Chapter 45

How much time had passed? Rohana, walking down the hallway after leaving Jody’s room, saw the emperor and empress standing before her.

“Rohana.”

Ignoring Bardi’s call, Rohana quickened her steps. She no longer intended to respond to such calls every time.

“Rohana.”

Suddenly, her wrist was grabbed. She turned around and saw Emperor Bardi. His face looked just as distraught.

“I’m sorry, but right now…”

“I understand.”

A soft voice emerged. The calm tone was like cold water, soothing her frayed nerves.

“I understand, so don’t worry too much. Whatever it is, I’ll make sure things go your way.”

Rohana slowly pulled her wrist free, and the large hand released her. The head maid approached and bowed her head. The physician’s face was also visible.

“Your Grace, this way.”

Looking up, Bardi nodded and urged her to go.

How much time had passed? What did it mean that someone was sent? Rohana, practically dragged to Kaiden’s quarters, sat in the drawing room, waiting for him.

Despite the maids telling her to change her clothes, Rohana remained seated.

“Where is the duke?”

“Your Grace.”

Everyone here answered with titles, just like in the palace. Rohana took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

Kaiden had definitely sent someone. He was dumbfounded that Heath and his men had failed.

‘Did Kaiden already suspect Jody? How? And why didn’t he tell me?’

She thought they had agreed to share all information openly.

How much time passed? It was very late at night when the door finally opened.

“Kaiden.”

Under the silver hair that fell just above his eyes, his black irises shone coldly.

“If you were waiting to plead for that girl, you’ve wasted your time.”

The image of him extinguishing that massive fire flashed through her mind. Rohana hesitated for a moment, then stood up and followed him.

“I know you’ll say it was just an attempt. I also know you think there must be some explanation.”

Kaiden, speaking smoothly, strode over to the liquor table. More than half of the whiskey in the crystal glass disappeared in one gulp.

“I’ll handle it according to protocol, so step aside.”

“That’s not it,” Rohana stubbornly replied.

“There was definitely a gap. If I persuade her somehow and ask her, surely—”

“Rohana.”

Suddenly, Kaiden strode toward her, growling in a low voice. He came so close that she could feel his warmth.

“What are you really thinking?”

Kaiden asked, as if he couldn’t believe it.

His face, now close, was filled with a mix of anger and disbelief.

“Do you really have a death wish?”

“As if that’s possible,” Rohana furrowed her brow.

“How can you behave like this after seeing people dying? After seeing how desperate they are to kill you?”

His raised voice echoed off the high ceiling.

“How did you live to become this brave? Even naivety has its limits.”

It was the first time she had heard him speak so sarcastically. A brief silence followed.

“If this is how you express your resentment over my incompetence, I get it. So let’s stop here.”

His voice lowered to a murmur. Rohana exhaled in disbelief.

“Resent your incompetence?”

Their eyes locked.

“Who’s blaming whom for incompetence?”

Kaiden’s eyes narrowed.

“It was my life, my situation. I acted knowing Jody wouldn’t go all the way, and even if I was wrong, that was my responsibility, not yours.”

Kaiden’s eyes narrowed as he stared at her coldly set face.

“How impressive.”

“I don’t understand why you’re reacting so emotionally, why you’re angrier than I am,” Rohana muttered, almost to herself.

“I should be the one angry, not you.”

Jody was that kind of person. Saying the words out loud made the reality hit harder, causing her voice to tremble.

“Not me, but you?”

Kaiden’s voice, rough like gravel scraping, spoke up.

“Then, as the person directly involved, what can you do?”

Rohana took a deep breath. The rage over her helplessness tightened her chest.

“What did you say?”

Is it true?

Is what he’s saying true?

“Does it bother you so much that I said I’d protect you?”

The heat from his close body radiated toward her. Cold yet burning if touched. The shadow stretched long beside his straight, prominent nose.

“Dragging this thing all the way back here after re-hiring her wasn’t enough?”

Rohana’s shoulders trembled.

“Unable to properly carry out the simple order of just keeping watch, huh?”

Even as she stepped backward, the distance between them didn’t increase much. The long sleeve of her red dress glimmered in the candlelight.

