“You’re late.”
At her words, Kayden reflexively closed his mouth. Sensing his thoughts, the woman continued gently.
“It’s okay. There’s no one around right now. I even sent my maid back to the carriage for a while.”
Kayden only glanced around with his eyes. Indeed, there were no prying eyes. Confirming that, he sighed lightly and approached the woman. Sitting down beside her, he apologized.
“I’m sorry. I’m Kayden Seirik Bluebell. And you are…?”
“Diana Sudsfield, Your Highness. Was your journey difficult?”
Kayden couldn’t help but chuckle at her somewhat mischievous question. He smiled faintly, showing his friendliness.
“What a curious coincidence. I didn’t expect you to be Lady Sudsfield.”
“This is my first time meeting you formally, Your Highness. Did you get home safely that time?”
“Ah, well…”
As he responded smoothly, Kayden suddenly paused, recalling something. The back alley, the first time he met Diana Sudsfield. The strange sensation he felt when he held her hand. Didn’t he feel something similar from the woman he met during his recent seizure?
“…”
Kayden narrowed his eyes and stared intently at Diana’s face. The silhouette of the woman he saw through his blurred vision earlier also seemed quite similar to her. Finally, Kayden asked with a serious expression.
“Lady Sudsfield.”
“Yes?”
“Did you see?”
It was a question without context. His black eyes sharply observed her reaction. But Diana only blinked innocently.
“See what?”
“…No, it’s nothing.”
Was it a mistake? Yet, Kayden couldn’t shake the subtle sense of familiarity and continued to scrutinize Diana.
Meanwhile, Diana watched him with a calm demeanor. He seemed like he wanted to hide it.
Recalling Kayden hiding and suffering among the bushes, her face darkened slightly. Despite being by Rebecca’s side, Diana had never heard of Kayden having seizures before the regression. This meant Kayden must have tried to hide his condition thoroughly. If that fact had been revealed, Rebecca would surely have sent assassins or tried to kill him during those moments.
At least a year…
Diana remembered that Kayden’s mana, when they first met after the first prince’s death, was as controlled as it was five years later. So, if left alone, Kayden’s seizures would likely subside within a year.
But Diana knew that his mana significantly calmed whenever she touched him. She believed that if she stopped Rebecca, Kayden would emerge victorious in the end. But she wished for his path to be as smooth as possible until then.
Diana had once made a wrong choice that took Kayden’s life. It was a debt she owed him.
“I heard you proposed marriage to me. Technically, the viscount requested it in exchange for supporting the third prince’s palace.” Diana quietly began speaking.
Kayden, slightly surprised by her calm tone, asked, “It’s a bit strange for me to ask, but isn’t this situation unpleasant for you?” He was genuinely curious.
According to reports, Diana’s situation in the Sudsfield household over the past 20 years had been far from favorable. Although she was now dressed splendidly, she had once been an illegitimate child whom the servants wouldn’t easily give a piece of bread. In this sudden and unpleasant situation where she was being sold off, she maintained an oddly serene attitude.
“I expected some of it, honestly.”
“What does Your Highness mean?”
“I expected you to find me repulsive, to tell me to get lost, call me b*stard, maybe even slap me and kick my shin?”
“Pfft.” Diana burst into laughter. At first, she shook her shoulders a few times, then laughed out loud, unable to hold it back.
Seeing her laugh, Kayden pondered for a moment. Did it sound like a joke? He was serious.
If he spoke only the unvarnished truth, the viscount was trying to sell Diana in exchange for a connection to the imperial family, and Kayden had accepted the proposal. It was a marriage proposal devoid of Diana’s consent. A situation where being dragged out by the hair would have been understandable. Yet, contrary to his thoughts, Diana laughed heartily before collecting herself and asking.
“Did Your Highness order the viscount to arrange this marriage?”
“…No, but.”
“Then it’s clear who I should slap and kick.”
Kayden was momentarily speechless, taken aback by her unexpected reaction.
Diana then looked down and muttered softly, “And how could I possibly resent you?”
