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Chapter : 7
“…Raiden.”
Why are you coming out from there?
The moment Freya’s eyes met Raiden’s, her body stiffened.
What kind of ridiculous timing was this? Why was the male lead showing up like this, as if it were all staged?
Sure, this might be some kind of cliché, but things like that were supposed to happen to the heroine, not her.
“Why are you here, Freya?”
“Ah, well…”
As Raiden asked while stepping into the drawing room, Freya took a step back, her lips twitching.
More importantly, why was he home at this hour? He should have gone to work today.
While Freya stood there, flustered and unable to continue, Savanna’s voice came from behind her.
“She came to see me.”
The woman who had been seated stood up and had already approached them. Savanna naturally positioned herself between Freya and Raiden and spoke with a smile.
“You remember what I mentioned some time ago, don’t you? That’s why she paid a visit herself.”
“I see.”
Raiden nodded as if he understood. That matter? At Savanna’s words, Freya watched the two of them closely.
After glancing at Freya for a moment, Raiden asked Savanna,
“Then have you already told her, Mother?”
“Yes. But it seems I’ve been refused.”
Savanna kept glancing at Freya with a regretful expression. The slightly exaggerated way she did it left Freya speechless.
“What exactly did you say to her?”
“I asked her to marry you, Raiden.”
“…Mother. You didn’t just blurt that out, did you?”
Raiden looked at Savanna with a doubtful expression. At his distrustful gaze, she rolled her eyes slightly and replied,
“Well, I explained things properly afterward. I told her I needed Freya as my daughter-in-law, and that I wanted to bring the two of you together.”
No, wait.
You shouldn’t put it like that, Madam.
Freya bristled inwardly at Savanna’s words.
She had only talked about what she wanted. From Freya’s perspective, it hadn’t been a sufficient explanation at all, nor was it anything she could accept.
Just as Freya was about to say something, Raiden closed his eyes and let out a sigh.
“That’s just your opinion, Mother. You didn’t consider her position at all.”
“No, I did think about it before I spoke.”
“If you had really thought it through, you couldn’t have said it like that right away. Just look at Freya’s expression.”
Raiden checked Freya’s face as if he could clearly imagine how forceful Savanna must have been, then sighed deeply once more.
“You told me you’d talk to Freya slowly and carefully first. I even asked you to be considerate so she wouldn’t be startled.”
“When I met Freya, I got impatient and just…”
“Even so, you shouldn’t have done that. You know her situation well, Mother.”
Raiden reproached Savanna more sharply than expected. As she looked flustered and tried to speak, he continued in a firm voice.
“I think you were a little too hasty, Mother.”
The expression on Raiden’s face as he said this was quite resolute.
Even if he had agreed to proposing to Freya, there was an order to things.
He hadn’t gone into detailed plans when he spoke with Savanna, but he had said that he himself would take the lead in building his relationship with Freya.
He’d said he wouldn’t rush it—yet here she was, having made such a sudden proposal. This was clearly his mother’s mistake.
Raiden didn’t let Savanna’s overstepping slide.
“Please apologize to her for your rudeness.”
At his unwavering gaze, Savanna blinked in surprise.
As expected, this child…
Raiden had never been one to overlook injustice, but perhaps because it involved Freya, he seemed even more firm than usual.
It was this obvious—how had she not noticed until now? Suppressing the smile forming on her lips, Savanna spoke.
“Yes, you’re right. I was in the wrong. I was too impatient.”
She immediately admitted her mistake and bowed her head to Freya.
“I’m truly sorry, Freya. I failed to be considerate of you.”
“Ah…”
Seeing Savanna apologize so politely, and Raiden watching her, confusion showed on Freya’s face.
More than suddenly running into him, it was more shocking that he was scolding Savanna so harshly.
From what I hear, it sounds like they already discussed this between themselves.
In other words, Savanna’s “Will you become my daughter-in-law?” wasn’t just her personal opinion.
It was just that Savanna, in her impatience, hadn’t kept Raiden’s request to proceed slowly.
But then…
Raiden agreed to marrying me?
Why? Could it really be true that he had romantic feelings for her?
…No, that can’t be. Absolutely not. There’s no way.
Freya quickly erased the thought and hurriedly spoke.
“I’ll accept your apology, Lady Savanna. Please raise your head.”
“Thank you, Freya.”
Savanna slowly lifted her head and looked at Freya with warm eyes. Only then did Raiden’s tense air ease a little.
Freya glanced at him and continued,
“Since you’ve apologized, it’s fine. But even so, I’ll pretend I never heard what you said today.”
“Freya, that is—”
“Mother.”
Raiden stopped Savanna as she tried to speak.
“I’ll take it from here. I’d like to talk with Freya alone. Would you please excuse us?”
“…All right. I understand.”
Seeing Raiden step forward so assertively, Savanna had no choice but to withdraw. Her lingering, regretful gaze stayed on Freya.
“Once again, I’m sorry, Freya. Then I’ll leave you two to enjoy your time together.”
“No, um, wait—”
Leaving the flustered Freya behind, Savanna exited the drawing room with a bright smile. Freya stared blankly at the door as it closed, then turned her gaze to Raiden.
“……”
“……”
Their eyes met, and a brief silence fell. Being alone with him like this made Freya uncomfortable. This wasn’t why she had come here.
After quietly watching Freya avert her eyes, Raiden finally spoke.
“Shall we sit down first, Freya?”
“…No. I should be going now.”
“Freya. It will only take a moment. Please give me just a little of your time.”
Raiden stopped Freya as she turned to leave. He gently caught the fabric near her elbow and looked down at her, his expression unusually serious.
Looking into his deep, clear red eyes made it hard to refuse him outright, but Freya forced herself to shake it off.
“I don’t think we have anything to talk about. If it’s about what Lady Savanna said, I already told her I’d pretend I never heard it.”
“No. Not that. There’s something I want to say to you personally, Freya.”
“Something to say? Is it official business? If it’s not urgent, we could talk later in your office—”
“No. It’s a very personal matter. About the relationship between you and me.”
“The… the relationship between Your Grace and me?”
What kind of relationship could he possibly mean?
They were just academy classmates, coworkers at the same workplace—superior and subordinate.
Maybe because of what she’d heard from Savanna, a sense of unease washed over her. As Freya frowned slightly, Raiden smiled and said,
“I won’t take much of your time.”
“Mm…”
“It’s nothing strange, so please don’t worry.”
“…All right. But please keep it short. I have a lot of work waiting for me.”
“I will. Thank you.”
In the end, Freya reluctantly agreed to Raiden’s persistent request.
With a sigh, she sat back down on the sofa, and Raiden took the seat across from her.
“So? What is it you want to talk about?”
At Freya’s direct question, Raiden clenched the hands resting on his knees and opened his mouth.
“You and I, Freya. What kind of relationship do we have?”
“What are you saying all of a sudden? We just work together. If I had to define it, I’d say we’re colleagues.”
“Colleagues, is it.”
“Yes. More precisely, superior and subordinate. Is there anything else?”
At Freya’s casual reply, Raiden shook his head.
“I also think of us as colleagues. Ever since our academy days, you’ve been someone I could really rely on, Freya.”
“I’m honored. I think Your Grace is amazing as well. Of course, as a colleague.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Am I at least someone who’s of help to you, Freya?”
