– 10 –
Calix, Luke, Leon, and Kailyn. Four of us went on a picnic to Letian Riverside Park.
Calix couldn’t help but feel irritated as he watched Kailyn who was playing with Leon.
The way she was laughing and tossing the ball back and forth with Leon was getting on his nerves.
Then, the ball that Kailyn threw to Leon accidentally rolled to Calix.
“Could you please throw the ball over here, Your Highness?”
Kailyn said to Calix.
Calix’s brow furrowed at Kailyn’s words.
He hated the way she called him.
‘Your Highness, the Crown Prince.’
From the time she first saw Calix when she was six years old to the day she turned eleven, Kailyn treated him politely, calling him His Highness the Crown Prince, as he was four years older than her and had an overwhelmingly large physique.
No, it was more a look of fear than politeness.
Meanwhile, she referred Leon, who was the same age as her, not ‘Your Highness’, but simply as ‘Leon.’
Calix picked up the ball and silently glared at Kailyn.
Kailyn seemed slightly intimidated by his gaze, but also somewhat annoyed, as she looked back at him before speaking again.
“Your Highness! Please throw me the ball. Or should I come get it myself?”
Calix still held the ball without saying a word.
Leon, who was far away, shouted.
“Brother! Please give the ball to me or Lyn.”
‘Lyn.’
He didn’t even call her Kailyn, but Lyn.
Feeling even more twisted by Leon’s address for Kailyn, grabbed the ball so tightly that it felt like it was going to burst.
Before we knew it, Kailyn was coming closer to Calix, probably because she had decided that he wouldn’t throw the ball to her.
Only a few more steps and she was in front of him, and at that moment, Calix threw the ball over Kailyn’s head.
“Ah!”
Kailyn exclaimed as she watched the ball fly away, continuing its trajectory.
All the way towards the Letian River.
Kailyn, who came right in front of Calix, couldn’t hide her angry expression and glared at Calix for a moment. But when she met Calix’s arrogant and cold gaze, she quickly turned her head and began running to the river to pick up the ball.
The ball was thrown with so much force that it almost fell into the river, but fortunately it stopped on the edge of the river just before it fell into the river.
Kailyn, out of breath, ran to pick up the ball, picked it up as if it had fallen across the river, and then turned around and tried to climb the hill.
But at that moment, her foot slipped and she fell into the river.
The Letian River was quite deep, and Kailyn couldn’t swim.
“Kailyn!”
It was unclear who called out her name first, Calix, Leon, or Luke.
As soon as they called her name, all three of them ran to the riverbank to save her.
The first to reach her was Calix.
He managed to pull her out safely.
But when he pulled her out of the water, she was already unconscious.
Kailyn, who was frail to begin with, suffered greatly in the days following the accident, struggling to recover.
She suffered from pneumonia in the aftermath, and the following year, when she recovered from the pneumonia, she went to live with the Duke in the countryside.
The Duke was overly concerned for her, she was as weak as her mother, who had died earlier in the year, and believed her health would be better in the countryside than in the capital city of Everen.
Ever since that day, Calix has been haunted by the incident.
He never set foot in Letian’s riverside park again.
For him, it was a moment of clarity about his feelings for Kailyn, but it was also a painful memory he’d rather forget.
Meanwhile, rather than the fact that it was Calix who saved her, Kailyn only remembered him as the one who caused her to fall into the river.
Therefore, while Leon grew in love with Kaylin over a period of 10 years, including the 6 years when Kaylin was recuperating in the countryside and the 4 years when she returned to the capital, Calix was unable to have a proper conversation, let alone express his feelings to her.
Until his love sinks into the dark depths and becomes obsession.
In the two years leading up to her death, Calix’s love-hate relationship with Kailyn deepened as he watched her plot against him unfold in earnest.
A love-hate that would eventually explode and killed her.
*****
This was the internal psychological change of Calix that I wrote about….
Why did his emotions escalate so drastically to the point where he suddenly wanted to kill Kaylin?
The problem is that even his personality seems a bit different from the Calix I wrote.
He had poor social skills to the point that he avoided mixing with people and having social conversations.
He remained true to his dark and rough nature, relying solely on his abilities to dominate and rule over others.
He was cold, calculating, and straightforward, rarely showing his emotions.
But strangely, Calix looked bright and extremely stable now. As if the darkness inside had hidden its tail.
I became even more afraid.
