that.
If he found out, he might try to seize the initiative.
How many men have changed their demeanor as soon as they realize they have the upper hand?
They might ask for a share of the fortune, or threaten him.
Instead of telling him the truth, Ines said one word.
“I don’t do anything to lose money.”
Ines unfolded the parasol in her hand.
She lifted the wide-brimmed shawl high and placed it over Kalad’s head.
Khalad’s brow narrowed.
“What are you doing…….”
Before he could finish his sentence, there was a loud bang and a drop of water fell.
In an instant, the sky darkened, and dark clouds obscured the sun.
The raindrops quickly turned into a downpour, pounding Yangshan.
The sound of the rain drowned out the sounds around him.
Within breathing distance, the two men stared at each other.
Khalad’s gaze, unmoving, darted downward.
He stared at Ines’s rain-soaked shoulders.
The parasol was too small for both of them.
A sigh escaped Kalad’s lips.
“I see.”
Kalad tilted the parasol toward Ines.
“Let’s talk about fake lovers or whatever.”
Ines’s eyes widened.
“Ms. Ines.”
Just then, someone called out to her from behind.
A woman, almost as tall as Kalad, put an umbrella over her head.
“You’re catching a cold.”
Both Ines and Kalad were already soaking wet.
Ines opened her mouth, noticing that the rain was getting stronger.
“I don’t think we can talk much more here.”
Ines took an umbrella from the taller woman.
“Will you come to my house soon?”
She offered the umbrella to Khalad.
“We can talk more then.”
*** *.
With Ines gone, Halo, alone, walked down the hall.
His steps were dignified and graceful.
He reached his bedroom and opened the door.
And the moment it closed.
Halo ran straight to the bed, punching the pillow.
“Kalad Asdeon!”
How dare you make love to my sister!
She said she was pretending to be in a relationship, but I don’t think it was him.
It must have been love at first sight.
The list of enemies has grown.
“It’s hard enough to protect you from that girl and that inspiration…….”
Halo remembered two people she didn’t want to mention by name.
A faceless father and a half-sister.
Her father, Marquis Harbert, had divorced her mother years ago.
The cause was his infidelity.
After discovering his longtime affair, the Marquis married his mistress after informing his mother of the divorce.
As it turns out, they already had a child together.
He was even older than Halo.
Even before Halo was born, her father had been having an affair.
After their parents divorced, Ines and Halo stayed with the Marquis of Harbert.
They later joined their mother’s family, the Counts of Elrdin.
At the time, the family was on the verge of bankruptcy.
She was in debt for supporting the Marquis of Harbert, who was ill with business.
Ines and Halo struggled to survive in the dying county.
Their half-sister, Ranier, on the other hand, was made a marquise overnight and lived a life of luxury.
As if by a twist of fate, the marquis’s failing business took off immediately after their divorce.
Ranier, who had acquired his fortune and status with ease, had written to Halo often since he entered the Academy.
<I am so happy to have a little brother. Let us be close.
<Can we go to the Academy together? Just don’t tell Ines.
The letters were friendly and sweet, but their purpose was clear.
To drive Ines and Halo apart.
Of course, Halo never wrote back.
“Anyway, it’s not about you now.
Before I could return to the academy, I had to deal with Kalad Asdeon, the master of the magic sword.
He was the unhappiest man in the world, and he had a reputation for being a character flaw, and there was no telling what he might do to her.
So she had to take matters into her own hands and protect her.
Halo stood up and sat on the edge of the bed.
“She said she’d leave me when she got her powers back.”
Halo muttered, hugging the teddy bear Ines had bought her.
“How can we figure out how to get her powers back and…….”
Halo’s eyes glowed murderously.
“I’m going to have to break her up.”
