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Chapter 06
It’s My First Time
“So now…… there’s something I want to ask you. May I?”
“Pardon?”
Something he wanted to ask her?
Sara blinked in confusion.
Cassian parted his lips, thinking the timing was perfect.
Just then—
Click.
The tightly shut door suddenly swung open roughly.
“……Who is it?!”
Startled, Sara quickly pulled the blanket over herself.
Cassian immediately rose to his feet and shouted.
At the same time, sounds of struggling came from outside the room, followed by steady little footsteps.
Then a small figure appeared.
“It’s me.”
“……”
The young boy suddenly announcing It’s me left Sara staring in confusion.
Cassian seemed just as surprised.
Standing stiffly, he pressed his lips tightly together.
Breaking the silence, the boy spoke again.
“I heard you brought a woman here, so I became curious.”
At those words, Cassian’s expression twisted instantly.
Soon, a voice completely different from the gentle tone he used earlier came out filled with irritation.
“Lotte, you really are curious about everything.”
Lotte was a young boy with black hair and large blue eyes identical to Cassian’s.
At most, he looked around ten years old.
Yet his speech sounded strangely mature, almost like an adult.
More than anything, the way Cassian treated Lotte did not feel like he was speaking to a child.
It felt more like he was dealing with another grown man his own age.
“Hm.”
Lotte glanced toward Sara and spoke indifferently with half-lidded eyes.
“She’s beautiful. Just like I heard.”
“……”
Sara was horrified internally.
His face, his tone, even his arrogant indifferent attitude—
Everything about him resembled the man standing beside her.
Surely… no way?
“S-Surely……”
Stopping herself midway through the thought, Sara spoke with a trembling voice.
Anyone could see those two looked alike.
With complete seriousness, she asked:
“……Do you have a child?”
Cassian stood frozen in shock at her question.
“You’re asking me that?”
He stared at her with disbelief before tilting his head stiffly.
Embarrassed, Sara hurriedly tried to explain herself.
“Ah, I mean… the two of you look so similar that I accidentally thought he might be your son. ……That was terribly rude of me!”
Sara shrank her shoulders timidly.
Just as Cassian was about to say something—
Lotte crossed his arms and spoke proudly.
“Yes, very rude.”
Both of them turned to look at him.
Lotte continued confidently.
“Even if we resemble each other, I’m clearly superior. How could you compare me to that black-hearted giant over there?”
Listening to him, Sara wondered—
How could a child barely ten years old say things like that?
The more she looked at him, the stranger he seemed.
Sara stared at Lotte in fascination.
“Lotte, watch your manners. Apologize immediately.”
Cassian finally spoke while standing crookedly against the wall.
His face was already heavily distorted with annoyance.
What exactly was that brat thinking, speaking without restraint like this?
Cassian gritted his teeth while glaring at Lotte for interrupting his time with Sara.
An unwanted guest if there ever was one.
“……”
“……”
They looked like sworn enemies.
As they silently glared at each other, it almost felt as if sparks were flying between them.
Neither of them blinked once.
‘……What exactly are those two doing? And what even is that child? They really do look alike.’
The most uncomfortable person there was Sara.
She already felt exhausted worrying she might somehow get dragged into their strange argument.
Come to think of it, when she briefly saw the future earlier, that child had not been there at all.
So what happened?
Then, after maintaining silence for a long time, Lotte finally turned his head away with a sigh.
“……I lost. Regrettable.”
He genuinely looked bitter about it.
Apparently losing their strange staring contest had upset him greatly.
Lotte glared at Cassian one last time.
“Good. Stop wasting time and leave already.”
Cassian raised his chin coldly.
Though he phrased it calmly, the meaning was obvious.
Get out while I’m still asking nicely.
In battles like this, age meant nothing.
Both of them were frighteningly serious.
After glancing between Cassian and Sara on the bed, Lotte eventually left and shut the door behind him.
“……”
Darkness once again filled the room.
Cassian quickly lit another candle and placed it on the table beside the bed.
Then he hurried back toward Sara and asked worriedly,
“I’m sorry for startling you. Are you alright?”
Sara nodded, saying she was fine.
She even remembered to smile faintly at him.
“Of course. I’m alright. So then… that child earlier was…….”
“Who do you think he was?”
