Chapter 3 (Part 7)

Reinis, completely unaware that he had been following her, had to cry in Yuria’s arms for a long time.  

It was only after she had cried herself to sleep that Yuria was able to leave Reinis’s room.  

‘I thought the young lady had become much brighter recently, so I was relieved… What could have happened? Could it be that the Duke did something bad to our lady?’  

As Yuria, her mind in turmoil, closed the door and turned around, Heldor came into her view.  

“Deputy-Commander, what are you doing here…? Surely, you weren’t the one who made our lady cry, were you?”  

It was only natural for Yuria to suspect him, as Heldor rarely came to visit Reinis’s room.  

At the Baron’s manor, Yuria could not raise her voice for Reinis’s sake. If she were to shout at the Baroness or the Baron on Reinis’s behalf, it would only bring harm to Reinis in return. So she held back and endured, always careful to avoid causing trouble for Reinis.  

But here, it was different.  

These people were not Reinis’s family, and there was no need to tolerate their mistreatment of her. That was why her sharp gaze naturally turned toward Heldor.  

“I can’t say I’m entirely unrelated, but… if you could let me explain the situation—ugh!!”  

Before Heldor could finish his sentence, Yuria ran up to him and grabbed his arm. Her gaze was so intense that it felt as though it could burn him alive.  

Yuria, who had tightly gripped both of his muscular forearms with all her strength, clenched her teeth as she glared at Heldor and said,  

“What did you do to our lady?”  

At Yuria’s sudden outburst, Heldor involuntarily swallowed dryly. A bead of sweat formed on his forehead.  

Although Yuria wasn’t as small and frail as Reinis, she was still a relatively petite and slender woman. Heldor had only ever seen her pass by with a kind smile and a bright greeting, expressing her gratitude for saving her and her lady. He had never imagined she could be so full of vigor.  

“Uh… Miss Yuria… I think there’s been some kind of misunderstanding… I didn’t directly make thelady cry.”  

“Speak clearly. What did you do to our lady?”  

Heldor gulped again as he felt Yuria’s trembling grip on his arm. He carefully pried her hands off, making sure not to hurt her, and spoke with an awkward smile.

“Miss Yuria, you’re incredibly strong. Um… Let’s move to another place so I can explain everything. We wouldn’t want to wake the lady.”

“They say you can’t trust anyone in this world. How could the Duke do such a thing to our lady?!”

“Haha…”

After hearing the full story, Yuria shouted in an angry tone, while Heldor could only laugh awkwardly and glance nervously at her.

“It’s just a horse, isn’t it? Does it make sense to get so angry just because she touched it? You really can’t judge someone by their appearance!”

Heldor, who had initially sided against Theodore, began to wonder if there was more to his master’s behavior, especially with Yuria so furious.

“Well… I think our Commander must have had his reasons…”

“Reasons? Don’t make me laugh! Our lady, the most beautiful and innocent person in the world, must have been fooled by the Duke’s kindness during this short time! He acted like he’d give her the world, but now he’s showing his true colors just because she touched his precious horse!”

“She can touch that horse a hundred, a thousand times if she wants.”

Before Yuria could finish her rant, a low voice interrupted. Realizing it wasn’t Heldor’s voice, she stiffened and glanced at him. Heldor, equally tense, slowly turned toward the source of the voice.

“True colors, you say… Heldor, I’m curious about what nonsense you’ve been spouting to Miss Yuria.”

Theodore stood by the door, staring at Heldor.

“C-Commander! Nonsense? No, I just explained what happened earlier… Haha…”

“Then why is Miss Yuria saying such things?”

A moment of silence fell.  

Heldor, who had entered a suitable room to have a conversation, blamed his past self for not even checking whether the door was properly closed, but it was already too late.  

Thanks to Theodore’s sudden appearance, Heldor stammered as he tried to explain the situation. Theodore’s face grew increasingly rigid as he listened to what Heldor had said to Yuria, and soon—  

Bang!

He slammed his fist into the door beside him. The sound of cracking wood echoed, but Theodore paid no mind as he opened his mouth to speak.  

“Hel, you’ll pay for that reckless tongue of yours later. For now, Miss Yuria.”  

Yuria flinched at the low voice calling her name, but she glared at Theodore with a rather intimidating expression.  

‘When did he have the time to woo our young lady with sweet words, only to lose his temper over a mere horse? And now he’s the one acting angrier? Our young lady is wasted on a man like him!’  

