Chapter 8.6

“D*mn! Where did they go? Farther inside?”

A man rushed into the chaotic alley, frowning as he looked around. The alley was a mess, filled with large carts and haphazardly stacked boxes.

Clicking his tongue, the man shouted to his companions.

“Search everywhere! They must be hiding somewhere here.”

“Yes!”

Watching them through a tiny gap, Brienne pressed her lips together. Kaiden stopped running only when Brienne’s steps began to slow.

Noticing Brienne’s heavy bag, Kaiden glanced around the alley and hid their bodies.

But was this really the best choice?

Brienne held her breath, watching the man rummage through the box right in front of her. Kaiden whispered softly.

“Don’t worry. I left a trace on the other side.”

“……A trace?”

Brienne’s light green eyes followed Kaiden’s gaze to one side. At that moment, a man pointed to the opposite alley.

“Hey, there’s a piece of cloth hanging here!”

“What?”

“It looks like the clothes that man was wearing earlier. It’s torn, probably caught on a nail.”

“Tch, so they’re not hiding here. Chase them again!”

At the command, the man approaching Brienne turned away. Brienne let out a sigh of relief, removing her hand from her lips.

Now that she looked, one side of Kaiden’s vest was torn. Brienne rubbed the sweat from her palm onto her skirt and glanced at Kaiden.

“Wasn’t that too risky? What if they hadn’t found the trace you left?”

“I was going to use magic. This is Roeta, and I’m not an official mage, so I’d rather not use it unless I have to.”

“……Magic?”

Brienne frowned, then nodded. Why hadn’t she thought of it before? She had completely forgotten that Kaiden could use magic.

Her mouth felt bitter.

“Fine, I get it. But what exactly is going on? Who are those people?”

“There’s a reason. I stole something.”

“Stole? You?”

Brienne blinked several times in disbelief at the absurd story.

What could Kaiden possibly have to steal here?

As she narrowed her eyes in confusion, something flashed through Brienne’s mind.

‘Could it be…….’

“Are you talking about the notebook and wallet you returned to me?”

She asked in a flustered voice, but Kaiden nodded calmly. His attitude, without any denial, left Brienne speechless.

That Kaiden Bannon had stolen for her.

The Young Master Bannon in Brienne’s memory was a gentleman admired by high society. He could smile even at rude drunkards, and was kind enough to escort them home.

Everyone praised the perfect Young Master.

And Brienne was no exception.

Until the day Kaiden punched Derrick Harrington in the face, she hadn’t realized he could use means other than words.

Was this incident just like that day? Brienne’s eyes trembled as she gripped her skirt tightly.

“So…… all of this is because of that?”

“I can’t deny it, but it’s not exactly that. More importantly, Brienne, I’ve been meaning to ask you something. That book you saw at the bookstore two summers ago…….”

‘I can’t deny it.’

That single phrase Brienne desperately wished to hear differently made her unable to catch his next words.

Resentment filled Brienne’s gaze as she stared at Kaiden.

He sent her a gift without warning. Hurt her with cruel words about Herace. Joined forces with Melosi to put her in a difficult spot. Hid the fact they were engaged.

For over ten years, he gave her hope and made it impossible for her to love.

All the pain and wounds accumulated over the years burst forth at once. She had vowed never to cry because of Kaiden again, but an unknown turmoil gripped her heart, making her feel like she would cry.

“……Kaiden, why do you treat me like this?”

Brienne clenched her fists and spoke with a heavy sigh.

“I really tried to understand you. I thought you must have your reasons, that there must be a story. But now…… I really don’t know anymore.”

“I’m sorry, Brienne. That was a misunderstanding. I thought you were one of those people earlier…….”

“Do you think I’m that ridiculous?”

“……What?”

Sitting close together, their eyes locked for a moment. Only then did Brienne truly look at Kaiden’s face and hold her breath.

His face, which seemed noticeably thinner, and the deep shadows cast beneath his eyes explained everything that had happened.

Why.

When she recognized that unbelievable change, Brienne felt her sorrow well up even more.

She was annoyed that Kaiden would appear around her looking like this. Kaiden was always like this. Just when she managed to calm her turbulent feelings, he would return and shake her heart again.

