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Chapter 30
She opened her eyes wide in fear and gulped down the now-cold tea. Even if it was impolite, she had no choice if she wanted to calm her anger.
As the teacup emptied, Vera quickly refilled it. From afar, a servant she had never seen before was running swiftly toward them.
“Sigh… I’m terribly sorry, Miss Mei. Young Master Toren has encountered an urgent matter.”
Toren was one of Mei’s younger brothers, a notorious troublemaker who always caused accidents and gave his sister a hard time.
Hearing the servant’s hurried voice, she momentarily forgot her anger and looked at Mei with concern. Mei’s complexion had already turned pale.
“Sister, I’m sorry. Even though you invited me, I have to leave first.”
“That’s fine. Go quickly.”
“Thank you for understanding. Next time, let’s go on a date, just the two of us.”
Mei’s apologetic expression melted into a charming smile at the mention of a date, making her face flush with warmth. Had Cardin not raised a single menacing eyebrow beside her, she might have followed Mei herself and handled everything.
Mei waved back as she left, still glancing back with a hint of regret.
‘I hope nothing serious has happened.’
After watching Mei disappear into the distance for a while, she awkwardly turned her head toward Cardin. When their eyes met, he smiled brightly.
“Finally, it’s just the two of us. The noisy troublemaker has gone.”
She gave him an awkward smile at his comment calling Mei a “troublemaker,” then sighed and asked,
“You didn’t fight with Mei, did you?”
“Fighting is for humans on equal footing. I don’t waste time on someone unworthy.”
“I see.”
She shifted slightly away as Cardin leaned in closer. As soon as she did, he drew even closer.
‘What is he doing!’
She looked at him in disbelief, and then caught sight of his violet eyes. Those gem-like eyes, which had once thrown a drunken tantrum wanting her, were now focused solely on her.
Before she realized it, her hand rose to touch his handsome face. He didn’t look away but instead met her gaze playfully, the curve of his eyes and his red lips making her heart race.
Just as she was caught in the strange atmosphere, Trin arrived. Snapping out of it, she pushed Cardin away, stood up, and turned around. She didn’t want him to see her flushed face.
“It seems I must attend to something urgent.”
She heard Cardin’s polite voice behind her and nodded. At that moment, she felt a hand catch her loose hair, only to release it again.
“Next time, it’ll be just the two of us.”
“I’ll think about it. Thank you for coming.”
Though his unusually serious tone puzzled her, she didn’t look back. Only when the footsteps faded did she glance behind. Watching Cardin leave with Trin and exit the garden, she resolved within herself: she must never be drawn to that man again.
“Why did you do that?”
“What do you mean?”
As they hurriedly returned to the Duke’s residence by carriage, Trin hesitated before asking,
“You kissed Miss Jurn on the head. She turned around and came back to her senses at that moment. So why did you…?”
Cardin didn’t answer, only staring out the window.
As Trin said, Cardin had been fully aware of his actions at the time. Yet he kissed her hair of his own free will.
“Because I wanted to.”
“Eh?”
Trin’s shocked shout fell on one ear as he pressed his lips together, refusing to say more. He simply couldn’t ignore the sight of Harna’s ears, flushed red like an apology, and passed by.
‘She was cute.’
Harna probably thought he hadn’t noticed, but he remembered the rapid beat of her heart as they ran together.
She was a woman he couldn’t take his eyes off. Unpredictable, occasionally trying to act tough but failing, revealing her gentle side instead. Cardin’s lips curved into a deep smile, letting out a small chuckle.
Trin, standing nearby, was frowning and trying to put some distance between them, but Cardin ignored him, resting his chin on his hand. In his mind, there was only Harna.
After the tea party ended, she rested in her room. Not physically exhausted, but mentally drained, her body felt weak.
Cardin and Mei didn’t get along. Cardin kept approaching her, and she didn’t dislike it, which made things complicated.
“What on earth is going on?”
She buried her face in a soft pillow and sighed. The tangled thread she thought would be easy to untangle was hopelessly knotted. She had no idea where to start. Just as she pondered, there was a knock, and Vera entered.
“Miss, Young Master Haren is here.”
“Brother?”
