Dozens of laborers swarmed around the artificial lake like busy ants.

An endless line of carts creaked past, hauling away heavy loads of mud.

The thick field of sunflowers had disappeared. Where the bright yellow blooms had once flourished, only black sludge remained.

Along one side, aquatic plants dredged from the water lay piled in soggy heaps. Massive stones, seemingly brought from afar, were strewn across the ground as if the entire place were being torn apart and remade.

‘The water level has dropped… It looks like major construction is underway.’

She did not dare push her way through the busy workers.

Instead, she stood near the garden entrance and looked around in confusion.

After a moment, she spotted a man sitting in the shade of a nearby tree. She approached him.

“Excuse me… may I ask you something?”

The laborer, who had been about to take a drink from a water bottle, looked up at the sound of a woman’s soft voice.

His eyes widened as though his fists had suddenly clenched in shock.

Water slipped from between his lips.

Gulp.

He swallowed hastily and stared at her.

“Pardon? Me?”

“Yes.”

She nodded gently. Her dark hair swayed near her waist.

‘No jewelry… and the dress is modest. She doesn’t seem to be of very high rank…’

He could not quite place her status.

All he could think was how breathtakingly beautiful she was.

‘Not a maid… perhaps a lady’s attendant?’

Then again, this was the ducal household. Even the maids were stunning.

The attendants must be even more beautiful.

He swallowed again and nodded.

“Yes, ma’am. Go ahead.”

“What are you doing?”

She extended her gloved, slender finger toward the lake.

“As you can see, we’re filling in the lake.”

“Why?”

“A man like me just does what he’s told. What would I know?”

“I see.”

She accepted his answer without protest, blinking slowly. Her mysterious, sky-blue eyes seemed to draw him in.

He stared without thinking until their gazes met.

When he grinned foolishly, she gently returned his smile.

As she lifted her head as though about to leave, her glossy black hair swayed softly.

‘Is she just going to go?’

He wanted to say more. When would he ever have the chance to talk to a woman like this again?

Even the maids here carried themselves with pride — he had never managed to do anything other than follow behind them. Fearing she might walk away, he blurted out his thoughts hastily.

“Actually… I heard something from the maids.”

She paused, nodding slightly for him to continue.

“They say His Grace is getting rid of the lake because the mistress he keeps is afraid of water.”

She stared blankly into the air for a moment—then swayed.

“…The mistress is afraid of water? And the Duke… knew that?”

“Are you all right?”

He scrambled to his feet and awkwardly reached toward her, but she stepped back, guarded.

“I’m fine. It’s just…”

Her voice trailed off, and she looked confused.

Had he said the wrong thing? What if this woman was the mistress he had heard rumors about?

He narrowed his eyes.

No, the duke’s mistress, said to have bewitched him, would surely resemble a sorceress from legend. Flashy. Seductive.

At least, more so than this woman.

‘No… it can’t be.’

While his thoughts tangled in uncertainty, she spoke in a voice sweet as honey.

“Thank you… for telling me.”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

He scratched the back of his head and laughed shyly. He wanted to say more, but she had already turned away, her steps unsteady.

Was she limping?

With a faint sigh of regret, he watched her figure disappear into the garden.

***

Sveta walked.

And walked.

Ignoring the sharp pain in her ankle, she forced herself to keep going.

The blazing midsummer sun beat down on her, but that was nothing compared to the fire burning inside her.

Suddenly, she remembered the moment at the harbor when Aiden had helped her up after she fell.

He covered her eyes so that she could not see the sea.

Then he turned her around and pulled her into his arms.

‘At the time, I didn’t have the space to think about what that meant…’

Now, looking back, his intention was unmistakable.

He had tried to keep her from seeing the water.

“So you knew. And you left me like that.”

She remembered his indifferent eyes.

The face she had seen when she was drowning. His expressionless gaze looking down at her from horseback as she thrashed around, begging for help.

“You knew. You knew how afraid I was—how much it hurt…”

A broken breath escaped her.

The air she drew back in burned hot. The heavy midsummer heat seared her lungs.

Cough. Cough.

Bending forward, she choked, her breathing becoming uneven. Her eyes reddened and her blood vessels stood out sharply. Sweat, like tears, fell from her brow.

“And yet… why are you getting rid of the lake?”

Her voice trembled.

“Do you think I’ll be grateful for this?”

Spinning in circles through the garden, Sveta asked one confused question after another. With each step, she felt as though the ground beneath her might give way.

