🔊 TTS Settings
**<CHAPTER # 13>**
A few days later, Edel finished preparing for a simple outing to visit Kassian.
She had heard from a servant that Kassian’s health had improved, and he had even asked her to come soon.
It would have been nice if Rowen could come along, but she seemed quite busy.
When Edel finally arrived at the Duke’s residence, the butler—looking much brighter than before—greeted her.
This time, unlike last time, Kassian didn’t collapse. He was neatly dressed and waiting for her in the parlor.
“You’ve come,” he said.
His sweet smile was enough to capture the hearts of many women. Even the maids working in the Duke’s mansion stared blankly for a moment.
But Edel felt nothing. In her mind she was completely detached, though outwardly she forced a polite smile.
“How is your health?” she asked.
“It’s much better now. I can manage daily life.”
“Then I can visit more often, can’t I?”
“Of course. I’d be glad. While I was gone, I worried that Your Highness’s heart might have been wounded.”
“Then you should have recovered faster.”
Edel slowly stepped closer to him. With each step her heart thudded harder—not from affection, but from something else entirely.
“……!”
Just as only a few steps separated them, Kassian suddenly grabbed Edel’s wrist and pulled her in.
Their lips collided instantly. Kassian devoured her lips like a starved beast.
Edel, keeping her composure, pulled him closer by the neck. The flushed servants quickly turned their heads away.
When the breathless kiss finally ended, a thin string of saliva remained.
“You look… very impatient,” Edel said.
“How could I not be?” Kassian answered.
“Doing this in the parlor, of all places. That’s unlike you.”
“We’ve done this plenty of times before. Please endure it.”
“…Did we?”
“The servants also need to know clearly that you are mine, Your Highness.”
“…I see.”
Her heart pounded uncontrollably. If she had a knife, she might have stabbed him in the chest right then.
“Your heart is racing too, isn’t it?” Kassian’s hand caressed her cheek.
Her face flushed—not from shyness but irritation. Yet the servants, and even Kassian himself, misread it differently.
“Whenever I see you, my heart flutters as if it’s our first meeting,” he whispered.
“Our first meeting… How was it again?” Edel thought.
She couldn’t recall clearly. It had been so long ago, and she had no desire to remember.
Kassian, however, whispered softly while stroking her cheek.
“I can’t tell you how happy I was to see you again.”
“…”
“Over time, I came to understand you better. And then I decided—I wanted to be with someone like you.”
Kassian’s face was faintly flushed, unlike his usual self.
Edel frowned slightly. Was Kassian really this good at acting? To love Rowen and yet act this naturally in front of Edel as if he were moved?
‘Hmm…’
Thinking back, Kassian had deceived her for years. It wasn’t something to be surprised about.
“Shall we take a walk in the garden?” he asked, holding out his hand gracefully.
Edel let out a short laugh and took it.
“Last time you rejected me so strongly. What’s with this change?”
“I never rejected you. At that time… circumstances forced me.”
That excuse again.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“No need to apologize. I saw with my own eyes that you were unwell.”
Kassian kissed her hand. The touch made her uncomfortable, but she calmly let him lead her outside.
The servants tried to follow, but Kassian dismissed them—saying he wanted to be alone with her. Edel didn’t object.
In the garden, they walked slowly side by side.
“You gave my servant a brooch,” Kassian said.
“Did he like it?” Edel asked.
“Very much. He was so delighted that I almost felt jealous.”
Edel planned to continue giving small gifts to Kassian’s servant. That way, he wouldn’t completely turn against her. Still… she wasn’t entirely sure. People were unpredictable.
Meanwhile, Kassian excitedly described his servant’s reaction in detail. Edel pretended to listen, but inwardly she was bored to sleep.
“Princess Rowen also sent me mandrake,” he said suddenly.
At the mention of Rowen, Edel’s attention sharpened.
“Did it work?”
“Yes. As they say, it truly is a cure-all. But…”
He hesitated, as if unsure whether to mention Rowen’s letter in front of Edel. It wasn’t the right time to reveal that openly.
“Well, I’m glad it helped,” Edel said.
“Still, I wonder if it’s right for me to receive something so precious.”
Kassian, like most people, didn’t know about Rowen’s success in cultivating mandrake. Almost no one did—Edel herself had only discovered it by chance in her previous life.
“Indeed. Since Princess Rowen went to such trouble, it would be rude not to send her something in return.”
