Track 04. An Impulsive Reply (Part 1)

“It seems like the two of you haven’t met in a while, so I’ll take my leave first. Have an enjoyable conversation.”  

Saying so, Raphael politely left the mansion. After seeing him off, Vivian returned to find Kanin sitting in a chair, gritting his teeth.  

“Grrr.”  

“Kanin.”  

Startled by the grinding sound, she approached Kanin.  

“Your teeth will get damaged. Open your mouth.”  

As her fingers touched his face, a cold aura pierced her fingertips like ice. She frowned and touched his jaw, feeling the coldness gradually fade. This meant he was calming down.  

‘Kanin doesn’t lose control like I do.’  

Unlike Vivian, who often set things on fire, Kanin had never caused a water disaster. It was partly because he had less magical power than her, but mainly because he was skilled at controlling his emotions.  

But today, why was his anger so evident?  

“What’s wrong? This isn’t like you.”  

“Indeed, I should just ignore such provocations.”  

At her words, a sarcastic smile appeared on Kanin’s lips. It was an unfamiliar expression that made her freeze. Kanin asked in a calm voice,  

“How many times have you met that guy?”  

“Not ‘that guy,’ but Young Master Brille. Today is the third time.”  

“……So, since you arrived in the capital, you’ve met him every day?”  

Kanin’s face twisted. He looked pained and irritated.  

“Then why haven’t you replied to me even once?”  

“Well, that’s because…”

Vivian was at a loss for words at Kanin’s question. The message Kanin had sent her was:  

[It’s been a while, my beloved. Have you been lonely without me?]  

What could she possibly reply to that?  

‘Idiot, Kanin. You don’t even realize you sent the message to the wrong person. Do you not even know my code number properly?’

Suddenly, she felt a surge of mischief. Since he had sent the message to her, the woman hadn’t received it. There might be a quarrel between them later because of that, but.  

‘I’ll never tell him.’  

Thinking so, she turned her head sharply and replied in a haughty tone,  

“……I thought it was a message that didn’t need a reply.”  

“Really?”  

Kanin’s eyebrows twitched at her answer. His displeasure was apparent, and she felt a twinge of annoyance as well. She pouted and retorted,  

“You seemed happy enough. I know everything.”

“Me? Happy? Why would I be happy?”

“Well, you know…”

He must have met her. They must have embraced each other, completely bare, sharing their love.

‘He must have seen that woman’s body too.’

That smooth, firm, beautiful body that shone white under the moonlight even in the dark.  

Blush.  

‘I must be crazy.’  

She had only touched him back then to save his life. Why did thinking about it now make her throat dry and her stomach twist?

‘This is all Kanin’s fault for sending that kind of message.’

As she pouted and recalled the messages he sent, Kanin stood up. Standing in front of her, he spoke in a firm tone,  

“Don’t meet someone like him.”  

“Raphael is a good person.”  

“What? How many times have you met him to call him a good person already?”  

Kanin’s face crumpled at her answer. It was the first time in the years she’d known him that he expressed his emotions so openly.  

“Did you do a background check? Who knows if he has someone hidden?”  

“Grandfather took care of all that.”  

Not just a background check; he even conducted a face-to-face interview.  

‘Of course, I didn’t particularly like Raphael either.’  

She found Raphael easy to deal with. But that was only because she felt his affection for her. One naturally feels at ease with someone who has feelings for them.  

‘But how many married couples are truly in love?’  

As long as the time spent together wasn’t awkward and there was some mutual admiration,

‘Isn’t that enough?’  

She argued with herself, suppressing the rising counterargument in her heart.  

“Why are you saying such mean things, Kanin?”

“Because I don’t like it.”

Kanin twisted his lips. He took a step closer to her, his large body blocking her path like a rock, making her tense up involuntarily.  

“Do you even know what message I sent you? Did you read it?”

“What? Uh…”

She was at a loss for words, stammering like a fool. She hadn’t technically received the message he sent her, so she had nothing to say.  

‘Oh, come to think of it, where did Kanin’s message go then?’  

Only then did she feel a strange sense of discord in their continuously mismatched conversation.  