Thinking that to herself, Yuria spoke in a cold voice.  

“Why are you calling me?”  

At her sharp tone, Theodore glanced at Heldor once before calming himself and speaking.  

“I wasn’t angry at her. It was just a small misunderstanding. She said my face looked scary, so I tried my best to smile so she wouldn’t feel afraid… but it seems that smile had the opposite effect.”  

“…What kind of ridiculous excuse is that?”  

At Yuria’s words, Theodore put on the exact same forced smile he had shown to Reinis earlier.  

“That… that excuse won’t work on me… Even if you get angry… I… I’ll do everything I can to stop the marriage between you and the young lady! Even if I have to sacrifice my life!”  

“This is the expression I made when I smiled. It seems you also found it frightening, Miss Yuria.”

Another moment of silence passed.  

Finally regaining her composure, Yuria shook her head and looked at Theodore.  

“W-Wait… Are you saying that was you smiling… that was you trying to smile? What happened to the warm, kind face you used to show when looking at our young lady? Why are you making such a terrifying—oh, no, I mean… why are you making that face?”  

At Yuria’s words, Theodore furrowed his brow.  

“A smile, you say? What on earth…”  

“No, I mean, whenever you looked at our young lady, you always smiled kindly and warmly. Not with that strange expression, but with a truly gentle and affectionate one.”  

Whenever Theodore looked at Reinis, he naturally smiled, unaware that he was wearing a gentle expression.  

However, everyone watching the two from the sidelines could clearly see how kind and tender his smile was.  

The fact that the recipient of that smile was Reinis herself made it inevitable for her to misunderstand, especially after seeing his forced smile and thinking he was angry with her.  

“Are you saying… I was truly smiling at the lady…?”  

At his reaction, Yuria and Heldor exchanged glances, silently communicating with their eyes.  

“Your Grace, I think I may have spoken out of turn. I’m sorry.”  

“I also thought you were angry with the young lady, Commander. I apologize.”  

The apologies from the two directed at the confused Theodore didn’t even register in his ears.  

Realizing that his strange expression had led to her misunderstanding, Theodore left the room and headed straight to Reinis’s chambers.  

Fortunately, she seemed to be awake, as her voice answered his knock at the door, inviting him in.  

“Lady.”  

When Reinis saw that it was Theodore entering the room, her lips parted slightly before she quickly turned her head away.  

“I don’t want to see your face right now, Commander.”  

“I came to apologize.”  

Perhaps she was surprised to hear the word “apologize” coming from Theodore. Reinis flinched slightly before slowly turning her head to look at him.  

His gaze, filled with guilt, was directed at her. But Reinis, deliberately ignoring the sincerity in his expression, spoke.  

“No. I’m the one at fault. It’s only natural for you to be angry after someone like me touched a horse you cherish so much.”  

At her words, Theodore bit his lower lip slightly and approached her.  

“Lady, please don’t say such things. No matter how much I cherish that horse, if you wished for it, I would gladly give it to you. That’s how much I care for you.”  

At Theodore’s words, memories of her past life flashed through her mind.  

‘Earl George Plarad also used to whisper sweet words to me before we returned to the Earldom. He made it seem as though he’d give me anything I wanted… only to…’  

As memories of the past resurfaced, Reinis found it difficult to take Theodore’s words at face value.  

“In that case, give me Ken.”

A brief silence followed her words.

‘As expected… He’s just like the others.’

“All right.”

“I must have made an unreasonable request.”

Their words overlapped, as Reinis had opened her mouth just as she thought Theodore wouldn’t respond.

“What?”

“Didn’t I say that I would give you the horse if you wanted it? If you desire Ken, I will give him to you. You don’t need my permission for anything you like. You can have it all. Even the Duke’s seal—I would give it to you.”

The words coming from his mouth were not the answers she had expected. She thought it would be impossible. She assumed he was merely thinking of ways to refuse her request.

‘Even the Duke’s seal…’

Reinis, who had been staring at Theodore with a blank expression, suddenly snapped out of it and shouted.

“I-I don’t need the Duke’s seal! And… I only asked for Ken because I thought you’d obviously refuse. But… why did you get angry, then? Why did you make such a scary face?”

“I’d like to explain that part, but will you listen to me?”

Theodore smiled naturally, as if he found her flustered reaction endearing. This time, it was the gentle smile he usually showed.