Why did he say that? Reingart wanted to slap himself.

Until he came here, he’d steeled himself thoroughly. He thought nothing would happen if he just kept her company for ten to fifteen minutes and then left.

He’d come first because he couldn’t keep a noblewoman waiting, but also because he needed time to prepare himself before facing her. He had to put on his armor piece by piece, tighten the straps, and prepare defenses to block every attack.

“You got here first.”

The woman’s unconcealed gladness the moment she entered loosened his defenses. The fact that she’d diligently written down all her questions touched him and loosened them further. But what ultimately undid his armor was the rainy season. That damned rainy season.

“It rained all day yesterday too. Will it stop tomorrow?”

The fact that Annette didn’t know about it shocked Reingart all over again. He could imagine her waking up each morning hoping for clear skies, and it even made him angry. 

Because people here knew the rainy season lasted two weeks, they endured the bad weather easily. But for Annette, it would be a continuous cycle of hope, disappointment, and vague waiting. Alone in not knowing what even children knew.

He pitied that, wanted to lift her spirits a bit, so he started rambling unnecessarily.

“I watch you train every day.”

Annette talked a lot. Once she opened her mouth, she poured out words in an endless chatter. 

Her small, plump lips moved so well that he stared at them in a daze. She whispered in soft Common Tongue and smiled brightly at trivial things.

She talks this much.

That must be the real Annette. A twenty-year-old woman who likes talking, laughs easily, and is curious about many things.

So Reingart was the only person in Rothe who knew the real Annette, and because of that, he felt a strange elation and sense of responsibility. Since he was the only one Annette revealed herself to, he felt he should protect her true nature.

That’s why he unknowingly spouted unnecessary words. He threw out jokes and went on about Erich. The more Annette found it amusing, the more pleased he became, and he spoke more and more thoughtlessly.

And that’s how this mess happened.

“Even a cat would eat more than that.”

Stupid bastard. Just say you’ve been stealing glances until your eyeballs rolled, why don’t you. 

Reingart berated himself behind closed lips while pondering how to salvage this situation.

Rain still fell outside. The midnight downpour showed no signs of letting up. The sound of rain filled the void between the two people who had awkwardly closed their mouths.

Annette was the first to break the silence.

“Answer me again.”

Reingart turned his eyes to look at her. He couldn’t look directly at her, so he kept his gaze slightly lower. Annette wore a long white garment under an indoor robe, just like she always did when coming to the library.

Through the slightly open outer garment, intricate lace caught his eye. With his eyes on the noblewoman’s clothing, he waited for the woman’s question.

“What do you do on days without mounted training?”

At the repeated question, he laughed like a sigh. Originally he had no intention of telling her, but in the current situation, it was a welcome change of topic.

“There’s combat training.”

“Where? It wasn’t at the garrison.”

“There’s a training ground outside the north gate.”

Rothe Castle’s main gate was on the south side. The north gate on the opposite side was less grand but used much more frequently. Since the village closest to the castle was to the north, carts loaded with food and daily necessities came and went through it.

The gate Annette had escaped through two months ago was the side gate on the south. If she’d gone out the north gate, she would have reached the village faster.

What if she had? What if they’d never met from the start?

“Then I need to find a room that overlooks outside the north gate. I want to watch the combat training too.”

Annette beamed. She smiled brightly, seemingly having forgotten any awkwardness. Reingart thought that face was lovely, and he wasn’t surprised at himself for thinking so naturally.

Jumping in alarm at this point would be ridiculous. Reingart could no longer deny his thoughts about this woman.

Small, lovely Annette.

So his thoughts had long since escaped his will. Now the only thing he could control as he wished was his actions.

“I should be going now.”

After saying this abruptly, Reingart picked up the candlestick he’d set on the bookshelf. It was to show there was no room for negotiation. To both the woman and himself.

“Already?”

“I think this was sufficient.”

“But—”

“I told you it would only be for a moment.”

