Chapter 5.1 – I Don’t Like You

As soon as she returned to the capital, Katia had planned to tell Leonid, “Let’s stop meeting like this.” However, she couldn’t find the time. Her main job wasn’t about relationships between men and women but assisting the Crown Prince, so it was only natural. 

In the meantime, various tasks piled up, and as soon as she returned, Alehin threw himself into work, and Katia was swept up in the torrent of her own duties.

Amid it all, Katia realized that she had completely sorted out her feelings for Alehin. Even when she saw Alehin and Marielle together, her heart didn’t ache as much. She was surprised by how quickly her long-lasting unrequited love had fizzled out, but at the same time, it brought a faint smile to her face.

Instead, whenever she encountered Leonid, her heart tightened and pounded. She couldn’t figure out what name to give this feeling. She thought it would be easier if she could just cut him off completely and stop caring altogether.

Katia had assumed that as soon as she returned from Belynas, she would be able to sort things out with Leonid. However, the first person she ended up dealing with was Broin.

“Aide Evlaine, could I have a moment to talk?”

One night, when everyone had gone home early, leaving only Katia and Broin working late, Broin approached her desk with a determined expression. Katia removed her glasses, which had slid down to the tip of her nose, placed them on the desk, and neatly set her pen beside them.

Interlocking her fingers and resting them on the desk, she looked up at Broin and asked, 

“What’s the matter?”

“Not here. Let’s step outside.”

“I can’t leave yet. I still have work to do.”

“Just to get some fresh air. Let’s go to the garden.”

Katia realized that Broin wasn’t planning to discuss work. Only then did she recall the confession he had made to her before she left for the Belynas Island. Her cheeks flushed. It wasn’t because of Broin.

Though she had been busy with work, Katia had entirely forgotten about Broin’s confession. Instead, during her rare moments of free time, it was Leonid who occupied her thoughts. He had taken up far more space in her mind.

Even now, as she looked at Broin, her first thought was, “Ah, I need to tell Leonid that we should stop.” She nearly laughed at herself for it. Suppressing the urge to laugh, she stiffened her face and bit her lip. Lowering her head slightly, she stood up, unable to meet Broin’s eyes out of guilt.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Deliberately, Katia took the lead, striding out of the aide’s office. She could feel Broin’s presence following closely behind her.

The Crown Prince’s Palace was quiet in the late evening. Compared to the day, there were significantly fewer people around. The two of them encountered only one servant on their way out of the building. Their steps led them to the back of the palace.

The sound of their shoes crunching on the gravel echoed softly. Katia stopped walking only when they reached a place where there were no signs of others. She turned to face Broin. He stood about three steps away, his gentle face tense with nervousness.

For a moment, the two of them said nothing, simply looking at each other. The cool evening breeze lightly brushed their cheeks. Just as Katia was about to speak, Broin quickly raised his hand to stop her.

“Senior, let me speak first.”

His voice trembled slightly at the end. Katia felt as though she already knew what he was going to say, even without hearing it.

“I wanted to hear your answer to what I said before.”

“Um, Broin…”

Katia lowered her head and tapped the ground lightly with the tip of her shoe. Naturally, she had to reject him. No matter how much she thought about it, Broin Glendale didn’t feel like a romantic prospect to her. Of course, he was a really good person. He was kind, handsome, came from a good family, and was intelligent. Many young ladies wanted to date him. Katia knew this well. But still, Broin wasn’t the one for her.

As she fumbled for words to reject him, Broin let out a small laugh.

“You’re going to reject me, aren’t you?”

“What?”

“I knew it. I just wanted to confirm it and spend a little more time with you, so I asked you to come out here.”

At his words, Katia looked up at him. Broin, with a gentle, dog-like expression, smiled at her. Seeing his face, Katia felt a strange pang in her chest. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She had simply received a confession and was rejecting it. That was all.

Still, Katia apologized.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. People’s feelings aren’t something they can control.”

“I should’ve given you an answer sooner, but I was overwhelmed with work…”

“It’s fine.”

It was probably because of Leonid. 

Broin knew that the reason Katia was rejecting him was because of the Crown Prince’s Captain of the Guard. It was impossible not to notice if one paid attention to the subtle atmosphere between them.

