Raphael stood at a distance, resting his chin on his hand, as I hurriedly moved among the hospital beds, almost as if I were trying to escape from him.

“No, that’s not it. I knew something was off.”

I deliberately talked to the patients and gave them instructions, pretending not to notice him, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was getting drawn in. It wasn’t something I could keep lying about, and I had no reason to anymore.

Even though I didn’t respond, Raphael continued his detective-like reasoning.

“Think about it. Two people were staying in Fojetta. One of them suddenly rode out alone at night and ended up in an unexpected duchy. The other followed later with troops. At the time, they wouldn’t have known that the missing prince of the duchy had appeared, so they had no special justification. But it turns out the two are actually married.”

Finally, I looked back at him, feeling resigned. A mischievous, victorious smile was on Raphael’s face.

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m just curious about how intense your marital spat must have been. Honestly, Hazel, you weren’t on a secret mission, were you?”

“…”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

He turned his head sharply, pretending to be sulky. But the playful vibe coming from him made me chuckle despite myself.

It wasn’t something to take seriously, and it wouldn’t become serious in the future.

With a lighter heart, I spoke calmly.

“I was planning to separate from my husband. That’s why I left.”

Raphael turned to me with wide eyes. When I smiled faintly, as if it was no big deal, he resumed speaking with a relaxed expression.

“Now I see, Hazel, lying is your specialty? I should have figured it out when we passed through the checkpoint!”

“Raphael!”

When my voice rose in irritation, he quickly put a finger to his lips, signaling me to be quiet. Realizing my mistake, I glanced around. The soldiers who had already woken up were looking at me with curious expressions. I awkwardly smiled and gave them an apologetic look.

“That’s enough joking.”

I bit my lip and quietly scolded him as if reprimanding a troublemaker, and Raphael scratched his head sheepishly.

“Sorry. But why were you planning to separate? You seemed to get along well.”

I wouldn’t go as far as to say we got along well, but it seemed that way to others. It wasn’t a bad assessment to hear.

But more than that, I couldn’t help but comment on Raphael, who had followed me, claiming he wanted to help but seemed more interested in gossip.

“You’re just chatting away. Aren’t you going to help me?”

“Oh, no, no. What should I do?”

“Go wet some towels. There should be clean ones hanging at the entrance.”

“Okay!”

He disappeared with quick movements. In the now quiet environment, I hurriedly checked on the remaining patients. Perhaps because they were generally physically stronger than ordinary people, their recovery was surprisingly good. It was noticeably different from the residents of Fojetta.

After that, Raphael kept his mouth shut and diligently helped me, which made it easy to finish tasks like bandaging and cleaning wounds without much effort.

“I think we’ve checked everyone. Shall we head to the palace now? There don’t seem to be any major issues. Even the soldiers with severe injuries should be able to return to daily life by tomorrow if they just rest.”

Raphael, who had been covering the last injured soldier with a blanket, stood up with a satisfied expression. If it had been Jayden, I might have patted him on the shoulder to say well done, but it seemed inappropriate for a prince. While I was contemplating words of praise, he spoke first.

“You’re amazing, Hazel. You’re so reliable.”

I stopped in my tracks, surprised by the unexpected compliment. A bright smile, like sunshine, spread across his boyish face. Swallowing the humble words I had in mind, I responded with an equally bright smile.

“I know.”

Raphael hesitated for a moment, like he was caught off guard by my response, but soon returned to his cheerful demeanor.

Most of the tents had already been dismantled on the path to the hut, the entry point of the encampment. Soldiers were singing and sharing the joy of victory all around.

“So, are you not going to answer me?”

As we walked and observed them, Raphael suddenly spoke up.

“What answer are you talking about?”

“I’m still curious about why you wanted to separate from your husband.”

“Ah…”

Reflecting on it, I realized it was a very personal matter, and I wanted to point out that such a question was impolite. However, a sudden change of heart emerged.

“…Because it would be emotionally difficult.”

Perhaps it was an unconscious desire to openly share my past with someone.

“Hmm, your words sound like they’re in the future tense?”

I had deliberately phrased it that way, hoping he would notice, but when Raphael actually pointed it out, I felt flustered. Even though I hadn’t cast it, I existed here as a result of forbidden magic, and upon reconsideration, confessing the whole truth didn’t seem wise.