‘And is it even possible for a mage like Kanin, with his memory, to repeatedly mess up a code?’

Unable to find an answer, she stood dazed for a moment. And in that brief hesitation, Kanin, concluding it as disregard, took another step toward her and whispered,  

“Since coming to the capital, my heart has froze over again.”

“What?”  

She stopped in her tracks at Kanin’s words. Looking at him with a pale face, Kanin continued in a slow tone,  

“I couldn’t breathe because of the pain. Every night, lying in bed, I could only call your name.”

“My goodness! Kanin! Are you alright?”  

She hadn’t realized Kanin was in such pain!  

‘It’s no wonder he wasn’t feeling well.’  

After falling from a great height, his body had been frozen solid and then thawed. The next day, he had pushed himself to ride back to the capital on horseback.

‘He seemed off several times on the way back too.’  

The inns they stayed at usually had small rooms with only one bed. Whenever they lay side by side, Kanin would at some point hold her hand.  

‘At the time, I just thought Kanin was being unusually clingy.’

Now it seemed he sought her hand because his body was cold.  

“I’m sorry, Kanin. I, I just…….”  

She didn’t know where to begin explaining.  

As she blinked in confusion, Kanin’s hand touched her cheek. Reflected in his ocean-blue eyes was her surprised expression.  

Kanin whispered in a low voice,  

“So kiss me, Vivi.”  

“I…….”  

“Hug me. Warmly, like you did that time.”

“……!!”  

At Kanin’s words, her body froze as if struck by lightning. The message she received from Kanin flashed in her mind.  

[I imagined you. Crying sweetly in my arms, that kind of imagination.]  

‘Did he say this to that woman too?’  

A low, heavy, sticky, seductive voice.  

Did he court that woman like this too?  

‘Disgusting.’  

Imagining that scene made her throat feel as if it were clogged with dry bread.  

But more unbearable than that was the fact that, even amidst her disgust, Vivian found herself obediently parting her lips for him.

“Mm!”  

His strong arms wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her toward him.  

Kanin’s breath, as it always was, was refreshing as it invaded her mouth.  

* * *

“……Miss?”  

“Oh.”  

Vivian snapped out of her daze.  

Across from her sat Raphael, wearing a light green shirt that matched his hair. His teacup was empty.  

Seeing his awkward expression, she realized she hadn’t been listening to him because she was lost in her thoughts. She quickly bowed her head.  

“I’m sorry. Maybe I have a fever. It’s hard to focus on the conversation today.”  

“It’s fine. It wasn’t anything important.”  

“Even so. I’m really sorry.”  

Lately, she had been zoning out more often. She forced a smile, lifting the corners of her mouth.  

“Did you get a message from Ain yesterday?”  

“Yes. She sent one to you too.”  

A message had come from Ain last night. It was through a military crystal orb.  

[The mission is complete. I’ll be heading up to the capital soon. Let’s have a meal with my brother.]  

‘Ain really seems to be rooting for Raphael and me to work out.’  

A sister-in-law like Ain was a blessing compared to the terrible ones she’d heard about.  

‘But.’  

Ain coming to the capital meant the Moonlight Division was returning.  

Once they returned, her resignation would naturally be processed.  

‘There’s truly no turning back now.’  

As the time for decision approached, she found herself unable to make up her mind. It was only natural she felt uneasy.  

‘There’s no word from Kanin either.’  

After sharing a passionate kiss in the drawing room, communication from Kanin had abruptly stopped, as if it were a lie.  

In all the years they’d known each other, this was the first time they hadn’t communicated for so long.  

‘He must be busy escorting the Adelbar Delegation.’  

Escorting a delegation was a prestigious task, one only entrusted to noble families. This year, the Albrecht Ducal family was handling the Adelbar Delegation.  

‘Come to think of it, today was the day the delegation was leaving.’  

It seemed unlikely that Duke Albrecht would leave his son, who hadn’t gone to work in a while, idle. Vivian sighed inwardly.  

‘Since the delegation is leaving today, Kanin will be free tomorrow. I’ll try contacting him then.’  

Avoiding it blindly wouldn’t solve anything. She steeled her resolve.