“I-I’m sorry!”

Astrid stammered out an apology, but Caleb didn’t seem to care. Without sparing her a glance, he remained focused on his task.

He was carefully slipping a silk slipper onto her small foot.

“The other one.”

The heat from his touch traveled from her ankle to her toes, and then all the way to her neck and cheeks. She wished he would release her now.

Feeling flustered, she tried to pull her foot away, but Caleb didn’t let go.

“…!”

In fact, his grip seemed to tighten. Was it just her imagination?

Leaving her foot bare in front of Caleb felt too intimate, almost inappropriate. She wondered if she was overreacting.

‘He probably doesn’t think anything of it. I’m the only one overthinking again…’

There was a slipper, and Caleb had simply noticed it and decided to put it on her. Out of concern, nothing more.

‘Does he still see me as some child needing care?’

Astrid chastised herself for reading too much into his actions.

Normally, Caleb wouldn’t engage in such sentimental gestures like putting a slipper on a woman’s foot. But when it came to Astrid, he was different.

Though he seemed blunt and sharp at times, Caleb had never spoken harshly to her. Instead, he always showed his care through his actions, not his words.

‘Sometimes, that kindness hurts more than outright rejection. But…’

Astrid told herself that the problem lay within her.

‘It’s my fault for clinging to small kindnesses, for dreaming of something unattainable, always stuck in the same place.’

Looking down at the man kneeling before her to put on her slipper, Astrid fell silent. She was so used to looking up at him, given their height difference, that seeing him at her feet felt strange—and made her heart flutter.

Her heart pounded uncontrollably. Fearing he might hear it, she held her breath.

“Does it have to be like this?”

His words were barely audible, a soft murmur. But Astrid, with all her senses attuned to Caleb, caught them. She couldn’t decipher their meaning, though.

“What do you mean, ‘does it have to be like this’?”

She asked curiously. Caleb, rising to his full height, met her gaze squarely.

As instinctive pressure overwhelmed her at the sudden reversal of positions, Astrid took an unconscious step back. At that, Caleb’s black eyebrows twitched, arching sharply like steep mountains.

It was a sign that Caleb’s mood had begun to twist.

“…You spent the entire dinner cozied up with him.”

“With whom?”

“Don’t play dumb. Chase. You seemed to be having a great time with him. So, are you looking forward to tomorrow’s meeting with him?”

“…Ah.”

Astrid’s mouth gaped slightly as she grasped the implication of Caleb’s words.

“So, what you’re saying is… you don’t want me meeting with Marquis Chase tomorrow?”

“…”

Though he gave no verbal answer, Caleb’s entire demeanor screamed agreement. Dumbfounded, Astrid let sharp words slip from her lips.

“Why? Why should I?”

Her unexpectedly bold tone made Caleb’s dark eyebrows twitch upward again.

“Why? That man is no good for you to be around!”

Caleb’s voice rose slightly, an uncharacteristic change that made Astrid’s brow furrow. Seeing the faint edge in her usually gentle eyes darkened Caleb’s gaze further.

“It’s merely a business meeting. As the lady of Cliff, I’m simply hosting a guest. There’s nothing more to it.”

“Didn’t you explicitly say you were looking forward to it?”

Caleb growled through gritted teeth, and Astrid let out a mirthless laugh.

“So what if I did? Can’t I look forward to a business discussion? Should I cry about it instead?”

“…”

For a moment, Caleb’s blue eyes wavered significantly. He clamped his lips shut.

“…To both you and him, I’m not even a woman.”

Her voice broke through his silence, trembling faintly.

“What does that mean?”

“I know what you’re worried about.”

Despite her trembling, Astrid’s resolve remained firm, immovable like stone. Unable to find a crack in her defense, Caleb’s furrowed brow deepened.

“If you know, then stop it. You should keep someone like him at a distance—”

“Do you hate the idea of him staying here?”

“Should I be happy to welcome him, then?”

Astrid squeezed her eyes shut tightly. Caleb’s sharp tone pierced her heart, lodging there like a thorn.

She’d known he was uncomfortable throughout the banquet. Pretending not to notice had been part of fulfilling her duty as the lady of Cliff.

‘…How could I not notice?’

When in the same space as Caleb, every nerve in her body was attuned to him. His subtle gestures and fleeting emotional shifts never escaped her attention, no matter how hard she tried to feign ignorance.

If only she hadn’t known, things would’ve been easier. But ignoring Caleb or growing indifferent to him was as impossible as reaching for the moon.

“You hate even the idea of Marquis Chase looking at Elena or speaking to her, don’t you? It’s unbearable for you.”

“…!”

“If that made you uncomfortable, I apologize.”

Her calm, emotionless apology twisted Caleb’s face into an anguished grimace. He would’ve preferred her to argue fiercely than to hear such a hollow apology.

“If Marquis Chase’s presence caused you discomfort, I regret it. But as the Grand Duchess of Cliff, I couldn’t have done otherwise. There’s no precedent in this land’s history for turning away a guest.”

Astrid gripped her skirt tightly with both hands as if it were her only anchor. The thin muslin nightgown crumpled into unsightly wrinkles, mirroring the disarray in her heart.

“You’re so…”

“You acknowledged me as the Grand Duchess, didn’t you? Then please respect what I must do.”

“…”

“I’ll handle Marquis Chase. I’ll make sure he stays as far from Elena as possible. So, please… stop being angry.”

Her voice was barely audible. Bowing her head, Astrid ended her plea. At that moment, Caleb felt a fiery lump rising to his throat.

He wanted to pull her into his arms, to hold her so tightly she couldn’t move without his consent. But he couldn’t act on such selfish desires.

He was the one who had hurt Astrid in the first place.

‘I’m sorry.’

He wanted to apologize, to explain that he hadn’t meant it that way. But no words came. He didn’t know where to start, how to mend the damage he had caused.

‘…Damn it.’

Was it for bringing Elena here? For invading her room and unsettling her heart? Or for failing to accept her confession completely?

Looking back, everything he’d done had only caused Astrid pain.

And now, advising her to stay away from Chase out of concern only highlighted his presumptuousness. Realizing this suddenly, Caleb clenched his fists.

“…Fine. Just get some rest.”

A tidal wave of guilt swept over Caleb, leaving him powerless to resist. He raised a hand and roughly scrubbed his face. Just as he turned silently to leave, a voice called out urgently.

“Caleb!”

At the sound of her voice, he slowly turned back.

“Wait a moment.”

There she stood—a plain, unadorned face framed by long, flowing hair. Astrid wore a simple white nightgown, her expression tinged with unease.

She looked nothing like the dazzling figure from the banquet hall, where her beauty had rivaled Elena’s. Now, she appeared small and fragile, as though she had reverted to her 18-year-old self—the young Astrid who had first set foot on the lands of Cliff. Her current self and that youthful, pure image overlapped in his mind.

“You’re leaving for the hunt at dawn, right?”

The seemingly frail girl caught Caleb completely off guard. As always, she was an unpredictable woman.

“…”

The mention of the hunt abruptly stiffened Caleb’s expression. It was something he had entirely forgotten about after the banquet.

“I’ll ask the kitchen to prepare a basket of food. If you don’t return tomorrow… I’ll assume that’s how it is. Don’t worry about me.”

“…!”

“Well then, good night, Your Grace.”

Astrid spread the wrinkled hem of her nightgown with both hands and curtsied deeply toward Caleb.

It was a perfectly executed dismissal.