Chapter 2.4

“Phew.”

Lyla stepped outside to calm her pounding heart.

Though it was spring, the North was cold all year round. As usual, the chilly wind stung Lyla’s pale skin, turning her face bright red. It wasn’t just her face—her whole body felt flushed.

It didn’t seem to be solely because of the cold.

“Haaa…”

Lyla clutched her coat tighter and took another deep breath. The cold air filled her lungs, clearing her mind.

What a mess this all was.

“Hey, Lyle.”

Just then, a familiar voice called from behind her.

Lyla quickly turned her head. It had been long since Kadis had called that name first.

“Huh, yes…!”

Unable to hide her joy, Lyla stammered as she responded. How pathetic she must have looked. But she didn’t have the luxury to care.

It had already been a month since Kadis returned from the battlefield. For some reason, during that time, Kadis had avoided her as if fleeing whenever she appeared.

When they last exchanged letters, everything seemed normal. He had written that he missed her so much he could die, yet now that they were face-to-face, they hadn’t shared a proper conversation.

‘Did I really do something wrong?’

But the events earlier had made one thing clear.

Kadis still trusted her. He trusted her enough to leave the Duchy in her care. He wouldn’t resent her for not participating in the war.

If so, then the remaining issue was…

‘Father.’

Was it about my father, after all?

If so, she needed to clear up the misunderstanding about her father. She wanted Kadis, at least, to believe that her father wasn’t such a person.

Come to think of it, she had never properly shared her family’s story with Kadis.

Her mother had passed away from illness after being devastated by the false accusations against her father. Her twin had been killed by a bear’s claws. It was a well-known story in the North, so he might have already heard it from others.

Kadis, despite his rough exterior, was kind at heart. Perhaps he had avoided bringing up the subject out of consideration for her feelings.

But she couldn’t keep relying on his kindness forever.

Having made up her mind, Lyla opened her mouth to speak.

“Lord Kadis…”

“Follow me.”

Kadis tilted his head slightly as he turned halfway around.

“What?”

“I have something to say. Don’t you have something to tell me too?”

“Well, that’s…”

Lyla trailed off.

Did he already know what I was thinking? 

He really was like a ghost. But it wasn’t all that surprising. Kadis had always had an animal-like intuition.

Lyla obediently followed behind Kadis.

At last, the stagnant relationship between the two began to move. A step toward change. Perhaps the commotion at the ballroom earlier had been the spark.

Lyla fervently hoped that happiness awaited them at the end of all this.

***

“Excuse me.”

“What’s with the formalities?”

Kadis scoffed, as if unimpressed, at Lyla’s polite greeting.

Kadis’s bedroom hadn’t changed at all from a year ago.

In the past, she would often come in to clean in place of the maids, but she hadn’t set foot in here once while Kadis was away at war.

It felt like regret. She felt as though she should have followed him, and the regret weighed on her, leading her to believe she had made a wrong choice.

“Hey. I’m going to drink.”

“Huh? What?”

As Lyla spiraled deeper into her thoughts, Kadis suddenly spoke up. Then, as if preemptively blocking her from scolding him, he added a warning.

“I’m an adult now, so don’t nag me.”

In the North, drinking was permitted from the age of fifteen.

Of course, Kadis had first tasted alcohol on the battlefield. Over the past year, it seemed he had grown accustomed to drinking, as there was now a liquor display in one corner of his room.

According to the butler, Kadis occasionally enjoyed a drink. Perhaps due to his rapid healing abilities, he never seemed to get drunk, no matter how much he drank.

In the cold Northern regions, alcohol was particularly strong to ward off the chill. Even after downing several bottles of such potent Northern liquor in succession, Kadis remained unaffected. It was just like him.

“Yes, understood.”

Lyla nodded.

Kadis was right—he was an adult, and she had no reason or grounds to stop him from drinking.

Still, Kadis seemed slightly amused by her permission. He raised one corner of his mouth in a sly grin.

This small gesture made Lyla’s chest tighten inexplicably. His outward appearance was that of a grown man, yet it felt as though his heart was still stuck in his boyhood.

But she couldn’t keep treating him like a child forever.

“P-please enjoy, Lord Kadis!”

Perhaps surprised by her enthusiastic encouragement, Kadis froze for a moment, his eyes wide, before moving to the liquor display as if to say he had intended to drink anyway.

Kadis approached Lyla, holding a bottle of wine in one hand and two wine glasses between the fingers of the other.

“Shall I prepare something to go with it?”

“No need. I’ve already prepared.”

“Already?”

Lyla blinked innocently in surprise.

Kadis felt as though he was already intoxicated, even without drinking, just from the sight of those thick lashes fluttering on a face that was almost too beautiful for a man.

‘Damn it…’

He clenched his eyes shut, trying to shake off the heat pooling in his lower body. Fortunately, his body was still under control. But if he started drinking… Well, it didn’t matter, did it? Kadis thought indifferently as he opened his eyes.

“Ah, L-Lord Kadis?”

“Stop talking and just follow me.”

Having calmed himself, Kadis wrapped an arm around Lyla’s waist, who was still standing there innocently.

He led her to the terrace.

At the center of the terrace, which jutted out into the open air, was a heater. The firewood in the hearth crackled softly under the moonlight. The flames burned so brightly that the cold was barely noticeable.

Kadis placed the alcohol and glasses on the table. As he had mentioned earlier, the table was already laden with food—enough to make the legs of the table creak under the weight.

Winter strawberry cake, cod soaked in honey, apple pie.

All of it was sweet food that Lyla loved. However, she was too tense to even glance at the food.

“Sit.”

Kadis, who had already crossed one leg and sat down, gestured with a nod of his chin. Lyla hesitated before sitting across from him. She fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat.

“What’s your problem?”

Kadis spoke bluntly.

The unexpected question left Lyla speechless. When she glanced up, Kadis was looking at her with a crooked expression.

“Pardon?”

“How can someone change so much in just one year?”

Kadis’s crimson eyes scanned Lyla up and down. His gaze was unmistakably suggestive, but Lyla didn’t notice. After all, she couldn’t imagine Kadis looking at her in such a way.

Still, change? 

That was a question she wanted to ask him.

‘Hey, Lyle. Where are you going? Didn’t I tell you to always stay where I can see you in the castle? Do my words mean nothing to you?’

When they were younger, Kadis had followed her around as if she were his mother bird. As he grew older, he stayed by her side as if he were her chick.

But after the war, he had been avoiding her as though they were strangers. His personality had changed as well.

Even the incident at the ballroom earlier was uncharacteristic.

In the past, it wouldn’t have ended like that. Kadis would have thrown out not only the relatives who had insulted Lyla but also the other guests.

‘He never liked balls in the first place.’

Yet, Kadis had allowed the ball to take place.

He no longer raised his voice or acted violently. He had become more composed, one might say.

In truth, it might have been Lyla who found it difficult to deal with the changed Kadis.

That was why she had come up with the idea of the victory celebration. To grow closer to Kadis again. At the end of all her worries and concerns, it was always Kadis who occupied her thoughts.

‘Lord Kadis, what do you think about holding a victory celebration?’

‘A victory celebration?’

That day, Kadis had thought for a moment before asking,

‘Do you want to?’

‘Pardon? …Yes. I-I think it would be good for the unity of the North as well!’

‘Then do it.’

Even as she tacked on a flimsy excuse about the unity of the North, Lyla had stammered like a fool, afraid her true feelings might be revealed.