〈You don’t think that just because we sat at the same table, you actually belong here, do you?〉

〈The very idea of someone with your background crossing my household’s threshold strikes me as unpleasant and rude.〉

She had been so angry. She truly understood what it meant for blood to boil in reverse.

〈My daughter’s name isn’t light enough to be called alongside your surname.〉

The sharpened blades pouring from her mother seemed to stab into his chest, one after another. 

So she forgot this was a meeting to seek marriage approval and for the first time raised her voice before her mother, telling her to stop. Then she grabbed his hand and ran out of the estate.

Of course, even so, Kailen maintained a calm and dignified attitude throughout.

〈I already expected this. It’s not particularly surprising, so don’t make that face.〉

Instead, he comforted her, saying he was fine and she shouldn’t mind it.

So all the more, she didn’t want to hurt him. Unless absolutely unavoidable, Adeline had no intention of letting the two meet unless her mother’s heart softened.

– Still, next time just hold onto me. I don’t want to leave a lady alone at a hotel late at night like this.

“Mm…”

Adeline let out a small laugh and gripped the receiver tighter for no reason. Whether from her body heat or not, the metal handle that had been ice-cold at first was now lukewarm.

– I’ll send a driver to the hotel by 11:30 tomorrow morning. Don’t push yourself anymore and come back comfortably.

“Yes, thank you so much for being considerate.”

Adeline realized once again the influence his presence had on her. Someone might laugh at her for attaching such great meaning to a mere phone call, but the depression that had consumed her when she left the estate mysteriously vanished with just a few words from Kailen.

– Then rest well today. I’ll see you in Varsen.

“Yes, all right.”

– I’ll hang up now.

“…Ah, Kailen.”

– Yes, go ahead.

“Thank you for calling today. I actually missed you terribly.”

A brief silence flowed. Was he flustered because he hadn’t expected her to say something like this? 

It would have been nice if he said he missed her too, but Adeline didn’t dare hope for that much.

In truth, she was grateful just that he had swept away the mood that had been sinking endlessly to the bottom.

How fickle people are. When she parted with her mother that way, she thought it was the worst day, but with one phone call from him, her feet felt light, like she would have good dreams.

When no answer came even after waiting, she was about to say she’d hang up, just rubbing the receiver against her cheek in awkwardness. A low voice traveling through the phone line tickled her ear.

– Sleep well, Adeline.

* * *

Adeline, who arrived in Varsen late at night in the car Kailen sent, looked at the streets passing by outside the window.

Even in the darkness, people gathered in several streets. Torchlight flickered, and the sound of slogans could be heard faintly in the distance.

“Varsen is a bit noisy these days, Princess. I’ll look for another route instead of this one.”

At the driver’s words, Adeline nodded, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the window for a while.

Then, when they had become small like dots, she had the illusion that Kailen’s face was reflected in the pitch-black window.

Would he be there?

Adeline secretly harbored expectations. The expectation that he might be waiting for her.

It was late at night, and normally she would have thought it shameless and wouldn’t have hoped for it… but perhaps because of the phone call the night before, her swelling heart fluttered like down feathers the entire ride.

However, his shadow never fell upon the royal-owned estate where she was currently staying.

He was, as always, a busy person, and she wasn’t in a position to blame him for that. Unable to show her disappointment outwardly, Adeline decided to wait for another day.

But even after that, seeing his face wasn’t easy. 

Of course, messages came through people a couple of times. Messages saying business problems had arisen and it would be difficult to free up his schedule for the time being, so please understand.

Adeline fully understood his circumstances. If he, who was commanding the capital’s commercial district from the front lines, stopped, Varsen’s commerce would stop with him.

Still, she couldn’t erase her regretful feelings. The days she spent sitting by the window, awake until late at night, increased.

* * *

At a cafe on Train Street where the Varsen branch of the Belliche Trading Company that Kailen operated was located, Adeline, who had been breaking the edge of a tart with her fork, murmured.

“Not today either.”

Beyond the window, carriage wheels scraped past the wet stone road, and the bell of a streetcar drawing white smoke trails in the distance rang at regular intervals.

On one side of the street, guardsmen passed by. It was a sight increasingly common these days. Words like ‘reform’ and ‘royal finances’ appeared in newspaper headlines, but Adeline’s interests these days were always fixed.

On the outer wall of the tall building across the street, the signboard engraved with Belliche’s crest swayed slightly in the wind. Below it, people’s footsteps flowed ceaselessly.

It was already the fourth day. Since she’d had late lunch at the same window seat.

“Well… if I could run into him so easily, why would the word ‘coincidence’ exist?”

As she quietly let time pass, old memories bloomed in her mind. Like the thin steam rising from the coffee cup placed before her, curling upward.

〈I’ve heard more than enough thanks, but do you have anything else to say to me?〉

When Adeline was attending Roenheim Girls’ Academy, Kailen had a sturdy build not much different from now. But somewhere on his face, traces of boyhood still remained.

Eyes defiantly raised, unsuited to his polite speech. The bright blue eyes full of curiosity showing beneath his eyelids had shone particularly vividly.

Unable to express her stolen heart, she recalled her eighteen-year-old self chasing after him in the central library. Whether then or now, nothing had changed about waiting for him to look back at her. 

Finding herself a bit ridiculous, Adeline unconsciously let out a laugh. For self-mockery, it was a very bright smile, like a blooming flower.

* * *

A few more meaningless days passed.

And finally, Adeline had a legitimate excuse to see his face. Today wasn’t a day to rely on chance, but a day to fulfill a set appointment.

It was the day to draft the prenuptial contract.

The morning air was cool but refreshing. On the long table in the office reception room of the mansion-style residence where Adeline was staying, documents were already neatly organized.

Adeline, with a thick document folder with the royal emblem on its cover, an inkwell, and a fountain pen before her, hadn’t touched her teacup at all.

And for good reason—it wasn’t that kind of atmosphere at all.

Diagonally across from her at the head seat sat a royal appointee dispatched from the palace, and the scribe standing beside him maintained consistent silence.

She was listening to the sound of wind sweeping through the leaves of the lush forest beyond the open window. Adeline’s gaze, along with everyone else’s, turned toward the door where signs of presence could be heard.

Nine o’clock sharp, the appointed time. At that exact moment, the door opened, and someone filled her sparkling eyes.

Kailen Belliche. It was him.

At first, she thought he had appeared alone without any companions. Because his height, a span taller than an average man, and his strong physique that brought to mind a soldier rather than a businessman, had hidden the lawyer and assistant following behind him.

Entering the room, he quickly swept the reception room with his bright blue eyes before naturally directing his gaze to Adeline.

Hair black like the night sky, the face revealed beneath seemed the same as before, but looking closely, his jawline had become more angular and his nose bridge more sharply defined.

Only his bright blue eyes were the same as then. Cold, deep eyes that seemed unlikely to easily reveal what lay within.

“I didn’t know everyone would be here so early. I’ve committed a breach of etiquette.”

When Kailen appeared, the royal representatives who had risen from their chairs, forgetting even their own status, took awkward postures before returning to their original state.

“No. You came right on time.”

Ahem, Count Eberstein, the royal document office appointee, cleared his throat to cover his embarrassment.

Kailen removed his coat and handed it to his assistant, then pulled out the empty chair across from Adeline and sat down. No one had guided him to his seat, but there was no hesitation in claiming it.

His attitude was so confident it bordered on somewhat arrogant, like that seat had been his from the very beginning.