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~Chapter 77~
Ethan awoke from a deep sleep, forced to open his eyes by sunlight pressing through his eyelids.
Was the sky always that color?
The sky was so very blue.
Did I age overnight? My arms and legs feel numb. I don’t want to get up.
He lay there blankly, gazing at the sky—until something stirred beneath his arm.
Startled, his eyes darted downward.
Golden hair rested on his left arm like a pillow. It was Riden.
Ah…
Waking up to find himself lying beside a woman—never in his life had such a thing happened before. And not in a bed, but on the grass.
Then the memories of last night came back slowly.
After everything that happened, they must have fallen asleep outside.
For me, that’s nothing unusual… but for her…
On the battlefield, sleeping outdoors was common. He was used to it.
But for a woman so delicate—this had to be shocking.
Did I… keep her from leaving?
He remembered gripping her tightly, almost crushing her beneath him, begging her not to go—Not yet. Please, not yet.
Heat rushed to his face, as if steam were rising from it.
The sun showed no mercy, glaring down and exposing his crimson cheeks for the world to see.
He covered his burning eyes with the back of his hand, drowning in thought—or rather, regret.
What the hell did I do last night!
“Mmnn…”
“—!”
As his arm beneath her shifted, Riden stirred, looking uncomfortable.
She tugged his arm as if trying to adjust it properly beneath her head, like a pillow.
Of course, his arm was far from a soft cushion.
When it wouldn’t move, she squirmed upward herself.
Settling her head back down, she murmured sleepily,
“Mmm… what kind of pillow is this, so heavy and hard…”
Apparently she was still dreaming, complaining about a pillow that refused to cooperate.
The sight was so adorably funny that Ethan lifted his head to watch her nose and mouth twitch in mild irritation, until his neck ached and he had to lay it back down.
He didn’t fully understand what had happened last night, but one thing was certain:
Riden had tried to help him.
As he pieced together the sequence, his gaze dropped suddenly to her arm.
With a grim expression, he rolled up her sleeve.
Scratches marred her pale skin.
He must have clutched her too hard in his agony. This wasn’t a dream.
If both hands had been free, he would have buried his face in them.
Instead, he scrubbed his face harshly with one hand, overwhelmed with guilt.
This small woman bore the wounds of his loss of control.
It must have hurt terribly.
Seeing the raw red marks on her white wrist made his brows knit tight.
What if it leaves a scar…
His chest twisted painfully.
“Mm… thirsty…”
Just then, Riden stirred awake.
Her face was puffy from sleep, her expression dazed as she sat up.
She looked completely bewildered.
Of course she would—waking up in the grass was the kind of thing that only happened in dreams.
Quickly, Ethan shut his eyes and feigned sleep.
“Is this a dream?”
She spoke exactly what he’d expected.
Then she glanced at her scratched arm.
“Ah. Not a dream.”
Thinking him asleep, she whispered softly, as if afraid he might hear.
Ethan peeked through half‑lidded eyes, watching her expression.
Her face said it all: Unbelievable. I actually fell asleep like this? I must be crazy.
He bit his lower lip to stifle a laugh—
“Eeek!”
As she carefully tried to slip away from his arms, Ethan instinctively grabbed her wrist.
Startled, she flailed, and they toppled together.
Now she lay sprawled across his broad chest.
The breeze swept between them over the green hill, then slipped away without a sound.
Ethan’s mouth opened.
“Marry me.”
“…What?”
Riden’s mouth fell open too.
He studied her closely, her face hovering above his.
“That look says, Mom, I think he went insane after being so sick yesterday! Doesn’t it?”
“Eep—”
Spot on! Riden clapped her hand over her mouth.
“Did your illness give you… some new ability or something?”
“Isn’t this the part where you usually deny it?”
“Because it’s true…”
His lips pressed thin, the bitter taste of her honesty lingering. Then he spoke again.
“Anyway, marry me. You know the effort the Count and Countess McCreary put in to secure this marriage. Would you betray your parents’ expectations?”
Her round mouth produced no answer, only a glare sharp enough to sting.
Ethan frowned.
Riden swallowed, as if bracing herself to speak.
“I know my parents think this marriage is the best choice for me. I know they worked hard and prepared so much. And I’m grateful for that. But—!”
“….”
“I know the truth.”
She took a breath, as though the words themselves were heavy.
“All of that effort wasn’t because they wanted me to marry you. It was because they wanted me to be happy. But my happiness isn’t at your side. It isn’t here.”
“Then where is it?”
“I don’t know. I’m going to find it.”
How could she sound so certain when she claimed not to know?
Normally, Ethan would have silenced such talk with the things he possessed—status, power, honor.
The easiest, quickest way to get what he wanted.
But now… strangely, what he wanted was to beg this woman to find happiness for him too.
To ask her to pull him off his predetermined path.
Is that even possible? Does she really have that power? Or am I fooling myself after what she did for me last night…
“……”
The wind blew.
He closed his eyes against it, then looked past her to the endless blue sky.
Her eyes mirrored that very sky, making him feel as if the whole world were gazing down on him.
And in that moment, Ethan knew.
I’ll lose.
From the smallest matters to the greatest decisions of my life, I’ll crumble before this woman.
Even a general who had never known defeat couldn’t hope to win against the sky.
And now, before him, stood the one who would hand him only defeats from this day on.
But instead of despair, a strange calm settled in him, loosening every last knot of tension.
It wasn’t helplessness.
It was a languid relief, sweet as drifting weightless above the earth.
The breeze cooled Riden’s loose hair and his own forehead as it passed.
“…Fine. Do as you wish.”
Because I can’t stop you now.
Believing he truly couldn’t, Ethan added with a weary smile:
“But you’ll have to take responsibility. Understand?”
He’d given up once.
Yet here he was, longing to spend a very long time—forever, perhaps—beside someone.
So he asked again, to be sure.
“You’ll have to take responsibility.”
“Hmph.”
But Riden only snorted primly, whether she understood his heart or not.
Isn’t that what I’m already doing?
Staying in the duke’s estate until the full moon, working to restore the missing heroine—if that’s not responsibility, what is?
“If there’s a loss to bear, I’ll bear it.”
“Say it clearly.”
“I will!”
The sunlight grew stronger over the hill.
After squinting so long, Ethan finally closed his eyes in ease.
“…That’s a promise.”
A peaceful smile touched his lips.
Didn’t you say I had a future?
He cracked his eyes open again.
Riden still seemed oblivious to the meaning of his words.
He chuckled softly, brushing aside a stray lock of her hair and stroking her pale cheek with his thumb.
“There’s something on your face.”
Her eyes blinked rapidly. Perhaps freezing up in moments like this was a habit.
If I have a future… then take me there.
Now I know why I wanted to run whenever I saw you. I was afraid of the feeling… like my feet might lift off the ground and carry me into the sky.