‘No… was the lake truly being removed for my sake?’

She did not know.

Aiden had always been a difficult man, someone who never revealed what was going on beneath the surface.

Now, she could no longer trust him.

Not his words. Not his actions.

***

How long had she been walking for?

Her calves ached as though her muscles had knotted up. Sweat soaked her back.

During that time, the anger that had once burned brightly had slowly dulled.

‘Acting on emotion won’t change anything.’

Wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, Sveta murmured like a spell.

“Think about the next step. Only the next step.”

Had she not endured worse before?

Was she a slave in Zloytan?

Or when she was a scorned girl in the baron’s household?

If she had survived those days, surely she could overcome this anger?

She could even smile as though she were content.

‘Yes. What I need now isn’t tears. It’s a smile.’

A sweet smile—one that would make Aiden lower his guard.

With that thought steadying her heart, she turned toward the main building.

“…Your Grace?”

Aiden was standing waiting at the far end of the garden.

Was it her imagination?

There was worry in his expression.

He strode towards her, stopping just one step away.

Tilting his head slightly, he slowly scanned her from head to toe.

His eyes settled on the slender nape of her neck, glistening with sweat.

‘Does he think I’m dirty again?’

Sveta drew her shoulders in slightly and asked softly.

“Were you… looking for me?”

She stepped closer and pressed her flushed cheek against the white fabric of his shirt.

A faint sweat stain marked the crisp collar.

A small act of defiance.

It was a petty punishment for a man who detested anything unclean.

Yet he did not so much as furrow his brow.

Wrapping an arm firmly around her waist, he said quietly.

“…The weather is hot.”

“And?”

“I was worried you might fall ill again.”

“….”

Sveta lifted her arms and wrapped them around his solid waist in return.

The unexpected gesture made him narrow his eyes slightly.

“Your Grace. Why are you removing the lake?”

“Do you dislike it?”

“No. But… I’m curious about the reason.”

“You are the reason.”

“….”

Short answer.

Abstract.

He liked it very much.

Sveta wiped the bead of sweat clinging to her forehead against his shirt once more.

As she did so, he gently stroked her dark, sun-kissed hair.

“I’ll remove the lake and turn the area into a garden.”

“…I see.”

He wouldn’t tell her the truth.

It wasn’t because he didn’t know that she was afraid of water.

He had known all along, yet he had left her to endure it alone.

He wasn’t sorry.

He would never say that.

Swallowing the bitterness rising within her, Sveta lifted her face and rose onto her toes.

She pressed her lips lightly against his cheek.

A soft sound escaped him.

As she pulled away, Aiden looked down at her, faintly bewildered.

“Your Grace. I’d like to go out tomorrow.”

“You must still be tired from the journey.”

“I’m truly fine.”

She arched back lightly, relying on the firm hold of his arms around her waist.

“Please answer me, Your Grace.”

“…I did say I would allow you to go out.”

The permission came lukewarm at best.

Sveta smiled brightly, as though delighted.

“Will another knight follow me for protection?”

“Did you not say that no one but Pailin was necessary?”

“I did.”

But Sveta understood.

It was a skillful evasion of her question.

There was undoubtedly someone watching her from the shadows.

That must be how he had found her so quickly at Czernok’s harbor. He had appeared the moment she had spoken with Count Meriner in the garden.

Perhaps even now—

How long had he truly been confined to his office? Yet he had located her in this vast garden without hesitation.

It made far more sense that someone had reported her whereabouts.

If so, she would rather have Pailin follow her openly.

“Is it because you trust me?”

“I am merely trying to give you what you want.”

“I see… That makes me happy.”

Sveta smiled faintly and cupped his face in her hands. This time, she pulled him down towards her and brushed her lips against his.

As though he had been waiting for it, Aiden seized her mouth at once. He tugged at her lower lip firmly.

She responded to the familiar sweep of his tongue, breathing warmth into him.

When the brief kiss ended, she spoke in soft, unsteady breaths.

“But, Your Grace—please assign Sir Pailin to me again soon.”

“….”

“I would prefer that.”

“If that is what you wish.”

Aiden bent his head once more.

As his red lips neared hers again, Sveta turned her face aside.

“It’s too hot, Your Grace. Let’s go inside.”

He did as she asked, without protesting.

Her ankle throbbed painfully as they walked back, yet she felt light on her feet.

Because now she knew how to handle this man.