Chapter 10

The place Neria was led to was not a private, but a group prayer room. There was no door for quiet entry, and it could accommodate about ten people. Perhaps because it was an odd hour, no one else was there.

Neria adjusted her veil over her hair and sat in a suitable spot.

The round stained glass window cast light on the holy statue. The flickering wall lamps made the interior warm and cozy.

Setting foot in this sacred space, she felt her mind relax. Though quiet, the stone building wasn’t completely silent.

From afar, beautiful singing echoed through the space. The choir was performing in the hall downstairs.

“Hoo…”

Neria inhaled the sharp scent of grass and exhaled calmly. Her clear violet eyes looked straight ahead. She smiled faintly and gazed up at the holy statue, as if looking down on all.

“In a holy atmosphere like this, it feels like I should confess some sin.”

She was indulging her perverse desires in dreams, so she did carry the sin of l*st. Even if it was just her own dream, imagining others wasn’t right.

“But I do have my grievances.”

Neria continued bravely.

“For thousands of years, humans have bred and refined their desires over millennia! Those just happened to pool in me by chance, so I don’t think it’s a deep sin worth confessing to the Lord.”

Sorry for being a shameless pervert!

“And there’s no real victim, anyway…”

After spouting nonsense, her conscience pricked her. Neria narrowed her eyes and scanned the quiet surroundings. The hymn continued in the distance.

She wasn’t really a believer, but she touched her crown, relieved that no divine punishment had struck her for her l*st. Then she looked again at the statue.

The holy statue, with its unchanged expression, seemed to ask if that was really what she wanted to confess.

Neria sighed deeply. The purpose of prayer was to govern herself.

Her lips followed her true feelings.

“Lord, my father’s view of marriage is a business where our side must profit. My siblings met the standard and married up, but I fall far short in his eyes. So sometimes… I feel empty.”

Ever since Earl Warwick began his “marry off the youngest daughter” campaign, these worries had weighed on her.

Her quiet voice echoed in the stone chamber.

“In that business, feelings don’t count. I felt the same way in society. Maybe… it’s because in this kingdom, there isn’t a single person who can see me as myself.”

Neria smiled bitterly at her own self-deprecating thoughts.

“Under sacred marriage law, your partner is called a soulmate.”

Though she thought the age gap and lack of affection would limit any real emotional connection, part of her was genuinely curious.

“What does it feel like to have a soulmate? One of my friends had a love marriage, and she said her partner is someone who supports her so she can be herself.”

Neria said this with a wry smile, the kind she wore when reading er*tic books and straining her imagination.

“It’s an irrational word… but I can’t deny that I’m a little jealous.”

Neria adjusted her praying hands. What she was about to say was very important.

“If… If someone like that ever appears for me, I’ll treasure them so, so much. Not because marriage law protects it, but because I’m a loyal woman.”

After that, Neria fell silent, clasping her hands and closing her eyes.

***

“……”

Aaron stood in the archway, watching Neria finish her prayer.

After his penitent prayer, still wincing from his aching back, he’d been quietly walking down the corridor when he heard a soft voice echoing off the stone walls.

Not wanting to disturb that gentle voice, he quieted his steps even more, then spotted a woman praying beyond the archway.

It was Neria Warwick.

Her serene face, eyes closed, was bathed in the colorful light of stained glass. Seeing her calm, peaceful expression in such a sacred place made his own troubled heart settle.

Aaron slowly placed his hand on his chest. The restless pounding of his heart had quieted to a steady beat. It was strange.

Soon, Aaron realized that if he kept watching her like this, he might be plagued by troublesome misunderstandings.

So he tried to slip away as quietly as possible.

“So sometimes… I feel empty. In that business, feelings don’t count. I felt the same way in society. Maybe… it’s because in this kingdom, there isn’t a single person who can see me as myself.”

Her quiet, reciting voice struck him. At the same time, Aaron realized her prayer resonated within him.

