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Chapter : 38
The two of them walked in silence for a while. But soon, Anna spoke first.
“First, I want to apologize.”
“For what?”
Raiden didn’t seem surprised by her sudden words. Anna glanced over at him, noticing his strange expression.
“I mean about how I talked too lightly before. About… your father.”
“Ah…”
Raiden let out a sound that was hard to tell if it was a sigh or just surprise. Then he fell silent again.
Anna felt uneasy with his lack of reaction, but she pressed on.
“I’ll be more careful from now on. I really thought about it. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, sure.”
His indifferent answer made Anna feel even more confused. If he wasn’t mad about his father, then what…? But she couldn’t press him further, so she just sighed and changed the subject.
“I heard from your aide. That it was Marquis Nomen behind the attack on the mansion.”
“…That’s right.”
He hadn’t heard that anyone told her that, and he didn’t look pleased.
‘Maybe Louis forgot to pass on the message,’ he thought.
Raiden said stiffly, “Knowing the culprit doesn’t change anything. You have to stay here for now. Even if he’s lost some teeth, his claws are still sharp.”
“I’m not saying I want to go back.”
Anna replied firmly, then hesitated and lowered her head.
“And… my father’s gone, isn’t he?”
Raiden almost looked over toward the underground prison. Anna thought he’d stopped out of concern for her, so she looked up at him and grabbed his sleeve tightly.
“I’m okay.”
“…What?”
“If you were keeping quiet so I wouldn’t be sad, you can stop now.”
Anna smiled, trying her best to hide the sadness in her eyes.
The moonlight was bright, the stone path was quiet, and the only sound was their footsteps. Anna’s hand on his arm was so light it felt like she might fly away at any moment.
It was a perfect night, just like a moment she had dreamed of.
Raiden closed his eyes tightly.
Then Anna’s sweet voice cut through the silence.
“I’ve been thinking a lot, too.”
“…About what?”
Still lost in thought, Raiden answered lazily. Anna stopped walking and gripped his arm harder.
Raiden looked down at her, and Anna, her blue eyes sparkling with starlight, asked carefully,
“Raiden, what will happen to us?”
He said nothing.
“I want to be with you. Just like we once promised to be each other’s home.”
Raiden stayed silent, just staring at her. The perfect moment suddenly shattered. Anna’s courage faded as she watched him not reply.
“Or…”
Anna’s voice shook.
“Do you… not feel the same anymore?”
Raiden’s eyes trembled. Anna bit her lip, then spoke again, her voice breaking.
“Am I the only fool who can’t let go of the past?”
So many words he’d prepared for this moment never made it out. He’d planned everything to get her right here, to make her come to him, and all he had to do was say the sweet lines he’d rehearsed.
But instead—
“Excuse me a moment.”
Raiden signaled to Shilla, and as she approached, he suddenly smacked Anna’s hand away.
“!”
Anna’s eyes went wide. Raiden muttered,
“It’s very late. You should go inside.”
Then he quickly left.
It was obvious to anyone: he was running away.
Anna stood frozen, staring blankly at his retreating back.
‘What was that?’
Once the shock of being rejected faded, a crushing wave of despair swept over her.
Shilla came over and silently looked at Anna’s trembling shoulders.
The next morning, Louis, looking exhausted, slowly walked to Raiden’s office. Expecting no one to be there, he pushed open the door without knocking—and was surprised.
“Marquis?”
“….”
Raiden sat motionless in his chair like a statue, eyes sunken and distant, as if lost in a dream.
The happiest time of Raiden’s life was when he watched Anna sitting in the attic room, legs stretched out. Judging by the lack of a ring on her finger, this must have been before they grew close.
Suddenly, Anna puffed out her cheeks and complained.
[Why are you just smiling? Are you even listening to me?]
[…What did you say?]
He sometimes spaced out, especially when he looked at Anna. As he finally snapped out of it, Anna pouted and asked again.
[Where’s your hometown, Raiden?]
[…]
Raiden’s smile faded. Anna, not noticing his discomfort, shook his arm for an answer.
[Were you born in the Evercline territory?]
[Hmm? No.]
Raiden smoothly redirected the question to her, and Anna, falling for it, pressed down her skirt and chattered on.
[I was born in the Hoburn Kingdom, in the east of the Empire—my mother’s family. I lived there when I was little.]
[Hoburn Kingdom…]
Raiden pictured the place in his mind, then noticed Anna suddenly looking gloomy.
[What’s wrong, Miss?]
[There’s no one left for me to visit there anymore.]
[But you said you still have family there, right?]
When he asked gently, Anna’s shoulders slumped even lower.
[Everyone died in the civil war ten years ago.]
[Ah…]
[Even my dog Rex, who wagged his tail every time he saw me, died. I cried so much when I heard. My uncle, aunt, my cousin—they’re all gone.]
Anna let out a deep sigh, then turned and smiled.
[But I’m glad I can talk about it now. I couldn’t even mention it to my mother—she suffered too much. After all, they were her only relatives.]
[That’s tough…]
Raiden looked at her with sympathy, but suddenly Anna’s eyes sparkled.
[Now it’s your turn, Raiden. Where are you from? It’s not the capital, right?]
[…How did you know?]
[Sometimes you have a different accent. I think it’s from the west. Am I right?]
[You are.]
[Where exactly? Katan? Portia? Or Triston?]
Anna rattled off famous western cities. Raiden listened in silence, then finally answered.
[I don’t remember.]
Something in his voice sounded sad, and Anna was taken aback.
[Oh, really? I see.]
Anna forced a smile, trying to make him feel better.
[It happens. If you left when you were really young, it’s natural you don’t remember, right?]
[Yes.]
With a short answer, Raiden lowered his eyes. Anna fidgeted, not knowing what to say next. Raiden glanced sideways at her, and oddly, seeing her anxious face brightened his mood.
[Maybe my mother knows.]
When he said that, Anna brightened.
[Oh, your mother does? I hope I can hear about it from her someday.]
[What?]
Was she saying she wanted to meet his mother? Raiden felt confused. Anna, worried she’d said the wrong thing, lowered her head and mumbled.
[I guess that was rude. I’m always so thoughtless. Lisa always told me to be careful…]
They’d met secretly in the attic more than ten times now. Anna had fallen for him, and she believed he felt the same.
But maybe she was wrong. Maybe it was all in her head.
‘He must think I’m ridiculous,’ Anna thought. ‘We hardly ever see each other, and here I am acting like we’re something more. If I were him, I’d hate it too.’
Embarrassed, Anna was about to stand up when Raiden’s hand gently pressed her fist down.