Startled by the unexpected news, she jumped from the bed, checked her dress, and prepared to go out. Vera quickly tidied her tangled hair.
“All done.”
“Thank you.”
She hurried outside. The last time she saw her brother was on her father’s birthday. Thinking about seeing him again made all her worries vanish at once.
Rushing down the stairs, she spotted his familiar orange hair.
“Haren, brother!”
Calling out loudly, she ran toward him. The golden eyes of someone nearby widened in surprise, then curved into a smile.
‘As handsome as Cardin? No, even more.’
As she complimented her brother’s appearance, her steps slowed. Standing behind him was a man she hadn’t seen before, dressed in pristine white priest robes, with sky-blue hair tied neatly.
“…!”
She stepped back warily. It was the same priest who had frightened her at the recent ball.
“Harna, are you okay?”
A worried voice reached her as she stopped running, but her eyes remained fixed on the smiling priest.
“Oh, this is Arsène, a priest serving the god Leberta. Due to circumstances, he will be staying at the marquis’ residence for a few days.”
She finally looked away from him, keeping a safe distance.
“Hello, I’m Harna Jurn. It’s an honor to meet you, Priest.”
“May the glory of the god Leberta be with you.”
Holding her dress to hide any fear, she bowed slowly. He responded with a casual blessing.
She studied Arsène cautiously, determined to understand why he had once instilled fear in her. Yet she intentionally avoided meeting his gaze directly.
‘I didn’t expect to see him like this.’
As she observed him, she felt a gentle touch from above.
“Are you not letting your brother intervene anymore?”
Hearing her brother’s slightly pouty tone, she turned and embraced him.
“What are you saying? I’m so glad you came! I almost forgot your face because it’s been so long.”
“You must have been delayed by something.”
She spoke playfully, and he smiled warmly, apologetically.
“You must stay a long time this visit!”
“I plan to stay about a week. But Harna, I heard from your father there was an incident at the ball?”
Hearing his suddenly serious tone, she instinctively released her gentle hug and stepped back. He must have heard about her drunken antics from her father.
Betrayal. She had begged her father not to tell him! She peeked anxiously, worried her hard-earned favor would drop. Her brother, seeing her worry, sighed.
“I’ll escort you to the next party.”
“It would be an honor to have your escort.”
She understood his intention to guide her carefully so she wouldn’t make mistakes, yet she smiled in response. Patting her shoulder, her brother instructed Arsène, who had been watching them,
“I’ll have him shown to his quarters. It’s late, so rest, and we’ll meet again tomorrow.”
With her father away for routine training, her brother, as the acting marquis, gave instructions to the servants. Meanwhile, Arsène and Harna’s eyes met briefly. Despite her tense gaze, he regarded her with an unreadable expression.
“Please come this way.”
“I’ll greet you again tomorrow.”
As his gaze disappeared, the sky-blue hair he wore swayed gently as he walked away.
“Haah…”
She exhaled the breath she had been holding. A large hand grasped her shoulder.
“Well then, now that the guest has gone, shall we discuss what happened at the last ball?”
Huh? Wasn’t he just going to let it slide?
Her brother blinked and, seeing her confused expression, pulled her toward a quiet reception room on the first floor. There, she endured a massive scolding.
For an entire hour, she received long-winded lectures on noble conduct, the dangers of alcohol, and warnings that even an fiancé could be a wolf, so she must always be cautious. Only afterward was she allowed back to her room.
Throwing herself onto the bed, she thought,
“My brother takes after father.”
She buried her face in the pillow, recalling how her father had scolded her the day after the ball. She knew he spoke out of concern, so she didn’t feel upset, but being lectured was exhausting.
“Not only did you pass out drunk, but you came home in the arms of your fiancé. It’s no wonder you’re in trouble.”
Yes, she understood her mistake at the ball. But what could she possibly have done wrong with Arsène?
“Perhaps I accumulated so many sins that the god’s wrath is visible even to the priest…”
She sat up, reminding herself that this was a fantasy world with romance elements.
“So the priest came intentionally to punish me for divine wrath?”
It made sense. Magic exists here, so divine anger could, too.
“Don’t be afraid. Let’s observe a little longer.”
Since Arsène would be staying at the marquis’ residence for several days, she decided to watch him carefully.
