Somehow this man’s face seemed even more radiant than yesterday. Perhaps it was due to his bright golden hair. He seemed to glow even in the dim interior.
Drushia quickly scanned the densely packed bookshelf before continuing.
“Besides, the temple library isn’t freely open to individuals. You need approval each time you want to view something. Do you plan to broadcast what you’re looking for to everyone?”
“How did you get here…”
“Greetings, Duke Talion.”
“Depending on the circumstances, it could be a good greeting, or not.”
Drushia responded to Julma’s cold greeting with a sarcastic tone.
Ashika sighed, touching her heating forehead. Why did this man become so agitated whenever he saw people around her?
Seeing Julma’s expression crumple, Ashika quietly gestured. It meant she wanted him to leave.
After hesitating briefly, Julma nodded slightly and withdrew.
Due to the narrow passage, Drushia’s sturdy frame seemed to completely block the way forward. Julma barely managed to slip past him sideways and disappeared from view.
“How amusing. A young duchess of the Empire wandering around a dusty bookstore district.”
“How long have you been watching me?”
“Perhaps from the beginning?”
“So now you’re openly following me.”
“Isn’t that why you rejected my letter? You’re not that oblivious.”
“No, who…”
She hadn’t exactly rejected it. She had sent the messenger away empty-handed rather than providing a reply.
Drushia took a large step toward Ashika. Though people were just a few bookshelves away, those few shelves formed a solid wall. The dusty bookstore suddenly transformed into an intimate space.
Ashika started to step back but stopped, remembering that behind her was a tower of books that might collapse at any moment.
Even though they were already quite close, Drushia reduced the distance further. At just a handspan apart, he bent down and whispered in a low voice.
“Why choose the difficult path when there’s an easy one?”
His deep voice, resonating with his breath, touched her ear. Ashika unknowingly squeezed her eyes shut.
“I need time to think…”
“If I give you time to think, you’ll try to run away again. Don’t I know you well enough?”
It was clear she was looking for ways to escape. That’s why he had followed her here, to not give her any opportunity.
“What you’re looking for is very ancient information dating back to the founding of the empire, and there are only three families in the empire related to the founding myth. One is the imperial family, one is the extinct House of Arkpella, and the other is Talion. Do you really think you can find such information in a place like this?”
He couldn’t understand why she hesitated when he was so openly offering himself as a resource. Meanwhile, he was unaware of how persistently he was pushing her.
“I…”
When she opened her eyes, his deep blue eyes were right in front of her.
“What would happen if I kissed you here?”
As he watched Ashika’s eyes grow round with surprise, Drushia slowly tilted his head.
With a soft touch, his moist lips lightly pressed against hers before pulling away. Thump, thump. Ashika’s heart began to pound heavily.
Once again, his lips adhered with a touch, lingering longer than before before withdrawing. Or rather, the tip of his tongue slowly licked her lips as they seemed to part.
A heated breath escaped. His tongue teasing the edge of her lips was sweet yet unsatisfying. Ashika’s shoulders rose and fell slightly with her quickening breath.
Just a little more, if he would come just a little closer.
But Drushia didn’t press any further. Unlike yesterday when he had been ravenous, he only traced her lips with the tip of his tongue and placed light kisses.
“…And yet you do this.”
While you can’t firmly reject or clearly refuse. While in fact you want this too. His voice, now lower than before, whispered.
Ashika opened her eyes that she had unconsciously closed. Her gaze fell on his lips that had just teased her before moving away.
“Is there really more to think about? Will you answer me now?”
An answer. The answer he wanted. The answer Drushia was persistently urging.
The thought that she should refuse kept spinning in her head. Thoughts of founding myths and grand duchies had long since flown from Ashika’s mind. Her mouth went dry, and anxious breaths escaped her lips.
It was Drushia. Someone she missed just by thinking about him, someone whose name she wanted to call out loud. Whatever the starting point had been, whatever the reason, her feelings were ongoing. So how could she refuse? It had been a meaningless worry from the beginning.
“…Keep your promise.”
Her voice, barely audible, trembled faintly. What it contained was not fear but tense excitement. And anticipation.
A small laugh flowed into Ashika’s ear. His warm lips touched her ear with a soft brush before pulling away. As if he could hardly contain his delight, yet still trying to suppress his overflowing emotions.
Drushia finally stepped back from Ashika and stated firmly.
“Tomorrow, 10 AM. I’ll send a carriage.”
He was a man who always got what he wanted in the end. Drushia forced himself to turn away, glancing back at Ashika once more.
Even after he had finally disappeared from sight, Ashika remained motionless for some time. It felt as if she could hear her own heartbeat.
Her racing heart made her feverish. It was a pleasant warmth that heated her heart and made her body feel buoyant.
****
The forest rustled in the wind, making a refreshing sound. A place so secluded it was hard to believe it was in the capital. Even the white curtains fluttering in the breeze seemed peaceful, creating a drowsy atmosphere.
Drushia held Ashika captive in his arms and kissed her struggling neck.
“You’re always trying to run away as soon as it’s over. If you keep doing this, I might have to torment you twice as much.”
“I’m soaked with sweat. I want to wash up.”
Their damp skin stuck together uncomfortably. Even in this breezy mountain lodge, it was still summer.
