Please Don’t Let Go Of That Leash - CHAPTER 3 (Part 8)
CHAPTER 3 – First Date (Part 8)
Leaning back against the carriage’s backrest, Ria suddenly remembered the presence of the three men and sat up straight. But it was too late to turn back now, so she leaned back again and looked out the window. She could already see the mansion.
As the carriage stopped, the two knights standing in front of the gate showed confusion on their faces but quickly approached as Ria got out of the carriage.
“I’ll take my leave now. The payment has been settled by the gentleman who was with you.”
Bowing once to her, the coachman reversed the carriage and drove away. The approaching knight watched the carriage pull away and spoke.
“My Lady, have you returned alone?”
“It turned out that way. I couldn’t inform them and came back alone. Is there a way to inform Rune by any chance?”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll send someone to tell him.”
“I’m sorry for causing you trouble. Thank you.”
“It’s not a difficult task.”
Ria nodded at his words and started walking again. One of the knights followed closely.
“I’ll escort you to the mansion.”
“No, it’s alright. I know my way anyway. I can go alone.”
After scratching his head in response to her words, the knight bowed and turned away. Ria resumed her steps. Instead of heading towards the mansion, she walked towards the garden. When she reached the garden full of blooming roses, she sat down, feeling somewhat refreshed.
There was no better way to get lost in thought than to gaze at the flowers in silence.
I didn’t even ask his name.
As Ria looked at the red roses, the man with red hair came to mind.
Come to think of it, he called me ‘young lady’.
It was probably after their encounter in the alley when her hair and eye color had completely returned to normal. He was also wearing a robe, so she couldn’t tell much about his attire. Moreover, there were many commoners as well as nobles on the street.
Yet he addressed her as ‘young lady.’ She had learned from Eden that it was a term of honor for noble ladies. She wondered why and how he saw her as noble in such a situation.
He didn’t react even after hearing that I was going to the Astina Estate.
He was a man full of mysteries in many ways.
But she didn’t really think she would meet him again.
She spent a lot of time in the mansion and rarely went outside. She couldn’t go out freely because she had a color that didn’t exist in this world, and even if she did, the man wouldn’t be able to recognize her because she would be under the influence of a potion like she was today.
Ria rested her head on her arms on her knees. By the time she was beginning to forget about the man, she turned her head to see three men standing behind her, their hair disheveled, as if they had hurried over.
It made her want to laugh somehow.
Standing up, Ria walked over to them and extended her hand, and the three men naturally bowed their heads to make it easier for her to reach them.
“Your hair is a mess.”
She tidied up the hair of each of the three men one by one. None of them opened their mouths, wanting to keep her gentle touch on their hair.
After Ria finished tidying up and lowered her hand, Rune cautiously spoke.
“You…you’re not mad?”
“Huh?”
“Because of our past actions…”
“Oh.”
Realizing what he wanted to say, Ria chose her words carefully for a moment. That brief moment felt like an eternity for Rune and Eden. But soon enough, her mouth fell open like a fool at the words that came.
“I’ve thought about it, and I don’t think I have the right to be angry about your past.”
“Huh?”
“Because I consider myself a third party in that matter. And it’s in the past. Before meeting you two, I had a relationship with someone. I’m just mad at her for bringing up your past and being so rude about it.”
“…….”
“After what you’ve done, and what I’ve heard, I think I need to know what happened.”
Will you tell me?
Silence mingled in the air with the added words. Ria waited for them to speak first, and Rune and Eden hesitated a bit about what to say.
After a while, Eden, who had been chewing his lips, cautiously spoke of the events of the past. How Rune didn’t stop the girls from approaching, how he took them away to pick a fight with Rune, and then…
“In the first place, neither Rune nor I were interested in girls, or young ladies, for that matter. They didn’t approach us innocently, either, and whether it was love or, as in the case of Peune, a desire to be the center of attention, it all had a purpose.”
And the truth behind it all.
“We let them do whatever they wanted from start to finish, even if it was just a one-night stand and acting like they were the mistress of the house, and we let them say whatever they wanted in social circles.”
“As similar cases of ladies like them appeared, the previous ones naturally faded away.”
Rune grabbed Ria’s hand slowly. He knew how the social circles operated. But he didn’t care because he didn’t need to. If he had known it would become so toxic, he would have tidied it up neatly no matter what happened.
“I never had genuine feelings or grudges against them from the start. Even when they approached us with motives and then left us, it didn’t matter to me.”
“Rune.”
“Because I knew I was a means to an end to them, and they weren’t significant enough for me to bother about.”
He intertwined his fingers with hers.
“But I’ve never resented my past this much. If I had known it would hurt you I wouldn’t have done anything. If I had known I would meet you…”
He spoke without pausing to breathe. How unbearable was that momentary anxiety and restlessness? How suffocating was the situation where he couldn’t hold onto her as she turned away?
“I’ll take care of the people who are bothering you. I’ll make sure you won’t be hurt because of my past. So please.”
He couldn’t bear to lose her. But he couldn’t forcibly hold onto her as she drifted away. He couldn’t do anything she didn’t want, even if it drove him crazy.
“Don’t leave me. You can be disappointed in me, you can curse me, but please…….”
As he pleaded pitifully, looking as if he might burst into tears at any moment, Ria lifted her other hand that wasn’t in his grasp and gently cupped his cheek.
Why is your love so blind?
Unlike Eden and Kahin, Rune meant many things to her. He was the first person she had accepted among them, the first to call her powers a blessing, the one who saved her life, and the only person who set foot in a different world just for her.
He had been able to adapt so quickly when she had woken up here and still couldn’t do anything. When she thought about it, she felt both grateful and tender for Rune.
It was hard for her to say no to Rune, she admitted to herself, because only he could make her weak.
“Alright.”
She whispered softly as she gently brushed his cheek with her fingertips.
“I’ve decided not to care about the past, so I won’t believe whatever anyone says about that.”
“Ria…….”
“The way you showed yourself to me wasn’t like that. I trust you.”
Her voice was soothing again. Rune’s breath caught in his throat at the certainty that he had earned her complete trust.
Lowering his head, he brushed his forehead against hers.
“Thank you.”
Truly. Sincerely. Thank you. I love you. Ria. Ria.
His words flowed out like breath. Ria silently listened as he murmured into her forehead, the bridge of her nose, her cheeks, and her lips.
It was an atmosphere where neither Eden nor Kahin could intervene.