“I was thinking the same. May I ask for your help in choosing a gift?”
Even without being told, Kassian was naturally finding ways to connect with Rowen.
For the first time that day, Edel nodded in satisfaction.
Kassian listed several gift ideas, asking her opinion. But none impressed her. None would be enough to make real progress.
“What about a dress?” Edel suggested.
“A dress?” His eyes widened.
Edel shrugged casually. “I thought about it. Compared to mandrake, only something like a fine dress would be worthy. You can’t just give her money, can you?”
“But…”
“Among her tastes, dresses are the only normal thing. Everything else you suggested, she wouldn’t truly like.”
“….”
Even with Edel’s repeated persuasion, Kassian hesitated.
Finally, Edel sighed deeply and held both his hands.
“Or do you have something else in mind?”
For Kassian, this was a chance to give Rowen a gift. For Rowen, it was a chance to step closer to him. A perfect opportunity for them both. Why hesitate?
Kassian stared at her with tense red eyes, then gently stroked her hands.
“Very well. If that is what you wish.”
He kissed her fingers, one by one.
“Good. But keep it a secret that I suggested it. If Princess Rowen knows I was involved, she will refuse the gift.”
“Of course.”
Since she had achieved her aim, Edel could endure this much.
Looking satisfied, she brought up another topic.
“I’ll likely attend the party at Count Uros’s estate soon.”
“The party? Will you be alright?”
“What’s there to be worried about?”
“I know better than anyone that you dislike crowds. You don’t have to force yourself.”
Kassian gripped her shoulders tightly, pretending to worry. Edel studied him carefully, then concluded—it was just another smokescreen.
“I’ve told you many times not to worry. More importantly, can you come with me?”
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. That will be difficult. It’s an official gathering… I’m not ready to appear in public yet.”
“So you’re not fully recovered?”
“Correct. Leaving the mansion is still too much for me.”
A swing bench appeared ahead. Kassian guided Edel to sit.
“But if you wish, you can always visit me here. That much I can manage.”
“…I see.”
As she sat down, Kassian moved behind and began gently pushing the bench. Edel sighed in anger and closed her eyes, falling into thought.
She hadn’t expected much—but this was worse than she had imagined.
—
After some time, Edel opened her eyes again. The bench had stopped.
Suddenly, she felt his breath warm against her shoulder. Kassian leaned close, whispering softly by her ear.
“Your Highness, sometimes there are events that change how we face life.”
“What do you mean?” Edel frowned.
“My nightmare… seems to have been one of those events.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“I can’t explain everything. I have many secrets, you see,” he said lightly, as if joking.
But Edel knew he was serious.
Even though they had once been married, Kassian had always hidden many things from her. Far too many.
‘I revealed everything myself… that was my downfall.’
One of the reasons she lost before was because Kassian knew far too much about her.
Memories of the past stung. Edel closed her eyes, clenching and unclenching her hands until she calmed down.
*Click.*
A metallic sound rang out. She turned her head quickly, but Kassian stopped her.
“Shhh… Don’t move, or you’ll get hurt.”
“What are you doing?”
For a moment she thought he had drawn a weapon. But no—he was just doing something sly.
He fastened an earring onto her right ear.
“What is this?”
“It’s an earring I’ve always carried with me. If you keep wearing it, one day it will protect you—from physical harm, from evil spirits… even from painful truths.”
The last part made no sense.
Edel shot him a look, as if to ask if he expected her to believe that. Kassian only chuckled quietly.
“Of course, it’s more like a charm,” he added.
Edel was unsettled. She had received many trinkets from him before, but never earrings. And now he spoke of it as a talisman. Didn’t he know how bad the reputation of magic was?
Seeing the doubt in her eyes, Kassian stroked her cheek and murmured,
“I’ve decided to treasure you more.”
His red eyes trembled as if he might cry.
Then, as if unable to bear it, he kissed her deeply again, hiding his face.
As his tongue invaded, Edel wished only that the earring would protect her—from this detestable man himself.
“I can’t attend the party with you, but perhaps we could watch a play together sometime?” Kassian asked when he pulled back.
“…Fine.” Edel agreed.
At her answer, Kassian smiled and finally let her go. Edel quickly lost interest in him and didn’t notice, but to anyone else watching, his face looked like that of a boy experiencing first love.
—
