The group of three immediately rejoined their party and set off for Cliff. Cradoc, accompanying as Astrid’s escort, drove the carriage, which carried Astrid, Edith, and Matilda inside.

“A carriage? I can’t even remember the last time I rode one. This suits me just fine. If you want, the Grand Duke can take it instead. Surely, you have much to discuss?”

When Astrid suggested they ride together, Elena shook her head. Astrid, who had secretly been bothered by Caleb and Elena riding side by side on horseback, briefly showed a flicker of disappointment before it disappeared. Caleb, noticing Astrid’s fleeting expression, growled lowly.

“…I told you not to say unnecessary things.”

Despite his curt tone, Elena merely shrugged and added nothing more. Instead, she tapped Caleb’s shoulder lightly and mounted her horse.

Feeling a piercing gaze at the back of his head, Caleb turned around. He locked eyes with Astrid, who was peeking out from the carriage window to watch them.

“…!”

Startled, Astrid hurriedly tried to close the window, but Caleb, who had approached unnoticed, pried her fingers off the window frame. Though not exactly gentle, his actions were surprisingly careful.

Clicking his tongue slightly, Caleb frowned and said, “When the carriage is moving, don’t stick your head out like that. It’s dangerous…”

“I know. I’m not a fifteen-year-old child.”

Thud! Astrid abruptly cut off Caleb’s words, pulled back her head, and slammed the window shut with a resolute finality. It was an unmistakable rejection.

“…”

“The Grand Duchess seems pretty angry. Didn’t you say she was mild-tempered? That even if she got upset, she’d trust you? Judging by how things are going now… Well, Caleb, are you sure you’re okay?”

Elena, who had approached Caleb unnoticed, tilted her head and leaned in close to his face.

Grit. Caleb clenched his teeth and growled, pushing her head away with his fingers.

“…Shut up.”

Unable to hit her outright, Caleb’s hand trembled in frustration, a sight that made Elena burst into hearty laughter. Ignoring her completely, Caleb spurred his horse forward. Elena quickly followed, and the carriage began to move behind them.

***

Thump-thump.

Astrid placed both hands over her chest, taking deep breaths. She couldn’t understand what had possessed her to do such a thing. After boldly shutting the carriage door in Caleb’s face, her heart had been pounding nonstop.

“…Haah.”

Astrid sighed deeply, prompting Matilda and Edith to exchange uneasy glances. They had remained silent to avoid adding to Astrid’s distress, but it seemed they could no longer hold back.

“That cannot be the case.”

“…Matilda?”

“Lady Elena is merely a childhood friend of Caleb’s. They’ve known each other for years, but not once—not even once—have they harbored any romantic feelings for each other.”

“How long… have they known each other?”

“…!”

Matilda had wanted to emphasize that there was no possibility of romantic interest between them, but Astrid’s focus had shifted entirely elsewhere. Caught off guard, Matilda opened and closed her mouth wordlessly, leaving Edith to intervene.

“I heard they’ve been acquainted since childhood. They trained in swordsmanship together and grew up tumbling about in the woods, so they’re practically like siblings…”

“Swordsmanship? She’s so beautiful, yet she knows how to ride and fight? She can do everything. What kind of person is Elena?”

“Lady Elena left home early to join a mercenary guild. She’s far from a traditional lady. Currently, she’s the leader of the Red Blossom Mercenaries and has no interest in romance or marriage at all…”

“The leader of a mercenary guild? That means she’s incredibly skilled. She’s more remarkable than I expected…”

“Your Grace!”

Edith hastily tried to redirect Astrid’s attention, but Astrid, visibly disheartened, had already lowered her head with a dejected expression.

The two women looked at her with overwhelming sympathy. Astrid was always brimming with positivity, even amidst adversity.

Even while managing the estate alone in a foreign land, she had never shown weakness, always greeting others with a bright smile.

Seeing her so downcast now was heartbreaking for Matilda and Edith. No matter the circumstances, they couldn’t help but resent the Grand Duke for causing this.

‘Is this what you returned for? No matter your reasons, how could you make the innocent Grand Duchess cry like this…?’

Matilda, who had spent sleepless nights praying for Caleb’s safe return every time he went to war, was now blaming him. If even she felt this way, others would be even harsher.

Edith inwardly cursed Caleb, while Cradoc’s face turned red with suppressed fury. They were holding back solely to ensure Astrid reached the estate safely.

‘Just wait until we get to Cliff. I swear on my honor as a knight, I won’t let this slide!’

Cradoc desperately held back the urge to throw his gauntlet in Caleb’s face, worried that such an act might cause Astrid to faint from shock.

Riding alongside Elena, ahead of her was unbearably irritating. While Matilda, Edith, and Cradoc wrestled with their feelings, Astrid was lost in entirely different thoughts.

‘Healthy skin, a tall and slender figure, and that body… Is that what they call alluring?’

The word, which had seemed ambiguous when reading the novel’s illustrations, now made perfect sense after seeing Elena.

‘She seems to have a good personality, too. And she appears to know Caleb well. Although he doesn’t show it openly, he seems comfortable with her. Could what she said… be true?’

Astrid wanted to believe there was some other explanation. She tried to stay calm, but watching the two standing together before her made her heart waver like a reed in the wind.

‘As much as I hate to admit it… they suit each other.’

Unlike herself, who barely reached Caleb’s chest even as an adult, the slender Elena seemed to stand as his equal.

Every time Astrid saw the two together, her heart sank without warning. She had always thought that simply loving Caleb with all her heart would be enough. She had never considered how to deal with such an unexpected twist.

“Then let it be me.”

“…What?”

“The person who shares your heart and walks through life with you. Let it be me. Promise me that if you return safely, you’ll see me as a woman.”

Two years ago.

She had spoken those words, brimming with hope and oblivious to embarrassment. Looking back now, she felt nothing but mortification.

Then, and even now, she was nothing more than the fifteen-year-old girl Caleb had first met.

She had thought it didn’t matter if his feelings weren’t mutual. She believed that, by pouring all her heart into him, he would eventually look her way. But it was nothing but a naïve delusion.

As long as no one else entered his heart, she thought everything would be fine. After all, Caleb’s focus was entirely on Cliff and defeating the monsters.

I thought Caleb wasn’t interested in love or anything of the sort.

She had assumed that if she waited patiently, without greed, she could one day fill the empty space in his heart.

But that was an unbearable arrogance.

‘What kind of confidence was that?’

She never imagined that, in two short years, someone else would take that place.

‘Without knowing his feelings, I was just caught up in my own emotions… Foolish.’

Astrid shut her stinging eyes tightly. She wasn’t confident she could hide the remnants of her overflowing emotions if she met someone’s gaze.

Perhaps sensing her state, neither Matilda nor Edith spoke to Astrid until they reached Cliff. In that uncomfortable yet oddly soothing silence, Astrid struggled to forget the aching pain in her chest.

‘It was never mine to begin with. So why does it hurt so much…?’

At twenty years old, the grand duchess was only now beginning to understand the sweet and bitter taste of first love.