IWAWMFTB 13

Chapter : 13

Raiden rested his chin on her head and sighed.

“If you keep doing this, I won’t be able to let you go. Are you doing it on purpose?”

“What did I do…”
Anna grumbled, but still quickly hugged him tightly around the back. She liked knowing he didn’t want to say goodbye either. Raiden buried his face in her hair and laughed softly.

Anna smiled too.

‘I’m going to marry Raiden in the future.’
The ring on her finger felt nicely heavy.

A slightly faded silver ring slipped from her hand and landed near her collarbone, hanging on a thin chain. Anna touched the ring and dropped her hand weakly.

She sighed, thinking,

‘Does any of this even matter…?’

Suddenly—

“My lady!”
The door slammed open and Lucy rushed in, her face bright red.

“What’s wrong?”
Anna asked in surprise, and Lucy couldn’t stay still, stomping her feet.

“Oh no, what do we do!”

Anna was frightened by Lucy’s panic. Maybe Marquis Nomen couldn’t wait even a month and had come to take her? Anna tried to calm Lucy.

“Lucy? Calm down and tell me.”

“It’s… he’s here!”
Lucy was too nervous to finish her sentence. Anna frowned.

“Who?”

“That man! The one who rescued you from that awful street…”

“!”
Anna jumped up in shock and muttered,

“Raiden… came?”

“Yes! There’s no time for this. You need to change your clothes right now.”

Lucy quickly helped Anna get dressed properly.

‘Why did he come?’
Anna couldn’t help but hope, even if she knew she shouldn’t. She’d been disappointed so many times before, and her situation was the worst it had ever been. She tried to calm down as she and Lucy went to the sitting room.

But halfway down the hallway, Anna stopped.

“Wait.”
She ran to the bathroom, splashed water on her face, and tried to steady herself. Lucy complained about her makeup getting ruined, but Anna didn’t care. Who did she need to look good for right now?

Lucy dried her face and tied her hair again, and finally, they went to the sitting room.

“My lady.”
Henry was waiting nervously outside. He saw Anna’s pale face but, as a good butler, didn’t mention it.

Standing in front of the door, Anna took a deep breath and straightened her back. Lucy made two fists to cheer her up. Anna nodded, and Henry opened the door. She entered the room gracefully.

“My lady.”
Raiden stood up slowly from the sofa. She already knew he was beautiful, but he looked even better in a perfectly fitted suit.

Anna ignored her aching heart and politely greeted him,

“Greetings, Marquis Marcus.”

Lucy thought she saw a crack in Raiden’s calm face for a second, but then he looked normal again.

Anna sat down and asked calmly,

“What brings you here at this time?”

Suddenly, the color drained from her face. In Raiden’s hand was her letter, its seal broken.

“!”
Anna glared at Lucy, who shrank in fear.

“I was on my way to give the letter to the butler, but I ran into the Marquis…”

Raiden added,

“The envelope had my name, so I took it myself. It was meant for me, wasn’t it? Don’t blame anyone else.”

“I take care of my own people,”
Anna replied coldly, looking at the table. She never meant to scold Lucy, but she couldn’t believe Raiden was defending her maid.

Raiden leaned forward and asked quietly,

“Why won’t you look at me?”

Anna bit her lip, then asked quietly,

“Did you read the letter?”

Raiden stared at Anna.

“You’re using formal language with me.”

“Did you read it?”
Anna asked again.

“Yes, I did.”

They sat in silence, Anna looking at the table and Raiden looking at Anna. Anna felt her chest boiling with emotion.

‘You read it, and you still have nothing to say?’

She looked down quickly, trying not to cry.

“Just say what you came to say.”

But Raiden stayed silent. While she waited, Anna’s feelings rushed and faded: worry, anger, sadness, disappointment, unfairness. In the end, only emptiness was left. She stared at her teacup with blank eyes.

‘What were these last five years for?’

Then Raiden spoke.

“Are you happy to see me again?”

That question hit her hard.

‘How could he ask that?’

Anna was so shocked she couldn’t speak for a moment.

“Then…”

She finally forced the words out, but her voice shook.

“Why do you think I had a fake engagement?”

Something flickered in Raiden’s eyes, but it disappeared before she could tell what it was.

Anna bit her lip and then looked at him with sharp eyes.

“You already know from the letter—the engagement with Edward was fake. Luckily, Edward helped me buy time.”

“Time,”
Raiden repeated, almost like a child learning a new word.

“It was the only way I could wait for you…”

She tried to sound calm, but old pain bubbled up. She was prepared for the worst—for Raiden to ask who said she had to wait.

But Raiden just nodded simply.

“I see.”

He accepted it with no doubt.

“You understand me, right?”
Anna asked again, her heart beating strangely. Raiden looked at her and answered,

“Yes. I understand clearly.”

Anna was relieved, but her mouth felt dry.

‘Even after hearing the truth… this is his reaction?’

She felt a tiny bit of hope. Maybe he really did understand how desperate she’d been.

While Anna was nervously watching him, Raiden looked around the sitting room with a relaxed face. His lips moved, and Henry guessed what he was thinking.

‘Still so fancy… what does that mean?’

Henry was confused. He understood that Anna’s fake engagement and her fight with her father had all been for this nobleman, out of love. Anyone could see that from her actions and eyes.

But the nobleman who got all this love didn’t seem moved at all. On the outside, he was polite, but Henry could tell he didn’t care much. Henry felt a tightness in his chest.

Lucy, too, noticed something strange. She felt bad seeing her mistress look so hopefully at the Marquis. Her hands tightened on her skirt.

Anna gathered her courage again.

‘People’s hearts are lighter than dandelion fluff… and he disappeared without a word.’

It was something Lisa, who raised her like a nanny, once said before leaving the house—words that had hurt Anna for five years. But they were true.

Because once, when Raiden disappeared, Anna had even hired an information guild to find him. They told her Raiden left home with his mother by choice, and then no one knew where he went.

But Anna could never believe Raiden abandoned her. She tried to forget, almost did.

There was no reason for them to break up. None.

‘So… they must have been wrong. Raiden had to go west for a reason.’

But…

Anna thought in pain. She owed it to herself to end it properly, after all those years of waiting.

“You know I waited for you, right?”

Her voice didn’t shake. She felt a small pride blooming in the middle of her despair.

A small frown crossed Raiden’s smooth forehead.

“Anna. I don’t know why you’re asking me that.”