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Chapter 27
“Why, Lise? Didn’t you miss me? I missed you so much.”
“Um… so you’re… Richart…?”
Alina awkwardly asked as she pulled her hand free from his grasp. The boy she remembered and the man standing before her now were completely different.
If Richart six years ago had been like a cute puppy, the man now was more like a ferocious hound.
Unable to bridge that gap, Alina stepped back. The once-bright golden eyes darkened.
“Don’t tell me you forgot me?”
His gaze looked like that of someone left alone in the world. His voice drooped at the end—exactly like the expression and tone young Richart used whenever he felt dejected.
Only then did Alina recognize him.
It really is Richart.
Realizing it a beat too late, Alina hurriedly waved her hands.
“How could I forget? You’ve grown so much I didn’t recognize you at first. Um… you grew up well.”
“I ate well, slept well, studied hard—for you, Lise. And I got stronger.”
Richart took Alina’s hand and pressed it to his cheek, smiling brightly.
When he smiled like that, it felt as though the Richart from the past had returned.
But seeing that expression on a fully grown man felt strangely unfamiliar.
“Y-yeah.”
Without realizing it, Alina hesitated. Richart stepped closer and spoke warmly.
“You’re proud of me, right?”
“Yes. I am.”
“Then hug me. Like before.”
A man taller than Alina by a full head looked at her with puppy-like eyes.
“Please, Lise.”
“Here is a bit…”
When Alina awkwardly turned her gaze away, she saw the knights behind Richart, their faces drained pale.
They all looked as though they had witnessed something they were never meant to see.
“Lise, look at me.”
When she turned back, Richart asked with a pitiful expression.
“Can’t you hug me? You don’t want to?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to.”
Alina shook her head. She had already forgotten that she wasn’t supposed to be this close to him.
There was a reason she needed to push him away—but in the face of Richart’s single-minded gaze, it vanished in an instant.
They had reunited after six years. She didn’t want to reject him the moment they met.
I hugged him when we were kids, so it should be fine…
Alina had hurt Richart by running away before. Rejecting him now might hurt him even more.
She opened her arms wide.
“Come here, Richart.”
A touch filled with equal parts guilt and longing reached for him.
The moment her hands brushed his broad back, Richart urgently wrapped his arms around her.
He pulled her into a crushing embrace and murmured sweetly,
“I’m never letting you go.”
Alina swallowed. The words were sweet—but for some reason, they sent a chill down her spine.
Clatter!
As Richart hugged Alina, a spoon fell from the table beside them.
It was Kaiden, a regular who visited Alina’s shop almost daily.
“C-Commander—uh—how are you here…?”
Kaiden trembled as though someone were strangling him.
“Kai—”
The moment Alina spoke his name, the solid arms around her tightened.
Richart held her even closer and spoke in a low voice.
“Why are you calling another man’s name while you’re in my arms?”
“No, it’s not like that.”
“What do you mean, it’s not? It is. Did I say something wrong?”
“That’s not it either…”
Alina mumbled into his chest.
She was in Richart’s arms, and Kaiden was another man.
But the implication felt strangely off—like she’d been caught cheating.
When Alina couldn’t refute him, Richart grabbed her shoulders and pulled away.
He looked at her with a sulky expression.
“I only have you, Lise.”
He looked genuinely hurt. Alina bit her lip helplessly.
“Richart…”
“It’s fine. What matters is that we’ve met again.”
With a sigh, Richart released her. Still holding her hand, he shot Kaiden a sharp glare.
“And we even have a witness to our reunion.”
Under Richart’s gaze, Kaiden turned pale and started hiccupping.
“Hic!”
“Kaiden? Are you okay?”
Alina stepped out of Richart’s arms in concern.
But before she could reach Kaiden, Richart blocked her.
“Kaiden is fine.”
“He doesn’t look fine.”
When Alina tried to move again, Richart stepped between her and Kaiden.
“I said he’s fine.”
Turning from Alina, Richart faced Kaiden directly.