“Just a little longer.”
“Do you remember how long you’ve been saying ‘just a little longer’?”
Despite her tired reproach, the man’s body remained firmly attached to her buttocks.
“Rushia.”
“Mmm.”
Drushia still only responded with a murmur.
“Really… what time is it now?”
They had arrived around noon, but already the red sunset light was seeping in.
In truth, she couldn’t properly remember what state of mind had brought her here. From early morning, while preparing herself and during the carriage ride, she couldn’t think straight due to nervousness and excitement.
A relationship beginning with her own will, not an accidental occurrence.
Her nervous feelings disappeared the moment she arrived at the villa and met Drushia. It was because he didn’t give her any time to think. From the moment they faced each other, their indulgence in each other began and continued endlessly. Only when she saw the setting sun after rolling around like animals driven by instinct did she come to her senses.
Ashika struggled to escape from Drushia’s embrace. When he wouldn’t budge, she slapped the solid arm wrapped around her chest.
“Ah, how cold of you.”
Drushia clicked his tongue in disappointment as he watched Ashika finally push him away and rise from the bed.
Unlike her hurry, Drushia remained sprawled naked on the bed with no intention of getting up. He was entranced by the beautiful sight of Ashika’s white naked body bathed in the red sunset light.
Feeling his intense gaze, Ashika quickly covered herself with a sheet and gathered her scattered clothes one by one.
Her undergarments dropped beside the bed, her slip thrown onto the sofa, her dress pitifully strewn on the floor. But she couldn’t put them on right away.
“Those documents, where are they?”
“Since you won’t run off, why not wash up and have dinner first?”
“The documents come first. I’ll wash up and come out, so please have them ready.”
Ashika firmly stated her intention and walked into the bathroom.
“Really cold-hearted.”
His center, which she had left behind, was still not quiet. When he ran his hand down it, slick fluid coated his fingers.
“Haa… Being dedicated to her purpose isn’t bad. Not bad at all.”
Not long ago, Ashika had rejected his proposed meeting. She had rejected him so coldly that he thought she would never look back. But somehow they had ended up entangled again and vaguely made their way here.
Even Drushia, who considered himself level-headed, lost his mind during their soul-draining, intense lovemaking. Even his meticulously calculating and questioning manner completely disappeared before Ashika.
“It might be good to wait a bit longer and see.”
Following their desires while avoiding trouble between their houses. They could continue these secret meetings and propose marriage when necessary.
If it didn’t work out, they could end the relationship then. If that time came, Ashika would cut him off cleanly without looking back.
Though it was a perfectly satisfactory calculation, Drushia’s face twisted. It felt like being pierced by a sharp ice shard after being immersed in languid satisfaction. Even his heated heart grew cold.
The strange feeling of his head and heart colliding with different wills. The more he regained his composure, the more unpleasant Drushia’s mood became.
****
The materials brought from the Talion mansion’s archives were not few. Books and documents carried by two knights occupied half the table in the room.
‘When did the knights arrive?’
Ashika was more concerned about the knights than the documents. When they arrived at the lodge, she had only seen the caretaker and a few maids. She didn’t know how long the knights had been there.
“Aren’t they Talion knights?”
“They’re not from my territory and they’re tight-lipped fellows. Not all Talion knights hate the Igraines.”
Knowing what she was worried about, he had specially selected the personnel coming here.
“Aren’t you more worried about your guard knight?”
“Jeanne isn’t from my territory either. She studied at the academy and joined the duke’s household through Sir Coltern’s introduction.”
That’s why Jeanne didn’t have hostility toward Talion. She just disliked them because she had so many troubles from conflicts between knights when she was deputy commander.
After the knights moved the materials, the lodge caretaker brought some light refreshments.
“This will take a while, so eat something.”
“This isn’t something I can look through in just an hour or two.” Ashika sat in a chair at the table and started examining the stacked materials. So focused on the documents, she didn’t even glance at the plate Drushia pushed toward her.
“I thought it would be books or something, but this is…”
“Talion is not a family of scholars, but a family of knights. It’s fortunate that this much documentation remains. Besides, the first head of the house didn’t leave many records as he spent his time on battlefields.”
What Drushia had brought was not books but parts of the family records that had been passed down since the first generation. They weren’t organized into a single document, so the contents varied. There were genealogies, battlefield records, personal diaries of family heads, and letters.
Even for Ashika, who dealt with all sorts of documents, these scattered papers felt overwhelming. She let out a deep sigh.
“How long would it take to go through all this here?”
“My job was just to bring them to you. Finding the information is your task.”
“I don’t suppose I could borrow these?”
“You’re asking the obvious? You can only see these while you’re here with me.”
These were records handed down through generations of the family. Though not strictly confidential, they were materials not shared outside the family. Showing them at all was already a significant gesture.
Ashika touched the documents with a troubled face and turned to Drushia.
“The story you told me last time, could you at least tell me which document contains it? That would be faster.”
“That’s a story I heard from my grandfather. It should be in the records somewhere, but even I don’t know where.”
Drushia shrugged. Whether he truly didn’t know or was pretending not to know was uncertain.
“But why are you suddenly trying to verify information about the founding myth?”
