Chapter 3

Judith ran her fingers over the smooth surface of the letter in her hand.

Somehow, she had made a very sudden and impulsive decision about her future.

She wrote the letter politely but kept it short. After all, writing at length wouldn’t make the other side think better of her.

Judith’s value as a fiancée was already set.

A commoner girl sponsored by the Fedelian family, with a verified identity. That would be all.

Of course, she still didn’t know if this was a good choice.

But it would surely be better than becoming Axel’s assistant. Therefore, it was a satisfying choice for Judith.

* * *

Judith moved cautiously, craning her neck and looking around, worried she might run into Axel on her way to mail the letter.

Fortunately, she didn’t see even a single strand of his black hair.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she placed the letter into the red mailbox.

Time passed, and darkness fell over the once-blue sky. Judith returned to her room and soon lay down on her bed.

She thought she would feel relieved, as if a heavy burden had been lifted after sending the letter, but she didn’t. Her heart felt somewhat uneasy.

Normally, she would have fallen asleep easily, but tonight she couldn’t sleep and tossed and turned for a while.

Then Judith found herself caught up in unnecessary thoughts.

Why did Axel offer me the position of his assistant?

Though Judith was expected to graduate at the top of her class from the academy, there were plenty of graduates as excellent as her.

Moreover, Judith wasn’t capable enough to warrant such a generous salary offer.

Was it because he found me comfortable and familiar, having known me for a long time?

Judith pulled the blanket over her head.

That was a truly unpleasant reason.

But it seemed likely.

Judith and Axel had been playing together since they were very young, so he must want to keep her close because he would feel lonely without her.

Judith’s grip on the blanket tightened.

Then when did it start? When did I begin to like Axel?

Judith closed her eyes and fell into deep thought.

Judith could meet Axel all thanks to her father, who was the Fedelian family’s physician.

Judith’s mother passed away right after giving birth to her, so her father had to take responsibility for raising his young daughter and making a living at the same time.

When Madame Fedelian heard about these circumstances, she allowed him to bring young Judith to work.

Thanks to that, while her father was seeing patients, Judith could be cared for by the maids of the Fedelian family.

As she grew older, she could freely play in the beautiful garden of the Fedelian family as if it were her own.

On the day she first met Axel, Judith was wandering in the garden as usual, her attention caught by a beautiful butterfly fluttering in the air.

While running with her eyes fixed on the butterfly, she tripped over a stone and fell.

Thud!

Her white skin got scraped, and her knee was bleeding. It stung and hurt.

But more than the pain, she felt sorrow.

Judith looked down with wide eyes. Her new pink dress was all covered in dirt.

She felt miserable. Tears welled up in her golden eyes and soon began to fall.

At that moment, a gentle voice reached her ears.

‘Are you hurt?’

When she looked up, the first thing she saw was deep light gray eyes.

As those eyes met hers, they slowly crinkled and curved into a thin smile. Judith’s mouth hung open at the smooth and graceful curve.

A boy with jet-black hair and fair skin, forming a stark contrast.

Judith thought he looked like a living doll.

‘It must hurt. Are you okay?’

Axel spoke in a soothing tone. Then, just like Judith, who was sitting on the ground, he knelt down to meet her eye level.

His neat clothes wrinkled, and dirt got all over them. But the boy didn’t care at all.

Instead, he looked at Judith’s injured knee with pity and lowered his head toward it.

‘I’ll blow on it. They say it’ll heal quickly that way.’

As soon as he finished speaking, warm breath touched her knee. It felt like a light touch of a spring cloud.

It had definitely stung and ached, but it seemed to hurt a little less now.

But Judith, whose father was a doctor, couldn’t help but argue.

‘A wound can’t heal just by doing that. You need to apply medicine to heal quickly.’

The argumentative tone slipped out unknowingly.

Did it upset him?

Judith glanced sideways at Axel. Fortunately, he didn’t seem upset.

‘Really?’

Axel smiled softly and extended his hand.

Whoosh—at that moment, a gust of wind blew from afar, ruffling his black hair.

A boy smiling more brightly than the golden sunlight, under the dazzling golden rays.

It felt like a dream. That image was vividly imprinted in Judith’s eyes.

‘Then let’s go apply some medicine.’

Judith absentmindedly took his outstretched white hand.

Perhaps it was from that moment.

Indeed, it was too late to turn back.

* * *

Contrary to her worries, she didn’t run into Axel for several days.

Of course, Judith made an effort, but perhaps Axel was also avoiding her.

For Judith, who still didn’t have the face to see Axel, this was fortunate.

Even thinking that, she felt her heart tighten a bit.

Anyway, time passed, and soon a reply arrived from the Cardandy family, who had received her letter.

The contents asked her to meet the person involved and make a definite decision.

“……”

Chase Cardandy.

He was now sitting in front of Judith.

Though they were schoolmates, they didn’t share any classes, so they had only passed each other a few times.

It felt a bit unfamiliar to face each other so closely like this for the first time.

Meanwhile, Chase looked utterly uninterested, clutching his sword as if he would run off to practice as soon as the conversation ended.

Anyone could see he wanted to finish quickly, so Judith decided not to hold him back.

After all, wasn’t it enough to meet and greet in person?

Having verbally confirmed the engagement, the Cardandy family would expect nothing more.

They wouldn’t expect their son to genuinely fall in love with a commoner orphan.

Judith judged this and began to speak with a smiling face.

“You can go to your sword practice.”

She expected Chase to leave as soon as she finished speaking.

But he tilted his head slightly and looked at Judith. His red eyes, shining like jewels in the sunlight, quietly watched her.

“How did you know?”

“Know what?”

“That I practice swordsmanship.”

At least at the Prussian Academy, there was no way anyone wouldn’t know that.

The genius boy of the Cardandy family, renowned for swordsmanship.

How could anyone not know Chase, who swept first place in the martial arts competition every year as if it were natural?

And in fact, Chase was famous for both good and bad reasons.

On the good side, as mentioned earlier, he had an outstanding talent for swordsmanship. On the bad side, he was so focused on swordsmanship that he was arrogant and always uncommitted in class.

How should she bring this up?

As Judith pondered, Chase, who had been staring at her, spoke first.

“Did you have an interest in me?”

“……What?”

“Is that why you accepted the engagement?”

Chase continued with a face that said he expected this.

“You’re no different from the other girls.”

Judith blinked in surprise. Meanwhile, Chase leaned back in his chair languidly.

“If I actually leave because you told me to, you’d feel disappointed. Then, before long, you’d call me again to bother me, right?”

“……”

“So I’ll hang out with you for a while.”

Chase spoke with an uninterested face.

Is he misunderstanding something? 

Judith hurriedly spoke up.

“Look, Chase. As long as the engagement is properly settled, I won’t call you out until graduation.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Chase rested his chin on his hand, propping his elbow on the armrest. Now, his red eyes were filled with distrust.

What kind of life had he lived… 

Judith was taken aback.

Chase’s red gaze persistently scanned Judith’s face.

“I’m getting engaged to you, but that doesn’t mean I cherish you as my fiancée.”

“Oh, okay……”

“Do you understand? I will never come to love you.”

That was what Judith wanted as well. She nodded silently.

Then Chase raised an eyebrow as if he was dissatisfied with something.

“I said I will never love you.”

It was the same repeated statement. Thinking this wouldn’t end like this, Judith sighed slightly and replied.

“Chase, I know. I’m not foolish enough to expect love from a forced relationship.”