He replied firmly and set his jaw. Annette, who had been looking up resentfully, pulled and bit her lower lip. Reingart put strength in his toes to avoid succumbing to temptation.

“…Alright. Then I’ll see you in five days.”

“I’ll leave first.”

The moment the woman agreed helplessly, he stepped forward like he’d been waiting. He didn’t bow his head politely or offer a courteous goodnight. All such formalities now seemed laughable to him.

Polite greetings? When he was having a secret meeting with his lord’s wife in the middle of the night?

Even as he clenched his molars, Reingart kept his senses sharp. After opening and quietly closing the door again, he stood in the dark, cool corridor and listened carefully. After confirming there was no sign of anyone, he blew out the candle with his mouth.

Smelling the burnt scent, he hid himself on the stairway leading to the fourth floor, opposite Annette’s quarters.

After waiting briefly, the library door opened. He leaned against the wall and listened to the woman who quietly opened the door and came out.

The rain continued, and since Annette walked soundlessly, he couldn’t hear footsteps. Instead, through the gradually receding light of her candle, he could tell she was safely heading to her bedroom.

Only after that light completely disappeared did Reingart emerge from behind the wall. He walked through the dark corridor holding the extinguished candlestick. Relying on the weak light from the brazier placed on the landing, he walked silently along the path Annette had just taken.

Pitter-patter. 

Rainwater endlessly struck the glass windows. The two-week rainy season was only beginning.

***

Reingart thinks about not being able to think thoughts as he wishes. Even that thought, when he mulls it over, eventually returns to the beginning. Annette. Thinking about Annette. Thoughts that escape his will and branch out willfully again.

Now he naturally counted the days even without wanting to. He waited for the next meeting, counting down five days, four days, three days. 

Even while calling out commands at the training ground, he was conscious of Annette. His shoulder blades itched because of the gaze watching from the mansion.

Every time maids passed before him, his eyes went to them pointlessly. Not those walking in groups of two or three, but when he spotted a maid walking alone, he looked closely without realizing it.

Even after recognizing at a glance that it wasn’t Annette, he thought of her. The face hidden by a pure white bonnet. The hair that cascaded and spilled when it was removed. Pale blue eyes under the early summer sun.

So his thoughts absolutely didn’t go as he wished. They ran around willfully like an ill-tempered horse. 

At least you could tie a bridle on a horse and pull it—formless thoughts were like wind or ghosts, and there was nothing he could do about them. When they blew in, he could only take them as they came.

Even now, Reingart was thinking about Annette, having almost resigned himself to it.

“I heard the reservoir water has risen a lot. The rainy season is only half over, and I’m worried it might overflow.”

“The rain has been unusual this year. Has the water level risen much?”

“It’s quite high compared to previous years, but it depends on how much more rain falls next week.”

“Mobilize the soldiers if necessary. Watch carefully so we can drain the water before it’s too late.”

“Yes, my lord.”

The topic at the table was the reservoir situation in the nearby village. While pretending to listen to that serious conversation, Reingart was actually paying attention to the woman on his left. 

The barely audible sound of a fork touching a plate. He was more interested in that tiny sound than the men’s conversation.

“If you need manpower, we can send Dietrich’s recruits. The ones who can’t earn their keep should at least dig.”

“Dear brother. No soldier earns his worth a week after enlisting. I’ll provide as many as needed for mobilization though.”

“I just don’t understand. It would be enough to just fill the empty numbers—why do you need five hundred more?”

“There’s no harm in having a separate unit outside the castle. We can offer them to His Majesty when he needs them.”

“Why would His Majesty need our private soldiers? He has so many elite troops under his command. Now that the war’s over, shouldn’t we be disbanding the armies we have?”

When Volker grumbled openly, Dietrich only smiled. Volker had been displeased from the start about expanding the private army. He frowned first at anything his younger brother did.

Perhaps it was because he’d sensed Dietrich’s real intention in creating a separate unit.

“You tell me, Rein. Do you think Rothe needs as many as seven hundred private soldiers?”

So when Volker pointed at him, Reingart already knew how he should answer.