Chapter 39

Kina, who widened her eyes and sometimes asked back depending on what was being said, looked far more comfortable and cheerful. And from time to time, Seorin’s eyes curved slightly. It was an expression of unmistakable relief.

What he was relieved about, and why, was something Raon could not understand at all.

“Commander.”

Only when he had come close did Seorin notice Raon.

In truth, Kina had noticed him approaching first, and when her expression changed, Seorin had belatedly realized it by following her gaze. That much attention Seorin had been giving to Kina.

“What is it that brought you here?”

“I came because I have something to report to you.”

His voice was neat and composed. At a glance, it even sounded faintly pleasant.

“If you came all the way here, then it must be something very urgent, is that right?”

Raon spoke sharply before he even realized it himself. He could not tell what exactly had rubbed him the wrong way.

“……Yes, of course.”

The corners of Seorin’s mouth, which had been wearing an easy smile, stiffened slightly.

“Would it be all right if I borrowed the Commander for a moment?”

But when he politely asked Kina, it had already changed back to that amiable smile.

Looking back and forth between the two, who both seemed somehow sharp, Kina slowly nodded.

“I will guide you to the lounge.”

“It is all right, you said it was urgent.”

“This much is fine. Is it not, Commander?”

Though he had already decided on his own to escort her there regardless of Raon’s opinion, he suddenly asked as if he needed his permission.

With a stiff face, forcing himself not to reveal the unpleasant emotions he felt, Raon nodded.

“Then I will leave it to you.”

As Kina gathered up the hem of her dress to move, Raon held out his hand first.

Watching Kina rely on his hand, Seorin withdrew the hand he had half raised and silently followed behind the two of them toward the lounge.

“Thank you.”

By the time they arrived at the lounge, Seorin, whom she had thought was following them, was nowhere to be seen.

He had acted as though he absolutely had to escort her to the lounge, and now he had disappeared without a word. She truly could not make sense of him.

“Have you become close with Seorin?”

Raon, who had no intention whatsoever of going to look for him since he would find his way back on his own anyway, asked Kina.

“Does it look that way?”

Instead, she looked surprised by his question.

Then she murmured to herself, “I suppose so.”

“I guess I must have grown comfortable enough with him to make it look that way.”

It was as though she were only just now realizing it and turning it over in her mind.

To Raon, that answer was rather confusing.

He could not understand Seorin, who tried to stay by the side of someone he did not even think of as close.

“Well. He is a good person.”

Kina looked toward Seorin approaching from afar. He, whom she had wondered where he had gone, was coming together with a maid.

As if to say that she could not be left alone in the lounge.

“What did you just…….”

“Pardon?”

“…It is nothing.”

What Kina had just said was the same thing Seorin had once said to him in the barracks.

Raon followed Kina’s gaze toward Seorin approaching the lounge, then turned his head and looked at her. He could not take his eyes off Kina’s face as she smiled with a gaze that was truly comfortable and warm.

“You said your feet hurt, so I asked for a maid. If you receive a brief massage, I will send the Commander to you before it is over.”

Kina had never told him that her feet hurt. So he must have brought the maid because he was worried something might happen while Raon was away. Since he could not openly tell her to be careful, he had shown consideration in this way.

“Then let us go, Commander.”

Unlike Seorin, whose heart seemed much lighter now, Raon glanced at Kina’s feet for a moment before leaving the lounge.

* * *

“Is this all?”

It was after Raon had looked through all the papers Seorin had held out. From the irritation that had been building in him for some time, he let out a long sigh.

“You came all the way here using these papers, whose deadline is still far off, as an excuse?”

“Yes.”

If he had intended to hide it, he would not have brought documents like these in the first place, so Seorin did not deny it.

“Seorin. Was I mistaken about you?”

He was someone who knew proper measure.

No matter that he knew everything of the past between Raon, Kina, and Bersha, Raon had believed he was not the sort of person who would recklessly do something improper when they were already married.

Why he was suddenly testing that trust was enough to make Raon’s head ache.

“I will ask again. Why are you going this far?”

On the way to the ball, Seorin had known he would be reprimanded one way or another. Since he had deliberately chosen documents that were obviously only an excuse, that was only natural.

Still, he had not expected the force of the reprimand to be this strong.

“I am…sorry.”

Barely managing to answer under the suffocatingly heavy air, he clasped his hands behind his back and clenched his fists tightly, pretending to endure it as if nothing were wrong.

“If you are sorry, then speak. Instead of pulling this kind of childish stunt.”

“……I am sorry.”

Even after a long while, no words came from him other than apology.

“Go back. I will tell my wife that you returned after finishing your business.”

Leaving behind Seorin, who continued to endure steadfastly even under his reprimand, Raon headed for the lounge.

Only then did Seorin let out a deep breath. It felt as though Raon’s anger still lingered in the air around him.

“Are you enjoying the ball?”

The person who spoke to Raon as he was returning to the lounge was Earl Winders.

Lately, it felt as though he had been running into him often. Raon concealed his slight irritation and answered only with a nod.

“I hope you enjoy it as well, Earl.”

He was in no mood to speak more with anyone and meant to turn away without hesitation.

“Your Grace. May I say one thing?”

Though he was not in the mood to deal with him right now, Raon did not show it and turned back from where he had been about to leave. It meant he should continue.

“I am planning to hold a party at my estate before long. I hope you will attend then, Your Grace.”

Raon only looked at Earl Winders without replying.

Whether it meant continue or that he disliked it, Abil could not tell.

“As you know, I have no interest in politics. But there are times when the opinion of someone like me can be important, are there not?”

Growing slightly anxious, Abil added quickly.

He was taking a risk now.

For a man who made money, the most important thing was the current of things.

The Raon Graize whom Earl Winders had seen was clearly drawing some kind of current. Nothing had yet appeared on the surface, so it was only speculation as to what it was.

To see it as merely a dispute between the Crown Prince and another faction would have made his movements far too wide-ranging. Raon associated with Earls, Viscounts, and Barons alike, regardless of status.

“I am prepared to assist you, Your Grace. Of course, if you accept my invitation, I will also make every arrangement necessary for that.”

Earl Winders, who had been observing him since his first ball, decided to cast the line first and see.

“That will not be necessary.”

Raon had no particular intention of hiding the fact that he was making moves.

It was only natural that people would wonder about his sudden activity in high society. Even if he explained nothing separately, once the agenda was brought to the council, everyone would naturally come to know.

He merely hoped they would think of it in at least a somewhat positive direction.

So while Earl Winders had indeed guessed correctly, there was no need for it to be dark and secretive in the way he seemed to imagine.

“I do not mean it in a bad sense. Rather, if you would allow me to do so, then it would be a fair exchange. The dresses, perfume, and jewelry worn by the Duchess are all the finest advertisement for me.”

In any case, they are things you need, are they not, he added hurriedly.

“The first time the Duchess of Graize had a new dress made was for the imperial palace banquet. You cannot imagine how eagerly the designers at the dress shops are hoping that they will be the ones entrusted with making the Duchess’s dress.”

‘She has never had a new dress made at all?’

That was the only part of Earl Winders’s words that stayed in Raon’s mind. Come to think of it, they had never spoken about dresses at either the last ball or this one.