With her view blocked, Alina looked down at the hand gripping hers.
Richart’s adult hand was large and hard—no longer a boy’s hand, but a man’s.
Calluses dotted his skin, proof of daily sword training.
Alina lifted her gaze.
Before her stood Richart’s broad back in uniform. Tilting her head back, she saw his fine silver hair shimmering.
He really has grown.
She felt the passage of time as she now looked up at the boy she once looked down on.
“Kaiden Schlemer.”
While Alina searched for traces of the boy in him, Richart coldly called Kaiden’s name.
“Yes—yes, Commander!”
Kaiden jumped to his feet reflexively.
So he really became the knight commander…
Even in Alina’s previous life, Richart had been the commander of the Blue Lion Order.
Back then, he had also come to find her at a restaurant.
But he hadn’t whispered her name warmly or held her hand.
He had simply bound her and dragged her to the emperor.
That was the past.
The Richart of now would never hand Alina over to anyone.
Just seeing how he looked ready to devour Kaiden for merely having his name called made that clear.
Looking down at Kaiden, Richart spoke lazily.
“You look quite well. Did you eat something good? Your complexion’s nice.”
“H-ha… yes…”
Kaiden laughed stiffly like a wooden doll. Richart tilted his head slightly.
“But tell me—didn’t you say you didn’t know where Lise was? You said you desperately wanted to know where Lise Kruger was.”
“Yes… I did.”
“For six years. The entire time.”
As Richart spoke slowly, his eyes gleamed. A chilling aura radiated from him.
Panicking under the pressure, Kaiden began to stammer.
“C-Commander—no, Your Highness—the Second Prince—I, I—”
“Hic!”
Kaiden’s upper body jerked as another hiccup escaped.
“Hic! C-Com—hic—Commander, I—!”
“Kaiden!”
Alina darted out from behind Richart and handed Kaiden a glass of water.
“Here, drink this.”
“Thank you, Lise…”
Kaiden looked at her as though he’d just met an angel in hell.
Watching them, Richart muttered coldly,
“So our brilliant Marquis Schneertz grew very close to my Lise over these six years. Even speaking casually to her. And keeping it all from me.”
As he spoke, Richart slowly approached Kaiden, bracing his hand on the table.
“So? Was it fun?”
“C-Commander…”
Kaiden trembled like prey before a beast.
Alina hurriedly stepped between them.
“It’s a misunderstanding, Richart. I asked Kaiden to keep it a secret. I had no way to make a living, and he offered me this shop.”
Richart pulled his hand from the table and looked at Alina, confused.
“You asked Kaiden?”
Alina nodded quickly.
“Yes. So Kaiden did nothing wrong.”
“…Why.”
Covering his mouth, Richart stood rigid for a moment before lowering his hand.
“Why Kaiden? You had me, Lise. Why…”
His voice trembled. He clenched his fist, jaw tight, as though holding back tears.
“I could’ve helped you too.”
Alina chose her words carefully as she watched him struggle.
“You were fourteen back then, Richart. How could I ask a fourteen-year-old to open a shop for me?”
She sighed and looked away.
She didn’t want to burden the small boy who promised to protect her.
So she never told him.
Shrugging, Alina smiled.
“Anyway, my being here had to be a secret. I had my reasons. That’s why Kaiden didn’t tell you.”
“What reasons? What could possibly justify hiding it from me too?”
“You’re royalty, Richart.”
At her words, Richart clenched his teeth.
“If it was something like that…”
“If it was, you would’ve said you’d give up being royalty. Right?”
Richart lowered his head.
“…Yes.”
If Alina wished it, he would give up anything—even his royal status.
If she had said she was leaving, he would’ve walked out of the palace with her without hesitation.
Nothing in the world mattered to him as much as Alina.
And that hadn’t changed in six years.
If anything, it had only grown stronger.
Alina gently took Richart’s hand and spoke softly.
“That’s why. That’s why I especially had to keep it from you.”
Richart exhaled deeply. Feeling her warmth, his heart began to race.
