4.3

Approaching the coachman, who was yawning widely, Iliana spoke in a dry voice, telling him to take her back. She opened the carriage door herself and sat down.  

The coachman, glancing between Lucian and Iliana, climbed into his seat with a face that looked like he was about to cry and grabbed the reins.  

“…We’re departing, Miss.”  

“Yes.”  

The carriage jolted as it began to move.  

Iliana watched the Earl’s residence fade from view through the window before pulling the communicator attached to the carriage.  

Since the line was connected to only one place—the Viscount’s family—the signal didn’t take long to go through.  

“Yes, this is Anas Raylin.”  

As always, her composed voice came through. The dry tone carried through the communicator, and only then did Iliana’s hands begin to tremble.  

Her emotions surged uncontrollably.  

It had been a stormy one-sided love. Her first love.  

She had spent more than half her life with him, and she had been the one to betray their friendship first, using his drinking habits as an excuse.  

The title she had ruined was “childhood friend.”

“Ah, Anas…”  

[…Sister? What’s going on? Why are you crying?]  

The excuses she had used to justify her selfishness had come to an end. The only small comfort was that he didn’t remember the time she had been filled with selfish desires.  

“I, I mean…”  

If Iliana Raylin didn’t say anything, Lucian Declan would remain a man with a clean reputation, admired as an ideal son-in-law in the Kingdom.  

He was famous across the Kingdom.  

If he wanted to cut ties with his childhood friend to marry someone he loved, then Iliana knew what she had to do.  

She had to end things clearly. That was all.  

Even as she repeated this to herself, the tears wouldn’t stop.  

After crying for a long while, Iliana finally managed to steady her breathing enough to speak.  

“I’m really, really going to the capital…”  

[Hmm?]  

“Because it’s over…”  

[…What? Have you given up?]  

Even though she mumbled with no strength, Anas understood her perfectly and let out a deep sigh.  

[Honestly, I thought you were going out so often lately to try to win over Lucian. I even thought you might’ve tried to seduce him by coming back late at night.]  

“Sniff, Lucian isn’t the kind of man who’d, sniff, fall for such shameless tactics.”  

[Wipe your tears before you talk. By the way, wasn’t your trip to the capital already decided? Mother’s been reminding you all week that it’s next week.]  

Anas let out a sigh as she tried to console Iliana, who was sobbing pitifully.  

“Right… So I’m planning to leave this week.”  

[This week?]  

“Yes.”  

[Is there really a need to rush? There’s still some time left before the season. Father will be quite upset.]  

The voice carried both concern and annoyance.  

Iliana, who was traveling at a steady pace, caught the coachman glancing at her through the rearview mirror and quickly shot him a glare before lowering her head.  

Spotting a crumpled gossip paper on the couch, Iliana bit down on the inside of her cheek before letting it go and answered.  

“I don’t care. I’m going. I’m planning to stay at Aunt’s place for now, so can I ask you to take care of my luggage?”  

[Ugh, how bothersome.]  

“I’ll give you half of my month’s allowance.”  

[Hmm.]  

“Fine, a full month’s allowance.”  

[I’ll send your luggage by tomorrow, so take care on your way, Sister! Mother’s been singing praises for you to leave soon, so she’ll be fine with it. I’ll handle Father!]  

Click. The sound of the line disconnecting was cheerful.  

Cursing Anas for her quick change of attitude, Iliana opened the window.  

Still, perhaps because her sorrowful heart had slightly thawed, her instructions to the coachman were calmer.  

“I’ll make a brief stop at the mansion to prepare, then head to the capital.”  

…Seriously? Ha.  

Iliana gave a short answer, making it clear she wouldn’t entertain further questions, and rolled up the window.  

The coachman, who had suddenly been roped into overtime, could only nod in silent resignation.  

* * *  

Long legs hurriedly strode down the corridor.  

The attendants behind him called out to Lucian in confusion, but he couldn’t even think about responding.  

It was only after he stormed into his room that Lucian faced his reflection in the mirror directly in front of him.  

The relaxed expression he had inherited from his ideal father had long since crumbled. His neatly combed black hair was disheveled, and the eyes Iliana had once complimented as beautiful were trembling slightly.  

Ah, how could this be? 

He’d thought about it again.  

The face reflected in the mirror was flushed. He hurriedly raised his left hand to cover it, but the heated illusions swirling in his mind wouldn’t go away.  

“Ha…”  

This was all because of his childhood friend, who had shown up unannounced. He was going insane.  

As he rubbed his face dry and closed his eyes, the scene from his dream became even more vivid.  

• Ah… Huff, huff… 

The sight of her petite body struggling with the heat that had filled her was clear, even as she tried to breathe at his urging.  

In the end, she couldn’t hold out and collapsed into his arms, her brown hair tickling his cheek.  

It had been a week now.  

A week of dreaming about Iliana Raylin, her tear-streaked face turning red as his heart stirred.  

To put it bluntly, it was an erotic dream.  

The setting kept changing, but the person was always the same.  

Iliana Raylin.  

“…Having a wet dream at this age?”  

Lucian ruffled his hair, genuinely unsure if he had lost his mind.  

Even his awkward posture reflected in the mirror now made him feel drained.  

He let out a deep sigh.  

“Thank goodness Lana doesn’t have mind-reading abilities.”  

From the moment he saw Iliana earlier, his lower half had been in danger.  

If Iliana had possessed mind-reading powers, she would have been horrified by the fantasies he’d been indulging in.  

• Lucian. 

The way she said his name with her soft lips—it was surprisingly plump.

Even in his dreams, her lips were red and teasing. He wanted to test whether the color would smudge if he ran his fingers across them, or if her ears would blush first.

Her pale jaw moved every time she opened her mouth to ask a question. It looked like a place that would bruise easily. He should have served her tea. If the tea spilled and touched her skin, it would’ve turned red, and he could have used the excuse of treating her to bite into that skin.

That was why he couldn’t stop Iliana when she turned her back to leave. Her faintly reddened eyes had caught his attention. He didn’t know why she wore such an expression, but the moment their eyes met, a dream had flashed through his mind.

• Just a moment, Lucian! Ah! Haa!

A vision of Iliana clinging to him, crying uncontrollably.

The image of his childhood friend, who had smiled brightly when they met at the age of ten, now struggling to bear his presence.

The adorable sight of her pretending to push him away while scolding him, only to reluctantly allow him to embrace her, saying it would be just this once.

“…”

Lucian had never seen Iliana Raylin in such a light before. Their relationship had always been one of childhood friends, a bond formed because their parents knew each other. He thought imagining anything beyond that would be disrespectful to her.

However, in his dreams, Iliana was not just a childhood friend. She was a woman.

With such a vivid expression, she had cried and clung to him as if he were her lifeline.

The thought of Iliana scratching his back as he pinned her down made Lucian’s lower abdomen ache. 

It wasn’t even sunset yet, and he wasn’t sure if he should be pleased with his active stamina. Sighing, Lucian rubbed his face again.

“What am I going to do?”

Their relationship as childhood friends—a bond he had never once viewed romantically—now seemed on the verge of breaking.