Chapter 67

“We haven’t really had a proper fun time since coming to Raspol, and who knows when we’ll get another chance like this. Everyone’s busy.”

As Louis and Aitor returned, Vivian felt apologetic watching Aitor lay out the food he had prepared in advance.

Rayden looked at the food Aitor had prepared and took a big bite of a sandwich, commenting on how meticulously everything was arranged.

“So thoughtful and meticulous.”

Rosie elegantly picked up a grape and offered it to Ian with a smile. Ian, however, didn’t seem to want the grape and kept his lips tightly shut.

Rosie, unaware of Ian’s refusal, continued trying to push the grape into his mouth.

“Really? Haha. That’s the first time I’ve heard that.”

Aitor scratched the back of his head, seemingly embarrassed by Rosie’s compliment.

“That’s right. Aitor is kind and warm.”

When Vivian added to Rosie’s praise, Aitor hesitated in lifting another sandwich, glancing at Louis.

Louis, meanwhile, was simply sipping the wine Aitor had brought.

Aside from Louis, Rayden, Rosie, Vivian, and Aitor enjoyed a lively conversation. As they spent time dipping their feet in the hot spring water, the sun began to set.

Perhaps because of all the fun they had, Ian started nodding off, leaning against Zero, who was dozing with his nose buried.

“It looks like it’s time to head back.”

Louis covered Ian with a small blanket that was nearby.

Feeling warm, Ian smiled and soon fell asleep. Holding Ian in his arms, Louis said he would take him to the carriage and asked them to tidy up and follow.

Watching Louis’s retreating figure, Vivian began to clean up when Rosie approached and whispered to her.

“I’ll handle things here, so go after him.”

“What? But I need to help clean up…”

Rosie frowned and took the basket from Vivian’s hands, urging her to go.

“Go on. Didn’t you have something to say to His Highness the Crown Prince?”

Not far from Vivian, Aitor, who was gathering leftover fruit, chimed in.

“Go ahead, Vivian.”

Rosie gave Vivian a gentle push on the back. Vivian glanced back at Aitor, who was focused on organizing the fruit, and Rosie, who was cheering her on with a clenched fist, before taking a step toward where Louis had gone.

When Vivian arrived at the carriage, Louis was just coming out after laying Ian down.

“Louis.”

At Vivian’s call, Louis glanced inside the carriage and nodded before quietly closing the door.

“He seems to be in a deep sleep. Well, after running around like that, it would be strange if he were still full of energy.”

“Thank you.”

Nodding, Louis began to walk past Vivian.

“Where are you going?”

“Isn’t the cleaning done? It’s time to head back.”

Vivian stepped in front of Louis, blocking his path as he walked toward where the horses were tied. Seeing Louis’s furrowed brows, Vivian hesitated, prompting Louis to speak first.

“If you have something to say, go ahead.”

“I do have something to say, but…”

Vivian trailed off, looking up at Louis. He was dressed much more casually than usual. The late afternoon wind tousled both of their hair.

Vivian hurriedly tried to fix her hair with her hands.

“Did I make some mistake that day…”

Still holding her hair against the strong wind, Vivian couldn’t look Louis in the eye and lowered her head slightly.

“If you don’t remember, maybe it’s best to leave it that way.”

That was Louis’s response. However, his answer only made Vivian more anxious.

“So I did make a mistake.”

At Vivian’s words, Louis silently brushed back his messy hair. Watching him, Vivian gripped her wind-blown hair tightly.

“Just tell me. If I go home like this, I won’t be able to sleep a wink.”

At the winter ball, when she was alone with Louis on the terrace, something had definitely happened, but not knowing what it was left her feeling frustrated.

From Louis’s reaction, it seemed she had indeed made a big mistake, but since he wouldn’t tell her, Vivian felt she could cling to him until he did.

“I never said it was a mistake.”

Louis took a step closer to Vivian.

“Do you really want to know what you did that day, Vivian?”

Louis tilted his head to the side as he took another step closer. As he suddenly closed the distance, Vivian tried to step back but was stopped by a large rock behind her.

Louis took Vivian’s hands, which were clutching her hair, and placed them around his neck.

“Lo-Louis! What is this…”

Vivian tried to pull away, standing on tiptoe, but Louis’s strong grip kept her close.

“What was it you said while hugging like this…”

As Vivian stopped struggling, feeling her body pressed closer to Louis, he spoke. His golden eyes appeared darker up close.

“Mine.”

Vivian’s eyes widened as much as they could at Louis’s words.

“You said I was yours.”

“Lies…”

Vivian murmured in disbelief, and Louis smirked.

