Chapter 2.9

“Romance novels? I’ve never heard that you had such tastes, Young Master Bannon.”  

“That’s the first thing you say when we meet? It can’t be a coincidence. What brings you here, Miss Melosi?”  

“Because you haven’t agreed to meet me at all since that day.”  

Kaiden let out a short, hollow laugh. Erasing his expression in an instant, he asked with cold eyes,  

“So you followed me?”  

Melosi’s shoulders dropped, and she gave a bittersweet smile. Her pale blue eyes, calm as a winter sky, fell downward.  

“Followed you? I just wanted to spend some time with my fiancé.”  

“Oh, really? But your fiancé doesn’t seem to want that.”  

Kaiden turned away with a cynical smile. Melosi, taking another step toward him, looked up at his back with longing.  

“Don’t be like this, Kaiden. I was wrong. I won’t play tricks on Miss Ford ever again.”  

“……”  

“But, Kaiden, I think it was wrong of you to open a lady’s letter without permission, too. Neither of us did well, so let’s make up, shall we?”  

Kaiden glanced at the small hand she held out so plaintively. The tips of her delicate fingers trembled as if they might break at a touch.  

“Please…? Let’s reconcile.”

Reconsile, she said.  

Kaiden looked at Melosi’s face. Her eyes, moist with tears, looked as gentle and innocent as people said.  

With that face, Melosi lowered her hand and grabbed onto Kaiden’s sleeve. He frowned. If she was trying to stir his sympathy, unfortunately, he had no intention of playing along.  

“Sorry, but today you picked the wrong place.”  

“…What?”  

“There isn’t a single set of eyes watching here. If you really wanted to reconcile, you should have brought at least one of the bodyguards my father assigned you.”  

Kaiden whispered softly, his voice laced with ridicule, then brushed past the startled Melosi and approached the cart. His deep blue eyes scanned the books one by one.  

After a while, Kaiden chose a book and stood at the counter as if nothing had happened.  

“I’ll take this one.”  

The bookstore owner, who had been quiet as a mouse, quickly wrapped up the book. Kaiden placed a pouch of gold coins on the counter. The owner, realizing it was hush money, tried to refuse, but Kaiden left the store without another word.  

The sky he looked up at, along with the raindrops, was desolate.  

A quiet wind blew from somewhere.

* * *

It was a tranquil evening, as if everything in the world had fallen asleep. Under a rare cloudless sky, crickets everywhere poured out their pent-up cries.  

Brienne, tossing in her sleep, suddenly woke with a sense of dread. She nearly screamed.  

‘Am I out of my mind…’  

Why, why on earth had I fallen asleep like this?  

A strong arm, as solid as a log, was still wrapped around her waist. Brienne glanced at Herace’s sleeping face with anxious eyes. She had only meant to stay with him for a short while, but it seemed she had fallen asleep in his arms.  

This was dangerous.  

‘Better get out before he wakes up.’  

Steeling herself, Brienne carefully tried to slip away from him. She moved slowly, and just as she managed to free herself from his arm—  

A groan escaped Herace’s lips, as if he was uncomfortable.  

“…Where are you going.”  

Herace pulled her in, burying his face in Brienne’s shoulder. The sudden contact made Brienne freeze and hold her breath.  

Was he awake?  

“……”  

“Um, Young Master…”  

“……”  

After making her so tense, Herace only breathed peacefully, as if he were still asleep. Brienne, who had been so nervous, lost all her strength.  

‘Wow, this man…’  

What a stubborn sleeper. Not only did he hug a grown woman in his sleep, but he held on as if not wanting her to leave. Staring at Herace in disbelief, Brienne saw a slight wrinkle appear on his smooth forehead.  

“…You bad man.”  

Brienne frowned and pressed her thumb to the spot between his brows. She remembered how close she’d come to losing her lips to that sweet face.  

‘Why is this man like this to me?’  

Of all people, he was Kaiden’s friend.  

He must know better than anyone that she liked Kaiden.  

Brienne studied Herace’s sleeping face, as if searching for his true feelings. His features, beautiful enough to inspire awe, were nothing like the cold impression Kaiden gave. His hair, shining softly as if woven from silver threads, glimmered in the faint light.  

The fireplace, once burning brightly, had now faded, making the room a bit dim.  

As if bewitched, she reached out and stroked his hair. She’d been curious since she first saw it, and it was even softer than she had imagined.  