If he’s hiding obsession and affection behind this seemingly changed demeanor, he would be even more difficult to grasp, almost like a terrifying sociopath!
In any case, what was clear was that no matter what his condition was now, I had to come up with a way to survive the current situation without dying.
On the outside, Calix’s personality appears to be a bit gentler, but the obsession and feelings of love and hate that made him want to kill the woman he loved started much faster than expected, so it seemed like just accepting the obsession wouldn’t be able to solve it.
It seemed like the only answer was to actively approach him and make him think that I liked him.
That would ease his anxiety.
*****
The Marquis of Kerkhain came to visit again.
It was the second time this week.
My father seemed determined to maintain the alliance with the Empress.
Oh, seriously!
It really shouldn’t be like this.
Even if I make Calix believe that I like him, if my father continues to defy the Empress and remains entangled with her, I could end up being charged with treason and sentenced to death.
Does the Empress have some ulterior motive or not?
Why doesn’t my father sever that connection?
Calix is unbeatable.
Why can’t he let go of this foolishness?
Well, I seem to be the only one who knows that Calix is unbeatable. Others seem foolishly unaware of the power of Calix and his knights at this point, so they continue to plot in vain.
I tried to improve my relationship with Calix to persuade my stubborn father, but it wasn’t as easy as I thought.
I need to meet Calix first before I can approach him more actively, but the Crown Prince hasn’t shown up in front of me at all.
Is he too busy?
Am I just not seeing him, or is he purposely hiding and watching me from the shadows?
However, the fear that choked me last time I tried to seek out the Crown Prince on my own resurfaced.
I can’t believe it’s so hard to find a man who loves me….
I’m doomed.
Unable to show any change in my relationship with Calix, I had no choice but to continue persuading my father.
As soon as Marquis Rastus Kerkhain left, I went to my father’s office.
“Father.”
“What is it, Lyn?”
“What did you talk about with Marquis Kerkhain?”
“…… Lyn, that’s not something you need to know.”
Hmm….
No, I do need to know, and in fact, I already do.
“Father, are you still aligned with the Empress? Are you planning to oust the Crown Prince and make Duke Leon as the Crown Prince?”
“You shouldn’t concern yourself with that!”
“Am I right?”
My tone grew a little more emotional, and my father sighed heavily.
“That was what you wanted, why are you acting like this now?”
“I don’t want it anymore! Father, Calix is unbeatable. How many times do I have to tell you?”
My frustration grew, and my voice became louder.
My father’s eyes widened.
“Why do you think that way? The Crown Prince only has the knights.”
Yes, you might think so, because it wasn’t until the Emperor’s death two years later that everything came to a head.
Calix goes off to war in the borderlands, and in his absence, the Empress and my father seize the opportunity to declare Duke Leon as the Emperor.
But even then, they fail miserably against the swiftly advancing Crown Prince Calix. They won’t succeed!
With a frustrating sense of not being able to speak about the obvious future, I reiterated strongly.
“I don’t love Duke Leon, Father. I’d rather be with Calix.”
Of course, I didn’t love Calix either, but being with him would save everyone.
“Kailyn….”
My father looked puzzled for a moment, and then he looked somewhat devastated.
Why does he look like that?
He could just abandon this ridiculous scheme right now!
Nothing has happened yet.
“Father? Are you giving up? You must never oppose Prince Calix. Never! He will never be defeated.”
But once again, my father remained silent.
How many minutes passed like this?
Finally, my father spoke again.
“Kailyn, we can’t predict the outcome. If you don’t love Duke Leon and don’t want to marry him, I won’t force you. But with the attitude and actions you’ve shown me, the Empress and I have formed an alliance. Such a secret agreement is not to be taken lightly. It cannot be undone.”
“Father!”
No, that’s not true! It can’t be! Absolutely not!
There’s still plenty of time. Please, just let go of that alliance!
“Father, the prince is powerful. Even if the Empress and you join hands, you can’t win.”
“Lynn, that’s not something you should worry about.”
It is something I should worry about! My life depends on it. Your life depends on it too.
“Father, I’d rather marry Prince Calix. If you can stop aligning with the Empress, it would be better.”
Of course, Calix is supposed to fall in love with the heroine who will appear later. But until she appears, I must use his affection for me and my family’s survival.
“It’s too late! And the Crown Prince is in love with you! What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Get a grip, Lyn, you said the same nonsense last time….”
“!!!!!!”
Nonsense?
I was suddenly speechless.