Knowing that Leonid was the reason made it hurt a little less for Broin. Since starting his work at the palace, he had thought of Alehin, the Crown Prince, and Leonid, the Captain, as completely out of reach—like insurmountable mountains, almost inhuman. Losing to someone like that felt a little more bearable.

From observing Katia and Leonid’s behavior, it was clear that the two had feelings for each other, though they didn’t seem to be officially dating. If they were already in a relationship, it might have been easier for Broin to give up. But being pushed aside by the ambiguous dynamic between the two was frustrating.

He even considered saying something to delay Leonid from fully winning Katia’s heart. But the thought was fleeting. Watching Katia, who seemed so flustered and unsure of how to handle the situation, made him chuckle.

For someone so sharp, she was hopelessly clueless when it came to matters of the heart. She didn’t need to feel so guilty toward Broin, but Katia was fretting over whether she might hurt his feelings.

Broin sighed internally and composed his expression. Forcing a bright smile, he stepped closer to her, stopping just in front of her.

“I promise not to make things uncomfortable at work. So, could you promise not to avoid me on purpose?”

“I promise. I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for, so please don’t.”

Broin leaned in slightly, and his lips brushed lightly against Katia’s cheek before pulling away. Katia froze, her eyes wide in surprise. She had no idea what to say.

Sensing her confusion, Broin straightened up and spoke.

“It’s a farewell gesture, so I won’t be pathetic about it.”

“What?”

“From this moment on, I’ll try to let go of my feelings for you.”

Then, he whispered, “I’ll head back first,” and turned to leave. Left alone, Katia instinctively raised her hand to touch her cheek where his lips had briefly grazed. She stood there for a long time, staring at his retreating figure.

“What are you looking at?”

Alehin glanced at Leonid, who was standing by the window, as he momentarily looked up from his documents. Despite Alehin’s question, Leonid didn’t respond immediately, his gaze fixed outside. Though his face appeared as stoic as ever, Alehin, having spent so much time with him, could tell that Leonid was in a foul mood.

It wasn’t often that Leonid, who rarely showed his emotions, let his displeasure show so clearly. Curious, Alehin set his work aside and got up from his seat.

“What’s wrong?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Leonid’s denial came out quickly, but Alehin ignored it and stood from his seat. He strode over to Leonid’s side, glancing out the window to see what had caught his attention. Alehin’s eyes narrowed as he looked.

“It’s Katia.”

“Don’t call her name so casually.”

“Wow… seriously… Anyway, is your mood sour because of Aide Evlaine?”

Alehin was puzzled. This usually bad-tempered Captain of the Guard would always soften and lose his composure whenever he saw Katia. But today, for some reason, his mood seemed off. No matter how Alehin looked, there was nothing unusual except for Katia standing alone in the garden.

Scratching his chin, Alehin leaned against the windowsill, staring at Leonid. Feeling Alehin’s gaze, Leonid turned his head, meeting the Crown Prince’s eyes with a curt tone.

“Why are you staring at me?”

“What’s the problem?”

“I told you, it’s nothing.”

“It’s not ‘nothing.’ You’d better say that without a frown on your face if you want me to believe it.”

Sensing that Alehin wouldn’t stop probing, Leonid decided to move. Alehin watched his retreating back with curiosity before letting out a small laugh. Returning to his desk, he picked up the documents he had set aside earlier. Without even glancing at Leonid, Alehin said casually, 

“If it bothers you, go see her.”

“It doesn’t.”

“If you keep sulking here, it’ll bother me instead.”

Though it sounded like a reprimand, Leonid knew it was spoken with consideration. With a small sigh, Leonid lowered his gaze and apologized.

“Apologies, Your Highness. I shouldn’t have let you notice…”

“It’s fine. It happens. Honestly, I find it amusing.”

Alehin chuckled as he twirled his pen, continuing to speak.

“Since I’ve known you, this is the first time I’ve seen you so unsettled because of someone.”

“I’m glad to have brought you some amusement, Your Highness.”

Leonid’s curt reply made Alehin glance up at him, grinning as he gestured with his pen.

“Just go already.”

Before Alehin had even finished speaking, Leonid had left the room. Watching his friend’s swift departure, Alehin chuckled to himself, thinking Marielle would enjoy hearing about this. He returned to his work with renewed focus.