“You seem intent on handling everything on your own, ignoring someone like me, so…”

With nowhere else to retreat, Rohana was forced to look up at him directly.

“What should I do?”

Kaiden slowly raised his hand and gently brushed aside her disheveled long hair.

“This time, I think I’ll do things my way.”

A silence fell between them. It was the kind of silence so tense that even the fall of a single pin would echo through the room. Rohana slowly parted her dry lips. Her whisper came out hoarse and cracked.

“Why didn’t you tell me, even though you were keeping an eye on Jody?”

A sneer flickered across Kaiden’s face. As Rohana took a step forward, the distance between them became nearly nonexistent.

“You said we’d share information with each other.”

At that moment, a deep sigh escaped from Kaiden’s lips. And it was then that Rohana began to understand his behavior just a little.

That crooked, bitter smile on his lips, the way he turned his head away from her, as if to avoid her gaze.

She hadn’t remembered for a long time.

What it looks like when someone worries about another.

“Let’s stop.”

In that instant, Rohana instinctively grabbed Kaiden’s arm as he moved away. Though her grip was weak, Kaiden stopped.

It felt as if the wild, irregular beating of her heart was so loud it could be heard. Rohana tilted her head back to look up at him.

“This isn’t your fault.”

Their gazes locked.

“And it isn’t mine, either.”

Kaiden’s brow furrowed. His now slightly longer silver hair swayed just above his intense, dark eyes.

“But when it comes to Jody, I know her best. If I could just…”

At that moment, Kaiden interrupted.

“No.”

When Rohana raised her head again at his murmur, his sharp chin tilted. Before the low groan reached her ear, their breaths met first as his lips brushed against hers.

This time, Kaiden didn’t let her pull away. He lowered his head deeper, as though determined not to lose her.

< I want to know what you’re thinking. >

The thoughts she’d been holding her breath over during that fateful night in Pincheser, when the fire broke out, flickered briefly through her mind.

Her mind went blank, and all that remained were their breaths. His desperate, ragged breathing mingled with hers as it spilled over her lips.

His large hands enveloped her neck and ears, drawing her closer. Rohana could no longer resist and rested her hands against his chest. The rapid heartbeat beneath the firm muscles made her head spin.

As his persistent lips and tongue relentlessly pressed on, her breath was nearly stolen away.

With a small moan, the brief separation only made Kaiden return more fiercely, refusing to let go.

Breathing heavily, Rohana gently pushed against his chest with her hands before he finally stopped. Their foreheads rested against each other as they both gasped for air.

His low, almost growling voice was mixed with his ragged breaths as he spoke again.

“Just.”

For some reason, tears welled up in her eyes, and Rohana squeezed them shut more tightly. His long, cool fingers gently brushed over her closed eyelids.

“Just stay.”

Kaiden’s deep, resonant voice mingled with his breath in her ear.

“I’m sorry, but just stay. I’ll kill them all.”

Amidst the dizziness caused by his heavy breathing and his disoriented voice, Rohana finally broke away from the kiss and walked back into the room.

***

The pale blue dawn light crept in. Rohana cautiously stepped out of her bedroom. Kaiden’s door remained firmly shut.

Suppressing a lingering cough, she wrapped a gown around herself.

As she emerged from the inner chamber, she spotted Heath standing in the hallway. His light-colored eyes widened slightly when he saw her.

It wasn’t common for a noblewoman to step out of her room without being fully dressed and prepared, which made the scene even more unusual.

“Your Grace.”

Heath spoke seriously as Rohana glanced up at him with a faint smile.

“I deeply apologize for yesterday. I had to attend to an urgent message, and I thought everything would be fine with Kaiden by your side.”

Rohana shook her head.

“If you’re sorry, then please grant me a small favor.”

Heath let out a sigh as if he already knew what she was asking, even though she hadn’t said it.

“Just for a moment. And you don’t have anything on you, do you?”

His words, meant to lighten the mood, only made it darker—a feeble attempt at humor that ended up being grim.

“No,” Rohana responded, shaking her hands and dress as if to show she carried nothing. Heath smiled faintly. They walked side by side in silence.

As they descended four more levels, they reached the underground prison.

The prison was cleaner than expected, darker than expected, and colder than expected.