Not once did he ever look back at her during the moments she desired most.

Now she had emptied herself cleanly, there was no room left in her heart for him.

Brienne knew that such anger also stemmed from the affection built up over the years. The love she had steadily accumulated through the years they grew up together had now become a wound for her.

That was why she felt even angrier and more frustrated.

Kaiden’s very existence felt like a shackle she could never break free from.

Brienne looked at Kaiden’s eyes, unable to read his thoughts, and gave a bitter smile.

“Why do you keep making a fool of me? Was it so wrong for me to like you?”

“……Wrong?”

Kaiden’s eyes, fixed on Brienne, wavered.

“Brienne, what are you talking about?”

“I worried about you when I heard the news. I was afraid you might be caught up in something bad somewhere.”

“…….”

“But you sent me a gift. Once again, treating me like a fool. Did you think I’d be grateful if you sent me a gift now?”

Kaiden, who had been trying to explain what happened earlier, finally realized why Brienne was angry. She was not upset about almost being hurt by him, but something else.

Why now, after all this time?

In Brienne’s eyes, there was no feeling left for him.

Only clear hatred remained.

Just as she had wished for so long.

“I never wanted your help. I didn’t need it at all. So why did you help me without asking and get involved in something so dangerous?”

Brienne’s voice trembled as she spoke with force.

Should he apologize?

Should he wipe away her tears, as he had done long ago?

……No, he couldn’t.

Kaiden unconsciously clenched the hand he was about to raise. He must not feel sorry. He must not utter an apology just to make himself feel better.

Ever since he decided to be the selfish person Herace had described, he had intended to act this way.

“……So. What do you want me to say?”

Suppressing his swirling emotions, Kaiden’s lips released a cold voice. Brienne’s gaze wavered again as she looked at his face, which showed no sign of emotion.

“Do you want me to apologize? Admit that I’ve always thought little of you, that I played with your feelings? What would change if I did?”

It was not hard for Kaiden to say words meant to hurt Brienne. After hearing Herace’s advice, this was all he could do.

But why?

“……If I do that, will the time we lost ever come back? If I admit it, can we become friends again?”

“What……?”

“Yes, I knew how you felt and pretended not to. I thought if I ignored it, your feelings might disappear one day. I sincerely hoped for that.”

He should not have shown even a shred of emotion. At the end, there would be nothing but his ugly true self.

Even knowing that, for some reason, he could not control his emotions. The violent urge was confusing. After realizing, for the first time, that he was angry at someone else, he had already said things he should not have.

“But do you even have the right to say that to me? At least I knew how you felt. You didn’t know anything……”

When Brienne’s expression twisted, Kaiden abruptly stopped speaking, ran a hand over his face, and stood up with a sigh.

How much worse could he become for Brienne?

The fact that the first person he showed his emotions to was Brienne made him unbearably ashamed. He hated himself. Hadn’t he done enough? He had hurt her enough—so why did he keep……

“Let’s go. Those people might come back.”

Kaiden slung Brienne’s bag over his shoulder and left through the wooden crates without looking back. Brienne stared at his retreating figure, bewildered.

Their childish play from their younger days ended with a period, but Brienne had yet to move on.

“Kaiden, wait.”

Brienne adjusted her crooked hat and grabbed a crate to stand up.

“Ah……!”

Brienne grabbed randomly and scratched her palm on a nail sticking out of the box. A long wound opened, and red blood oozed out. Kaiden rushed over and grabbed her wrist.

“Are you okay?”

Brienne didn’t shake off Kaiden’s hand. But she couldn’t look at him or say anything. She simply stared at her wound. In that brief moment, Brienne realized—

During all those years, until she let go, Kaiden had never once been the first to shake off her hand.

And that his consideration had ended up eating away at her.

Her stomach churned.

The blood flowing from her palm seemed to replace the tears she was holding back.

“Open your palm, Brienne. We need to stop the bleeding first.”

Kaiden looked at Brienne with concern and took out a handkerchief, wrapping it around her hand.

Brienne voiced the suspicion rising in her heart just as Kaiden finished tying the knot.

This was strange, no matter how she thought about it.

“……Tell me honestly, Kaiden. What have you been hiding from me all this time?”