“If you don’t remember, how do you know I’m lying?”

“I… I couldn’t have said that.”

Vivian protested in shock, and Louis’s nose touched hers. As she tried to pull away again, it was, once more, impossible.

“And you even threatened me to promise not to dance with other young ladies.”

“Th-threatened…”

Vivian’s eyes shook violently. Watching her, Louis laughed, his eyes crinkling.

“To think you threatened royalty, that’s quite something, Vivian.”

Vivian couldn’t bear to look at Louis’s face any longer and buried her face in his chest. Louis looked down at Vivian, who was trembling slightly with her forehead against his chest.

Seeing Vivian’s face flushed red up to her ears, Louis released the hand holding her arm.

“See, it would have been better not to know.”

As Louis let go, Vivian’s arms fell. However, she continued to rest her forehead against his chest.

“And then…?”

Vivian said something, but her voice was too soft for Louis to hear.

“What?”

When Louis asked again, Vivian clenched her fist tightly.

“And then what did you say, Louis?”

This time, Vivian’s slightly louder voice reached Louis’s ears clearly. Her fluffy brown hair, blown by the wind, filled his view.

“I promised not to dance with other young ladies. Although the person who threatened me to make that promise didn’t remember.”

At Louis’s words, Vivian peeked up.

A person’s face could turn this red.

Louis thought.

“Really? You really won’t dance with other young ladies?”

“Yes.”

At Louis’s firm answer, Vivian took a step back and began to giggle. She no longer seemed bothered by her windblown hair.

Louis gently caught Vivian’s flying hair with his hand. Startled by his touch, Vivian blinked.

“Vivian. How about we start preparing for the wedding soon?”

“What?”

Louis twirled the end of Vivian’s fluffy hair with his fingers.

“I’m 21 now, and you’re 19, so we can’t delay any longer.”

Vivian knew this too. However, hearing Louis mention marriage caught her off guard, and she couldn’t hide her surprise.

“I’ve already asked the temple to find an early date. So, keep that in mind.”

As a strong gust of wind blew, Vivian’s hair slipped from Louis’s long fingers.

As her hair left his hand, Louis looked at it with a hint of regret.

“Why the rush?”

“Is it really rushing? It’s been over seven years. Almost eight, right?”

Louis opened and closed his hand once before putting it in his pocket.

“I’ll discuss it with Father.”

At Vivian’s words, Louis nodded once and looked back at the carriage.

“It’s cold, so why don’t you wait inside?”

“I’m fine. But, Louis, can I ask you something?”

When Louis nodded, indicating she could speak, Vivian took a deep breath and exhaled before speaking.

“What do you think of me, Louis?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you… do you like me?”

Louis did not immediately respond to Vivian’s question. Although embarrassed, Vivian wanted to ask this question, so she resisted the urge to run away.

“If I were to define my feelings for you, Vivian, I like you.”

Vivian realized that the kind of liking Louis was referring to was different from what she had in mind.

“That’s not what I meant…”

“Right. It’s not the kind of feeling you’re thinking of. But I do like you, Vivian. Isn’t that enough?”

Louis ran a frustrated hand through his hair. Vivian felt a pang in her chest at his actions.

Vivian steadied her trembling lips and took a moment to calm her increasingly erratic breathing.

“What does this marriage mean?”

Vivian finally voiced the question she had pondered repeatedly but never wanted to answer.

“Sigh… Meaning. Right. Meaning.”

Louis sighed, repeating the word “meaning” as if it were a burden. That response inflicted another deep wound on Vivian’s heart. But Louis was unaware.

“The union between the royal family and the Dinever Duchy. Isn’t that meaningful enough in itself? And Vivian, as I said earlier, I don’t dislike you. I wish you could be satisfied with just that.”

Vivian hung her head. She felt as if her tattered heart was fully visible on her face, and she didn’t want Louis to see it.

“Understood.”

Vivian replied and began walking toward the carriage where her brother was sleeping.

“Vivian.”

Louis called after her, but Vivian didn’t stop. Instead, she quickened her pace, almost running to the carriage.

Once inside, Vivian looked at Ian, who was sleeping soundly, and bit her lower lip hard.

The tears that had been welling up in Vivian’s eyes finally formed into large droplets and began to fall. Rosie would be coming soon, so Vivian pressed her eyes with her sleeves.

After wiping her eyes with her now-damp sleeves several times, Vivian slowly exhaled and swallowed her sobs.

“If that’s the case, you shouldn’t have been so nice.”

Vivian held her breath to stop the tears from rising again.