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Chapter 3
First Encounter
Yet there was no other reaction from her.
“We’re going to be married anyway.”
The calmness of her voice was startling, and Rian laughed.
“So… you’re okay with what’s happening?”
“Are you going to force yourself on me?”
He grabbed her wrist tightly, then twisted the corner of his mouth.
Anasta sighed in relief when he released her wrist—but her eyes went wide at his next action. The strap of her dress, which had been resting on her shoulder, was suddenly pulled down.
“What… are you doing?”
“See? You don’t like it either.”
Her wrist trembled faintly. This was definitely wrong.
“Tell them to change your room.”
Rian released his wrist and stepped back.
“I told you already—I truly have no choice, young master.”
Anasta quickly withdrew her wrist, still marked from his grip, and straightened her dress.
“Is that so? Then leave this estate, if you like.”
Not so easy.
“Don’t think locking the door will solve anything. This door doesn’t just give me access to my room at all—it gives me access to yours as well.”
With that, Rian slammed the door shut.
In the space he had occupied, a chilling silence remained.
The harsh winter wind slammed against the windows, and cold moonlight lingered in her room.
She exhaled the breath she had been holding.
The strength of the man she had thought weak was immense.
His large frame and commanding presence, honed from attending the military academy before failing it, felt like facing a wild beast.
Anasta squeezed her eyes shut.
‘The honor of the Solter family… and my parents received more than twice the land of the Winterif estate, plus enough flour to last a year.’
Nothing in this world comes for free.
Reminded of this, Anasta clutched her aching wrist and quietly rose to her feet.
Locking the door might not matter, but she did so anyway, then curled up in the farthest corner of the bed.
Though the mattress was soft, she could not sleep. She remained alert, her gaze fixed on the door, and only when the sun had risen did she manage to catch a brief nap.
“Changing rooms is impossible, isn’t it?”
“Of course. Is there something uncomfortable?”
“The young master is uncomfortable with me being in the adjoining room.”
“There’s nothing that can be done. You must remain there to properly attend to him.”
The head maid replied firmly, then presented breakfast before Anasta. She looked at the table set for her alone and asked, “Does Young Master Rian eat breakfast separately?”
“He eats in his room. Usually a maid brings it to him. But from now on…”
The head maid glanced at Anasta.
“You will be in charge of it, miss.”
“…”
“It’s simple. You bring him breakfast, lunch, and dinner, then ten minutes after each meal, deliver his medicine. Any other requests he has, you are to fulfill them immediately.”
And that was for a physicality. She had come primarily to care for Rian’s illness.
As expected, Anasta gave a bitter smile but didn’t show resentment.
“And besides that?”
“You may act as you wish. Simple enough, isn’t it?”
But incidents like that had to be prevented.
So to Anasta, changing rooms wasn’t an option. Anasta realized she would need to resolve.
Rian realized that Anasta had not changed rooms. Yet he hadn’t left the estate either.
‘Should he scare her a little more?’
He had expected that a single warning would be enough. After all, she had likely received much from the Solter family.
She wouldn’t give it all up and leave the estate immediately.
Rian pulled on the door connecting to her room.
It was unlocked.
A pointless gesture. He fumbled through his pocket for the key and quickly unlocked the door. Crossing the quiet, empty room, he approached the bed.
The bed was empty.
Not only that—the blankets and pillows were all gone.
‘Where could she be hiding?’
Not bad. Dragging it out wouldn’t do either of them any good. This clean, tidy departure was the best kind of relief.
Just as a relieved Rian was about to leave the room, he sensed movement somewhere.
“…?”
More precisely, outside the room.
It was past midnight, in the pitch-black early morning. The maids had surely turned off all the corridor lights and gone to their rooms for a deep sleep.
Rian’s eyes sharpened as he looked around, and he picked up an extinguished candlestick.
As he approached the door, the sounds of movement became clearer. It definitely wasn’t a maid.
Strange, cautious…
A thief?
Whoever it was, sneaking into the Solter estate at this hour—this person had some serious guts.
Rian adjusted his grip on the candlestick and stopped at the door to catch his breath. When he was healthy, he could have subdued an intruder in the blink of an eye, but now, not move but now.
His weakened body could collapse at any moment.
Anasta.
Seeing her huddled like a child, sleeping snugly, he lowered his arm. Partly exasperated, partly dumbfounded.
This was the corridor. A hard floor.
“Has she lost her mind?”
He knelt down to get a closer look, then poked her cheek gently with the candlestick he was holding.
“Hey.”
“…”
“Wake up.”
“Mn…”
“Sleeping so comfortably, aren’t you?”
Rian’s mind was still full of questions.
What kind of trick was this? Was she trying to provoke his sympathy to win his heart?
Yet she slept as if this cold corridor were the most comfortable bed in the world.
He couldn’t move her either.
“Anyone would have made the same mistake if they sensed a presence in an empty corridor.”
“So why not just say it? Do you sleepwalk since presence?”
“You said you were going to assault me.”
Rian froze for a moment.
“What?”
“I really hate being forced into a relationship. Such relationships shouldn’t exist. That’s why I slept in the corridor.”
“So the corridor is safe, huh? Like a protective barrier or something?”
“The corridor is cold and chilly. It’s a place everyone passes through. I figured a gentleman like you wouldn’t assault me here.”
“I’m not a gentleman.”
Assault and gentleman… the words didn’t even fit together.
“If you were afraid of being assaulted, wouldn’t it make more sense to leave the estate?”
“I was sold. I heard refunds aren’t an option.”
“…”
‘Amusing, but…’
It wasn’t the kind of amusement he liked.
Rian disliked how Anasta, with her calm, precise words and steady gaze, managed to poke at his defenses.