‘…Hmm.’  

For some reason, patting him gently felt like petting a dog, and Herace nestled into her hand in his sleep. That gesture, seeking affection even while asleep, seemed cute—though perhaps that was just her imagination.  

Lowering her hand, Brienne checked the temperature of Herace’s cheek. She wondered if he was still cold, but he was warm now, so it seemed the “efficiency” and “excuse” had both outlived their use.  

Moving carefully, Brienne finally succeeded in escaping from him.  

Without delay, she left the room. She worried about what excuse she’d make if she ran into anyone, but fortunately, the dark hallway was empty.  

‘…Strange. Is everyone asleep?’  

Passing by Shylo’s room, Brienne quietly opened the door and peeked inside. But the moment she saw him sprawled on the bed, snoring, she accidentally slammed the door shut.  

Leaving Shylo’s startled sleep-talking behind, Brienne calmly went downstairs. She planned to take a walk in the garden to calm her restless heart.  

Passing through the door to the garden, she was greeted by the nostalgic scent of grass. It was the place she’d wanted to visit most since her first day here, except for the library, but the rain had made her wait days.  

Brienne stepped lightly onto the grass at the bottom of the short stone steps. The sound of her feet crushing the wet grass was amusing, so she took a few more steps, when suddenly, she heard voices not far away.  

“Did you find anything?”  

“No, nothing. You?”  

“Me neither…”  

“Sigh, so this place is a bust too.”  

Startled, Brienne instinctively hid behind a nearby acacia tree. Peeking through the leaves, she saw the strange people she’d seen that morning.  

“Lusell, do you think maybe we set the search area wrong from the start? Are you sure the ringleaders are from a noble family?”  

“As I’ve said before, it’s too bold an operation for a lowly family. If it’s being brought into Roeta, it must have the backing of a noble house.”  

Was that person’s name Zen? And the other, Lusell? 

Brienne narrowed her eyes and crouched lower. Even overheard, the conversation sounded suspicious.  

“What does it matter? I lost my bag with everything I own in that d*mn storm! We can’t keep going from one territory to the next. We’re out of money.”  

“But we can’t go back to Roeta! If it comes to that, I’d rather take the risk.”  

“The risky option?”  

“Yes, instead of just targeting empty territories like this, let’s go to the capital. All the Rontiano nobles live there anyway, right? Let’s investigate there all at once.”  

“…The capital? That’s not a bad idea. But what about money? Should we ask the lord here for help?”  

“That would be nice, but do you think he’d agree? We’d need a lot to stay in the capital for a long time…”  

“He owes us for saving his life. It’s only right to ask for a favor.”  

Watching them, Brienne decided it was time to head back inside. Since they were talking about her father, she figured nothing good could come from hearing more.  

However.  

“Wait, I think there’s a rat around here somewhere…”

It seemed they had noticed her presence. The man strode toward Brienne, who was frozen in place. He briskly brushed aside the acacia leaves hiding Brienne’s face.

“…What, the young lady?”

But a look of momentary embarrassment crossed the man’s face. Brienne stepped back, shaking her head, and hurriedly tried to explain.

“I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop! Truly!”

“Your face is red as if it’s about to burst. Are you sick?”

“Huh…? Oh, no?”

Wasn’t he angry?

Brienne, bewildered, covered her cheek. Zen narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“Suspicious… Extremely suspicious. A grown young lady coming out into the garden alone at this hour. Did you arrange to meet that mage guy here?”

“Sir Zen…!”

At that, Lusell, who had rushed over, stepped between Brienne and Zen.

“This is the daughter of the Marquis Ford! She is the daughter of the lord of this manor where we are staying. Do you understand? Please, please be respectful…”

“Ah, right. Young lady, if I startled you, I’m sorry. I thought someone was eavesdropping on our conversation.”

Remembering the main point at last, Zen apologized with an awkward face. Brienne shook her head.

“No, it’s fine. I’m the one who accidentally overheard your conversation.”

“…You did?”

Zen made a humming sound and narrowed his eyes. His already sharp eyes became even more piercing. Facing his fierce expression, Brienne shrank her shoulders.

“Yes, I didn’t hear everything but…”

“This is a problem. How much did you hear?”

“You said you’d ask the lord for help.”

A brief silence fell between them. After exchanging glances with Lusell, Zen leisurely stroked his chin.

“This is great, really great.”

Great? What could possibly be great about this?