Still, I wanted to avoid lying, so I chose to share the facts I could.

“Leopold is cold by nature. He’s a person with whom it’s hard to share emotions. And I… I didn’t want to get hurt.”

“Aren’t you being too timid? Besides, you might not get hurt.”

During the week-long journey to Fojetta, I hadn’t dismissed such thoughts. Seeing him seemingly changed, I imagined the possibility of maintaining a better relationship than before the regression. But the conclusion was always the same.

“Those assumptions are meaningless. After all, the odds are fifty-fifty… The biggest problem is that if I get hurt by my husband, the pain might be so unbearable that I think I might die from it.”

As a reason for separation, it would sound like an absurd excuse and justification. Every time I dredged up past emotions, I inevitably became bitter.

As expected, Raphael looked at me as if bewildered.

“Why would you die? You can just stop before that happens.”

“Right. I could have stopped before that, so why couldn’t I? Why did I end up dying…”

No, I knew all too well why I couldn’t stop. Just as eating, sleeping, and breathing are natural for humans, loving Leopold Lawrence was natural and inevitable for me. So, stopping loving him was akin to death for me.

Looking back, was I fated to die one way or another? It’s not something to laugh about, but thinking that way made me feel a bit lighter.

“Hazel, that was a bit scary just now. You’re not someone who died and came back to life, so why say such strange things?”

As if he had met a strange person, he took a step back and frowned.

When did I start speaking my thoughts out loud? A sigh rose from within at the ridiculous mistake. Of course, I nonchalantly covered it up for him.

“It’s from a dream. I often had dreams like that.”

At this point, I probably couldn’t deny being called a liar.

Eventually, we arrived at the hut. The scene that greeted me was completely different from when I first saw it. Since the situation no longer required illusion magic, it seemed Alendia had dispelled all the magic. On one side, a majestic carriage bearing the duchy’s emblem was waiting.

“You can take that. I’ll help you.”

Raphael had come forward at some point and extended his hand. Still feeling awkward about being escorted, I hesitated for a moment. Out of nowhere, Leopold appeared and gently caught my hand, which was hovering in the air.

“You…?”

Startled, I looked back and forth between him and Raphael. Leopold was glaring at the only heir of the duchy with an irritated look. No matter how high-ranking the head of a ducal family he was, I wondered if he could act like this. Just as I was worrying, he spoke.

“Prince, why don’t you ride a horse?”

“Why should I?”

“Do you plan to be alone in a confined space with my wife?”

It was a statement that left everyone, including me and the surrounding knights, bewildered. If it weren’t for his irritable tone, it wouldn’t have been surprising if someone had scolded Leopold for going too far. Raphael, the person involved, let out a big, incredulous laugh.

“I’m taking the carriage too.”

“What?”

“Because I… can’t ride a horse. I’ve never learned.”

Sighs erupted from here and there. Some turned their backs, unable to laugh openly. Only I, knowing his background, felt a sense of pity.

“I can sit on a horse that’s being led, though.”

Hearing his additional explanation, Leopold frowned deeply and rubbed his forehead. The immature Raphael smirked smugly. It was a pointless power struggle benefiting neither. Since neither seemed willing to back down, I intervened, feeling the need to resolve the situation.

“Leopold. I can ride a horse.”

“That’s not allowed.”

“It’s okay. I may not be as good as you, but I like riding horses, and I’m good at it.”

Leopold still looked at me with a frown. Soon, with a sigh, he seemed to concede and gestured to a nearby knight. The knight immediately knelt on one knee.

“Yes, my lord.”

“Bring the mage.”

He answered with a brief salute and quickly left.

“Why Alendia?”

“She’ll ride with us. It should be better with three.”

Did he mean it would ease his jealous heart a little? I wanted to ask precisely what he meant. However, delving into Leopold’s feelings was always a daunting task. I swallowed my words and smiled faintly.

“Thank you for being considerate. Honestly, I was a bit tired.”

“Go ahead and rest.”

“Alright.”

As soon as I finished answering, he took my hand and interlocked our fingers.

—

T/N: So possessive! LMAO