My steps came to an abrupt halt.
If it weren’t for the gentle breeze blowing at that moment, I might have felt as though time had stopped. I stood frozen in place, stiff as a board, staring blankly at him.
“What do you mean…?”
“Just as I said. You either didn’t understand my words properly or you don’t want to.”
His lazy azure eyes swept over me indifferently.
He lowered his long eyelashes for a moment before speaking again.
“Someone once asked me if I wasn’t starting to feel a sense of crisis.”
“……”
“So I thought I’d try feeling it.”
‘…Is he serious?’
My throat tightened. His words crashed over me like a wave, leaving me utterly dazed.
Not long ago, he wouldn’t even listen to my scoldings, yet now he was casually dropping statements like bombs, saying things I never asked for.
“Does that answer why I’m wary of Hayden Roger?”
Even while I was still reeling, Ian coolly finished what he wanted to say and asked his question. But, unfortunately, I couldn’t respond to him at all.
My face had flushed bright red, so I hurriedly lowered my head.
“Well, that’s…”
I had no idea why he suddenly started blurting out things like this, as if trying to flirt, when that clearly wasn’t his intention.
Instead of running away, my heart was racing wildly while I stood frozen in place.
‘What’s wrong with me? Calm down! Don’t get flustered! Are you seriously going to let this man make your heart flutter?’
I took several deep breaths, but my face, heated with embarrassment, showed no signs of cooling down.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
My thoughts eventually started to wander.
‘It must be this setting.’
If I had just heard those words in a different environment, I could have brushed them off as nonsense.
But with the moonlight pouring down, petals fluttering in the breeze, and the atmosphere being just right, I was sure that’s what had caused all this.
I needed to leave.
I quickly came to that conclusion and cleared my throat in an effort to regain my composure.
“Ahem. I understand. But I think I’ll head back now. It’s colder than I expected.”
Besides, my back had been feeling a bit chilly for a while.
I barely finished my sentence, which was more of a statement than anything, and turned hastily. But in my rush, I stepped on my skirt and stumbled.
“Ah!”
Pain shot through my ankle instantly.
‘Why now of all times?’
My body lost its balance, but before I could fully topple over, Ian’s arm caught me by the waist.
“What are you doing by yourself?”
“……”
“Are you all right?”
He pulled me close as he asked in a low voice. Before we came to the palace, he would flinch even at the slightest touch on his back. Now, he held me without hesitation, asking if I was okay.
“You’ve been making quite a few mistakes today.”
That’s because of you!
I couldn’t bring myself to meet his shadowed gaze and turned my eyes toward the sky instead.
“It was a mistake, so could you…?”
…Let go?
Unable to finish my sentence, I pressed my lips together awkwardly.
Ian, who had been holding me, glanced down at my feet before letting out a sigh.
“If you want to maintain distance, you shouldn’t make me work so hard.”
…Was that a roundabout way of blaming me for losing my balance?
He tightened his grip on my waist momentarily, then paused.
After a beat, he slowly released me and stepped back, setting me on my feet again.
His actions felt deliberate, as though he was holding back something. After a few false starts, he spoke in his usual voice.
“…Can you walk?”
“I think I twisted it a bit…”
I winced as I tried to put weight on my injured ankle.
“Hmm, it looks like walking on my own will be difficult. Could you… lend me a hand?”
I would’ve preferred to walk on my own, but given my current state, I didn’t want to risk another mishap.
Braving the awkwardness, I asked for help, and Ian, who had been standing a step away, extended his hand.
“Take my hand.”
“Thank you.”
Even though we had held hands all day, being aware of it now made his touch feel strangely warm and ticklish. I hesitated before taking his hand, and Ian, who had been watching my hand for a while, finally spoke.
“…Just to be clear, feeling a sense of crisis or having improper thoughts are entirely my responsibility.”
He lifted his gaze to meet mine.
“As I’ve already told you, I’ll take care of my own feelings.”
It wasn’t a grand confession, just a matter-of-fact tone.
“So there’s no need to run away. No need to avoid me like last time.”
Unlike his calm, even tone, the hand that held mine gripped with subtle strength, as if he had no intention of letting go.
“One year. That’s the time we’ve been given, you and I.”
Whether that meant he wasn’t in a rush, or that I shouldn’t even think about running away during that time, I couldn’t tell. His ambiguous tone made it impossible to grasp his true intentions. Yet, I didn’t have the nerve to ask him outright what he meant.
In the end, I quickly avoided his gaze.
“…Uh, so…”
As I fumbled for words, Ian, as if he didn’t need to hear the rest, gently pulled me along.
“I’ll escort you to the carriage.”
❖ ❖ ❖
In the end, I held onto Ian’s hand firmly as we made our way to the carriage.
Thanks to his steady grip supporting me every time I limped, I didn’t stumble. The path to the carriage was frequented by others, and as expected, we naturally crossed paths with various nobles and palace staff.
Although we weren’t doing anything particularly embarrassing, I couldn’t shake the feeling that their gazes were lingering on us, making me want to disappear into thin air.
It was no different when we finally arrived at the grand duke’s residence after much difficulty.
“Do you think you can manage the stairs on your own?”
The moment I tried to take a step in response to his question, a sharp pain shot up from my twisted ankle.
Damn it.
“…Please, take me to my room.”
It stung my pride to ask for help like this, but I had no choice.
Though my voice was barely audible, Ian said nothing and simply escorted me up to the second floor where my bedroom was.
At least I wasn’t being carried while drunk like the last time.
‘But that was then, and now I’m sober!’
As the stifling moments passed, Ian eventually helped me into the bedroom and sat me down on the sofa.
“Let me take a look at your ankle.”
Without waiting for my response, he knelt down, lifted the hem of my skirt, slipped off one of my shoes, and began to carefully examine my ankle.
“Fortunately, it’s not too badly twisted. I’ll go get some ice…”
He trailed off mid-sentence.
After staring at me for a moment, he gently released my ankle and pulled away.
“…I’ll call for the physician to bring ice for you.”
Despite saying earlier that I didn’t need to run away, there was something restrained about him now as well.
I could only nod in response, too flustered to say anything.
Ian, who had been watching me with a low, unreadable gaze, slowly stood up.
“Then, I’ll take my leave.”
“…Alright.”
I answered numbly, still half-dazed. He tilted his head slightly, as if he had more to say, but instead, he glanced out the window, now completely dark, and added softly,
“…I’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow.”
His eyes lingered on me for a moment before they moved away.
“Rest well.”
With a slight nod, Ian closed the door behind him.
Click.
The sound of the door closing echoed in the room, and only then did I let out a deep breath. That’s when I realized I hadn’t been breathing properly the entire time.
“…Wow.”
I let out a sigh of disbelief as I collapsed back against the sofa.
“This is seriously too much…”
I raised a hand to cover my face.
His low voice still echoed in my ears, the warmth from where he had touched my ankle lingered, and my heart trembled as if weighed down by something heavy.
It was a night filled with nothing but confusion.
♧♧♧
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