He turned and gazed at Neria. She still had her eyes closed, continuing her prayer in a low, pleasant voice.

‘Someone who can see me as myself…’

It was an innocent but not foolish wish.

Aaron, with a tender heart, empathized with her wish. He’d expected her to be as greedy as Earl Warwick, but she thought like this.

As a member of the royal family, Aaron had kept his distance from his own family due to the king’s scrutiny.

He’d even personally dealt with an old friend who incited him to challenge the throne. The bitter memory resurfaced, leaving a bad taste in his mouth.

“What does it feel like to have a soulmate? One of my friends had a love marriage, and she said her partner is someone who supports her so she can be herself. It’s an irrational word… but I can’t deny that I’m a little jealous.”

Neria’s pure wish to have someone on her side was exactly the same as Aaron’s own in the past. He remembered not knowing what to do, unable to understand his older brother’s jealousy and hatred. It must have been just before he graduated from the military academy. He was so innocent back then.

Aaron stared blankly at Neria, who had bowed her head. Before long, her head drooped lower and lower…

“Snrk… Ah.”

Neria, who had briefly snored, suddenly jerked her head up, and Aaron quickly hid himself.

“Oh dear. I dozed off.”

Aaron smiled slightly at Neria’s mumbling.

As the sound of footsteps approached, Aaron hesitated, then retreated to hide himself around the corner. He couldn’t understand why he kept hiding.

This kind of avoidance was something his true self would never do, so it felt strange.

Was it because it was awkward to meet again after the disastrous marriage meeting? Because he hadn’t even apologized for his arrogance and didn’t want to see Neria Warwick resent him?

No… there was something more.

There was some secret his subconscious suspected, though he didn’t know it himself…

“Juicy watermelon is juicy and delicious~”

Her small, humming voice was sweet, but there was something sticky about it too.

Aaron felt a sense of déjà vu and quietly held his breath. He couldn’t even question why he was hiding. He’d already forgotten the subtle pain in his back.

Aaron’s heart pounded like a criminal. Peeking at an unmarried noble lady was certainly not proper behavior.

With his keen senses, he could tell which way Neria was moving. Fortunately, she was heading in the opposite direction from where Aaron was.

“Ah.”

A troubled sigh escaped her.

“It looks really slippery…”

Aaron could roughly guess the situation from her muttering.

The old stone stairs of the temple were narrow. Worn down by countless feet, their rough shapes had become slippery. Usually, anti-slip mats were laid down, but someone must have taken them away for laundry.

Aaron decided to help Neria and quietly stepped out from the corner, thinking it was the chivalrous thing to do—even though he didn’t usually act this way.

But perhaps he’d been too quiet. Even though only five steps remained, Neria didn’t notice Aaron. She just bravely took another step forward.

‘If she steps like that, she’ll twist her ankle.’

Panicked, Aaron quickly spoke up.

“Do you—”

“Huh?!”

“Need hel—”

“Ah!”

Instinctively, Aaron moved, grabbing Neria’s waist just as she missed her step and began to tumble down the stairs. He used proper falling technique to distribute the shock.

Thud.

Luckily, the stairs were short.

“Ugh…”

Neria squeezed her eyes shut, then slowly opened them. Her violet eyes trembled fiercely as she realized a man had thrown himself to save her.

Unsure what to do, Neria managed to lift her torso off Aaron’s body.

“Uh, uh… Are you, are you okay?”

She thought she was bracing herself on the floor, but it was actually the hard chest of the man beneath her. And somehow… the grip felt familiar.

‘Wait, where have I felt this chest before?’

The sensation was incredible, and she felt like she might lose her mind.

‘…No way.’

Aaron was just as dazed as Neria. Was he okay? Of course. Holding a light woman and rolling down a few steps wasn’t a problem.

But Neria’s hand. Her hand was resting on his chest, and that was a big problem.

As she tried to lift herself off, she pressed more weight onto his chest. It wasn’t much, but Aaron felt a strange sensation and let out a low sound.

“Mm…”