Caught off guard by the question being thrown back at her, Sara’s eyes darted around nervously.
“Umm… your younger brother?”
“That’s right. His name is Lotte. He’s my younger brother. There’s quite a large age difference between us.”
“Ah……”
Honestly, something still felt strange about simply calling him a younger brother.
His speech and behavior felt oddly elderly.
At times he acted more like someone old enough to be their father.
Was he really just a younger brother?
Sara wanted to ask more, but she simply smiled instead.
“Are you two not close?”
“Haha, we’re just teasing each other. If we truly had a bad relationship, he wouldn’t have come running after hearing I brought a woman here.”
“……”
That made sense.
Sara nodded in agreement.
While smiling, Cassian carefully observed her expression.
‘Good. Calling him my younger brother worked. She doesn’t seem suspicious.’
“That’s true. I’m relieved.”
After that, the conversation suddenly died down again.
The awkwardness they had barely managed to ease returned once more.
Quietly watching Sara, Cassian thought to himself,
‘I should observe her a little longer. Since I already have the opportunity, learning more about her slowly wouldn’t be bad either. Though it still isn’t time yet.’
Then Cassian spoke.
“It’s my first time bringing a woman here.”
“What?”
What was he suddenly trying to say?
Sara’s expression filled with confusion.
By telling her this was his first time, Cassian wanted to establish a certain image of himself in her mind.
Because it would benefit him.
No matter the reason, he simply wanted to do it.
It felt like that would help Sara relax more.
“……Ah, actually, me too.”
In response, Sara shyly answered back.
“It’s my first time being alone in a room with a man too. Especially…… just the two of us.”
“……”
Why did the words just the two of us linger in his ears so strangely?
Cassian stared blankly at her before swallowing dryly.
For someone with such an innocent face, she said unexpectedly dangerous things.
Smiling softly, he gently lifted the corners of his lips.
Sara already looked far more comfortable than before.
‘Yes… maybe I can change my future even sooner than I thought.’
Fortunately, Cassian seemed to be looking at her favorably.
That made Sara increasingly convinced the future could truly be changed.
If they built a connection, perhaps destiny itself might change.
At that moment—
Knock. Knock.
Someone knocked steadily on the tightly closed door.
“Haa… who is it now?”
Cassian raised his voice slightly, clearly irritated by the constant interruptions.
“Master, the physician has arrived.”
Noah entered slightly through the opened door as he spoke.
The moment Cassian heard the physician had arrived, the irritation on his face softened immediately.
“Ah, Lady. Perfect timing. The physician is here now.”
“A… physician?”
At the word physician, Sara’s eyes shook violently with panic.
As the room suddenly brightened with more light, Sara frowned.
Everyone was looking at her.
“……”
It seemed Cassian had thoughtfully brought only female physicians for her sake.
The physicians greeted them politely before speaking.
“First, for the examination… I’m afraid you’ll need to remove your dress.”
Before the sentence even fully ended, Sara’s face stiffened visibly.
Her eyes quickly reddened.
“Lady, what’s wrong?”
Cassian asked in confusion.
“I don’t… want the examination. Can’t we skip it? I’m not hurt anywhere.”
Cassian answered immediately, unable to understand her reaction.
“You collapsed earlier, didn’t you? Even if you feel fine, we should still check. All the men will leave the room first. We’ll finish quickly—”
Staring blankly into space, Sara spoke firmly.
“No.”
“……”
“I’m really alright. I don’t want to do it.”
At her sudden refusal, everyone inside the room fell silent in shock.
Cassian was no different.
Just moments ago she had been smiling warmly at him—
Yet now she looked at him as though she might burst into tears at any second.
Anyone would be confused.
Grabbing onto Cassian’s sleeve desperately, Sara forced herself to smile.
“Please.”
Her eyes were filled with tears, yet her lips still curved upward.
But even that smile trembled unnaturally from force.
Why was she making that expression?
A noble lady who should have nothing to be sad about.
Unable to refuse her pleading face, Cassian finally nodded and turned toward Noah.
“Send them all away.”
“Yes? Ah… understood.”
After the physicians left, only the two of them remained inside the room.
Heavy silence settled between them.
Cassian did not ask anything.
For some reason, it felt like he shouldn’t.
And so—
The long night quietly passed.
