ICM Chapter 17

“Jeanne, where did you go?”

It was only the blink of an eye. There was no way her knight guard would disappear without a word. Fear suddenly crept in.

“Jeanne!”

Ashika looked around while hastening her steps. Could something have happened to Jeanne? Or had she mentioned she would briefly step away, but Ashika hadn’t heard?

The thought of maintaining proper etiquette vanished from her mind. Her heart raced with anxiety, and her steps quickened.

Before she knew it, Ashika had blended into the crowd. Thanks to her inconspicuous attire, no one paid her much attention.

The dim street lamps and people walking by. The sound of rattling carriages passing.

‘Something feels off.’

She couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong, but a chill ran down her spine creating an inexplicable sense of discomfort. However, since Palmred Street wasn’t a place she usually frequented, she couldn’t identify the difference.

Cold sweat formed despite the cool air. As she wandered aimlessly, Ashika was gradually moving away from the bustling district. When she finally stopped her directionless walking, a familiar voice reached her ears.

“Ashika!”

Her first thought was ‘impossible.’ A voice that shouldn’t be calling her name was doing just that.

Ashika stiffly turned her body toward the direction of the voice.

“Good heavens, what are you doing here alone?”

Without waiting for an answer, the person strode over and took her hand. That small gesture felt so natural that she didn’t even think to refuse.

Ashika froze completely. Seeing her pale face, the other person’s expression also hardened.

Short blonde hair and deep blue eyes shadowed with concern. There was somehow a nostalgic feeling in those eyes looking down at her worriedly.

“What’s wrong? Are you sick? Did something happen?”

“…Rushia…”

At the name that barely escaped her lips, Drushia let out a long sigh.

“I thought you’d fainted standing up. Why are you so cold? And why are you dressed so lightly?”

Drushia stroked her chilled, slender arm before suddenly pulling her into his embrace. Ashika found herself buried against his broad chest before she could resist.

His scent filled her lungs as she breathed deeply. A comfortable blend of heavy wood and light herb fragrances. The broad shoulders blocking her view and the vivid sound of his heartbeat stirred her heart.

“If you needed to go out, you should have told me beforehand. I would have come to get you.”

Drushia expressed his regret while holding her and gently stroking her back.

His low voice seemed to reverberate through Ashika’s entire body like a drum. His touch didn’t feel uncomfortable against her body. Rather, the firm chest holding her felt tearfully warm.

“Rushia…”

“Yes, I’m here.”

Sensing something was off, Drushia continued to hold and comfort her until she calmed down.

After a while, Ashika suddenly realized this situation was wrong. The moment she became aware, her body stiffened automatically.

“Ashika, look at me.”

Noticing the change, Drushia stroked her face and lifted it. Ashika couldn’t avoid meeting those deep blue eyes directly.

“You’ve been busy lately with wedding preparations, haven’t you? I’m sorry I haven’t been able to look after you.”

“…Wed…ding?”

“Yes, our wedding. There’s so much to prepare – you should have asked the Duke to reduce your workload.”

Ashika couldn’t say anything.

She couldn’t understand how her wedding with Coral had transformed into a wedding with Duke Talion, or why this man who used to look at her with barely contained hostility was now gazing at her with such overflowing affection.

‘What is this? This isn’t a dream.’

Unless she had fainted standing in the middle of the street, this couldn’t be a dream.

“What’s wrong? Are you surprised because it’s been so long? Well, a week is quite long.”

His touch on her cheek was tender. He showed such gentleness that it seemed impossible this could be the same man, his blue eyes was full of affection as he looked at her. The feeling was so pleasant that she wanted to stay in his embrace.

“…Rushia, why are you here…?”

“The Rantal branch office is here. I came to check the list of knights joining the dispatch forces.”

Rantal, known as the Five Pillars. The country of knights that had neither king nor nobles, Rantal managed dangerous regions across the continent and received dispatch forces through agreements. Rantal branch offices were established in various countries to manage these dispatch forces.

The Tridelia Empire sent dispatch forces twice a year according to Rantal’s request, and the higher nobility often had knights from their vassal houses join. This was a particularly sensitive matter for the House of Talion, being a house of knights.

“You manage that… personally?”

Ashika felt something off about her own way of speaking. However, Drushia didn’t notice this subtle discrepancy.

“I try my best to avoid sending them to dangerous regions. Those fellows won’t take bribes or favors, but we can’t just do nothing.”

Drushia was personally handling matters that could have been delegated to an aide. That’s how special his affection for the knights was.

“But what were you doing here? I told you not to go out alone. What business could you have in Palmred Street?”

“Ah…”

Ashika suddenly pushed him away in surprise. Drushia’s eyes widened at her unexpected withdrawal.

“Ashika?”

His expression showed more than surprise–he looked shocked at being rejected. However, Ashika couldn’t understand his reaction.

‘What am I doing with this man?’

Acting like real lovers, sharing intimate touches and talking about everyday matters. How could this be possible?

‘This makes no sense.’

She recalled Weive’s face, grinding his teeth at the mention of Talion. The voices of knights demanding revenge for their lost families and vassals calling for compensation rang in her ears.

“…Later, Rushia…”

Something was wrong, terribly wrong. The man’s face smiling sweetly at her, her heart pounding wildly in response, her own desire to stay longer in his warm, broad embrace – it was all wrong.

“Why are you suddenly like this? Ashika!”

Ignoring his urgent cry, Ashika turned and started running. She ran without knowing where she was going.

‘What’s going on? Why is this happening?’

She ran frantically, bumping shoulders with people on the street and nearly falling. As she ran blindly, her foot caught on a stone and twisted.

“Ack!”

As her body lost balance and fell forward, screams hit her ears.

“Miss, stop!”

“Aagh!”

The sound of a horse’s cry and a dull impact. The carriage, having swerved sharply, crashed into a street tree.

“Miss, are you crazy?! Are you trying to die by jumping in front of carriages!”

The coachman, who had barely managed to stop the carriage, was raging furiously.

Ashika, sitting on the ground, stared at him with a blank expression.

The man sitting in the driver’s seat stood up and pointed at her. However, his angry voice and contorted face didn’t feel real.

“Are you mad, miss? Look what happened to the carriage because of you!”

When there was no response, he became even more enraged. As he showed no signs of calming down, the carriage door opened.

“What is all this about?”

“Oh my, passenger. I’m so sorry. Some crazy woman jumped in front of the carriage, and…”

The coachman belatedly remembered the passenger inside and quickly descended from his seat.

A black dress and a hat with a black veil. The person who emerged from the carriage was a woman dressed entirely in black.

“My, why would a young lady do such a thing?”

The woman with a slightly hoarse voice approached Ashika with slow steps.

“Are you hurt, or just shocked?”

“Hurt? That woman ran out on her own and fell by herself! The horses didn’t even graze the lady’s clothes!”

The coachman beside them was still fuming with anger. The woman paid more attention to Ashika than to the angry coachman.

“Miss?”

At the voice calling her, Ashika’s gaze shifted from the coachman to the woman in black.

Her pitch-black eyes gleamed coldly in the street lamplight. The moment Ashika’s eyes met the woman’s through the veil, she saw the other person flinch in surprise.

“You…”

The surprise soon transformed into an even greater shock.

“How strange. You…”

The woman’s bewildered gaze seemed to be seeing something beyond Ashika. A chill ran down Ashika’s spine.

The woman’s voice, having composed her shock, grew even lower.

“You don’t belong here. Why are you in this place?”