“What did you say?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Diana’s whisper was too faint for Kayden to hear. He tilted his head for a moment, then sighed quietly and met her eyes.
“Still, I apologize. I am a greedy and cowardly person who wants to protect my people despite lacking power, so I couldn’t refuse the viscount’s proposal.”
Diana’s expression was inscrutable. Her clear blue-violet eyes were transparent enough to see the bottom, yet completely clean. No confusion, no agitation, no distracting thoughts. Just clear. For some reason, Kayden wanted to avoid that gaze.
“So I will respect your wishes, Lady.”
“Pardon?”
Diana blinked in confusion. Kayden continued with a serious tone.
“If you truly do not wish for this marriage, you may comfortably refuse even now. I swear on my name.”
“…”
“But if you not… I will strive to fulfill whatever you desire as your husband.”
Diana remained silent. Kayden felt an inexplicable anxiety.
“If you wish to become the empress, as the viscount proposed, I will make it happen. But once it’s all over, if you want to leave my side, I will let you go.”
After a long silence, Diana spoke. “…But wouldn’t that break the contract with the viscount? He would want to become a relative of the emperor in the end.”
“The viscount isn’t stupid enough to wag his tongue in front of the prince, even without a contract.” Kayden lifted one corner of his mouth in a mischievous smile.
Diana secretly admired that villainous smile. He was saying that he would annul the contract with the viscount after surviving his competition with Rebecca. This would mean the viscount would be deceived twice, considering Diana’s previous life. Frankly, she liked that idea very much.
And to stay close to Kayden… being his wife would be the most natural.
Diana wanted to help Kayden as much as she could. That’s why she didn’t run away and returned here.
It would take about a year.
If Kayden resolved some of his financial difficulties with Diana’s dowry and if she could alleviate his pain by staying by his side, he could gain power more quickly than before. Diana herself planned to create another identity to attack Rebecca from behind, so it was entirely possible.
It would take about a year for Viscount Sudsfield to covet imperial lineage in earnest and for Kayden to build enough power to overthrow Rebecca. During that time, she would help him and then disappear. She was determined to take Rebecca’s life, even if it meant sinking herself.
Diana, having made up her mind, smiled and spoke. “I don’t want the empress’s position.”
“Then?”
“Please divorce me, one year later.”
Her firm words echoed in the air. Kayden held her gaze for a moment, then chuckled. “No one asks for a divorce with such a happy face like you do.”
“And no one proposes a political marriage as kindly as you, Your Highness.”
“Actually, you’re happy about tricking the Viscount Sudsfield, aren’t you?”
“Oh, did it show? There’s a bit of that, too.”
At her words, both Diana and Kayden burst into laughter.
Diana, still smiling, said, “By the way, things have gotten a bit complicated. I was supposed to show the other nobles that I had fallen for you at first sight.”
“No, I’ll do it.”
“…Pardon?”
“Let’s say I fell for you at first sight. It’s closer to the truth, I think.”
Diana was momentarily at a loss for words.
Kayden glanced at a group of nobles entering the garden and smiled. He muttered softly, “…Actually, even without this, I wanted to see you again.”
Because when I held your hand, it felt like I found something I didn’t know I had lost. He plucked a white flower blooming nearby and decorated her hair with it. Diana, whose breath caught at his close smile, felt her heart pound.
“From now on, I look forward to our time together, Diana.”
His low whisper tickled her ear.
The wind, tinged with the colors of the setting sun, gently rustled his black hair. Dark eyelashes, as dense as his hair, cast shadows over his deep eyes.
Diana blinked reflexively as if she had witnessed something dazzling, and before she knew it, Kayden’s face was further away. She sensed people behind him, watching with curiosity or surprise. Yes, this gesture was just to show them that there was no political motive behind their relationship.
“…Me too, Your Highness.”
Yet, for some reason, her heart was pounding loudly. It was fast and vivid.
Eheheh, I am remembering now why I liked this novel… These two have great chemistry from the outset!