Episode 112

“It’s just pure curiosity, so please feel free to speak comfortably.”

No, you don’t look comfortable at all.

I always thought he was good at keeping a poker face, but now his thoughts were written all over him.

In the end, I burst into laughter and said,

“Ludwig, you know too, right? Who in the Empire doesn’t know about Daymond?”

Even after my words, Ludwig tilted his head as if nothing came to mind.

“He’s one of your distant ancestors too, isn’t he?”

“A distant ancestor…?”

Holy Emperor Daymond von Karsian Terium. An emperor from the Karsian Grand Duchy who marked a significant chapter in the family’s history.

Ludwig finally seemed to remember, looking at me with a face that asked, “You mean that one?”

“Yes, that’s right. The only Daymond I know is the one from history. What were you suspecting?”

Of course, Daymond was still one of the most common names in the Empire.

You could probably find someone with that name nearby without trying too hard.

Still, I couldn’t help but laugh at this.

Watching me struggle to stifle the laughter escaping through my teeth, Ludwig awkwardly cleared his throat.

“Ahem… I must’ve misunderstood. It’s just… Sierra called his name so longingly, I couldn’t help it.”

“I don’t know why I did that either. Maybe I had a dream about him or something.”

“You called him no less than seven times.”

“You counted them all?”

I teased, and Ludwig replied without a hint of shame.

“Every time you said his name, it felt like my heart dropped. I couldn’t forget it even if I tried.”

“….”

That… wasn’t the answer I was expecting.

I’d meant to tease him, but now I was the one flustered.

I mean, doesn’t this kind of sound like… he actually likes me?

Even Ludwig didn’t look as composed as usual.

I could see the tips of his ears turning red.

“Ludwig, do you like me?”

And so, before I knew it, I asked.

It wasn’t premeditated—my mouth just moved on impulse.

The spring breeze drifted through the window, tickling the room.

The words I’d just said left me instantly flustered.

‘What the hell, why did I ask that? I must’ve lost my mind.’

“S-sorry. That was a weird question, wasn’t it?”

‘He was just being nice as a friend, and now I’ve gone and made things awkward… he must be annoyed.’

I suddenly wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear from the distance I now felt between us.

If this silly mistake made things weird between us…

If Ludwig stopped being kind to me after this…

‘I don’t want that.’

I squeezed my eyes shut.

And then Ludwig said something that cleared the chaos in my head in an instant.

“Yes, I like you.”

“Yeah… I figured. I must’ve misunders— huh?”

I stopped mid-sentence and stared at him, eyes wide like a startled rabbit.

What… did I just hear?

He definitely said he liked me… No, he probably didn’t mean it like that.

‘He must’ve meant it as a friend.’

He did tend to say things that were easy to misinterpret sometimes.

This must be one of those times.

But then Ludwig smiled and drove the point in once more.

“I like you, Sierra. And I don’t mean it as a friend.”

“…”

“You already know that, don’t you?”

Before I realized it, Ludwig had stepped closer to me.

He gently took my hand, his beautiful face looking like he could enchant me right then and there.

Yeah, there was no other word for this—it was seduction.

“This isn’t something friends do.”

His lips brushed the back of my hand.

“L-Ludwig…”

“I’m not asking for an answer right now. But once we return to the capital… please tell me. Your answer to my feelings.”

Even though he was giving me a choice, Ludwig’s hand holding mine felt firm—like he had no intention of ever letting go.

Ludwig Karsian… likes me romantically?

Could it be that his instinctive obsession tied to our bond was making him confuse that with love?

No—why was he even bonded to me in the first place?

While my head spun with questions, another one suddenly floated to the surface.

‘What about my feelings?’

How… did I feel about Ludwig?

* * *

Our time in the South came to an end with an unexpected reward.

It seemed Ludwig had also wrapped up his business in the Eastern District the night before.

More than anything, I was eager to deliver the fruit’s root to Robert as soon as possible—we didn’t have time to linger here any longer.

I sat staring blankly out the window, watching the servants load luggage into the carriage.

Seeing the brilliant blue southern sea stretch beyond the window, a memory from a few months ago came to mind.

That first night I stayed at this villa.

Maybe because the place was unfamiliar, I couldn’t sleep at all. So I ended up sitting in the garden with Ludwig, chatting quietly under the stars.

Strangely enough, conversations with him flowed so easily. Looking back, I think I really enjoyed the time we spent together.

[I like you, Sierra.]

I like Ludwig too.

But maybe because I’d never let myself want more than friendship…

I still don’t know how to respond to that confession.

I buried my face in my hands and let out a small sigh.

“Sis, Sierra!”

At the sudden voice beside me, I snapped out of it and turned my head.

“Oh, Sharon. Were you calling me?”

“You okay? You’ve been totally out of it since morning.”

Sharon looked at me with a worried expression.

“Are you still not feeling well?”

“Haha, no, it’s not that. I was just lost in thought. What were you saying?”

Sharon tilted her head toward me playfully and asked,

“So, did you and His Grace clear up that misunderstanding?”

“What misunderstanding?”

“The one where you kept calling someone’s name in your sleep. Daymond, was it? I was walking beside you, and even I felt awkward from the tension in the air.”

She giggled as she spoke.

“What was Ludwig’s reaction?”

Now I was starting to get curious too.

“Don’t even ask. Every time you said that unfamiliar guy’s name, he flinched. And there you were, fast asleep on his back, murmuring another man’s name.”

“Haha… Why were we like that—me and Ludwig.”

“Well, I guess it’s because you were calling out someone else’s name in front of the man you like.”

“Man I like…?”

“You and His Grace—aren’t you two dating?”

Sharon looked at me with surprise.

“I totally thought you were a couple!”

“Ludwig and I were… just friends.”

At least, until this morning…

Now, I’m not really sure what to call it.

“Just friends? That’s even harder to believe. You two look so good together, I must’ve gotten the wrong idea.”

Sharon gave a sheepish smile, clearly flustered, and quickly changed the topic.

“Anyway, you’ve got the cure for Lisbeth now. How do you feel?”

“How do I feel…? It still hasn’t hit me yet.”

It was something I’d wished for since I was a child. Not just me, but everyone around me hoped for it too.

And yet, we hadn’t found a single clue. At one point, I’d even fallen into despair.

But now, the end was finally in sight. It was hard to believe.

“It’s amazing to me. Everything fell into place like fate. You coming to find me and Father, discovering that ancient book about the Lisbeth illness, and then learning the key to the cure…”

Sharon rested her chin in her hand and smiled.

“It has to be fate.”

“Fate, huh… Yeah. It’s something I couldn’t have done alone.”

Everything that unfolded like fate had only been possible because Ludwig was by my side.

He was the one who tossed a stone into the stillness of my world.

The one who reached out his hand when I was resigned to my fate.

Yeah… Ludwig was precious to me.

So precious that even defining how I felt about him made me tread carefully.

The thought suddenly struck me like a blow to the head.

‘I’m scared.’

Even though I already knew how I felt about Ludwig, I was hesitating to put it into words.

Because I was afraid it would ruin the bond we’d built so far.

Afraid it would become a burden when the time came for me to leave him.